Where are we in the Cycle?
Four guideposts are now "flashing amber" after the recent swing in sentiment about global prospects offered a fresh "red" warning sign.  Sluggish productivity growth, exacerbated by war in Europe, intensifying trade restrictions and ongoing central bank worries about inflation, have been a continuing constraint on raw material demand expansion. Global monetary conditions are only slowly becoming less restrictive.  Metal market supply anxieties have dissipated. US dollar strength has given way to a more neutral influence on prices.  Overall, the guideposts are suggesting a low point in the cycle without yet displaying conclusive signs of a  cyclical turn.   More...

Market Directions
The constraints on capital flows connecting retail equity investors to the riskiest end of the market have loosened over the past three months adding to the flows of professional money which, having discounted a recession and been unaffected by inflationary pressures, had been supporting the most growth oriented and well-established businesses in the industry. Heavily hyped energy storage innovations are yet to affect metal demand as meaningfully as once expected.  Higher metal price risk premiums, where evident, have struggled to impact related equity valuations.   The first crack in the 1990s-style investment performance - when modest sector equity price gains occurred in the midst of sometimes highly disruptive macro conditions - has appeared.  More...

Portfolio Performance and Positioning
Sector performance stumbled in the past week after an unusually prolonged period of strong returns, especially among companies at the earliest stages of their development journey.  The number of  companies posting gains was the same as the number with negative returns. Despite signs of a cyclical recovery from deeply depressed prices over the past three months, a continuing dearth of mineral discoveries, adversely affecting their ability to attract individual shareholders, remains the biggest hindrance to the ongoing performance of exploration oriented companies.  Performance of companies in the Phase II development category remain under pressure, despite demonstrable production potential and expected proximity to profits.  Risks arising from relatively high indebtedness and heavy reliance on execution success in sometimes unfamiliar markets and untested management are impeding their returns. The Phase III category, although less volatile, is the most sensitive to capital allocation decisions among institutional fund managers responding to changing sector valuations and relative macro growth expectations     More...

Stock Reviews and Rating Analysis 
PortfolioDirect rating reports analyse the quality and risk attributes of proposed mineral developments.  Rating criteria apply to mining and oil and gas stocks at any stage of development.  PortfolioDirect uses a five point rating scale to measure the risk adjusted quality of proposed mineral developments or companies.    
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The 'Steak or Sizzle' blog provides summary judgements on the top performing ASX-listed resources stocks. More...