Bill O'Neill, former director of commodities research at Merrill Lynch, has said in a recent interview that crude oil prices have bottomed out, and that he expects a desultory recovery in prices from the third quarter of 2012 to the first quarter of next year.

One of the UK’s leading broadsheets has castigated the manipulation of gold prices by key market players, saying that the issue could explode into a bigger scandal than the Libor rate manipulation controversy.

Swiss commodity supplier Glencore International obtained approval from the Canadian federal government on Sunday for its application to buy up Canadian agribusiness titan Viterra Inc., bringing the $6.1 billion deal that much closer to completion.

BHP Billiton (NYSE:BHP), the world's largest diversified miner, is considering a withdrawal from aluminum and nickel operations as part of a general retreat from non-profitable sides projects by key mining players, and the company has appointed advisors to look into the possible sale of these assets.

An acrimonious legal wrangle over millions in potash assets and is currently being played out in the Saskatchewan courts, involving Byzantine business intrigues and a bevy of international players.

Market pressure from high inventories and a flood of cheap overseas supply, as well as the lackluster performance of the Chinese economy were to blame for sending the average price to its lowest point in over two and a half years.

Spanish photographer Palindromo Meszaros has released a series of haunting photos depicting the devastating impact of a toxic aluminum spill in 2010 upon forests and rural communities in Western Hungary.

Platinum prices are set for a recovery in the second half of this year due to declining mine production, although palladium prices will remain tepid due to thin investment demand, according to the latest forecasts from Thomson Reuters GFMS.

The federal Liberals have shunned both of the antagonistic stances of the Harper government and the leading opposition party on Alberta’s oil sands, by announcing a “new approach” which will seek to pursue oil sands development while minimizing any adverse environmental impact.

Health Canada’s plans for a research study exploring the impact of wind turbine noise upon human health has triggered calls for the suspension of approvals for large-scale wind farms in Ontario from public health groups.

Shell Canada’s application for the Quest project, a proposed $1.3 billion carbon capture and storage operation situated northeast of Edmonton, has obtained approval from Alberta’s Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB).