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palladium spot prices remain unchanged after market rally

By Heather Matthews - exclusive to Palladium Investing News

Palladium spot prices ^[2] remained unchanged on the NYMEX today after the Dow Jones market rally of October 13.08. Some precious metals such as gold suffered losses today as "safe haven" investing in precious metals and other, traditionally "safe" investments, took a backseat due to rebounding market conditions. Today, the market rally calmed as investors stopped to assess the current market climate before re-entering as buyers.

Palladium is currently trading for a bid/ask price of $197.00/205.00: this is unchanged from October 13.08, when the Dow Jones climbed 936 points ^[3].

The Dow Jones ceased its dizzying climb today as investors stepped back: Ed Yardeni, who performs investment strategy analysis for Yardeni Research, says this slowdown is natural after a day like yesterday. He commented on the faltering Dow Jones Index ^[4] this morning: "After a gain like yesterday's, it's not surprising to see people step back a bit."

This morning, the U.S. Treasury ^[5] announced plans to spend $250 billion assisting the country's banks in this time of financial instability. Nine banks are already slated to participate in the initiative, which is part of the $700 billion bailout plan.

Henry Paulson, secretary of the U.S. Treasury, outlined the pros and cons of the new bank bailout plan, which some view as a dangerous trend towards "nationalisation": "Government owning a stake in any private U.S. company is objectionable to most Americans", he said. "Yet the alternative of leaving businesses and consumers without access to financing is totally unacceptable."

Palladium Company News

Nortec Ventures Corp. ^[6] (TSX.V-NVT) - This morning, Nortec released Phase III diamond-drilling results from their program at the Kaukua property in Finland. Nortec has discovered an intersect of mineralisation that is much thicker than anticipated, and they are pleased with the results. Their Phase I & II results were also positive: the Kaukua project will mine platinum, palladium, copper, gold, and nickel.

Nortec is based in Canada, and they are a publicly-traded corporation who also have a gold-silver mine in Ecuador, as well as two nickel-copper-cobalt mining exploration projects in Labrador, Canada.

Currently, Nortec stock quotes on the TSX Venture are up by 14.3 per cent (Oct. 14/08), with a current share price of CDN 0.16 cents. This represents a .02 cent increase over yesterday's closing price.

North American Palladium ^[7] (TSX:PDL) - On the Toronto Stock Exchange, NAP is trading at $1.70 per share, a .034 cent increase over yesterday's close. North American Palladium is Canada's largest producer of palladium: their mining exploration represents 5 per cent of global palladium production. NAP has a large-scale mining project in Lac-des-Iles, northwest of Thunder Bay, Ontario. Lac-Des-Iles is one of the world's most productive palladium mining projects. North American Palladium also have a diversified interest in the following by-product metals: platinum, nickel, copper and gold. NAP also has projects elsewhere in Canada, as well as Finland.

Anglo-American ^[8] - Anglo American Platinum is the world's number one producer of platinum-group metals. They are a South African-based company involved in mining exploration projects in Canada, Russia, Brazil, and China. Anglo Platinum is involved in many joint mining and exploration projects with other companies such as Aquarius Platinum and Xtrata Corporation. Current stock quotes for Anglo-American on the JSE are: 25925 ZAc, showing a net change of 715 dollars per share. Anglo American trades under the symbol AGLJ.J on the Johannesberg Stock Exchange.

Anglo American stock has retained its strong showing under the current troubled market conditions, and remains a leading contender in the trading of palladium mining and exploration stock. JSE stocks have recently benefited from the increased momentum seen in markets overseas.

For information about gold prices in the current market, please visit www.goldinvestingnews.com