NEW YORK (Reuters) - Illinois, the U.S. state with the lowest credit rating on Wall Street, has often been chastised for using gimmicks to balance its budget.Take, for instance, its overly optimistic assumptions about savings, such as a voluntary pension benefit buyout that retirement systems have yet to actually start.For fiscal 2019, which began July 1, Illinois is counting on an additional $150...Read More

JOHANNESBURG - South Africa's Competition Tribunal on Wednesday approved Sibanye-Stillwater's takeover of troubled platinum producer Lonmin but imposed a six-month moratorium on job cuts.South Africa's Sibanye has proposed to buy Lonmin for about 285 million pounds ($365 million) to create the world's No. 2 platinum producer in a bid to ride out depressed prices for the metal.(By Tanisha Heiberg;...Read More

Whenever we see markets tanking as they have been for the past few days, we think counterparty risk may be spooking traders and investors...Read full newsRead More

Companies are carrying a $9 trillion debt load, posing a potential threat should rates continue to rise and the economy weaken.Most Wall Street bond experts think the issue is contained for the next 12 to 18 months, though one says the market's "angst" is "not misplaced."A principal worry is over companies teetering between investment grade and junk that could cause market trouble should their sta...Read More

(Kitco News) - Kitco aficionados, it is now time to have your say in where you think gold prices are heading in the short-term. Will gold prices go higher, lower or remain unchanged next week? Kitco readers will have until 9 a.m. EDT, Friday to cast their vote. The results will be tabulated and released after noon (12 PM EDT) along with the results from our market professional survey.Readers can...Read More

(Kitco News) - Kitco aficionados, it is now time to have your say in where you think gold prices are heading in the short-term. Will gold prices go higher, lower or remain unchanged next week? Kitco readers will have until 9 a.m. EDT, Friday to cast their vote. The results will be tabulated and released after noon (12 PM EDT) along with the results from our market professional survey.Readers can...Read More

A bounce in tech and energy stocks is offsetting lackluster economic dataThe Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) is paring a portion of its massive Thanksgiving week losses in today's low-volume session, boosted by a big bounce in tech and energy stocks. The S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) are up, as well, with oil prices also stabilizing. At last check, January-dated crude is 1.6%...Read More

(Reuters) - Apple Inc’s biggest iPhone assembler Foxconn aims to cut 20 billion yuan ($2.88 billion) from expenses in 2019 as the company faces “a very difficult and competitive year”, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, citing an internal memo.The Taiwan-based producer said in a statement it was conducting a regular annual review to budget effectively for 2019, but it was also the...Read More

Mark Zuckerberg said he won't step down as chairmanFacebook, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) shares are up 3.4% to trade at $136.94 this morning, after CEO Mark Zuckerberg said he will not step down as chairman amidst the latest string of scandals. FB stock is still staring at its worst month since July, however, down more than 10% so far in November. In fact, shares of the FAANG stock touched their lowest point...Read More

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices rose more than 1 percent on Wednesday, recovering from the lowest levels in months, after U.S. government data showed strong demand for gasoline and diesel, but gains were limited by concern over rising global crude supply.Brent crude LCOc1 futures rose 51 cents to $63.04 a barrel by 11:12 a.m. EST (1612 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 futures ga...Read More

Debswana Diamond Company today announced that Managing Director Mr Balisi Bonyongo will retire from the business with effect from 30 November 2018, following 26 years of dedicated service to the organisation.The Shareholders of Debswana have appointed Mr Albert Milton, currently General Manager of Jwaneng Mine, to take over as the company's Managing Director with effect from 1 December 2018. The S...Read More

Debswana Diamond Company today announced that Managing Director Mr Balisi Bonyongo will retire from the business with effect from 30 November 2018, following 26 years of dedicated service to the organisation.The Shareholders of Debswana have appointed Mr Albert Milton, currently General Manager of Jwaneng Mine, to take over as the company's Managing Director with effect from 1 December 2018. The S...Read More

BRUSSELS/LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Theresa May met the EU’s chief executive in Brussels on Wednesday to discuss a blueprint for Britain’s future ties, hoping to secure commitments that will appease rebels at home opposed to a Brexit draft treaty.With just over four months before Britain leaves the bloc, May’s meeting with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker...Read More

GENEVA (Reuters) - The United States and China clashed on Wednesday at a World Trade Organization meeting with a U.S. envoy accusing Beijing of using the WTO to pursue “non-market” policies and a Chinese official saying it was Washington that was flouting the rulebook.U.S. President Donald Trump has outraged U.S. trading partners by erecting a tariff wall against imports of steel and a...Read More

(Reuters) - U.S. borrowers filed the fewest applications for home refinancing in almost 18 years last week even as mortgage rates drifted lower in step with U.S. bond yields, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Wednesday.The Washington-based industry group said its seasonally adjusted index on refinancing activity fell 5.0 percent to 783.7 in the week ended Nov. 16. This was the weakest readi...Read More

A simple way to stop picking losers, and start cashing in like Wall Street's elite.Most traders would never believe that 9 out of 10 trades could be winners.But while it may sound impossible, thanks to a research breakthrough, it may not be as far-fetched as many think.JPMorgan's trading desk produced a 99.52% win rate from 2013 through 2017. That includes 2 straight years without a losing day....Read More

In his Tuesday Discovery Watch broadcast, John Kaiser sees trouble ahead for pot stocks while a seasonal buying opportunity is opening up for junior mining stocks.Click for larger (image source GT Gold)Kaiser points out that in September and October, the non-resource listings on the Venture Exchange were trading between $100 million to $200 million a day while the resource juniors were only tradi...Read More

The numbers: The U.S. economy remains on a growth path, according to an index that measures the nation's economic health, though the country's expansion is likely to moderate. The leading economic index rose 0.1% in October after 0.6% and 0.5% gains in the prior two months, the Conference Board said Wednesday. Economists polled by FactSet had forecast a 0.1% rise. The LEI is a weighted gauge of 1...Read More

(Reuters) - U.S. farmers finishing their harvests are facing a big problem - where to put the mountain of grain they cannot sell to Chinese buyers.For Louisiana farmer Richard Fontenot and his neighbors, the solution was a costly one: Let the crops rot.Fontenot plowed under 1,000 of his 1,700 soybean acres this fall, chopping plants into the dirt instead of harvesting more than $300,000 worth of b...Read More

Gold is off to a stable start to the week.Speculators turn more bearish, the CFTC shows.ETF investors become more bullish, according to Fastmarkets.The vagaries of the dollar will play a key role in gold's monetary demand.The December FOMC meeting could mark a dollar peak and an acceleration in the gold rally. Verus, Oxue ? 1/4 ?? 1/2 '? 1/2 " Moises Miranda Lopez (Saatchi Art) Introduction Welcom...Read More