The base metals were mixed on Wednesday. Copper ran at $2 again, and again was turned away at $1.98 right around noon, after which it fell to finish at $1.9483/lb., down a quarter-cent.

As the home to 34 of the world’s 50 least-developed countries, Africa is the poorest and least-developed continent on the planet. It’s 11.7 million square miles of desert and jungle, with little in between.