In a recent interview with the China Daily, the CEO of Alcoa talked about the unprofitable nature of almost half of the China based Aluminum producers. We have no doubt that this is at least approximately accurate if not exact.
Talk to any investor today about commodities, and improving demand in the US and perhaps a floor in European demand, and you will eventually hear the first half of the title of this short blog. Today we hear that Rio
All discarded lovers should be given a second chance, but with someone else.” – Mae West This morning, Belaruskali, the erstwhile cartel partner of Uralkali announced that it had reached a preliminary agreement with a Qatar-based fertilizer marketing company, Muntajat,
The global fertilizer market remains in a state of shock in the wake of Uralkali’s announcement that it would abandon the output limits that have supported global potash prices. Uralkali announced that it was leaving the export cartel in which
It has been an interesting 24 hours for fertilizer stocks, to say the least. Yesterday, Dan Loeb said in an investment letter that his firm had taken a stake in CF Industries (CF), North America’s largest nitrogen fertilizer manufacturer. The
In recent research we have discussed the problems of a too complex portfolio, in detail with regard to the difficulties investors have in understanding and valuing a complex story and in passing about the management challenge of trying to drive
Looking through a number of earnings releases and transcripts this week and listening to several of the calls, the overwhelming factor that grabs our attention is the total lack of any expectation of industrial growth anywhere in the world in
The NY Times’ interesting expose on the Aluminum “Middle Men” and how much money they make by simply holding inventory and moving it around, illustrates a couple of things. It shows how an exchange can be misused, relative to its
The July 17th movement in DD was driven by a disclosure that activist investor Nelson Peltz was building a stake in the company. In our research on DD earlier in the year, we highlighted a general discount in the stock
Yesterday’s tragic incident at the Williams Ethylene facility in Louisiana should be put into context from an event perspective before it is possible to draw conclusions about its market impact. Ethylene producers and consumers rallied in the market after the
