Alcoa Needs to Lose Earnings Season Indicator Status
ThinkstockAlcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) is an overrated stock, and even the company itself might admit that its global importance is perhaps a bit of a stretch. Wall St. tries each quarter to use the…
Commodities & Metals
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Newest first · Page 68Sugar-for-Ethanol Purchase Now One Step Closer
ThinkstockThe U.S. Department of Agriculture has sent a proposal to President Obama spelling out the details of a sale of as much as 400,000 tons of surplus sugar to U.S. ethanol makers. Sugar prices…
Alcoa Kicks Off Earnings Season with a Thud
ThinkstockAlcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) has just kicked off earnings season for the companies reporting their first quarter earnings this April. The aluminum giant usually holds off on formal guidance until its conference call, so the…
Speculators Pulling Out of Commodities
ThinkstockRising stockpiles of virtually every commodity had led to a sharp drop in long-dated noncommercial (speculative) futures. Slowing growth in the United States and elsewhere is getting the blame for the 31% drop in…
Hedge Fund Claims Success in Board Fight at Agrium
thinkstockJana Partners said this morning that it “appears” as if two of its candidates have been elected to the board of directors of fertilizer maker Agrium Inc. (NYSE: AGU). Jana, a U.S. hedge fund,…
Why Alcoa Could Wreck Earnings Season
ThinkstockAlcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) is set to kick off first-quarter earnings trends today, and this will mark the start of earnings season. Investors and traders have for years tried to tie in this Dow…
U.S. Drought Watch
ThinkstockDrought conditions in the U.S. have improved somewhat from last year, but much of the Midwest, from the Dakotas to Texas, continues to suffer from moderate to exceptional drought. Conditions improved a bit last…
Argus Model Portfolio Change Adds Newmont and Unloads Monsanto
ThinkstockArgus offers investors what is generally considered to be truly independent research. The firm has none of the possible conflicts of interest that you might see from traditional Wall St. sell-side firms because the…
Another Gold Mine Strike, More Woes for Gold (GFI, GDX)
ThinkstockMining for gold and other metals is a messy business. In some cases, the public might just want to think of it like boudin because no one wants to know how it comes together.…
The Corn Is High for Monsanto
thinkstockMonsanto Co. (NYSE: MON) reported second-quarter fiscal 2013 results before markets opened this morning. The fertilizer and seed maker reported adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $2.73 on revenue of $5.47 billion. In…
Molycorp Stock Has 42% Upside
ThinkstockTo call Molycorp Inc. (NYSE: MCP) a battered stock or a controversial stock would be the understatement of the year. This is supposed to be America’s only answer to the rare earth materials, but…
Corn Planting Off to a Bumpy Start
ThinkstockIt’s that time of year again. Yup, U.S. farmers are getting started on planting corn, but cool weather and wet ground are slowing down an early start, at least in some states. Louisiana and…
Glencore, Xstrata Again Delay Merger — China Gets the Blame
ThinkstockThe closing of the merger between Glencore International and Xstrata has been pushed out to May 2, according to a statement this morning from Glencore. In early March the company said the deal was…
A Note of Worry on U.S. Manufacturing
ThinkstockThe Institute for Supply Management (ISM) this morning reported that its purchasing managers index (PMI) fell from 54.2 in February to 51.3 in March. The consensus estimate had called for a decline to 54.0.…
Farming in the Arctic’s Future
ThinkstockA region with unlimited access to water (though salt water) and a climate in which the temperature rises relentlessly — what a good place for farms. This may be the fate for some portions of the…