HardAssetsInvestor.com's managing editor delves into whether natural gas prices are cheap relative to crude oil.

• Differing pricing conventions
• Reducing crude's value to its energy equivalence
• Seasonal variables

HardAssetsInvestor.com's managing editor digs in to see whether gold can actually provide a return above inflation.

• That pesky issue of volatility ...
• Reaching purchasing power parity
• How much exposure provides portfolio diversification?

HardAssetsInvestor.com's managing editor investigates whether options on gold miner stocks are currently good buys.

• Leveraging against bullion
• Do put/call spreads trump ETF spreads?
• Riding the ratio train southward

 

HardAssetsInvestor.com's Managing Editor Brad Zigler illustrates how constantly monitoring market conditions will help determine if a continuing hedge is necessary.

• Shorting REITs a hit-and-miss
• Basis Risk 101
• The expensive "insurance" cover

HardAssetsInvestor.com's Managing Editor Brad Zigler retraces history to discern whether gold stocks are cheap.

• Bullion price vs. mining stocks
• Measuring extraction costs
• Impact of exchange-traded products

HardAssetsInvestor.com's Managing Editor Brad Zigler explores why index fund buying isn't necessarily the catalyst for rising commodity prices.

• Price insensitivity the culprit?
• Index exposure: OTC swaps vs. futures
• Price and long-interest correlation

 

HardAssetsInvestor.com's Managing Editor Brad Zigler drills below the simple answer to the question, "Why buy an oil stock when you could buy the oil itself?"

• Charter/disposition limits
• Generalists vs. specialists
• The pesky problem of margin volatility

HardAssetsInvestor.com's Managing Editor Brad Zigler unearths what the recent Midwest flooding means for crop harvesting, in dollars and cents.

• Comparing flood years
• What's the upside?
• The behavior of wheat