Calls are tremendously popular today, but have been for a whileThe shares of L Brands Inc (NYSE:LB) are up 4.3% to trade at $24.60 this morning, after CNBC reported the retailer was in talks with private equity firm Sycamore Partners about selling its Victoria's Secret brand. Although the specifics of the deal are unclear at the moment, an announcementcould come as soon as this week. L Brands s...Read More

QSR shares have moved past resistance from the 50-dayRestaurant Brands International (NYSE:QSR) is one stock on the rise this morning, thanks toa well-received earnings report. The company posted a top- and bottom-line beat, thanks mostly to strong chicken sandwich sales from Popeyes. The firm's CEO Joe Cil also told investors that the company plans to "invest behind our leadership in the fast-gro...Read More

Coronavirus concerns remain the top focus for investorsIt's shaping up to be a slow start to the trading day for U.S. stocks, with Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) futures trading below fair value this morning. Coronavirus fears continue to linger, hitting global markets overnight, and pressuring futures on the S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX), as well. With earnings season slowing...Read More

Now is a good time to hedge stock positions after volatility decreased sharply "More volatility could be ahead, with the VIX closing the week (and the month) above the 18 area .... VIX technical pattern that stands out to me at present is similar to the early May through first half of July 2019 action - seen in the chart immediately below, in which a trendline connecting lower highs (similar to Au...Read More

Rick Ackerman, Rick's Picks Could it possibly get any better? Trump has shrugged off impeachment and taken a well-earned victory lap, the Democrats are headed for a landslide loss in November, and the U.S. consumer economy is hitting on all twelve cylinders, powered by shop-till-you-drop exuberance that has made even the ongoing, trillion dollar writedown of shopping malls a relatively nigg...Read More

StrengthsThe best performing metal this week was palladium, up 1.44 percent as Jeffrey Currie, head of global commodities research at Goldman Sachs, commented he sees the potential for palladium to test $3,000. With Friday's gain, gold saw a third straight day of positive momentum as concerns of economic fallout surrounding coronavirus outweighed stronger-than-expected U.S. job gains. Holdings i...Read More

By: David HaggithThe best time to size up the collapse in housing that I called almost two years ago will be when it is over so we can visualize its full extent. Since it is now over by some measures, though not by others, this might be as good as we get for awhile as a moment when we can pause to take a broad scan of the full extent of our damages to date. However, as you'll see below, we'...Read More

Richard (Rick) Mills, Ahead of the herdThe Trump administration has just granted its Commerce Department sweeping powers to slap tariffs on countries it decides are manipulating their currencies to the detriment of the United States and its exporting companies. For some this will come as news; at AOTH, it is confirmation that our earlier warning, reported here, has come true. In our article '...Read More

Rick Ackerman, Rick's Picks Could it possibly get any better? Trump has shrugged off impeachment and taken a well-earned victory lap, the Democrats are headed for a landslide loss in November, and the U.S. consumer economy is hitting on all twelve cylinders, powered by shop-till-you-drop exuberance that has made even the ongoing, trillion dollar writedown of shopping malls a relatively nigg...Read More

Shredder feed price adjustments in the United States were erratic in the week to Monday February 10, with individual shredders moving their scale buying prices based on their specific needs as they questioned where ferrous scrap prices are likely to head in March. The US scrap market was extremely disjointed in February, with prices holding up better in the Midwest than on the East Coast and in th...Read More

Cobalt prices have continued their steady upswing over the past week, with consumers keeping an eye on spot market trends with a view to restocking in the coming weeks, and sellers happy to hold on to material until then.Fastmarkets' price assessment for cobalt, standard-grade, in-whs Rotterdam, was $16.70-17.20 per lb, in-warehouse on Monday February 10, unchanged day on day but up from $16.50-16...Read More

European producers of hot-rolled coil have been reluctant to give discounts over the past week despite the bearish sentiment among buyers, sources told Fastmarkets on Monday February 10.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, ex-works Northern Europe, was ?,?473.75 ($518.44) per tonne on Monday, up by ?,?2.08 per tonne from ?,?471.67 per tonne on February 7.Buyers estimated "work...Read More

The high-carbon ferro-chrome market price in Europe increased in week ending February 7, with some producers reporting consumers were readily accepting higher offer prices, Fastmarkets was told.Fastmarkets' ferro-chrome high carbon 6-8.5% C, basis 60-70% Cr, max 1.5% Si, delivered Europe price assessment widened by 3-4 cents per lb to $0.85-0.96 per lb on Friday February 7."Sellers are trying to p...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Monday February 10 that are worth another look.The United States Department of Commerce on February 10 issued affirmative final determinations in its anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations into imports of carbon and alloy steel threaded rod from China and India.LME Week Asia 2020 could be in doubt due to the coronavirus out...Read More

Nickel producers in Indonesia continue to operate at full capacity amid China's ongoing Wuhan coronavirus pandemic, but concerns that logistical delays will exacerbate the already poor projections for material demand in 2020 loom large, participants say.Indonesia-based nickel producers including Chinese stainless steel giant Tsingshan and domestic producer PT Antam have confirmed to Fastmarkets th...Read More

The London Metal Exchange three-month lead price closed at its lowest level since May 2019 on Monday February 10, dipping below the key $1,800-per-tonne support level, while nickel futures struggled to breach resistance against thin trading volumes. Lead's underlying price on the LME closed at $1,796 per tonne, with its price action slipping from an intraday high of $1,825 per tonne while turnover...Read More

Seaborne iron ore prices eased on Monday February 10 amid the de-escalation of Tropical Cyclone Damien which hit Western Australia at the end of last week.Fastmarkets iron ore indices62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $82.88 per tonne, down $0.71 per tonne.62% Fe Pilbara Blend fines, cfr Qingdao: $82.21 per tonne, down $0.71 per tonne.62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $84.07 per tonne, down $0.95 per...Read More

Seaborne coking coal prices were unchanged on Monday February 10, with the market having a quiet start after the weekend following last week's activity that saw over 650,000 tonnes of spot cargoes changing hands.Fastmarkets indicesPremium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $151.58 per tonne, unchangedPremium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $160.61 per tonne, unchangedHard coking coal, fob DBCT: $127.01 p...Read More

The London Metal Exchange three-month lead price closed at its lowest level since May 2019 on Monday February 10, dipping below the key $1,800-per-tonne support level, while nickel futures struggled to breach resistance against thin trading volumes. Lead's underlying price on the LME closed at $1,796 per tonne, with its price action slipping from an intraday high of $1,825 per tonne while turnover...Read More

The ferro-chrome price in China has jumped in the week to Friday February 7 after road travel restrictions imposed by the authorities to control the spread of the novel coronavirus led to problems with raw material supply and deliveries of alloy to stainless steel mills.Fastmarkets' price assessment for ferro-chrome, spot 6-8% C, basis 50% Cr, ddp China, was 5,900-6,100 yuan ($844-872) per tonne o...Read More