COMMODITIES

Another day, another beating for the precious metals. After gold and silver fell in New York trading on Friday, Asian futures markets have opened in a panic, with leveraged holders no doubt getting margin calls over the weekend. The result? Stump up more cash or sell. Clearly, selling is the preferred option.

Ever since the boom in natural gas, US energy prices have revised substantially, but have also sparked fears of great environmental harm. Currently, the technique used to unlock huge reserves of natural gas is called FRACKING and is widely criticized by environmentalists.

Vogue for diamonds seems to be very solid, but it is nothing surprising as these stones have the undeniable beauty and strength that lures people. With the ongoing unstable economic conditions, demand for high-end and unique diamonds remains at the very high level. Therefore it is not surprising that the gigantic colorless diamond was auctioned off for almost $27 million, setting a new record in this category.

The Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department is out with its monthly figures on China's gold imports via Hong Kong. The Chinese government is notoriously secretive about its total imports, so the Hong Kong figures are the best we have to go on.

At last, mining giants such as Rio Tinto Plc and BHP Billiton Ltd are more than satisfied as they enjoy strong China's demand for iron ore. The industry leaders note that iron ore imports by the world's second economy jumped to the highest level in four months as the country has been recently witnessing the slow revival in the steel sector.

China has once again shocked the world with its latest meat scandal

Gold is recovering well, moving from weak hands to stronger ones. Not much else to report.

It's only been two weeks since the big crash. But that hasn't stopped the yellow metal from staging a comeback. For the first time in five weeks, gold ended trading Friday night with a weekly gain under its belt.

So have we found a bottom in gold? Following last week's plunge to around US$1320/oz, the gold price is now up to around US$1,470/oz, for a gain of US$150/oz. And the gold miners rallied strongly in the US on Wednesday night (as they are in Australia today), suggesting we may have seen an end to the capitulation selling.

Is your desire to buy gold now based on reasonable analysis of market conditions? Or is it simply an emotional reaction to the selloff?

April 16 was a far cry from previous two years when 'Gold' enjoyed the most-favored-investment status. Not only did the Gold-bubble finally burst, but it also led to bringing the value of central bank reserves down around $560 billion as investors now prefer equities to gold-investments.

Dear readers ask about gold. Is it time to sell? To buy? To forget about it?

It's easy to waste energy getting wound up about politicians, thieves, cheats, and hypocrites. But there's nothing new under the sun when it comes to powerful people using the authority of the State or Crown to steal other people's money. In the meantime, the real world rolls on, and to roll, it needs energy. Enter Australian liquefied natural gas (LNG).

If one thinks that renewable energy is the future, then s/he can be surprised with a new decision made by BP Plc. Surprising or not, BP Plc has informed that it wants to get rid of its US wind arm.

Exxon Mobil Corp. is incessantly continuing its attempts to clean up mess caused by the Arkansas oil spill. Another oil spill adds to concerns over the safety of pipeline systems and their conservation. But the Arkansas oil spill has also led to the beginning of a debate on the pipeline sector and the safety in general, not to mention the prospects of the Keystone XL project as well.

A bovine anthrax outbreak in northwestern New South Wales has hit Australia and caused so far the death of 40 cattle, the Department of Primary Industry reported on Wednesday.

'The central banks' gold is likely gone, and the bullion banks that sold it have no realistic chance of getting it back,' Eric Sprott tells us.

Everything indicates that BP Plc will have to dive into its pocket to cover all demands related to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. On the 25th of February, the Gulf oil spill trial finally began.

Gold up, markets dowGold up, markets down. We haven't been able to say that in a long time. Overnight, markets tumbled on concerns over indecisive elections in Italy. n. We haven't been able to say that in a long time. Overnight, markets tumbled on concerns over indecisive elections in Italy.

The Middle East has a dramatic impact on the global price of oil...and today we've got visual proof!

'Are you new to Aiken?' said an attractive 70-something woman with a soft, local cotton accent, named Sissy. We were coming out of the Willcox hotel. She spotted us as visitors and offered help.

An old bit of advice says, 'Never eat at a place called Mom's or play poker with a man named Doc.' That's a joke, but this isn't: Never fall for an argument that says we'll run out of some natural resource or bet on the 'end' of cheap anything. Such views will cost you money in the long run.

It's a whitish, ductile metal. It is No. 46 on the Periodic Table of Elements...and it is a "Buy". I don't just mean that it is a solid investment opportunity in which you can buy shares. I'm talking about an opportunity so big, you could literally pull a truck up to the front door - but make sure it's an armored truck, as I'll explain below - and drive home with the stuff.

Less than 1% of the world's gold is mined in India. The rest comes from somewhere else. Still, India can't get enough. It is the largest consumer of gold in the world, buying nearly a third of production in recent years. Some estimates say that 10% of all gold is held in India.

We were on RT television. The pretty interviewer, Lauren Lyster, wanted to know what would happen after the election.

A photograph of a large gold nugget allegedly found near Kalgoorlio-Boulder is stirring Australia's gold mining community. However, because of the lack of ownership and unknown origin of the photograph, there are doubts that the gold find is just a hoax.

Air Fuel Syndication, a company located in the UK, claims that it has developed a revolutionary technology that enables production of "petrol from air". "Petrol from air" is produced by using technology that captures water vapor and carbon dioxide present in air. By using this method the company produces a synthetic version of the fossil fuel.

Arguably the most romantic line from 2004's The Notebook, starring Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams, comes on the pier in a driving rainstorm. The star crossed lovers discover their relationship has been thwarted by a meddling mother. But love saves the day.

The Australian sharemarket is gaining for the fourth straight day, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) up 0.2 pct or 8.7 pts to 4341.6. Some better than expected employment numbers have helped lift the market, while economic news in China so far today has been largely in-line with forecasts.