Gold added about $20 to its price in Sydney trading first thing on Monday morning. This lasted right up until Hong Kong trading started a few hours later, and then went into a slow decline from there. This decline lasted through London…and then Comex trading in New York. Gold added to its gains in after-hours Globex trading.

Silver followed a similar path until New York opened. The price spike that ensued quickly got extinguished…and silver got sold off for about 50 cents right into the Comex close. From there the price recovered somewhat.

Volume in gold trading on Monday was still pretty light…but three times heavier than Friday’s volume. The HUI tacked on another 3% to the upside. Considering that the U.S. dollar came within an eyelash of gaining two full cents yesterday, I guess we should be thankful that both metals did as well as they did.

As far as changes in

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CF Industries Holdings Inc. (CF) has leading market shares in many key fertilizers. Strong domestic and international grain markets have produced an exceptionally high global demand for fertilizer, translating into substantially higher selling prices for all the products.The company is optimistic about its phosphate business where the market is expected to remain tight near term due to healthy offshore demand growth in India and Brazil, as well as higher application rates in the U.S. This is likely to lead to higher prices and cash margins for various fertilizers.In addition, the company is likely to benefit from the proposed nitrogen facility in Peru, which will address the nitrogen demand on the west coast of Central and South America as well as Mexico, which does not have any nitrogen facility.As a result, we rate the shares a Buy with a target of $65.00....

El Dorado … Cibola … Quivira … these are all fabled “lost cities of gold” that fired up the imaginations of explorers who pursued their dreams to the four corners of the Earth. These cities only existed in the fevered imaginations of storytellers. But there was a real city of gold … or at least, a city richly associated with gold. Its discovery by European explorers is the story of unlocking mysterious Africa … a tale that rings down through the ages … and holds lessons for investors today. Timbuktu’s distance and fabled wealth fired the imaginations of early explorers. The ...

The Amergence Group is focused on providing innovative services and assistance to new businesses by attracting the resources needed to propel their growth and future success. The company has established a highly specialized group of professionals that work with founders and new business owners across the globe to maximize potential through the use of non-traditional funding and growth strategies.

Because more than 90% of the approaches made by early-stage businesses to traditional venture capital groups fail, there are many outstanding and visionary businesses that never have the chance to bring their innovative ideas to the market. The Amergence Group has committed their services to these select companies that desire to take advantage of the resources that are generally not available elsewhere.

Peter Jacobs, the company’s managing director, has more than 25 years of telecommunications and technology experience. Previously, he served as a president of a nationwide telecommunications inter-exchange carrier where

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We are maintaining our Buy recommendation, but lowering our estimates and price objective for San Antonio-based Tesoro Corporation (TSO) -- an independent refiner and marketer of refined petroleum products in the western U.S. -- to reflect the still-challenging refining margin environment.

Our new 2009 EPS estimate is $1.27, down from $2.30 before, while our 2008 estimate remains unchanged. Despite the near-term challenges, our long-term view of the business remains favorable as we believe that the company is in a good position with a strong balance sheet, and has the ability to fund capex [capital expenditures] with operating cash flows.

On October 29, Tesoro reported robust third-quarter 2008 recurring earnings of $1.63 per diluted share, compared to $0.40 per diluted share in the year-earlier quarter. The quarterly results were an improvement over the last few quarters, as refining margins improved on the back of a sharp pullback in oil prices.

Despite some recent

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Friedman Billings Ramsey is out with a major downgrade on Auto Zone (NYSE:AZO) taking their rating to Underperform from Mkt Perform while lowering tgt to $110.At a minimum, the firm does not think that AZO's stock price will be able to keep up with its peers, nor with the overall equity market. As with other retailers, sales have likely slowed for the sector since the end of AutoZone's fiscal year (August, 2008). When AZO had last reported, comp store sales were +0.6% and had been helped for that period by the tax stimulus. At Gabelli's after-market automotive conference yesterday in Las Vegas, the firm found most companies generally cautious about current sales trends. Therefore, they estimate that AZO's same-store sales are currently tracking at -2% for 1Q09E.Separately, they are concerned that competitive pressures will accelerate for AZO, with AZO currently operating at hardline retail sector-high operating ...

Warren Buffett is shopping for railroad stocks again. The ‘Oracle of Omaha’ increased his stake in Burlington Northern (NYSE:BNI) to almost 20% last month. Fuel efficiency and road congestion are two key factors supporting a bullish outlook for the railroad industry, says Jason Simpkins.

More from Jason in Money Morning:

Last month, the iconic investing guru once again displayed his enthusiasm for railroad stocks by adding to his already sizeable stake in Burlington Northern Sante Fe Corp. (NYSE:BNI). After picking up 7.85 million shares of Burlington in early October, Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A, BRK.B) last week added another 825,000 shares to its holdings at a price of $79.65 apiece

Buffett has been bullish on railroad stocks for the past year. Buffett made his first move on Burlington Northern in April 2007, acquiring nearly 40 million shares – close to 11%

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Headquartered in Edison, New Jersey, U.S. Shipping Partners L.P. is a leading provider of long-haul marine transportation services. Trading on the New York Stock Exchange they engage in this primarily for refined petroleum products, petrochemical, and commodity chemical products. The Company began their operations in 2002 and went public on November 3, 2004. The Partnership employs approximately 40 shore staff and 400 fleet personnel.

The Partnership’s main strategies are to operate their fleet safely and efficiently to meet customer and industry standards, and to remain a preferred supplier to major oil and chemical companies. They also seek to contract a high proportion of their capacity with major oil and chemical companies for periods of one or more years. U.S. Shipping Partners L.P.’s strategy is also to expand their fleet through strategic acquisitions and construction of new vessels.

Their fleet now consists of six integrated tug barge units (ITBs); one product tanker;

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Farallon CapitalFarallon Capital | Hedge Fund NotesThe following piece on Farallon Capital Managment Partners, LP is being published as part of our daily effort to track hedge funds in the industry. To review other hedge fund research notes please see our Hedge Fund Tracker Tool.The firm’s website includes a section on investment strategies. The core strategy of Farallon is to invest in companies they believe are undergoing a change. Known changes may be mergers, recapitalizations, restructuring, etc. They invest in both private and public companies around the world.A profile of Farallon’s founder and co-managing partner Thomas Steyer. He founded the firm in 1986. He is also the managing director of a private equity ...

As consumers continue to look for healthier options for meals, Edgewater Foods International Inc. (EDWT.OB) has a variety of seafood for those on the west coast of North America. Edgewater is the parent company of Island Scallops Ltd. (ISL), a Vancouver Island (British Columbia, Canada) aquaculture company that focuses exclusively on providing seafood items produced in private hatcheries and grown on ocean farm sites.

ISL was established in 1989 to commercialize the Canadian government’s research on the development of scallop aquaculture and was acquired by Edgewater in June 2005 through a non-taxable merger. Over the last 15 years, ISL has been committed to rapidly expanding production while continuing to finance its growth and maintain a healthy marine environment.

At this time, the Pacific scallop is the only product that ISL produces, grows, processes and markets. As the concept of scallop farming is new to North America, ISL is the only producer of

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