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Commodities: 50 Things You Really Need To Know
“Commodity speculators and armchair economists alike will love Peter Sainsbury’s hugely informative book, ‘Commodities’.”
“Excellent, Well rounded Guide to Commodities.”
“Good book, fun read.”
Commodity markets can provide the basis for a Hollywood movie, be the spark that ignites revolutions, engender fear of shortages in business and within government, force us into making difficult choices about how we spend our money and inspire innovators to come up with better, cheaper ways of doing things.
Whether you are involved in producing commodities, buy them for your business, want to trade or invest in them or simply – like the rest of us – consume them on a daily basis, this guide to commodities book should have something for you. Peter Sainsbury, economist and blogger at Materials Risk, introduces and explains the essential things you really need to know about commodities in a series of 50 accessible and engaging essays.
Beginning with the basics, such as the price elasticity of supply and the role of expectations, and concluding with the latest thinking on speculation and commodity markets and how to trade or invest in commodities, he sheds light on all the essential topics needed to understand commodity super-cycles, resource scarcity and security, and the way the world of commodities affects us every day.
Most books about commodities sell you the dream that you can give up your day job and make a killing by trading soybeans. Some suggest that you should invest your pension in gold and a basket of other commodities and look forward to a prosperous retirement. The others are full of complex statistics that are impenetrable to most people.
This book is different. Packed with real-life examples and quotations from key thinkers and market players Commodities: 50 Things You Really Need To Know is a lively and relevant exploration of how commodities and commodity markets influences every aspect of our lives.
After reading this book you will see the world anew. Instead of just eating your breakfast you will be wondering what impact the latest geopolitical crisis will have on the supply of wheat for your cereal, or what impact Chinese demand will have on the price of milk.
Meanwhile, understanding how changes in the price of a commodity affect your investments may help you make better judgements about where to place your retirement capital and spark your inspiration for an innovation that can overcome the latest commodity bottleneck.
About the Author
Peter Sainsbury is the author of Commodities 50 Things You Really Need To Know. He is also the founder of the popular commodities market blog Materials Risk and is ranked in the top 100 economists in the UK according to the financial newspaper City A.M. He lives in Worcestershire, UK.
“Excellent, Well rounded Guide to Commodities.”
“Good book, fun read.”
Commodity markets can provide the basis for a Hollywood movie, be the spark that ignites revolutions, engender fear of shortages in business and within government, force us into making difficult choices about how we spend our money and inspire innovators to come up with better, cheaper ways of doing things.
Whether you are involved in producing commodities, buy them for your business, want to trade or invest in them or simply – like the rest of us – consume them on a daily basis, this guide to commodities book should have something for you. Peter Sainsbury, economist and blogger at Materials Risk, introduces and explains the essential things you really need to know about commodities in a series of 50 accessible and engaging essays.
Beginning with the basics, such as the price elasticity of supply and the role of expectations, and concluding with the latest thinking on speculation and commodity markets and how to trade or invest in commodities, he sheds light on all the essential topics needed to understand commodity super-cycles, resource scarcity and security, and the way the world of commodities affects us every day.
Most books about commodities sell you the dream that you can give up your day job and make a killing by trading soybeans. Some suggest that you should invest your pension in gold and a basket of other commodities and look forward to a prosperous retirement. The others are full of complex statistics that are impenetrable to most people.
This book is different. Packed with real-life examples and quotations from key thinkers and market players Commodities: 50 Things You Really Need To Know is a lively and relevant exploration of how commodities and commodity markets influences every aspect of our lives.
After reading this book you will see the world anew. Instead of just eating your breakfast you will be wondering what impact the latest geopolitical crisis will have on the supply of wheat for your cereal, or what impact Chinese demand will have on the price of milk.
Meanwhile, understanding how changes in the price of a commodity affect your investments may help you make better judgements about where to place your retirement capital and spark your inspiration for an innovation that can overcome the latest commodity bottleneck.
About the Author
Peter Sainsbury is the author of Commodities 50 Things You Really Need To Know. He is also the founder of the popular commodities market blog Materials Risk and is ranked in the top 100 economists in the UK according to the financial newspaper City A.M. He lives in Worcestershire, UK.
297 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 10, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 21, 2020
This book is on commodities, in the most literal sense, not contracts on commodities (though there's about 5 -7 mins of that at the very end of the audiobook), not how to analyze commodities in a formal sense in investment/trend/technical sense, but literally on the nature of the commodities, and how they are utilized in the current production system.
Many of these are fairly obvious (petro/oil, certain metals etc.), but even here, there are some lesser known facts that are potentially useful to understanding commodities from a trading context (grades of crude etc.). Overall, the book is a collection of facts on a series of commodities. It's well-written and well-read. However, it's probably not appropriate beyond freshmen/senior high school level course. It would make a decent short introduction on the topic. Conditional recommend as a very basic intro.
Many of these are fairly obvious (petro/oil, certain metals etc.), but even here, there are some lesser known facts that are potentially useful to understanding commodities from a trading context (grades of crude etc.). Overall, the book is a collection of facts on a series of commodities. It's well-written and well-read. However, it's probably not appropriate beyond freshmen/senior high school level course. It would make a decent short introduction on the topic. Conditional recommend as a very basic intro.
January 8, 2023
Pretty superficial.
June 13, 2016
Mainly generalities. Not very useful.
After reading the book I can remember only a few useful bits of info. Around 40/50 "must knows" were commonly cited generalities without enlightening examples, not really useful as such.
The bits I found useful:
1) Figuring out commodities' daily prices is really difficult and most quoted prices are in fact near term futures prices
2) Iron ore is the only major commodity still traded wth long term contracts between producers and steel manufacturers.
3) China just a short while back had 95% market share in rare earths and caused a shock (prices x 4) by imposing strick export quotas a few years ago. An interesting fact about china's power in those commodities
4) Story why onion futures trading is banned in the US.
After reading the book I can remember only a few useful bits of info. Around 40/50 "must knows" were commonly cited generalities without enlightening examples, not really useful as such.
The bits I found useful:
1) Figuring out commodities' daily prices is really difficult and most quoted prices are in fact near term futures prices
2) Iron ore is the only major commodity still traded wth long term contracts between producers and steel manufacturers.
3) China just a short while back had 95% market share in rare earths and caused a shock (prices x 4) by imposing strick export quotas a few years ago. An interesting fact about china's power in those commodities
4) Story why onion futures trading is banned in the US.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews