The price of stainless steel in Europe decreased this week on lower monthly alloy surcharges for January, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday January 10. Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for stainless steel cold-rolled sheet, 2mm, grade 304 transaction domestic, delivered North Europe was ?,?2,050-2,100 ($2,277-2,333) per tonne on January 3, down by ?,?40-50 per tonne...Read More

The World Trade Organization has made a final ruling that the Moroccan authorities violated parts of the WTO's Anti-Dumping Agreement in its imposition of tariffs on hot-rolled coil imports from Turkey.The WTO panel findings included the fact that Morocco failed to conclude its investigation within the 18-month maximum time limit and failed to inform all interested parties...Read More

Liberty Steel Group will cut 355 jobs at its UK steelworks in Stockbridge, South Yorkshire and Newport, South Wales due to "challenging market conditions", the company said on Thursday January 9. This follows a move late in 2019 when the GFG Alliance announced plans to consolidate all its steel businesses into one global group named Liberty Steel Group. The company said it has decided to redu...Read More

All three benchmarks nabbed big weekly winsThe Dow limped into the weekend with a triple-digit loss, despite crossing a historic milestone earlier in the day. After toppling the 29,000 level for the first time ever and nabbing a new record high, the blue-chip index pivoted lower as a lackluster jobs report weighed on Wall Street. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq nabbed record highs of their own, but also e...Read More

The company warned of weaker-than-expected Andexxa revenuePortola Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:PTLA) stock is at the bottom of the Nasdaq today, downafter the drugmaker issued preliminary earnings for the fourth quarter and 2019. PTLA said it expects global and U.S. revenue from Andexxa -- its reversal treatment for uncontrolled bleeding -- to fall well below consensus estimates.A round of bear not...Read More

Nektar and Bristol-Myers Squibb will expand an ongoing late-stage collaborative trial The shares of Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) are pacing for their biggest one-day jump in almost two years after the firm amended its collaboration agreement with Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY). The two will expand an ongoing trial combining NKTR's bempegaldesleukin cancer therapy with BMY's cancer drug Opdivo, th...Read More

Iran headwinds eventually faded later in the weekIf the next decade is anything like the first full week of 2020, Wall Street is in for a wild ride. U.S.-Iran tensions were at the forefront to start, as investors unpacked the headlines surrounding the killing of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani. Gold prices exploded in response, as investors sought the safe-haven asset amid geopolitic...Read More

U.S.-Iran tensions have sent energy stocks on a rollercoaster start to 2020Energy stocks have had a volatile start to 2020 amid the rise and fall of U.S.-Iran tensions, and Marathon Petroleum Corp (NYSE:MPC) is no exception. The oil name is facing off with its year-over-year breakeven point above, while also receiving support from the formerly resistant $57 mark. What's more, data from Schaeffer'...Read More

The Dow nabbed a new high atop the 29,000 region, before eventually sliding lower The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) just sliced past the 29,000 level for the first time on record before pulling back near breakeven, as weaker-than-expected employment data finally managed to impact the blue-chip index. The S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) have also pulled back from their intr...Read More

ETFC's early October bottom coincides with its November 2007 lowsE-Trade Financial Corp's (NASDAQ:ETFC) drop off its Sept. 16 high near $46 can be described as "fast and furious," driven by a negative reaction to a "commissions race" among brokerages. More specifically, ETFC fell 4.8% on Sept. 26 when Interactive Brokers (IBKR) unveiled a commissions-free trading product, and then surrendered 16.4...Read More

GRUB gained 12.6% Wednesday on the sale reportOne of the worst stocks on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) this morning is GrubHub Inc (NYSE:GRUB). The meal delivery app is down 7% to trade at $51.80, after the company denied a Wall Street Journal report that a sale of the company is in process, or that any strategic review is underway. More specifically, a GrubHub spokesperson clarified: "We fe...Read More

Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States remained above $30 per hundredweight on Friday January 10, with domestic flat-rolled steel mills holding firm on higher prices after their fifth increase since late October of last year.Fastmarkets' daily hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $30.38 per cwt ($607.60 per short ton) on Friday, little changed from 30.48 per cwt a da...Read More

NVDA has added 70% within the past 12 monthsChip stock Nvidia Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) is enjoying a 1.4% lift this morning after being added to Citigroup's "catalyst watch list." This bold move from Citigroup now has the equity at a fresh one-year high of $246.50 right out of the gate. This is just another drop in the bucket for NVDA, with just having received a bull note in late December. Over...Read More

URBN posted an increase in total company sales, but a decrease in its wholesale segmentUrban Outfitters, Inc. (NASDAQ:URBN) is among the slew of retailers posting holiday sales this week, and the results are not looking good. The Anthropologie parent posted a 2.9% increase in total company sales, which was lower than last year's 5% pop for the same period, as well as a 9% decrease in net sales fo...Read More

Stock futures are holding above fair value despite the nonfarm payrolls reportU.S. stock futures are pointing to a positive open this morning, though they've pared some gains after a downbeat jobs report. Specifically, the nonfarm payrolls report for December showed 145,000 jobs added, compared to economists' expectations of 160,000. As such, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI), S&P 500 Index (...Read More

We didn’t haveto wait long for Iran’s response. After the missile attack on U.S. bases inIraq, gold briefly soared above $1,600. What should we expect next? Iran Retaliates, Gold RalliesOn Tuesday, I wrote that “given thatSoleimani was widely seen as the second most powerful figure in Iran, we shouldexpect a response.” And, indeed, it arrived before too long. On Wednesday,...Read More

Gold COT Report - Futures Large SpeculatorsCommercialTotal LongShortSpreadingLongShortLongShort 383,48061,189139,363202,452558,533725,295759,085 Change from Prior Reporting Period 1,8607,494-1,248-473-10,883139-4,637 Traders 23670875458324185 Small Speculators LongShortOpen Interest 60,56226,772785,857 -4484,328-309 non reportable positionsChange fr...Read More

- Richard (Rick) MillsGold's safe haven status was tested this week, as Iran countered the assassination of its top military commander with missile strikes against two Iraqi bases housing US troops.On Tuesday night Tehran fired over a dozen missiles at the Al-Asad airbase and Erbil airport, in obvious retaliation against an American drone strike a few days earlier that killed General Qasse...Read More

Gold dramatically surged to major new secular highs this past week, fueled by stunning geopolitical news. The US assassinated Iran's top general, so Iran fired ballistic missiles at military bases in Iraq used by the US. That naturally ramped gold bullishness, spawning all kinds of predictions for much-higher prices. But geopolitically-driven gold spikes never last long, and the gold buy...Read More

- Gary TanashianOnce again I have to disclaim that at the moment (and for quite some time now) I hold not one single short position, in anything. I am only long US and global stocks. But also managing cash and portfolio balance as usual while feeling as though I'm playing a game of Musical Chairs while the music still plays (nothing nearly as good as Keith's style, which has always resonated w...Read More