Silver's New BFF

Silver ETFs may have found a new friend and when you think about it, this new friend isn't all that much of a surprise. We're talking about Bolivian President Evo Morales, who for this writer's money, looks a bit like Erik Estrada. Dopplegangers aside, here's the skinny if you're involved with an ETF such as the Global X Silver Miners ETF SIL or the iShares Silver Trust SLV: Bolivia is considering nationalizing its silver industry. Don't think it can happen? Think again. Since taking office in 2006, Morales hasn't been shy about nationalizing businesses in Bolivia. It took him all of 100 days to do that to Bolivia's oil business. He nationalized an antimony plant owned by Glencore in 2010. Bolivia would probably a top lithium exporter if that industry didn't fall under the jurisdiction of the oil nationalization. So you get the picture: Morales loves to nationalize things. Comibol, Bolivia's state-run silver miner, could take control of assets owned by Glencore, Pan American Silver PAAS and Coeur d`Alene Mines CDE, according to Bloomberg News, which cited a Bolivian press outlet. Both stocks were taken to the woodshed today. Both are top-10 holdings in SIL, but the ETF was only down fractionally today. While miners may feel a near-term pinch on the Bolivia news, SLV and the ETFS Physical Silver Shares SIVR would almost certainly benefit if Bolivia's nationalization results in lower supplies of the white metal because the country was the sixth-largest silver producer in the world last year with output of 41 million ounces. Simply put: The inter-mingling of silver prices and Bolivian politics will be interesting to observe.