The United States has discovered nearly $1 trillion in untapped mineral deposits in Afghanistan, far beyond any previously known reserves and enough to fundamentally alter the Afghan economy and perhaps the Afghan war itself, according to senior American government officials. The previously unknown deposits — including huge veins of iron, copper, cobalt, gold and critical [...]

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Asian stocks and the won plunged to 10-month lows after a report that North Korean leader Kim Jong Il ordered his military to prepare for combat last week. The euro weakened and commodities declined on concern Europe’s debt crisis will spread. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index dropped 3.1 percent to 109.24 a 1:30 p.m. in Tokyo, set for [...]

Asia, australia, China, commodity, currency, Euro Zone, global markets, stock market Hide

Crude oil volatility surged to its highest in almost two months as turmoil across financial markets prompts speculators to sell futures contracts. Oil’s 30-day historical volatility, a measure of how much crude fluctuates around its average price during that period, jumped 53 percent from near a three-year low in mid-April. Hedge fund managers and other [...]

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Australia’s economy grew last quarter at the fastest pace in almost two years, underscoring the central bank’s decision yesterday to boost borrowing costs for the fourth time in five meetings. Gross domestic product climbed 0.9 percent from the third quarter, when it gained a revised 0.3 percent, the Bureau of Statistics said in Sydney today. That [...]

australia, commodity, economic growth, forex, stock market Hide

AS COMPANIES in the alternative energy sector took a hit during the downturn for reasons that are no longer front and centre, they will once again be a key investment theme this year. So said Lars Kalbreier, Credit Suisse’s Zurich-based global head of equity and alternatives research at a media briefing yesterday. Valuations are now [...]

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HE markets for most risk-related trades, from equities to oil to commodity currencies, are likely to push higher in the first quarter on ultra-low interest rates, still ample liquidity, and continued economic recovery. The key factors that are likely to determine whether the rally continues in 2010 include economic recovery, liquidity, interest rates, corporate earnings [...]

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Are overly bullish investors blindly driving stocks higher and taking you for a ride? After weak earnings from Alcoa [AA  15.52   -1.93  (-11.06%)   ]and a warning from Chevron [CVX  80.36   -0.52  (-0.64%)   ], investors are starting to worry that all is not right on Wall Street. Doug Kass of Seabreeze is among the growing number of strategists that thinks there’s [...]

commodity, Interest rates, stock market, trading strategy, unemployment, US Hide

According to market watchers, they expect to see year-on-year gains of 10 to 20% in these sectors. Climate change is one key factor that is expected to keep money flowing into the commodities markets. Some market watchers said with continually evolving weather patterns, soft commodities such as corn and palm are seeing more upward investment [...]

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Fahrenheit 451 for Cash-Strapped UK Seniors Some cash-strapped British pensioners are buying books from charity shops and burn them to keep warm as freezing temperatures gripped the UK, a London newspaper reported Tuesday. Workers at a charity shop in Swansea, in south Wales, told London newspaper Metro that pensioners were looking for thick books such [...]

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By Aditya Suharmoko, The Jakarta Post, 30 Dec 2009 Full-year inflation will most likely reach the lowest level in a decade as demand slows down due to the delayed negative impacts of the global economic downturn, but the Finance Ministry warns it may pick up next year along with a predicted rise in key commodity [...]

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