Timber News

Prince's Pension Plan for the Planet

As the Prince of Wales turns 60, he plans to unleash "the greatest public-private partnership yet"

If we are to prevent dangerous and unpredictable climate change, global greenhouse emissions must have peaked by 2015 and be cut by 50-80 per cent from 2000 levels by 2050. So how, in only seven years, can we reverse the gathering emissions momentum? A key part of the answer lies in the rainforests - and the Prince of Wales's Rainforest Project.

Read the full report from the Times website or download a pdf copy

You need to consider this crisis-proof investment

The past month has brought with it a big test for one of my favorite long-term investment themes: the crisis-proof investment of timberland. Timberland is a crisis-proof investment because the growth of the trees does not move in step with economic cycles. You don't have to harvest when demand is soft. Let them grow, and trees will become more valuable anyway.

Bigger trees equal more dollars!

Read the full report from the DailyWealth website

The amazing action in timberland

For the past several years, one of DailyWealth's biggest "themes" has been the advantage of investing in timberland. Timberland prices are extremely stable... and they aren't correlated with the stock market. Trees grow constantly. If timber prices are weak, the timberland owner can simply let his grow. These qualities make timber a fantastic "set it and forget it" investment. But even we didn't expect what's happening with trees right now... In the midst of the worst financial crisis in 80 years, shares of America's timberland owners are holding like a rock. For a picture of this situation, we present a chart of America's largest private timberland owner, Plum Creek Timber. ~ Brian Hunt of the DailyWealth

Brussels seeks bar on illegal timber

Europe's timber suppliers will have to seek guarantees that their products have been legally harvested, under measures proposed by the European Commission to curb deforestation and reduce greenhouse gases. European officials say that about a fifth of European timber imports could result from illegal logging and that global deforestation is responsible for 20 per cent of carbon dioxide emissions.

Read the full article from the Financial Times website