A positive round of corporate earnings managed to lift the SPX and Nasdaq Stocks ended a wishy-washy session mixed, with the Dow settling lower following IBM's disappointing earnings. On the other hand, the S&P and Nasdaq managed to eke out daily wins, following a slew of well-received corporate earnings. In addition, energy stocks kept the two indexes afloat, as oil prices surged to a three-year...Read More
The government of new Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra said on Wednesday it would not "impose" mining projects on nearby communities that object to them, but would seek to promote mining investments to take advantage of improved mineral prices.In the past decade, Southern Copper Corp and Newmont Mining Corp have shelved proposed mines in Peru because of opposition from communities worried about...Read More
(Kitco News) - Even with Wednesday’s silver rally, the precious metal is still significantly undervalued, said Goldmoney. But, all of that is about to change, with a more than 30% jump in prices coming our way.“Silver prices are trading almost 25% below the values predicted by our price model,” Goldmoney’s VP and lead researcher Stefan Wieler said in a report published on W...Read More
ROME (Reuters) - The anti-establishment 5-Star Movement on Wednesday challenged the far-right League to abandon its electoral allies by the end of this week and form a joint government, as talks to end Italy’s post-election deadlock floundered.The call from 5-Star leader Luigi Di Maio came after President Sergio Mattarella asked the head of the upper house Senate to meet bickering party lead...Read More
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil futures jumped nearly 3 percent on Wednesday on a decline in U.S. crude inventories and after sources signaled top exporter Saudi Arabia wants to see the crude price closer to $100 a barrel.OPEC’s new price hawk Saudi Arabia would be happy for crude to rise to $80 or even $100, three industry sources said, a sign Riyadh will seek no changes to a supply-cutting deal e...Read More
The semiconductor stock is still up 58% year-over-yearThe Dow is has erased its earlier gains, as IBM shares sell off on a negative earnings reaction. Among other individual names making big moves on the charts are semiconductor equipment makers Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) and Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT), as well as network equipment specialist Juniper Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:J...Read More
SPWR calls have been popular in recent weeksShares of SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ:SPWR) are soaring today, up 10.2% at $9.20, thanks to news the alternative energy company is buying the U.S. business of Germany-based SolarWorld AG -- a move likely sparked by President Trump's tariffs on solar panels. The jump in share price -- which may also be fueled by a First Solar bull note -- puts SPWR share...Read More
THE HAGUE/BEIRUT (Reuters) - A U.N. security team came under fire in Syria while doing reconnaissance for inspectors to visit sites of a suspected chemical weapons attack, and officials said it was no longer clear when the inspectors would be able to go in.The inspectors from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons are in Syria to investigate an April 7 incident in which Western c...Read More
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he did not fire James Comey “because of the phony Russia investigation,” contradicting his 2017 statement that he ousted the FBI director last year over the probe.“Both of those things can’t be true,” Comey said in response when asked about the president’s comments on ABC, adding that he still...Read More
Gold futures notched their highest finish in a week on Wednesday, but maintained the tight trading range seen over the last several sessions, as U.S. stocks struggled to hold gains and the dollar stabilized. Prices for the metal saw little action in electronic trading immediately after the release of the Federal Reserve's Beige Book. The snapshot of domestic economic activity shows growth at a "m...Read More
Howard SchneiderWASHINGTON, (Reuters) - “Robust” business borrowing, rising consumer spending, and tight labor markets indicate the U.S. economy remains on track for continued growth, the Federal Reserve reported on Wednesday, with the risks of a global trade war the one big outlier.In its periodic “Beige Book” summary of contacts with businesses in its 12 regional district...Read More
SHEBAA, Lebanon (Reuters) - Several hundred Syrians who have lived for years as refugees in Lebanon left for their home country on Wednesday in a rare case of a mass return of those who left the country since the Syrian civil war began in 2011.Nearly 500 people, including children and the elderly, left the Shebaa area in southeast Lebanon in 15 buses for the Beit Jinn district in Syria, southwest...Read More
BloombergSeveral ports along the East Coast said there were worried about the impact of a trade dispute with China. The Fed's verdict: The Beige Book reported activity remained at "a modest to moderate pace" in March and early April, the same rate as earlier in the year. There were widespread concerns about trade policy. Overall wage growth was said to be modest, and price gains seen as moderate....Read More
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s upper house of parliament inflicted an embarrassing defeat on Theresa May’s government on Wednesday, challenging her refusal to remain in a customs union with the European Union after Brexit.The Prime Minister, who has struggled to unite her Conservative party over Brexit, has said Britain will leave the EU’s single market and customs union after it q...Read More
LONDON (Reuters) - The Bank of England is becoming more confident that it can avoid disruption to trillions of pounds in cross-border financial contracts after Brexit, a senior BoE official said on Wednesday.Britain’s departure from the European Union next year could make it hard to enforce cross-border derivatives contracts used by companies to guard against adverse moves in interest rates...Read More
BERLIN (Reuters) - German police said on Wednesday that they had launched an investigation after two men wearing Jewish skullcaps were attacked and insulted in Berlin on Tuesday, an incident that comes amid concern that anti-Semitism could be on the rise in Germany.Anti-Semitism remains a sensitive issue in Germany given that more than 6 million Jews were murdered during the Nazi-era Holocaust.Ger...Read More
(Kitco News) - Gold andsilver prices werehigher in early-afternoon U.S. trading Wednesday. Silver prices hit a 2.5-monthhigh and are trading well above $17.00. The chart postures for both metals aretilted more in favor of the bulls this week, which is inspiring technicallybased buying interest. June Comex gold futures were last up $4.40 an ounce at$1,353.90. May Comex silver was last up $0.438 a...Read More
(Kitco News) - One of Canada’s most renowned gold mining companies is wading into the base metals sector, particularly zinc, as prices continue to trade near their highest level in more than ten years.Osisko Metals is celebrating its first year of operation as it continues to develop two of Canada’s most prominent past producing zinc mining camps.The Osisko brand is more known for its...Read More
The stock has found a foothold near the $19 level over the past few weeksFinancial concern KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) will continue the recent string of bank earnings, set to release its first-quarter report before the open tomorrow. Looking into its earnings history, KeyCorp stock has finished lower the day after reporting in four of the past five quarters, but did see an almost 5% jump this time last ye...Read More
The VIX could pop in the short term, if past is prologueThe Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) -- also know as Wall Street's "fear index" -- yesterday ended lower for a sixth straight day, and closed beneath its lower Bollinger Band (BB) for the first time since August 2016, or 425 trading days ago. That marks the longest streak above its lower BB ever, going back to 1990 (as far as we have VIX data), ac...Read More