We all need to calm down about rare earths — opinion

Commodity bulls point to the massive build out in the developing countries to buttress their argument that the long-term outlook for metals is bullish—and the party has only just begun

The performance of iron ore is in stark contrast to other commodities including copper which has shed 4% over the last two days and crude oil which touched a 52-week low of under $78 a barrel today.

China is restricting the export of rare earths to protect its environment, said Su Bo, vice-minister of industry and information technology at a news conference in Beijing on Wednesday.

The unusual alert, considered the Association of British Insurer's most serious warning, indicates a breach in corporate governance.

A strong yuan and few other investment opportunities are prompting record gold buying in China just as India's appetite wanes due to a weakening currency.

Australia-based Foster Stockbroking said Tuesday that an industry-wide restart would boost global uranium demand by 30 million pounds a year which could act as a catalyst to flagging uranium prices.

US-based L&L Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ: LLEN), a company with five-year track record of profitable coal operations in China, announced it has entered into an MOU to acquire the Lashu Mine in HeZhang County, Guizhou Province.

The three losing bids were all from the US and the deal marks a decisive shift in the commodities trading business away from Chicago and London to Asia.

In China’s Qinhuangdao, the world’s largest coal port by capacity, inventories have exceeded levels last seen in late 2008 during the height of the financial crisis.