George Putnam
The Turnaround Letter
John Reese
Validea
Elliott Gue
Personal Finance
Nicholas Vardy
Bull Market Alert

Powershares Agriculture (DBA): Invest in crop circles!


Bookmark and Share

 "There are many reasons to like PowerShares DB Agriculture (NYSE: DBA), and ETF that tracks agricultural commodity prices," says fund expert Doug Fabian.

In The ETF Trader, he explains, "We like the technical picture. In addition, we believe commodities are a great hedge against inflation." Here's his assessment.

"I’m a pretty skeptical guy; one of the more wild claims of the past decade or so was that so-called 'alien' crop circles -- those bizarre patterns carved into wheat, corn and other fields around the globe.

"Well, I say forget about the aliens, but don’t forget about the patterns taking shape in the world’s key agricultural crops.

Advertisement
Banner

"The patterns being cut into price charts of crops like corn, soybeans, sugar and wheat all have given us one compelling message, and that message is it’s time to buy.

"That’s why I now am recommending that you purchase the PowerShares DB Agriculture (NYSE: DBA). This is an ETF that seeks to track the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the Deutsche Bank Liquid Commodity Index - Optimum Yield Agriculture Excess Return.

"This index is composed of futures contracts on corn, soybeans, sugar and wheat, some of the most liquid and widely traded agricultural commodities.

"There are many reasons to like DBA besides just its technical picture. First off, commodities are a great hedge against inflation. 

"Second, many of the countries with the biggest demand for agricultural commodities are experiencing explosive growth.

"China, India and Brazil all are in hyper-growth mode, and that means demand for commodities is going to continue being very strong.

"In addition to the strong demand for these big four crops, we also know that the supply of these commodities is not growing fast enough to meet demand. According to some industry estimates, food inventories are currently at multi-decade lows. 

"And what do you get when you have increasing demand and a decreasing supply? That’s right, higher prices.

"The underlying index that this ETF tracks is now trading right at its 200-day moving average. There’s been a pullback in DBA during the past several weeks, and that pullback has now given me the go ahead to buy DBA.

"In addition to your buy orders for DBA, I also want you to place a stop-loss order at 10% below your buy price. Putting in a stop loss is a must in this fund, as it tends to be more volatile than your average equity ETF. If you are not prepared to put in a stop loss with your buy order, I recommend not putting in a buy."


News Flash

Taseko Mines: Copper gains
by Brien Lundin, editor Gold Newsletter

Taseko Mines Limited (TGB) began January by announcing its fourth quarter and year-end production results for 2011 at its 75%-owned Gibraltar Mine in British Columbia.


Read more...

 

Select Dividend for equity income
by Benjamin Shepherd, editor Wall Street

For just the second time since 1947, the dividend yield on the S&P 500 exceeds the yield on 10-year US Treasury notes. The S&P 500 currently yields 2.2 percent, while 10-year Treasuries yield just 1.85 percent.


Read more...


   

Goldcorp: 'My favorite major'
by Curtis Hesler, editor Professional Timing Service

The secular bull in gold and the commodity sector is not over. However, it is not at the ground floor any longer either; as such, stock selection must be more carefully considered.


Read more...

 

Money manager's small cap buys
by Jim Oberweis Jr., editor The Oberweis Report

Small-cap growth stock valuations are cheap, and like most things in life, economies are cyclical, even if this is a long and painful one. For the rare, brave contrarian with a reasonably long time horizon, that spells opportunity.


Read more...

 

Opportunities in homebuilding?
by Bernie Schaeffer, editor Schaeffer's Investment Research

Based on our "expectational analysis" strategy -- which  combines fundamental, sentiment and technical metrics -- I initiated long positions in two homebuilding stocks: Lennar Corporation (LEN) and Toll Brothers (TOL).


Read more...

 

Cliffs Natural: A DRIP favorite
by Vita Nelson, editor MoneyPaper

Our latest featured dividend reinvestment stock is Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF). Founded in 1847, the former Cleveland-Cliffs is the largest producer of iron ore pellets in North America.


Read more...

 

S&P's trio of info tech ETFS
by Dylan Cathers, S&P Capital IQ Equity Analyst, S&P The Outlook

Information technology is one of four sectors that S&P Capital IQ’s Sector Strategy Group currently recommends investors overweight in their portfolios.


Read more...

 

Crescent Point: Bakken bet
by Brian Hicks, editor Wealth Advisory

Master Limited Partnerships (MLPs) are unique investments that combine the tax benefits of a limited partnership (LP) with the liquidity of common stock.


Read more...

 

Natural gas: A bottom?
by Jason Cimpl, editor Daily Profit

Natural gas has collapsed for the past four years and has been on a gradual decline for almost a decade. Prices topped near $16 in 2005 and then declined to $2. So did natural gas just bottom?


Read more...

 

FBR Focus bests 99% of peers
by Walter Frank, editor MoneyLetter

Funds that invest in a relatively few stocks or sectors are less diversified than broadly invested funds and their volatility can be much higher. But the team at FBR Focus (FBRVX) seems to be getting it right.


Read more...