Anyone, like us, who has suffered the interminable “wait in the hall” hiatus for which Heathrow is so notorious, should just regard it as training for sitting out mining’s major bid.

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.

Early this week, we introduced the idea of buying the ABCs – Australia, Brazil, and Canada – as a way to own commodities for the long term. Several DailyWealth readers wrote to ask, “Great… but what about Russia?”

In the summer of 2007, I traveled to the gold-rich plains of Nevada… I flew into the tiny Elko, Nevada, airport, which is ground zero for the most prolific gold producing area in the U.S., the Carlin Trend.

Interesting how certain threads come together…I read recently that copper producers are complaining about the skyrocketing costs of sulfuric acid. A few days later, I read about Mosaic, a fertilizer company – about how the rising cost of sulfuric acid could impact its profit margins.

Gold fell to $915 in Hong Kong, but that would prove to be the low for the day, as it edged steadily higher to the mid-point of the NYMEX on Friday, nearly touching $929 before easing into a close on the Globex at $924.20/oz., up $3.80. For the week, gold added 2.5%.

Wonder what’s happening with the gold market lately? So has David Galland, of Casey Research. (publishers of Casey’s International Speculator) Here he offers some insights into the current state of the precious metal… and the companies that mine it.

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.

Winston Churchill once called Russia “a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.” While Russia still isn’t the easiest place to understand, perhaps the deeper riddle these days is how to think about China.

Friday action in gold didn’t start until the middle of the Hong Kong session once again. Like Thursday, both gold and silver rose from this point…and all through London…until the New York traders showed up on the Comex. Despite the lousy news and the lousy US$…down they both went.