In the latest update to the Rick's Picks home page, I've revised an interest rate forecast for the 30-year bond to better sit down for this 0.73%. This is an implied recession/depression away from the current 1.60%, so you may want to jot the new number down. I got a wake-up call on this from my friend Doug Behnfield, whose name will be familiar to anyone who has followed Rick's Picks for...Read More
By: Ira EpsteinFed hasn't done anything like this since 2008. The 50 basis point cut was 100% priced in this month by the market. So the Fed used some of its bullets and now..Read More
Reduction in interest rate differential (after the Federal reserve interest rate cut of 0.50%) has resulted in US dollar index falling and gold/silver prices rising. Copper and crude oil are firm on hopes that negative economic impact will be short lived. All monetary measures will be useless in the very short term by central banks if the corona virus infects more and more people worldwide. Last...Read More
Demand for flat steel products in Turkey improved in February because end-user stock levels were low, market participants told Fastmarkets on Wednesday March 4.Sources added that local producers have now filled their order books until late April.Local demand was moderate in Turkey in February because buyers placed orders only to replenish their stocks. The market was now uncertain about the direct...Read More
Turkey's flat steel import volumes increased by 45.65% year on year in January 2020, according to the latest statistics from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK).The country imported 724,601 tonnes of flat steel in January 2020, compared with 497,487 tonnes in January 2019.Demand for flat steel in Turkey was better in January 2020 compared with December 2019, with producers in Turkey full...Read More
Turkey's flat steel export volumes fell by 6.77% year-on-year in January, according to the latest data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK).The main reason for the decrease was the safeguard measures and quotas in Europe.The European Commission (EC) set preliminary safeguard measures on imports of 23 steel products on July 18, 2018.And the EC...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday March 4 that are worth another look.Brazilian mining company Vale has decided to halt operations indefinitely at its Fazend??o iron ore mine in the south-eastern state of Minas Gerais, after an expansion permit was revoked in February by the local environmental development council.Market participants avoided sending aluminium fro...Read More
Domestic prices for heavy steel plate in Europe have inched down over the past week due to poor demand, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday March 4.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel domestic plate, 8-40mm, exw Northern Europe, was ?,?510-525 ($568-585) per tonne ex-works on March 4, down by ?,?5 per tonne week on week from ?,?515-530 per tonne on February 26.The assessment was based...Read More
The three-month tin price on the London Metal Exchange topped the base-metals complex at the close of trading on Wednesday March 4, climbing by just over 1.4% to close at its highest level since January 23, but zinc futures failed to gather support over the afternoon.Tin's outright price on the LME closed at $16,925 per tonne, while the metal reached an intraday high of $17,160 per tonne but faile...Read More
Keith Weiner, Monetary MetalsMost people assume that the central bank prints money when it buys bonds. They further assume that this increase in the quantity of money causes an increase in the general price level. And, this leads them to assume that the value of the money is 1 / P (P is the general price level). Therefore, when the central bank prints money to buy bonds, it is diluting th...Read More
By: David HaggithThe Federal Reserve on Tuesday gave the market a double-dose of exactly what it thought the market needed, and the market just about died! On the theory that, if a little is good, more is better, the Fed gave a double cut of interest. It did not go as planned.At first, the medicine hit like nitroglycerin tablets, and the patient's heart leaped. You can see how instantly the pati...Read More
Oops, the coronavirus expanded into a bubble of illness and deaths. Like all bubbles, financial or otherwise, this one will expand, burst, collapse and cause collateral damage. When will the "everything" bubble collapse? When will the coronavirus be contained? How much damage will these bubbles inflict upon the economy, people and personal savings? We don't know. Stay tuned.BUBBLES IN THE PAST...Read More
Avi GilburtEarly Tuesday morning, I put out an update to our members that noted that the 3135 region as the top of our resistance region, which can point us lower once struck.Now, we all know that the "surprise" rate cut by the Fed should have been viewed as a positive to the market. In fact, most expected the Fed to act soon, and were certain how this would send the market soaring again.Howeve...Read More
In the latest update to the Rick's Picks home page, I've revised an interest rate forecast for the 30-year bond to better sit down for this 0.73%. This is an implied recession/depression away from the current 1.60%, so you may want to jot the new number down. I got a wake-up call on this from my friend Doug Behnfield, whose name will be familiar to anyone who has followed Rick's Picks for...Read More
Steve St. Angelo, SRSrocco Report The Fed injected a record amount of liquidity this morning via its Repo Market Operation to supply dealers in the interbank market. While investors may be reassured by the huge 1293 point rally on the Dow yesterday, the global contagion and its impact are just beginning. Don't be surprised to see a 40-50% correction in the Dow Jones over the next month. I'...Read More
By: Ira EpsteinFed hasn't done anything like this since 2008. The 50 basis point cut was 100% priced in this month by the market. So the Fed used some of its bullets and now..Read More
Reduction in interest rate differential (after the Federal reserve interest rate cut of 0.50%) has resulted in US dollar index falling and gold/silver prices rising. Copper and crude oil are firm on hopes that negative economic impact will be short lived. All monetary measures will be useless in the very short term by central banks if the corona virus infects more and more people worldwide. Last...Read More
Domestic prices for cold-rolled coil in Northern Europe have inched down under pressure from competitive import offers, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday March 4.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel CRC, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was ?,?535-560 ($596-624) per tonne on March 4, down by ?,?10 per tonne week on week from ?,?545-570 per tonne. The assessment reflected deals and achi...Read More
Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday March 4 that are worth another look.Brazilian mining company Vale has decided to halt operations indefinitely at its Fazend??o iron ore mine in the south-eastern state of Minas Gerais, after an expansion permit was revoked in February by the local environmental development council.Market participants avoided sending aluminium fro...Read More
The novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) is set to accelerate what the trade wars started: the diversification of global supply chains. Both events have demonstrated just how interconnected the global economy is and have provided a wake-up call to businesses worldwide that it might be time to reduce their reliance on China as the workshop of the world. Of course, that's easier said than done. China is th...Read More