U. S. MARKETS – SEPT. 30-OCT. 6

The U. S. government may have passed the US$700-billion bailout package into law on Friday, Oct. 3, but that hasn’t erased fears that it will take a long time to thaw frozen credit and get the economy moving again. The Dow Jones Industrial Average reflected that panic on Monday, Oct. 6, when at one point during the day it plunged 800 points. There is still too little clarity as to how the government will proceed with the purchase of troubled assets from banks and financial companies, how much the bailout will actually help, or when the first Treasury purchases will begin.

During the current Sept. 30-Oct. 6 trading session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 895.16 points, or 8.99%, to 9,955.5 points, while the Standard and Poor’s 500 Index dropped 109.47 points, or 10.35%, to 1,056.89. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 228.92 points, or 12.28%, to 1,862,96.

Gold has not been immune to the downturn. The Amex Gold Bugs Index slid 61.75 points or 24.45% to close at 252.49 points. The Philadelphia Gold and Silver Index slumped 25.98 points or 24.68% to close at 105.23. The price of gold sank US$14.70 per oz. during the session, falling from US$870 per oz. to US$855.30.

Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold plunged US$9.25 to close at US$43.71 per share. Barrick Gold dived US$7.35 to close at US$30.10 and Goldcorp sank US$7.55 to US$24.65.

Majors like Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton and Vale all took hits. Rio dropped US$52.20 to US$202.04 per share; BHP fell US$8.36 to US$42.99; and Vale slid US$4.15 to US$14.46.

Potash companies took a double whammy after Merrill Lynch downgraded their ratings from a “buy” to an “underperform.” PotashCorp. of Saskatchewan collapsed, falling US$41.13 to close the trading session at US$86.91 per share. Mosaic Co. sank US$30.35 to US$37.16 and Agrium dropped US$15.51 to close at US$39.39.

Iron ore producer Cleveland-Cliffs lost US$11.35 to close at US$36.43 per share.

Coal and other energy stocks were not as hard-hit, butalso dropped sharply. Alpha Natural Resourcestumbled US$9.07 to US$38.62 per share, while Patriot Coal fell US$8.80 to US$18.05 per share.

U. S. most active issues
	VOLUME	WEEK
	(000s) HIGH	LOW	CLOSE	CHANGE
Vale* RIO	252775 18.00	11.86	14.46	-4.15
PotashCSask* POT	113948109.10	76.86	86.91	-41.13
Mosaic* MOS	101511 52.59	31.43	37.16	-30.35
Alcoa* AA	81236 21.18	16.70	18.11	-3.16
Freeport McMo*FCX	77848 51.25	37.34	43.71	-9.25
Quest M&M* QMNM71235	0.01	1.0E8	0.00	0.00
Barrick Gold* ABX	70333 36.00	28.07	30.01	-7.35
Goldcorp* GG	63926 31.45	22.66	24.65	-7.55
Peabody Enrgy* BTU	44553 40.00	30.41	35.11	-5.94
CoeurdAlene*CDE	39900 1.49	1.03	1.28	-0.20

U. S. greatest percentage change
		VOLUME	WEEK
		(000s)	HIGH	LOW	CLOSE	CHANGE
Aspire Intl*	APIT	128	0.23	0.17	0.22	+ 15.7
Silver Res*	SLVV	33	0.29	0.28	0.28	+ 7.6
		0	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.0
		0	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.0
		0	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.0
		0	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.0
		0	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.0
		0	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.0
		0	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.0
		0	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.0
Global Gold*	GBGD	81	0.45	0.10	0.12	-65.7
Campbell Res*	CBLRF	391	0.02	0.01	0.01	-50.0
Colombia Gldf*	CGDF	137	0.19	0.10	0.10	-50.0
Mosaic*	MOS	101511	52.59	31.43	37.16	-44.9
Orezone Res*	OZN	2951	0.45	0.23	0.25	-44.4
Paramount Gld*	PZG	408	0.65	0.36	0.36	-43.7
Yellowcake Mg*	YCKM	43	0.20	0.12	0.12	-42.8
Evolving Gold*	EVOGF	142	0.30	0.15	0.19	-42.4
Midway Gold*	MDW	71	0.92	0.55	0.55	-40.2
Samex Mng*	SMXMF	240	0.24	0.14	0.15	-40.0

U. S. greatest value change
WEEK
		VOLUME	CLOSE	CHANGE
Aspire Intl*	APIT	127752	0.22	+ 0.03
Silver Res*	SLVV	32900	0.28	+ 0.02
		0	0.00	0.00
		0	0.00	0.00
		0	0.00	0.00
		0	0.00	0.00
		0	0.00	0.00
		0	0.00	0.00
		0	0.00	0.00
		0	0.00	0.00
Rio Tinto*	RTP	2647205	202.04	-52.20
Potash C Sask*	POT	113948014	86.91	-41.13
Mosaic*	MOS	101510777	37.16	-30.35
Agrium*	AGU	6477600	39.39	-15.51
Agnico-Eagle*	AEM	22288620	43.82	-12.02
Cleveland-Cli*	CLF	25181597	36.43	-11.35
Freeport McMo*	FCX	77848066	43.71	-9.25
Alpha Nat Res*	ANR	15612856	38.62	-9.07
Patriot Coal*	PCX	2431400	18.05	-8.80
BHP Billi-BHP*	BHP	21184116	42.99	-8.36