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.

The potash market is looking strong today thanks to news of increasingly positive supply and demand fundamentals. Potash Corp. (NYSE:POT) is leading the charge.

It was yet another quiet Friday trading session on the Canadian Markets. For the tale of the tape, the TSX Exchange added 0.33%, while the TSX Gold Index gave back 2.1% and the TSX Venture Exchange, Canada’s largest junior exploration bourse, tacked on 0.77% with the advancers edging out the decliners by a 410 to 359 margin on a weak 131 million shares traded.

How many entrepreneurs have sat down and thought to themselves, “If only the Chinese would buy my product…Heck, if only one in 10 Chinese would buy my product, I’d be rich!”  Call it the China Dream. It has a long history.

The market is in the most troubling of all possible situations.  We have a split decision by the experts; a pull back with a W chart pattern or an extension of the amazing bull run since March. I’m here to tell you, it doesn’t matter. Let’s put this market into perspective.

We have no shame here at Notes. When legendary underground investor Jim Rogers makes a call we listen. And we listen good.  Rogers correctly predicted the commodities rally in 1999. And between 1970 and 1980, when he partnered with George Soros at the Quantum Fund, his portfolio made gains of 4,200% when the S&P 500 rose by 47%. To say he’s a legend is an understatement.

Despite another increase in the unemployment numbers in the United States, the Canadian Markets continued to rally during Thursday’s session. For the tale of the tape, the TSX Exchange climbed 1.40%, while the TSX Gold Index tacked on 2.4% and the TSX Venture Exchange, Canada’s largest junior exploration bourse, added 0.90% with the advancers beating out the decliners by a 402 to 312 margin on volume of 147 million shares traded.

The base metals were all gushing red on Thursday. Copper was in the green until New York opened, then down it went, falling especially steeply in late morning, and barely coming off its intraday lows to finish at $1.9542/lb., down nearly 6 cents.

Time to Load Up on Fertilizer Stocks? Springtime is usually the season when the farming community begins to spread fertilizer on their fields.

Chris Mayer with Agora Financial notes that even during the ongoing financial crisis, the global demand for food and the fertilizer needed to grow it will continue to skyrocket.