Fuel Your Portfolio With BHP Billiton (NYSE: BHP): The Best-Run Commodities Company In The World

by Tony Daltorio, Investment U Research

Some companies just stand out – both in their own sectors and in the larger market.

Australian firm BHP Billiton (NYSE: BHP) is one of them.

As the largest and most diversified commodities producer in the world, BHP has leading positions in most key, low-cost, metal and mineral deposits in the world.

And as if that weren’t enough, it also has a solid position in oil, thanks to its petroleum division, which had operating profits of $4 billion last year.

Impressively, that total only made the petroleum division BHP’s third-best performer in 2008. Its iron ore segment scooped up $6.23 billion, while base metals enjoyed a $4.62 billion operating profit.

Crucially, that sets BHP’s oil division apart from its competitors. Not only

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Five Ways To Profit From The Commodity Nobody Likes

Tony Daltorio, Investment U Research

Forget Superman… the real man of steel is Lakshmi Mittal, chairman of the world’s biggest steelmaker, Arcelor Mittal ADR (NYSE: MT).

Mittal has built an empire – and a personal fortune – by being optimistic when it comes to the global steel industry. And he still maintains that confidence today, recently going on record to say that global demand could rise by more than 10% in 2010.

Meanwhile, many of his peers in the industry sport trembling lower lips over their present and future.

Believe it or not, that ongoing debate matters to everybody, not just those investing directly in the commodity. Steel demand feeds into a huge range of sectors, so much so that many regard it as an important bellwether of industrial trends.

The Half-Empty, Steel Glass

Other than

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China has an environmental problem which the government has been aware of for years. Polluters have been able to dump massive amounts of toxic wastes into China’s air and water for many years with no repercussions because the mandate from Beijing was for economic growth at all costs.

But that is all changing. China now has an environmental movement among its people which is in its infancy, but growing quickly. The interesting facet of China’s nascent environmental movement is that the central government in Beijing is actually listening to the environmentalists, at least to a certain extent. They are cracking down on some of the worst polluters and shutting them down.

Beginning in late 2008, Beijing began a crackdown on numerous illegal, dangerous coal mines which also happened to be the biggest polluting mines. Many of these operations have been shut down permanently.

Many investors may think to themselves – so what?

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European shares touched a 10-month high on Friday on optimism for a global economic recovery and with Nokia and results from U.S. bellwethers boosting the technology sector.

The FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> index of top European shares rose 1 percent to 978.34 points. Over the week, the index climbed 1.2 percent, its sixth weekly gain in the last seven weeks.

The European benchmark index is up more than 51 percent from its lifetime low of March 9, as investors have become more confident on the prospects of economic recovery.

“Things look good for the time being, but the higher we go the more we could be setting ourselves up for a disappointment,” said Andy Lynch, a fund manager at Schroders.

“The world economy is doing well, French and German GDP are positive, but that’s not surprising given the amount of stimulus being pumped into the market. I have a concern about what happens when the sugar

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LAS VEGAS, NV–(CRWENewswire - 08/28/09) - Dana Resources (OTC.BB:DANR - News), a US-based precious metals exploration and development company, is pleased to announce it is meeting with joint venture candidates about Dana Resources’ base metals projects. Dana Resources currently owns and operates seven mining projects located in Peru’s most prolific mining regions.

 

Dana Resources owns two advanced staged base metal projects, Las Horquetas and Turmalina. The Las Horquetas project is located in the copper-gold belt northeast of the Tambo Grande deposits and had a joint venture with BHP Billiton in 2001. BHP Billiton’s proprietary Falcon survey was flown over the project. Samples of 5.39 grams per ton gold and 5.71% copper have been assayed. Turmalina is Dana Resources’ other advanced staged base metals project. The Turmalina project is located in Northern Peru and as of 2007, existing high grade reserves were 305,586 tons of 2.5% copper (15 million pounds of copper).

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European shares slipped back from a 10-month closing high on Wednesday, as investors took profits, even as German and U.S. economic data continued to point to recovery.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> index of top shares fell 0.5 percent to close at 973.92 points, breaking a four-day winning streak, and having hit its highest close since early October on Tuesday.

The European benchmark index is still up 50.9 percent from its lifetime low of March 9, as investors have become more confident on the prospects of recovery.

“The market has come a long way, and the economics are still supportive,” said Georgina Taylor, equity strategist, Legal & General Investment Management.

“We’re just seeing a little profit taking. Nothing has been derailed. Housing data is improving. The only area of concern is consumer spending.”

Energy companies were the biggest drag on the index, with crude prices down more than 1 percent to just above $71 a barrel,

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Chinese Metals Boosted by Stimulus

Tony Daltorio, The Investment U Research Team

At least one government stimulus package seems to be working right now. But, it’s not the United States. If only our stimulus program was as successful as the “cash for clunkers.” Unfortunately, we’re closer to clunker with the rest of economic stimulus.

The stimulus package we’re talking about is in the country that many pundits love to hate – China. So far this year, China’s economy has accounted for virtually all of the world’s economic growth. Including China, global growth is 1.6 percent. Without it, growth was flat to slightly down.

Here are just a couple examples of China’s successful stimulus:

China’s auto market is now growing at 50% per year and has surpassed the United States as the world’s ...

Adding Iron for a Healthy Portfolio

Tony Daltorio, The Investment U Research Team

Hiking along back-trails has a calming effect, is good for your cardiovascular system, and is good for your health in general. It’s serene, with few people around.

Hiking along investment back-trails where few Wall Street sales people are around can also have a good effect on you. It can be profitable and very good for your portfolio’s health.

One such isolated back-trail can be found in the world of commodities, which Wall Street usually gives the cold shoulder. This particular commodity does not even have futures traded on it, so Wall Street completely ignores it.

The commodity is iron ore. (Let’s?) take a look at the positive fundamentals for iron ore and the ways that investors can profit from it.

Iron Ore and China

Iron ore is

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The oil price is stubborn, like a two-year-old who refuses to eat his mashed peas. Despite all evidence that the market is well supplied, oil is over $70 a barrel again as I write. Taking the view out to the horizon, though, I think it will go higher and will drag the price of most commodities higher in its wake.

Part of the reason for the rise is weakness in the dollar. People often say that oil is denominated in dollars. But maybe it is the other way around; dollars are denominated in oil. A dollar is worth how much oil it can buy. Part of oil’s rise is simply marking down the value of the dollar. Weak dollar means higher oil prices.

People will blame the higher oil price on speculators, but something interesting is happening in the markets for minor metals like molybdenum. Prices are rising, too. The silvery metal,

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How to Prepare for the Storm Brewing in Copper

Tony Daltorio, The Investment U Research Team

There is a copper-red sky this morning – it reminds me that a serious “storm” is brewing for Copper.

Copper is one of the most important commodities in the world. It is a key component of the engine powering the vehicle called ‘global economic growth.’

The widely used reddish metal is a vitally important element in global industrial development. Much of the world’s infrastructure – construction, transportation, telecommunications, etc. – depends on copper.

Yet, copper is rarely mentioned on Wall Street. It is dismissed as “only” a commodity.

When copper is discussed, the full story is never told. At best, it is mentioned that copper demand has fallen in the United States because of the recession. Fair enough. But there is a lot more to the copper

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