It has been recently reported that Canpotex – a partnership between Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (POT), Agrium Inc. (AGU) and Mosaic Co. (MOS) – has agreed to supply potash to India at $460 per ton. This is much lower than potash prices of about $700 per ton agreed upon with India last year.

Canpotex is a part of the potash cartel that controls about 75% of the global potash capacity. Besides Canpotex, the potash cartel comprises three Russian producers (Uralkali, Belaruskali, and Silvinit) and a German producer – K+S.

The price of potash – an essential crop nutrient – was obstinately high on top of falling demand. To keep pricing unaffected, the fertilizer cartel had deliberately curtailed production. About 40% of the global potash production capacity has been idled since the second half of 2008.

The recent price cut by Canpotex has indeed followed the footsteps of Silvinit and K+S,

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The resource-rich Canadian markets continued to gain momentum to the upside during Thursday trading with only the gold sector showing signs of weakness. For the tale of the tape; the TSX Exchange surged 2.33%, while the TSX Gold Index fell 0.79% and the TSX Venture Exchange, Canada’s largest junior exploration bourse, added 1.28% with the advancers beating out the decliners by a 432 to 371 margin on 184 million shares traded. Teck Resources (NYSE:TCK) posted a second quarter profit of $570 million or $1.17 per share thanks to a non-cash foreign exchange gain of $413 million and a $33 million gain for the sale of its Hemlo gold operations in Ontario. Revenues from coal operations increased by $410 million but copper and zinc revenues fell by $508 million due to lower metal prices and lower copper sales. Teck ended the day up C$1.25 at C$26 even.

Potash Corp. of

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Recently, reports claimed that a Russian potash producer has settled with India on a supply contract price that is 25% lower than its last year’s contract. This is expected to significantly hurt the pricing power of the potash cartel, as the rest of the world is likely to follow suit.

The potash cartel comprises Canpotex – a partnership between Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (POT), Agrium Inc. (AGU) and Mosaic Co. (MOS) – besides three Russian and one German producer. Together, they account for 75% of the global potash capacity.

The price of potash – an essential crop nutrient – remained obstinately higher on top of falling demand. The fertilizer cartel had deliberately curtailed production to keep pricing unaffected. About 40% of the global potash production capacity has been idled since the second half of 2008.

Canpotex has succeeded in maintaining its price level recently by signing contracts with customers in

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL - June 8, 2009 - Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Research in Motion (RIMM), Healthsouth (HLS), J. C. Penney (JCP), Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (POT) and Weatherford (WFT).

Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=4579.

Here are highlights from Friday's Analyst Blog:

Big, Positive Surprise in Jobs Data

It's important to realize that though first-quarter earnings were better-than-feared and stocks have rallied since early March, full-year corporate earnings projections haven't moved very much. Though we are seeing the earnings estimate revisions ratio (total positive revisions divided

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May Job Loss Shockingly Much Lower Than ForecastJust 345,000 jobs were lost last month, the smallest decline since last September. The unemployment rate, however, rose to 9.4% -- its highest level since August 1983.The nonfarm payrolls number is shocking. The drop was less than even the most optimistic forecasts had predicted. A smaller-than-expected drop in construction and temporary jobs appears to have played the biggest role in keeping the losses from being worse.Adding to the surprise was an improvement in April's job losses. The Labor Department now says 504,000 jobs were cut in April, versus the original estimate of 539,000 losses.Though the positive surprise in nonfarm payrolls is very welcome, it is important to realize that the economy continues to contract. A smaller number of job losses still means that more people were laid off than were hired. Furthermore, the rising ...

Chris Mayer with Agora Financial notes that even during the ongoing financial crisis, the global demand for food and the fertilizer needed to grow it will continue to skyrocket. Chris goes on to recommend the leading Potash producer which produced over $2 billion in free cash-flow last year alone.

The last time I recommended a fertilizer stock to the subscribers of my investment letter, Capital & Crisis, we tripled our money in 33 months. I’m hoping for a repeat this time around.

The basic idea is simple: The demand for food is rising, and hence so is the demand for fertilizer, which is essential to crop production. As farmers work with ever-decreasing amounts of good arable land, the need to boost crop yields is paramount. Fertilizers are a key part of doing just that.

The two draught horses pulling fertilizer demand are growing populations and an

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The junior bourse broke through the 2002 lows but the big board managed a late day rally to finish in the black during Thursday trading on the Canadian markets.

For the tale of the tape, the TSX Exchange added 1.03%, while the TSX Gold Index fell 4.1% and the TSX Venture Exchange, Canada’s largest junior exploration bourse, lost 4.73% with the declining issuers out pacing the advancers by a 650 to 266 margin on volume of 190 million shares traded.

Teck Cominco (NYSE:TCK) tabled earnings of C$432 million, or C$0.97 per share in the third quarter of 2008, compared with C$495 million, or C$1.16 per share tallied in the same period a year earlier. The bottom line was hit by lower copper and zinc prices with higher coal operating profits limiting the impact. Teck ended the day down C$1.78 at C$12.54.

Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (NYSE:POT) saw its third quarter

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Track S&P focus stocks of the week’s performances at:

http://trackthepros.com/categories.php?category_id=1348

S&P believes this week’s S&P Focus Stock, Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan has an extremely strong earnings per share (EPS) outlook combined with a compelling stock valuation. In 2009, we look for the sixth consecutive year of record EPS, driven by robust fertilizer markets and higher prices. The stock carries Standard & Poor’s highest investment recommendation of 5 STARS, or strong buy.

Potash is the world’s largest integrated fertilizer company, including the largest global producer of potash with 22% of global capacity. Increased global fertilizer demand is being driven by population and economic growth in emerging economies such as China and India, which is resulting in improving standards of living and diet and boosting the need for food and animal feed. We believe crop plantings will rise in 2009, including an increase in U.S. corn acre plantings, as a result of

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