SVB failed in March. Oil was destined to fall as early as February - here's why; The failures of Silicon Valley Bank, Silvergate Bank and Signature Bank have prompted a lot of discussion about the potential of a domino effect. People are wondering "what's next?"The financial press is linking just about every downward price move in just about every financial market to the woes in the banking secto...Read More
By Jon Forrest Little, Unless you live under a rock (and some days I wish I did), all eyes are on which bank will fail next.We knew this was coming. Decades of Zero Interest Rate Policy, QE, and risky fractional reserve practices have consequences.Superpowers like Russia and China are eyeing America’s financial vulnerabilities while the Fed, Congress, Treasury, and Wall Street play musical c...Read More
Justin Spittler : 615% gains the last timethis was triggered… “This is incredibly bullish”… “Someone big” is loading up…I’m no gold bug, but…Gold is closing in on its all-time highs.OnMonday, gold broke above $2,000 per ounce—the highest it’s been in over a year: Itsall-time high of $2,074 is now within reach.Andif history repea...Read More
Gold prices surged to test the $2,000/oz level early this week before retreating ahead of the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision.Fed policymakers opted for another 25 basis-point hike -- disappointing investors who had hoped for a pause in the wake of high-profile bank runs.Stocks sold off in post-Fed trading on Wednesday afternoon. Precious metals markets, however, managed to record gains f...Read More
Namely, while the GDXJ (upper part of thechart) moved only a little above its recent high, silver has pretty muchdoubled its previous short-term upswing. WhatAre the Suggestions? To be clear, neither of those moveshigher was substantial. However, it is the relative performance that mattersfrom an analytical point of view.As I have emphasized many times before, miners tend to underperform gold clos...Read More
Enough is enough. No market can decline without correcting every nowand then. And both gold and the USDX point to an upcoming reversal.Let’s start with gold.IsIt Over? Looking at its price from ashort-term point of view, we see that it paused for a brief moment at its 38.2%Fibonacci retracement level. And then – after the pause – golddeclined.Not only that – it declined bel...Read More
The two global crude benchmarks are stillenjoying momentum that began on Thursday – despite larger-than-expected UScrude inventories – following reports from the financial press that Russia willcut oil exports from its western ports by 25% per month in March compared toFebruary in response to Western sanctions.These claims, however, have not yet beenconfirmed by the Russian Ministry of...Read More
"Central banks are so confident that gold prices will continue rising that they are..."Central banks have been scooping up gold with a vengeance.Here's a Jan. 31 Financial Times headline:'Colossal' central bank buying drives gold demand to decade highInterestingly, just a few days later on Feb. 3, the precious metal dropped by more than 2%. But setting aside near-term price moves in gold, what yo...Read More
The news is full of articles now discussing how food (Staples) producer prices are going to continue rising, how warehouse and distribution channels are pushing “inflation” higher, how charges to use cargo containers and transportation are all pushing “inflation” higher.The inflationary acts were committed in 2020 and 2021. The inflation was inflicted then and is now histor...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The pearl necklace worn by Audrey Hepburn in the 1953 movie Roman Holiday has been pulled from auction, without explanation, by Christie's Geneva.It follows another unexplained withdrawal, that of the Blue Lagoon tourmaline (estimate $1.44m to $2.44m) from a Sotheby's Geneva auction earlier this month.The Hepburn choker-style pearl necklace, set with cabochon sapphires, w...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Debswana, the joint venture between De Beers and the Botswana government, has started using solar power at its diamond mines as part of a pledge to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030.President Mokgweetsi Masisi said solar energy and biodiesel were now being used at the Jwaneng, Orapa, Letlhakane and Damtshaa mines.A grid-tied solar photovoltaic (PV) plant has already been providing...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Lucapa today (20 November) said it was pausing plans to revive the Merlin mine in Australia, amid the ongoing decline in diamond prices.The Perth-based miner bought the mothballed deposit (pictured), in a remote part of Northern Territory, Australia, for $6m in December 2021.At the time it estimated annual production at 153,000 carats, generating a total projected revenue of $1.14b...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Sanctions on Russian diamonds will lead to a supply shortage, and a price collapse, according to the country's deputy finance minister Alexei Moiseev.That in turn will accelerate the rise of lab growns, he said.The G7 nations, representing 70 per cent of world diamond sales, are poised to implement a boycott on Russian diamonds, which still account for around $4bn of rough sal...Read More
(IDEX Online) - De Beers and the Botswana government will work together to find more diamond deposits, after both sides agreed a 10-year deal in June."Most of our mines are ageing, and therefore, we need to look beyond Botswana if we want to continue generating wealth for this country," said Lefoko Maxwell Moagi, Botswana's minister of minerals and energy.He was speaking at the annual Natural...Read More
(New throughout, adds further details from union leader) By Marco Aquino LIMA, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Workers at the Chinese-ownedLas Bambas copper mine in Peru will kick off an "indefinite"strike beginning next week after the miner failed to deliverinformation on profit-sharing protocols, the union's leader saidon Monday. Erick Ramos, general secretary of the Las Bambas workersunion, told...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were lower this morning. S&P 500 futures were down 3 points at 8:30 AM EST.Microsoft added $6.25 to $376.10 after hiring Sam Altman, former OpenAI chief executive officer. Boeing advanced $2.79 to $210.80 after Deutsche Bank upgraded the stock from Hold to Buy and raised its target price from $204 to $270.Franco-Nevada (FNV.TO Cdn$165.16) is expected to open lower aft...Read More
Make Argentina Great Again MAGA!Political outsider Javier Milei won Argentina's presidential election last night, in a development that's shocked the world.Though his policy prescriptions are different than Trump's in many respects, Milei is basically the Argentinian version of Donald Trump because of his anti-establishment, "drain the swamp" rhetoric.You can liken Milei's election to Trump's 20...Read More
A nation can only take so much corruption, crime and unreality."We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality," said Karl Rove, veteran blobster and adviser to George W. Bush, when he uttered those fateful words. Even political junkies forget the rest of what he said:And while you're studying that reality judiciously, as you will we'll act again, creating other new realities,...Read More
Breaking News This morning, Western Exploration Inc. shared a promising update on its drilling at its Gravel Creek property. Read on to see these results and what the company has planned for the new year.This morning, Western Exploration Inc. (WEX:TSX.V;WEXPF:OTC) announced updated drill results at its Gravel Creek property in Nevada, U.S.Western Exploration is a gold exploration and production...Read More
This gold junior, which just went public, is starting its first drilling campaign at its flagship project in Mexico. A nearby project might give a clue on what to expect.Centenario Gold Corp. (CTG:TSX.V), which just went public at the beginning of the month, announced it is starting its first drilling campaign at its Eden project near Cosala, Mexico.The company plans to drill 1,500 meters over 10...Read More