Timothy Siegel

Rural Banks to Benefit From Agricultural Boom

DaveinHackensack,

Thank you for your comment. Sounds like on a higher conceptual level I'm in good company (Jim Rogers). One great thing about banks is that there are a lot more relatively local, publicly-listed banking companies that there are retailers, or others dependent on local economic strength. But, interestingly enough, in the retail sector there is another agricultural boom play, and that is Wal-Mart, the biggest of the big. There is may be no publicly traded retailer more closely associated with the rural economy than Wal-Mart. With the boost from the farm belt and international operations, Wal-Mart may be worth considering (don't own any myself, or in my mFolio). I would have a hard time investing in any U.S. based retailer, however, because they will be squeezed by rising import prices.