LJBinvestor

Medical Costs of Obesity Double in Last 10 Years

While I agree something must be done to move people to healthier living, I disagree that using only BMI or weight as indicators of poor health are wrong. Lets look at blood pressure, cholestrol, other blood test levels, smoking, alcohol consumption, family medical history and physical activity before placing any individual in a "classification". I know many 180 lb men that are in very poor health and likewise many 250 lb men that work out 3-4 times a week and have excellent medical readings. Its also very ironic that government wants to get more people under health insurance, yet a large percentage of these folks may also be classified as "obese", high cost health clients that would only increase the cost of health care further. Clearly we need to step away from drugging the population and incent people to move to better food diets, better vitamin intake and more rewards for an active life instead of a life of inactivity.

Russian Call to Ban Skype / VOIP Services: Blatant vs. Discreet Theft

If the USA did this at least we would not have companies refusing to pay others for the use of their networks. The only way a service is free is if someone is cheating the system.......

Mosaic Pre-Announces Production Cuts

I agree with the comments, short term pain today will bring consistent growth in the 12-24 month time frame. Stock buybacks can help the EPS analysis somewhat but I expect another 5% reduction in stock prices for fertilizer producers in the next three months.

Corn and Its Industry: The Next Tobacco

I agree with the comments that discredit this article as biased and not based on historical facts. I agree that with corn prices down, there is the question of will fertilizer companies drop the price or force farmers to buy and use less. Based on comments by the POTASH and Mosaic CEO's, I expect them to keep supplies tight and the prices at current levels. With declines in current/future crops due to weather-related and less fertilizer-related issues, corn prices will rocket back up. I do not see enough political clout to eliminate ethanol, though I do see its use be capped or declining with cheaper oil. But that leads to cheaper gas which spikes the demand upward leading to higher oil prices and calls for ALL alternatives. From a health perspective, corn is so engraned in todays foods that it will not be eliminated in my lifetime. I personally see this as a New York City type trying to bury the midwest farmer.

Potash Corp.: No Liquidity Problems Here

Three cheers for this post, finally an intelligent remark on the financial thinking and actions of management who know how to use current information to provide valuable input and decision-making for future results. Way to go Jean!

Potash Corp: Liquidity Trouble Ahead?

SB-tiger, give me a break. "new capacity will come online completely upsetting the demand-supply equation". You need to do far more investigation. New capacity for potash takes years to ramp up and while some have talked about getting into the business, only Potash and Mosaic have the plans already in place. The issue here is not supply, its a price/demand/sentiment issue. If sentiment drops and the price of corn goes down with the price of potash staying high, the demand for fertilizer will drop. This may occur for a one year period or perhaps even two but I doubt it would continue any longer than that. As to Mr. Snyder's comments of liquidity ratios of the balance sheet, one quarters reporting does not signal a problem or a trend and I totally agree that if a company can buy back stock like Potash has, liquidity is not a problem. Another post made on SA this very same day states the exact opposite of what you said here. My position is that fundamentals have nothing to do with any pricing of stocks today. Whenever momentum in this "doom and gloom" picture subsides and fundamentals return, then Potash will start seeing huge gains. Until then, I would seek some protection with some very short term Put options to hedge against current investor sentiment in the short term but would hold all long positions.

Cleveland Cliffs Reports 'Blow Out' Earnings

I agree totally, The major players are trying to chase after some perceived BIG recovery instead of sticking with the names that continue to deliver for the next 2-3 years. Most difficult to stomach but thats investing. They will come back to these plays eventually when their "quick gains" do not materialize.