The big daddy of underground investors, Jim Rogers, says the best way to play this downturn is to focus on commodities and agriculture ETFs (hat tip The Daily Crux). The primary logic behind this play is simple to understand.

The global population is peaking and is consuming more food than it’s producing. This will make food scarcer and cause it to rise in price.

But there are more subtle reasons for investing in commodities right now. Rogers says that although stocks may touch crazy valuations in the near term, they may be in worthless currencies – a vista Notes readers will be familiar with. This from a recent interview with Rogers in the Economic Times:

Central banks all over the world have printed huge amounts of money, and the real economy is not strong enough for all this money to be absorbed… so, it’s going into stocks and real assets such as commodities. It’s a

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MARKET COMMENT January 20, 2009 That wasn’t the type of greeting Obama was expecting from markets I suppose. (I think markets behaved similarly the day after the election.) Maybe it’s just that most investors were hanging out at the Mall in DC or watching TV. This is one ugly market featuring disappointments atop disappointments. It seems simple enough: earnings and outlooks suck, write-downs continue, plant closings continue apace, a new administration isn’t up to speed yet and so forth. Then we have dramatic recent headlines like “biggest rally since WWII” and today “worst yearly start since 1928” and so forth. Nothing is being done moderately. Selling today was broadbased early with materials (Alcoa), energy (Conoco), drugs (Pfizer), financials (State Street trashed and so were others) and tech (IBM) leading the decline. Volume was moderate ...

Gold futures climb to two-and-a-half-month high Gold has seen "increased support as a safe haven investment during these uncertain economic times," Beahm said in emailed comments. "Coming off their worst June since the 1930s, the financial markets are just too volatile right now for many investors to feel confident."Mining, fertilizers and energy to benefit from rising inflationDespite the S&P 500's troubles, as the saying goes, there's always a bull market somewhere. And when seeking strong sectors, the inflationary backdrop is worth considering.IEA Slashes 2012 il Demand ForecastThe International Energy Agency cut more than 3 million barrels a day from its 2012 global demand forecast because record prices and slower economic growth will curb fuel purchases. A drop in OPEC spare capacity to ...

General Automotive Company (OTCBB: GNAU) reported their financial figures for the first quarter ended March 31, 2008. The company is a provider of original equipment and aftermarket automotive parts, mobile electronics, and related automotive products covering a number of levels of distribution throughout the U.S. and worldwide. They have long-lasting relationships with manufacturers in China, Korea, and Japan which allows them to bring high-quality automotive parts and accessories to automobile manufacturers in the United States.

Revenue rose 51% to $4.07 million for first quarter 2008 compared to $2.69 million a year ago. Gross profit totaled $345,000 for first quarter 2008 compared to last year’s total of $482,000. Net loss was reported to be $504,000, or $0.07 per diluted share, a change from last year’s first quarter’s net loss of $443,000, or $1.15 per diluted share.

Joe DeFrancisci, President and CEO of General Automotive, said, “Since General

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