Dr. Copper Heading Back to School
Source: Geoff Candy, Mineweb  (1/3/12)
"When combined with the financialization of the market and the increased usage of other materials to replace the red metal, the murky nature of Chinese copper demand means the metal's honorary doctorate should probably be rescinded for the time being." More >

Gold and Silver Surge in First Trading Session of 2012
Source: Eric McWhinnie, Wall St. Cheat Sheet  (1/3/12)
"In addition to uncertainty in Iran, gold continued to edge higher after the most recent Federal Reserve announcement. The central bank announced it will begin to publish policymakers' projections for its benchmark interest rate on overnight loans, and when officials expect the first rise to occur." More >

Gold Price Forecast 2012: The Impetus for the Mania Phase in Gold
Source: Hubert Moolman  (1/3/12)
"A falling dow, with weak economic conditions, will be the impetus for the next massive rally in gold, just like it was in previous bull markets. A falling and/or weak Dow will in some way represent the diverting of value from stocks to gold." More >

Counting Down Washington's Keystone XL Clock
Source: Meghan Gordon, Platts  (1/3/12)
"The law Congress passed just before Christmas to force a quicker decision on the Keystone XL pipeline gives the Obama administration two choices: approve or deny TransCanada's application by Feb. 21. Or does it?" More >

How Qatar and Russia Just Improved Our Liquefied Natural Gas Prospects
Source: Kent Moors, Money Morning  (1/2/12)
"It may not be on some analysts' radars yet, but this event will likely boost natural gas prices in the United States. And that is something we've been waiting to see for quite some time." More >

2012: The Recognition of the Age of Critical Technology Materials
Source: Jack Lifton, Resource Investor  (1/2/12)
"The rare earths supply frenzy has exposed an irreversible shift in the demand/supply picture for all technology materials." More >

China's Future Deconstructed: Holmes vs. Chang
Source: JT Long of The Gold Report  (12/30/11)
China has become the $5.88 trillion question in the world financial equation for 2012. In an attempt to gauge the direction of this economic elephant, Cambridge House International is asking two China experts to debate the health of the second-largest economy at the Vancouver Resource Investment Conference January 22. We called the two speakers for a preview of the tactics they will take in this epic debate. More >

Gold Records 11th Annual Gain, Ends 2011 Up 11%
Source: Adrian Ash, Bullion Vault  (12/30/11)
"The price of physical gold crept higher early Friday, recovering half of this week's 5% loss to near six-month lows as the euro rallied from 12-month lows and world stock markets held flat." More >

Another "Peak" Performance
Source: Chris Tucker, Energy InDepth  (12/30/11)
"But if you take a closer look at the arguments that undergird the peak oil philosophy, you find an interesting and underreported aspect that lies at its core: In most cases, these folks don’t actually argue that the world is physically short on oil and natural gas." More >

Year in Review: Digging into Potash Stocks
Source: The Energy Report Editors  (12/29/11)
People have to eat. That seemed to be the consensus of the markets in 2011, which saw potash gaining traction as a new kind of safe haven. A resource that promises higher crop yields in a time of exploding global population growth, potash is ripe with potential profits for investors who choose carefully. The Energy Report dug deeper into this sector in 2011, interviewing analysts and industry experts who shared how to gain exposure to this growing market. More >

Gold's D-Wave Confirmed
Source: Toby Connor, Gold Scents  (12/29/11)
"The combination of the dollar rally out of its three-year cycle low, gold's yearly cycle low and a D-Wave decline are going to produce a very sharp correction in the gold bull market." More >

Dangerous Rare Earth Supply Risk
Source: Ian Cooper, Wealth Daily  (12/29/11)
"The U.S. Department of Energy just warned rare earth supplies are facing some of their most critical supply levels. If things don't improve, many of our greatest technological advancements could start disappearing from store shelves." More >

Time to Buy the Rare Earth Metals ETF (REMX)?
Source: Eric Dutram, Zacks Investment Research  (12/29/11)
"While demand is slack right now, the incredible importance of the materials in this space and their wide range of applications ensures that they will always see a decent level of buying." More >

Indian Jewelers Reduce Gold Content to Lift Sales
Source: Shivom Seth, Mineweb  (12/29/11)
"Jewelers have resorted to reducing the gold content in jewelry pieces and replacing it with diamonds or other precious stones." More >

Market Looks Poised to Reverse Hard to Downside Within Days
Source: David Banister, The Market Trend Forecast  (12/29/11)
"The patterns that I am seeing are based on crowd behavioral 'Elliott Wave' analysis that now favors a 70% probability of a bearish decline beginning very shortly to the 1150s area on the S&P 500 index." More >

First Round Chinese Rare Earth Quota Allocations for 2012
Source: Gareth Hatch, Resource Investor  (12/29/11)
"Before we get into more specifics with the numbers, it is important to note that this announcement was unusual for three reasons. . ." More >

Sell Gold Now or Will It Outperform Again in 2012?
Source: Julian Phillips, Gold Forecaster  (12/29/11)
"Investors have been used to prices falling for fundamental or technical analysis reasons, but the phenomenon that we first saw in 2007/2008 reared its ugly head again: Investor Meltdown." More >

Don't Let Short-Term Volatility Inform Investment Decisions: James West
Source: Brian Sylvester of The Gold Report   (12/28/11)
James West isn't interested in timing the precious metals market—that's a good way to end up butchering perfectly good investments. As the editor of The Midas Letter and portfolio advisor of the Midas Letter Opportunity Fund, West doesn't even check the daily trading of the stocks he's following. He's more interested in making sure companies meet their long-term goals so he and his investors can cash out in the black. In this exclusive Gold Report interview, West reveals some little-known names that he's watching to be the next big winners. More >

Precious Metals Catch Up with Indian Slump
Source: Adrian Ash, BullionVault  (12/28/11)
"London dealers returning to work caught up with a 1.4% drop for the week so far, plus news of falling industrial output in Japan, seasonally low jewelry demand in India and a new edict from China banning all non-official gold trading exchanges." More >

Platinum: Fire Sale on the Rich Man's Gold
Source: John Lee  (12/28/11)
"Historically, the price of platinum runs in tandem with the precious metals group (gold, silver, platinum and palladium). However, as platinum is less liquid and has a smaller investor set, it is much more volatile both on the upside and downside compared to gold." More >

U.S. Dollar Replaced by China, Japan: Positive for Gold
Source: Julian Phillips, The Gold Forecaster  (12/28/11)
"As time passes, the process of the internationalization of the yuan will primarily be at the expense of the dollar." More >

Maya Crude Output, Frack to the Future and More Damn Statistics
Source: Kent Moors, Money Morning  (12/28/11)
"Having supply available locally does not automatically mean it is the preferred option, especially if the cost of extracting it still exceeds the cost of importing equivalent volume. Security of supply is another matter." More >

Top 10 Commentaries of 2011
Source: Frank Holmes, U.S. Global Investors  (12/28/11)
"This week I thought we'd take a moment to reflect on the eventful year it's been for natural resources." More >

Renewed Faith in Oil and Gas: Jim Letourneau
Source: Brian Sylvester of The Energy Report  (12/27/11)
According to Jim Letourneau, author of the Big Picture Speculator, oil and gas aren't going away any time soon. Indeed, new technologies offer the industry and investors profitable opportunities. Read more about why Letourneau considers shale gas, shale oil and enhanced oil recovery "game changers" in this exclusive Energy Report interview. More >

Critical Reading for Rare Earth Metals Investors
Source: The Critical Metals Report Editors  (12/27/11)
Rare earth element coverage has exploded since The Gold Report started covering this sector in early 2009. At that point, the REE junior mining market was a $2 billion industry. Today, REE juniors are a $10 billion+ industry—give or take a one-day market fluctuation, and Streetwise Reports now has a dedicated newsletter to cover the sector: The Critical Metals Report. Let's look back at how far we have come. More >