In London, the FTSE 100 opened the week at 6,070 points but steadily lost ground and had dipped below 5,900 by Friday. On the Alternative Investment Market it was a similar story; the market opened at 920.30 but was down towards 885.70 by the end of the week. World commodities were hit hard late on, with analysts pointing to concerns about the rate of economic growth in the US as a prime reason. Thursday proved to be the worst day, with Brent crude oil falling by more than $10 to $110.80 a barrel, silver losing 25% over four days and gold also slipping.
In these difficult times and for all the understandable complaints about the lack of a level playing field, it's worth remembering the observation by Guy Thomas, the author of Free Capital, a fascinating new book on the methodologies used by 12 successful private investors, “some success in life is just a matter of turning up”. By this, what he means is that in his interviews with 12 individuals that have made millions from investing in the stock market, one of the common themes is a propensity to find ways of overcoming obstacles. Often that means simply doing what others, particularly institutional investors, don’t do – talking to company directors on a regular basis and building relationships, particularly when it comes to small-cap companies.
In investing, Niels Jensen’s Absolute Return Letter sets out why he thinks oil prices are set to see a dramatic correction over the next several years as alternative energy takes the lead role in powering a rising world population. In companies, Marben offered his reasoning for backing commodities software business Brady. Pezza assessed the investment case for Russian exploration and production company Urals Energy – a business that is recovering from a cash-strapped past and now apparently offers the upside of increasing production. Elias Jones picked out five oil and gas stocks to watch, including Animex, San Leon Energy, Ascent Resources, Range Resources and Tower Resources. Staying with resources, Evaluate Energy’s oil & gas deals of the week features Vedanta…
