ThinkstockU.S. agribusiness giant Archer Daniels Midland Co. (NYSE: ADM) this morning announced that its Australian subsidiary has offered to buy the approximately 80% of Australia’s GrainCorp Ltd. that it does not already own for…
ThinkstockIf the value of something actually is determined by the price someone is willing to pay for it, Rio Tinto PLC’s (NYSE: RIO) diamond assets are worth far less than the mining giant thinks…
ThinkstockAs if gold isn’t getting bashed enough, CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CME) will raise its margin requirement on the Comex on Monday to $8,800 for a standard 100-ounce gold futures contract. That is a…
ThinkstockIf you think it is painful to watch the decline (or plummet) in the price of gold and silver as a financial buyer, imagine participating in this decline as a jewelry retailer or as…
ThinkstockGold futures are down about 6% this morning to around $1,293 an ounce as most investors interpreted Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s remarks yesterday to mean that the Fed is about to take away the…
ThinkstockGold trading closed for the day shortly before the FOMC announcement that the Fed forecast for 2013 growth had slipped, but that the central bank expects unemployment to reach a level around 6.5% next…
ThinkstockSaying that coal company management has focused on the right levers — lengthening debt maturities, slashing discretionary capital spending, reducing marginal production, driving productivity and cost performance — Sterne Agee this morning said it…
ThinkstockAK Steel Holding Corp. (NYSE: AKS) announced this morning that it expects to post a second-quarter loss in the range of $0.33 to $0.38 a share. The consensus estimate from Thomson Reuters called for…
ThinkstockAnalysts at HSBC have lowered their 2013 average platinum price forecast to $1,710 an ounce, a drop of 7.6% from a previous estimate of around $1,840. Earlier this year, demand for platinum from automakers…
ThinkstockCoal mining companies have had a miserable two years. Low-cost natural gas has clobbered demand for thermal coal to generate electricity, and the slow global economy has substantially slowed demand for metallurgical coal used…
ThinkstockAs the world’s largest mining companies look to shed assets as they seek to boost investor returns, the mining sector is drawing interest from private equity firms. Blackstone Group LP (NYSE: BX), The Carlyle…
ThinkstockGold is turning out to be one of the worst investments of modern day portfolios. But what if the rapid drop in prices is not really warranted from the market fundamentals nor from the…
ThinkstockGold and silver investors are probably glad to see the month of May come to an end. The drop in the price of gold and in the price of silver continues and the metals…
ThinkstockThe upheaval about the imports of genetically modified wheat has spread from Japan, where imports have been canceled, to Taiwan. It threatens to bring down wheat prices enough to undermine the financial fortunes of…
ThinkstockAlcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) has just lost its investment grade corporate credit rating after a downgrade from Moody’s. The aluminum giant and DJIA component is now a junk bond rating as its unsecured credit rating was…