Some interesting developments late last week in the "steel making components" sector; coking coal and iron ore.  BHP Billiton (BHP) was able to push through a 55% increase with JFE Steel (Japan), and move from annual pricing to quarterly pricing - I am not sure which of those two is more striking.   While the duration of the contract is a potential game changer, the fact such a strong increase in price can happen when the w

Brazilian chemical maker Braskem (BAK) now has a chart I'd be searching for when seeking short candidates, so I am going to punt the remaining holding position of 0.15%.  The majority of this position was sold in latter January, with more going out in early February - both in the mid to upper $14s which is just above where the stock is now.

By now, most investors are well aware of the acronym BRIC, which stands for the emerging market powerhouses of Brazil / Russia / India / China. When the idea was conceived in 2003, it seemed to make a lot of sense, as these four economies were at the top of the GDP ‘league tables,’ year-after-year. While China, India, and to a lesser-extent, Brazil, all continue to outperform, Russia has begun to lag. Perhaps Russia needs to be replaced as a member of BRIC. If the acronym is to be preserved, the only choices are Romania or Rwanda.

This article is by staff writer Adam Baker, whose own blog featured a real life negotiation example in the huge post Negotiation Tips for Beginners.

Each of us have specific items or activities for which we are more than willing to pay a premium. In fact, deciding what we are and aren’t willing to spend money on is one of the core issues in personal finance.