Hot Commodities: An Amazon Review

"Highly readable and entertaining. It isn't necessarily going to benefit those who are already very knowledgeable about commodities, nor does this book tell you how to trade commodities. It isn't a practical guide but rather Jim suggests what you should look at when constructing your world view.
In Hot Commodities, Jim presents a strong case for why you should invest in commodities if you are going to invest at all. He doesn't recommend short-term punts or the use of leverage, he admits that if you are capable of trading then that's your prerogative. However, most people who wish to invest are just not suitable for leveraged trading. In fact he advocates simply buying a broad index of commodities rather than trying to pick the best. This corroborates with the findings of Bogle: index investing is best.

His arguments rely upon historical events and examples from his earlier days as analyst, he relates previous examples of the 70s and 80s to the situation we have now. While many people (politicians?) might have blamed speculators for high commodity prices in the 70s, Jim points out that speculation or market manipulation is hard to achieve over a sustained period of time. The cause of inflation, as Jim presents it, is due to something. One part of the high commodities' prices in the 70s was due to the natural cycle of commodities versus stocks (a theory that is fairly unique to Rogers), and the other part is due to the killing of the gold standard plus other monetary / fiscal policies. In the current climate Rogers believes we back in a commodity bull (upward trend) while stocks are bearish (lack of a strong upwards trend). This commodity bull cycle will likely come to an end in 10 - 20 years and then we'll likely be back to a bullish stock market. These long term trends are secular bull and bear markets, Rogers proposes the theory that stocks and commodities are bullish in the counter periods to each other.

Why is the author trustworthy? Anyone that regularly watches Jim on tv will know that he is consistent with his recommendations and analysis. He never claims to be right 100% of the time nor that investing is easy. Rogers comes across as honest and humble. Jim has never compromised his analysis because others dislike what he says. He presents the facts as he sees it and is unapologetic about it. Unlike other contemporary investors such as Soros, Roubini, Buffett whom seem far too willing to bend to the views of a particular government."

Hot Commodities, Amazon Review from Edward A. Thomson

How To Invest.

"After you act, you wait for it to play out. You don't go jumping in and out. If you buy something that you know is going to work, you wait, you wait, you wait. There will be panics, you'll be scared at times, but if you can just do nothing, you'll make money."

-- Jim Rogers

Ukraine - Russia War: This Should Never Have Happened.

Suppose Russia had an alliance with Mexico and they started stationing troops in Mexico and missiles and tanks what do you think we would do?

We'd say, "oh my gosh, it's so good let's drink vodka together!", no! They'd send an army down there and run them away just like they did in Cuba.  

This never should have happened. We should not have done what we did. The Russians should have somehow made it clear that this would be an act of war and the world should go on peace peacefully as peacefully as it can.

War Has Never Been Good For Anything.

War has never been good for anything. This whole thing starts because in 2014 the state department, our state department instigated a coup in Kiev and now we're paying the price for it.
 

We've been trying to move nato to Ukraine ever since. It's absolute madness, this no war should not be happening. None of this should be happening. We shouldn't have instigated the coup.

New Emerging Markets: Cambodia, Uzbekistan

Right now, I'm looking at Cambodia, I'm looking at Uzbekistan. I shouldn't tell you that because I

haven't invested there yet... These are countries that i'm looking at.

If a country is a disaster but I see something changing in the leadership or the attitudes towards capital, attitudes towards an investment then it gets my attention. 

Then I start doing more research. Do they have a balance of trade surplus? Do they have a budget

surplus?

I'm looking at Namibia right now in Africa. It looks like they're doing some good changes.

I'm looking at Zimbabwe. I already have investments in Zimbabwe. 

Africa has been a disaster, a total ruin in the last 35 or 40 years. But I have learned that if you invest in

a catastrophe and you have the staying power and it's changing and most catastrophes change because

people just can't take it anymore -- you might make some money.

America Is The Largest Debtor The World Has Ever Seen!

America is the largest debtor nation in the history of the world.

Never in world history has any nation been so deep into debt. That doesn't sound good to me for

the future, it does not sound good to build a long-term success story if you're the largest debtor the world has ever seen but that's the facts.

Commodities: Cotton & Agriculture

 

Jim Rogers expressed his views on markets, bitcoin, regulation and what he sees going forward. 

"Unless something happens soon we're not going to have any clothes to wear you don't have any food to drink or eat." - Jim Rogers