U.S. Markets August 21-27

A credit crunch stemming from U.S. mortgage losses continued to roil U.S. markets this week and the impact was felt around the world. The European Central Bank, Bank of Japan and Bank of Canada all claimed that the market turmoil could affect their monetary decisions. The release on Aug. 27 of the S&P/Case-Schiller U.S. National Home Price Index, showing the glut of unsold homes rose to a 16-year high, crushed any hope that the home loan crisis was easing.

On Aug. 28, the Conference Board reported consumer confidence weakened sharply in August — the biggest drop since September 2005 in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina — heightening dread about the fallout from the housing slump. With a housing recession, Americans find it harder to tap housing equity to finance the spending that accounts for the lion’s share of the economy.

Concern that the subprime mortgage rout in the U.S. is spreading and will erode global economic growth has also affected markets in Europe and Asia. On Aug. 28, OPEC Secretary General Abdullah al-Badri said that the subprime crisis in financial markets has made it difficult for the group to gauge demand for crude oil.

The Standard and Poor’s 500 Index finished the Aug. 21-27 trading session up 21.24 points. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 200.78 points to finish at 13,322.130.

Among the most actively traded stocks during the period were Alcoa, up US$2.66 to US$36.98, and the world’s largest publicly traded copper company, Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold, which rose US$5.76 to $85.72. Alcan shares were up US$2.59 to US$97.96 apiece.

Despite economic worries and concerns over housing strength, Rio Tinto experienced the largest value change over the period, surging US$25.58 to US$271.99 per share on trading volume of 22.3 million shares. BHP Billiton rose US$5.49 to US$62.01 and Companhia Vale do Rio Doce climbed US8 to US$48.32.

Other high performers included China’s Yanzhou Coal, with a US$24.75 leap to $93.00 per share, and Southern Copper, which climbed US$12.28 to US$103.62. Cleveland-Cliffs also fared well, adding US$8.57 to close at US$72.69 per share.

U.S. most active issues

		VOLUME(000s)	HIGH	LOW	CLOSE	CHANGE
CVRD*	RIO	79593	49.28	39.44	48.32	+8.00
Alcoa*	AA	69401	37.47	34.02	36.98	+2.66
Freeport McMo*	FCX	46623	87.89	79.11	85.72	+5.76
Goldcorp*	GG	35771	23.60	21.35	22.93	+1.31
Newmont Mng*	NEM	30223	41.45	39.50	40.45	+0.57
Coeur d Alene*	CDE	25142	3.47	3.26	3.34	-0.11
Barrick Gold*	ABX	22639	33.90	31.50	32.13	+0.26
Alcan*	AL	19853	98.09	95.45	97.96	+2.59
Gold Fields*	GFI	19527	15.22	13.84	14.56	+0.40
Peabody Enrgy*	BTU	19444	42.93	39.91	41.43	+0.51

U.S. greatest percentage change

		VOLUME(000s)	HIGH	LOW	CLOSE	CHANGE
El Capitan Pr*	ECPN	1880	0.75	0.42	0.70	+62.7
Uranium Star*	URST	427	0.40	0.28	0.40	+37.9
Yanzhou Coal*	YZC	614	93.44	70.00	93.00	+36.2
Douglas Lk Ml*	DLKM	54	0.41	0.31	0.38	+26.6
Golden Eagle*	MYNG	8406	0.017	0.011	0.015	+25.0
Wealth Minls*	WMLLF	54	2.90	2.25	2.90	+22.3
Little Squaw*	LITS	58	0.90	0.72	0.90	+20.0
CVRD*	RIO	79593	49.28	39.44	48.32	+19.8
Cream Mnrls*	CRMXF	113	0.49	0.424	0.447	+17.9
Anooraq Res*	ANO	3043	3.06	2.60	3.04	+17.3
Apolo Gold*	APLL	651	0.049	0.035	0.038	-22.4
HE-5 Res*	HRRN	49	0.165	0.13	0.13	-18.7
Geocom Res*	GOCM	68	0.21	0.17	0.172	-18.1
New Jersey Mg*	NJMC	178	0.45	0.34	0.37	-17.7
Global Gold*	GBGD	55	0.75	0.595	0.595	-15.0
Evolving Gold*	EVOGF	46	0.42	0.30	0.30	-14.2
Bullion Rvr G*	BLRV	1735	0.389	0.265	0.34	-12.6
Cusac Gold Mn*	CUSIF	235	0.165	0.128	0.155	-11.4
AmMex Gold*	AMXG	151	0.32	0.26	0.29	-9.3
Seabridge Gld*	SA	3911	26.15	21.01	22.43	-9.3

U.S. greatest value change

		WEEK VOLUME	CLOSE	CHANGE
Rio Tinto*	RTP	2239300	271.99	+25.58
Yanzhou Coal*	YZC	614300	93.00	+24.75
Southern Copp*	PCU	12560273	103.62	+12.28
Cleveland-Cli*	CLF	7637389	72.69	+8.57
CVRD*	RIO	79593075	48.32	+8.00
Potash C Sask*	POT	11418350	85.77	+6.61
Freeport McMo*	FCX	46622642	85.72	+5.76
BHP Billi-BHP*	BHP	18322842	62.01	+5.49
BHP Billi-BBL*	BBL	875300	56.52	+5.15
Agrium*	AGU	3361700	44.54	+5.01
Royal Gold*	RGLD	2561844	26.79	-2.71
Seabridge Gld*	SA	3911300	22.43	-2.30
Arch Coal*	ACI	14095474	29.90	-0.58
Minefinders*	MFN	779870	8.71	-0.46
APEX Silver*	SIL	1241700	17.27	-0.44
Tanz Roy Exp*	TRE	1719800	4.86	-0.40
Metallica Res*	MRB	554900	3.58	-0.28
Allied Nevada*	ANV	132400	4.05	-0.27
US Gold*	UXG	52900	5.90	-0.25
Banro Res*	BAA	29400	10.00	-0.18