December 4, 2008

Should the United States start buying up commodities? Should we have a "strategic commodity reserve"?


With the base metals falling farther now than they did during the Great Depression, I think it's high time the US quickly starts buying 'em up.

You know we'll need 'em one day. Might as well buy 'em up at distressed fire-sale prices, than compete with China, India, Russia and more in a few years at sky-high prices. Buying 'em up now may even stop us from invading someone again later.

While the world is still stupid enough to accept dollars, I think the US should be out there in the open market buying up as much aluminum, tin, copper, lead and zinc as it can. And go ahead and buy silver, gold, platinum, sugar, corn, wheat and oil too. Buy it all. Spend trillions if we need to. Save some companies and jobs along the way.

If the US is going to be the biggest hedge fund in the world, might as well buy stuff we'll eventually need, at these firesale prices, while our dollar is ridiculously strong. Use what we need over the next 20 years, sell the rest at a massive profit along the way. Hell, we should lock in some dry shipping too, since rates have fallen 93%.

This is a serious post. I truly think this is a chance of a lifetime moment for the US that will never come again.

Metal prices fall further than during Great Depression

The price of key industrial metals has fallen further over the last four months than occurred during the worst years of Great Depression between 1929 and 1933, according to research by Barclays Capital.

Kevin Norrish, the bank's commodities strategist, said the average fall in the price of copper, lead, and zinc has been roughly 60pc since the peak in July this year. All three metals were traded on the London Metal Exchange in the inter-war years so it is possible to make a comparison.

Prices for the three metals fell 40pc from their highs in 1929 before touching bottom in 1933, with the bulk of the fall in 1930 as the slump spread worldwide. "Lead and zinc have already lost more than they did in the 1930s," he said.

Copper was hit hardest during the Depression, despite the electrification drive in the US and the Soviet Union, falling 70pc at one stage before creeping back in the mid-1930s. The reason was an 85pc fall in US construction, then the biggest user of the metal.

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

I agree all the way...especially because I just loaded up on miners, agriculture and energy companies.

Seriously, the US should buy anything that they can. With the fake value of the dollar, everything is on sale. The US dollar is the equivalent of a stolen credit card. Eventually, the Chinese are going to wake up and deactivate the card.

Bukko Boomeranger said...

The key is to buy the commodities and then dump them into the ocean, the way that they bought agricultural products during the First Great Depression and burned/slaughtered/dumped them into ditches. Except the gpvernment shouldn't dump the steel/lead/high explosives materials they buy. They'll need them make into weaponry to protect the ocean floor where we dumped our valuable commidities, because those other countries are gonna want them back when they find out they've been rooked by fake money! :/

Anonymous said...

Funny, I was just thinking that. I bet China is starting a national commodity reserve with some of their money instead of bailing out every failing company under the sun. The price is right, $46 oil, copper is way cheap,
platinum, etc.

Roccman said...

Yep -

Buy food.

Really - got to a place like MREdepot.com and buy food.

Type in the word "Dieoff" in the check out section in the coupon code box and get 17% off the top.

I have zero financial interest in this business...I make no money get no goods or services from here...just trying to help out my fellow doomer.

I set this up with the owner years ago...and the best part is the deal will never end.

Think of it as the webs best kept doomer secret.

Cheers.

Anonymous said...

Here's East of Eden.
James Dean on bean futures:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkSufbaqVUg&feature=related

Anonymous said...

The US should always have strategic reserves of commodities, except for coal. We've got coal practically flowing out of the fountains.


"Really - got to a place like MREdepot.com and buy food."

Maximize calories/$ by buying canned and freeze dried foods as well. Use those if you are staying put and use the MRE's if you're on the move. I'll be sure to remember dieoff the next time.

Anonymous said...

Fill up the SOP....and a years supply of jamba juice for every American.
keyser soze

Anonymous said...

Yes.

We need an inventory of Wal-Mart gift certificates, cheese doodles, stripper poles, condoms, do-it-yourself abortion kits and unlimited NASCAR reruns with Billy, Bobby and Daffy. Boogity Boogity Waltripper...

Oh and a drive through self-service suicide center in evry town or city or village.

For variety make nascar turn Right instead of Left. JOe-the-Plumber, you could worship that change for years.

Burp, fart, belch, puke.

Take you medicine you greedy American scum.

DIE U PIGS

Anonymous said...

Keith, this website was originally designed to provide solutions and ways to fix the American credit mess. This post is the best post to date in regards to that mission. This is a terrific idea that would pay off long term. Having a nice bit of commodity reserves will allow the US to inflate their dollar within reason and not let it be a "tax" on the middle class. I like it. As an individual investor, it may be wise to start looking at DBC or DBA etf's to take advantage of this.

Anonymous said...

Does anyone know the best way I can buy base metals? My chief investments have been through 401Ks and IRAs so far. Is there a way I can buy gold on the internet, like, tonight, or soon?

Keep up the good work Keith!

Anonymous said...

"Does anyone know the best way I can buy base metals? My chief investments have been through 401Ks and IRAs so far. Is there a way I can buy gold on the internet, like, tonight, or soon?"

try apmex.com I just took delivery on 2 silver bars of 100 oz. each.it takes about 3-4 for the 100 oz. silver bars to be delivered,but if you are in the market for smaller quantities they have 1 oz. and 10oz. bars ready to ship.

they have gold too,but I recommend silver.

Anonymous said...

Umm, what are we going to use them for?
We don't manufacture anything. You need factories to utilize raw materials.

Anonymous said...

What I don't get is why, with the prices of metals falling, theft of copper from empty house, street lighting, etc. seems to be as great as ever? It seems like scarcely a week goes by without some new story of this kind of theft appearing int he papers.
-John

Dr. Huxtable said...

Just bought ETF OIL after hours at $25.35/share ($43/barrel). Oil is not going out of business, I am buying with my IRA and holding for 5 years.

Anonymous said...

"Umm, what are we going to use them for?

We don't manufacture anything. You need factories to utilize raw materials."

-----------------------------------
That's exactly why the price of copper and other metals lost more value percentage wise than they did during the Depression.

When the idiot took the liberty to punish savers, oil and metals took off. When that happened, the motorists said "ENOUGH!!!" and cut their driving and purchases accordingly. There's nothing like a nice, big intrest rate reduction and huge bank bailout to wipe out over 2 million jobs.

MrCoffee

Anonymous said...

"Just bought ETF OIL after hours at $25.35/share ($43/barrel). Oil is not going out of business, I am buying with my IRA and holding for 5 years."

A great idea. Seriously I would like to try that. Though, I'm torn between global warming and saving my financial self from ruin after the current banking disaster.

Buy gold online - quickly, safely and at low prices