WATCH FERTILIZER

“I've looked at charts for 25 plus years now, and when it hits a certain level and then just sells off considerably, that is a sign of momentum ending or waning. In the last six months, I said, the bear market is likely to go until 2027. It will find likely a bottom in 2027. Where that is, I do not know. We shall see. Very well could go below 50,000 this year.”

“Most preferreds are going to be rate sensitive. When interest rates rise, prices can fall pretty sharply, even if the issuer is financially healthy. There's also the call risk, reinvestment risk. Many issues are callable, meaning companies can redeem them if rates fall, forcing investors to reinvest at lower yields. They work best as more of a supplemental income tool, not really a core holding.”

“Reason we just come to know as well that miners in South America then need sulfuric acids in order to break down the copper from their mines and that basically means with 50 percent of that coming out of the Middle East, then we also suddenly face a potential shortage in that area. We talked about helium has been mentioned prior to the chips industry. So it's just the whole, how the breadth of this crisis and how it impacts not only energy, but anything through to metals.”

“We've gone from a bit of a liquidity and inflation shock, perhaps now more towards a growth shock, where the implications of this crisis will start to play out in the coming months in terms of soft economic growth. And with that also, the central bank struggle business between focusing on inflation on one hand, and perhaps focusing on economic stimulus on the other side. And I think that that will eventually send the gold prices higher again.”

“A lot of people are focusing on oil, but the components that are making up fertilizer, a lot of that comes from the Middle East and passes through the Strait of Hormuz. I have heard stories, been talking to people, farmers who are already worried about the cost of fertilizer. It's not just a cost thing. At a certain point, it becomes less about how much you have to pay and if you'll be able to pay at all.”

“If you have a market which is backwardation, i.e. it's a signal of a relatively tight supply, and you're holding a futures position to hedge your exposure... every time you roll that position, if we are in backwardation, you'll be selling an expiring contract at a higher price where you buy the next. That is giving you a positive roll yield over time. And obviously, the opposite occurs if you have a period with ample supply.”

“Middle East has obviously expanded its production base. Why just sell oil out of the ground and send it on the ship when you can actually make some money on the process of refining these into other areas. That's why we suddenly left with a market where besides gas, we have all the associated productions of commodities... the energy intensive commodities, that's anything from aluminium to especially fertilize which requires a lot of gas with the main feed stock.”

“The old world is striking back against the new world because the new world wants to accelerate at 100 miles an hour towards progress, but the old world is bumping along at a much lower speed because they can't keep up with the demand that is coming from all the different, all the new technologies and all the direction that we want to go. I think that basically leaves us in a situation where the old saying that the best cure for high price is a high price because it incentivizes supply.”

“It really only takes one bad season for that whole equation to change around. And that's really the worry in the coming months, that if we see some troubled weather potential as well... we will see downgrades to crop production targets for this year. And that will start to eat into an overhanger supply because we are coming into this, just like the oil market, we're coming into this fertilizer crisis with ample supplies of some of the key crops.”

“I think there's an argument that once the dust settles and we're on the other side of this, we should expect prices to settle in at least $10 higher level, maybe even $15 higher. The floor has moved higher for this. That basically means if you're looking at Brent Crude for December at $80, that's potentially where the new floor should be. So I'm struggling to see any forward prices really reflect what potential will unfold in the coming months because it will take time.”

“In the last six weeks, how much has the US crude oil production risen by zero barrels? How many additional rigs has been employed in the US shale area? Zero rigs. Basically, where are the US producers? Why are we not seeing any response? And I think part of that is clearly the fact that the curve is very backwardated. So if you as an oil producer needs to hedge your production three to six months out, the prices are still not that great.”

“The GDX hit the lowest level today since early January. So even with this large pullback, it's actually still up on the year. And it's approaching levels where you saw the peak back in October. Mid-80s is where you wanna pick up GDX or the subsequent miners within it, if you feel you need to up your position in precious metals.”

“The better course of action for the vast majority of people is to roll that old 403B or 401K into a traditional IRA. No tax consequences, opens you up to as many investment options pretty much as you want, and then at a future date, then you could roll it over into a Roth IRA. Typically, that is the time between retiring and taking Social Security.”