The Best One can do Now !

  The best one can do now is hold onto sections of stocks one knows are going to be needed in future to supply the needs of the world popula...

About Me

Retired but always looking for new challenges.

Sunday, June 1, 2014

IN A REFLECTIVE MOOD

 Time to step back from the market and take stock. There has been a good run over the last couple of months. Most markets are at their highest points, or just below.

The latest entry on the index above is always at the bottom
 of the list. Rest of the post above can be found below ALERTS AND NOTES
5.The winter list has been updated above June 23/6/2014
4.See the SPRING UPDATE ABOVE f June 17
3.Resources Post has been updated above 12,14,25,30/6/2014.SEE OUR NEW PAGE 2 OUR CHOICES 
2.MY SPECIALIST WATCHLISTS A.B AND C HAVE UPDATED SEE ABOVE 9/6/2014
1.TRANSFER TO SMALL CAPS HAS BEEN UPDATED 4/6/2014

11/6/2014 ALERT       At long last after five months of the platinum strike, the prices of the platinum group metals are beginning to start to rise. The place to be might be to buy the Exchange Traded Funds as the mines are still proving to be unstable.
The mines are considering undisclosed , at this stage steps to return some of their holdings to production. The government s also proposing to build houses at their expense relieving the mines of this task. It must be added that the mines already pay quite generous amounts to all the miners to obtain better accommodation. These steps have not appeased the hard core union which is also tied to an extreme left political party. Ordinary starving miners are asking for protection from the extremists to return to work.

 NOW some traders would say a bubble is forming in certain sectors. This is really not true as the majority of shares are increasing on good management which in turn leads to increased profits. Of course shares also run ahead on expectations and this is where some dangers lie.
 Shares are likely to pull back  around 8% or slightly more in the months ahead ,then continue their progress, although they are fully priced now the world is generally still coming out of the recession. We in South Africa have  suffered a general set-back with the long miners strike, how ever there is now hope, since the ANC had a resounding victory in the election that they will act firmly, some thing they did not do in the past fearing a backlash in the voting. There is unfortunately a great deal of savagery taking place with workers returning to worked being chopped up literally into pieces. On a SMS campaign 60% have voted for return to work.

Thursday, May 1, 2014

FUTURE POWER SOURCES

There are many different types of power sources that are environmentally friendly being developed. There are  almost as many already working but requiring capital as they are hellishly expensive or not quite developed for the purpose they were envisioned for.


See rest of article below Alerts and Notes 
ALERT 17/5
We have made no entries into the resource blog for the last two months for the reason we   honestly believe there is no value in this section at the moment .Even when the strike ends the platinum sector will not be in recovery mode as prices of the PGMs is far too low. Demand worldwide now is slowing for most mineral producers as well


NOTE 5 MY SPECIALIST WATCHLIST PART A IS UPDATED21/5/2016

NOTE 4 Please note that the latest updates are always placed at the bottom of the index above

Note no 3 MY SPECIALIST WATCHLISTS PARTS  A,B and C WHICH SHOULD BE READ IN CONJUNCTION WITH OTHER HAVE NOW BEEN UPDATED 10/5/2014

NOTE no 2 Go to the NEW WINTER SMALL CAP LIST
above 3,5 May

Note no 1 Do click on the labels in the side-bar and at the bottom of each post to combine like minded posts for further research

One of the most promising is the fuel cell technology, which is already used in outer space satellites, stationary engines , is in the nearing finished stage in automobiles and heavy transport .
A great deal of money was spent on fuel-cells by the PLATINUM companies as well as leading governments world wide, Amplats has taken the lead in South Africa in conjunction with Ballard to produce a home generators on a large scale. This non-grid technology will be able to supply quality electricity to primary to 3,4 million people. A world first.
Amplats is also developing fuel cells to power the electricity needs of the mines as Escom struggles to provide enough electricity from conventional means.
 The most exciting development is platinum proton exchange membranes. Concrete steps to fund the roll-out of hydrogen re-fuelling infrastructure in advanced countries is underway.

 

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

RESOURCES IN CHANGING TIMES

0ver the last couple of decades resources have moved in  different directions which we could hardly comprehend  in the past.
See Alerts and rest of post below notes
NOTE 8 The final Autumn update above 29/4/2014
NOTE 7 The preliminary spring list has been published 24/4/2014
NOTE 6 MY SPECIALIST WATCHLISTS PART A and B have been updated See above 22/4/2014
NOTE 5 SMALL CAPS HAVE BEEN UPDATED 16/4/2014
NOTE The winter list has been updated  14/3/2014
NOTE 4 Real Estate facts and figure are updated above 7/4/2014
NOTE 3 Small caps blog has been updated 3/4/2014
NOTE 2 The newest update appears at the bottom of the index list above
NOTE 1 It would be a good idea to BOOKMARK this page
ALERT 21/4
Amplats and Implats have increased their offer of wages to  10% per annum.At the present offer no mine can really afford it as the price they receive for platinum is below the present working cost. How ever most surface supplies have been used up and the mines are bargaining on an increase of prices going forward.
Meanwhile the president of the maverick union AMCU is as cute as a cartload of monkeys as the saying goes as he now asks the government for funds to rescue the union members on their three month strike with out pay.At the same time it must be remembered there thousands of workers willing to take their jobs with out work,so far the mines have resisted the call to use Scab labour.

ALERT 5/4.
MASILELA who is the head of the PIC(Public Investment Corporation) ,has shown a complete lack of economic sense, suggesting  the platinum miners should form a cartel with Russia as these two countries produce 80%  of the platinum group metals in the world, to determine the prices. One has only to read this post and others that I have written over the past months to see such an idea would would worsen the mines positions further. Obviously he is frustrated by the ten week strike that continues as an election is coming up in May.

As an example platinum which was the most desired metal  and needed in all kinds of industrial as well  as jewellery now is not that much in demand any more as now platinum is recovered from scrap in a big way has seen its price almost halve over that period.

During the same period the United States of America has freed its self from relying on imported fuels with its fracking  program as well as its tar sands and deep wells in the Gulf of Mexico.
NEW MINING METHODS are now urgently being sought here in South Africa as unfortunately politics have been wound in with labour relations to paralyse the mines .We in this country have up to eight times more labourers to run similar mines than would be needed in any other country of the world. The government resisted efforts of the mines to reduce staff. Now how ever their veiw is changing as the drop in taxes from the mines is  forcing the fiscus to take A DIFFERENT VEIW.   

Saturday, March 1, 2014

WORLD WIDE RESOURCE OVER PRODUCTION

Resource production jumped into top gear when the governments world-wide artificially stimulated a recovery. Well enough a recovery is underway but at a sedate pace.

See rest of article under NOTES AND ALERTS

NOTE  9 See updates for MY SPECIALIST WATCHLISTS 2012 to2014 above on 23/3

NOTE  8 AUTUMN TOP 40 LIST HAS BEEN UPDATED 17/3/2014 see above.

NOTE 7 See Transfer to Small Cap shares above 12/3.2014
NOTE 6 GOOGLE    PAWSITIVELY ADORABLE PETS
NOTE 5 SEE WINTER TOP 40 LIST UPDATE 10/3/2014

NOTE 4  FOR SMALL MEDIUM CAP SHARES LATEST UPDATES SEE on 5/2/2014
http://popgames12.blogspot.com

NOTE 3.REMEMBER THE LATEST UPDATES OF PAGES IS ALWAYS LISTED AT THE BOTTOM OF THE INDEX ABOVE.

NOTE 2.USE THE LABELS IN THE SIDE BAR TO CLUSTER SUBJECTS YOU ARE INTERESTED IN

NOTE 1. IT,S A GOOD IDEA TO BOOKMARK THIS SITE IN YOUR FAVOURITES BAR ABOVE

ALERT 14/3  The ANC ruling party is  panicing  and introducing all kinds of socialist legislation to appease the masses. Pity as this will frighten away investors. No doubt there will be challenges by mines and farmers in the constitutional court after the elections, which will then reverse most of this legislation. The high workless figure  makes the ruling parties job more difficult.

This has led to bottlenecks and severe over supply as the recovery amongst the real populace have not  felt the recovery yet and are just for the most part surviving with no extra cash to create actual demand.

China has a tremendous over supply of iron ore at the moment with supplies at 870 metric tonnes and demand running at 700 tonnes per annum, and the situation is getting worse with users offering lower prices . Spot prices are declining by the week with last week the price at $120 dollars, now according to Reuters less than $110 are being offered.
Copper is in the same boat with demand weak.

In South Africa the platinum strike came at an opportune time, which can be seen as although it has been  going on for just over a month, the price has not shot up markedly. Now surface surplus supplies are coming to an end the price might move up at a faster pace. On the other hand costs of production have also increased so the mines will struggle to return to profitability soon.

Saturday, February 1, 2014

Emerging Market Sell off.

Lets face it ALL markets ,  have run ahead of the slow recoveries world wide

 (See ARTCLE,ALERTS  below  NOTES.)
NOTE 10 SEE MY SPECIALIST  UPDATE FOR 2014
NOTE 9 SEE TRANSFER TO SMALL CAPS  LIST 26/2/20
NOTE 8 SEE FEB UPDATE AUTUMN LIST
NOTE 7 SEE TRANSFER TO RESOURCES NAOMI'S UPDATE
NOTE 6. ADDITIONAL UPDATE MY SPECIALIST SHARES 15/2/2014
NOTE  5  TRANFER TO SMALL CAPS PAGE 1 UPDATED 14/2/2014
NOTE  4 REAL ESTATE UPDATE 12/2/2014
NOTE 3  SEE MY SPECIALIST WATCHLIST UPDATE ABOVE 10/2/2014
NOTE 2 TRANSFER TO RESOURCES NEWS  6/FEB ABOVE TO SEE NAOMI'S NEW SMALL/MID CAP COMMENT
NOTE 1 The latest update is always  put at the bottom of the index above.
ALERT `14/2/2014
The State president mentioning the crippling  platinum mine strike in his national address, now gives the parties 
a chance at resolving their differences in a face saving way for the new labor union which promised their members that there would be no negotiation and all their demands would be met!


In the turbulent markets we have at the moment ,investors are seeking safe havens. Gold that has been out of fashion is beginning to shine again and although it fell initially as the emerging markets came off sharply. The question now is ,should take a chance and buy gold mines or rather the metal exchange traded funds. More discerning traders are looking to mines that can produce greater profits than just holding the metal.
Well South Africa has settled her gold strikes and there is unlikely to be another major strike for the next two years when this agreement ends.
A GOLD MINE overlooked by overseas buyers is SIBANYE (SGL).THIS RICHEST GOLD PRODUCER IN THE WORLD HAS COME OUT WITH A WONDERFUL UPDATE.ALL OTHER GOLD PRODUCERS WOULD GIVE THEIR "EYE-TEETH" FOR THEIR ASSETS.A CASH COW INDEED!

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

The New Year


We are likely to power on in the NEW YEAR world wide. Asia, Europe and America are still heir slowly  continuing to take milder steps to stimulate their economies.

Monday, December 2, 2013

THE MARKET STILL ADVANCES

24/12 ALERT The US CONGRESS and SENATE have found common ground,which is likely to result in a 2 year buget deal and avoid a shutdown,like the one that resulted in partial shutdown of the US government recently.Indeed a wonderful Xmas present for stock markets worldwide,which is giving an extra boost to this "feel good" rally.

18/12 ALERT 9.30 PM South African Time.
The American taper has started,catching the market by surprise.It has just been announced by Ben Bernanke.Suprisingly the DOW responded by increasing in price!The bond buying program also known as quantitive easing is being reduced from 85 billion to 75 billion Dollars.

The market still advances on the "Feel Good" basis,which has carried the market to  new heights in many bourses world wide.As traders thin as the year end nears,it is difficult to say at this stage if some of these prices will hold early in the new year.

12/12 ALERT The market has gone down with a thump this morning after trading sideways for a number of days.Reasons could be that part of the futures close out was done earlier than usual,yesterday, with Xmas in mind.Nowprices are being re-set to what traders think the market will be on the 14 plus of March.

NOTE 4. It's all about quality of life and finding a happy balance between work and friends and Family  -Philip Green

NOTE 3.NOW FOR SOMETHING DIFFERENT SEE
http://touristssouthafrica.blogspot.com

2.AUTUMN UPDATE NOW IN PLACE ABOVE DEC 9

1.See WINTER LIST UPDATE ABOVE DEC 5

This has been an exceptonal year on most indexes with around 50% plus  advances.We can expect a holding pattern or slightly down wards as  the market is now over bought.
This is not to say that further advances will not occur next year and we fully expect the main indecis to advance by at least another third.Do remember the recession lasted from 2008 till early last year,so markets generally are not over bought over the longer term as they came off very low bases.Heres wishing all traders a marvellous trading year AHEAD.Thanks for the support as with out your patronage these columns would be written.