Daily Digest 12/20 - The Great Disruption, Gold ETFs Vs. Gold Stocks, 2011 Year Of Big Gas Squeeze

• Doug Kass Rips Off a Primal Scream at Europe
• How To Lose Money Investing In Commodities
• The Great Disruption
• Jon Corzine, MF Global, And Unaccountability
• Gold ETFs Vs. Gold Stocks: Shunning Miners May Be An Error
• Gold will recover in 2012, says Smith & Williamson's Markova
• Trends in Indian Petroleum Production, Consumption and Imports
• At gas pump, 2011 was the year of the big squeeze
• Critical Mass

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Economy

Doug Kass Rips Off a Primal Scream at Europe (Ilene)

In a missive this morning entitled “The Opening Missive I Wanted to Write,” Kass, of Seabreeze Partners Management, unloads on Europe for spoiling what could have been a perfectly decent US stock market, given that everything seems to be coming up roses in the US economic data.

How To Lose Money Investing In Commodities (David B.)

One of the biggest issues commodity investors have is poor risk management with their investments. The hefty volatility that commodities display can often cause investors to exit a position prematurely, or to hold on for too long. Some may see signs of volatility and simply sell out to avoid further losses when holding on a bit longer would have led to profits. On the flip side, some investors see the volatility as a juicy opportunity and may keep faith in a position that has lost its way. Perhaps the most important thing an investors can do before making any kind of commodity trade is diligent research. Know how a commodity behaves and what factors play into its pricing. If the underlying fundamentals and technicals change, don’t be afraid to exit the position, but also make sure to not get discouraged by a few rough trading days.

The Great Disruption (woodman)

“Growth as we’ve known it is over, Paul Gilding and Richard Heinberg told a Climate One audience in San Francisco on November 7. Confronted by resource constraints and crippling debt, nations must instead focus on growth that respects nature’s limits.”

Jon Corzine, MF Global, And Unaccountability (June C.)

Acronym alert. SEC director, Robert Cook testified that MF Global Holding Company (like AIG) had no official consolidated supervisor regulating it; one of its subsidiaries, MF Global UK Limited, fell under the UK Financial Services Authority (FSA.) The other one, MF Global Inc. (MFGI) was registered under the Commodity Futures Trade Commission (CFTC) as a FCM (futures commission merchant) and also, under the SEC as a broker-dealer. It was the Chicago Board of Options Exchange (CBOE) supposedly overseeing MFGI’s broker-dealer activities, while its futures activities fell under the CFTC, National Futures Association and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME). Somewhere in the mix lurked the private self-regulatory body, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). Really, how many inept regulatory bodies does it take to screw customers out of $1.2 billion?

Gold ETFs Vs. Gold Stocks: Shunning Miners May Be An Error (ScubaRoo)

Golden Prospect Precious Metals, which Wong runs alongside fellow managers Will Smith and Ian Francis, has returned a massive 460% in the past three years, while the S&P GSCI Precious Metals index, a benchmark, has only risen 90.5%.

Gold will recover in 2012, says Smith & Williamson's Markova (ScubaRoo)

Markova, who co-manages the Smith & Williamson Global Gold & Resources fund with Bob Lyon, says gold will continue to grow in value as it’s the only asset governments cannot print. She also thinks undervalued shares in gold miners will rally.

Energy

Trends in Indian Petroleum Production, Consumption and Imports (Crash_Watcher)

India's rate of petroleum consumption for the last thirty years has been exponentially increasing and out-striping Indian's domestic production which is in a flat-to-declining trend. In 2010, India imported 75% of its petroleum, mostly from the MENA countries. This trend, of increasing dependence on foreign petroleum imports, is likely to continue, at least until the global export pool declines.

At gas pump, 2011 was the year of the big squeeze (Jeff B.)

The trap has caught Michael Reed of Charlotte, N.C. He hasn't been able to find work since he lost his computer-support job in 2009. Now high gas prices are claiming more of what he has left. He and his wife won't exchange gifts this Christmas.

Environment

Critical Mass (guardia)

This is how the government handled Minamata disease caused by industrial mercury poisoning in the 1950s and 60s, the HIV-tainted blood products problem in the 1980s, and the BSE scare of a decade ago. And now it is how it has handled Fukushima. Fear of spreading panic, for example, prevented warnings being issued on the dangers of radiation predicted by simulations. As a result, more residents than necessary were exposed.

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