WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein said she would withhold support for Saudi Arabia and urged U.S. sanctions after President Donald Trump’s statement earlier on Tuesday pledging to back Riyadh despite the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.Feinstein said in a statement that she would not vote for any future weapons sales or appropriations for Saudi Arabia. She...Read More
The London Metal Exchange is planning to launch a lithium contract in the second quarter 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...Read More
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Hedge fund Elliott Management on Tuesday asked Mitek Systems Inc (MITK.O) to scrap a so-called “poison pill” to let it buy more stock and said it may press for board changes after the software company took steps to protect itself from the activist investor.Elliott, which invests more than $34 billion, wrote to Mitek’s board and asked for “relief from th...Read More
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Walmart Inc (WMT.N), Target Corp (TGT.N) and Best Buy Co (BBY.N) have made changes to their gift card programs to reduce the risk of fraud as consumers enter the holiday shopping season.Barbara Underwood and Josh Shapiro, the attorneys general of New York and Pennsylvania, announced the changes on Tuesday, as part of a more than year-long initiative to thwart scam artists.The...Read More
Chinese buyers have been reluctant to commit to long-term contracts for cobalt raw materials for 2019 during this year's mating season, Fastmarkets has learned.Year-long or multi-year commitments are traditional, but Chinese buyers now intend to purchase cobalt raw materials, including concentrates and hydroxide, on a spot basis, because there is adequate spot supply and because their profit margi...Read More
BEIJING (Reuters) - The failure of the countries attending a major Asia-Pacific summit to agree on a communique resulted from certain countries “excusing” protectionism, a top Chinese diplomat said, in a veiled criticism of Washington that further sours China-U.S. ties ahead of a meeting of the G20 nationsIn Washington, a White House official rejected the Chinese line as “complet...Read More
The initial public offering (IPO) of shares in the newly created Livent Lithium will help the fledgling company to face the challenges of meeting global demand for lithium and to solidify its position as a major supplier to the fast-growing battery industry, according to chief executive officer Paul Graves.The acquisition by Livent's parent company, FMC, of chemicals giant DuPont set the course fo...Read More
LONDON (Reuters) - Companies began triggering plans to keep operating if Britain leaves the European Union without an agreement, a “no deal” scenario the Bank of England said could plunge the economy into a crisis not seen since the 1970s.With less than five months before Britain leaves the bloc, Prime Minister Theresa May is struggling to persuade parliament to back a draft divorce de...Read More
Flat steel import prices in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have tumbled over the past seven days by $20-55 per tonne due to weak demand and lower offer and deal prices, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday November 20.UAEAbout 5,000 tonnes of hot-rolled coil (HRC) from Ukraine was booked at $520-530 per tonne cfr.Chinese material, meanwhile, was on offer to the UAE at $510-520 per...Read More
Steel traders in Asia have been feverishly short-selling their cargoes in recent weeks due to the bearish sentiment in the Asian market, with back-to-back offers for steel products often accompanied by short-selling offers at a wide discount to mill cargoes.These discounts can reach up to $15 per tonne, which indicate the additional price falls that traders expect when short-selling cargoes. Buyer...Read More
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has imposed sanctions on six people and three entities for their involvement in oil shipments to Syria, the U.S. Treasury Department said on Tuesday.The individuals listed in a statement by the Treasury included two Iranians, a Russian, a Syrian, an Iraqi and a Lebanese. Two of the entities listed are based in Russia and one in Iran.Reporting by Lisa Lamber...Read More
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union on Tuesday provisionally agreed on rules for a far-reaching system to coordinate scrutiny of foreign investments into Europe, notably from China, to end what a negotiator called “European naivety”.Negotiators for the European Parliament and the EU’s 28 member states struck a deal to protect strategic technologies and infrastructure, such as...Read More
China's hot-rolled coil prices fell on Tuesday November 20 amid tumbles across financial markets.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 3,790-3,820 yuan ($546-550) per tonne, down 10 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Tianjin): 3,770-3,780 yuan per tonne, down 40 yuan per tonneHRC prices nationwide fell, though the decreases were relatively smaller in comparison with other steel products such as rebar, a tr...Read More
Nov 20 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index fell on Tuesday, driven by a plunge in energy shares on the back of a drop in oil prices, along with a rout in global markets after technology shares slipped on iPhone demand concerns.* The energy sector dipped 2.3 percent and is on pace to post its fourth consecutive session of losses.* The technology sector's 2.7 percent plunge also weighed on the mai...Read More
ZURICH (Reuters) - Buying a second-hand luxury watch on eBay (EBAY.O) should get easier next year as the online auction platform gets better at checking that only genuine timepieces go under the hammer.“By the end of 2019, we look to have an entire suite of services available to all luxury watch sellers and buyers on the platform,” James Hendy, in charge of eBay’s authentication...Read More
COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Denmark pledged to improve legal protection for whistleblowers after a British man who helped expose alleged money laundering at Danske Bank, spoke publicly for the first time.In a widening scandal, authorities in Denmark, Estonia, Britain and the United States are investigating payments totaling 200 billion euros ($228.5 billion) made through the tiny Estonian branch of Den...Read More
Domestic rebar producers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have announced new prices for December production, although imported rebar prices remained stable over the past week.Steel billet prices, meanwhile, were unchanged because the rebar producers in the UAE have enough stock to last for more than one month, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday November 20.Domestic rebarThe country's biggest pro...Read More
The latest bids, offers and deals in the global markets for rebar, wire rod, steel beams and other long steel products. Latest transactions: rebarRebarUAE, domestic (Emirates Steel), rebar, offered at 2,016 dirhams ($549) per tonne ex-works, December...Read More
CloseGain/LossGold $1222.40-$0.80Silver$14.32-$0.10XAU65.17-0.81%HUI147.19-0.73%GDM538.38-0.32%JSE Gold1143.65+2.03USD96.81+0.60Euro113.68-0.82Yen88.76UNCHOil$53.43-$3.7710-Year3.056%+0.003T-Bond139.90625+0.125Dow24465.64-2.21%Nasdaq6908.82-1.70%S&P2641.89-1.82% The Metals: Gold chopped near unchanged in Asia before it climbed up to $1228.70 in London and then dropped to...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