Not Taking a Shine to Platinum Metals Yet

Aside from the fact that consultants love 'em, matrices do have actual uses. Remember the periodic table of elements from your high school chemistry class? We can reorganize elements into a little 2-by-2 matrix along the dimensions of abundance and economic value. Some elements, like silicon, are both abundant and economically useful. No silicon, no silicon chips. No silicon chips, no tech stocks. No tech stocks, no 90% losses. Can't live without silicon.

Off in another corner of the matrix are the platinum group metals. These are far scarcer than gold and are of such great economic value that approximately 20% of the goods in the modern economy have one of the platinum group catalysts involved somewhere in their manufacture.

The precious metals have been emitting inflationary warnings, and the base industrial metals have been stuck in recessionary gear. What can we learn from the platinum group, which includes platinum, palladium, osmium, iridium, ruthenium and rhodium (an element crucial to Mary Tyler Moore reruns)? ...