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

Stocks moved lower for the third consecutive day on Friday, something that hasn’t happened in more than three weeks, as the bulls just couldn’t capitalize on a short-term overbought condition. Measures of selling pressure eased as the bears rested their knuckles after a two-day pummeling.

While prices of gold don’t necessarily affect silver prices or vice versa, history has demonstrated that when gold rises or falls, silver usually follows suit.

The commodities markets have been kicked into high gear. As America’s lenders change their mind, the world’s mining companies are on a surefire path to riches.

The commodities market is a popular place these days. For investors not ready to leap into an “optimized” play, the ETF market is filled with opportunities.

The Obama Administration is desperate for another couple of billion dollars added to the Cash-for-Clunkers coffer. Miners like North American Palladium (AMEX:PAL) want the money even more.

Gold prices have been fairly stagnant lately, but savvy investors are still making money. AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) is rewarding its investors today for taking some risk.

After posting nice returns earlier in the week, the Canadian markets took a well deserved rest during Friday trading. For the tale of the tape: the TSX Exchange tacked on 0.11%, while the TSX Gold Index fell 0.60%, and the TSX Venture Exchange, Canada’s largest junior exploration bourse, added 0.50% with the advancers beating out the decliners by a 415 to 373 margin on a modest 137 million shares traded.

The resource-rich Canadian markets continued to gain momentum to the upside during Thursday trading with only the gold sector showing signs of weakness. For the tale of the tape; the TSX Exchange surged 2.33%, while the TSX Gold Index fell 0.79% and the TSX Venture Exchange, Canada’s largest junior exploration bourse, added 1.28% with the advancers beating out the decliners by a 432 to 371 margin on 184 million shares traded.

It was a rather uneventful session during Wednesday trading on the Canadian Markets with the fluctuating price of commodities effecting individual sectors. For the tale of the tape; the TSX Exchange gave back 0.64%, while the TSX Gold Index fell 0.79% and the TSX Venture Exchange, Canada’s largest junior exploration bourse, added 0.79% with the advancers beating out the decliners by a 395 to 354 margin on 152 million shares traded.