Play of the Week
ProShares UltraShort Oil & Gas ETF (AMEX:DUG)
The big news Tuesday morning when markets opened after the long weekend was that oil was tanking (pun intended), along with gold and almost every other commodity. Oil has tumbled more than $40 from its peak of $147 earlier this summer over fears of a global economic slowdown.
DUG tracks twice the inverse daily performance of the Dow Jones U.S. Oil & Gas Index. It closed last Friday at $34.61 and ended this week at $40.47 – an increase of 16.9% over just 4 sessions. This play gave me desperately needed relief from the carnage in the markets this week.

Misplay of the Week
Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS)
Mosaic is a producer of phosphate and potash used as fertilizer in the agriculture industry. Shares of fertilizer companies like Mosaic have soared over the last year because of rising world demand for food. And how do you get food? You grow it. And how do you grow food? With fertilizer. I chose Mosaic over its main competitor, Potash Corporation, because 500 of their employees are currently on strike. That one’s a no-brainer.
So I figured tumbling oil prices would simply contribute to Mosaic’s bottom line, which is heavily influenced by fuel costs. Wrong. It turns out Mosaic, along with other fertilizer companies, is still on a downward correction course since peaking in mid June.
Conclusion: I still think Mosaic is a good buy and most analysts would agree. Even with a slowing global economy, people still need to eat. Perhaps we should wait to buy back once this correction has finishes its course.