Martin Armstrong is a world renown economist and the creator of the Economic Confidence Model. He is the founder of Armstrong Economics - a public service and blog for the average person to comprehend the global economy and for professionals to access the most sophisticated international analysis possible. Read More

Part 1 (part 2 below)Part 2There is free information and analysis on Kevin Shipp's website called ForTheLoveOfFreedom.net. You can also buy a copy of Shipp's book called "From the Company of Shadows." Read More

Last week we wrote that near-term risk in precious metals (Gold and GDX especially) was rising and a correction could begin soon. Continue...Read More

Turkey's military pension fund, OYAK, has reached a provisional agreement to buy steelmaker British Steel, OYAK said on Friday August 16. OYAK is the biggest shareholder of Turkey's largest steel producer, Erdemir Group, and this agreement is a step toward in its goal to become a regional leader in steel sector, OYAK said. British Steel entered into compulsory liquidation in May 2019 and rece...Read More

The Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) will impose a quota for hot-rolled flat steel imports to members of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) for one year starting from December 1, 2019.The EEU countries are Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. The total quota for the EEU bloc will be 1.33 million tonnes, the EEC announced last week.Volumes exceeding the quota will be a subject to a...Read More

Domestic prices for hollow steel sections remained unchanged across Europe this week, with trading largely on hold during the traditional summer break, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday August 14.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel sections (medium), domestic, delivered Northern Europe, stayed at ?,?615-630 ($688-705) per tonne on Wednesday.During August, many workers take...Read More

Prices in most of the global markets for steel billet went unchanged in the week ended Friday August 16, partly because of a lull for an Islamic holiday, while weak demand for billet in China reduced the prices for the semi-finished material in that region.Most market participants in the Middle East and North Africa, as well as in Southeast Asia, were out of the market for several days for the Eid...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Friday August 16 that are worth another look.An oversupply that has been branded the leading cause of the persistent price weakness seen in China's vanadium market during the first half of 2019 will likely continue to act as a headwind for the rest of the year, market sources told Fastmarkets.Chinese domestic battery-grade lithium...Read More

The dream of building a new world-class copper-gold mine in Pakistan in an area bordering Afghanistan and Iran has been dashed, for now at least. The saga of Tethyan Copper Co's (TCC) efforts to develop the Reko Diq mine found resolution last week with an International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) ruling in favor of TCC following a dispute that has rumbled on for years.TCC,...Read More

The London Metal Exchange has just finished its trial to calculate nickel prices using a volume weighted average price (VWAP) method on the exchange's electronic trading platform. If early indications are anything to go by, metals market participants did not embrace this method of price discovery in the way some had anticipated. For three months since Monday March 18, closing prices for nickel car...Read More

The United States Secretary of Commerce has joined the growing chorus of voices questioning the current method of setting the US Midwest aluminium premium. Wilbur Ross said the US Midwest aluminium premium is at inflated levels that do not justify the cost of transportation and logistical handling costs that it was originally designed to reflect.  His view is being echoed by a number of...Read More

Gold ended lower on Friday, distancing itself from the more-than six-year high it settled at a day earlier, but the metal's investment haven appeal contributed to a third weekly climb in a row. "Drivers for gold have included global growth in negative interest rate bonds, the decline in real interest rates in the U.S., [and] uncertainty regarding U.S./China trade policy and political unrest in Hon...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Friday August 16 that are worth another look.An oversupply that has been branded the leading cause of the persistent price weakness seen in China's vanadium market during the first half of 2019 will likely continue to act as a headwind for the rest of the year, market sources told Fastmarkets.Chinese domestic battery-grade lithium...Read More

RAPAPORT... Revenue at Gem Diamonds fell in the first half of the yearamid weakness in the market. Sales of rough diamonds from the Let??engmine in Lesotho plunged 44% to $94.5 million by value, and dropped10% to 55,714 carats by volume, the miner reported last week. The average price declined to $1,697 percarat, compared with $2,742 per carat in the same period a year ago. Total sales w...Read More

RAPAPORT... A 10.64-carat pink diamond ring worth up to $25.5 millionwill go under the hammer at Sotheby's Hong Kong sale. The fancy-vivid-purplish-pink center stone is internallyflawless, the auction house told Rapaport News Friday. Sotheby's willoffer the piece, which is flanked by white diamonds, at its Magnificent Jewelsand Jadeite sale on October 7. The ring has a presale estimate of HKD...Read More

RAPAPORT... De Beers will allow more rejections than usual at thisweek's sight, aiming to ease pressure on the market without reducing prices. Customers will be free to refuse 50% of available goods amid a slump in rough demand, a broker told RapaportNews on condition of anonymity. The company will also buy back up to 20% ofsightholders' purchases, compared with the standard 10%, he added. Unlike...Read More

RAPAPORT... Albert Milton, managing director of De Beers'Botswana joint venture, has died, the company said Friday. Milton passed away early Friday morning after becomingunwell Thursday night in Johannesburg, where he was admitted to the hospital. "De Beers is shocked and saddened by the sudden death ofAlbert Milton," the miner said. "We extend our deepest condolences to Albert'sfamily, rela...Read More

RAPAPORT... Tiffany & Co. has launched its first comprehensive collection of men'sjewelry, breaking away from its traditional style by offering a more modern alternative. The move is part of the retailer's plan to attract a wideraudience and appeal to millennial consumers. While in the past Tiffany hasoffered a range of men's products, including money clips, cuff links and rings,the new c...Read More

The Gulf Times published an interesting news item, reporting on how couples chose their engagement rings. Here is an excerpt. The full article can be read here.  "When Megan Shoemaker's boyfriend proposed to her in February 2017, he knew better than to purchase a classic engagement ring dominated by a glittering white diamond. Instead, he selected a grey marquise-cut sometimes calle...Read More

A group of Venezuelans that moved to the US to "start a new life" are suing a $30 million cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme that allegedly backed its coins with real diamonds. Last month, a group of Venezuelans submitted a lawsuit claiming they were fraudulently promised massive returns on investments into the supposed diamond-backed cryptocurrency, Argyle Coin, Law360 reports. The perpetrators, Jose An...Read More