Alternative Outlook

Forestry, which is often seen as a safe investment in uncertain times, is proving an excellent option during the on going financial crisis, according to a report by property consultants Savills and UPM Tilhill.

The Forest Market Report 2011, published yesterday (Tuesday 29 November) in London, says the strength of the forest market over the past 12 months will be no surprise to those in the industry who have long believed in the potential of the underlying investment returns.

It claims that as a medium to long term investment, forest pric…

Many investment professionals, including the legendary investors Jim Rogers and George Soros, believe agriculture commodities are only in the early-to-middle innings of a major “super cycle” of increasing prices. Both Rogers and Soros are billionaire investors who have had tremendous success over the years in up-markets as well as down markets, so when they speak it is well worth listening to both of them.

Currently, both Soros and Rogers are extremely bullish on farmland investments. In our view, the arguments for farmland investment as a…

Timbreinvestments.co today released an article claiming that forestry investments are shaping into an asset class of their own. The article comes as a response to a recent New York Times feature, which highlights findings from a new forestry study conducted by scientists in North America.

According to timbreinvestments.co, researchers from Oregon State University, The University of Montana and The University of British Columbia conducted a study on forests in the Northwestern United States, where climate conditions have undergone significan…

Renewable energy is surpassing fossil fuels for the first time in new power-plant investments, shaking off setbacks from the financial crisis and an impasse at the United Nations global warming talks.

Electricity from the wind, sun, waves and biomass attracted $187 billion last year compared with $157 billion for natural gas, oil and coal, according to calculations by Bloomberg New Energy Finance using the most recent data. Accelerating installations of solar and wind power led to lower equipment prices, making clean energy more competitive …

Gold is an investment that traditionally holds its value By Daniel Fox

With the current instabilities in the global markets and a third round of Quantitative Easing set to inject a further £75billion into the UK’s economy, effectively devaluing the buying power of the pound, many private investors are concerned about the impact that this may have on their portfolios.

For an individual to maintain a successful portfolio, it is important that it reflects the current position of the wider global economy. At the minute, the dominating pos…

If you’d like to learn more about investing in agriculture and didn’t get to attend the October World Agriculture Investing Conference then check out the summary paper (pdf) just published by FC Business Intelligence.

Extreme drought and unprecedented heat in the US farm belt, the eurozone debt crisis and political unrest throughout the Middle East – the threats to and concerns over world food supplies are everpresent. Political and natural disasters have driven agricultural commodity prices to record highs. But many experts predict l…

THE world’s biggest offshore wind farm is set to be built in Scotland with a multi-billion-pound investment, securing hundreds of jobs and further cementing the country’s position as a global leader in renewable energy.

The £4.5 billion project envisages up to 300 turbines in water 200ft deep more than 13 miles off Caithness, generating enough power for more than a million homes by 2020.

The wind farm would be a major boost to the Scottish Government’s target of generating 100 per cent of the country’s electricity demand from ren…

Asia’s thirst for rare and fine wine is moving beyond the dining table as the industry seeks to tickle the region’s capital markets as well as its taste buds.

China is already the fastest-growing wine consumption market globally, and industry experts say wealthy Chinese business people are now also developing an appetite for the investment opportunity that wine offers.

“Wine is a very passionate subject, much more so than stocks and shares. It’s a passion as well as an investment for our clients,” said Stephen Wickens, the managing direct…

International policies that would direct “just 2 percent of global GDP into 10 key sectors would kick-start” the global transition to a more sustainable, ‘Green Economy,’ according to a UN Environmental Program report.

All the elements to enact a transition to a “low-carbon, resource-efficient and socially inclusive global economic model” are here now, and businesses and governments are already promoting and fostering greater investments in 10 key sectors UNEP has singled out: agriculture, energy, buildings, water, forestry, fish…

Gold demand in the third quarter of 2011 reached 1,053.9 tonnes, an increase of 6% compared to the same period last year. This equates to US$57.7bn, an all-time high in value terms.

According to the World Gold Council’s Gold Demand Trends report for Q3 2011 released today, this increase was driven by investment demand which rose by 33% year-on-year to 468.1 tonnes, generating record quarterly demand of US$25.6bn.

The report also details a number of other developments:

Investment demand in Europe reached a record quarterly value of �…