dynamic investing

Overnight the European shares edged higher but US ended down.  Procter & Gamble Co. and Coca-Cola Co. retreated as companies that make food, beverages and household products slumped. Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. gained as energy shares surged.

The S&P 500 (SPX) retreated 0.1 percent to 1,666.29 in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 19.12 points, or 0.1 percent, to 15,335.28. About 6 billion shares traded hands today, or 5.1 percent below the three-month average.

Source: Citi

The All Ordinaries index rose 8.0 points to end the day 0.18% higher at 4,424.4.

The All Ordinaries index fell 2.2 points to end the day 0.1% lower at 4,364.7.

The All Ordinaries index gained 39.1 points to end the day 0.9% higher at 4,375.6.

 The Australian sharemarket slightly recovered from recent sell-off, with All Ords up 27.8 points or 0.65% to 4262.2 and S&P/ASX200 up 0.66% or 27.3 to 4171.

James Hardie Industries SE (JHX) gained 2.24% to close at $7.31 after announcing that it had received a refund of nearly $122m from the Australian Taxation Office, in the final installment of its due repayment.

China had a massive surge in its demand for commodities over the past decade, fueled by its housing boom and infrastructure investment boom. From 2000 to 2010, China’s imports (in value terms) of iron ore surged by 42.5 times, thermal coal 248 times and copper 16.2 times. During the same period, its production (in quantity terms) for aluminum jumped by 441.8%, cement 219.5% and steel 396.0%.