We live in an era of massive economic expansion. Compare the world of 50 years ago with the world today and it is clear that tremendous changes have taken place. The world population has grown and it looks like this trend still continues. In addition, the wealth in Western countries has increased tremendously. But the emerging economies of large countries such as Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) are catching up rapidly. This economic expansion, combined with a rapidly growing world population means a huge drain on the global commodity reserves. This drives up the prices enormously. As a result, raw materials are in a bull market that is expected to last for a while (years).