who cares if the us grows or shrinks

All BHP holders and potential buyers should read this article.....

By Lawrence Roulston - Oct 15 2008

As far as the rest of the world is concerned, it doesn’t really matter a great deal if the U.S. economy grows by 1 or 2% or shrinks by 1 or 2%.

Looking at the metals: China has been and continues to be the most important driver in the metals markets. Headlines are now screaming out that the Chinese economy is slowing. Those few investors who read beyond the headlines will see that China’s pace of growth has slowed from more than 11% a year to just over 10%.

If you think about it further, you will realize that 10% growth, coming on the larger base, actually represents the same amount of real growth as last year. India is still growing strongly, as is much of Asia. Similarly, the pace of growth is slowing, but is still at a pace that developed countries can only dream of.

Similarly, the popular press trumpets the fall in the oil price. It is only down when stacked up against the spike earlier in the year when speculators pushed it briefly to $140. When measured against the level of a year ago and two years ago, the oil price is up. Huge amounts of money are flowing to oil exporting nations which, like the Asian nations, are building infrastructure.

We constantly hear about the bursting of the commodities bubble. Yet, metal prices are still well above long term trends. Iron ore prices are still rising sharply: and definitely not driven by speculators. The prices are set by producers dealing directly with users.

Click here for full article.