Iran&rsquo;s rulers are feeling the heat. The Islamic Republic was forced to prop up its currency on January 4, just days after the US imposed tough new sanctions to goad it into abandoning its nuclear weapons programme. A European curb on Iranian crude imports would add to pressure on Teheran ahead of elections in March.

Squeezing Iran

Business Standard

Essar Energy&rsquo;s shareholders must be feeling pretty exposed. An unexpected legal defeat in a tax case before India&rsquo;s high court knocked a quarter off the energy group&rsquo;s stock price on January 17. The shares have subsequently fallen further.

Energy levels

The price of iron ore is down by a quarter since its all-time high in 2011. Some of that fall is likely to be reversed fairly soon - the springtime construction season is beginning in China, which consumes about 60 per cent of the world's shipped ore. But even at the current price, efficient miners are running operating profit margins around 50 per cent. That should be too high for investors' comfort.

Iron, or...?

If $120-a-barrel Brent crude is a threat to the global economy, someone had better tell the stock market. The MSCI World Index has largely kept pace with the rising price of oil this year. For now, stronger-than-expected economic growth appears to be overshadowing equity investors&rsquo; concerns about tight supplies of oil. Worries about Iran may keep trading volatile. But, absent a serious flare-up in the Persian Gulf, any spike in crude prices should be mostly self-correcting.

Oil and trouble

BP faces its day of reckoning for Macondo. The UK oil major is preparing for a court case that will determine whether it or any of its partners were grossly negligent in managing the ill-fated well in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. Such a finding would push the total cost of the tragedy to BP to well above the $43 billion already provisioned. But, investors are already pricing in such a scenario. That suggests there is plenty of upside to the shares.

And now, catharsis

Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote is seeking a London listing for his $11-billion cement company. It is a watershed moment for Nigeria, and for Africa. There are significant governance hurdles, and Dangote&rsquo;s plan to build a pan-African aggregates champion isn&rsquo;t without risks. But the prospect of a FTSE 100-sized Nigerian company is worth celebrating.

Cementing a milestone

China&rsquo;s grip on the rare earths market is more fragile than it first appears. The minerals&rsquo; high prices are vulnerable too.

Common ground

Gold has a dual personality. Many think it is the ultimate hard currency. Others like it because it looks pretty. And while its price climbed high as investors have sought shelter from the financial crisis, gold has behaved more like a risk asset recently.

Flaking out

Qatar can&rsquo;t seem to get enough commodities exposure. The emirate&rsquo;s sovereign wealth fund holds three per cent of French oil major Total, has built up an eight per cent stake in UK miner Xstrata ahead of its planned merger with Glencore and has even dipped a toe into gold. Now it&rsquo;s adding Shell to the portfolio. Buying into the Anglo-Dutch oil major is a logical next step, given existing strategic ties. The move may even do more to diversify the gas-rich economy&rsquo;s resource exposure than appears at first blush.

Kevin Allison