The New York Mercantile Exchange, Inc., a subsidiary of NYMEX Holdings, Inc., announced that it plans to introduce a futures contract based on prevailing market prices for hot-rolled steel coil in the U.S. Midwest region (U.S. Midwest domestic hot-rolled coil steel) early in the fourth quarter of 2008. The contract will be financially settled against [...]

Crude oil pipeline operator Enbridge Inc. plans to sell its minority stake in a Spanish petroleum products pipeline company for about $1.37 billion in cash.
The buyers of the 25 percent stake in Cia. Logistica de Hidrocarburos SA are subsidiaries of Deutsche Bank AG, the Public Sector Pension Investment Board, Stichting Pensioenfonds Zorg en Welzijn and [...]

Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. (TSX:CP) is expanding in the U.S. Midwest by paying at least US$1.48 billion for the Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad Corp., a move that will help CP Rail extend its coal and agriculture business.
“It complements what we do and creates a new footprint for growth,” chief executive officer Fred Green told [...]

Essar Global Ltd., the owner of India’s third-biggest steelmaker, agreed to buy Minnesota Steel Industries LLC for an undisclosed price to add 1.4 billion tons of iron-ore reserves and a steel mill in North America.
Essar will invest about $1.65 billion to build the 2.5 million-ton-a-year mill in northern Minnesota, John Elmore, closely held Minnesota Steel’s [...]

Gold and silver prices slipped Thursday, pressured by a stronger U.S. dollar.
August gold lost $5.60 to $585.40 a troy ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. July silver fell 21 cents to $10.21 an ounce.
“It started weaker due to the higher dollar,” said Mike Zarembski, futures analyst with XpressTrade. The dollar was strong all day, [...]