I hate coal.But this really shouldn't be news to you; my veteran readers have known my bearish sentiments over the coal industry for years.Don't get me wrong - you won't see me with a picket sign anywhere, nor will you see me marching on the steps of the Capitol calling for a complete and immediate ban on coal production.Remember, for all the hate and derision thrown at the coal industry, it still...Read More
Ahead of the Fed rate decision, I thought I would share on Canadian Insider our take on the state of North American equities. Here is our analysis that we sent out to INK subscribers this morning in our weekly US market report.Being bearish is now pretty much the consensus view among fund managers, at least according to a survey by the Bank of America Merrill Lynch. As reported in the media yeste...Read More
Update (adds solution implemented) - Our US stock quote data provider IEX has implemented some changes that have resulted in us not receiving US stock quotes. As a result, neither the US quote price nor the data snapshot at the top the US company pages is being fully displayed. We are working on a solution.Alerts, insider filings, company news, and business summary data are not impacted. INK Re...Read More
Fastmarkets MB will launch a weekly assessment of the South America Galvalume steel coil import price, reported on a US-dollar-per-tonne cfr South America basis.Following the original consultation period for this proposed launch, which ended on May 31 before it was extended by two weeks to June 7, Fastmarkets has decided to launch its Galvalume steel coil import, cfr main ports South America, $ pe...Read More
The domestic prices paid for hot-rolled coil in Europe have been largely stable over the week, market sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday June 19.Mills continued to make attempts to achieve higher transaction prices, while buyers resisted further price increases on slow market activity. End users were reportedly "not ready" to pay higher prices to distributors, while stockholders and service cen...Read More
The European Commission (EC) imposed definitive safeguard measures on 28 imported steel products in February, replacing the provisional measures that had been in place since July 2018.The EC opened the safeguard case in an attempt to prevent steel shipments being redirected to the EU after the United States imposed import tariffs as part of its Section 232 investigation. Almost one year after the...Read More
The price of mesh-quality wire rod in Europe was unchanged this week in a stable and quiet market, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday June 19.Fastmarkets' weekly domestic price assessment for mesh-quality wire rod in Northern Europe was ?,?505-515 ($566-577) per tonne delivered on Wednesday, unchanged week on week. Demand has been quiet in the market this week while buyers anticipate an...Read More
The Wednesday Market Minute U.S. equity futures edge higher ahead of today's Fed policy decision, with investors pricing in a 24.2% chance of a rate cut and President Donald Trump renewing his criticism of Chairman Jerome Powell.Asia stocks rally to five-week highs on hopes of a breakthrough in U.S.-China trade talks and bets on support from global central banks following a dovish turn from ECB...Read More
Prices paid for rebar produced and delivered in Southern Europe were unchanged this week amid heavily subdued activity while buyers await an expected influx of imports in July, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday June 19.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for domestic rebar in Southern Europe was ?,?495-515 ($555-577) per tonne delivered on Wednesday, unchanged week on week."It's completely ca...Read More
The price of rebar produced and delivered in Northern Europe widened upward slightly this week despite the market being largely quiet with many buyers waiting for the renewal of EU import quota balances on July 1, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday June 19.From July 1, 2019 until June 30, 2020, 301,538 tonnes of Turkey-origin rebar will be permitted to enter the EU tariff-free. After this quota...Read More
Turkish steel producers have resumed their deep-sea scrap bookings after a short break of a day, but demand is expected to slow down, sources said on Wednesday June 19.A steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a US cargo comprising 18,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $278.50 per tonne and 7,000 tonnes of shredded at $283.50 per tonne cfr. This compares with a deep-sea deal from this region on M...Read More
Physical iron ore prices continued to advance on Wednesday June 19 amid big gains in the futures markets following amelioration of trade tensions between China and the United States.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $114.08 per tonne cfr Qingdao, up $1.80 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $112.88 per tonne cfr Qingdao,up $1.80 per tonne. MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $115.81 per tonn...Read More
- Dave Kranzler"The latest University of Michigan consumer confidence report noted that its index tracking those who think it's a good time to buy a home has fallen by a hefty eight points in the past two months even as mortgage rates have dropped." - Danielle DiMartino Booth, "The Fed Can't Help Housing Or Autos At This Point"I'm not the only analyst who has concluded that lower rates likely w...Read More
Last week was a strong one for gold, which managed to eke out its fourth straight week of positive gains. The price of the yellow metal broke above $1,350 an ounce last Friday, while gold miners, as measured by the NYSE Arca Gold Miners Index, tested their 52-week high.Investors sought safe haven investments on a number of geopolitical risks, including protests in Hong Kong over the now-delayed...Read More
- Stefan GleasonUncle Sam is going broke. That's not exactly news - at least not to anyone who has been paying attention to the sorry state of federal finances.Yet to most Americans, the ballooning national debt ($22.3 trillion and counting) isn't a problem that impacts their daily lives. They won't directly perceive the cost of another trillion dollars in borrowing in the government's next fi...Read More
By Avi GilburtThe amount of discussion I am seeing on television, as well as in print, regarding what the Fed is going to do just amazes me. Are people this oblivious to the realities around them?I really have a hard time understanding this. So, maybe you good people can help me. The Fed was clearly going to continue raising rates this past winter. No one even questioned that. Well, almost no on...Read More
By: Robert LambourneThe statement of account for May 2019 of the Bank for International Settlements, published this week, indicates that the bank is still trading gold swaps, which the bank uses to gain access to gold held by commercial banks. But the statement indicates that bank's recent activity in the gold market is much reduced from its activity during the second half of 2018.There is not e...Read More
- Stewart Thomson, Graceland Updates 1. It's my firm belief that most Americans are living in a fantasy world where a superhero named President Trump is going to negotiate fabulous "America-first" trade deals with cowering governments around the world... and Americans will then magically relive the 1950s with massive GDP growth, even while QE to infinity becomes as American as apple p...Read More
By: Ira EpsteinGold in an overbought market challenging the high...Read More
Samarco - Vale and BHP's iron ore pellet joint venture - is likely to restart its operations in Brazil's southeastern Minas Gerais state in the second half of 2020.The restart will take place in "either the third or fourth quarter" of next year, according to Chris Barrington, the chief advisor to the International Iron Metallics Association (IIMA).He disclosed this in his presentation, The Global...Read More