Refining stocks have been on fire this year. Shares of the five major US independent refiners are up an average of 24.3 percent year to date, significantly outpacing the 13.4 percent gain posted by the S&P 500 Energy Index.
The rotation out of safe-haven bonds and into stocks has just begun.
The recent unrest in the Middle East won’t be a long-term headwind for the global economy or equity markets. Rather, it’s just a convenient excuse for some profit-taking and marks an excellent opportunity to buy stocks.
Although oil prices are rising and consumers will have to shell out more at the pump, the costs of other types of energy continue to fall or are hovering near multiyear lows.
The Libyan situation serves as reminder that even a relatively small disruption in global supplies will have a major impact on oil prices. Global oil supplies are far tighter than many investors imagine.
Investors have plenty of questions about the complex dynamics that drive global energy markets. Our resident expert Elliott Gue has the answers.
Although investors shouldn’t be surprised if the broader market occasionally pulls back 5 to 10 percent, they also shouldn’t worry: Economic data supports additional upside, and institutions continue to shift money from government and investment-grade corporate bonds to equities.
Short-term gyrations aside, agricultural commodity prices will continue to climb, as we face a supply-demand crunch of epic proportions. I expect this resource crisis to be one of the biggest investing opportunities of the coming decade.
Amid the welter of misleading headlines about WTI prices and the implications of Egypt’s regime change, fourth-quarter earnings results from our Portfolio holdings serve as a reminder of the trends driving global energy markets and related stocks.
Dietary shifts in emerging markets have serious implications for food shortages and price inflation.
