Ethanol stocks

05Apr06

There has been a great deal of talk about a potential ethanol shortage. One of the seeming beneficiaries has been Andersons (ANDE) according Aaron Pressman at Businessweek.com.

The previously sleepy company (and stock) has been a strong peformer this year based on the belief that the company will benefit from its partial ownership in some ethanol plants. Pressman is skeptical about both the "ethanol craze" and Andersons ability to profit meaningfully from it.

Jon D. Markman writing at MSN Money notes sugar prices have been on a tear due to increased worldwide consumer demand for the sweet stuff and the competing demands of ethanol production. Markman notes that there are few pure plays available to stock traders outside of the futures on the commodity itself. One domestic play is Imperial Sugar (IPSU).

Also on the ethanol front David Morris in the American Prospect writes on the "carbohydrate economy" and how this might change the prospects for the farming community as a whole. (via Arts & Letters Daily)