emily x

Playing the Agriculture Game

"commodity company stocks act more like other stocks than futures — making them a rather poor substitute for commodity investments." Very interesting point, altho your chart indicates that the stocks of companies like Mosaic and ADM far outpaced the futures ETF and ETNs -- for last year, anyway.

The Case Against Ethanol

"Ethanol is 20% less efficient than gasoline. It takes 450 pounds of corn, for instance, to produce the ethanol to fill a seventeen gallon fuel tank. ... And it takes more than one gallon of fossil fuel - coal, oil and natural gas- to produce one gallon of ethanol."

Not to mention the amount of water it takes to grow the corn -- a very water-intensive crop. I agree w/ your premise that the whole ethanol thing is a charade. Your idea that it's a "liberal feel-good program," however, is plainly contradicted by the full-blast, and as usual unconsidered, support it has gotten from this president.

Is Agriculture the New Global Warming Bad Guy?

Previous comment: "not a single useful, investible idea in the article. In other words..useless." Literally, what planet are you living on that you can afford not to care? It's essential to look at the environmental and human cost of any "investible idea" at this point.

Agribusiness is a huge factor in carbon production and by extension global warming. AND large-scale water pollution, caused by massive use of fertilizers and pesticides. "How can I make money off this?" is just not the question to be asking, even on an investment website. Come on, financial wizards, you're supposed to be so smart -- put the brains to use for something greater than your near-term profits.

PS, I don't agree that a "global collapse in commodity prices" is on the way -- maybe a setback in 2008, but the overall trend is up and will continue so for the next 5-10 years. IMHO.