ENERGY
Another week, and another Western government decides to interfere in foreign country’s business. This time it’s France sending troops, tanks, warplanes and helicopters to its former colony of Mali. Apparently to ‘liberate’ Mali.
But just as the Arab Spring overflowed from one country to the next – Tunisia, Egypt, Libya – so the Mali invasion has already kicked off problems in another French colony – Algeria. According to MSN Money, ‘Oil prices rise on Algerian hostage drama‘. Brent Crude (the benchmark for European oil) hit USD$111 yesterday, the highest price since last October.
Events like this make it even more important that nations become energy self-sufficient. That’s something we’ve focused on in Australian Small-Cap Investigator.
GOLD
It was a big week for gold stories. Germany’s plan to repatriate 300 tonnes of gold from vaults in New York back to Frankfurt had the market chattering about the reasons. Is it because Germany wants to make sure the gold exists? (There have been plenty of rumours suggesting the US doesn’t have anywhere near as much gold as it’s supposed to have.)
Is it to shore up the euro, as Matthew Partridge claimed this week? Is it because Germany fears an exit by the UK from the European Union will mean an end to the pan-European experiment? Or is it just Germany thinking about its own future, and the need to secure its finances before the next economic collapse?
TECHNOLOGY
Last week was the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. We’d love to go there one day. It’s the biggest electronics fair in the world. The show has everything there to do with electronics.
PC World magazine highlighted the ’20 standout devices from CES 2013′. You can see them here. Our top three picks for no particular reason are: Samsung 85 inch (2.13 metres!) HD-TV; Oculus Rift – virtual reality headset; Asus Qube – streaming for Google TV.
HEALTH
Last week the Australian Financial Review reported:
‘Researchers at Melbourne’s Walter and Eliza Hall Institute are looking for corporate backers after making a discovery they say could change the lives of millions of diabetes sufferers – even substituting tablets for insulin injections – and potentially generate big profits.’
We love seeing reports like this. The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute is a great example of the power and virtue of capitalism. How so? In short, Walter Hall was an initial investor in Queensland Mount Morgan gold mine in 1882. The mine operated for over 100 years, and by the time Walter Hall died in 1911, it had made him a multi-millionaire.
After his death, Eliza Hall was determined to make sure their wealth was put to good use. So she set up a trust that established and funded the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute. 100 years later and the Institute is on the verge of revolutionising the treatment of diabetes…something that may not have happened if it wasn’t for the millions made by Walter Hall from the Mount Morgan mine.
MINING
Last Thursday was the end of the road for Rio Tinto [ASX: RIO] CEO, Tom Albanese. Although Rio investors may have done pretty well the past five months, things haven’t been great since the failed takeover by BHP Billiton [ASX: BHP]. And it has been a long time since Rio shares traded above $150.
We’re sure it’s just a coincidence that iron ore prices finally halted a four-week run that had seen the price rise 34%…and almost double since the low last September:
But iron ore’s price run has created an anomaly. Iron ore is a key ingredient for steel. Another key ingredient is coking coal. Yet the coking coal price has hardly budged in six months. That’s odd. Investors usually pick out this anomalies quick-smart, but that hasn’t happened yet. Is there more to the story than we think? There could be. If the iron ore price keeps falling and the coking coal price stays where it is, it could suggest the Chinese economic rebound isn’t as strong as you’re led to believe.
From the Archives…
What Lower Interest Rates Mean for Australian Stocks in 2013
10-1-2013 – Kris Sayce
My Investing Resolution for 2013: Profit With the Rulers of the Universe
10-1-2013 – Bengt Saelensminde
Downside in the Yen: Shinzo Abe and the Three Bears
9-1-2013 – Murray Dawes
China’s Economy is Still Heading for a Hard Landing — Here’s a Better Bet
9-1-2013 – John Stepek
