U.S. MARKETS -Aug. 30-Sept. 3

The U.S. unemployment rate in August increased a tenth of a point to 9.6%, but a bigger-than-expected rise of 67,000 in private payrolls moderated the gloom somewhat during the Aug. 30-Sept. 3 trading period. President Barack Obama ruled out another large stimulus package for the economy, but said he was not ruling out new measures to help the economy, including tax cuts for businesses to create new jobs, an extension of tax cuts for the middle class, rebuilding infrastructure, and hiking investments in clean energy and research and development. The news helped buoy U.S. equities. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 296.68 points or 2.9% to finish at 10,447.33, while the S&P 500 index advanced 3.8% or 39.92 points to 1,104.51.

The New York spot price for gold rose US$8.50 to US$1,246.60 per oz. on Sept. 3, while the Philadelphia Gold and Silver index advanced 2.7 points or 1.5% to 186.81.

Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold scored the largest jump in value and was the third most actively traded stock, on no news, rising US$7.35 to US$78.55 per share. Gains by other gold companies were far more modest, with Newmont Mining adding US$1.07 to US$60.87 and Kinross Gold inching up US96¢ to US$17.43 per share.

On the losing side of the ledger, were Barrick Gold, down US$1.20 to US$45.30, Goldcorp, US$1.50 lower at US$42.84, and Eldorado Gold, which lost US53¢ to close at US$19.10. On Sept. 3, Goldcorp and Eldorado both announced offers for Andean Resources, eager to get their hands on Andean’s Cerro Negro gold project in Argentina’s southern province of Santa Cruz. Eldorado announced an all-share bid valuing Andean at $3.4 billion, while Goldcorp offered shares and cash worth $3.6 billion. (Eldorado later withdrew its offer on Sept. 7, stating that while its proposal reflected full value for Cerro Negro, the project was a “good to have” asset, not a “need to have” asset.)

On other fronts, Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan closed up US77¢ at US$148.50 apiece. The Canadian potash producer has been in the limelight since Aug. 18, when BHP Billiton announced a US$130-per-share all-cash takeover bid for the company. BHP Billiton’s shares climbed US$3.43 to US$70.80.

U.S. most active issues
	VOLUME	WEEK
	(000s) HIGH	LOW	CLOSE	CHANGE
Alcoa* AA	115109 11.07	10.10	10.88	+ 0.56
Silverado* SLGLF	109455 0.01	1.0E8	0.01	0.00
Freeport McMo* FCX	56037 78.96	69.87	78.55	+ 7.35
Hecla Mining* HL	45643 5.94	5.37	5.85	+ 0.36
Kinross Gold* KGC	44753 17.44	16.18	17.43	+ 0.96
Barrick Gold* ABX	41521 47.56	44.62	45.30	-1.20
Newmont Mng* NEM	29411 61.92	59.40	60.87	+ 1.07
Silver Wheatn* SLW	28043 23.98	22.32	23.89	+ 1.09
Goldcorp* GG	25709 45.22	42.05	42.84	-1.50
Potash C Sask* POT	25502 149.47	145.72	148.50	+ 0.77

U.S. greatest percentage change
		VOLUME		WEEK
		(000s)	HIGH	LOW	CLOSE	CHANGE
HuntMountain*	HNTM	10	0.19	0.04	0.19	+ 375.0
Commerce Grp*	CGCO	60	0.03	0.02	0.03	+ 50.0
Habanero Res*	HBNRF	326	0.13	0.09	0.12	+ 33.3
Almaden Mnls*	AAU	4535	2.94	1.96	2.61	+ 28.5
Radius Gold*	RDUFF	95	0.68	0.53	0.68	+ 25.9
Linux Gold*	LNXGF	351	0.05	0.04	0.05	+ 25.0
Madison Minls*	MMRSF	72	0.12	0.09	0.12	+ 20.0
Starfield Res*	SRFDF	180	0.06	0.05	0.06	+ 20.0
Caledonia Mng*	CALVF	632	0.07	0.05	0.06	+ 20.0
Argentex Mng*	AGXM	174	0.59	0.44	0.55	+ 19.5
Apolo Gold*	APLL	117	0.02	0.01	0.01	-50.0
America West*	AWSR	333	0.11	0.06	0.07	-30.0
Patriot Gold*	PGOL	19	0.14	0.11	0.11	-21.4
New Jersey Mg*	NJMC	124	0.23	0.19	0.19	-13.6
Petaquilla Mn*	PTQMF	850	0.44	0.35	0.39	-11.3
El Capitan Pr*	ECPN	565	0.51	0.35	0.40	-11.1
Lake Vict Mng*	LVCA	1660	0.27	0.21	0.25	-10.7
Goldfield*	GV	46	0.35	0.32	0.33	-5.7
Fronteer Gold*	FRG	4079	7.97	7.26	7.54	-5.6
Alberta Star *	ASXSF	103	0.40	0.37	0.38	-5.0

					U.S. greatest value change
WEEK
			VOLUME			CLOSE			CHANGE
	Freeport McMo*			FCX			56036609			78.55			+ 7.35
	Cliffs Nat Rs*			CLF			23682679			67.08			+ 6.86
	Teck B*			TCK			24990359			38.20			+ 4.77
	Rio Tinto*			RTP			13202585			54.89			+ 4.48
	Mesabi Trust*			MSB			1710928			29.06			+ 4.01
	Alpha Nat Res*			ANR			10933697 < /td>			39.85			+ 3.66
	BHP Billi-BBL*			BBL			11202100			59.85			+ 3.43
	BHP Billi-BHP*			BHP			15386199			70.80			+ 3.43
	Agrium*			AGU			2007300			72.54			+ 3.11
	Peabody Enrgy*			BTU			19272878			46.09			+ 2.91
	Goldcorp*			GG			25709090			42.84			-1.50
	Barrick Gold*			ABX			41521009			45.30			-1.20
	Seabridge Gld*			SA			1171568			29.36			-0.99
	Randgold Res*			GOLD			3035644			91.59			-0.86
	Royal Gold*			RGLD			1702313			49.01			-0.78
	AllianceRsP*			ARLP			426303			54.62			-0.60
	Eldorado Gold*			EGO			4114600			19.10			-0.53
	Fronteer Gold*			FRG			4079163			7.54			-0.45
	Mosaic*			MOS			19184370			58.10			-0.17
	New Gold*			NGD			7736234			6.37			-0.11