Climbing the Wall of Inflation – The Market Breadth

Stock Market Commentary For one day, the stock market suddenly cared about rising inflation numbers. The recovery mode is already underway. After slamming into the wall of inflation, the stock market is now climbing the wall of inflation. On Friday, in its survey of consumers, the University Michigan had the following to say about the … Read more

Overbought Period Demonstrates Freshly Bullish Sentiment for Stocks – Above the 40 (January 8, 2021)

Stock Market Commentary What a week to start the year’s trading. It started with a definitively bearish end to extended overbought conditions. Overbought conditions bullishly resumed in the middle of the week despite an insurrection in Washington D.C. The week ended with a confirmation of the freshly bullish sentiment in the market. The trading action … Read more

Even After More Insider Buying, Molycorp Struggles To Generate Upward Momentum

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on July 9, 2012. Click here to read the entire piece.) Almost a month ago, John C. Ashburn, Executive Vice President & General Counsel of Molycorp (MCP) purchased $101,300 worth of MCP stock. This purchased converted him from an insider seller during … Read more

Post-Acquisition Enthusiasm Fades for Molycorp As Short Interest Continues to Climb

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on April 30, 2012. Click here to read the entire piece.) On March 8th, 2012, Molycorp (MCP) announced a critically important acquisition of Rare Earth Processor Neo Material Technologies. The next day, the market responded by sending MCP shares up 19%. Almost … Read more

2012 Has Delivered Some Attractive Bargains In Commodities

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on April 23, 2012. Click here to read the entire piece.) Commodity stocks have generally underperformed the stock market in 2012. I still cannot decide whether this weakness represents a leading indicator of broader weakness to come or a fortuitous relief to … Read more

Chart Review: Rally in Rare Earth Stocks Take A Pause

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on February 7, 2012. Click here to read the entire piece.) Many rare earth element stocks have taken on new life in 2012 as investors and traders have scrambled to speculate on some of 2011’s poor-performing stocks. The current run-up has been … Read more

Molycorp CEO Doubles Down On Shares Even As the Market’s Doubts Increase

This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on December 29, 2011. Click here to read the entire piece.) On August 15th, Mark Smith, the President and CEO of rare earth producer Molycorp (MCP) made one of the strangest insider purchases I have ever observed. {snip} Two weeks ago, on … Read more

JP Morgan Reduces Upside Target on Molycorp from 100% to 25%

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha. Click here to read the entire piece.) On Tuesday, September 20, a JP Morgan (JPM) analyst slashed his price target on rare earth producer Molycorp (MCP) from $105 to $66. This reduction in upside from 100% to 25% helped plunge MCP to … Read more

Profiting from Physical Assets in a Resource-Constrained World – Rules and Picks (Part 2 of 2)

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha. Click here to read the entire piece.) {snip} This piece is a follow-up post to “Preparing for Profits in a Resource-Constrained World” (Part 1) in which I discussed the implications of Jeremy Grantham’s fundamental thesis of a new world where resources are … Read more

Lynas Stumbles While Molycorp Continues Recovering – Sobering Reminders of Rare Earth Challenges

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha July 5, 2011. Click here to read the entire piece.) On June 29, 2011, the New York Times ran a story called “The Fear of a Toxic Return” that provided lurid accusations of environmental mismanagement at the Malaysian rare earth refinery owned … Read more