An interesting article in the Telegraph  newspaper, a venerable and widely respected “broadsheet” publication as the Brits call the very few newspapers still worth reading in the UK, covered commodities prices and examined the idea that they are a bubble ready to burst.
Geroge Soros giving evidence to the US Congress also affirmed that speculation was […]

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To fight against rising consumer prices, investors have increased their holdings in the commodities markets; hence, the Reuters/Jeffries CRB Index, which includes 19 raw materials, has witnessed a 15 percent rise since the beginning of the year. As the dollar continues to weaken and energy prices rise, copper futures fluctuate in this volatile economy. This […]

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As any steel buyer can tell you, the direction of the market has gone only one way, up. Nickel is down significantly this year and lead and zinc have also headed south. But what to make of these “sideways” markets in aluminum and copper for example? First, what is a sideways market? I like this […]

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Industrial BellwetherThis quiz takes 1-10 seconds to answer. It’s 1 question.

Which industrial bellwether recently posted record second quarter profits, record sales and revenues and posted its fifth straight year of record profits?

 Boeing
 United Technologies (UTC)
 Caterpillar
 John Deere
This quiz powered by the Quiz Creator plugin for WordPress.How could a company (I can’t reveal the name now […]

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The price of oil has come down significantly over the last week or so falling from over $147/barrel to $126/barrel as of this writing. Is this the top of the chart and if it continues to fall what can we expect for metals?
Some are still predicting $250/barrel for oil next year, though others have called $50/barrel. Both seem […]

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Photo: Aluminum, titanium and platinum, in unexpected colors.
Credit: Richard Baker, University of Rochester.
In 2006, U.S. scientists announced the first step to a perfect, pitch-black Batmobile for the hero of The Dark Knight. Using lasers (or more accurately, a quick beam of light called a femtosecond laser pulse), scientists discovered a way to alter the surface properties of […]

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Good news for those on the hunt for cheap ferrochrome: Prices are steadily falling. But since this fall is due to a lack of heavy demand, the prices should increase after stainless steel mills ramp up production. For now, however, summer slowdowns have impacted prices. Also leading to these lows is “the continued collapse in sales […]

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We wrote in May on lead and last month on zinc, two metals that after years in the doldrums rose rapidly in price during 2006 to record highs in 2007, only to fall back over the last 6 months to levels not much above their historic norms. The rapid rise in price encouraged massive investment […]

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Once again rising near $1,000 an ounce — the same high prices that led some consumers to sell their gold jewelry and others to melt the kitchen sink — gold’s great heights on Tuesday were quick to fall as oil prices slowed the progress of gold and several other metals that were boosted Monday.
Gold hit that staggering […]

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Big news in US steel and mining circles yesterday. Cleveland-Cliffs, the largest North American iron ore pellet producer to the steel industry, agreed to acquire Alpha Natural Resources, with 60 coal mines, for almost $10b in a cash and stock deal according to numerous sources. The combined entity to be named Cliffs Natural Resources, expects […]

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