Investing?? In Commodities?

An interesting case for "investing" directly into commodities from Jim Rogers of Quantum Fund fame, and despite my best efforts, I cannot think of the slightest connection between commodities, Jimbo, and any hot looking woman, so no gratuitous photographs for this post (Hey, what about an aesthetically pleasing lass who has obviously done some commodities investing of her own... who cares if her name isn't Emmanuelle Chriqui. Yeah that works) . :-)

Investing in the Commodities Market

SNIP:
Whenever I mention commodities in public, someone always points out that we now live in a high-tech world where natural resources will never be as valuable as they were when we had a smokestack economy. But if you read your history you’ll discover that technological advances are as old as history itself: The introduction of the sleek and beautiful Yankee clipper ship dazzled the world in the mid-nineteenth century, loaded with cargo, sailing down the trade winds at 20 knots and more, averaging more than 400 miles in 24 hours and able to make it from U.S. ports around Cape Horn to Hong Kong in 80 days; within a decade, the clippers had been replaced by the steamship, no faster but not dependent on wind power; and before long the next big thing in transport had taken over, the railroad, which, of course, was the original Internet - and prices in the commodities market still went up.==>>MORE<<==

I've never thought of commodities as an "investment" vehicle, apart from rare cases such as Crude Oil as we coast down the wrong side of Hubberts Peak. I've always considered them as a trading vehicle... find an opportunity, exploit it, and get the hell out... just like any normal business. I can make an excellent case of commodities over stocks in this regard.

But an investment? An interesting case put forth by Jimbo, but I don't buy it. An investment to me is something you can stash in the bottom drawer (or the scrip, or bill of sale anyway) and forget about for a while, like a Google IPO or those Goldman Sachs shares bought last century.

The long term charts of most commodities don't inspire me to do this, but hey, anything to keep the liquidity up is fine by me.

Holy Crap, Holidays are Expensive!

I already knew that. You already knew that too. I just felt I to confirm that particular theorem by going on another one. Free accommodation provides no relief from the inevitable diminution of the bank balance as the theorem (which surprisingly, is nameless) provides other methods of totally unnecessary expenditure.

If you are wondering what a photo of Christie Brinkley is doing a here. It seems to be what all financial bloggers do... post a hot photo with the most tenuous link to the topic at hand (in this case the fact that Christie appeared in National Lampoon's Vacation lol) in a cynical attempt at getting search engine hits... great idea! lol

Anyhow, I'm back now in the safe confines of my cave, ready to do battle with the market Gods once again... and I need to do so in Ernest; what with Christmas approaching an' all. :-o

I Think, Therefore I Am

I love delving into esoteric mysteries, but in these days of mass marketing and the "New Age" , what was originally intended as profound and enlightening, becomes trite and banal. Thats why I often like a bit of black humour with my enlightenment. Hence - "I think, therefore I am depressed". :)

I am actually on the road at the moment; a mission to remind my relatives why they should not visit me for extended periods... achieved with minimal cost by me visiting them. lol

So sans the luxury of my office, multiple monitors, broadband connection, etc, my blog offerings will reside more in the whimsical than the rational for a few days... if indeed, my posts are ever rational.

*So in keeping with the esoteric theme, some musings on Gann, time & price from an old internet adversary and flame warrior, Grant MacDonald. Well past me I'm afraid, but this guys views are always challenging to the prevailing dogma, and therefore interesting.

*Not exactly esoteric, but mysterious nonetheless, Adam Warner shads some light on the workings of the VIX over the last few days. Here, here & here.

*As a token commentary on the futures markets, coffee is looking bullish once more, prompting some interest from at least one brokerage blog.

*The stock indicies and the Dollar Index are keeping things interesting for economic prognosticators (*click any financial link for comments on that)

Cheers

Kick Off

So what do you do for the inaugural post for a financial blog when the likelyhood of someone reading it in the next few weeks is almost zero? Tell people about myself, about how I trade etc.? Eewww, how boring!

Maybe about the markets I trade? A lecture on the value of stop losses, money management, technical analysis? As if you all haven't been beaten over the head ad infinitum with all that already!

How about a psychological analysis of why traders feel compelled to tell the world about their trades? Well I don't have a clue why I'm doing this.

How about a Chicago wheat chart? Yeah that will do, because it shows what every trader is trying to catch when pouring overtheir charts... and this was a particularly nice one. The question at the moment is this: Is it all over! Should we take our chips and go and have a festive evening with friends and a bottle of Dom? Or should we keep the chips on the table and let it ride?

The traders dilema epitomized!