Agnico (AEM) (SMS) (BEN) (CLF) (LUN) (NS) Ratings Adjustments

Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited (AEM), Sims Metal Management Ltd (SMS), Franklin Resources, Inc. (BEN), Cliffs Natural Resources Inc (CLF), Lundin Mining Co. (LUN) and NuStar Energy L.P. (NS) had ratings on them adjusted by analysts.

DA Davidson upgraded Sims Metal Management Ltd (SMS) ) from a "Neutral" rating to a "Buy" rating.

Mackie downgraded Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited (AEM) from a "Buy" rating to a "Hold" rating.

Morgan Stanley (MS) downgraded Franklin Resources, Inc. (BEN) to an "Equal Weight" rating. They have a price target of $146.00 on the company.

Dahlman Rose downgraded Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (CLF) from a "Buy" rating to a "Hold" rating.

Scotia Capital downgraded Lundin Mining Co. (LUN) from an "Outperform" rating to a "Sector Perform" rating. They have a price target of $7.00 on the company.

Credit Suisse downgraded NuStar Energy L.P. (NS) from an "Outperform" rating to an "Underperform" rating. They have a price target of $44.00 on the company.

Agnico (AEM) (CVE) (HERO) (MPC) (PSX) (RUS) (SCHN) Upgraded by Analysts

Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM), Cenovus Energy Inc (CVE), Hercules Offshore, Inc. (HERO), Marathon
Petroleum (MPC), Phillips 66 (PSX), Russel Metals Inc (RUS) and Schnitzer Steel (SCHN) were
upgraded by analysts.

Barclays Capital upgraded Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM) from an "Underperform" rating to a
"Sector Perform" rating. They have a price target of $69.00 on the company.

Cormark upgraded Cenovus Energy Inc (CVE) from an "Outperform" rating to a "Buy" rating.

Dahlman Rose upgraded Hercules Offshore, Inc. (HERO) from a "Hold" rating to a "Buy" rating. They have a price target of $6.50 on the company. Jefferies Group also upgraded Hercules from a Hold rating to a Buy rating, although they have a price target of $4.50 on the company.

Credit Suisse upgraded Marathon Petroleum (MPC) from a "Neutral" rating to an "Outperform" rating. They have a price target of $75.00 on the company.

Credit Suisse upgraded Phillips 66 (PSX)  from a "Neutral" rating to an "Outperform" rating. They have a price target of $60.00 on the company.

CIBC upgraded Russel Metals (RUS)  from a "Sector Perform" rating to an "Outperform" rating.

DA Davidson upgraded Schnitzer Steel (SCHN) from a "Neutral" rating to a "Buy" rating. They have a price target of $36.00 on the company.

Newmont (NEM) (IAG) (KGC) (EGO) (ABX) (AEM) (AUY) Had Ratings on Them Initiated

Newmont Mining Co. (NEM), IAMGOLD Corp. (IAG), Kinross Gold Corp. (KGC), Eldorado Gold Co. (EGO), Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX), Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited (AEM), Yamana Gold (AUY) had ratings on them initiated by analysts.

Barclays Capital initiated coverage on Newmont Mining Co. (NEM). They placed an "Overweight" rating and price target of $73.00 on the company.

Barclays Capital initiated coverage on IAMGOLD Corp. (IAG). They placed an "Equal Weight" rating and price target of $19.00 on the company.

Barclays Capital initiated coverage on Kinross Gold Corp. (KGC). They placed an "Equal Weight" rating and price target of $13.00 on the company.

Barclays Capital initiated coverage on Eldorado Gold Co. (EGO). They placed an "Equal Weight" rating and price target of $18.00 on the company.

Barclays Capital initiated coverage on Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX). They placed an "Equal WeightThey placed an "Equal Weight" rating and price target of $52.00 on the company.

Barclays Capital initiated coverage on Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited (AEM). They placed an "Equal Weight" rating and price target of $62.00 on the company.

Barclays Capital initiated coverage on Yamana Gold (AUY). They placed an "Overweight" rating and price target of $25.00 on the company.

Harmony (HMY) (AEM) (PAL) (SLB) (OIS) Ratings Changes or Initiations

Harmony Gold Mining (HMY), Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited (AEM), North American Palladium Ltd. (PAL), Schlumberger (SLB), Oil States International, Inc. (OIS) had ratings on them upgraded or initiated by analysts.

UBS AG upgraded Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited (AEM) from a "Neutral" rating to a "Buy" rating.
UBS AG upgraded Harmony Gold Mining (HMY) from a "Sell" rating to a "Neutral" rating.

Credit Suisse upgraded North American Palladium Ltd. (PAL) from a "Neutral" rating to a "Outperform" rating. They have a price target of $15.00 on the company.
Howard Weil upgraded Schlumberger (SLB) from an "Outperform" rating to a "Focus Stock" rating.

BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Oil States International, Inc. (OIS). They have a "Market Perform" rating and price target of $88.00 on the company.

Yamana (AUY) (AEM) (ATNAF) (IAG) (LPI) Get Analysts' Initiations

Yamana Gold (AUY), Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited (AEM), Atna Resources (ATNAF), IAMGOLD Corp (IAG) and Laredo Petroleum Holdings Inc. (LPI) had analysts initiate coverage on them.

Morgan Stanley (MS) initiated coverage on Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited (AEM). They placed an "Equal Weight" rating on the company.

Pi Financial initiated coverage on Atna Resources (ATNAF). They placed a "Buy" rating and a price target of $2.60 on the company.

Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Yamana Gold (AUY). They placed an "Overweight" rating and price target of $25.00 on the company.

Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on IAMGOLD Corp (IAG). They placed an "Equal Weight" rating on the company.

C.K. Cooper initiated coverage on Laredo Petroleum Holdings (LPI). They placed a "Buy" rating and a price target of $28.00 on the company.

Agnico (AEM) (WLL) (ETP) (TOT) (IVN) (SNP) Ratings, Price Targets

Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited (AEM), Whiting Petroleum Co. (WLL), Energy Transfer (ETP), TOTAL S.A. (TOT), Ivanhoe Mines Ltd (IVN) and China Petroleum and Chemical (SNP) had ratings and price targets on them adjusted by analysts.

Pritchard upgraded Whiting Petroleum Co. (WLL) from a "Neutral" rating to a "Buy" rating.

Wells Fargo & Co. downgraded Energy Transfer (ETP) from an "Outperform" rating to a "Perform" rating.

Morgan Stanley downgraded TOTAL S.A. (TOT) from an "Equal Weight" rating to an "Underweight" rating.

Bank of America initiated coverage on Ivanhoe Mines Ltd (IVN). They placed a "Buy" rating on the company.

Citigroup downgraded China Petroleum and Chemical (SNP) from a "Buy" rating to a "Neutral" rating.

CIBC downgraded Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited (AEM) from a "Sector Perform" rating to an "Underperform" rating.

Yamana (AUY) (NG) (AEM) (AU) (GFI) Close Down as Gold Prices Pressured

Agnico-Eagle (NYSE:AEM), AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU), Gold Fields (NYSE:GFI), Yamana Gold (NYSE:AUY) and NovaGold Resources Inc. (AMEX:NG) all closed down in trading Wednesday as a stronger dollar slightly pressured precious metals and base metals.

Palladium closed down and platinum settled flat.

Concerns over the sovereign debt crisis in Europe outweighed U.S. dollar concerns, putting downward pressure on gold and other metals, as the greenback gained against the euro.

The most actively traded gold contract, for August delivery, dropped $5.30, or 0.3 percent, to settle Wednesday at $1538.70 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Silver for July delivery was down 1.2 percent to settle at $36.62 an ounce.

Overall, expectations are market conditions will continue to favor gold and silver prices, pushing them higher over the next several months.

NovaGold closed Wednesday at $10.34, falling $0.71, or 6.43 percent. Yamana ended the session at $11.76, dropping $0.26, or 2.16 percent. Gold Fields closed at $14.62, down $0.36, or 2.40 percent. AngloGold Ashanti ended the day at $43.08, declining $0.79, or 1.80 percent. Agnico-Eagle closed at $61.49, losing $2.28, or 3.58 percent.

Ex-Dividend for Barrick (ABX) (ACI) (AEM) (CMP) (ZEUS) is May 27

The ex-dividend date for Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE:ABX), Arch Coal Inc. (NYSE:ACI), Agnico-Eagle Mines (NYSE:AEM), Compass Minerals International Inc. (NYSE:CMP) and Olympic Steel (NASDAQ:ZEUS) is May 27.

Barrick Gold Corporation (ABX) pays a dividend of $0.12 with a yield of 1.06 percent.

Arch Coal Inc. (NYSE:ACI) pays a dividend of $0.11 with a yield of 1.50 percent.

Agnico-Eagle Mines (NYSE:AEM) pays a dividend of $0.16 with a yield of 1.02 percent.

Compass Minerals International Inc. (NYSE:CMP) pays a dividend of $0.45 with a yield of 1.93 percent.

Olympic Steel (NASDAQ:ZEUS) pays a dividend of $0.02 with a yield of 0.27 percent.

Barrick (NYSE:ABX), Goldcorp (NYSE:GG), Newmont (NYSE:NEM), Agnico-Eagle (AEM) All Up as Gold Rebounds

After starting off slow in earlier in the trading session, gold prices today advanced in the afternoon, pulling the share prices of major gold miners like Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX), Goldcorp (NYSE:GG), Newmont Mining (NYSE:NEM) and Agnico-Eagle (AEM) up with it.

The story for gold prices at this time is the revelation the American and global economy isn't even close to being robust and in a recovery as asserted in the not too distant past, which has not only added support under gold, but has aided it in continuing its inevitable long-term upward climb in price.

All the major gold miners listed above had gains of 2 percent or better as of about 3:10 PM EDT in New York. Trading volume was below the 3-month average for all of them though, especially with Newmont Mining and Barrick Gold.

After the stimulus had been lowered and/or removed, the economy has been seen to be as naked as it really has been all along, and continued spending can't and won't change that.

But that won't keep the Treasury and Federal Reserve from continuing to take steps which over the long term will devastate the economy, but will be a reason to invest in gold for a long time to come.

Agnico-Eagle (NYSE:AEM), IAMGOLD (NYSE:IAG), Barrick Gold (TSE:ABX) Down for Record Gold Day

Even though skyrocketing gold futures prices have been pulling the gold mining companies up with them, as investors seek safe haven for their capital, Agnico-Eagle (NYSE:AEM), IAMGOLD (NYSE:IAG) and Barrick Gold (TSE:ABX) were among the few gold miners on the wrong side of the movement, as all of them were down at the end of the trading session, although Agnico-Eagle did go to the positive side in electronic trading.

Gold miners had been sitting on the sidelines for a lot of the gold bull market, as they lagged behind gold futures for some time. That now seems to have changed, and we could see some nice moves now that it appears the sector has finally broken through.

Silver may be about to experience the same thing, as they were pulled upward by the sharp increase in gold prices, and when it breaks $20 an ounce, who knows what will happen if it suddenly takes off.

Most of this is in response to investor concerns over the consequences of bailing out irresponsible countries in Europe, and to a lesser degree, the inflation challenges now facing China, which measures could cut back on demand for raw materials.

Teck Resources (TSE:TCK.B), Cline Mining (TSE:CMK) Lead Canadian Stocks Higher

Mining and Energy Sector Lead Canadian Stocks Higher

Canadian stocks enjoyed a nice rebound today after a couple day of losses, led by mining and energy companies. Leading the way in mining stocks were Cline Mining (TSE:CMK), which increased 3% and PC Gold (TSE:PKL), adding 1.2%. Agnico-Eagle Mines (TSE:AEM) growing 0.5% and Teck Resources (TSE:TCK.B) rising 0.7%.

Energy stocks got a boost from Suncor Energy (TSE:SU), which rose 1.2% and Canadian Natural Resources (TSE:CNQ) increasing by 1%.

Gold has also risen today and oil was relatively level, although gaining about 42 cents a barrel for May delivery. Gold was up over $6 an ounce as of this writing.