Tuesday: Stock tip for dummies

Commodities.

This can mean any type of material good that is used either on its own or to create another product.

I watch stocks a little... mostly just let them ride because returns are just as good as stressing over the market on a daily basis.

But I really comb the news for pieces on 'commodities.' The things that things are made of. It stands to reason that if a commodity is in trouble, items that are made using said commodity and companies that use large quantities of said commodity are in trouble.

Coffee... one of my favorite commodities.

Prices have been drastically increasing on this one. Remember those Starbuck drinks that you paid high prices for. Now to make them "your way," you have to pay for each step of customizing the drink. Because of an increase in the coffee's prices. Coffee's increase in cost/price has been known for a while but is only just affecting their stock prices.

Do a simple test by checking stocks of such companies. If the stock has risen, research that company to find out how they are shifting their finances to increase their stock. Because they are. Maybe not illegally, but a steady or increasing stock price in a company reliant on an unlucky commodity will affect that company somewhere. Just be aware of it.