copper prices

ISHARES MSCI CHILE INVESTABLE MARKET INDEX FUND $35.13 (New York symbol ECH; buy or sell through brokers) is an ETF that aims to track the MSCI Chile Investable Market Index. Its stocks trade on the Santiago Stock Exchange.

The fund’s largest holdings are Empresas Copec SA (conglomerate), 7.7%; S.A.C.I....

We think conservative investors can 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....

AMERIGO RESOURCES $0.14 (Toronto symbol ARG; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (604-681-2802; www.amerigoresources.com; Shares outstanding: 174.7 million; Market cap: $21.8 million; No dividends paid) processes copper and molybdenum from the waste rock of the El Teniente mine in Chile; that’s the world’s largest copper operation.

In the quarter ended March 31, 2016, Amerigo’s copper production jumped 45.0%, to 12.86 million pounds, at a cost of $1.82 per pound....

AEROPOSTALE INC. $0.04 (symbol AROPQ on the U.S. over-the-counter market; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (646-485-5410; www.aeropostale.com; Shares outstanding: 80.0 million; Market cap: $2.5 million; No dividends paid) has delisted from the New York exchange and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company has suffered along with many other retailers that focus on the teen market such as Abercrombie & Fitch and American Eagle. Declining mall traffic and the shift in customer spending from clothing to technology, such as cell phones and streaming media, have hurt sales. Aeropostale has also faced major competition from “fast-fashion” and off-price retailers. They continue to pull away teen customers with cheap, yet stylish goods. These rivals include H&M and Forever 21....

Successful investing in international ETFs has a lot to do with understanding the economies of the countries you invest in.

GLOBAL X COPPER MINERS ETF $15.44 (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 36.6% of the ETF’s holdings. They also include companies based in Australia (14.2%), Peru (5.1%), Mexico (5.0%) and China (4.5%). The fund’s MER is 0.65%. Its top holdings are Teck Resources at 7.7%; Oz Minerals, 7.0%; CST Mining Group, 6.5%; Glencore plc, 5.8%; First Quantum Minerals, 5.8%; Capstone Mining, 5.6%; Kaz Minerals plc, 5.5%; Lundin Mining, 5.0%; Southern Copper, 4.8%; Freeport-McMoran, 4.7%; Sandfire Resources, 4.5%; and Grupo Mexico, 4.5%....

GLOBAL X COPPER MINERS ETF $15.44 (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 36.6% of the ETF’s holdings. They also include companies based in Australia (14.2%), Peru (5.1%), Mexico (5.0%) and China (4.5%). The fund’s MER is 0.65%. Its top holdings are Teck Resources at 7.7%; Oz Minerals, 7.0%; CST Mining Group, 6.5%; Glencore plc, 5.8%; First Quantum Minerals, 5.8%; Capstone Mining, 5.6%; Kaz Minerals plc, 5.5%; Lundin Mining, 5.0%; Southern Copper, 4.8%; Freeport-McMoran, 4.7%; Sandfire Resources, 4.5%; and Grupo Mexico, 4.5%....

INTACT FINANCIAL CORP., $91.81, symbol IFC on Toronto, continues to announce innovative insurance policies aimed at new—but growing—markets. The company has reached an agreement with peer-to-peer car rental company Turo to provide insurance in Alberta, Ontario and Quebec. Turo started up in 2009 and now operates in 2,500 cities around the world. Car owners in Alberta, Ontario and Quebec can now register with the website to rent out their vehicles to other Turo members....

Western Copper & Gold Corp. must find partners to extract gold, copper, silver from its only mine site, but it has the cash to complete the permitting process.

Western Copper & Gold Corp., $0.68, symbol WRN on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 94.2 million; Market cap: $65.9 million; www.westerncoppercorp.com), owns the Casino project in the Yukon. The mining site is Western Copper’s sole asset. It contains an estimated 8.9 million ounces of gold, 65 million ounces of silver, 4.5 billion pounds of copper and 483 million pounds of molybdenum. The company completed a feasibility study on the project in 2013. The operation would centre on an open-pit mine with a 22-year life expectancy. Western Copper is now two years into the permitting stage. It should take another two years to complete....