MEMPHIS, Tenn. (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve’s most recent interest rate increase put monetary policy about where it should be, with no further hikes required in an economy where inflation remains weak, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said on Thursday, pressing an argument he has made over the past two years.“The current level of the policy rate is about right,” Bullard s...Read More
LONDON (Reuters) - Oil fell $1 a barrel to below $80 on Thursday as the fourth weekly increase in U.S. crude inventories suggested ample supply, while Saudi-U.S. tension and falling Iranian exports lent support.U.S. crude inventories rose 6.5 million barrels last week, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday, the fourth straight weekly increase and almost three times what analysts...Read More
Iamgold Corp. (TSX: IMG; NYSE: IAG) is upbeat about results from a 2018 drilling program at theDiakha deposit on the Siribaya project in western Mali. Officials report assayresults for 100 drill holes totaling 14,634 meters. Among the highlights arefive infill drill holes with gold grading anywhere from 1.61 grams per tonne to10.15, as well as three expansion holes ranging from 1.39 to 12.46 g/t.&...Read More
VIENNA (Reuters) - Germany should push Bundesbank chief Jens Weidmann as a successor to European Central Bank President Mario Draghi and the government is making a grave mistake in not pushing harder, ECB policymaker Ewald Nowotny said on Thursday.Draghi’s job will become available at the end of next October. By that time Nowotny - the head of the Austrian National Bank and a moderate policy...Read More
TIANJIN, Oct 18 (Reuters) -* Zijin Mining Group Co Ltd, one of China's biggest gold miners, will produce around 37 tonnes of the precious metal in 2018, its chairman said on Thursday.* The company's gold output will be flat or a little lower than last year, Zijin Chairman Chen Jinghe told Reuters on the sidelines of a conference in Tianjin.* Zijin is "paying attention" to Tanzania but "not yet neg...Read More
Following the 2016 "Tumeremo Massacre" where 17 miners were killed and another violent episode last August that left 13 people dead, a new massive killing took place this week in Venezuela's so-called Mining Arc.According to information made public by opposition MP Am?(C)rico De Grazia, 16 people died and six were injured after two criminal bands clashed in their quest for controlling the Los Cand...Read More
Uncertainty still hangs over the market following the Fed minutes releaseI stopped by CNBC's Squawk Box this morning, where the discussion centered around the aftermath of Wednesday's freshly released September Fed meeting minutes. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) last met ahead of the equity market's wild October sell-off, and the minutes revealed that some members are now in favor of a r...Read More
The latest Fed meeting minutes will remain in focusDow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) futures are trading below fair value this morning, with focus staying on yesterday's release of the Fed meeting minutes. Earnings also continue to roll through, as blue chip Travelers (TRV) released numbers this morning, and the post-close schedule is highlighted by American Express (AXP). For economic data, 210...Read More
Upbeat trial results prompted an upgrade from RBCPenny stock Proteostasis Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:PTI) is up a whopping 184% ahead of the bell, set to open as the best stock on the Nasdaq this morning. The biotech name yesterday reported positive trial data for its combination therapy for cystic fibrosis (CF), and in response, RBC upgraded PTI to "outperform" from "sector perform," while boosti...Read More
TOKYO (Reuters) - Many Japanese companies have avoided a direct hit from escalating trade frictions so far, but they increasingly worry their business will be impacted, central bank officials said on Thursday.The comments are a sign the rising tide of protectionism and warnings about global growth slowing are casting a shadow over Japan’s otherwise healthy economic recovery.In a report scrut...Read More
Scotland is one step closer to having its first commercial gold and silver mine as Scotgold Resources (LON: SGZ) said Thursday it had submitted the last application to secure planning permits for its Cononish project, near Tyndrum.The company, which has decided to liquidate its French subsidiary, said that it had worked with the Trossachs National Park Planning Authority (NPA) to secure all the ne...Read More
Scotland is one step closer to having its first commercial gold and silver mine as Scotgold Resources (LON: SGZ) said Thursday it had submitted the last application to secure planning permits for its Cononish project, near Tyndrum.The company, which has decided to liquidate its French subsidiary, said that it had worked with the Trossachs National Park Planning Authority (NPA) to secure all the ne...Read More
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union leaders will discuss on Thursday how to make the euro zone more resilient to crises, with the bloc’s third biggest economy, Italy, putting new urgency into the talks by challenging EU budget rules that underpin the single currency.Leaders of all EU countries except Britain are to take stock of progress in completing the euro zone’s banking union and...Read More
BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany’s Chambers of Industry and Commerce DIHK on Thursday cut its 2018 growth forecast to 1.8 percent from 2.2 percent and predicted a slowdown to 1.7 percent next year as Europe’s largest economy faces mounting risks at home and abroad.The forecasts are based on the assumption that global trade disputes do not escalate and Britain does not crash out of the Europe...Read More
(Reuters) - U.S. stock futures fell on Thursday after the Federal Reserve’s minutes showed policy makers broadly agreed on the need to raise interest rates further, fanning concerns that triggered a brutal selloff last week.The Fed’s view, detailed in the minutes of its September meeting released on Wednesday, bolsters expectations of a fourth interest rate increase in December and cha...Read More
* Spain sells 4.5 bln euros of bonds, France 9.7 bln euros* FOMC minutes show all policy-makers back rate hike* France, Spain to sell bonds; Italy bond exchange due* German Bund yields pull back from 2-week lows* Euro zone periphery govt bond yields tmsnrt.rs/2ii2Bqr (Adds quote, detail on auctions, updates prices)By Dhara RanasingheLONDON, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Government bond yields across the eu...Read More
SAN PEDRO DE ATACAMA (Reuters) - Earlier this year, the world’s two biggest lithium producers publicly celebrated new deals with Chile’s government that will allow them to vastly increase output of the ultralight battery metal from the Atacama, the world’s driest desert.U.S.-based Albemarle Corp and Chile’s SQM operate just 3 miles (5 km) apart in the remote Salar, a basin...Read More
(Kitco News) - Gold prices ticked up after the index for current general activity in the Philadelphia Federal Reserve’s manufacturing business outlook survey posted a decline to 22.2 in October following a rebound to 22.9 in September, suggesting slightly slower economic growth. The consensus expectations compiled by news organizations were for a reading of somewhere around 19.7.Gold prices...Read More
(Kitco News) - Gold remained roughly steady Thursday after Labor Department datashowed that initial weekly U.S. jobless claims fell by 5,000 to aseasonally adjusted 210,000 in the week to Saturday. Comex December gold was last up 60 cents to$1,228 an ounce.Consensus expectations compiled by various news organizations hadcalled for initial claims to be around 210,000 to 215,000. The gover...Read More
Thursday's declines add to the market's steep losses for the month. The Dow and S&P 500 have fallen more than 4 percent each, while the Nasdaq is down nearly 7 percent in October.Among the reasons for selling on Thursday, according to investors, were worries about the U.S.-China trade war, rising interest rates and lingering worries about possible overvalued U.S. tech stocks.Fred Imbert| @foim...Read More