copper prices

POTASH CORP. OF SASKATCHEWAN, $38.61, Toronto symbol POT, has offered to buy German fertilizer producer K+S AG for $8 billion U.S. That’s equal to 31% of its $32.2-billion (Canadian) market cap. The company sells most of its products to customers in the U.S. and Asia, so a takeover would greatly expand its presence in Europe. It would also gain access to K+S’s new Legacy potash mine in Saskatchewan, which will open in 2016. Merging Legacy’s operations with its five existing mines in Saskatchewan would give Potash Corp. an opportunity to cut costs. K+S will probably reject the offer, so Potash Corp. may have to raise its bid....

ISHARES MSCI CHILE INVESTABLE MARKET INDEX FUND $40.22 (New York symbol ECH; buy or sell through brokers) is an ETF that aims to track the MSCI Chile Investable Market Index, which consists of stocks that mainly trade on the Santiago Stock Exchange.

The fund’s top holdings are S.A.C.I. Falabella (retail), 10.9%; Enersis SA (electricity), 9.9%; Empresas Copec SA (conglomerate), 7.6%; Empresa Nacional de Electricidad (electricity), 7.1%; Banco Santander Chile (banking), 5.0%; Empresas CMPC (pulp and paper), 4.9%; Cencosud SA (retailer), 4.6%; Banco de Chile, 4.5%; Colbun SA (utility), 4.1%; and LATAM Airlines, 3.9%.

The fund’s industry breakdown consists of Utilities, 28.6%; Financials, 18.0%; Consumer Discretionary, 12.9%; Materials, 11.0%; Consumer Staples, 9.3%; Energy, 8.0%; Industrials, 7.0%; Telecommunications, 2.3%; and Information Technology, 2.2%.

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We think conservative investors could hold up to 10% of their portfolios in foreign stocks. One way to do that is to buy carefully chosen exchange traded funds (ETFs) that have an overseas focus. The best ETFs offer very low management fees and well-diversified, tax-efficient portfolios of highquality stocks. Here’s a look at six international ETFs:...

CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY LTD., $240.18, Toronto symbol CP, gained 3% this week after reporting record first-quarter revenue and earnings. The company earned $375 million in the three months ended March 31, 2015, up 49.4% from $251 million a year earlier. Per-share earnings jumped 59.2%, to $2.26 from $1.42, on fewer shares outstanding. These results exclude unusual items, such as a foreign-exchange loss on CP’s U.S. dollar-denominated debt and severance costs stemming from a recent restructuring. On that basis, the latest earnings beat the consensus estimate of $2.19. Revenue rose 10.3%, to $1.67 billion from $1.51 billion, matching the consensus forecast....

vGLOBAL X COPPER MINERS ETF $6.99 (New York symbol COPX; buy or sell through brokers; www.globalxfunds.com) tracks the Solactive Global Copper Miners Index, which includes 20 to 40 international companies that mine, refine or explore for copper. Germany-based Structured Solutions AG created this index.

Canadian firms make up 41.0% of the ETF’s holdings. It also includes companies based in Australia (15.5%), China (5.4%), Peru (5.0%) and Mexico (4.6%). The fund’s MER is 0.65%.

Its top holdings are Hudbay Minerals at 6.4%; Imperial Metals, 6.4%; Antofagasta plc, 5.8%; Teck Resources, 5.6%; Southern Copper, 5.6%; Jiangxi Copper, 5.5%; Lundin Mining, 5.2%; Kazakhmys, 5.2%; Turquoise Hill, 5.1%; Grupo Mexico, 5.0%; and Glencore International, 4.8%.

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ISHARES MSCI CHILE INVESTABLE MARKET INDEX FUND $40.95 (New York symbol ECH; buy or sell through brokers) is an ETF that aims to track the MSCI Chile Investable Market Index, which consists of stocks that mainly trade on the Santiago Stock Exchange.

The fund’s top holdings are S.A.C.I. Falabella (retail), 10.6%; Enersis SA (electricity), 9.6%; Empresas Copec SA (conglomerate), 7.9%; Empresa Nacional de Electricidad (electricity), 7.2%; LATAM Airlines, 5.0%; Banco Santander Chile (banking), 4.9%; Empresas CMPC (pulp and paper), 4.9%; Banco de Chile, 4.4%; Cencosud SA (retailer), 4.2%; and Quimica y Minera de Chile (mining), 4.1%.

The fund’s industry breakdown is: Utilities, 28.3%; Financials, 18.1%; Materials, 11.8%; Consumer Discretionary, 11.4%; Consumer Staples, 9.3%; Industrials, 8.2%; Energy, 7.7%; Telecommunications, 2.2%; and Information Technology, 2.2%.

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AMERIGO RESOURCES $0.34 (Toronto symbol ARG; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (604-681-2802; www.amerigoresources.com; Shares outstanding: 173.7 million; Market cap: $59.0 million; No dividends paid) processes copper and molybdenum from waste rock at Chile’s El Teniente, the world’s largest underground copper mine. This rock comes from the mine’s current production and tailings from the nearby Colihues deposit. This contract runs at least through 2037. Amerigo gets 94% of its revenue by processing copper. The remaining 6% comes from molybdenum. In the three months ended December 31, 2014, Amerigo’s copper production fell 7.4%, to 11.35 million pounds from 12.25 million a year earlier. Molybdenum output declined 11.8%, to 160,107 pounds from 181,464....

We think conservative investors could hold up to 10% of their portfolios in foreign stocks. One way to do that is to buy carefully chosen exchange traded funds (ETFs) that have an overseas focus. The best ETFs offer very low management fees and well-diversified, tax-efficient portfolios of highquality stocks. Here’s a look at six international ETFs:...

GLOBAL X COPPER MINERS ETF $6.99 (New York symbol COPX; buy or sell through brokers; www.globalxfunds.com) tracks the Solactive Global Copper Miners Index, which includes 20 to 40 international companies that mine, refine or explore for copper. Germany-based Structured Solutions AG created this index. Canadian firms make up 41.0% of the ETF’s holdings. It also includes companies based in Australia (15.5%), China (5.4%), Peru (5.0%) and Mexico (4.6%). The fund’s MER is 0.65%. Its top holdings are Hudbay Minerals at 6.4%; Imperial Metals, 6.4%; Antofagasta plc, 5.8%; Teck Resources, 5.6%; Southern Copper, 5.6%; Jiangxi Copper, 5.5%; Lundin Mining, 5.2%; Kazakhmys, 5.2%; Turquoise Hill, 5.1%; Grupo Mexico, 5.0%; and Glencore International, 4.8%....

AMERIGO RESOURCES $0.34 (Toronto symbol ARG; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (604-681-2802; www.amerigoresources.com; Shares outstanding: 173.7 million; Market cap: $59.0 million; No dividends paid) processes copper and molybdenum from waste rock at Chile’s El Teniente, the world’s largest underground copper mine. This rock comes from the mine’s current production and tailings from the nearby Colihues deposit. This contract runs at least through 2037.

Amerigo gets 94% of its revenue by processing copper. The remaining 6% comes from molybdenum.

In the three months ended December 31, 2014, Amerigo’s copper production fell 7.4%, to 11.35 million pounds from 12.25 million a year earlier. Molybdenum output declined 11.8%, to 160,107 pounds from 181,464.

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