It’s hard to believe now, but crude oil was under $20 a barrel back in 2002. The U.S. economy was weak, and Chinese demand hadn’t entered overdrive yet.

Some of the most dramatic photographs in the world this week were of downtown Cedar Rapids, Iowa. On Friday, an estimated 100 blocks of the city were underwater. Heavy rainfall across the Midwest has produced nine rivers in Iowa above flood stage.

We’re fans of the “bellwethers” when it comes to tracking the stock market… watching the company that draws the most interest and publicity in each industry.

Ritchie Brothers… Transocean… Schlumberger. We’ve spent a lot of ink in DailyWealth showing you “domino effect” plays on the global commodity boom.

It’s a runaway bull market for a trend we’ve been covering since last year… “the basics.”

For most of 2008, oil refiners have led the race for the world’s worst investment. Refiners have crumpled under the soaring price of crude oil, their biggest cost. Most refiner stocks are down over 50% in the past six months.

It’s a quick task to keep an eye on large-cap gold mining. Just a handful of companies sport market values above $10 billion. Near the top is Goldcorp.

Early this week, we introduced the idea of buying the ABCs – Australia, Brazil, and Canada – as a way to own commodities for the long term. Several DailyWealth readers wrote to ask, “Great… but what about Russia?”

The latest is in from Sadia: It’s a bull market in food. Sadia is one of the largest food companies in the world, and Brazil’s largest meat exporter. Its operations sit in the world capital of cheap labor, abundant water, and fertile soil.