(Kitco News) - Holdings of gold by global exchange-traded funds have risen to a multi-year high, even if the price of the metal has gone the other way lately.Comex April gold was trading at $1,310 an ounce as of 8:30 a.m. EDT. The metal closed at $1,325 last Wednesday, before three straight days of large ETF inflows.Analysts suggested the price dip has encouraged buying of gold ETFs, as has nervou...Read More

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain will consider any suggestions to give the body in charge of upholding data privacy laws more powers, Prime Minister Theresa May’s spokesman said on Tuesday, responding to concerns about whether Facebook had adequately protected users’ data.“If proposals are put forward for further powers, we can consider them as the bill passes through parliament,&rdquo...Read More

Facebook remains under pressure, and Oracle is sinking post-earningsDow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) futures are trading above fair value as the Fed prepares to begin its March meeting later in the day. While a policy decision won't be unveiled until tomorrow, Wall Street is fully expecting Jerome Powell's first meeting as Fed chair to result in an increase in interest rates. The S&P 500 Index (...Read More

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Glencore is buying Rio Tinto’s Hail Creek coal mine and the Valeria coal project in Australia for $1.7 billion, tightening the Swiss trading and mining giant’s grip on coal as its rivals exit the industry.The acquisition, announced by both companies on Tuesday, follows Glencore’s purchase of half of Rio Tinto’s Hunter Valley coal operations, also in Austr...Read More

(Reuters) - British privacy regulators are seeking a warrant to search the offices of the political consultancy Cambridge Analytica late Monday following reports that the company may have improperly gained access to data on 50 million Facebook users, according to a Channel 4 television report.The move came as U.S. and European lawmakers demanded an explanation of how the consulting firm, which wor...Read More

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Mark Kingon was appointed acting head of South Africa’s tax office on Tuesday, hours after President Cyril Ramaphosa suspended his predecessor and days before a Moody’s review that could see the country lose its last investment-grade credit rating.The move was seen as a signal of intent to ratings agencies and investors that had lost faith in Africa’s mos...Read More

Bankers Cobalt Corp. (TSXV: BANC) recently released results on their first 12 drill holes, revealing some high-grade copper along with some cobalt. Peter Bell dives in deeper as to what this means as it could turn out to be very exciting news.Below is an excerpt and a link to the article.What a success story.It's sure been possible to make major progress quickly in DRC in recent years. The threa...Read More

The pharma stock could be at risk for additional downgradesShares of drugmaker Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ:CELG) have seriously struggled since October's record high above $147, last month breaching the $100 level -- a round-number mark that provided support throughout 2015 and 2016. Then, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rejected its multiple sclerosis drug, sending the stock spiraling to b...Read More

TOKYO (Reuters) - The Bank of Japan’s two new deputy governors pledged on Tuesday to meet the central bank’s 2 percent inflation target as soon as possible, but both showed signs of willing to be flexible on monetary policy.Masazumi Wakatabe, an academic known as vocal advocate of aggressive monetary stimulus, said it is possible that he will update his knowledge and decisions on polic...Read More

LONDON (Reuters) - Global equities trod water on Tuesday ahead of a U.S. Federal Reserve policy meeting, while investors reassessed their views of tech stocks following a slump in Facebook’s shares after reports of data misuse.The MSCI world equity index .MIWD00000PUS, which tracks shares in 47 countries, was flat in percentage terms by 0901 GMT, while the pan-European STOXX 600 equity index...Read More

LONDON (Reuters) - British inflation was weaker than expected in February as the impact of the 2016 Brexit vote faded, easing some of the squeeze on households’ spending power but doing little to change bets on a Bank of England rate rise in May.Official data showed consumer prices rose by an annual 2.7 percent last month, the weakest increase since July of last year and down from a rise of...Read More

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil rose on Tuesday to its highest level so far this month, lifted by tension in the Middle East and the possibility of further falls in Venezuelan output.Brent futures LCOc1 were up 70 cents at $66.75 a barrel by 1027 GMT, after hitting $66.79, the highest level since late February. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were up 45 cents at $62.51 a barrel.&ldquo...Read More

BERLIN (Reuters) - The mood among German investors deteriorated in March, a survey showed on Tuesday, reflecting growing uncertainty about the damage Europe’s largest economy could suffer if U.S. import tariffs escalated into a bitter trade conflict.U.S. President Donald Trump has announced import tariffs of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminium, which take effect on Friday. That h...Read More

LUSAKA (Reuters) - Zambia expects to produce more than one million tonnes of copper this year after revising its 2017 copper production upwards on the back of stable power supply, a senior ministry of mines official said on Tuesday.Rising copper prices were also expected to boost revenue collection in Africa’s No.2 producer of the metal, which ranks exports of the metal as its biggest export...Read More

SEOUL (Reuters) - Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said steel tariffs will be discussed at the upcoming Group of 7 summit in June, South Korea's presidential office said on Tuesday after Trudeau had a phone call with South Korean President Moon Jae-in.Trudeau was cited as saying Canada had been granted a temporary waiver on U.S. steel import tariffs and does not believe trade issues involvin...Read More

Editor's Note: Welcome to Kitco's new Bitcoin Daily Technical Alert. Every trading day veteran Kitco technical analyst Jim Wyckoff will provide you with a concise and easy-to-understand near-term technical brief on Bitcoin. Importantly, Jim will glean the short-term charts and technical studies, and then alert you to the signals he sees regarding upcoming potential bigger price moves or price tren...Read More

Editor's Note: Welcome to Kitco's new Bitcoin Daily Technical Alert. Every trading day veteran Kitco technical analyst Jim Wyckoff will provide you with a concise and easy-to-understand near-term technical brief on Bitcoin. Importantly, Jim will glean the short-term charts and technical studies, and then alert you to the signals he sees regarding upcoming potential bigger price moves or price tren...Read More

(Kitco News) - Gold prices aremoderately lower in early U.S. trading Tuesday, pressured by a firmer U.S.dollar index and some technical selling. As has been the case for quite sometime, the daily machinations of the USDX are impacting the daily pricemovements in gold and silver. April Comex gold futures were last down $6.60 anounce at $1,311.20. May Comex silver was last down $0.075 at $16.25 an o...Read More

On Monday, the equity marketswere under heavy pressure early, as was the dollar. And where were the metals?They were only slightly higher. Metals continue to be asleep with no energy. WithMonday's fear in equities and a weak dollar, gold could only muster a smallrally. With equities down almost 500 points and the euro currency up big andgold on support, the rally was disappointing.With equities lo...Read More

On Monday, the equity markets were under heavy pressure early, as was the dollar. And where were the metals? They were only slightly higher. Metals continue to be asleep with no energy. With Monday's fear in equities and a weak dollar, gold could only muster a small rally. With equities down almost 500 points and the euro currency up big and gold on support, the rally was disappointing. With equit...Read More