If you haven’t paid much attention to global markets this week, here’s what you missed…fears that the global economy is dangerously close to a recession due to the financial crisis in the eurozone and flatlining growth in the U.S. sent assets of all shapes and sizes into a tailspin.

A few weeks ago we held our Case for Investing in Gold webcast with the World Gold Council’s (WGC) Jason Toussaint, who gave some remarkable insight into gold demand in the East.

Goldwatchers were reminded gold’s volatility works in both directions this week, with prices falling more than $100 an ounce in just one day. We forecasted the selloff last week, explaining a 10 percent correction would be a non-event. Once again the CME Group hiked the exchange’s margin requirements for gold investment to shake out overleveraged speculation. This is a positive for long-term investors.

Last week I sat down with Laura Mandaro from Marketwatch to discuss what’s currently driving commodity markets. One of the key drivers today is the robust economic activity and commodity demand taking place in Asia.

Commodities don’t all perform in the same way. In any given year, a particular commodity will go gangbusters and outperform the group.

Many people missed the market’s enormous appreciation during the latest equity bull market because they were late to the game or chose to sit on the sidelines. The sideline is a crowded place these days as investors have been reluctant to fully embrace equities.

Contrary to gold equities’ long-term trend of outperformance, gold companies have lagged the price of bullion since late April. Early this week, I visited CNBC headquarters and sat down with Squawk Box anchor Becky Quick about one factor I believe will cause gold companies to rebound.

Oil markets took another dose of global geopolitics this week when the International Energy Agency (IEA) unexpectedly announced that it would be releasing 60 million barrels of oil from strategic petroleum reserves (SPR) around the globe.

Last week’s Investor Alert highlighted a Macquarie Research chart showing a recent notable upswing in aluminum production around the world. Following a huge dip in output in China and worldwide throughout 2009, China once again surpassed the rest...

Frank Holmes sat down with Jeremy Glaser at the 2011Morningstar Investment Conference to discuss what is driving gold and other commodities. Watch the video

International coal prices hit $124 per ton this week, the highest levels in five months, as strong demand from reconstruction projects in Japan and reduced supply from flood-ravaged Australia has made coal supply tight.

Looking for a reason to be bullish on construction materials and equipment stocks? Take a look at the Architecture Billings Index (ABI) […]