The precious metals all soared in 2025, and while a continued monetary expansion and geopolitical risk could still drive gains especially for gold in 2026, a pullback in silver, platinum and palladium is possible after recent partly speculative surges.Read More

The AOCE and WB have moderate overall forecasts for the metals in 2025 inline with IMF forecasts for a decline in economic growth and inflation, although we see the probability of a stagflationary scenario as still reasonably high.Read More

The past year was a difficult one overall for the metals, with the main standouts to the upside being a geopolitical risk-driven gain in gold, a China-driven rise in iron ore and a surge in uranium on broadening global support for nuclear power (Figure 1). A jump in global interest rates to near two-decade highs saw recession fears persist all year, and while one still did not actually eru...Read More

This year the post-global health crisis boom was brought to an end by a surge in inflation to forty-year highs, a major rise in global interest rates in an attempt to curb the rising prices and surging geopolitical risk after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. While precious metals held up reasonably well as markets turned to them as a risk hedge, by Q2/22 the higher interest rates put an end t...Read More

Chile is the world leader in copper production, at 28.5% of the total in 2020, and this looks set to continue, with the country having the largest global reserves, at 23.0% of total. It is also the global leader for molybdenum, which is often found along with copper, and is a major lithium player, holding 51.1% of global reserves. Read More

Newfoundland has become a gold exploration hotspot over the past few years, with the sector seeing some of its strongest activity ever. While the province remains a small contributor to Canadian gold production, it has a substantial mineral industry well supported by the government, focused on iron ore, copper and nickel, and the surge in exploration suggests that gold output from the...Read More

Nevada is the core of the U.S. gold output, accounting for by far the majority, at 75.4% on average for the past year. The state looks set to remain a dominant player in U.S. gold, as it accounts for 49% of total U.S. reserves, with Alaska slightly ahead with 51% of reserves, but just 8.6% of current production. The U.S. accounts for 6.1% of global gold output, making Nevada one of the largest gol...Read More

The Golden Triangle in northwestern British Columbia has historically been a major site of Canadian gold production, beginning as early as the mid 1800s. There was a wave of production in the 1990s which cooled as the gold price declined, but larger scale production resumed in 2017, and the area has seen surging exploration interest over the past year, given that the region has some of the largest...Read More

In this report we outline the Quebec gold mining industry, including its major producers, and a survey of many of the junior miners focused on the province. Quebec accounts for 34% of Canadian gold production (second to Ontario, with 44%) and remains a major focus for both producers and junior miners.Read More

Red Lake has been one of the most prolific gold mining districts in Canada and the world, with exploration having started in the 1920s, and production, which began in the 1930s, continuing to the present day. The district is known for the high grade of its gold, its infrastructure, and strong institutional support, given the long history of mining in the area.Read More

Crude oil futures are down more than 4%The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) is down more than 300 points at midday, due to disappointing earnings from Caterpillar (CAT). The S&P 500 Index (SPX) and tech-rich Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) are also lower, as traders weigh lowered guidance from chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA). Both companies cited weaker demand in China, amid the U.S.-China trade war. Elsewhere...Read More

India is on track to produce the most iron ore in nine years as independent miners extract more of the steel-making raw material before the expiry of their leases next year.The country is set to produce as much as 210 million metric tons in the financial year ending March 31, R.K. Sharma, secretary general at the Federation of Indian Mineral Industries, said in a phone interview from New Delhi. Th...Read More

Nvidia call options have been popular in recent weeks Nvidia Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) is all over the news today, with the chip stock down a whopping 12.5% to trade at $138.30, after the company slashed its fourth-quarter revenue outlook to $2.2 billion versus the previous expectation of $2.7 billion. The semiconductor name cited weak China demand as a catalyst for the lowered forecast. But even...Read More

Lithium is set to soar - and leave investors pocking huge profits.Even with all the headlines and controversy surrounding Tesla founder Elon Musk, recent research shows that even bad press can't stop the momentum of a huge component that makes Tesla what it is today.In fact, Tesla merely helped highlight how completely critical lithium is in today's increasingly-technological world... and how scar...Read More

The retailer's CEO is leaving, effective Feb. 2The shares of Guess?, Inc. (NYSE:GES) are spiraling today on news Victor Herrero is stepping down as the retailer's CEO. Co-founder and Chairman of the Board Maurice Marciano will step in on an interim basis until Carlos Alberini -- who formerly served as GES' chief operating officer from 2000 through 2010, and is currently head of Lucky Brand -- take...Read More

Comstock Mining Inc. surges 43 percent in pre-market trading after announcing a definitive agreement to sell its Lucerne properties to Tonogold Resources for $15 million cash, and $8 million in relief of future lease and reclamation obligations.Deal includes $10 million in cash payments to Comstock in early 2019, helping the company eliminate debt; Comstock to receive another $5 million from Tonog...Read More

Caterpillar Inc. had the biggest quarterly profit miss in a decade as a China slowdown hit demand for its signature yellow construction and mining equipment. The shares tumbled.The Deerfield, Illinois-based company also issued a 2019 profit forecast range which, at the low end, was below the average of analysts' expectations, adding to worries over mounting trade tensions that pummeled the heavy-e...Read More

Oil prices are still down sharply from the highs of October 2018, but the industry may still increase spending this year. The cost of developing new projects might rise along with higher spending levels.A survey of top industry executives by DNV GL suggests that capital spending on oil and gas could rise in 2019. Of the 791 senior professionals in the energy industry surveyed by DNV GL, 70 percent...Read More

* Mud from tailings dam hits Vale mine facilities* Disaster kills 58, hundreds still missing* Brazil orders Vale to halt Corrego do Feijao mine ops* Iron ore up as much as 6 pct before closing off highs* Analysts, traders see limited price impact in short termChinese iron ore futures soared to a 16-month peak on Monday after Brazil's mining agency ordered Vale SA, the world's biggest iron ore prod...Read More

* U.S. lifted sanctions on Rusal, En+ on Sunday* Rusal shares up 9 percent in Hong Kong* London aluminium prices down as much as 1.4 percent* Russian stock index rises to all-time high U.S. President Donald Trump's administration on Sunday lifted sanctions on the core empire of Russian tycoon Oleg Deripaska, including aluminium giant Rusal and its parent En+, despite a Democrat-led push to maint...Read More

There is room for analysts to issue more bull notes on GRUBThe shares of GrubHub Inc (NYSE:GRUB) are down 0.3% to trade at $80.56, as broad-market headwinds offset a Credit Suisse upgradeto "outperform" from "neutral" and a price-target hike to $130 from $125. The analyst in coverage waxed optimistic on the company's delivery network, market expansion, and new partnerships, and said the firm wou...Read More

Vale SA's deadly mine disaster in Brazil has created uncertainty for China's iron ore market at a time when demand for supply from the South American country is rising, multiple Chinese ore traders said on Monday.A dam holding mine waste at Vale's Corrego do Feijao mine collapsed on Friday, burying mining facilities and nearby homes in the town of Brumadinho, killing dozens and leaving the communi...Read More

The Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM) has launched a probe into mining giant Vale SA's filings related to the mining dam collapse in the town of Brumadinho, where the collapse of a dam at the company's C??rrego do Feij??o mining complex on Friday killed at least 60, while more than 300 missing people are feared dead.According to local newspaper Valor Economico, CVM is investig...Read More

A former Cisco exec was appointed new COO of BlackBerry Mobile phone name BlackBerry Limited (NYSE:BB) just appointed Bryan Palma, a former Cisco (CSCO) senior vice president, as its new president and chief operating officer. In response, the shares of BB are slightly lower, down 1.1% at $8.01 -- set to break the equity's three-day winning streak. BlackBerry just endured its worst quarter since 2...Read More

CAT is sinking after a fourth-quarter profit miss and weak guidanceThe shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) are driving broad-market losses this morning, down 8.9% to trade at $124.71, and the worst stock on the Dow so far. The swing lower comes after the construction concern's disappointing fourth-quarter earnings report, with Caterpillar hinting at the negative impact of the U.S.-China trade wa...Read More

Angola is planning to hold its first diamond auction this week, inviting around 35 companies to bid for seven stones as the world's fifth largest producer moves to make the sector more lucrative for producers and the state.The stones, selected for their rare quality and size, were produced by the Lulo project operated by Australia-listed Lucapa in the northeastern province of Lunda Norte."It's our...Read More

Vale SA investors must be asking themselves how the world's largest iron ore producer could allow an even more deadly repeat of Brazil's worst environmental disaster.The collapse of a tailings dam Friday in the state of Minas Gerais killed 58 people, with more than 300 still missing, and destroyed buildings. It's the second deadly disaster in about three years for Vale, which also co-owns the Sama...Read More

A deadly dam collapse is expected to keep Vale SA shares pressured in the short-term, as Friday's accident at the Feijao mine prompted 11.3 billion reais ($3 billion) in blocked funds and fines, leading the world's largest iron ore producer to suspend dividends.While sensing a limited impact to Vale's production, analysts highlighted risks including remediation charges, lawsuits, additional insp...Read More

Both companies are facing headwinds in ChinaDow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) futures are sharply lower, with the index set to give back all the gainsfrom Friday's temporary government shutdown relief. Investors still remain wary of political gridlock, after President Donald Trump told the Wall Street Journal on Sunday that another government shutdown is "certainly an option." Also pressuring m...Read More

The mid-cap index entered 2019 between its a pair of significant long-term moving averagesThe following is a reprint of the market commentary from the February 2019 edition of The Option Advisor, published on January 25. For more information, or to subscribe to The Option Advisor -- featuring 10 new option trades each month -- visit our online store.The S&P MidCap 400 Index (MID) doesn't get nearl...Read More