Apr

25

Agricultural Stocks Go To Harvest

Teresa Lo @ 11:27 AM | | Start a Discussion 

25-rr.gifWith all the recent headlines, it’s no wonder investors have been hoarding ag stocks, but as discussed in last our April 16 podcast, the rise in global food prices has its roots in currency issues that need to be resolved.

Few people are qualified to explain the complex issues and even fewer understand them. The mass media dumbs the story down into manageable soundbites of sensational stuff, resulting in the phenomenon where investors are stumped when prices diverge sharply from the perceived fundamentals.

  • Dramatic spike in cost of flour will drive food prices higher, manager warns
    [Editor: This can only happen in Vancouver, where a loaf of bread is ALREADY $5.00] A dramatic spike in the price of flour over the past two months has led to a dire warning from a Vancouver food store manager. “It’s just going up, going up. Pretty soon you’ll be paying $10 for a loaf of sliced bread,” said Tina Rua of the First Ravioli Store on Commercial Drive yesterday. “Our supplier has told us we might end up getting our deliveries in a Brink’s truck. All our prices have gone sky-high.”
  • Skyrocketing rice prices has Sam’s Club limiting sales
    The store will limit customers to four 20-lb. bags of jasmine, basmati and long-grain white rice, the company said in a statement. Its restriction mainly will affect businesses that buy rice in bulk, but the company said “a typical Sam’s Club Business Member does not buy more than 80 pounds of rice in one visit.”
  • Food Rationing Confronts Breadbasket of the World
    An anonymous high-tech professional writing on an investment Web site, Seeking Alpha, said he recently bought 10 50-pound bags of rice at Costco. “I am concerned that when the news of rice shortage spreads, there will be panic buying and the shelves will be empty in no time. I do not intend to cause a panic, and I am not speculating on rice to make profit. I am just hoarding some for my own consumption,” he wrote.
  • Food Price Surge Could Mean ‘7 Lost Years’ in Poverty Fight
    Zoellick said the poor spend as much as 75 percent of their income on food. “In just two months, rice prices have skyrocketed to near historical levels, rising by around 75 percent globally,” he said. The price of wheat has risen 120 percent over the past year, he added. Over the past three years, food prices overall have risen 83 percent, the World Bank estimates.

A great example is the across-the-board collapse of many agriculture and related stocks yesterday. The news said one thing, but the prices did something else. Momentum investors are now caught in a bind typically found after the enthusiasm phase of the investor sentiment cycle, much as there were caught in the dry bulk shipping mania.

If you don’t believe me, check out this two-minute soundbite of Project Runway’s season one winner, Jay McCarroll who was a guest on Q yesterday [DOWNLOAD MP3]. Listen carefully to the last sentence. The last guy is on board…

To get a hint of how big the hit was yesterday, take a look at the percent change column on this week’s IBD 100 list. Of course, with their typical weekly turnover, the stinkers will be replaced in next week’s list, so no worries, eh? Thanks to Rex for the heads up on this one!

Ticker Close $Change %Change Description
FSTR 36.09 -9.06 -20.07% Foster (LB)
NEU 71.36 -16.96 -19.20% NewMarket Corporation
GENC 24.45 -3.53 -12.62% Gencor Industries Inc
TITN 20.58 -2.21 -9.70% Titan Machinery Inc
CMG 100 -9.9 -9.01% Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc
MOS 122.38 -10.89 -8.17% Mosaic Company
CF 137.61 -10.48 -7.08% CF Industries Holdings Inc
RRC 66.24 -4.31 -6.11% Range Resources
MTL 147.72 -8.89 -5.68% Mechel OAO
MON 118.92 -6.66 -5.30% Monsanto Co
BUCY 116.63 -6.39 -5.19% Bucyrus International Inc Cl A
DNR 30.6 -1.64 -5.09% Denbury Resources
POT 193.9 -10.22 -5.01% Potash Corp Saskatchewan
DWSN 72.62 -3.71 -4.86% Dawson Geophysical
RIO 37.33 -1.9 -4.84% Companhia Vale do Rio Doce ADS
SWN 37.59 -1.89 -4.79% Southwestern Energy
SQM 27.93 -1.34 -4.58% Sociedad Quimica Y Minera ADS
PQ 19.13 -0.84 -4.21% Petroquest Energy Inc
HK 22.65 -0.98 -4.15% PetroHawk Energy Corp
SD 43.65 -1.8 -3.96% Sandridge Energy Inc
ECA 80.15 -2.97 -3.57% EnCana Corporation
GTLS 39.68 -1.38 -3.36% Chart Industries Inc
FST 58.51 -2.02 -3.34% Forest Oil Corporation
CVA 28.61 -0.99 -3.34% Covanta Holding Corporation
CLB 127.62 -4.38 -3.32% Core Laboratories N.V.
TNE 25.65 -0.85 -3.21% Tele Norte Leste Partici ADS
ARD 44.64 -1.46 -3.17% Arena Resources Inc
RIG 151.86 -4.91 -3.13% TransOcean Inc
SDA 20.92 -0.64 -2.97% Sadia S.A. ADS
SID 42.63 -1.26 -2.87% Comp Siderurgica Nacional ADS
GGB 37.71 -1.09 -2.81% Gerdau S.A. ADS
KWK 39.81 -1.07 -2.62% Quicksilver Resources
AGU 84.73 -2.05 -2.36% Agrium Inc
RDC 39.96 -0.94 -2.30% Rowan Cos
ATW 105.26 -2.42 -2.25% Atwood Oceanics Inc
SII 75.99 -1.73 -2.23% Smith International Inc
BIDU 342 -7.66 -2.19% Baidu.com Inc
AFSI 16.14 -0.36 -2.18% AmTrust Financial Services Inc
FLS 111.4 -2.42 -2.13% Flowserve Corp
MDR 58.62 -1.25 -2.09% McDermott Intl
BGC 70.31 -1.44 -2.01% Genl Cable
CAM 48.2 -0.98 -1.99% Cameron International Corp
BDE 25.66 -0.49 -1.87% Bois D Arc Energy Inc
TNH 145.52 -2.68 -1.81% Terra Nitrogen Com L.p. Uts
DE 88.89 -1.61 -1.78% Deere & Co
SOL 17.27 -0.3 -1.71% Renesola Ltd
BMI 50.02 -0.86 -1.69% Badger Meter
CEDC 60.4 -0.99 -1.61% Central European Dstr
ISRG 278.6 -4.35 -1.54% Intuitive Surgical
ENI 19.21 -0.25 -1.28% Enersis S.A. ADS
NGS 27.24 -0.35 -1.27% Natural Gas Svcs Grp
SNHY 29.84 -0.37 -1.22% Sun Hydraulics
FTI 66.56 -0.81 -1.20% FMC Technologies
HOS 48 -0.49 -1.01% Hornbeck Offshore Services
TTES 55.75 -0.56 -0.99% T-3 Energy Svcs Inc
NOV 72.91 -0.71 -0.96% National Oilwell Varco Inc
ITU 26 -0.25 -0.95% Banco Itau Holding Financeira
PVA 50.84 -0.47 -0.92% Penn Virginia
GEF 65.25 -0.59 -0.90% Greif Inc A
EGN 71.1 -0.51 -0.71% Energen Corp
WFT 79.97 -0.48 -0.60% WeatherFord Intl
PCLN 125.03 -0.76 -0.60% Priceline.com Inc
EOC 49.14 -0.28 -0.57% Empresa Nacl De El(Chile)ADS
POWI 31.84 -0.16 -0.50% Power Integrations Inc
BAP 78.82 -0.37 -0.47% Credicorp Ltd
GHM 54.8 -0.23 -0.42% Graham Corp
CLR 42.09 -0.13 -0.31% Continental Resources Inc
VIP 29.62 -0.09 -0.30% Open-Joint/Vimpel Commun ADS
RBN 39.76 -0.11 -0.28% Robbins & Myers
NE 56.92 -0.1 -0.18% Noble Corp
PDE 43.13 -0.04 -0.09% Pride Intl
CCH 45.83 -0.02 -0.04% Coca-Cola Hellenic ADS
VMI 99.8 0.3 0.30% Valmont Indus
LKQX 21.02 0.09 0.43% LKQ Corp
BBD 21.72 0.1 0.46% Banco Bradesco SA Pfd ADS
KOP 48.22 0.25 0.52% Koppers Holdings Inc
$SPX.X 1388.81 8.83 0.64% S&P 500 Index
MFLO 18.48 0.13 0.71% Moldflow Corp
CTRP 58.92 0.43 0.74% Ctrip.com Intl
$NDX.X 1924.58 17.92 0.94% Nasdaq 100 Index
OLN 22.49 0.23 1.03% Olin Corp
URBN 32.94 0.35 1.07% Urban Outfitters
MCRS 35.85 0.41 1.16% Micros Systems
DECK 117.45 1.41 1.22% Deckers Outdoor
KSU 42.05 0.53 1.28% Kansas City Southern
MPWR 21.25 0.27 1.29% Monolithic Power Systems Inc
ANSS 40.5 0.55 1.38% Ansys Inc
GME 55.97 0.76 1.38% Gamestop Corp A
ISYS 30.14 0.48 1.62% Integral Systems
GTI 20.28 0.34 1.71% Graftech Intl
EDU 73.55 1.37 1.90% Oriental Educ & Tech Group
EXLS 24.6 0.46 1.91% ExlService Hldgs Inc
RIMM 123.66 2.83 2.34% Research In Motion
CSX 60.77 1.41 2.38% CSX Corp
MA 239.55 5.61 2.40% Mastercard Incorporated
KEX 57.61 1.61 2.88% Kirby Corp
WFR 75.35 2.15 2.94% Memc Electronic Materials
PSEM 16 0.46 2.96% Pericom Semiconductor
WDC 31.25 1.01 3.34% Western Digital
CMCO 29.93 1.15 4.00% Columbus Mckinnon
JST 37.55 1.47 4.07% Jinpan Intl
CNQR 33.34 1.65 5.21% Concur Technologies

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