Is this year’s worst-performing LME metal a canary in the coal mine for copper? And is there any hope in sight for nickel prices? Tolstoy once wrote, “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”

Utility giant American Electric Power (AEP) sent shock waves last week by suggesting consumers could see their electricity bills jump an estimated 40-60% in the next few years. AEP is one of the country's largest investor-owned utilities, serving parts of 11 states with more than 5 million customers.

While most investors are focused on precious metals, I prefer to look for investment opportunities in markets less traveled. Sure, precious metals are still wildly popular – or not popular enough, depending on who you ask.

The IEA in Paris announed on Thursday a release of 60 million barrels from OECD inventories. The implications of this extraordinary action are not positive. Let’s first take a look at the most recent global production data, which shows the large downward move of supply coming into March 2011, from the loss of Libyan oil. IEA is pointing to this loss of supply as the prima causa for its decision.

Stock market bulls bellowed yesterday as bourses around the globe rocketed higher. Several major European markets were up more than 2%, and the S&P vaulted 1.3% higher on the day. Unusually, bonds did notsell off with comparable ferocity, nor did commodities shoot drastically higher – indeed, gasoline fell more than 1% on the day.

With the continued upswing in the price of gold many investors are once again either wondering if they should buy, sell, or hold the metal in their investment portfolios. This article will examine the contributions made by the gold asset class to an investment portfolio allocated according to Modern Portfolio Theory (MPT).

Nickel is one of the oldest known metals, with uses tracing back more than 5,000 years. Historically, nickel has been often confused […]

With the Middle East chaos still surging, one fact remains a constant. With a look at the beginnings of the protests in […]

Natural gas is a gas that consists primarily of methane and is widely used as an energy source around the world. The […]

Now that markets have reacted to Ollanta Humala’s election as president of Peru, it might be time for the brave to dip […]

Yesterday we talked about an exciting opportunity in wheat, and since it’s Futures Friday today, I thought we’d discuss corn. Whether or […]

The oil markets are in decline today on the heels of a Saudi decision to provide additional crude volume. The move comes […]