Commodities Lead Gains as All Assets Climb on Recovering Economy

Commodities led gains last year as stocks, bonds, the dollar and raw materials rose together for the time since 2005 after the global economic recovery proved resilient.

Commodities led gains last year as stocks, bonds, the dollar and raw materials rose together for the time since 2005 after the global economic recovery proved resilient.

China’s manufacturing growth slowed for the first time in five months in December as Premier Wen Jiabao’s government tightened monetary policy and chased energy- efficiency and pollution targets.

Most Asian stocks rose, with the MSCI Asia Pacific excluding Japan Index on course for the seventh annual increase in eight years, after improved U.S. data boosted confidence in the global economic recovery.

U.K. house prices unexpectedly posted their first gain in seven months in December as values rebounded from declines, a report by Nationwide Building Society showed.

Commodity prices beat gains in stocks, bonds and the dollar this year as China, the biggest user of everything from cotton to copper to soybeans, led the recovery from the first global recession since World War II.

Commodity price increases triggered by China’s imports of cotton, soybeans, copper, and other raw materials exceeded global gains by stocks, bonds, and the dollar in 2010

China’s stocks rose, paring the worst annual loss among major global equity markets, as metal prices rallied and investors speculated this year’s declines were excessive given the outlook for the nation’s economy.

Gold may stall below a record after the metal rallied to near the higher of two Bollinger bands, according to technical analysis by VTB Capital.

Steven Rattner, a co-founder of the private-equity firm Quadrangle Group LLC, will pay $10 million to settle kickback allegations involving New York’s pension fund, less than half of the $26 million state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo sought in a lawsuit.

Taxes stay low, money floods the market, animal spirits revive