U. S. MARKETS (May 05, 2008)

Stock markets in the U. S. were up during the April 22 -April 28 trading session, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbing 47 points, or 0.4%, to 12872; the Standard & Poor’s 500 index rising 8 points, or 0.6%, to 1396; and the NASDAQ up 16 points, or 0.7%, to 2424. However, gold-mining equities were down, with the Amex Gold Bugs index falling 41 points, or 9.2%, to 407, and the Philadelphia Gold and Silver Index sliding 13 points, or 6.8%, to 174.

Among volume leaders, Brazil-based mega-miner
Vale dropped US$1.23 to US$38.02, with 123 million shares changing hands. Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan fell US$15.29 to US$193.50 on 92 million shares. Fellow potash producer Mosaic dropped US$15.65 to US$123.68 on 43 million shares. Potash-related equities have staged a rally in recent years on the back of a boom in everything agricultural. Fertilizer maker Agrium also dropped, losing US$8.94 to US$83.21 on 8 million shares.

Silver miner Coeur d’Alene lost US40 to US$3.17 on 61 million shares. Copper miner Freeport McMoRan rose US66 to US$115.80 on 61 million shares. Major gold miners also experienced an influx in activity, with price drops taking center stage. Barrick slid US$4.10 to US$39.04 on 49 million shares. Newmont fell US$1.09 to US$43.99 on 39 million shares. Goldcorp fell US4.97 to US$36.10 on 37 million shares. Kinross fell US$3.43 to US$19.31 on 36 million shares.

Notable moves in uranium-related names include Uranium Energy, rising 19% to US$2.59 on 439,000 shares, and Uranerz Energy, which advanced 10% to US$2.69 on 491,000 shares. The upward moves in the two issues could be related to an article in the National Post on April 9,which quoted news reports suggesting that China was looking to spend US$700 million to US$1 billion to purchase uranium companies.

Fronteer Development lost 18% to US$4.04 on 1.5 million shares. In addition to gold projects in Turkey and Nevada, Fronteer also holds a 42% interest in Aurora Energy, a company exploring uranium in Labrador.

U. S. most active issues
	VOLUME	WEEK
	(000s) HIGH	LOW	CLOSE	CHANGE
Vale* RIO	122655 40.38	36.71	38.02	-1.23
PotashCSask* POT	91959215.97	187.74	193.50	-15.29
CoeurdAlene*CDE	61044 3.63	3.15	3.17	-0.40
Freeport McMo*FCX	60851 123.27	110.28	115.80	+ 0.66
Barrick Gold* ABX	49298 43.91	38.63	39.04	-4.10
Mosaic* MOS	42776 143.32	121.12	123.68	-15.65
Newmont Mng* NEM	38699 45.64	42.90	43.99	-1.09
Goldcorp* GG	37077 41.78	36.10	36.10	-4.97
Alcoa* AA	36986 36.31	34.56	35.74	-0.51
Kinross Gold* KGC	36292 23.19	19.20	19.31	-3.43

U. S. greatest percentage change
		VOLUME		WEEK
		(000s)	HIGH	LOW	CLOSE	CHANGE
Sparrowtech R*	SPMC	1995	0.03	0.01	0.02	+100.0
Brookmount Ex*	BMXI	119	0.16	0.10	0.16	+ 60.0
Douglas Lk Ml*	DLKM	1158	0.18	0.14	0.17	+ 41.6
Raven Gold*	RVNG	1254	0.29	0.16	0.28	+ 27.2
Gemini Expl*	GXPI	2000	0.06	0.04	0.05	+ 25.0
Beeston Ent*	BESE	107	0.17	0.13	0.17	+ 21.4
Uranium Ener*	UEC	439	2.64	2.21	2.59	+ 18.8
El Capitan Pr*	ECPN	504	0.24	0.19	0.23	+ 15.0
Yanzhou Coal*	YZC	1359	91.77	82.60	89.95	+ 13.6
Commerce Grp*	CGCO	50	0.25	0.19	0.25	+ 13.6
HE-5 Res*	HRRN	411	0.01	0.01	0.01	-50.0
Buckingham Ex*	BUKX	33	0.52	0.40	0.45	-49.4
Bullion Rvr G*	BLRV	1769	0.18	0.08	0.11	-35.2
Silver Dragon*	SDRG	3055	0.27	0.14	0.19	-29.6
Keegan Res*	KGN	111	4.91	3.40	3.80	-23.0
Apolo Gold*	APLL	67	0.05	0.04	0.04	-20.0
US Mine Maker*	USMM	294	0.10	0.08	0.08	-20.0
Fronteer Dev*	FRG	1551	4.93	4.04	4.04	-17.8
Anooraq Res*	ANO	604	3.90	3.21	3.23	-16.7
World Vent*	WVNTF	16	0.19	0.15	0.15	-16.6

U. S. greatest value change
WEEK
	VOLUME	CLOSE	CHANGE
Yanzhou Coal* YZC	1358698	89.95	+ 10.79
Cleveland-Cli* CLF	6226365	166.65	+ 5.75
Freeport McMo* FCX	60850516	115.80	+ 0.66
Thompson Crk* TC	329200	22.09	+ 0.58
Uranium Ener* UEC	438993	2.59	+ 0.41
Alumina Inc* AWC	556234	22.69	+ 0.36
Corriente Rs* ETQ	997162	3.75	+ 0.35
Uranerz Energ* URZ	491274	2.69	+ 0.26
Augusta Res* AZC	112700	3.85	+ 0.18
Midway Gold* MDW	48300	2.50	+ 0.16
Mosaic* MOS	42776314	123.68	-15.65
Potash C Sask* POT	91958944	193.50	-15.29
Rio Tinto* RTP	1209953	491.95	-13.63
Agnico-Eagle* AEM	13606611	61.02	-9.28
Agrium* AGU	8153900	83.21	-8.94
Buenaventura* BVN	3688712	63.33	-6.45
Randgold Res* GOLD	2996037	47.18	-6.09
CONSOL Energy* CNX	18085331	82.18	-5.92
Southern Copp* PCU	10368044	116.55	-5.43
Peabody Enrgy* BTU	32565731	63.85	-4.98