By Richard (Rick) Mills
Ahead of the Herd

As a general rule, the most successful man in life is the man who has the best information

Fact - China is the world's largest user of copper.

Copper is critical for China and the country has imported unbelievable tonnages over the years, but according to the copper bears the story could be coming to an end.

There are several reasons investors might question the longevity of China's copper story:

• Concerns about weak global growth, investors are worried about China's exports slowing and its implications for industrial metal demand
• China is thought to have high inventory levels of copper
• China's economic growth has slowed to a three year low of 7.6 percent
• Surplus capacity
• Extraordinarily tight cash

According to the Beijing Antaike Information Development Co. copper consumption is expected to expand this year at the slowest rate since 1997.