Esther Tanquintic-Misa

Although it has yet to regain its footing since its end-quarter 2011 jaw-dropping fall, precious metal gold will continue as the world's most favored investment pick to cushion oneself against the maddening global financial meltdown.

India has initiated talks with the governments of Australia, Netherlands, France, and the European Union on several human resource mobility partnership agreements that will ensure job employments for its working professionals.

Australia's carbon tax scheme is put on the limelight again after China announced last week the adoption of a carbon tax scheme effective 2015. China aims to reduce its carbon emissions by as much as 40 per cent to 45 percent by 2020.

Notwithstanding how good current relations may be between the Netherlands and the U.S., once global investor confidence waned on the American dollar, the Dutch could still lose the gold reserves it placed in full trust in various strategic vaults in the US. Call it perhaps survivor's instinct.

After completing a successful 10-million tonne per annum expansion program at its Hazira plant, India's Essar group announced it will start using cheaper, low-grade iron ore fines to make steel.

China's total crude steel demand for 2012 has been projected to grow 4 per cent to 700 million tons even as Chinese steel mills remain cautious to buy the commodity, the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) said on Thursday.

India's largest iron ore producer, NMDC Ltd., is currently in negotiation talks for a $300-million coal mine acquisitions in Mozambique and Russia.

Gold jewelers in India took to a restocking binge after prices of the precious yellow metal fell due to a strengthened rupee.

After a strong year in 2011, with gains registered at roughly 15 per cent in just 12 months, gold has been forecast to average $1,850 a troy ounce for 2012 and 2013 by HSBC. The question now hangs: Is gold - long considered a safe haven to guard one's assets - still worth buying? The answer could still be yes.

Jan. 30 may just be a regular date and day for most global citizens, but for Australian rare earths miner Lynas Corp., Jan. 30 may well be its sweetest taste at victory over its highly controversial Malaysian LAMP advanced materials plant.

The China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) has suspended to the second half of 2012 a planned implementation of new, tougher criteria for commercial lenders.

Australia is suffering a soft-drink shortage, at the most inappropriate time of the year when one needs to quench thirst to battle the summer heat wave.

Three coal projects of India's state-owned coal company Coal India Ltd. (CIL) have been recommended for environmental clearance, a much welcomed good news after the company slashed its output target for fiscal year 2012.

The U.K. may become the world's third-biggest importer and consumer of liquefied natural gas (LNG), after Britain surpassed the import statistics of Spain in 2010, a U.S.-based gas consultant on Wednesday said

The continuing global interest in Zambia's natural resources, particularly copper, which have led to increased investments in its mining sector, have prompted the Chamber of Mines of Zambia (CMZ) to forecast copper production capacity to hit 1.6 million tonnes per annum by 2016.

Raw coal production from China jumped 4.4 per cent in November from a year ago, giving a total of 321 million tonnes. With this, the country's overall coal output from January to November 2011 reached 3.46 billion tonnes, a hike of 11.6 per cent from the same period of 2010.

Continued manic concerns over the maddening plight of financial crisis hitting the Euro zone have led copper futures, yet again, to tumble more than 3 percent on Wednesday.

Tankers hauling liquefied natural gas (LNG) ought to brace themselves not only for a busy operational turnover scheduling of transporting the chilled gas from supplier to client's port, but also for increased profits as global demand has been forecast to grow to an all-time high.

Activity in India's services sector rose at its fastest pace in five months in December, data from a survey by Markit Economics and HSBC Bank showed Wednesday.Based on a survey of around 400 firms, the HSBC Markit Business Activity Index grew 54.2 in December from 53.2 in November, staying above the borderline 50 mark which separates growth from contraction. It was India's second consecutive monthly growth for its services sector.

Barely a week into the new year and yet China is already bracing itself for a difficult first quarter 2012 on weakening exports, no thanks to the continuing mad financial crisis affecting its major export market, the Euro zone.

China's second-largest oil company, China Petrochemical Corp., otherwise known as Sinopec Group, has entered a purchase deal with Devon Energy Corp. to acquire a one-third stake in five Devon exploratory oil projects in the U.S. for $900 million.

In what seems to be a testament of the global pandemonium for supply of rare earths, American rare earths producer Molycorp, Inc. on Tuesday reported it had entered into customer supply agreements representing 78 per cent of expected output from the Phase 1 expansion works at its Mountain Pass, California rare earth mine and oxide manufacturing facility.

National Mining Corporation (NMiC), one of Ethiopia's mining companies, last week announced the discovery of a 568,000kg worth gold reserve in the African country's Oromia and Tigray regional states.The two regions reportedly hold the country's largest gold reserves, according to geological data from Ethiopia's Ministry of Mines.

Gold futures advanced a tad higher on Wednesday, by far its best level in little over a week, on a weakening US dollar and Iran's pronouncement of its progress in its nuclear program.As of 0015 GMT, spot gold inched 0.2 per cent to $1,606.09 an ounce, its biggest daily gain in more than two months.

Reliance Power Ltd. by Indian billionaire Anil Ambani and global energy giant Royal Dutch Shell Plc are reportedly mulling to put up what could become India's first east-coast liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal.

China's continued tightening of regulation policies on its property market has affected sales of both new and existing homes in Beijing.Latest data by Centaline China Property Research, the city's housing regulator, showed sales of new home in Beijing fell 18.4 per cent to only 90,605 units in 2011 compared from a year ago, the Beijing News reported Monday.

With China and India, both emerging economies, posting favorable manufacturing statistics in the last month of 2011, it surely goes to prove the Asian region is very much resilient to the fiscal rollercoaster ride in the European region. Suffice to say, that in the event Europe goes down, Asia could possibly remain firm.

In what could be a positive signal for the eventual opening of its controversial rare earths plant in 2012, the Malaysian Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) has put for public consultation the application for a temporary operating licence of Australian rare earth processing company Lynas Corp.

Indian iron ore miners cautioned federal authorities total shipments of the key steel-making raw material ingredient will unlikely exceed 50 million tonnes in 2012 following the recent implemented increase in the duties of iron ore exports by the country.