Inveslogic.com Daily Blog Report: Early-stage financing booms, Indian ore exports slow, Boeing demonstrates jet bio-fuel

This is a selection of today’s most popular blog articles from Inveslogic.com where you will find the highest-rated stock market and investment blogs, videos and podcasts on the web.

Best early-stage financing conditions in a decade

According to VentureBeat, a widely-read blog offering insight on the venture capital industry, this is the best time for a start-up company to be entering their first round of financing since the tech bubble burst back in 2001. The post, written by noted financial journalist Matt Marshall, based his observations on recent data compiled by Dow Jones VentureOne. Marshall stated that “the latest data available gathered from the secretive world of venture capital show that the median value of a company raising a first round of capital is $8.66 million.” The data states that this is the highest recorded amount since the first quarter of 2001. “In other words, if you’re going to raise capital, do it now” said Marshall.

He was sure to note, however, that the picture is not as rosy for more mature companies entering later stages of financing. The same data from the Dow Jones VentureOne study reveals that “the values for private companies raising money at later rounds are actually down compared to last year.” Marshall reports that, for later rounds, the values dipped slightly to 35.25 million from the previous year. According to Marshall, the key influences were “the credit crunch, and continued woes in the housing sector appear to be a drag on the economy, and this could impact public stocks, which in turn affects the values of private companies.” Marshall was not exactly optimistic that this boom in VC financing will continue over the long term. “There are clouds on the horizon, but it’s not certain how just how stormy things will be, and how soon. But if you’re in the early stages, our advice would be to get it done quickly.”

Boeing and Rolls Royce embrace bio-fuel



The latest post from Green Car Congress, an expert blog focused on sustainable transportation, has revealed that aerospace giant Boeing is shifting towards the use of bio-fuel in its planes. The post states that Boeing is currently part of a joint venture that also includes Air New Zealand and engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce.  Late next year, they plan to conduct a “bio-fuel demonstration flight designed to help accelerate the development of viable and sustainable alternative fuels for commercial aviation uses.” The demonstration flight will involve an Air New Zealand Boeing 747-400 equipped with Rolls-Royce engines.



Boeing has also announced a similar deal with the UK’s Virgin Atlantic.



Additionally, the post also reports that Boeing’s commitment to bio-fuel goes deeper than just one demonstration. According to the post, “Boeing is in discussions with fuel-source providers around the globe to identify potential biofuels that are available in suitable quantities for laboratory and jet-engine performance testing and in compliance with stringent aviation requirements.” Biofuels can be blended with traditional kerosene fuel (Jet-A). Green Car Congress also states that “sustainable bio-jet feedstock sources avoid deforestation practices and potential competition with global food resources, while helping to lower aviation carbon dioxide outputs.”



Multi-year bull market for gold

A recent post from Goldseek, a popular blog focusing on precious metals, reveals that gold has now hit a 28-year high on the COMEX in New York. It rose, yesterday, by $4.70 to $732.50. GoldSeek was quick to emphasize that “if gold closes over $700 today it will be the first time since 1980 that we have had a monthly close above $700… the first monthly close for gold above $700 is very significant.” The post declared that gold has entered the “early to middle stages of a new multi-year bull market.” Supposedly, there are significant differences between the last run on gold which occurred in the 1970s and the precious metal’s current surge.

According to the post, this bull market is based on “a very solid foundation unlike its counterpart in the late 1970s which ended in a speculative blow off.” The author of the post was adamant that within the coming years “gold is likely to be valued at above $2000 per ounce.”

The post also quotes Christopher Wood, the chief strategist at Hong Kong broker CLSA, stating that the price of gold could exceed $2000 per ounce and by a significant margin at that. According to Wood, “market ructions and a collapse of the dollar could send gold prices to $3,400 an ounce or more in the next three years.” The post noted that increasing global macroeconomic and systemic risk is “leading to many respected analysts ratcheting up their gold price forecasts.”

New tax slows Indian ore exports

According to the latest post from Resource Investor, a business blog focused on the mining and drilling sectors, Indian export taxes have dramatically slowed the flow of iron ore that was once flooding the Chinese market. The post stated that “recent media reports said the country’s iron ore exports to China have slumped by 26.5% in August to 4.59 million tonnes.” The tax was only imposed in the past few months. The post also reports that “Indian iron ore exports to China in August hit their lowest monthly level since October 2006.” This news is in stark contrast to earlier this year when a total of 56.19 million tonnes of iron ore was shipped between the two countries during the first seven months of the year.

The post insisted that “volumes have been steadily dropping since the central government introduced an export tax in March.”

The void is being filled by Brazil and Australia whose iron ore exports to China have recently grown by 27% and 14% respectively. Traditionally, the monsoon season slows down China’s imports during September and October, but analysts are stating that prices may skyrocket even further above the current price of $155 a tonne. However, the post reports that “Chinese traders comment that such high prices are unacceptable and that buying activity is declining as a result.”

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