Editor’s note:  The commodities boom has a long way to run, says Dominic Frisby in Money Morning.  Mining companies are pushing steel prices higher and higher. There’s no futures market for iron ore, so speculators aren’t to blame for this one. Mining companies are raising prices because their shipping costs are going up.

Steelmakers throughout Asia cringed earlier this week when they heard the news that Aussie mining giant Rio Tinto PLC (ADR: pBut getting Rio out of the way was only half the battle, because now steelmakers are forced to confront BHP Billiton Ltd. (ADR: a href="http://finance.google.com/finance?q=bhp&hl=en" onclick="s_objectID=" finance?q="bhp&hl=en_1";return">BHP) and its chief executive,

For the past several years, the Pilbara Region of Western Australia has witnessed a boom like few mining districts have ever seen.

If the Aussie market follows the U.S. lead today, look out. Before we break for lunch here in Colorado, stocks in New York are taking a beating. The Dow Jones Industrials are down nearly 200 points. And it’s such a nice day out, too.

In the most simplistic form, stock splits are the most bullish indicator you’ll find. In my entire investing career, I’ve never seen a weak (or bearish) stock execute a stock split.

Commodities are governed by supply and demand – more than any other variable. Just take a look at the precious metals bull market we’ve enjoyed since 2001.

We have set ourselves a mighty task in today’s Daily Reckoning, dear reader. We aim to prove to you how short-sighted, smug, and shallow the mainstream press is. This may not be as big a task as it first sounds, given the quality of a lot of journalism. But we take on one of the central myths of the modern economy today: that consumption leads to prosperity.

Are you getting dizzy yet trying to keep track of all the takeover activity in the Aussie market? From the big fish to the little fish, all of fishes in Australia’s resource ocean are on the Chinese menu.

Remember last week when the director of the Brazil National Petroleum Agency Haroldo Lima told the world that the Carioca oil field, “Could be the world’s biggest oil discovery in thirty years?” Let’s unpack the word “could.” It “could” be the world’s biggest oil field that will never enter into production.

The new story on China and commodities is a lot like the old story on China and commodities. The Australian reports China is eyeing a large stake in the world’s largest diversified commodity producer, BHP Billiton. It’s the latest in China’s enormous effort to lock up iron ore, copper, zinc, oil, and uranium deposits for the next few decades.