Which Metals to Short?
ThinkstockAt the annual London Metals Exchange (LME) Week, which began Monday, no one expects major changes to the way the exchange manages its warehousing system for aluminum, copper and other base metals. The LME…
Commodities & Metals
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Newest first · Page 55Mixed Signals for Oil Stocks
ThinkstockAs a group, oil and gas stocks are lower in early afternoon trading Monday, but there are a few exceptions. A few major companies are getting a boost from the relatively short and uneventful…
Ag Markets in Turmoil
ThinkstockThe agricultural commodities markets face a double-edged sword as the federal government shutdown drags on. Traders are moving to the sidelines as the flow of data regarding market movements slows to a trickle, and…
Is ADM Bid for Australia’s GrainCorp in Trouble?
ThinkstockU.S. agribusiness giant Archer Daniels Midland Co. (NYSE: ADM) announced last June that its Australian subsidiary had agreed to acquire the 80% or so of Australia’s GrainCorp that it did not already own for…
Jefferies Gets Negative on Gold Miners, with an Interesting Pairs Trade Idea
ThinkstockGiven the dramatic decline in share prices, some investors may perceive gold equities as inexpensive. The analysts at Jefferies strongly disagree. In their opinion, gold equities rarely have been more expensive, when current gold prices…
Crude Oil Inventory Booms Again
ThinkstockThe U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released its weekly petroleum status report Wednesday morning. U.S. commercial crude inventories increased by 5.5 million barrels last week, maintaining a total U.S. commercial crude inventory to 363.7…
Monsanto Loss Could Crush Its Investors
ThinkstockMonsanto Co. (NYSE: MON) posted fourth-quarter and full-year fiscal 2013 results before markets opened Wednesday morning. The fertilizer and seed maker reported a fourth-quarter adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) loss of $0.47 on revenue…
More Dividend Cuts Likely in Gold Producers and Miners
ThinkstockGold bugs and fans of gold mining stocks are not going to get a pleasant feeling here. Fitch Ratings has a cautious report on what can happen to gold miners and producers even when…
Shell Puts Texas Assets on the Block
ThinkstockAnglo-Dutch oil supermajor Royal Dutch Shell PLC (NYSE: RDS-A) announced Monday that it will sell its assets in the Eagle Ford shale play in south Texas. The sale follows an announcement in August that…
Xstrata’s Former Chief Gets Back to Mining
ThinkstockThe former CEO of mining company Xstrata has a new venture to keep him busy. Mick Davis has brought together his former management team, all of whom had to go job hunting after the…
September Farm Prices Continue Downward Trend
ThinkstockThe U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released its preliminary report on September farm prices on Friday afternoon. The September all-products price index dropped by 4 points (2.1%) to 185 month-over-month, with the crop index…
Americans Like Keystone XL, Don’t Like Fracking
ThinkstockSome 65% of Americans surveyed by Pew Research favor construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. An identical number favor stronger limits on fracking. Only 38% of those surveyed favor increasing electricity generation using nuclear…
Feds Search Lumber Liquidators’ Offices
ThinkstockOn Thursday, federal authorities from the Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement group and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service searched the corporate offices of Lumber Liquidators Holdings Inc. (NYSE: LL). In…
Russian Energy Giants Battle over Natural Gas
Courtesy RosneftRussian oil giant Rosneft wants in on the country’s natural gas business, which is controlled by the country’s other energy giant, natural gas producer Gazprom. Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) is caught in…
Goldman Sachs Selectively Starts Seeing Coal Stocks to Buy
ThinkstockHow does upgrading the coal sector sound for a gutsy analyst call? That is exactly what we are seeing on Friday from Goldman Sachs, although the upgrades are not exactly universal in the sector.…