From MarketWatch yesterday:

New York-based asset manager Van Eck Global today launched the Market Vectors-RVE Hard Assets Producers exchange-traded fund (HAP) on the American Stock Exchange(R)–the first and only global hard assets ETF.

HAP seeks to replicate, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of The Rogers(TM)-Van Eck Hard Assets Producers Index (RVEI), which many view as the definitive global benchmark for commodity equities. Jim Rogers, the well-known international investor and a co-founder of the Quantum Fund, is chairman of the RVE Index Committee, and was actively involved in the construction of the index in partnership with S-Network Global Indexes, LLC.

HAP provides “one-stop shopping” for the global hard assets industry because its underlying index is comprehensive in construction, covering 321 companies in 40 countries and 6 sectors at end-August. The index includes the world’s largest and most prominent publicly traded companies that are engaged in the production and distribution of hard assets and related products and services, and captures more than 90% of the industry’s global stock market capitalization. The sectors covered include energy, agriculture, base metals, precious metals, forest products and water and renewable energy (solar and wind). RVEI is the first commodities equities index to include water and renewable energy—increasingly important natural resources–and utilizes consumption-based weights that afford balanced exposure among the 6 sectors.

The index is pure-play in its focus, including only those companies that derive at least 50% of their revenues from the applicable commodity sector. The sole exception is water, where constituents must generate at least 25% of their revenues from that industry.

“The RogersTM-Van Eck Hard Assets Producers Index is designed to provide a reliable, comprehensive benchmark for measuring the performance of the global hard assets industry, which is central to the world economy since it accounts for approximately 14% of global GDP,” said Rogers.

“The Market Vectors-RVE Hard Assets Producers ETF is the first to provide comprehensive exposure to the dynamics of the global commodities business in a single fund,” said Jan van Eck, Principal at Van Eck Global. “We think investors will find it attractive as a way to participate in this huge and growing segment of the market.”

Source:

“Van Eck Launches First and Only Global Hard Assets ETF”
MarketWatch, September 3, 2008

Jim Rogers appeared on CNBC early this morning and talked about a number of issues, including:

Possibility Of Recession

Recessions are like forest fires. Forest fires clean out the underbrush, they clean out things so that the forest can come out with a solid foundation and start with a new burst of growth. That’s what recessions are for. This is just like forest fires.

Keynesian-Type Stimulus Plan

Keynes has been pretty much disproven by most people, except maybe at CNBC…

Well, we will see what happens with this new stimulus package from Japan and from the United States. If you ask me, it’s the same mistake that America made in the seventies, they refused to let anybody fail, they kept propping things up with band-aids, and America had one of its worst decades its had in its 200 years of history. Likewise with the Japanese in the 1990s, they had their lost decade. I’m afraid we’re just extending things out, and we too, are going to have a lost decade.

U.S. Presidential Candidates

On Senator Barack Obama:

Well, he’s talking about spending a lot of money. Yes, I don’t consider that very good, going deeper into debt. The United States is already the largest debtor nation in the history of the world. I’m not sure that that’s going to solve anything.

On Senators Obama and McCain:

Neither one of these guys understand what’s going on. They don’t understand currency markets, economies, they don’t understand the world. You know, both of them will cause us more problems than they’re going to solve. If you happen to be friends with whoever wins, sure, you’re going to have a better time in the next four years. But the rest of us, the 300 million Americans, are all going to be worse off in the next four years. In fact, the world will be worse off.

Wall Street Bail Out

They’re bailing out Wall Street because all their friends are on Wall Street. When Ben Bernanke gets a phone call from the head of Lehman Brothers, he takes the call. But if some poor school teacher in Oklahoma calls Ben Bernanke, he doesn’t take the call. You know, he’s dealing with his friends on Wall Street, trying to save them, when in fact he should let them fail. And that would be a better solution. At least for 300 million Americans.

Letting Financial Institutions Fail

We’ve been having investment bankers go bankrupt for a few hundred years. Are you suddenly telling me that if investment banks on Wall Street go down the tubes, that the world’s going to come to an end? Listen now, a lot of 29-year-olds out there are driving Maseratis. Let them turn in their Maseratis. Let some of the rest of the people in America have a good time rather than people on Wall Street…

Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Bailout

Why should the 300 million Americans take on the $6 trillion of debt that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac incurred? We didn’t have anything to do with it. It’s not our responsibility that a bunch of incompetents and crooks went out and ran up $6 trillion of debt. Why should we pay for it? It’s bad enough when the incompetents and crooks in Congress run up huge debts. But when people who aren’t even elected run up debts, why should Americans have to pay off that debt?

Inflation

Inflation’s going to get worse.

Commodities

I have not sold any commodities, and I’ve bought some more agriculture recently.

Emerging Markets

The ones that are in businesses which will not be affected by recession are going to do fine. Agriculture farmers around the world are finally going to be a lot better off. Maybe in ten years we’ll have 29-year-old farmers driving Maseratis instead of 29-year-old stockbrokers riding around in Maseratis. If you’re in the right areas, you’re going to do fine. But everybody’s going to be affected when large economies go into recession…

I’ve sold out of nearly all emerging markets because they were very over-exploited in the last two or three years. So I don’t really own shares in any emerging markets except of course China and Taiwan, which I still own. But other than that, I’m basically out of emerging markets around the world. Too many people around the world are flying around looking for hot emerging markets. That’s not a time to be investing in them.

Europe

Taxes are much too high in Europe. Nobody wants to invest in Europe with a high tax rate.

You can watch the entire 13 minute 3 second segment here.

Source:

Jim Rogers Interview
CNBC, August 29, 2008

Tom Dyson, contributing editor to DailyWealth, a free investment newsletter that uses contrarian investment strategies, talked about his recent meeting with legendary investor Jim Rogers in the August 25 issue of the publication. Dyson wrote:

Last week, I met Jim Rogers for a drink at the apartment complex where he lives in Singapore…

Jim Rogers is a famous American speculator. He’s written four bestsellers on investing. He’s been to hundreds of countries. And he’s made hundreds of millions of dollars from his investments.

Jim asked me what I’m doing in Singapore. I told him I’m traveling around Asia for 10 weeks and visiting China, India, Thailand, Malaysia, Korea, and Singapore.

“Well, you’re visiting all the wrong countries,” he said. He told me I should be going to Myanmar, North Korea, Cambodia, and Taiwan.

Nice article on the investment potential of these, and other, Asian countries. Be sure to check it out here.

Cambodia

Source:

“You Should Consider North Korea as an Investment”
Tom Dyson
Daily Wealth, August 25, 2008

Well-known investor Jim Rogers talked about the prospects for crude oil while in Malaysia this past weekend. Bloomberg’s Chan Tien Hin wrote:

Jim Rogers, who in April 2006 correctly forecast the oil price would reach $100 a barrel and gold $1,000 an ounce, said he expects oil to continue to increase over the next decade.

“Over the course of time, it’s a bull market,” the chairman of Rogers Holdings said today after an investor conference in Kuala Lumpur. While the oil price could fall to $75 or rise to $175, the market will continue to increase over the next 10 years, he said.

The Bloomberg reporter noted that according to Rogers last week, the decline in commodity prices from record highs were only a temporary reversal in a bull market that he predicts will last for several years.

Source:

“Jim Rogers Says Oil Price Rise to Continue for Decade (Update1)”
Chan Tien Hin
Bloomberg, August 23, 2008

Well-known commodities investor Jim Rogers is undeterred by the recent selloff in hard assets. Bloomberg’s Rattaphol Onsanit wrote this morning:

Jim Rogers, who in April 2006 correctly predicted oil would reach $100 a barrel and gold $1,000 an ounce, said a tumble in commodities from records represented a temporary reverse in a long-term rally.

“I don’t see that it’s the end of the bull market,” the chairman of Rogers Holdings, said in an interview in Bangkok before speaking at an investor conference later today. “Until either a lot of supply comes on stream or the economy collapses, the bull market will continue,” he said.

The co-founder of the legendary Quantum Fund added:

“I am contemplating whether it’s time to get involved in base metals again,” Rogers, 65, said today. “I haven’t bought any for awhile.”

Onsanit pointed out other areas Rogers felt may have potential. He wrote:

Rogers, who moved to Singapore after selling his New York townhouse last year, said he was still optimistic about agricultural commodities and China’s economy, favoring the tourism, education, infrastructure, and power generation sectors.

Beijing Opera

George Iype of India’s CommodityOnline.com shed some more light on Jim Rogers’ latest investment outlook. Iype wrote earlier today:

The high oil prices and the pull back in some commodity prices on recession fears have not dampened Rogers’ enthusiasm for resources investments. “I am very bullish on metals and precious metals. Crude oil price will continue to rise, because there is a major demand-supply mismatch. Those who blame speculators for high oil prices do not know how the Futures market and oil market operate. Rogers is also upbeat on agricultural commodities. “I am bullish on opportunities in the agricultural commodities market. I am investing there now. The secular bull market in commodities will continue to go on now for some years,” he adds.

Sources:

“Jim Rogers Says Commodities Will Rebound After Drop (Update1)”
Rattaphol Onsanit
Bloomberg, August 21, 2008

“Why Jim Rogers is bullish on commodities”
George Iype
CommodityOnline (India), August 21, 2008

Last month, Investment Director Keith Fitz-Gerald of the financial site Money Morning interviewed legendary investor Jim Rogers. Yesterday, I talked about part one of the interview, which highlighted a worsening U.S. financial crisis. Part two was released on Money Morning earlier today, and the discussion focused on the long-term investment potential of China. Fitz-Gerald wrote:

“I have never sold any of my Chinese companies,” Rogers said. “You know, selling China in 2008 is like selling America in 1908. Sure, let’s say the market goes down another 40% - so what! You look back over 100 years, you look back from the beauty of 1928, or even 1938 [in the depths of the Great Depression], and there is somebody who bought shares in 1908. He was still a lot better off having not sold in 1908.”

You can read part two of the exchange between Fitz-Gerald and Rogers here.

Source:

“Exclusive Interview: Jim Rogers Continues to View China as the World’s Best Long-Term Profit Play” (Part Two)
Keith Fitz-Gerald
Money Morning, August 20, 2008

Last month, Investment Director Keith Fitz-Gerald of the financial site Money Morning interviewed legendary investor Jim Rogers. Fitz-Gerald wrote today:

The U.S. financial crisis has cut so deep – and the government has taken on so much debt in misguided attempts to bail out such companies as Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE) – that even larger financial shocks are still to come, global investing guru Jim Rogers said in an exclusive interview with Money Morning.

Indeed, the U.S. financial debacle is now so ingrained – and a so-called “Super Crash” so likely – that most Americans alive today won’t be around by the time the last of this credit-market mess is finally cleared away – if it ever is, Rogers said.

The end of this crisis “is a long way away,” Rogers said. “In fact, it may not be in our lifetimes.”

You can read part one of the exchange between Fitz-Gerald and Rogers here.

Source:

“Exclusive Interview: Jim Rogers Predicts Bigger Financial Shocks Loom, Fueling a Malaise That May Last for Years” (Part One)
Keith Fitz-Gerald
Money Morning, August 19, 2008

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Offshore Banking Alert
The 10 things you really need to know before opening an offshore bank account. Free Report.
 

This morning I came across an interesting article about legendary investor Jim Rogers on the Internet news site NewsMax. Rogers, who recently moved to Singapore with his family, is the parent of two daughters and had some advice for other parents. From the NewsMax piece earlier today:

Jim Rogers thinks the smartest and best thing parents can do to ensure their childrens’ future economic well-being is to teach them to speak Chinese.

Later on, the CEO of Rogers Holdings gave out another recommendation. According to NewsMax:

Rogers — who no longer holds any funds in U.S. dollars and advises investors to buy strong non-U.S. currencies — says that the second best thing parents can do for their kids’ future is to keep their money in a Swiss bank account.

“My little girl does not have American bank accounts, she has Swiss bank accounts,” Rogers says.

Why no dollars? The fact that the U.S. is now the largest debtor in history means the U.S. dollar won’t be recovering any time soon, Rogers says.

“We owe the rest of the world $13 trillion, rising at the rate of $1 trillion every 15 months,” he says, to illustrate why the dollar’s value is decreasing.

“And the few people who know what is going on, don’t seem to care.”

The staff at NewsMax also noted that the former partner of George Soros is investing in a new area unbeknownst to Investorazzi.com. They wrote:

Rogers, in fact, is so confident in the future of China’s middle-class that he recently began buying shares in companies that produce a commodity that middle-class Chinese are just beginning to use — wine.

Source:

“Rogers: My Kid Learns Chinese, Banks Swiss”
NewsMax, August 6, 2008

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Offshore Banking Alert
The 10 things you really need to know before opening an offshore bank account. Free Report.

If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you know that investor Jim Rogers is a huge fan of China. In fact, he’s so sold on its future that he moved his family from New York City to Singapore at the end of last year. Why Singapore and not China? I discussed this in Investorazzi’s sister blog, Boom2Bust.com, back on December 27 of last year. On Christmas Eve, CNN Money got the chance to speak to the CEO of Rogers Holdings. From that post:

CNN MONEY: Why move to Singapore and not Shanghai or Beijing?
ROGERS: Well, we would like to move to China, but the air is so terrible, the pollution is so bad, that we can’t bring ourselves to do it. Everything works in Singapore. It’s an astonishing place. It’s got the best education system in the world. It’s got the best health care in the world. And it’s Chinese-speaking. Our 4-year-old daughter, Happy, goes to a school where they only speak Chinese. One of our motivations was that she continue to speak Chinese. It may not be as exciting as Shanghai or New York, but it’s exciting enough for me.

Fast forward to today. Sounds like Jim and his family are settling in just fine, according to a piece by Mak Mun San of the Singapore publication The Straits Times. In reference to Jim, his wife, Paige Parker, and their two daughters, five-year-old Hilton Augusta, or “Happy,” and three-month-old Beeland Anderson, the reporter wrote:

The couple sold their New York mansion and moved to Singapore last December so that Happy can learn Chinese in a Mandarin-speaking environment.

Rogers, who co-founded the Quantum Fund with legendary investor George Soros in the 1970s, has repeatedly said he believes China will be the next great country in the world.

“The best gift we can give our children is to let them learn Chinese and prepare them for the future,” he tells The Straits Times, while carrying the baby in his arms.

The author of A Bull In China talked about how many thought moving half-way around the world was a bad idea. Mak Mun San wrote:

Rogers says many people felt they were making a big mistake when they announced that they were uprooting to Asia.

“They thought we were crazy, because we were doing it voluntarily. Many people thought we moved to China. They don’t know that Singapore is not China,” he says.

“Some people told me I was smart to do it for my children, but they couldn’t do it themselves.”

According to Rogers, the family roots look to be firmly planted in this Southeast Asian city-state. From the piece:

Their plan is to “stay here forever, unless something else happens”, he says, adding that he hopes to travel around China one day with his daughters as his interpreters.

When asked what his net worth is–believed to be billions of dollars–he replies: “I’m sorry, but I can’t answer that.”

After a pause, he adds, tenderly: “My net worth should not be measured in monetary terms, but it should be measured in how good a father I can be.”

In an age where people’s priorities grow increasingly out of whack, here’s a man who sounds like he’s got his ducks in order.

Source:

“We Want Our Kids To Learn Chinese”
Mak Mun San
My Sinchew/The Straits Times, July 19, 2008

From our sister site, Boom2Bust.com:

“Jim Rogers Was Right About Wall Street And Their Maseratis”

“You don’t see any 29-year old cotton farmers driving around in Maseratis, but you do see a lot of 29-year olds on Wall Street driving around in Maseratis. This is not the way the world is supposed to work.”