By Leia Michele Toovey- Exclusive to Nickel Investing News

^[1]Nickel has been on a downward trend for the past few months, but this week the metal used in stainless steel jumped on speculation that slowing global economies will further cut demand.

Many nickel miners are taking on new business strategies to cope with the price crash of nickel ^[2]. Last week's volatile stock market must have pushed many miners to reevaluate, as this week there has been a frenzy of press releases detailing company's new strategies.

Nickel for delivery in three months on the London Metal Exchange fell as much as 5 per cent to USD 15,588 a tonne; this is the lowest intra day price since April 3, 2006. The metal traded at USD 16,200 a tonne. Stockpiles of the metal monitored by the London Metal Exchange have jumped 55,596 tonnes, this week to hit their highest point since June 1999. Demand from the stainless steel industry, which accounts for two thirds of total nickel use, continues to be weak.

Canadian Royalties ^[3] (TSX: CZZ) said it was still plotting new strategies and continuing negotiations to reach an agreement to fund its Nunavik Nickel Project in northern Quebec. In August, Canadian Royalties said talks for financing with Bank of Montreal Capital Markets and Commonwealth Bank of Australia will continue until at least Sept. 30.The $439.9 million mine, which is located just 20 km south of Xstrata Plc's (XTA.L) Raglan nickel mine, is expected to eventually produce up to 27 million pounds of nickel a year and up to 50 million pounds of copper. In the meantime, the company is conserving cash to prepare for the slow winter session ahead. The company's shares, which have fallen more than 80 per cent so far this year, were down more than 13 per cent at 45 Canadian cents on the TSX.

Asian Mineral Resources Limited ^[4] (TSX-V:ASN) announced the suspension of development activities on the Company's Ban Phuc Nickel/Copper Project effective October 1, 2008.  The suspension comes as result of the company's inability to obtain financing commitments.  The current market sentiment is part of the reason behind the difficulty in obtaining financing, however, uncertainties regarding Vietnamese government policies on nickel concentrate exports, export tariffs, royalties and taxes, also played a factor. The suspension will be implemented in a manner designed to maximize the value of expenditures to date, maximize cash conservation, minimize the costs of project completion on a delayed basis and provide Asian Mineral Resources with a sufficient opportunity to resolve the various Vietnamese issues and to continue discussions with major financers.

Southern Arc Minerals ^[5] (TSX-V:SA)  will ratify their investment in Canadian Nickel corp., now that an overwhelming 96.74 per cent of the shareholders voted in favour at this week's meeting. As previously announced, the Company purchased 15.3 million common shares of Canada Nickel for proceeds of $5.355 million; Canada Nickel has completed a non-brokered private placement at $0.35 per share, including the Southern Arc Investment, for gross proceeds of approximately $9.0 million. Southern Arc owns 43.6 per cent of Canada Nickel's 35,129,542 issued and outstanding common shares.

Berong Nickel Corp ^[6]. (BNC)  has confirmed the lay-off of 158 employees, mostly tribal people hired as ore breakers and mine laborers, because of the global drop in nickel ore demand. "The main reason is the downtrend in the international nickel prices. But aside from that, there is difficulty in shipping ore between October to February because of generally rough sea conditions," said Lea Bonilla, head of BNC's human resource unit. Bonilla said the company continued to employ over 400 workers, and claimed that the lay-offs were only "temporary."

A subsidiary of Atlas Consolidated Mining Corp., BNC profited 1.2 billion last year out of its nickel ore exports with BHP Billiton as its major buyer. But, the downtrend in nickel prices is eroding the companies 2008 profits. Mining industry analysts predict that global demand for nickel prices will continue to decline in the wake of the U.S. credit crisis and its direct impact on the slowdown of the economy of China, the main consumer of the world's nickel ore production