U. S. MARKETS MAY 13-16

U. S. stock indices rose across the board during the May 13-19 trading session: the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 196 points, or 1.5%, to 13,028; the S&P 500 Index climbed 24 points, or 1.7%, to 1,427; and the NASDAQ gained 21 points, or 0.8%, to 2,516. Precious metal indices rose on the back of a firming gold price: the Amex Gold Bugs Index added 24 points, or 5.7%, to 438, while the Philadelphia Gold and Silver Index climbed 10 points, or 5.7%, to 189.

The party in the coal sector continued, with prices powering higher across the board on generally strong volumes. Rising contract prices for both thermal and coking coal drew investors to coal, as did the surging oil price and projections by Goldman-Sachs and CIBC that oil will rise further. With the prospect of oil getting more expensive, investors are realizing that coal will become more important in the energy mix.

Notable coal issues included: Peabody Energy, rising US$9.49 to US$78.29, with 44 million shares changing hands; Alpha Natural Resources up US$8.72 to US$68.42 on 20 million shares; Consol Energy, a supplier of both coal and coal-based-methane, adding US$5.89 to US$97.65 on 20 million shares; Arch Coal, moving up US$1.70 to US$64.17 on 21 million shares; and Foundation Coal, advancing US$3.42 to US$65.52 on 6 million shares.

Staying with the energy theme, the uranium sector was also active during the session, with the spot price declining to US$60 per lb. of uranium oxide, according to Ux Consulting Co. Cameco, the world’s largest miner of the radioactive metal, rose US$2.87 to US$42.88 on 14 million shares. The company released its financial results for the quarter to March 31, with higher revenues and net earnings compared with the same period last year. Fellow uranium miner Denison Mines also advanced, adding US75 to US$8.10 on 380,000 shares traded. Uranerz Energy moved up US34 to US$2.86 on 534,000 shares of volume, with Uranium Energy adding US28 to US$2.52 on 230,000 shares. It seems that investors chose to look past the drop in the spot price, and focus on long-term prospects for the metal.

The world’s largest miner, BHP Billiton, added US$5.22 to US$93.49 on 27 million shares, after rumours surfaced that China was thinking about buying a stake in the company. Fellow mining giant Rio Tinto also moved higher, rising US$43.10 to US$546.60 on 1.6 million shares traded after another set of rumours suggested that BHP was considering an improved takeover offer for Rio.

U. S. most active issues
	VOLUME	WEEK
	(000s) HIGH	LOW	CLOSE	CHANGE
Vale* RIO	103650 44.15	40.26	43.46	+ 2.88
Alcoa* AA	97764 44.77	41.15	44.59	+ 2.98
Freeport McMo*FCX	52393 126.99	112.36	124.83	+ 10.17
Barrick Gold* ABX	51909 41.05	37.72	40.92	+ 2.12
CoeurdAlene*CDE	51825 3.45	3.12	3.37	-0.00
Peabody Enrgy* BTU	44086 81.10	68.01	78.29	+ 9.49
PotashCSask* POT	43908209.99	195.68	198.36	– 2.33
Newmont Mng* NEM	33760 49.69	44.19	49.06	+ 3.80
Crystallex In* KRY	33633 1.30	0.62	0.82	-0.10
Goldcorp* GG	30585 41.97	38.08	41.26	+ 1.84

U. S. greatest percentage change
		VOLUME	WEEK
		(000s)	HIGH	LOW	CLOSE	CHANGE
Tombstone Exp*	TMBXF	361	0.37	0.26	0.37	+ 37.0
Cardero Res*	CDY	849	3.50	2.44	3.42	+ 34.1
Buckingham Ex*	BUKX	120	0.70	0.40	0.60	+ 33.3
Gemini Expl*	GXPI	2646	0.09	0.06	0.08	+ 33.3
North Am Pall*	PAL	10981	7.18	5.37	6.70	+ 28.8
World Vent*	WVNTF	79	0.18	0.12	0.18	+ 28.5
Puda Coal*	PUDC	4123	0.68	0.46	0.58	+ 26.0
Madison Minls*	MMRSF	16	0.36	0.25	0.35	+ 20.6
FinMetal Mng*	FNMM	315	0.07	0.05	0.06	+ 20.0
Metalline Mng*	MMG	55	2.27	1.91	2.26	+ 18.9
HomelandPrM*	HPMEF	26	0.04	0.03	0.03	-25.0
NT Holding*	NTHH	1058	0.47	0.17	0.35	-23.9
Evolving Gold*	EVOGF	56	0.77	0.74	0.75	-21.8
Aurelio Res*	AULO	455	0.26	0.19	0.20	-16.6
IMA Expl*	IMR	340	0.42	0.31	0.35	-16.6
AmMex Gold*	AMXG	87	0.14	0.11	0.11	-15.3
Radius Gold*	RDUFF	145	0.30	0.22	0.23	-14.8
El Capitan Pr*	ECPN	209	0.22	0.18	0.18	-14.2
Douglas Lk Ml*	DLKM	1732	0.57	0.41	0.45	-11.7
Kimber Res*	KBX	485	1.89	1.64	1.68	-11.1

U. S. greatest value change
WEEK
	VOLUME	CLOSE	CHANGE
Rio Tinto* RTP	1623045	546.60	+ 43.10
Yanzhou Coal* YZC	799580	108.59	+ 12.56
Freeport McMo* FCX	52392866	124.83	+ 10.17
Peabody Enrgy* BTU	44085932	78.29	+ 9.49
Cleveland-Cli* CLF	10962823	93.85	+ 8.79
Alpha Nat Res* ANR	19984513	68.42	+ 8.72
CONSOL Energy* CNX	20482462	97.65	+ 5.89
BHP Billi-BBL* BBL	3349143	84.46	+ 5.70
Massey Energy* MEE	12695431	63.65	+ 5.26 < /td>
BHP Billi-BHP* BHP	27372376	93.49	+ 5.22
OM Group* OMG	6760633	45.80	-3.20
Mosaic* MOS	25731438	123.88	-3.11
Potash C Sask* POT	43907504	198.36	-2.33
AngloGold Ash* AU	7464855	39.30	-1.20
Agrium* AGU	3740000	85.61	-0.91
Mag Silver* MVG	32000	12.25	-0.55
APEX Silver* SIL	4690551	8.78	-0.44
PolyMet Mng* PLM	1835127	4.04	-0.35
DRDGOLD* DROOY	733400	8.57	-0.31
Harry Winston* HWD	224800	29.99	-0.29