Posted on 15 July 2011 by VRS | Email |Print
If you follow the economic news, you have probably heard that rare earth elements are a hot commodity on international markets. China, which has a disproportionate share of the world’s supply of these valuable minerals recently began restricting their export.
These minerals are important parts of many advanced electronic equipment, including batteries for electric cars. But many people are puzzled by the term “rare earth.”………………………………………Full Article: Source
Posted on 15 July 2011 by VRS | Email |Print
Stillwater Mining Co. (SWC) is so sure commodities will keep surging that it’s willing to spend more than the Montana palladium producer itself is worth to buy and develop copper and gold projects in Argentina.
Stillwater, which offered to buy Peregrine Metals Ltd. (PGM) for $487 million in cash and stock this week, projects it will cost as much as $2.5 billion to develop the Altar project in western Argentina over the next seven years, Chief Executive Officer Francis McAllister said………………………………………Full Article: Source
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Commodity prices have shifted to higher levels due to increasing use of Corn to produce ethanol, increasing commodity demand from high population nations such as China, and more recently, the drought in the Black Sea region. Agricultural land, the primary resource for field crop production, has naturally increased in value as a result, says a report from Rabobank.
Increased demand and higher market prices for specialty crops are driving up agricultural land values in regions other than the Midwest, although not to the same highs. While prices are strong in these regions they are not at record levels, resulting in more modest gains……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 15 July 2011 by VRS | Email |Print
Commodities have had a glorious run in recent times in terms of demand and prices. Investors who did not spare a thought for the boring sector were caught on the wrong foot. They missed out on some fantastic returns from commodities that far outstripped stocks and bonds.
The growth in the commodity sector has been largely based on the demand potential in the BRICs. Populous economies with growth in infrastructure investment made the ideal setting for this sector. ………………………………………Full Article: Source
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JPMorgan Chase & Co raised its commodities trading risk in the second quarter while trimming risk in equities, currencies and bonds, showing the relative importance of raw materials markets to its business.
Value at Risk (VaR) for commodities at JPMorgan averaged $16 million per day in the second quarter, compared with $13 million in the first quarter, financial results from the No. 2 U.S. bank showed on Thursday……………………………………….Full Article: Source
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China has been heralded as the global economic savior whose explosive growth-fueled appetite for natural resources will push worldwide commodities markets higher and higher, pulling many economically mangled nations out of their financial hole.
The Asian powerhouse’s appetite is so large that the People’s Bank of China has seen fit to raise interest rates yet a fourth time since October 2010 in order to cut back domestic consumption and reign in rising consumer prices………………………………………Full Article: Source
Posted on 15 July 2011 by VRS | Email |Print
Gold soared to fresh highs near $1600 per ounce mark as the Euro gained further and the momentum continued to support the metal after massive gains as investor’s eyed the possibility of a downgrade of America’s credit rating.
The benchmark MCX futures surged above Rs 23000 per 10 grams and continued to consolidate above the watershed level……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 15 July 2011 by VRS | Email |Print
Gold bullion prices came within a few cents of $1,595 per ounce on Thursday morning in London – a new spot market record and a 7.8% gain from the July 1 low.
Gold bullion also set a new dollar record at the London Fix on Thursday morning, at $1592.50 per ounce. Silver prices rose to $39.39 per ounce – 16.3% up over the same period……………………………………….Full Article: Source
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Gold may not be money, as Fed Chief Ben Bernanke said Wednesday, but it continues to be a decent bet, at least on paper, so far this year. Just please don’t let the headlines infect you with yellow fever yourself. Gold, in isolation, is just a form of speculation. And fever, remember, is a symptom of disease.
Inflation fears and instability in the euro zone helped push the price of gold up to nearly $1,600 an ounce at one point Thursday on the New York Mercantile Exchange and it settled at a new all-time high of $1,589……………………………………….Full Article: Source
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Our series concludes with a look at exploration, development and management. The field of gold miners can be a minefield for investors. But like any challenge worth tackling, well-selected gold miners offer the promise of gains well in excess of price advances in the underlying metal.
After reviewing both Part 1 and Part 2 of this series, please join us below as we learn how to gauge a miner’s all-important potential to expand resources through ongoing exploration, assess the strategic health of a miner’s development pipeline, and pinpoint management teams that possess the golden touch……………………………………….Full Article: Source
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Here are 7 reasons why buying physical gold is still the best precious metals investment; 1.Gold has been around for thousands of years so there is plenty of gold investment research. The more research available, the better chance you have of assessing an asset’s prospects.
2.If you buy gold there is no VAT to pay on the purchase. However, silver and other precious metals are not VAT exempt so you’re 20% down before you’ve even started with those……………………………………….Full Article: Source
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Central banks have bought more gold in the first half of this year than in all of 2010 as a long-anticipated reversal in so-called “official sector” sales gathers pace, a gold group reported on Thursday.
The World Gold Council provided no specific figures, but the rise will be little surprise after the so-called “official sector” became net buyers of bullion last year for the first time in two decades as a means to diversify their dollar holdings, a trend that has aided a long price rally……………………………………….Full Article: Source
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Despite host of head winds, copper, nickel and tin surged over past month. Base metals rallied sharply over the past month, as traders used lower prices to build positions. The performance was especially impressive considering the myriad head winds the group faced and still faces.
A seemingly never-ending stream of negative news flow regarding Europe’s sovereign debt crisis, weak U.S. economic data and a rising U.S. dollar made up the proverbial wall of worry that base metals had to climb……………………………………….Full Article: Source
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Crude oil prices moved with no direction with WTI and Brent contracts being capped below 100 and 120 respectively. The IEA and the OPEC delivered their 2012 oil demand forecasts for the first time while the EIA reduced its estimated for both 2011 and 2012.
Gold remained strong, extending its 8-day rally to a new all-time high of 1594.5 as investors look forward for QE3 and seek safe-haven demand amid debt problems in both the US and the Eurozone……………………………………….Full Article: Source
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Oil is at $98.50 this morning — the highest in a month. That release of strategic reserves is working out like gangbusters, eh? Heck, Barron’s had a cover story a few days ago about oil reaching $150 by next spring. It cited some of the same data we cited four months ago, about “spare capacity” — or lack thereof.
“Spare capacity,” we pause to remind you, is the ability of oil producers to jump-start new oil production within 30 days and keep it up for at least 90 days……………………………………….Full Article: Source
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Alpesh Patel helps run his family’s Citgo gas station off Rocky Creek Road in Macon. He said the week before the Fourth of July, crude oil was selling for $90 a barrel. So he slashed his price to $3.22 for a gallon of unleaded gas, so he could make room for the cheaper, $90-a-barrel gas.
But it didn’t work out that way. “Tuesday morning when the markets opened,” Patel said, “gas was already going sky high.”………………………………………Full Article: Source
Posted on 15 July 2011 by VRS | Email |Print
Our goal in this profile is to help investors wade through the many competing ETF offerings available. Using our long experience as an ETF publication, we can help select those ETFs that matter and may or may not be repetitive. The result is a more manageable list of issues from which to view and make selections.
There are currently more than 14 ETFs oriented to the materials sector, with more on the way. The following analysis features a fair representation of ETFs available……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 15 July 2011 by VRS | Email |Print
Exchange Traded Funds (ETF) as an investment basket come with some unique features that make them an ideal avenue for hedging an existing equity or a multi-asset-class portfolio.
The key attribute is a defined set of rules that determine the composition of an ETF or the underlying index. ETFs, therefore, fall into any of the parameters that define market sectors or asset classes. For example, banking sector ETF, gold ETF, or the more exotic re-weighted broad market ETF and foreign ETF……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 15 July 2011 by VRS | Email |Print
Germany’s Deutsche Boerse AG looked set to pull off its $9.7 billion takeover of the New York Stock Exchange group on Thursday after its shareholders backed the deal to create the world’s largest exchange operator.
Shareholders in NYSE Euronext approved the deal last week but it still faces formidable anti-trust hurdles on both sides of the Atlantic, analysts say……………………………………….Full Article: Source
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IntercontinentalExchange Inc. (ICE) Thursday said a subsidiary will pay about $512 million to acquire a 12% interest in Brazilian clearing-house operator Cetip SA from two other holders.
The move comes after ICE and Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. (NDAQ) in May withdrew their $11 billion proposal to acquire NYSE Euronext (NYX) after the U.S. Justice Department suggested the deal wouldn’t clear antitrust hurdles………………………………………Full Article: Source
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Associated British Foods PLC on Thursday warned the pressures on food costs faced by manufacturers and retailers mean U.K. shoppers, already facing a squeeze on incomes, will continue to pay more for staple grocery items at the tills.
“Price increases are still feeding through the system. A lot of the soft commodity prices have gone up,” Finance Director John Bason said……………………………………….Full Article: Source
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With Europe’s debt woes mounting, some savvy currency investors are shorting the euro against the dollar — a bold bet considering the greenback’s own shaky status.
After months of battering, Europe’s economy may receive yet another jolt of bad news on Friday: The European Union’s banking regulator is scheduled to release the results of bank “stress tests,” aimed at showing which banks have enough cash to withstand another crisis……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 15 July 2011 by VRS | Email |Print
Carbon trading experts say there is potential for fraud in the global market, but checks and balances are improving.
Under the government’s carbon pricing plan announced on Sunday, more than half of the emissions abatement to 2020 will come from companies buying it from overseas, at an estimated cost of $3 billion, with the remainder coming from Australian carbon farming and other initiatives……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 15 July 2011 by VRS | Email |Print
The European Commission has confirmed it might consider exempting non-EU airlines from the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) if their home countries could demonstrate they were taking equivalent measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the aviation sector.
Speaking to the European Parliament’s Environment Committee (ENVI) today, Jos Delbeke, director-general of the Commission’s Climate Action directorate, acknowledged the “heat” surrounding the inclusion of all non-EU airlines flying into or out of the bloc under the ETS from 1 January next year……………………………………….Full Article: Source
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