Let’s take a quick look at what’s happening in Brazil, over and above the 2016 Olympics being awarded to Rio de Janeiro.

If the news today is an indication of things to come, the next few months are not going to be pretty. If the big boys are preparing for the worst, imagine the fear from the debt-ridden little guys.

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

Offshore Nambia is quickly becoming one of the world’s greatest frontier oil provinces.

Steel production will probably fall this year by the largest margin since the Second World War. Most folks in the steel business have gray and soggy outlooks for 2010. Most, but not Lakshmi Mittal.

Pennsylvania is in a desperate financial situation. While politicians figure out how to dig themselves out of this hole, a handful of companies will prosper. Here’s your chance to get in on the action.

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.

U.S. banks are going bad as quickly as a bunch of over-ripe peaches in the summer heat. On the heels of the Colonial Bank failure comes another sizable bank failure.

Monsanto Corp. (NYSE: MON), the world’s largest seed maker, says it’s on track to more than double its 2007 profit by the year 2012 and is expecting a “technology explosion” to provide even stronger products going forward. But while Monsanto continues to build on its reputation as a cutting edge agricultural business, it is also under siege by competitors and advocacy groups who claim the company is a monopoly.

The price of water is starting to rise in a big way, at least in China. I’ve expected this for a few years.