China's domestic rebar prices were flat on Tuesday May 12 with most market participants taking a wait-and-see approach.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,480-3,510 yuan ($491-495) per tonne, unchangedMonday's price drop after last week's increases led many market participants to suspend trading to wait for further cues to emerge.The lower trading activity kept spot prices steady despite a streng...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday May 12 that are worth another look.Workers at ArcelorMittal Spain are preparing a series of token strikes in response to the company's decision to apply a new plan for temporary layoffs (known as ERTE), sources told Fastmarkets on May 12.Troubled oil trader ZenRock owes at least $615 million to banks, suppliers and customers, it sa...Read More
Mining company Rio Tinto is maintaining an eye on the potential for merger and acquisition opportunities as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and plans to stay "patient but not complacent," its chief executive officer said. J-S Jacques told the Bank of America 2020 Global Metals, Mining and Steel Conference that metals market outlooks were currently clouded due to changing supply-demand pictures a...Read More
By Craig HemkeThe announcement last week that the Bank of Nova Scotia is exiting the precious metals business is just another curious development in the dark, secret world of international bullion banking.Over the past two months, much has been written about the current stresses in the Bullion Bank Fractional Reserve and Digital Derivative Pricing Scheme. Though the decision by Scotiabank to exi...Read More
Graceland Updates By Stewart Thomson 1. It's the soft demand season for gold (April-Sept), and that means upside and downside breakouts can become "wet noodle" affairs. 2. Bulls and bears who aren't prepared for this type of sideways price action may get frustrated. 3. Please click here now. Double-click to enlarge this short-term gold chart.4. My suggestion for invest...Read More
By Dave Kranzler"At the parabolic top of every financial bubble, thrilled investors lose their tether to reality, and as the price of the speculative instrument rallies ever higher, investors' expectations for additional price appreciation inflate ever more. Whether its Cisco Systems at a trillion-dollar market value, Qualcomm at $1000 a share, Oil at $200 a barrel, Bitcoin at a million dollar a...Read More
A Fresno, California waffle restaurant dared to open its doors for business this weekend to the delight of a long line of customers, who waited up to two hours for the "privilege" of willingly spending their money in a business happy to serve them breakfast on Mother's Day. This freedom of voluntary transaction is the core of what we used to call our free society. But in an America paralyzed by...Read More
Most domestic ferrous scrap prices in the Mexican steelmaking regions of Monterrey and Baj?-o increased week on week after reduced availability of material led some mills to accept higher offers in order to secure supply.Low scrap availability led one mill in Mexico's Bajio manufacturing hub to announce a price increase of around 100-200 pesos last week. Other scrap buyers avoided announcing...Read More
Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) steel slab exporters turned to the Chinese market for sales in mid-May because customers in this market accepted higher prices than any in other destinations, Fastmarkets heard.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel slab, export, fob Black Sea, CIS was $335-340 per tonne on May 12, up from $325-335 per tonne fob a week earlier.Over 100,000 tonnes of...Read More
Exporters of steel billet from the CIS have managed to secure deals at higher prices outside China, where trading activity has been concentrated recently.Fastmarkets' daily steel billet index, export, fob Black Sea, CIS, was $347 per tonne on Tuesday May 12, up by $2 from May 7.A 10,000-tonne cargo of Ukraine-origin billet was reported sold to Italy at $350 per tonne fob Black Sea.And...Read More
The import prices for steel billet and rebar in the United Arab Emirates increased slightly over the past week, while demand was weak because of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, as well as the Covid-19 pandemic, market sources said on Tuesday May 12.Market participants in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) believe demand is unlikely to improve before late May, when Ramadan will end. Local rebar...Read More
Brien Lundin, sector expert and publisher of the Gold Newsletter, offers his perspective on the monetary ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic in this conversation with Maurice Jackson of Proven and Probable. Maurice Jackson: Today we will discuss the 2020 financial crisis and investment opportunities for your portfolio. Joining us for a conversation is Brien Lundin, the president of Jefferson F...Read More
Technical analyst Clive Maund discusses why he is upbeat about Tanzanian Gold. Tanzanian Gold Corp. (TRX:NYSE; TNX:TSX) stock got clobbered by a big financing last December, and then it got beaten down further to a low in March when the entire market caved in, including gold stocks, so it has remained "under a cloud" since the financing, never really recovering with the sector in April, and it is...Read More
Gold Terra Resource Corp. reported results for 10 drill holes from Sam Otto South at its 100%-owned Yellowknife City Gold project. In a news release, Gold Terra Resource Corp. (YGT:TSX.V; TRXXF:OTC; TXO:FSE) announced drill results from 10 holes from Sam Otto South at its wholly owned Northwest Territories' Yellowknife City Gold project. The company advised that it has now released assay results...Read More
Nexus Gold will first focus on known areas of high-grade mineralization in the southernmost part of its claim block. Nexus Gold Corp. (NXS:TSX.V; NXXGF:OTCQB) announced in a news release it defined the targets for its impending diamond drill program at its McKenzie gold project in Ontario's Red Lake District. "We're eager to test and expand areas that have already shown high-grade mineralization...Read More
The Dow's losses accelerated at the closing bellIt was a dismal end to a wild trading day on Wall Street. After slowly leaking gains all day, the Dow's losses accelerated to its session lows --over 450 points -- at the closing bell. Investors weighed distressing comments from National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci, who warned of a second COVID-19 wave in...Read More
Disney stock has struggled amid social distancingIt was a week worth forgetting for blue-chip entertainment icon Walt Disney (DIS). For starters, the company's second-quarter earnings and revenue fell short of Wall Street's estimates. Brokerages piled on with a slew of bear notes, the sharpest coming from Bernstein, which lowered its price target to $96 from $100 while the analyst in coverage at E...Read More
The Nasdaq is working to scrape together a seventh straight daily gainThe Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) is modestly in the black midday, up around 50 points as markets oscillate between the positivity surrounding the tentative reopening and more negative economic data. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) is also hovering in the black,fighting to secure its seventh straight win. The S&P...Read More
PNC is selling its 22% stake in BlackRockThe shares of PNC Financial Services Group Inc (NYSE:PNC) are down 4% to trade at $98.86, following the firm's announcement that it's selling its 22% stake, worth roughly $17 billion, in BlackRock (BLK). The move earned an upgrade from Stephens to "overweight" from "equal weight," calling the exit a smart move, ahead of any major political changes next fall...Read More