The Colonel Returns

Morning Miners!

It is 5:43 AM, the coffee pot is smiling and the Diamond Valley holds a pretty rose. Loquita and I enjoyed the time off and we're are up and at'em. The headline photo is something we saw on HWY 50 that gives the ole Colonel goose bumps. Is there anything more more fun than watching Miss Pete haul a haul truck with three state troopers scattering traffic like Mormon crickets? A durn sight more fun than watching the markets lately.

When I left, Have a Happy Fourth Eureka!, we talked about a rough summer/fall but a good chance for a rally at the year's end. Whoa! The Colonel didn't think we'd get moving quite this quickly: General Moly is below 2-bucks, gold has been heading for 800 country and oil might see a 5-handle before the end of the month. There is resurgent conern about the economy and some investors are moving back to safe havens. We may very well see a repeat of 2008 but with much less severity; remember that markets had a good run and now there's some summer road repair on the recovery highway.

We are just entering "Earnings Season" when corporations report their second quarter performance and provide forecasts for things to come. This is bound to increase volatility so tighten your seatbelts a notch and enjoy the ride. The first to report was Alcoa which may be typical of others in the commodity-sensitive names; a lousy last quarter but perhaps a straighter highway ahead:

"Alcoa Inc., the first blue chip to report earnings this season, lost $454 million in its recent quarter, hammered by a sharp drop in sales in nearly all of its businesses. But Klaus Kleinfeld, the aluminum maker's chief executive, said that there are signs the market is strengthening as aluminum prices rise and some markets, including the automotive sector, are starting to show some resurgence." (WSJ, 7/9/09)

Enough talk, let's walk the walk:

Oil is up $0.51 to $60.65 in early trading (August contract); Gold is up $4.9 to $914.2 (August contract); Silver is up 0.023 to $12.875 (September contract); Copper is up $0.0610 to $2.220 (September contract); Molybdenum is sitting at $11.50 which ain't too bad buckaroos!

The DOW is down 1.06 points to 8177.35; the S&P 500, up 1.54 points to 902.87. The miners are a little happier today:

Barrick (ABX) $31.96 up 1.52%
Newmont (NEM) $38.47 up 1.37%
General Moly (Eureka Moly, LLC) (GMO) $1.84 up 5.14%
Freeport McMoran (FCX) $46.31 up 2.68% (a bellwether mining stock spanning gold, copper & molybdenum)

Steel stocks are ripping(a "tell" for General Moly):

Nucor (NUE) $41.08 up 1.68% - domestic steel manufacturing
ArcelorMittal (MT) $30.64 up 4.57% - global steel producer
POSCO (PKX) $83.96 up 4.00%- South Korean integrated steel producer

The Eureka Miner's Grubstake Portfolio is up 1.66% to $916,322.48.

Cheers,

Colonel Possum