Crossing a main street in a Vietnamese city is unnerving. As you follow the tourist guide advice, ignoring traffic risk as you step out, boldly striding forward at a steady pace, you are engulfed by a torrent of motorcycles. They swerve as they sweep past you, never touching you.

Commodity prices are surging and there’s the prospect of demand for some natural resources exceeding supplies for years to come. Some leading investment advisers now say that we’re in the early stages of another “super-cycle.”