Nice to see you guys filling the links library

Bluenoser I particularly liked this article found at the site you linked to

http://www.tradefinancemagazine.com/...

Stronger appetite in metals sector

Despite the credit crunch hitting large sections of corporate activity and global trade, the metals and mining sector is rolling ahead at full speed and the financing is moving with it. Even though there is a recession in the US, most metals prices remain high and trade financiers' appetite is stronger than ever for this sector. Jonathan Bell examines the reasons behind this and looks at market trends. ...

Normally when the world's largest economy, the US, hits what most economists consider a recession, there is a downturn in global trade and the financing appetite for that. In the world of commodities, metals which feed many basic industries are often hit hard in any downturn. But not this time. Metals and mining remain as buoyant as ever and the associated trade financing which accompanies that is seeing what can only be described as its best time ever. Business is booming, deal values are up and coupled with it margins are high.

It would be very easy to say that these factors are purely down to demand from heavy end users such as China and India, but that would be only part of the picture. The high price of most metals is in itself a generator of increased demand for financing as producers, traders, and speculators aim ...