WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New orders for key U.S.-made capital goods were unexpectedly unchanged in October and shipments rebounded modestly, which could temper expectations of an acceleration in business spending on equipment early in the fourth quarter.Sluggish business spending on equipment together with a lackluster housing market could fan concerns about the durability of the economic expansion...Read More
* U.S. jobless claims rise to more than four-month high * Trade volume subdued ahead of U.S. Thanksgiving holiday * GRAPHIC-2018 asset returns: (Updates prices, adds details and comment)By Sumita LayekBENGALURU, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Gold rose on Wednesday as thedollar retreated after weekly data showed an increase in U.S.jobless claims, though bullion's gains were seen as limited by arecovery in equ...Read More
The London Metal Exchange is planning to launch a lithium contract in the second half of 2019 to meet growing demand from the electric vehicle industry, Fastmarkets learned during Asia Copper Week in Shanghai. The contract, announced as part of the exchange's Strategic Pathway in September 2017, will be settled against an index price, with Fastmarkets MB's lithium spot price index one of those bei...Read More
LONDON (Reuters) - Leaving the European Union without a transition deal would cost Britain tens of billions of pounds, and failure to support Prime Minister Theresa May’s preferred plan could jeopardized Brexit altogether, finance minister Philip Hammond said on Wednesday.“A smooth exit from the European Union, doing this in an orderly fashion, is worth tens of billions of pounds to ou...Read More
PARIS (Reuters) - Emmanuel Macron’s popularity took a further hit in recent weeks, according to a poll on Sunday, as fuel tax protests rumbled on across France in the latest sign of discontent with the president’s economic reforms.Only 25 percent of those questioned in an Ifop poll between Nov. 9 and 17 said they were satisfied with Macron, down from 29 percent in October, according to...Read More
Prices for hollow steel sections in Northern Europe remained unchanged this week, even as feedstock prices continued to fall, Fastmarkets heard on Wednesday November 21. Fastmarkets' domestic price assessment for commodity-size, grade-S235 square hollow sections made in Northern Europe was ?,?640-660 ($731-753) per tonne delivered on November 21, unchanged week on week.Although feedstock prices co...Read More
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is setting up “observation posts” along parts of the border between Turkey and Syria to help keep the focus on defeating Islamic State militants in Syria, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Wednesday.The observation posts would not require additional U.S. troops being sent to Syria, Mattis told reporters. The Pentagon says it has about 2,000 t...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil prices continued to fall on Wednesday November 21, breaking away from last week's stability, amid pessimism over the country's economic and industrial growth.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,760-3,780 yuan ($541-544) per tonne, down 30-40 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,690-3,710 yuan per tonne, down 70-80 yuan per tonneWhile HRC prices hovered above 3,800 yuan...Read More
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday praised Saudi Arabia for helping to lower oil prices as pressure intensified for the United States to impose tougher sanctions on its Middle East ally over dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s murder.In a tweet, Trump thanked Riyadh for the recent drop in oil prices and called for prices to go even lower to boost the U.S...Read More
PARIS/TOKYO (Reuters) - Nissan wants more influence in its alliance with France’s Renault following the arrest of group Chairman Carlos Ghosn, arguing the structure does not adequately reflect the Japanese carmaker’s size and global sales.Japan’s No.2 auto manufacturer has long felt like the junior partner in the alliance built by Ghosn over the last 19 years, since he rescued Ni...Read More
China's ferrous futures increased during morning trading on Wednesday November 21, with sentiment improving, especially when it came to steel contracts.Futures closing prices - morning session Shanghai Futures Exchange January rebar: 3,686 yuan ($531) per tonne, up 63 yuan per tonneJanuary hot-rolled coil: 3,583 yuan per tonne, up 76 yuan per tonneDalian Commodity Exchange January iron ore: 511 yu...Read More
BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany and France said they would sign a contract with Airbus and Dassault Aviation to start work on a next-generation fighter jet in early 2019, with next steps on a joint tank program due by the end of 2018.French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel first announced plans for the two big arms program in July 2017 as part of an effort to deepen bilater...Read More
European prices for mesh-quality wire rod were flat across the Northern and Southern parts of the continent on Wednesday November 21, while concerns over the import quotas imposed by the European Commission (EC) continued to grow.Fastmarkets' weekly domestic price assessments for mesh-quality wire rod in both Southern and Northern Europe stayed at ?,?540-560 ($616-639) per tonne delivered on Wedne...Read More
Please Note: US markets are closed tomorrow for Thanksgiving and will close early on Friday. CloseGain/LossGold $1225.30+$2.90Silver$14.48+$0.16XAU67.20+3.12%HUI151.58+2.98%GDM551.76+2.35%JSE Gold1149.02+5.37USD96.73-0.08Euro113.84+0.16Yen88.76UNCHOil$54.63+$1.2010-Year3.059%+0.003T-Bond139.875-0.15625Dow24464.69-0.00%Nasdaq6972.25+0.92%S&P2649.93+0.30% The Metals: Gold saw slight losses...Read More
By Ira EpsteinMetals look good going into the close.https://www.iraepstein.com/ Read More
A recent MarketWatch article notes that:GE was one of Wall Street's major share buyback operators between 2015 and 2017; it repurchased $40 billion of shares at prices between $20 and $32. The share price is now $8.60, so the company has liquidated between $23 billion and $29 billion of its shareholders' money on this utterly futile activity alone. Since the highest net income recorded by the co...Read More
By Jordan Roy-Byrne CMT, MFTA It is very difficult to pick exact bottoms but there are many tools we can use to help us pinpoint potential bottoms. You don't hear technical analysts talk about fundamentals but we do for a reason. Major shifts in the primary trend are supported by fundamental shifts, though they can be very hard to spot until after the fact. Because of our extensive study of h...Read More
By PlungerMr. Market the Great DeceiverMarkets are deceptive...but we all know that. Beyond deceptive, markets are actually down right diabolical. Mr. Market operates through his two most trustworthy lieutenants Mr. Bull and Mr. Bear. He has tasked Mr. Bull to climb and reach the top of the mountain using investors buying power to fuel the rise. But he has also instructed Mr. Bull to no...Read More
By Craig HemkeOn Tuesday, significant gold news was made when the London Bullion Market Association finally began its long-awaited disclosure of gold market size and trading volume. If anything, all their first report revealed was the sheer magnitude of the scam and the fraud that persists in the current system. A summary of the report, along with a brief interview of LBMA CEO Ruth Crowell, can...Read More
The Heart of the Matterby John Hussman of Hussman FundsLet's be clear. October's market decline was a rather mild warning shot. At its lowest close, the S&P 500 lost -9.9% from its September peak, before rebounding in recent sessions. As I noted during the 2000-2002 and 2007-2009 collapses, intermittent "fast, furious, prone-to-failure" rebounds are among the factors that encourage investors...Read More