North American Palladium Ltd. (fka PALDF)

[Dobie Lama]

Those are some wise fools. I got my shares of PAL. Do you?

"The problem with palladium's supply chain is that more than 80% of the world's palladium is produced by two countries: South Africa and Russia. Recently, both these countries have been dealing with problems that have affected supplies.

The latest labor dispute in South Africa is only unique due to its duration, lasting almost six months. Supply chain disruptions in the country are frequent. It seems we can't go more than a year without a strike, and when strikes are not crimping output, power supply issues rear their ugly head.

Historically, Russia could come to the rescue when the palladium market was in a shortage, but over the past decade Russia has not stepped up to the plate as much as it used to. According to palladium analysts this is because the country simply no longer has the palladium reserves to intervene. But, because Russia does not release stockpile data, it is anyone's guess why the country has stopped adding surplus palladium to the global market.

Adding more pressure on Russian supplies was the recent geopolitical tensions between the country and Ukraine. Western powers enacted, and have threatened more sanctions against Russia due to its actions in Ukraine. These sanctions had, and have, the potential to impact palladium exports.

Demand for palladium remains robust
Palladium's primary use is in the auto industry, as an auto catalyst. As the global economy has improved over the past couple of years, so have the demand expectations for the commodity.

A great deal of increased demand for palladium will come from emerging markets, which are currently undergoing a rapid increase in wealth. This increase in wealth means higher demand for more luxury items including cars and jewelry.

In addition, palladium is starting to see an influx in investment demand. Historically, palladium has not been as popular of an investment as its precious metal counterparts gold and palladium, but the metal's recent rally is attracting the attention of investors, and this is turn has resulted in more interest in physical-backed ETFs – which in turn has created more demand for the metal. "

http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/06/18/the-best-investment-opportunity-in-precious-metals.aspx