Investing Opinion

Beware a Commodities 'Melt Up'

 

One relatively easy way to get all sorts of commodities to behave themselves again: Raise interest rates. Under the hood, the recent commodity breakout reflects a high level of hedge-fund cynicism for the Federal Reserve and its ability to manage liquidity in the post-crash environment.

The Fed governors' reluctance this week to raise the discount rate reinforces that negative view. The vagaries of Washington politics, as well as the coming midterm elections, are clearly influencing current policy. The FOMC's timidity ahead of elections could be a huge mistake for the world economy.

>To order reprints of this article, click here: Reprints

At the time of publication, Farley had no positions in the stocks mentioned, although holdings can change at any time.

Alan Farley is a private trader and publisher of Hard Right Edge, a comprehensive resource for trader education, technical analysis, and short-term trading techniques. He is also the author of The Daily Swing Trade, a premium product from TheStreet.com that outlines his charts and analysis. Farley has also been featured in Barron's, SmartMoney, Tech Week, Active Trader, MoneyCentral, Technical Investor, Bridge Trader and Online Investor. He has written two books: The Master Swing Trader and The Master Swing Trader Toolkit: The Market Survival Guide, due out in April. Under no circumstances does the information in this column represent a recommendation to buy or sell stocks.

Farley appreciates your feedback; click here to send him an email. Also, click here to sign up for Farley's premium subscription product, The Daily Swing Trade, brought to you exclusively by TheStreet.com.

TheStreet.com has a revenue-sharing relationship with Trader's Library under which it receives a portion of the revenue from purchases by customers directed there from TheStreet.com.

TheStreet Premium Services

Jim Cramer
Jim Cramer's Action Alerts PLUS:
Trade right alongside a Wall Street pro — enjoy access to his Charitable Trust portfolio and be sent trade alerts BEFORE he makes a move. Learn More
OptionsProfits
OptionsProfits:
Get 50+ trade ideas a week from the industry's top options experts. Plus — exclusive commentary on market trends and essential trading tools. Learn More
Real Money
Real Money:
Our team of professional Wall Street Pros — including Jim Cramer, Doug Kass, and Nicholas Vardy — delivers intelligent analysis, timely trade ideas, and colorful commentary. Learn More
Stocks Under $10
Stocks Under $10:
Break into the market with small- and mid-cap stocks... all $10 or less! David Peltier tells you exactly which low-priced stocks he's buying and selling. Learn More
To begin commenting right away, you can log in below using your Disqus, Facebook, Twitter, OpenID or Yahoo login credentials. Alternatively, you can post a comment as a "guest" just by entering an email address. Your use of the commenting tool is subject to multiple terms of service/use and privacy policies - see here for more details.
blog comments powered by Disqus
Dow Jones S&P 500 NASDAQ 10-Year Note
12,454.83 1,317.82 2,837.53 17.45
Oil *
107.63
DOWN
74.92
DOWN
2.86
DOWN
1.85
DOWN
0.14
10 Yr
1.74%
SPDR Gold
152.68
-0.60%
-0.22%
-0.07%
-0.80%
Data delayed 20 minutes

Top Stories and Tools

Articles From

After the Bell

Before the Bell

Booyah! Newsletter

Midday Bell

TheStreet Top 10 Stories

Winners & Losers

We respect your privacy.
Podcasts

Connect with TheStreet