Some of today's questions:Billy Buehler: If both UBI and negative interest rates get implemented, will every month be a race to empty my checking account? Or work up the amount of debt beforehand and then pay it all off on payday?Martin Stevens: Gold has been holding at $1700 for a while now - when is it going to make its next upward push?Banhuevos 1: What are the pros and cons to negative rates f...Read More
Millennials face the worst comeback odds of any generation, already hammered by 2008's Great Recession, and now dealing with an economic slowdown akin to the Great Depression. Continue...Read More
That answer from Quarles effectively means that the Fed plans to keep its corporate bond buying program alive for at least half a decade. Here's how we know that.Continue...Read More
Pity them because they have spent their entire lives in a state of emergency.They were born in the wake of the 9/11 attacks; raised without any expectation of privacy in a technologically-drivenContinue...Read More
A top pulmonologist in the Netherlands says that thousands of Dutch residents who have recovered from COVID-19 may be left with permanent lung damage, resulting in decreased lung capacity and difficulty absorbing oxygen.Continue...Read More
Gold is embarking on a broad-based, decade-long bull market, and it's not a matter of if prices hit all-time highs but when it hits all-time highs, said one of the authors behind the annual 'In Gold We Trust' report.In an interview with Kitco News, Ronald-Peter Stoeferle, fund manager at Incrementum AG, said that a new monetary policy regime of low interest rates and high inflation is expected to...Read More
Bernard Baruch was one of the wealthiest speculators in American history. He started with nothing and worked his way up to becoming a war effort hero and a Continue...Read More
The price of shredded ferrous scrap imported into India in containers moved up on Friday May 29, on growing interest from mills returning to the market for the first time since the Covid-19 lockdown, sources told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets calculated the steel scrap, shredded, index, import, cfr Nhava Sheva, India, at $275.21 per tonne on Friday, up from $266.67 per tonne a week earlier. Many market...Read More
Slab export prices in Brazil increased in the week to Friday May 29, with multiple deals and negotiations taking place in Asia.Fastmarkets assessed the price for steel slab export, fob main port Brazil at $345-355 per tonne on Friday, up by $5-10 from $335-350 per tonne the previous week.Demand for Brazilian slab has increased in Asia, with one deal concluded for 40,000 tonnes to China and another...Read More
Prices in Southeast Asia's steel billet market tumbled over the past week due to weaker demand from Chinese importers, sources said. Market participants attributed the reduction in Chinese demand to the weaker-than-expected economic stimulus announced at the country's recent annual parliamentary meeting, while adverse weather conditions are weighing on domestic rebar demand in eastern China, a maj...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices continued to rise slightly on Friday May 29, following the strength in the iron ore market. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,530-3,560 yuan ($493-498) per tonne, up by 20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing) - weekly assessment: 3,600-3,630 yuan per tonne, up by 30-50 yuan per tonneFastmarkets' calculation for the index of iron ore 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao was...Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in Asia, Europe and the United States for the session ending Friday May 29.China UG2 chrome ore prices rose for a fourth consecutive week - deals at higher prices were reported, reflecting attempts to restock among ferro-chrome producers with low on-hand inventories. Domestic spot ferro-chrome prices stabilized - sentiment further strengthened after Taiyuan Iro...Read More
Key data from the pricing sessions in Asia, Europe and the United States for the session ending Friday May 29.China Domestic prices continued to rise, propelled higher by supply tightness. Market sentiment also improved after many steel mills set their June tender prices for ferro-silicon at 5,900-6,000 yuan ($824-838) per tonne for cargoes...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.US demand shrinksDemand projections call for a continued retreat in US electric-resistance welded (ERW) line pipe and oil country tubular goods (OCTG) consumption as drill rigs and the number of wells drilled per rig are cut. Project demand in the large-diameter line pipe market is also shrinking with deferred or canceled pro...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.US demand shrinksDemand projections call for a continued retreat in US electric-resistance welded (ERW) line pipe and oil country tubular goods (OCTG) consumption as drill rigs and the number of wells drilled per rig are cut. Project demand in the large-diameter line pipe market is also shrinking with deferred or canceled pro...Read More
Brazilian crude steel production dropped by 39% year on year in April, according to figures released by national steel association A??o Brasil early this week.Output totaled 1.81 million tonnes, down from 2.97 million tonnes in April 2019.At least a dozen blast furnaces in the country are currently halted due to weak demand amid the Covid-19 pandemic.Finished steel output reached 1.23 million tonn...Read More
Fastmarkets is proposing to amend the specifications of cobalt hydroxide prices in order to reference a threshold for maximum iron content.Following an initial discussion with market participants, Fastmarkets is proposing to tighten the chemical specifications of the cobalt hydroxide payable indicator, min 30% Co, cif China, % payable of Fastmarkets' standard-grade cobalt price (low end) and the c...Read More
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.US demand shrinksDemand projections call for a continued retreat in US electric-resistance welded (ERW) line pipe and oil country tubular goods (OCTG) consumption as drill rigs and the number of wells drilled per rig are cut. Project demand in the large-diameter line pipe market is also shrinking with deferred or canceled pro...Read More
After a consultation period, Fastmarkets has amended the specifications of its price assessments for battery-grade lithium carbonate and hydroxide to better reflect emerging norms in battery-grade chemistry.The changes will take effect on June 1, 2020.The amendments to the specifications of the price of the lithium carbonate 99.5% Li2CO3 min, battery grade, spot price range exw domestic China, yua...Read More
Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe went down day on day on Friday May 29 due to poor demand.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was ?,?400.71 ($442.31) per tonne on Friday, down by ?,?6.17 per tonne day on day from ?,?406.88 per tonne ex-works on Thursday.Friday's index was calculated based on deals and "workable" prices heard at ?,?39...Read More