Coal is public enemy No. 1 for most environmental activist groups. Certainly, there’s some logic behind that opposition; after all, coal plants emit more sulphur dioxide, mercury and nitrous oxides than other fossil fuels. Read More

Back in March, the Bank of Canada (BoC) statement announcing a 50-basis-point interest-rate cut told of “clear signs that the US economy is likely to experience a deeper and more prolonged slowdown than had been projected in January.” Read More

We’ve had another week of almost manic ups and downs in the markets as investors digest both good news and bad on the economic front as well as from companies. Read More

A year ago, few investors wanted anything to do with the coal markets. Inventories of coal at US utilities were tight at the end of 2005, but a warm winter in 2005-06 changed all that: Inventories ballooned, and coal prices plummeted. Read More

The US is often called the Saudi Arabia of coal. And there’s a good reason for that: The nation has more than 27 percent of the world’s known coal reserves and some of the highest-quality deposits in the world. Read More

The US is often called the Saudi Arabia of coal. And there’s a good reason for that: The nation has more than 27 percent of the world’s known coal reserves and some of the highest-quality deposits in the world. That’s 90 billion metric tons more than Russia, the nation with the second-largest reserves. Read More

Cotton remains the cheapest commodity on the board, relatively speaking. December cotton hit contract lows last week--much to my surprise, because December cotton is “new crop,” not even planted yet. Read More

Long-term readers know by now that I’m a co-author of the book The Silk Road To Riches: How You Can Profit By Investing In Asia’s Newfound Prosperity. The main theme of the book is Asia’s emergence as the world’s next economic growth engine. Read More

We were all shocked Tuesday night with the announcement by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty that Canadian trusts will now be subject to entity-level taxation. The best tip I can give this month is to contact the Canadian Ministry of Finance and express your concern over this. Read More

September is back-to-school time. It’s also a great opportunity to re-examine your portfolio and strategy to ensure you make the most of what’s often the year’s most profitable quarter in the markets. Read More