Rare Earth Metals: Stocks and a new ETF (AVL.TO; NEM.TO; QRM.X)

UPDATE Oct. 27: "Van Eck To Begin Trading The Market Vectors Rare Earth/Strategic Metals ETF October 28th"
Two from RareMetalBlog:

BLOG: New US-based Minor Metals ETF Announced

We got word today that another company has entered into the rare metals ETF fray. Van Eck Associates Corporation, a subsidiary of Van Eck Global, a New York-based financial outfit, gave notice to the US Securities & Exchange Commission of its intent to form just such an ETF. The new vehicle, called the Market Vectors Minor Metals ETF, will be tied to a basket of up to 30 publicly traded companies in the minor metals sector, in order to track to the Minor Metals Index that is managed by Structured Solutions AG of Germany.

This follows news earlier this year that Switzerland-based Dolefin had launched its REE Fund, a similar concept albeit more narrowly focused with respect to the underlying commodities associated with its holdings. 

Van Eck plans to invest a minimum of 80% of fund assets in companies tracked by the Minor Metals Index, with the fund's performance expected to closely match that of the index.

Structured Solutions also manages a wide range of other indices, including the Solactive Rare Earth Total Return Index, which tracks the performance of the "at maximum 15 largest listed companies whose main business operations are exploration, mining, investing in Rare Earth and/or direct investments in Rare Earth mines." At present this list includes Lynas Corp, China Rare Earth Holdings, Avalon Rare Metals, Arafura Resources, Quest Rare Minerals and Rare Element Resources. Structured Solutions apparently updates the list every quarter. There was little information on the Structured Solutions web site pertaining to the Minor Metals Index; once we have the list of companies being tracked, we'll let you know.

And his handy stock chart (Warning! There's a lot of mine waste out there):

RareMetal StockChart for Monday, June 28, 2010

Company	Symbol	As of June 28, 2010
		Latest Price	Change		Time	High	Low	Volume	52 Weeks
			Net	%					High	Low
Avalon Rare Metals	AVL-T	2.200	0.010	0.46	15:59	2.270	2.170	148,195	4.240	1.490
Bolero Resources	BRU-X	0.170	0.000	0.00	15:59	0.185	0.170	143,300	0.690	0.155
Cache Exploration	CAY-X	0.450	0.070	18.42	12:28	0.450	0.405	5,000	0.420	0.030
Commerce Resources	CCE-X	0.240	0.000	0.00	12:58	0.245	0.235	63,719	0.820	0.205
Canadian Orebodies	CO-X	0.075	-0.005	-6.25	14:37	0.090	0.075	94,900	0.245	0.025
Dacha Capital	DAC-X	0.640	0.000	0.00	15:59	0.640	0.610	31,200	1.050	0.400
Fieldex Exploration	FLX-X	0.135	0.015	12.50	14:07	0.135	0.130	42,700	0.290	0.040
Great Western Minerals Group	GWG-X	0.160	-0.010	-5.88	15:52	0.170	0.160	387,160	0.460	0.085
Hudson Resources	HUD-X	0.660	0.030	4.76	15:45	0.660	0.620	142,730	1.670	0.170
Matamec Explorations	MAT-X	0.140	0.010	7.69	12:37	0.140	0.120	55,000	0.275	0.055
Midland Exploration	MD-X	1.400	0.000	0.00	15:39	1.400	1.400	400	1.540	0.670
Neo Material Technologies	NEM-T	3.780	0.030	0.80	15:59	3.800	3.750	101,882	5.050	1.860
Quantum Rare Earth Development	QRE-X	0.240	0.000	0.00	12:56	0.240	0.230	12,600	0.640	0.150
Quest Rare Minerals Ltd.	QRM-X	2.140	-0.010	-0.47	15:59	2.150	2.060	34,350	4.260	0.290
Rare Earth Metals	RA-X	0.185	0.020	12.12	15:20	0.185	0.165	22,700	0.680	0.165
Rare Element Resources	RES-X	2.200	-0.020	-0.90	15:03	2.270	2.170	27,150	4.690	1.510
Stans Energy	RUU-X	0.220	-0.045	-16.98	14:50	0.220	0.220	70,800	0.520	0.015
Strategic Metals	SMD-X	0.680	0.000	0.00	15:55	0.680	0.660	41,000	0.750	0.255
Tasman Metals	TSM-X	0.710	0.000	0.00	15:56	0.720	0.700	21,200	1.500	0.400
Ucore Uranium	UCU-X	0.220	0.010	4.76	15:58	0.220	0.200	157,945	1.000	0.205
Zimtu Capital	ZC-X	1.110	-0.070	-5.93	15:54	1.110	1.110	40,000	1.600	0.880

Posted by Tracy Weslosky at 05:09 PM in RareMetalBlog StockCharts | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack

General Electric: "Immelt hits out at China and Obama" (GE)

UPDATE: "General Electric says CEO comments reported out of context but There Were Earlier Signs (GE)"
Original post:
Very odd, publicly rebuking your overlords.
GE is the poster child for "State Capitalism".
From the Financial Times:

Jeffrey Immelt, General Electric’s chief executive, has launched a rare public broadside against the Chinese government, which he accused of being increasingly hostile to foreign multinationals.
He warned that the world’s largest manufacturing company was contemplating better prospects elsewhere in resource-rich countries and that those nations did not want to be “colonised” by Chinese investors.

“I really worry about China,” Mr Immelt told an audience of dozens of top Italian executives, referring to the Chinese government which he accused of becoming increasingly protectionist. “I am not sure that in the end they want any of us to win, or any of us to be successful.”
Mr Immelt also had harsh words for Barack Obama, US president, lamenting what he called a “terrible” national mood and expressing concern that over-regulation in response to the global financial crisis would damp a “tepid” US economic recovery.
Business did not like the US president, and the president did not like business, he said, making a point of praising Angela Merkel, Germany’s chancellor, for her defence of German industry.

“People are in a really bad mood [in the US],” the 54-year-old executive told an audience of somewhat surprised Europeans who had seen higher levels of US growth as a beacon of recovery.
“We [the US] are a pathetic exporter… we have to become an industrial powerhouse again but you don’t do this when government and entrepreneurs are not in synch.”

Mentioning a meeting with Jean-Claude Trichet, he said the president of the European Central Bank “worries about inflation everyday”, in contrast to Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve, who will keep interest rates “at zero” as long as necessary.
Coming off one of the most challenging years in GE’s long history, Mr Immelt voiced many “worries” on his mind, including the prospect of persistent low growth in Europe and listing Greece, Spain and Ireland for their “volatility”.

Mr Immelt acknowledged the importance of the Chinese market, which contributed $5.3bn to the group’s revenues last year, but declared that GE was encountering its toughest business conditions there in 25 years.
“China and India remain important for GE but I am thinking about what is next,” he said, mentioning what he called “most interesting resource-rich countries” in the Middle East, Africa, Latin America plus Indonesia.
“They don’t all want to be colonised by the Chinese. They want to develop themselves,” he said.
The comments from the GE chief echo a rising chorus of complaints from foreign business groups in China about the regulatory environment they face. However, it is extremely unusual for senior executives at companies with extensive operations in the country to voice such public criticisms, for fear of retaliation from Beijing.

Foreign companies have complained about China’s public procurement policies, about technology encryption rules that some IT companies claim will force them to hand over key software secrets to the Chinese government, and a general increase in discrimination in favour of local companies.
Speaking of GE Capital, its finance arm that generates about half of total group revenues, Mr Immelt said some kind of global homogenisation of banking regulation was inevitable, adding: “It is impossible for countries to like growth and hate banks.”

Having taken over GE just four days before al-Qaeda’s strike against the US in September 2001, Mr Immelt was also worried about what he called “tail events”. He mentioned the 9-11 attacks, Hurricane Katrina which hit New Orleans in 2005, the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008 and, finally, BP’s Gulf of Mexico disaster.
“How do you run a company when a one in a million chance can happen?” he concluded.
GE was hosting the dinner on the roof-top of Castel Sant’Angelo, a former Vatican fortress and prison, now a museum, overlooking Rome.

Corn: A one day Wonder?

It seems like only yesterday [it was -ed] that we posted "Surprising Corn Numbers"" with the futures at 348.25.
Today the futures are down a penny at 372.50. As you can see, there was some action in the interim.
Here's more from DTN's Market Matters blog (they talk cash prices rather than futures):

Cash Corn, Wheat Bids Bump Up

Was it a one-day wonder? or will farmers be able to find some higher bids for corn and wheat if they wait until later to get some grain to town -- that's the question for the morning after a near-limit-up move on the board boosted the DTN cash corn index 29 cents and the SRW wheat index by 20 cents.

At $3.24, the corn index looks a lot better than it did at $2.95, but how appealing that might be in the bigger picture may be the issue for producers who need closer to $4 to cover last fall's dryer bills.

Wednesday's other surprise was in wheat, where news from the reports of even bigger acreage and more burdensome ending stocks failed to keep prices from moving higher. The DTN cash wheat indexes were up about 20 cents for SRW and HRW, 8 cents for HRS. 

The strength in wheat left DTN Senior Analyst Darin Newsom in a quandary; as he said in his comments to subscribers in the Early Word Opening Grain Comments, "In reality, the fact that U.S. wheat ending stocks to use projecting out to near 50 percent should be enough to knock the legs out from under the market. The only thing is, it hasn't yet."

Overnight trade was firm to a couple cents higher for all three commodities at 6 a.m., so that's how the needle is pointing for opening calls for Friday's day session. 

Media Critique: "Is al Qaeda's new English-language magazine any good?"

Why do they hate trees?
From Foreign Policy's Passport blog:

Answer: no. It is terrible. But perhaps there are some idiots out there who will find it appealing.
According to the Daily Beast's Lloyd Grove, the U.S. government is apparently "deeply concerned" that the magazine, called Inspire, will spread al Qaeda's message to susceptible audiences in the West. Grove quotes an anonymous counterterrorism official saying, "The packaging of this magazine may be slick, but the contents are as vile as the authors."

Actually, no -- the packaging is not slick at all. It's very "I played around with Microsoft Publisher for a few hours."

Marc Ambinder gots his paws on a copy of the first issue, and it's as ridiculous as you might imagine. One article, by someone named "the AQ chef," is called "Make a Bomb in the Kitchen of Your Mom.">>>MORE

ABB Clears Way for Emerson on Chloride (ABB; EMR; CHLD.L)

From DealBook:

ABB, the Swiss engineering company, said Thursday that it would not continue its attempt to buy the British company Chloride by matching Emerson Electric’s improved offer of $1.5 billion.

“While we still see considerable value in the combination of ABB and Chloride and have a high regard for the Chloride management team, we must take a disciplined approach when assessing potential acquisitions,” Joe Hogan, ABB’s chief executive, said.

In response to the ABB statement, Chloride said it would enter talks with Emerson over its latest bid.

Emerson, after a first offer of $1.1 billion was rejected by Chloride this spring, topped ABB’s $1.25 billion bid this week, and Chloride on Wednesday called its offer of 375 pence per share the “superior proposal,” just weeks after recommending ABB’s offer.

Chloride provides equipments that assures clients uninterrupted electric power, a sector in which Emerson, based in St. Louis, Missouri, is already active, and which ABB was seeking to enter with the deal....MORE

See also: 

"ABB: Decades of Growth for Infrastructure Leader" (ABB; CHLD.L) 

"Everyone Wants A Piece Of the Electric Vehicle Market " and "The Coming Bull Market In Lead-Acid Batteries, Part II" (ABB; XIDE, HEV, ENS, GE, CHP, AONE,)

Zacks Upgrades American International Group, Market Yawns (AIG)

The stock is up 6 cents at $34.50.
Long time readers know we don't much care for these shares but as Will Rogers said:
“A difference of opinion is what makes horse racing and missionaries.”
(A variant is attributed to Twain)
[or another Twain:"The rule is perfect: in all matters of opinion our adversaries are insane." -ed]

From Zacks:

We are upgrading our recommendation on the shares of American International Group (AIG - Analyst Report). The company is poised to grow its top line on the back of the reviving economy and equity market appreciation in the upcoming quarters.

AIG's first quarter earnings were substantially ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate, primarily driven by the company's robust results in its insurance operations and significant improvement in its investment income. AIG also benefited from a recovery in the value of its investments and benefits, as well as its claims expense control.

As part of its effort to repay the bailout money, the company continues to implement several restructuring initiatives, including the disposal of assets and increase of operating efficiencies.
American Int&39;l Group (AIG) : FULL ANALYST REPORT
(10 page PDF)

 

UPDATED: Sometimes the Crowd is Right: Relatively Heavy Call Activity in Anadarko Petroleum (APC)

UPDATE: Another reader emails that the strangle is more bearish because the seller has more leeway to the downside, over 45% than the upside 34%, before the trade loses money.
Good points but for differences of opinion see the post above.
Original post:
In pre-market action stock is trading up $0.68 at $36.77.
Yesterday we posted "Bullish Options Plays in Anadarko Petroleum (APC)" and I received a couple emails that implied I had lost my marbles.
We answer all mail.
One writer asked if I had seen Talking Points Memo's "Exclusive: BP Bills Anadarko $272 Million In Gulf Spill Response".
Yes I had. I believe it was at Clusterstock.
Another asked "What about this Barron's story: BP: WSJ on More Bad Decisions, But FT Points at Anadarko"
Yes indeedy.

The thing is, if you go to that bullish option plays story, it's a short strangle.
Sell the puts/sell the calls. A bet on the stock being stuck between the strikes. I called it bullish because the trader had to have a friendly prime to make sure they have the credit available to them should the stock get put and they now are the proud owner of 500,000 APC's.
Here's Schaeffer's Research morning line up, which of these is not like the others?:

"In Pictures: Would BP's CEO Have Been Executed In China?' (BP)

This is hilarious. And note perfect.
From Forbes:

Some time ago we reached the "China Zone" for the BP story. The China Zone is where you are ready to believe any story you hear happened in the country, because no matter how unbelievable it is, you just think to yourself, "Ha, that's China!"

It has reached the point where we will believe anything we hear about BP. Tony Hayward spear-fishing for The Little Mermaid, as The Daily Showrecently posited? Only implausible because she is a fictional creature. (Inspiration for the China Zone comes from The Sports Guy Bill Simmons' "Tyson Zone" at ESPN.com).

I came to this realization as I tried to imagine how the BP oil spill would have unfolded if it had happened in China. In recognition of China's tendency to do everything roughly 1,000 times faster than in the West, I imagined the crisis reaching its conclusion in just 10 days. --Gady Epstein 

Day One

What if...? An explosion ruptures a well that is run by BP and its Chinese partner CNOOC (the company that tried to buy Unocal five years ago, only to lose out to Chevron), letting loose a gusher of oil into the waters of Bohai Bay, less than 200 miles southeast of Beijing. CNOOC's offshore rig, the Harmonious Tranquility, sinks in the accident.

Day Two

What if...? No mention is made of the oil spill in state media. CCTV, the national TV giant--imagine a U.S. government-owned merger of the networks owned by Time Warner, CBS and General Electric, and you're a fraction of the way there--instead airs a short feature on "beautiful Bohai Bay." The piece extols China's commitment to preserving its natural wonders and notes cryptically, "China is still a developing country and is held to an unfair double standard, unlike Western countries that have been allowed to pollute wantonly first and then clean up their environment."

Day Three

What if...? Rumors of a disastrous oil spill are all over the Web. Netizens post updated Google Earth satellite photos on Chinese portals Sina and Sohu only to see them removed immediately by censors. Chinese search engine Baidu directs queries for "Bohai Bay oil spill" to Web pages trumpeting China's pressing need for energy security. Aggressive Chinese media outlets, trying to circumvent strict instructions from propaganda officials, report obliquely that fishermen in Bohai Bay are complaining they cannot leave shore due to an "atypical ocean event"--a phrase that immediately becomes a trending topic on Chinese Twitter clones.

Day Four

What if...? The oil spill is now officially news. Premier Wen Jiabao, cutting short a trip to a Zambian copper mine, races to the disaster zone. Outfitted in fishing attire, Wen cleans the oil from a seabird and consoles Chinese fishermen. He promises the government will "resolutely" defend China's natural resources against the "atypical ocean event."

"I understand the pain that you are going through," Wen says, holding back tears. "We will unswervingly dedicate the Communist Party Central Committee to the goal of achieving an overall moderately prosperous society." Images of sympathetic "Grandpa Wen" blanket the state media.

Six MORE.
Do not miss days 6,8,9 and 10.