There is a buzz in the commodities markets this week. Just about anything that can be pulled from the ground is surging in value. Everything, that is, but natural gas.

Most notably, gold is just about ready to reach over the critical $1,000 level, proving that investors are looking for safety. Even without a hint of inflation, the precious metal has surged by over 5% so far this week.

The quick run means the world’s gold miners are surging in value. The more leverage packed into their balance sheets, the higher their prices are going to go.

So far, Yumana Gold (NYSE:AUY) is up by nearly 20% this week, while AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) is up by over 15%.

It is a similar situation for the silver industry. As investors search for tangible value, the silver industry is taking its investors on a wild ride.

One of the more popular ways of playing the trend, the iShares Silver Trust ETF (NYSE:SLV) was up by as much as 5%, taking the week’s gains into double-digit territory.

TFN Strategic Trader subscribers love the action. Our call options are worth 66% more this afternoon than they were this morning.

The juicy story

Now, I realize you come to TFN sight looking for more than the usual take on the day’s news. Fortunately, our friends over in Russia are creating more than enough action to feed our appetite for story material.

As if the government-centric action unfolding around the Chinese commodity market was not enough to prove my prediction and profit potential of the “Commodities Carry Trade,” the Russian government is stepping into the ring to create some action on its own.

Unable to secure a firm economic future through normal economic means, Putin is “calling” for the country’s banks to start buying Mechel’s (NYSE:MTL) debt. There are also rumors of strong tax breaks heading towards the large Russian miner.

Not only is this yet another wrinkle in my Commodity Carry Trade theory, it helps prove that the effort truly is becoming a global phenomenon.

With their economies weak and the world’s banking industry even weaker, governments are quickly turning to the commodities market for their financial security.

Why invest in paper backed by a desperate government when you can invest in a commodity the world will need no matter what happens in the coming years?

No questioning the profit potential

While there are lots of facets affecting this trade, one thing that is certain is it will be extremely bullish for the commodities market.

We are seeing a mere glimpse of things to come.

Once demand surpassed production… stand back. Prices will soar.

I have a fantastic way to take advantage of this situation, but I absolutely cannot give it away to a wide audience.

Its value was up by nearly 50% today with a trading volume of just 287 trades. Imagine what would happen if thousands of eager investors suddenly jumped in.

If you want me to email you with the trade to make, just click here.

Finally, just to prove there is an exception to every rule, natural gas prices are hitting yet another new low today, dropping the to a paltry $2.50 per million BTUs.

Could it be that foreign investors want nothing to do with an American-based economy? Or is the bearish action a result of the growing inventory glut across the globe?

Now that some of the world’s most powerful governments are getting in on the action, the commodity trade is not going anywhere anytime soon.

This is exciting stuff that is going to drastically change the commodities industry. The situation has profit opportunity written all over it.

I say we take advantage of it.

Source: Russia’s Maneuvering Boosts the Commodities Market

Maybe socialism is not all that bad. Right now, the United States government effectively owns the nation’s major banks, mortgage lenders, and insurer. Even more, they just changed long-standing securities laws and financially backed the short-term cash market.

Washington’s action is making the heroes of a free-market economy scratch their skin off, but it is hard to deny the monumentally positive impact it is having on Wall Street. All major indices are through the roof this morning.

What will happen on Monday, next week, next year, or even next decade, nobody knows. The Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve have re-written the world’s economic rules. Wall Street was forced to throw out its old textbooks. Now it must sit back and wait as we write a new one.

Today may be a great day on the Street. But absolutely nobody knows what impact all of these knee-jerk regulations will have on the global markets in the future.

Some cash for the weekend

With near-zero certainty in the markets, I am not willing to take any undue risks. Nearly all my recent equity picks are way into positive territory. You need to lock in the gains.

Mechel (NYSE:MTL) is up by nearly 25%. Vimpel Communications (NYSE:VIP) is up by nearly 35%. And Nortel (NYSE:NT) is up close to 10% since I recommended it. And do not forget my third Russian pick, Rostelecom (NYSE:ROS) that I recommended selling for gains of nearly 40% yesterday. These are sizeable gains in just a few days.

If you followed my advice and bought shares of these companies earlier this week, sell them all.

The equities market is in a great mood today. Monday could be an entirely different situation. By then, we could have new rules, new economic laws, and an entirely different sentiment on Wall Street. The potential gains are much smaller than the potential losses.

Take your money off the table and stay tuned. I will have the next round of winners online in no time.

Source: Lock in huge profits: Sell Mechel (MTL), Vimpel (VIP) and Nortel (NT)

This from Today’s Financial News:

Rostelecom (NYSE:ROS) is up by over 35% [on Thursday], handing investors that followed my advice 35%-plus gains in just one trading day. Time to take those gains off the table!

I just love a volatile market. For the folks willing to do their homework and do some research, a roller-coaster market can lead to big gains.

The Russian markets are in turmoil. With 80% of the country’s equities representing commodity-based companies, it is no surprise the markets plunged as the global economy entered an obvious slowdown phase. While the discounting of many of these companies was needed, there was no need to slash the prices of many other Russian companies.

On Wednesday, I wrote about three Russian companies with share prices that got hammered in the wake of the country’s stock market collapse. All three are strong firms that deserve much higher valuations. The proof is hitting the ticker tape today.

My pick Rostelecom (NYSE:ROS) is up by over 35%, handing investors that followed my advice huge one-day gains. In this here-today-gone-tomorrow trading world, it is best to take those gains off the table.

Sell your Rostelecom position.

You should hold onto the two other Russian investments I recommended, Mechel OAO (NYSE:MTL) and Vimpel Communications (NYSE:VIP). Both positions are well into positive territory and should continue to rise in value.

Source: Making Money as Markets Go Mad: Sell Rostelecom (ROS) for 35%+ Gains

Andrew Snyder says when an emerging market such as Russia sells off unexpectedly it opens up great buying opportunities.

Andrew recommends three stocks that have been dramatically oversold in the crash. They are Vimpel-Communications (NYSE:VIP), Rostelecom (NYSE:ROS) and Mechel OAO (NYSE:MTL).

This from Today’s Financial News:

Although American financial problems are dominating headlines today, Russia is having some serious problems of its own.

Yesterday, Moscow and the country’s Central Bank were forced to infuse $20 billion into the Russia’s top banks. Meanwhile, the country’s major equity exchange, the Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange (MISEX), fell close to 20% in intraday trading, forcing officials to halt trading and close shop an hour earlier than normal.

Today the free fall continued, forcing Russia to raise its infusion to over $40 billion and halt trading once again. The purge needed to be stopped before it imploded and corporate valuations were needlessly erased.

If this sounds like a dire situation it is because it most certainly is.  But it is not the end of the world.

Few economists believed Russia’s economy could keep up its breakneck pace. Especially since the gains were based primarily on highly cyclical businesses. Remember, nearly 80% of the country’s market is based on commodities, which typically drop even faster than they climb.

Russia may be reeling in pain, but its problems have created a great investment opportunity. Every single one of its listed equities was in the red yesterday, whether they deserved to be or not. Some of the countries strongest and fastest-growing companies saw their valuations lowered by ten percent or more.

It gives you a perfect buying opportunity. Excellent investments are selling at a rare discount.

A powerful buying opportunity

We took one main rule from the Taipan Group when we created TodaysFinancialNews.com. When an emerging market sells off unexpectedly, pick the three ADRs that have sold off most and buy:

Three stocks in particular caught my eye.  Each of them saw its valuation erroneously stripped by huge proportions.

The first company you need to take a look at is Vimpel-Communications (NYSE:VIP). It’s one of Russia’s strongest and most profitable telecoms. It is the Verizon of Russia.

The great thing about telecoms is their businesses rarely erode. Once folks sign up for their services, they stick around for a long time. Because of that aspect of its business model, Vimpel does not deserve the nearly 50% cut in its valuation it has seen over the past nine months.

After the company announced its most recent earnings results, smart investors realized its value should be increasing. Vimpel’s revenues are growing and its entry into new markets continues at a hefty pace.

Shares are trading at a fantastic discount.  Do not miss this opportunity to get a strong foreign company, which is listed on the NYSE, at a price that will make any value investor drool.

After you are done buying your shares of Vimpel, take a look at Mechel OAO (NYSE:MTL). Four months ago, the mining and steel company was trading for $58. Today, you can get shares for under $20.

Will it go back to $58 anytime soon? Probably not.

Does a company with $7.6 billion in revenues last year deserve a valuation of just $8.09 billion?  Absolutely not! This company is worth at least twice that.  Shares should be selling for around $40, which means American investors have a fantastic opportunity at their feet.

With its coal and steel products being sold around the world, Mechel will continue to see strong annual revenues. After all, the coal industry is just like the telecom industry.  Once a coal plant fires up, it will keep those fires burning for decades.  To do it, they need a constant supply of coal.

Buying shares of this company is no different than buying a dollar bill for just fifty cents.  It is a deal you cannot refuse.

Finally, let’s head back to the Russian telecom. On Monday, Rostelecom (NYSE:ROS) was trading for $65.

Yesterday… about $42.

Today… below $30.

Shares of the company have plummeted thanks to the overall weakness in Moscow. The company is not quite as financially strong as the other two companies, but is so undervalued at current prices that it is an opportunity you cannot miss.

Once the shakeout in Russia slows, investors will start climbing out of the cracks and crevasses they are hiding in and will start looking for the most undervalued and best-performing investments they can find.

No doubt, Rostelecom will be one of them. Just a small bounce in share price could make you big money.

Thanks to the Feds intervention, Wall Street is making a controlled descent.  Russia made an uncontrolled plunge.

Now that Moscow has reached the bottom, smart investors need to search out the most undervalued companies and buy them at fire-sale kind of prices.

This is not an investing opportunity that comes every day.  Take advantage of it.

Source: Moscow crashes: Time to buy Vimpel-Communications (VIP), Mechel (MTL) and Rostelecom (ROS)?

Here’s a snapshot:

• Revenues increased 52.0% to US$6.7 billion
• Operating income increased 92.59% to US$1.4 billion
• Net income increased 51.4% to US$913.1 million

Now, a massive breakout is imminent. MTL could rise as high as $70.52 in the next four weeks. That’s a 30% gain for this Russian steel company!

If you decide to play MTL, pay close attention to the $51.79 level. That’s your tripwire. If MTL drops below that level, cut and run!

Until then, that 30% climb could be just the beginning…

S.R. Nunnally

Editor, Taipan Trader

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Source: Russian Steel Company to Rise 30%!

Back from holiday I trawl through ten days of company announcements, to find that one of my supposedly long-term relationships may soon become no more than a quick affair. Raymarine, a company that I had tucked away in my ISA has announced ‘a preliminary approach which may lead to an offer.’ The share price has duly jumped and while this, like a swig from a whiskey bottle, gives me a quick thrill I am not so sure that it is good for my long-term financial health.

Good investments are hard to find. My hunting ground, the UK stock market, does not offer an unlimited supply of world-beating companies. So when I find one that is growing its profits, paying rising dividends, making astute acquisitions while all the time focusing on an area of undoubted long term growth I am in no hurry to give it up.

If a bid does come, then I can only hope that I get a proper price for my shares, and that this is not an attempt by the management to take the company private on the cheap – for which, by the way, I could hardly blame them.

This is a view shared by Adam Steiner, of SVG Investment Managers, which has a 0.39% stake in the company. In his opinion ‘Raymarine is a highly coveted asset in a long-term growth market and should appeal to private equity and trade buyers alike, of which there are several potential ‘fits’ in the market place….we would be surprised if shareholders would accept an offer below the price at which the company was trading a year ago’ – which was 450p.

We shall see. But what really echoes is the term ‘a highly coveted asset.’ Raymarine sells all manner of necessary equipment and instruments for the boating crowd. Now my boating experience is limited to one brief and unhappy sail around Poole harbor during which I somehow managed to lose my spectacles overboard and then spent the afternoon regurgitating the greasy mackerel that had been served up for lunch. But I don’t mind looking at boats from the safety of dry land, and whenever I get within sight of the sea I notice marinas absolutely stuffed full of them, all clearly owned by people with money to spare. So I reckon that Raymarine, which sells radar systems, chartplotters, fishfinders and other such gadgets should be on to a good thing.

And yet the shares trade on no more than ten times this year’s earnings. So if this is the ‘highly coveted asset’ that I think it is, or at least should be, this is certainly not reflected in today’s share price. Despite the fact that luxury yachts are not typically owned by those facing foreclosure on their mortgages, Raymarine seems to be suffering from a generalized fear about the spending power of the US consumer and also from the desire of panicky City fund managers to convert any holdings in small companies into cash at the first opportunity.

This is not an isolated incident. Another esteemed UK manufacturing company Enodis has accepted an offer from the Manitowoc Company of Wisconsin at 260p per share – an 80% premium to the price prevailing in the stock market. Engineer FKI is facing a bid from Melrose. Titan Europe, which makes huge wheels for tractors and earthmovers, has received a bid from US parent company Titan International. Oil services company Expro International is facing competing take-over bids and looks likely to follow two other small manufacturers in this sector Sondex and MTL Instruments, both of which have been bought by larger rivals from the USA.

Without exception these bids have been at substantial premiums to the value placed upon these companies by the London stock market. It is clear that City investors, obsessed as they are by short-term performance and unable to look beyond the next earnings report, simply do not understand the value of these companies.

It never fails to amaze me that a company can be scorned by City fund managers for year after year – and then suddenly a take-over bid comes along and no price is too high. It amazes me, but it does not upset me too much because it is precisely this brainless short-termism that gives you and I the chance to buy great companies at great prices. So where should be looking, now?

Contrary to the popular view that UK manufacturing industry is dead and buried there are several manufacturing companies based in this country that have fine records, excellent prospects and a global reputation for excellence. It is true that some of the manufacturing itself might now be done overseas, but the intellectual rights and the ownership reside in this country.

Off the top of my head I would place Domino Printing, Renishaw, Cobham, Vitec, Spirax-Sarco and Hamworthy in this category, and I am sure there are several more. Any of these could fall into the hands of a larger overseas bidder at some time. So buy quality – and you might get a nice surprise!

Regards,

Tom Bulford
For The Daily Reckoning

Editor’s note: This is an extract from Tom’s free e-letter The Penny Sleuth. Tom is also editor of Red Hot Penny Shares and The Bulford Files. Previously he worked as a fund manager in London and Hong Kong for more than 20 years.