Commodities play an important role in our everyday lives—our houses are made of many resources, such as lumber and aluminum, and are heated with coal or natural gas. Read further to discover surprising uses of commodities in our daily lives.

As millions of people head to the polls, this year pivotal presidential elections are taking place around the world. To a varying extent, voters have the power to potentially change a country’s economic or political landscape.

With rising wealth in emerging markets in recent years, people across the globe have quickly acquired a taste for mobile phone and Internet technology. See 10 surprising facts in this slideshow.

Learn why the critical drivers for gold are pointing in the same direction.

Many see India as a land of opportunity but the country must first overcome several hurdles before it’s judged on the same level with the likes of China. So we sent our research team to India to see what we could find.