Invetsopedia: Cliffs Natural Resources Needs Another Iron Ore Boom

By and large, it's good to have industry-low cash production costs in a commodity industry, but even high-cost producers can do well when prices shoot up. That's exactly what investors in Cliffs Natural Resources (NYSE:CLF) need to hope for in 2013, as this high-cost North American iron ore producer just doesn't look very compelling absent a big improvement in margins per ton.

Read the full article at Investopedia:
http://www.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2013/Cliffs-Natural-Resources-Needs-Another-Iron-Ore-Boom-CLF-VALE-RIO-BHP0215.aspx

Investopedia: Alcoa Has Improved, But It's Still In The Aluminum Business

American aluminum giant Alcoa (NYSE:AA) deserves credit for the internal operating improvements it has made in recent times. Unfortunately, the company is still in the business of selling aluminum and aluminum products, and that has long been one of the least attractive industrial metals for investors. While Alcoa does continue to look undervalued on the basis of historical valuation norms, this stock will probably be a value trap until and unless aluminum prices start picking up.

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http://www.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2013/Alcoa-Has-Improved-But-Its-Still-In-The-Aluminum-Business-AA-VALE-CLF-FRX0109.aspx

Investopedia: Another Challenging Quarter At Steel Dynamics

Unfortunately, another quarter is in the books and the song pretty much remains the same for the steel industry. Customers are pushing back fairly successfully on price hikes, and demand in traditional steel-heavy applications just hasn't recovered as expected. Steel Dynamics (Nasdaq:STLD) still looks undervalued, but it's tough to be patient with a lagging stock in an otherwise reasonably good market.

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http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2012/Another-Challenging-Quarter-At-Steel-Dynamics-STLD-NUE-AKS-X0420.aspx

Investopedia: Vale Still All About China

In some respects, Brazilian iron giant Vale (NYSE:VALE) should be sitting pretty. After all, it controls huge iron ore reserves, has a pretty compelling cost structure and has successfully grown a non-ferrous business centered around nickel and copper.

On the other hand, there's just not enough demand from the Brazilian steel industry to change the fact that Vale rises and falls with Chinese demand. Making matters worse, the Brazilian government has not been shy about influencing (some might say "interfering") the company's internal operations. Although Vale's valuation is not really that extreme today, investors need to appreciate the risks that go with this name. (For more, see Earning Forecasts: A Primer.)

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http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2012/Vale-Still-All-About-China-VALE-BHP-RIO-CLF0221.aspx

Investopedia: Still Waiting On Steel Dynamics

Once again, investors are being asked to look ahead to the future with Steel Dynamics (Nasdaq:STLD). Tepid construction activity and iffy auto sales have kept a lid on this very efficient American steel company, but investors write this one off at their own risk. While a roaring recovery across STLD's markets is not likely in the near-term, the current stock price does not seem to account for this company's competitive position nor its full cycle earnings potential.

Q3 - Not Good, But Better than Feared  
Like its larger rival Nucor (NYSE:NUE), Steel Dynamics warned investors earlier that this quarter was not going to be as strong as the original projections suggested. Perhaps counter-intuitively, the stocks in the steel space were actually fairly strong that week as investors seemed to be relieved that conditions were better than their worst-case fears.

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http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2011/Still-Waiting-On-Steel-Dynamics-STLD-X-MT-NUE-CLF-AA-UNP1023.aspx

Investopedia: The Vale Between Two Peaks

Whether it's the anticipated end of QE2, ongoing growth in emerging markets, the economic recovery in North America and parts of Europe, or the fact that hundreds of companies are furiously digging new holes around the world, there are a lot of crosscurrents in the commodity space. 


Although commodities have pulled back in early May, it seems early to call an absolute end to the secular rally. With that in mind, maybe Brazil's Vale (Nasdaq:VALE) is still worth a look for value-oriented investors who want some commodity exposure. (For more, see Investing In The Metals Markets.)


A Disappointing Start to the Year
The first quarter is virtually always the weakest for this huge iron ore and nickel producer, but this quarter was even weaker than analysts had in mind. All of that said, "weak" is a relative notion. Revenue was still almost double the year-ago level, while adjusted EBITDA climbed over 3.5 times from last year's first quarter. So although that EBITDA figure was about 10% below the consensus, clearly it is not as though Vale is scraping bottom. 



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http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2011/The-Vale-Between-Two-Peaks-VALE-GGB-SID-AA-CLF-BHP-RIO0510.aspx

The Steel Sector: No Jam Today, But Maybe Tomorrow

Investors might feel like the White Queen is running the economy these days. There was good growth in the past, and a lot of people seem to be expecting it again in the not-so-distant future, but it is pretty hard to find in the present. With a series of pre-announcements over the last few days, the steel sector is definitely shaping up as a "jam yesterday, jam tomorrow, sorry ... none today" sort of sector right now. 

Steel Dynamics
To a certain extent, maybe Steel Dynamics' (Nasdaq:STLD) downward revision for the third quarter was not a big surprise. After all, analysts have taken down the numbers on this major mini-mill operator multiple times over the last three months and estimates are now about a third lower.

For the full piece:
http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2010/The-Steel-Sector-No-Jam-Today-But-Maybe-Tomorrow-STLD-NUE-AKS-X-CMC-VALE-CLF0917.aspx