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

According to the [book], the company provides FBI and CIA with unfettered access to users' e-mails … Wikileaks founder Julian Assange in his book planned to be out on December 1 reveals that Google in fact works for the US State Department, as reported by the Spanish Publico.es web edition. – TassDominant Social Theme: Google and Facebook represent the best of US capitalism and inn...Read More

American banking has its own Tea Party … Like the anti-establishment wing of the Republican Party, the American banking business has its own version of a Tea Party: the Independent Community Bankers of America. In just the past week, the trade group has vociferously opposed the nomination of a Wall Street banker to the Treasury and hailed a bill that would increase congressional oversight of...Read More

According to the [book], the company provides FBI and CIA with unfettered access to users' e-mails … Wikileaks founder Julian Assange in his book planned to be out on December 1 reveals that Google in fact works for the US State Department, as reported by the Spanish Publico.es web edition. – TassDominant Social Theme: Google and Facebook represent the best of US capitalism and inn...Read More

Opinion: Federal Reserve relies on misleading indicators … When it decides whether and when to raise interest rates, the Federal Reserve will be watching two numbers very closely: the rates of unemployment and inflation. A sizable drop in the jobless rate from present levels would be a sign that higher rates are nigh; the same would be true if the rate of inflation should accelerate. –...Read More

Gold prices may surge if Swiss vote on reserves passes … Global gold prices may surge in the coming week if Swiss voters approve a controversial measure that would force their country's central bank to keep at least a fifth of its assets in gold. If the referendum Sunday passes and the Swiss government is forced to start beefing up its reserves, the price of gold could jump to more than...Read More

Opinion: Federal Reserve relies on misleading indicators … When it decides whether and when to raise interest rates, the Federal Reserve will be watching two numbers very closely: the rates of unemployment and inflation. A sizable drop in the jobless rate from present levels would be a sign that higher rates are nigh; the same would be true if the rate of inflation should accelerate. –...Read More

Gold prices may surge if Swiss vote on reserves passes … Global gold prices may surge in the coming week if Swiss voters approve a controversial measure that would force their country's central bank to keep at least a fifth of its assets in gold. If the referendum Sunday passes and the Swiss government is forced to start beefing up its reserves, the price of gold could jump to more than...Read More

Britain's EU retreat means German hegemony warns Prodi … Britain is already a lame duck within the EU's internal governing structure and is losing influence "by the day" in Brussels, even before David Cameron holds a referendum on withdrawal. This self-isolation has upset the European balance of power in profound ways, leading ineluctably to German hegemony and a unipolar s...Read More

The Market Is Your Friend. Really: One Millennial's Advice to Peers … Dear fellow millennials, We need to talk about our approach to investing. A recent study by Moody's Analytics shows that U.S. adults under age 35 spend, in aggregate, 2% more than what they earn. This finding has been the subject of much hand-wringing about our generation, which is sometimes defined as anyone born...Read More

Britain's EU retreat means German hegemony warns Prodi … Britain is already a lame duck within the EU's internal governing structure and is losing influence "by the day" in Brussels, even before David Cameron holds a referendum on withdrawal. This self-isolation has upset the European balance of power in profound ways, leading ineluctably to German hegemony and a unipolar s...Read More

The Market Is Your Friend. Really: One Millennial's Advice to Peers … Dear fellow millennials, We need to talk about our approach to investing. A recent study by Moody's Analytics shows that U.S. adults under age 35 spend, in aggregate, 2% more than what they earn. This finding has been the subject of much hand-wringing about our generation, which is sometimes defined as anyone born...Read More

It just keeps rollin' … The populist party wins the Rochester and Strood by-election … THE UK Independence Party (UKIP) bandwagon kept on rolling through the pretty Kent streets of Rochester and Strood on November 20th. Its candidate, Mark Reckless (pictured, right), won the by-election he had occasioned by defecting from the Conservatives with 42% of the vote. This gives UKIP its...Read More

Why America Needs an Exit Tax … President Obama's executive action on immigration will end the threat of deportation for as many as 3.7 million parents of American citizens, while also protecting about 350,000 immigrants who came to the U.S. as children. It's being sold as a stopgap measure until Congress passes a comprehensive immigration act. If Congress does finally address immigr...Read More

It just keeps rollin' … The populist party wins the Rochester and Strood by-election … THE UK Independence Party (UKIP) bandwagon kept on rolling through the pretty Kent streets of Rochester and Strood on November 20th. Its candidate, Mark Reckless (pictured, right), won the by-election he had occasioned by defecting from the Conservatives with 42% of the vote. This gives UKIP its...Read More

Why America Needs an Exit Tax … President Obama's executive action on immigration will end the threat of deportation for as many as 3.7 million parents of American citizens, while also protecting about 350,000 immigrants who came to the U.S. as children. It's being sold as a stopgap measure until Congress passes a comprehensive immigration act. If Congress does finally address immigr...Read More

Supervising the Supervisors …The Fed is sorry. Sorry about the whole being too cozy with banks thing. As penance, the Fed has "asked its inspector general to look into whether top supervisors were getting the information they needed to make their decisions," and if they "were hearing all the opinions of Fed bank examiners." Remember Dan Davies's take on bank supervisi...Read More

Millions of immigrants living illegally in the US will be allowed to apply for work permits under a major shake-up unveiled by President Barack Obama. They include immigrants who have been in the US for five years and have children staying legally in the US. About four million people are expected to benefit from a reform package forced through using executive orders, which allow Mr Obama to bypass...Read More

Supervising the Supervisors …The Fed is sorry. Sorry about the whole being too cozy with banks thing. As penance, the Fed has "asked its inspector general to look into whether top supervisors were getting the information they needed to make their decisions," and if they "were hearing all the opinions of Fed bank examiners." Remember Dan Davies's take on bank supervisi...Read More

Millions of immigrants living illegally in the US will be allowed to apply for work permits under a major shake-up unveiled by President Barack Obama. They include immigrants who have been in the US for five years and have children staying legally in the US. About four million people are expected to benefit from a reform package forced through using executive orders, which allow Mr Obama to bypass...Read More

Tales in monetary voodoo, try this for a spin … We play with the money system at our peril. On Thursday, British MPs are to debate money creation, including so-called "helicopter money". This is supposedly the first time parliament has debated such matters since 1844. Back then, it didn't work out so well. Much debated but little understood, money creation is one of those fiend...Read More