Jobless Claims Fall; China Detains Four Rio Tinto Employees for Alleged Espionage; Retail Roughed Up in June; China Auto Sales Skyrocket; Broadcom Drops Acquisition Attempt; Mortgage Rates Fall; Madoff Won’t Appeal Sentence

The base metals were all green shoots on Friday. Copper started up in the pre-dawn hours and, except for a late morning downblip, maintained momentum through the day to finish at $2.0741/lb., up 6¼ cents.

The base metals were adrift on a red sea on Thursday. Copper declined steadily from the pre-dawn hours through the noon hour, after which it edged back up over the $2 mark to finish at $2.0121/lb., down 6 2/3 cents.

The base metals were mixed again on Wednesday. Copper was only slightly higher until the New York open, when it busted up to its peak of $2.09 in the late morning, then subsided to finish at $2.0756/lb., up better than 3 cents. Nickel was up and down sharply all day, to little effect as it closed at $5.6442/lb., up a penny and a quarter.

The base metals were mixed on Wednesday. Copper fell as low as $1.74 in the late pre-dawn hours, perked back up during the New York morning, but faded again late to finish at $1.7695/lb., down three-quarters of a cent.

Chinese regulators rejected Coca-Cola Co.’s (KO) $2.3 billion bid for China Huiyuan Juice Group Ltd., China’s largest juice company.

The Coca-Cola Co. (KO) said Friday that it would invest $2 billion in China over the next three years. That’s 25% more than the $1.6 billion Coke has invested in China during the past 30 years.

With dropping oil prices and the current global attitude on commodities, Horacio Marquez of Money Morning recommends this offshore drilling company as a top performer in its sector.

China Development Bank, one of China’s largest state-owned enterprises, has agreed to lend $10 billion to Brazil’s Petrobras (PBR) in exchange for a long-term supply of oil – the latest illustration of how Beijing is using the global downturn to further its domestic agenda.

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