RAPAPORT... UK-based synthetic-diamond-jewelry retailer Lark & Berryhas hired Paul Ziff as its brand manager for North America. Ziff was previously a brand president at both Richemont andLVMH, and has held executive positions at Ralph Lauren Watch and Jewelry,Zenith Watches, and Ferragamo Timepieces. He will be responsible for helping tolaunch Lark & Berry's products in the North Amer...Read More

Two veteran members of Alrosa's Executive Committee will be leaving Alrosa: Deputy CEO Yury Okoemov and Alexander Matveev, the head of Alrosa's legal department. The miner also announced two new appointments. Sergey Imangulov was appointed the company's chief ore enrichment specialist, and Alla Popova will take up the position of director of Alrosa's personnel training center....Read More

The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) is offering $2 million in scholarships for aspiring or current gem and jewelry professionals interested in GIA gemology, jewelry manufacturing arts, distance education courses and lab classes in 2020. The scholarships are available for on-campus and distance education programs and are open to U.S. and international prospective students. Applications will...Read More

RAPAPORT... Sarine Technologies expects to report a loss for the second quarter, ascontinued market uncertainties led to lower demand for its diamond-manufacturing equipment. The net loss will be approximately $1 million, the companycautioned earlier this month, compared with a profit of $4.1 million for the same periodlast year. Sarine also predicted revenue of approximately $11.5 million, a...Read More

RAPAPORT... Two companies dealing in pre-owned luxury jewelry and watches have merged, aiming to tap into what they claim is a $1 trillion market. Circa and Mondiamo will continue to operate under two separate names and logos, but will combine their resources, they said Monday."We are miners - we mine above ground," said OrenSchneider, CEO of Mondiamo parent company Adama Partners, which will...Read More

The US nickel briquette premium narrowed in the week to Tuesday July 30 with the material no longer being offered or traded at lower premium levels, while the nickel premium markets in China and Europe were quiet on a lack of import incentive and summer slowdowns respectively. US briquette premium narrows with business concluded at higher levels despite seasonal lull  Chinese premiums flat wh...Read More

Sales at Brazilian steelmaker Companhia Sider??rgica Nacional (CSN) dropped by 12.1% in the second quarter from a year earlier because of weakness in markets both at home and abroad, it said.Its sales volumes totaled 1.16 million tonnes in April-June, down from 1.32 million tonnes in the second quarter of last year, it said in its earnings report on Tuesday July 30. The faltering Brazilian economy...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Wednesday July 31 that are worth another look.A fundamental industry that has always been a primary facilitator of global trade, shipping aims to be at the forefront of digital technology. This report explores initiatives at the Dutch Port of Rotterdam - Europe's largest port by cargo tonnage - and how those connect with global tra...Read More

A summary of London Metal Exchange warrant premiums from across the globe for the week to Wednesday July 31.Please click...Read More

Premiums for tin ingot in the United States edged lower this week, primarily due to a lack of fundamental support in the domestic market, while a declining London Metal Exchange tin price further exacerbated business conditions, but did little to budge European and Asian premiums. US premium falls for the first time in six weeks  Warrant availability stifles European physical market  As...Read More

Asian equities were weaker in the morning of Wednesday July 31 on uncertainty on the progress in US/China trade negotiations, although base metals, which have focused more on brighter Chinese manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) data, rose by an average of 0.4%. China's manufacturing PMI increased to 49.7 in July, from 49.4 in June. It is a busy day ahead for other economic data whi...Read More

A summary of Nornickel's production results for the first half of 2019In brief Nornickel increased production across all base metals, particularly copper, and platinum-group metals in the first half of 2019. Refined nickel output fell 4% in the second quarter of 2019 from the first quarter to 54,000 tonnes, which reflects scheduled maintenance at the...Read More

Swiss private equity firm Parter Capital Group AG has completed the purchase of Alcoa's Avil?(C)s and La Coru??a aluminium plants in Spain, the producer said on Wednesday July 31. The acquisition is effective immediately and includes the casthouses at both plants and the paste plant at La Coru??a, which are currently in operation, as well as the curtailed smelters at both plants. Both companies&nb...Read More

U.S. equity index futures moved higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 6 points in pre-opening trade.Investors are waiting for an update on monetary policy by the Federal Reserve to be released at 2:00 PM EDT. Consensus is that the Fed Fund rate will drop by 0.25% to 2.25%.Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of the July ADP Private Employment report. Consensus was an...Read More

Latin American steel group Ternium expects to reduce slab production and sales to third parties from its Brazilian operations in the third quarter of this year versus the second quarter due to a "difficult situation" in the seaborne slab market, M??ximo Vedoya, the company's chief executive officer, said on Wednesday July 31.Sales of slab to third parties are expected to be 300,000 tonnes low...Read More

Brazilian steelmaker Companhia Sider??rgica Nacional (CSN) called for the industry to push forward on price increases in the domestic steel market, given the international uptrend and higher cost inflation."The steel industry needs to be intelligent in the current business environment to take advantage from more expensive imports and ease the pressure from costlier iron ore," CSN commercial direct...Read More

Turkey imported 515,677 tonnes of flat steel in June 2019, down by 11.29% from the corresponding month in 2018, when 581,315 tonnes arrived in the country, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK) said on Wednesday July 31.The country's total flat steel imports in January-June 2019 came to 3.55 million tonnes, 11.67% less than the 4.02 million tonnes imported in the first half of 2018, due to the...Read More

Latin American steel group Ternium expects steel product prices in North America to increase in the third quarter of 2019, following price rises announced by mills in the United States."Prices [in the US] have recently bottomed out and we believe they will continue to rise," chief executive officer M??ximo Vedoya said on Wednesday July 31.The price rises in the US were also expected to boost the a...Read More

India's Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) has denied carrying out investigations that could result in safeguard duties being imposed on steel product imports into the country."There are no [safeguard] investigations being considered from our end [against steel imports]," a senior official from DGTR has told Fastmarkets.DGRT is part of India's ministry of commerce and industry, and is...Read More

Export billet prices from Iran continued to increase in the last week of July amid lively trading of September-rolling volumes.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel billet, export, fob ports Iran, was $390-395 per tonne on Wednesday July 31, against $385-395 per tonne a week earlier.Several cargoes have been reported sold to customers in the Middle East, Africa and Southeast Asia within t...Read More