Rare earth elements (REEs) have been the mystery metals of the mining world for years. Now, suddenly, everyone’s heard about them.

There’s no question that the big “winner” in the global financial crisis has been China. While for the past two years developed economies have been scrambling to keep afloat China has taken a nuanced approach to achieving its economic and political goals.

Leaving your money under your mattress isn’t exactly the safest bet. It doesn’t take a mathematician to figure out that government stimulus plans, bank bailouts, and lower interest rates all add up to inflation. If more money is circulating due to new spending measures, the value of each dollar –including the money under your mattress– goes down.

U.S. non-farm payrolls fall 533,000 in November… Oil slips more than 2 percent

With commodity prices falling and the global economic outlook uncertain, Melbourne-based mining titan BHP Billiton (BHP) pulled the plug on its hostile takeover of rival Rio Tinto PLC (RTP), saying the proposed deal is of no longer in the best interest of shareholders.

The base metals were mostly lower on Monday. Copper held onto Friday’s close until the late pre-dawn hours, but then was off sharply, bottoming near $1.75 at mid-morning before rallying to a finish at $1.828/lb., down 6½ cents from Friday.

Gold was flat to the end of Hong Kong trading, but then pushed higher from there to mid-morning in New York, peaking at nearly $775, before declining slowly to finish at $755.30, up $11.50. Overnight, gold is trending higher.

The base metals were nearly all in positive territory on Tuesday. Copper prolonged its rally, with buying coming in on dips through the day, and finishing at its intraday high of $1.9204/lb., up more than 7 2/3 cents. Nickel soared in the afternoon hours, before easing a bit late to close at $5.2435/lb., up 23 1/3 cents.

The base metals were mixed in undramatic trading on Wednesday. Copper sank below $3.30 in the pre-dawn hours, but then rallied through most of the rest of the day, finishing with a modest gain at $3.3507/lb., up more than 2¾ cents. Nickel came off its pre-dawn lows to trade essentially flat through the day, closing at $8.7636/lb., down 3 cents.

The base metals were all in the red once again on Tuesday. Copper fell in the pre-dawn hours and, though it rallied through the New York session, never got back to even, finishing at $3.3221/lb., down 10¼ cents from Friday. Nickel fell during non-domestic trading Monday, then continued downward yesterday before moving up from the late pre-dawn hours through the New York day, finally closing at $8.793/lb., down a bit less than 37 cents.