The recent buyout of Alpha Natural Resources Inc. (ANR) by Cleveland Cliffs Inc. (CLF) could ignite more than $50 billion worth of M&A deals in the U.S. coal industry over the next few years as Mainland China rushes to solve a major energy shortfall.

Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. (MER) has raised its annual infrastructure-spending estimate for emerging markets by 80%, as developing countries try to keep pace with fast-growing economies and large cash reserves, BusinessWeek reported.

Editor’s Note: Australia is well positioned to ride the commodity boom, says Dan Denning in The Daily Reckoning Australia. That is unless the government interferes too much…

Steelmakers throughout Asia cringed earlier this week when they heard the news that Aussie mining giant Rio Tinto PLC (ADR: RTP) had secured a 97% price increase for its iron-ore.

But getting Rio out of the way was only half the battle, because now steelmakers are forced to confront BHP Billiton Ltd. (ADR: BHP) and its chief executive, Marius Kloppers, who may not be so easily placated.

Baosteel Group Corp., China’s largest steel producer, will pay $4.2 billion in cash for an 80% stake in a new Guangzhou-based steel mill that will merge two rivals, Shaoguan Iron & Steel Group and Guangzhou Iron & Steel Group.

China is already the world’s top steel consumer and producer, churning out one-third of the global supply. This newly formed company, Guangdong Iron & Steel Group Corp., will boost Baosteel’s capacity by 33% to 40 million tons.