by William Davies

Global commodity trading now takes place on a growing platform of modern, transparent commodity exchanges across all time zones. Using agreed frameworks of rules and regulations and standard contract designs we now see a wide range of commodities traded between end users and primary producers. The result is that it is now much easier to buy and sell across the range of basic commodities from orange juice to gold bullion, from crude oil to coffee beans.

While some of the major commodities like coffee and crude oil have been traded for a number of years, we are now seeing in modern commodity markets the strong innovation theme leading to new futures contracts being traded. One area where new product development has made a notable change is in the trading of carbon emission permits. Given the growing global concern about the serious long term impact to the environment …

"Precious Metals" is our focus today. These equity mutual funds primarily invest in bullion or equity securities of companies that trade in gold and/or precious metals.

Investors can find such funds by checking out the entire list of the Zacks #1 Rank Precious Metals Equity Funds.

3 Funds that are as Good as Gold  OCM Gold (OCMGX), which was founded in February 1988, seeks long-term growth of capital by investing primarily in equity securities of domestic and foreign companies engaged in activities related to gold and precious metals.

Company-specific factors, and not general economic conditions, provide the basis for this fund's buy and sell decisions. Its portfolio turnover was 5% at the end of February 2009.

Shareholders have a minimum initial investment of $1,000 to enter this Zacks #1 Rank ("Strong Buy") fund. It has topped the total returns of its benchmark index in the last 1-, 3- and 5-year

Today we are featuring top-performing "Precious Metals" equity mutual funds, which primarily invest in bullion or equity securities of companies that trade in gold and/or precious metals.

Investors can find such funds by checking out the entire list of the Zacks #1 Rank Precious Metals Equity Funds.3 Valuable Samples

OCM Gold (OCMGX) was incepted in February 1988. The investment seeks long-term growth of capital by investing primarily in equity securities of domestic and foreign companies engaged in activities related to gold and precious metals.

The fund bases its decisions to purchase and sell securities on company specific factors, not general economic conditions. Its portfolio turnover was 5% at the end of February 2009.

Unit holders have a minimum initial investment of $1,000 to enter this Zacks#1 Rank ("Strong Buy") fund. It has topped the total returns of

By Guest Author:  Harold Clifford
www.PreciousMetalsWarrants.com and www.InsidersInsights.com

Extraordinary Times Present Rare Opportunities

The 2008 once-in-a-lifetime general stock market meltdown brought panic and forced liquidation to all market sectors, and in particular pummeled junior mining share prices by 80 – 90% or more, creating once-in-a-lifetime values for discerning investors. During this monumental sell-off, shares of junior miners that had already succeeded in “building” a valuable, commercially viable asset (mineral deposit or even a new mine) were generally decimated to the same extent as shares of juniors that did not have a commercial deposit or even a significant discovery. Companies that had a solid foundation for development, production and growth were unceremoniously “lumped in” with those more numerous mining juniors that had little more than hopes centered on grass roots exploration “prospects”. As a result of this indiscriminate selling, extraordinary opportunities emerged and, slowly but surely, the market …

By: Harold Clifford

www.PreciousMetalsWarrants.com and www.InsidersInsights.com

Extraordinary Times Present Rare Opportunities

The 2008 once-in-a-lifetime general stock market meltdown brought panic and forced liquidation to all market sectors, and in particular pummeled junior mining share prices by 80 – 90% or more, creating once-in-a-lifetime values for discerning investors. During this monumental sell-off, shares of junior miners that had already succeeded in “building” a valuable, commercially viable asset (mineral deposit or even a new mine) were generally decimated to the same extent as shares of juniors that did not have a commercial deposit or even a significant discovery. Companies that had a solid foundation for development, production and growth were unceremoniously “lumped in” with those more numerous mining juniors that had little more than hopes centered on grass roots exploration “prospects”. As a result of this indiscriminate selling, extraordinary opportunities emerged and, slowly but surely, the market is now …

by Shannon Doty

Investing in gold may be a bit daunting especially for those who are new to the world of investments. It is good to know that investing in gold is not as complicated as other types of industries or businesses. If you want to make gold as an investment, you can do so even on the comfort of your own home.

Gold is one of the most precious metals in the world. It can stand the test of time, both in its physical makeup as well as its intrinsic value. It is also considered as one of the wisest investments there is.

Gold can be made into many different things, one of which is jewelry. The easiest and simplest way of investing in gold is purchasing and storing pieces of gold jewelry. You do not have to look very far to acquire these pieces because they are …

The Best Ways to Buy Gold and Silver Now

by Dr. Mark Skousen, Advisory Panelist

Once again, the U.S. Mint can’t keep up with the huge demand for American eagle gold and silver coins. Americans are so anxious about the uncertainty of the seemingly never-ending financial crisis that they are demanding physical positions of their gold and silver, the only true money.

It’s not hard to see why. In many ways American eagles are ideal ways to buy gold and silver.

They are easily recognized, certified by the U.S. government, and easy to buy and sell through any coin dealer worldwide. And they normally sell for close to their bullion value. That is, until recently.

Prices for gold have skyrocketed as skittish investors “ran for the hills.”

But just because everyone else is paying too much for gold doesn’t mean you have to. Here are some smarter ways to add gold

Missing key market signals can spell disaster for your trades. Fortunately, you never have to miss a market signal again.

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Previously, this type of technology was available only to hedge fund kings with billions of dollars at their disposal. But not anymore. MarketClub Alerts now levels the playing field. It allows you to track your favorite markets in your portfolio as often as every ten minutes. Simply choose your Alert preferences and you’ll be notified via email oncomputer or smartphone, according to the criteria you set.

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CNBC Stock Blog: What factor(s) did HSBC’s Jim Steel recently cite as making precious metals “safe investments”?

“The persistently high price of oil, the weaker dollar and the resurfacing credit crisis are driving up the price of precious metals, making them safe investments,” said Jim Steel, chief commodities analyst for HSBC.

Looks like an “all of the above” to me.

Gold used to be the anti-inflation trade. It appears oil has taken over from gold in that regards the past 9 months or so. However, gold is still the Armageddon trade as evidenced by its strong showing during what seemed like End of Days this late winter and early spring. It is starting to perk up again…. I am tempted to buy my favorite miner on this breakout, Kinross Gold (KGC) – still debating.

[May 5: Closing Precious Metals]
[Jan 30: Starting New Position in Kinross Gold]

In terms of the market – we still need fear – but we’re getting there – the move to gold is a good indication. As I stated yesterday that S&P 1300 level is our temporary bottom for now – those big round numbers always act as psychological support. If that …