In March, the World Gold Council released the newest edition of its Investment Update. What can we learn from the publication? Let’s examine the most recent history of Fed tightening and loosening with respect to its effect on gold prices.Is Fed’s Dovish Turn Positive for Gold?The WGC has recently published the new Investment Update about the effects of monetary policy on gold. The mai...Read More

While so many were getting so bullish of the metals market over the last few months, my work was telling me that we were not likely going to be seeing a major break out just yet. So, I have been waiting patiently for a good set up for another long trade.But, during my wait, I have seen extremes in sentiment again. At the highs, the extremes were quite bullish. And, now, the fear is starting to cre...Read More

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A strong session from Boeing helped lift the DowThe Dowrose convincingly today on hopes for a U.S.-China trade deal. The S&P 500 also managed to settle in positive territory -- bringing its daily win streak to six, the longest since February 2018 -- though the Nasdaq failed to mimic that strength, ending in the red as tech and Tesla shares weighed. While trade talks will likely continue to grab Wa...Read More

How subscribers turned CREE's 8% week-to-date rally into money-doubling option profitsSubscribers to Schaeffer's Weekly Options Countdown options recommendation service just doubled their money in only a few trading days with the Cree Inc (NASDAQ:CREE) weekly 4/5 55.50-strike call. Here's a quick look at why we expected a big upside move from the semiconductor concern this week, and how the prof...Read More

Participants in the long steel market in the European Union were hoping for price stability through April after recent sluggish demand and cautious buying activity, sources within the sector told Fastmarkets this week."The Spanish market is weak in price terms but consumption is improving," one trader said. "European mills have been more aggressive [in terms of price] so there has not been much im...Read More

BAML upgraded Nio stock today, too Nio Inc (NYSE:NIO) stock bottomed at a record low of $4.90 in late March, but has since come off this level. Citigroup thinks the worst is over for the electric auto stock, with analyst Jeff Chung upgrading the shares to "buy" from "hold." And while he cut his NIO price target to $6.80 from $7.20, this still is a 28% premium to last night's close.BofA-Merrill Lyn...Read More

Sector expert Michael Ballanger discusses the pitfalls of market reversals and forecasting. As I reach end-of-week, end-of-month book-squaring, where all of my urgent e-mails and all of my myopic missives and all of my topical tweets are summarized in once terse and quite concise "Monthly P&L," I am astounded at the most recent example of how masterfully the Gold Cartel works in suckering inve...Read More

The shares found a foothold at their 40-day moving averageThe U.S. stock market is mostly higher today on optimism surrounding U.S.-China trade talks. Among individual stocks making notable moves are streaming specialist Roku Inc (NASDAQ:ROKU), U.K.-based software firm Micro Focus International PLC (NYSE:MFGP), and home furnishings retailer At Home Group Inc (NYSE:HOME). Here's a quick roundup of...Read More

The steel billet import price narrowed down in Egypt in the week ended on Thursday April 4, while demand remained weak and the Egypt Ministry of Trade and Industry started a safeguard investigation into billet imports, Fastmarkets heard.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel billet imported into Egypt was $460-470 per tonne cfr on Thursday, narrowing downward from $460-480 per tonne cfr la...Read More

RES shares got a rare upgrade todayOilfield services stock RPC, Inc. (NYSE:RES) is trading up 5.9% today at $12.35, thanks to an upgrade to "overweight" from "underweight" at Morgan Stanley. The brokerage firm also lifted its price target to $15 from $11, territory not seen since early November. The bull note is a rarity for RES shares, which right now have just two positive ratings among the ana...Read More

Spanish crude steel production fell to 14.3 million tonnes in 2018, marginally down from 14.4 million tonnes in 2017, according to Unesid, the country's steel association.Domestic steel consumption in Spain rose by 12.6% year on year to 14.3 million tonnes in 2018."This significant rise [in consumption] was influenced by the better market conditions, but also by the notable rise in imports from th...Read More

A historically bullish signal just flashed on the charts for Canopy Cannabis concern Canopy Growth Corp (NYSE:CGC) got off to a hot start in 2019, and is now up 61.1% year-to-date. The equity has taken a breather after bounding up the charts earlier this year, with support at the $42 level serving as a recent floor. While the stock is inching lower today, a historically bullish signal just flashed...Read More

Most analysts are bearish on the utility nameThe shares of PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG) are up 2.8% to trade at $19.03 today, after the utility company appointed William Johnson as its new CEO. PCG also said it's reshuffling its board, adding 10 new directors, while seven current board members will step down. In the wake of the news, options traders have taken renewed interest in the beleaguered...Read More

Antofagasta Minerals, a subsidiary of London-headquartered Antofagasta plc, has secured $1.3 billion in financing for the expansion of its Los Pelambres refined copper unit, 300km north of Santiago in Chile.Antofagasta Minerals aims to increase its annual copper concentrate production at the unit by 40,000 tonnes during the first year of operations, ramping up to an extra 70,000 tonnes p...Read More

Strength could beget strength for Wall Street, if past is prologueNot too long ago, we noted the Dow Jones Industrial Average's (DJI) golden cross -- when its 50-day moving average moved back above its 200-day moving average, often seen as a bullish technical indicator. Since then, its fellow stock market indexes, the S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq Composite (IXIC), have made golden crosses of the...Read More

Despite JPM's choppy trading, call options are popularBanking giant JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) is flat today, trading at $105.39, as Wall Street digests JPM CEO Jamie Dimon's annual letter to shareholders, in which he weighed in on the U.S. education system and higher taxes for wealthy Americans. If history is any guide, though, the Dow stock could find itself in trouble in the near term. T...Read More

The Fed's meeting minutes will also be dissectedMostly subdued on the earnings front, the second week in April will host quarterly reports from big bank Wells Fargo (WFC) and blue-chip giant JPMorgan & Chase (JPM). Also sure to capture headlines will be the House of Representatives Democratic Caucus annual retreat, with Fed Chair Jerome Powell set to make an appearance, and traders will also disse...Read More

Participants in the long steel market in the European Union were hoping for price stability through April after recent sluggish demand and cautious buying activity, sources within the sector told Fastmarkets this week."The Spanish market is weak in price terms but consumption is improving," one trader said. "European mills have been more aggressive [in terms of price] so there has not been much im...Read More

Export prices for CIS-origin billet dipped on Tuesday April 4, due to limited trading activity in outlet markets, sources told Fastmarkets. Fastmarkets' daily CIS export billet index was $442 per tonne fob Black Sea on April 4, down by $3 per tonne.CIS mills have been...Read More