The latest metal markets news and price moves to start the North American day on Tuesday November 20.Base metals on the London Metal Exchange were predominantly lower during morning trading, with most metals trading in narrow ranges while global trade tensions and depleting LME stocks deter investors. Here is how the LME base metals complex looked at 11.45am London time:For a snapshot of exchange...Read More
Good morning from Fastmarkets MB's offices in Asia as we bring you the latest news and pricing stories on Tuesday November 20.Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were broadly little changed to weaker during Asian morning trading on Tuesday, with the complex stymied by renewed concerns surrounding the United States-China trade spat.Check Fastmarket MB's live futures report here. Man...Read More
OTTAWA (Reuters) - The Canadian air force is increasingly running short of combat-capable fighter jets and pilots and government attempts to address the problem have only made it worse, the nation’s top watchdog said on Tuesday.The report by Auditor General Michael Ferguson is the latest blow to a decade-long and trouble-plagued attempt by successive administrations to replace Canada’s...Read More
London Metal Exchange members are considering a multitude of ways to continue to service their EU clients in the event that a financial services deal is either not forthcoming or does not go far enough when the UK finally leaves the European Union. Some companies have even told their LME sales teams they need to be prepared to move to another major European city to be able to legally service their...Read More
(Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) has bid for Walt Disney Co’s (DIS.N) 22 regional sports networks, including Yes Network, CNBC reported on Tuesday, citing sources familiar with the matter.Neither Disney nor Amazon immediately respond to Reuters request for comment.Reporting by Vibhuti Sharma in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those o...Read More
HONG KONG (Reuters) - Billionaire Chinese actress Zhao Wei and her husband have been barred from taking on key positions at listed companies for five years for violating securities regulations, the Shanghai Stock Exchange said on Tuesday.The exchange’s announcement comes more than a month after another Chinese actress Fan Bingbing came under fire for failing to pay millions of dollars in tax...Read More
(Reuters) - Target Corp (TGT.N) reported third-quarter earnings and comparable sales below estimates on Tuesday at a time when a strong economy has boosted consumer spending at rival retailers, sending its shares down 7 percent in premarket trade.Sales at stores open at least a year rose 5.1 percent, short of analysts’ estimates of a 5.21 percent increase, according to IBES data from Refinit...Read More
If Brexit - the departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union on March 29, 2019 - isn't on your radar, it should be. With the annual London Metal Exchange Week now in full swing, the exchange, its members and their customers need to have contingency plans in place if they are expecting to be affected in any way by Brexit. And as with anything political, an element of brinkmanship will na...Read More
VIENNA (Reuters) - Italy does not pose an immediate economic risk within the euro area but it has significant financing needs this year and next that could become an issue over the longer term, European Central Bank policymaker Ewald Nowotny said on Tuesday.“It is not the case that (there is) an immediate economic threat. Immediately it is rather a political problem,” Nowotny told a ne...Read More
(Reuters) - Department store operator Kohl’s Corp (KSS.N) raised its full-year profit forecast and posted better-than-expected quarterly same-store sales on Tuesday, as it moved trendier fashion to stores quicker and bolstered its online business.The company now expects full-year earnings forecast of $5.16 - $5.36 per share, compared with from its prior forecast of $4.96 - $5.36.Net income r...Read More
(Reuters) - CVS Health Corp (CVS.N) said on Tuesday that it expects to close its $69 billion purchase of health insurer Aetna Inc (AET.N) after the Thanksgiving holiday.The pharmacy chain and benefits manager had previously expected the transaction to close by Nov. 22.CVS said in a filing bit.ly/2Kk8PSf it had received approval from 26 of the 28 state departments of insurance and was in the fina...Read More
(Reuters) - Lowe’s Cos Inc said on Tuesday it was looking to shed its retail operations in Mexico and certain non-core U.S. businesses as the country’s second-biggest home improvement chain strives to compete with rivals including Home Depot.Shares of the Mooresville, North Carolina-based company fell 5.3 percent to $86.50 in premarket trading after Lowe’s also reported a smaller...Read More
MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Australia’s unemployment could ease further from the current 6-1/2 year low without putting too much upward pressure on wages, the head of the country’s central bank said on Tuesday.Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Governor Philip Lowe noted the jobless rate in the country’s two biggest states - New South Wales and Victoria - was between 4.4 percent and 4.6 p...Read More
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Greece is likely to beat its fiscal targets, including the primary surplus, for the third year in a row, but needs to continue the reforms it promised as part of the last bailout program, the chairman of euro zone finance ministers said.Speaking at a hearing in the European Parliament’s economic committee, Mario Centeno said the outlook for the Greek economy was positive...Read More
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s Nikkei fell to a three-week low on Tuesday as a drop in Nasdaq shares dragged down Japanese tech names, while Nissan Motor tumbled on news of Chairman Carlos Ghosn’s arrest and dismissal.The Nikkei share average ended 1.1 percent lower to 21,583.12, the lowest closing level since October 31.Nissan Motor Co was the most-traded stock by turnover and tumbled 5.5...Read More
Robert Morris, Vale's sales and marketing director for the base metals business, is retiring from the company at the end of 2018, according to an internal note from the miner to its managers. Brent Rochon, who is vice president for marketing and sales of copper and intermediates, and nickel for Europe and Americas regions, will take on Morris' duties in the interim. Morris has worked for Vale sinc...Read More
Peter KrauthMy recent position on silver was that it had become massively oversold.That was a week ago, when the price of silver dropped from $14.65 to $13.97.We've since learned that money managers almost doubled their net short silver futures position in the previous week. That strongly suggests that speculative shorting of silver from its latest high near $14.80 helped push the metal below $14....Read More
At least nine major copper smelters globally are planning plant maintenance in the first half of 2019, leading to an increase in the availability of copper concentrates in an already well-supplied market.Like most major industrial plants, copper smelters shut for maintenance every two to three years to complete essential repairs on facilities such as furnaces, which are otherwise ar...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
Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly lower at the close of trading on Tuesday November 20, with broad risk-off sentiment emerging across global commodity markets amid continued trade tensions and a fresh one-year low in oil futures.Both zinc and lead futures were the worst affected, falling by around 2% over the afternoon, to below their respective support levels at $2,600 p...Read More