Potash Troubles

 

The only troubled important share in my portfolio is ICL, the local potash fertilizer producer. From +100% it went to -25% and I am losing too much. International prices went down (see Rabobank graph) and Bielorrusia is having trouble getting out its product. I cannot find any reference to the Houthi closing down the only outlet for ICL potash to Asia, but I presume it is the main cause of ICL's horrible loss of worth. Geopolitical risk, they say. The Jordanian Potash company must also be suffering. But the main damage is being caused to the Suez Canal - Egypt. And Europe. A multinational force is trying to do something but the Houthis cannot be attacked from the air or the sea and no one will send troops for a land operation. Hamas is still fighting and speculating that Israel's internal turmoil is working for its benefit. Seems that 2024 will be a lost year for ICL and moi. 

Feelings

 

The center does not hold.

 "Iran's military forces have, in an armed clash inside the Pakistani territory, killed senior Jaish al-Adl militant group commander Ismail Shahbakhsh and some of his companions," Iran's state-run media reported on Saturday.

The development has come a month after the two countries conducted airstrikes on each other's territories.

Jaish al-Adl, a Sunni extremist organization, that is designated a terrorist organization by Iran, operates predominantly in the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan (colored brown left).

Centrifugal forces are acting on Iran. 

Less for the same price

 

New tuna tin with less tuna. The price remains the same.

I did not realize the change and bought eight boxes.

Decadent Art (anno 1900)

 

Artist unknown. 

Decapitating the enemy

 
According to Gallant (Israel's Minister of Defense), “Hamas has no confidence in its commanders – this is very, very apparent. In addition, the Hamas-Gaza branch is unresponsive – there is nobody to talk to on the ground, and the external leadership [abroad] is looking for leadership [in Gaza]. This means that there is a ‘bid’ for who will manage Gaza – there is no party in control.

This is an opportunity to put some Hamas chieftain of our liking into the leadership position in Gaza and negotiate their surrender "with ourselves".   

Packed Plant

Packed WWTP with automatization was my idea 30 years ago. I proposed to build a prototype to a Start-Up State facility in Southern Israel, the project was accepted but the terms were leonine, they wanted most of the shares and my part was to be about 10-15%, so I abandoned the whole project.  I see now that the Chinese have produced it successfully and selling it at about 12000 dollars each (43,000 sheqel). It is dirt cheap. The factory is in Shandong and has sales of 1.5 million dollars. Admirable.