News You Can Use for Tuesday

China to Restrict Ethanol, Coal Industries China will restrict its ethanol and coal liquidification industries as part of efforts to address environmental pollution and realise sustainable development, state press said Sunday. The Beijing Youth Daily said: China's grain stores should be focused on feeding its 1.3 billion people and crop lands should reserved for food production, not energy production.

See also: China blocks food for biofuel and China's Choice: Pigs Vs. Fuel (I love that headline)

Dollar Trades Near Two-Month High Against Euro Before Inflation Report The dollar traded near the highest in two months against the euro before U.S. reports this week that will probably signal economic growth is recovering.

Nickel Declines to Three-Month Low in London on Signs of Slowing Demand Nickel fell to the lowest in more three months in London on signs that demand for the metal used in stainless steel probably slowed while supply increased.

India's Industrial Production Grows More Than Expected, May Spur Inflation India's industrial production growth beat expectations in April, suggesting the central bank may need to raise borrowing costs further to contain inflation stoked by consumer demand.

U.S. Treasuries Slide as Investors Abandon Bets Fed to Cut Interest Rates U.S. Treasuries declined for a second day as investors abandoned wagers that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates this year.

Check out my new gold and energy blog at MoneyAndMarkets.com

My Latest Money and Markets Column Is Up

This one is about gold, uranium and nickel.

Three Metals Poised for Blast-Off! (by Sean Brodrick)
Sean Brodrick thinks gold, uranium and nickel will rise because of China, India, and more ...

Check out my new gold and energy blog at MoneyAndMarkets.com

News You Can Use for Sunday

U.S. Economic Slowdown Confirms IMF Growth Forecast, Kato Says

May 6 (Bloomberg) -- The slowest U.S. growth in four years in the first quarter confirmed the International Monetary Fund's below-consensus forecast, a deputy chief at the Fund said.

``Our 2.2 percent estimate for U.S. growth this year was already lower than the consensus, so the recent data is pretty much in-line with our expectations,'' Deputy Managing Director Takatoshi Kato said in an interview today in Kyoto. ``We still expect U.S. growth to recover into next year after the housing market picks up.''

Islamic Bond Fatwas Surge on Million-Dollar Scholars (Update1)

Banks can't find enough scholars steeped in the teachings of Muhammad to accommodate the demand for new bonds that conform to Shariah law. Without men like Yaquby to bless the borrowings, none of the $70 billion of Islamic debt outstanding can be traded and companies would have been unable to sell any of the $17 billion new offerings last year, according to data compiled by Standard & Poor's and Bloomberg.

BHP Billiton, Worth $201 Billion, May Lure Buyout Offers, Merrill Says

BHP Billiton Ltd., the world's biggest mining company, could be stripped and sold for $201 billion to provide a 34 percent return to any private equity groups that make a takeover bid, according to Merrill Lynch & Co

U.S. Gasoline Pump Prices Climb Above $3 a Gallon for Third Year, AAA Says

Gasoline in the U.S. climbed above $3 a gallon at the pump for the third straight year as higher prices fail to change driving habits and demand keeps growing.

Nymex Gas Is Steady Close to Five-Month High Amid Summer Supply Concerns

Natural gas was little changed in New York after reaching the highest price in five months amid speculation that hot weather will drive demand and hurricanes will disrupt supplies this summer.

Nickel Rises to Record on Speculation Exports May Be Disrupted; Lead Gains

Nickel advanced to a record in London on speculation measures taken by the state government of Western Australia to detect pollution will disrupt shipments. Lead also rose to its highest ever and copper traded at an 11-month high.

Canada Mints 200-Pound, Solid-Gold Coin

Got change for a million? Canada does: the world's biggest pure gold coin at 200 pounds. Already, three buyers have shelled out for one of the 1 million Canadian dollar coins introduced last week.

Check out my new gold and energy blog at MoneyAndMarkets.com

Chart of the Day: Uranium Zooms!

Here is the chart of the day -- one of the uranium stocks in the Red-Hot Australian Small-Caps portfolio.

All our Australian uranium stocks are on fire. Why? Well, the latest auction of the white-hot metal saw the spot price of uranium oxide (U3O8) soar $18 to $113 per pound. Not only is that a 19% rise in just one week. According to Nuclear Market Review, it’s the largest single weekly price increase since uranium has been tracked!

Also, the Australian Labor Party is meeting this month and will likely overturn its "three-mines" policy on active uranium mines. The stock above will likely have Australia's fifth active uranium mine if things go as planned.

And now for some news you can use ...

Nickel, Lead Rise to Records; Copper at 7-Month High on Demand From China Nickel and lead rose to records on the London Metal Exchange, and copper advanced to the highest in seven months on rising demand from China, the world's largest consumer of all industrial metals.

Gold Gains in London as Dollar's Decline May Buoy Demand; Silver Advances Gold rose on speculation declines in the dollar will spur investor demand for the metal as an alternative to stocks and bonds. Silver gained.

China's Copper and Product Imports Increase 61 Percent to Record in March China's imports of copper and copper products rose to a record in March as traders in the world's largest consumer of the commodity took advantage of cheaper overseas prices to meet domestic demand.

Gold price gains as Aussie dollar zooms SYDNEY (Reuters) - Gold rose on Tuesday, the first day of trade in many markets following public holidays, with investors in Australia buoyed by new-found clout in currency markets.

OPEC chief expects gas prices to grow, says cheap gas history ABU-DHABI, April 10 (RIA Novosti) - The current chairman of the international oil cartel, OPEC, further heightened gas consumer concerns Tuesday by saying natural gas prices might rise in the future.The statement follows a forum of the world's leading gas exporters in Doha Monday, which decided to set up a committee for coordinating gas prices. Experts saw the move as the first step toward an OPEC-style gas cartel.

Check out my new gold and energy blog at MoneyAndMarkets.com

News I'm Reading Today

1)Gold recovers after two-week lows, awaits U.S. data

Gold steadied on Thursday after falling to its lowest in two weeks and platinum recovered from a five-week low, but the metals remained vulnerable because of a volatile dollar.

2) Buyers In India Resume Purchases (sorry, this one is Bloomberg News -- not on the web yet)

Dec. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Gold may rise for in London, snapping a two-day decline, as manufacturers in India, the biggest buyer, resume purchases after prices dropped to a two-week low.
India's gold demand of 164.8 metric tons in the third quarter was 16 percent higher than a year earlier, while global demand was 2 percent lower, figures from the producer-funded World Gold Council show. The metal has dropped 3 percent from a three-month high of $649.95 on Dec. 1.

3) Australian Employment Rises More Than Expected, Stoking Inflation Concern

Australian employment rose more than three times as much as expected in November, worsening a worker shortage that threatens to drive up wages and inflation. The currency climbed as traders bet interest rates may be increased.

4) Leveraged to the hilt: Juniors give investors jitters

It is a measure of how twitchy many investors have grown about debt-heavy energy sector juniors that when Bear Ridge Resources Ltd. recently unveiled what may turn out to be its biggest gas find ever, its shares tanked.
In all, 27 of the juniors had net debt of at least twice their annualized cash flow, up from 25 at the end of the second quarter and from 17 at the end of the first -- although Mr. Knapp said the increase had more to do with lower cash flow than higher debt.

5) Red-hot market for nickel
Prices for the base metal have more than doubled this year because of rising demand from Chinese manufacturers. Inventories, meantime, have sunk to a record low amid delays in starting new mining projects. That trend will likely continue, strategists said.
“As demand increases, projects aren't coming up nearly as quickly as we would like,” said Bart Melek, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets. “There will be stress on supply as demand is high.”

6) Bullish Forecast for (Australian) Shares in '07
THE high-flying resources sector and a world awash with savings will underpin an Australian share market gain of up to 14 per cent in 2007, according to AMP Capital chief economist and head of strategy Shane Oliver.
About the only market to perform better will be Asian equities outside Japan, a term that covers China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea and Singapore.

Check out my new gold and energy blog at MoneyAndMarkets.com