"Introducing Jim Rogers

Hello dear readers,

In the most recent volume of The Market Navigator, I wrote about the history of hyperinflation in the last century and why the future could see a repeat of hyperinflation in America. For this first issue in 2010, I will introduce you to a leading expert in the world of commodities and point the way to some material that you should become familiar with. I’ll end off with some information about a couple of companies that I am buying and researching.

For those who don’t do their own research or don’t pay attention to commodity news, Jim Rogers will be new to you. This man has been a leader in commodity investing for nearly 40 years and is considered the world’s foremost expert on the subject. He is to commodities what Warren Buffet is to the stock market. I’d like all of you to watch a CNBC interview with Jim that is posted on YouTube http://tinyurl.com/RogersCurrencies to get an understanding of how Jim thinks. If you choose not to watch it, here are a few key statements from the video:

• “The world may have to put all of its money in commodities because there are no paper currencies that we can trust” – he is referring to the fact that all currencies are now fiats with the Swiss being the last to abandon the gold standard.

• “I’d rather buy silver than gold” – silver is significantly below the historical ratio that exists bewteen silver and gold and there is no American history of confiscating silver.

• “I’d rather buy agriculture because it has been so depressed. You can buy ag indexes or become a farmer. Inventories of food are the lowest they’ve been in decades.”

• “Eventually, the prices of commodities will go up so high that everyone will be getting in.” – Like most investment booms, anything that gets too much press will become a bubble. You should probably get in early.

• “Would not be putting any money into U.S. assets”; “Not buying any stocks right now because they have gone up too high”. The US markets nearly double in 2009 but that came off very low levels. Still, all the growth was a result of government stimulus not real growth generated by businesses.

• “76% of all investors at the conference I spoke at in Prague had never owned gold.” That is a long way off from being a bubble. When 75-80% of investors are actively seeking to own physical gold, gold shares, or gold backed certificates, then we will be in bubble territory.

You may be thinking that Jim is just some old guy not worth your time, but here are a couple of unique points to consider:

• he was the co-founder of the Quantum Fund with George Soros (made 4200% in first 10 years)

• he has his own commodities index Rogers International Commodities Index (RICI)

• he has authored many books on investing and is respected worldwide for his critical thinking.

Here’s an excerpt from an interview with Grace Cheng from dailymarkets.com on January 15th of last year:

As you’ve said many times, the US government is printing a lot of money right now, when do you think inflation will come around and bite us?

Rogers: Well there is inflation now in many things. There’s temporary deflation in raw material prices and in some property. But throughout history, whenever you’ve had gigantic printing of money and spending of borrowed money, it has always led to higher prices. Unless something is dramatic, it’s going to happen again. When, I don’t know. It’s already happening in some things. I don’t know if you’ve bought any sugar recently or some other things, prices are up and that will continue and it will get worse. You’ve said that over the long term, the US dollar is doomed. What are your thoughts on the British Pound?

Rogers: More doomed. It will disappear sooner. If it weren’t for the North Sea, the British Pound would have already disappeared. It’s more doomed. The UK has been exporting oil for 26 years; within the decade, the UK will be a net importer of oil again, and they have nothing else to sell to the world once the oil dries up.

Jim has an uncanny knack for getting things right. He does so because he subscribes to the Austrian School of Economics which concentrates its thought on the actions of man and the reactions of his environment. ITunes U has available the unabridged audio version of Human Action and many other great economic audio books and they are all free.

There are dozens of YouTube videos with interviews of folks like Jim Rogers and I encourage you to get more informed by watching them. Like iTunes U, YouTube is also free which allows you to get a great education for just an investment of your time. Others to search for are Eric Sprott of Sprott Assett Management (he’s also a Canadian chartered accountant); straight shooting Gerald Celente of Trends Research; Congressman Ron Paul, Congressman Alan Grayson; independent analyst David Tice; economist, broker and political candidate Peter Schiff; and for a view about environmental politics and the global shift of power, look up Lord Christopher Monckton former advisor to Margaret Thatcher.

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Crowflight Minerals Inc. – 17 cents/share

Many of you have probably read that I am interested in Canadian Nickel producers. There aren’t many of them left since Falconbridge and Inco were bought up by foreign nationals so I have turned to the juniors once again. Right now, there is a great buying opportunity for a company with plenty of land holdings in the Sudbury basin where both of those big guys made most of their money. Even more interesting is that the company has opened its first mine at Bucko Lake, MB as part of a lease from Falconbridge and after a temporary shut down this winter is gearing up for full production. If it is achieved, Crowflight should double in value. I have been accumulating CML for several years. ""

Written by a colleague.

Disclaimer: This letter/article is not intended to meet your specific individual investment needs and it is not tailored to your personal financial situation. Nothing contained herein constitutes, is intended, or deemed to be -- either implied or otherwise -- investment advice. This letter/article reflects the personal views and opinions of Shaun Larocque and that is all it purports to be. This newsletter in no way is an offer to sell securities and is not endorsed by any of the companies that are discussed in the content. The author may own shares in companies that are discussed.