RAPAPORT... US retail sales will grow 10.5% to 13.5% this year as the economy rebounds at a faster rate than originally predicted, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF).The organization expects total sales for the year to reach $4.44 trillion to $4.56 trillion, it said last week. That figure is well above the 6.5% to 8.2% increase to between $4.33 trillion and $4.44 trillion the NRF pr...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Hong Kong's auction houses say gem sales kept booming last year, even though the pandemic forced them to conduct their business online. Christie's, Phillips, Sotheby's and Bonhams all reported record prices in a round-up by the South China Morning Post, although they did not disclose total revenues.The single most expensive item (pictured) sold at a live auction...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Two raiders fled smashed a jewelers' display case with a nail gun but fled when an employee pulled a gun and fired three shots.The attempted robbery took place at the Katy Mills Mall, in Katy, Texas, USA, on Friday night.The suspects - men wearing hoods, masks and gloves - were stuffing merchandise into a duffel bag when the employee started They ran off, dropping most of...Read More

(IDEX Online) - Alex and Ani, the US start-up that grew into a $1bn empire on sales of spirituality and charm bracelets has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The global pandemic sealed its fate after loan defaults, a slump in sales, lawsuits, internal strife and months of disruption caused by a ransomware virus.The company was founded in 2004 by Carolyn Rafaelian, who named it after...Read More

The legendary wildlife filmmaker tells Anderson Cooper why urgent action on climate change is crucial and why we need to save nature in order to save ourselves.Read full newsRead More

Kyrgyzstan will challenge the U.S. bankruptcy filings of Centerra Gold Inc.'s Kumtor gold operations, a lawyer for the Central Asian republic said after it took control of the mining project from the company.Read full newsRead More

Despite rising inflation, Canadian equity markets continue to increase, with the S&P/TSX Composite Index trading over 15.5% higher for this year. Meanwhile, some recent economic data suggested that the inflationary environment was temporary, improving investors’ sentiments and driving the equity markets higher. However, few Canadian stocks are trading significantly lower from their recen...Read More

Canadians with only $1,000 in funds can use it as seed capital to invest in high-growth stocks. Moreover, if you don’t need the money anytime soon, hold the stock for the long term and allow it to compound. If you’re ready to invest, consider WELL Health Technologies (TSX:WELL) and Capstone Mining (TSX:CS). Both are excellent long-term holds as the respective businesses possess element...Read More

Barrick Gold (TSX:ABX)(NYSE:GOLD) spent the past few years streamlining its business and reducing debt. Investors who previously shunned the stock are wondering if this might be the time to buy.Barrick Gold’s earningsBarrick Gold generated solid Q1 2021 results. Adjusted net earnings came in at US$0.29 per share, supported by US$1.3 billion in operating cash flow. Barrick Gold generated US$8...Read More

Canadian stocks are continuing to inch up in June after ending the previous four months in the positive territory. The S&P/TSX Composite Index has risen by 2.1% as of June 11, as investors continue to show confidence in the reopening economy and rising economic activities. However, some fundamentally good stocks are still going through a correction this month.Let’s take a closer look at...Read More

The world has changed. The world has not changed. Embrace the chaos, but not in your portfolio.I don't need to go into the details about how damn weird things are right now. Housing, retail, tech, commodities, everything is in flux. The threat of rampant inflation, a Fed stuck in an impossible situation. Yet the fundamentals really haven't.All of this matters but it doesn't help us make some money...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday June 14 that are worth another look.Brazilian steelmaker Usiminas will restart its No2 blast furnace (BF) at the Ipatinga mill, in southeastern Minas Gerais state, after almost eight months of downtime, the company said in a filing...Read More

Futures prices on the London Metal Exchange were mixed at the close on Monday June 14, with a quiet day of trading for such metals as copper due to the Dragon Boat Festival holiday observed in China. Nickel logged the biggest price gain on Monday, with the three-month contract rising by 1.39% to $18,480 per tonne from Friday's closing price of $18,227 per tonne and by 3.29% from the...Read More

Fastmarkets has settled its premium for the supply of aluminium to main Japanese ports (MJP) in the third quarter of 2021 at $172-185 per tonne over the London Metal Exchange cash price. The premium is 20.20% higher than the second-quarter benchmark of $148-149 per tonne and more than double the third-quarter of 2020 which settled at $75-79 per tonne cif MJP. The premium has risen for th...Read More

Jack ChanPosted Jun 14, 2021Gold sector as represented by $HUI is on a long-term BUY signal.Long-term signals can last for months and are more suitable for investors.Short-term is on SELL signal.Short-term signals can last for days and weeks and are more suitable for traders. COT data is supportive for overall higher gold prices.COT data suggests near-term consolidation. Our ratio is on SELL signa...Read More

Manganese ore prices dropped on Friday June 11 after buyers in China staged resistance to rising offer prices from miners and liquidity decreased. Fastmarkets' index for manganese ore 44% Mn, cif Tianjin was calculated at $5.12 per dry metric tonne (dmtu) on Friday, down by 3.21% from $5.29 per dmtu a week earlier.Fastmarkets' manganese ore index 37% Mn, cif Tianjin edged down by 0.21% t...Read More

The S&P 500 is up almost 15% year-to-date and closed up 0.19% to 4,247.44, having reached 4,249.74 intraday.All eyes this week will be on some direction from the US Federal Reserve's Federal Open Market Committee meeting.Market futures were mixed today, with holidays in China and for the Australian stock exchange.The gold price has plunged to US$1,866 an ounce on the spot market, having nudged...Read More

Zinc concentrate treatment charges (TCs) edged higher in mid-June, with more material from mines in China and elsewhere boosting supplies, while the power cut problems that affected smelters in Yunnan province are seemingly resolved.Terms rise with smelters well-coveredTenders hit solid market prices Mining output rise boosts supplyFastmarkets' zinc spot concentrate TC, cif China rose to $70-85 pe...Read More

First-quarter tin concentrate production hit 183 tonnes, containing 114t of tin metal, for the period March 1 to May 31, compared to a forecasted 180t.Read More

With long steel prices in Europe reaching historically high levels, construction activity is slowing in some regions due to reduced supplies and delays, with some market sources fearing a decline in industrial activity long term.Surging pricesLong steel prices in the European Union started increasing in the third quarter of 2020 on a pick-up in consumption and a recovery from the impact of the Cov...Read More