U.S. stocks surged Monday, with the Dow Jones industrial average storming to its highest level in more than 13 months as finance ministers from the Group of 20 industrialized nations pledged to continue economic stimulus measures to help the global economy.

The Dow Jones industrial average, which was well supported by strength in its all but one component, rose 203 points, or 2.0%, to a 13-month high of 10,227.  The S&P500 climbed 2.2% for its sixth straight session gain to 1093 and the tech-heavy NASDAQ gained 2.0% to close at 2154.  The market’s measure of volatility, the CBOE Vix, plunged 4.3% to 23.15.

All ten S&P500 industry groups ended in the green, led by gains in basic material shares (+3.5%) and financials (+3.5%).  Crude prices added $2.00 to close at $79.43 even as Hurricane Ida was downgraded to a tropical storm.  Gold prices went past the $1100 level, up

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Reflect Scientific, Inc., a provider of energy efficient, zero emission cooling products, excitedly announced that it received the award for Most Innovative Products at Utah’s Green Business Awards in Salt Lake City, Utah. The award recognizes companies, communities and individuals in Utah who are making strides in environmental sustainability.

Reflect Scientific received recognition for its refrigeration product, Cryometrix CB-40. The patented liquid nitrogen refrigeration serves as a platform technology, and is also used in Ultra Low Temperature Freezers in biotechnology and Server Room cooling systems in the computer industry.

The product replaces the polluting diesel units that are currently used in the trucking industry. With a potential US market of 350,000 refrigerated trucks, Cryometrix would prevent the emission of millions of pounds of pollutants.

While accepting the award, Mr. Boyce, CEO of Reflect Scientific Inc, commented, “It is a real honor to share the stage with such well known companies as

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Entree Gold Inc., a Canadian mineral exploration company, announced today that its application for conversion of the Shivee Tolgoi and Javhlant exploration concessions to mining licenses has been approved by the Mineral Resources Authority of Mongolia. The sites are located in southern Mongolia, not far from the northern border of China, and total over 75,000 hectares, or about 185,000 acres.

The Javhlant license, along with the eastern portion of the Shivee Tolgoi license, are subject to a joint venture with Ivanhoe Mines Ltd through its subsidiary Ivanhoe Mines Mongolia Inc. LLC (NYSE: IVN, Nasdaq: IVN). The license sites completely surround Ivanhoe Mine’s Oyu Tolgoi mining license site, and conversion of these licenses consolidates a huge land position upon which the Oyu Tolgoi mining complex will be established. Mining licenses have a 30-year term, with two possible renewals of 20 years each.

Entree president and CEO, Greg Crowe, stated: “The granting of

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In August, the Conference Board’s Index of Leading Economic Indicators (LEI) rose 0.6%, following gains of 0.9% in July and 0.8% in June. This was slightly below the 0.7% consensus expectation, but on the other hand, the July number was revised up from 0.6%, so the gain was coming off a higher base. Five of the ten indicators were up on the month, three were down and two were unchanged. This marks the fifth month in a row that the index has been up since it bottomed out in March. Prior to that, it had fallen for 20 straight months -- one of the longest negative strings on record. The five components that were up, in order of their impact on the index, were: the vendor performance index, which rose to 57.1 from 52.0; the spread on 10-year Treasuries versus Fed Funds, which rose to 3.43% from ...

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – September 18, 2009 – Zacks.com announces the latest Industry Outlook. Today, Zacks Equity Research discusses the Coal sector, including Peabody Coal (BTU), Arch Coal Inc. (ACI), Rio Tinto (RTP) and Walter Energy (WLT).

Here is the latest on the Coal sector:

The larger coal players with strong balance sheets will be able to capitalize on the current market environment in the form of acquisitions. With asset prices coming down from mid-'08 levels and smaller producers feeling the strain on margins, this represents opportunities to acquire reserves on the cheap.

In particular, we like companies with exposure to the international coal markets as well as the Powder River Basin (PRB) in the U.S. Companies like Peabody Coal (BTU) and Arch Coal Inc. (ACI) look attractive currently. Both have recently engaged in long-term

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China has an environmental problem which the government has been aware of for years. Polluters have been able to dump massive amounts of toxic wastes into China’s air and water for many years with no repercussions because the mandate from Beijing was for economic growth at all costs.

But that is all changing. China now has an environmental movement among its people which is in its infancy, but growing quickly. The interesting facet of China’s nascent environmental movement is that the central government in Beijing is actually listening to the environmentalists, at least to a certain extent. They are cracking down on some of the worst polluters and shutting them down.

Beginning in late 2008, Beijing began a crackdown on numerous illegal, dangerous coal mines which also happened to be the biggest polluting mines. Many of these operations have been shut down permanently.

Many investors may think to themselves – so what?

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Arch Coal (ACI) recently extended the size and maturity of its senior secured revolving credit facility. The existing drawing limit under the credit line was raised to $860 million from $800 million through June 2011.

From June 2011, the company will have borrowing right of $763 million through March 2013, which may further be raised up to $800 million. The credit line extension will strengthen Arch Coal’s liquidity position and provide greater financial flexibility to pursue attractive growth opportunities going forward.

Last week, the company obtained clearance from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for acquiring the Jacobs Ranch mine in Wyoming from Rio Tinto (RTP). The $761 million deal will give Arch Coal control over around 381 million tons of high-grade, low-cost coal reserves adjacent to its Black Thunder mine and several operating synergies that will provide significant value for it shareholders. Last month, it had raised

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European shares touched a 10-month high on Friday on optimism for a global economic recovery and with Nokia and results from U.S. bellwethers boosting the technology sector.

The FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> index of top European shares rose 1 percent to 978.34 points. Over the week, the index climbed 1.2 percent, its sixth weekly gain in the last seven weeks.

The European benchmark index is up more than 51 percent from its lifetime low of March 9, as investors have become more confident on the prospects of economic recovery.

“Things look good for the time being, but the higher we go the more we could be setting ourselves up for a disappointment,” said Andy Lynch, a fund manager at Schroders.

“The world economy is doing well, French and German GDP are positive, but that’s not surprising given the amount of stimulus being pumped into the market. I have a concern about what happens when the sugar

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Brazil’s largest iron ore miner Vale S.A. (VALE) recently announced plans of resuming its Canadian Sudbury operations with temporary employees. On July 13, about 3,100 employees out of the 5,000 at the company’s Sudbury plant had gone on strike. Another 120 workers at its Port Colborne refinery and 450 at Voisey’s Bay in Newfoundland had also joined the strike.

Vale has decided to stop negotiating with Chinese steelmakers on prices of iron ore. It now plans to offer provisional prices on ore shipments, whenever there is one.

China imported huge volumes of iron ore to build inventories at attractive prices. According to Beijing’s National Bureau of Statistics, China bought 58.1million tons of iron ore, up 32% from a year ago. Due to higher inventories in China, Brazil experienced a 6% drop in iron ore export in July compared to the previous year. The situation can even hurt prices

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European shares slipped back from a 10-month closing high on Wednesday, as investors took profits, even as German and U.S. economic data continued to point to recovery.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> index of top shares fell 0.5 percent to close at 973.92 points, breaking a four-day winning streak, and having hit its highest close since early October on Tuesday.

The European benchmark index is still up 50.9 percent from its lifetime low of March 9, as investors have become more confident on the prospects of recovery.

“The market has come a long way, and the economics are still supportive,” said Georgina Taylor, equity strategist, Legal & General Investment Management.

“We’re just seeing a little profit taking. Nothing has been derailed. Housing data is improving. The only area of concern is consumer spending.”

Energy companies were the biggest drag on the index, with crude prices down more than 1 percent to just above $71 a barrel,

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