The price of crude oil, nickel, copper, natural gas, and most other commodities is in the tank... and many resource companies desperately need cash. China has almost $2 trillion in foreign currency reserves and a huge long-term appetite for raw materials. So voila! China is becoming the world's natural resource pawnbroker.

Most world banks are hesitant to lend, so China has stepped in with loans to Rio Tinto and Oz Minerals Ltd. If the world economy remains depressed, expect cash rich China to continue buying big stakes in world resource production. As one analyst puts it, "China has turned out to be the bank of last resort."

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