By: David HaggithHaving predicted last year that a recession would begin in the summer of 2019 and that it would likely start with a major repo crisis, I am now proven wrong by 2019's fourth-quarter GDP. If the repo crisis that started in the final week of summer had actually been the start of a recession, we would have seen fourth-quarter GDP go negative. Instead, it came in at 2.1% growth.I fi...Read More
Jordan Roy-Byrne CMT, MFTALast week we noted that the risks in precious metals were primarily technical. Sentiment and technicals urge caution over the short-term. The net speculative position in Gold has remained high for months while the 21-day daily sentiment index (DSI) hit 81%. Since the sector peak five months ago, Silver and the gold stocks have corrected in price while Gold has made a...Read More
RAPAPORT... Danish jeweler Pandora expects revenue to fall 3% to 6% in 2020 following a drop in consumer sentiment in China."The performance in the Chinese market is not satisfactory, and continued to deteriorate in [the fourth quarter]," the company noted. "Traffic into physical stores declined by double-digit rates, only partly offset by increased traffic online."The forecast does not take...Read More
RAPAPORT... Revenue from watches and jewelry at Swatch Group fell 3% to CHF 7.97 billion ($8.19 billion) last year, reflecting weakness in Hong Kong and the negative impact of the strong Swiss franc.The consortium, which owns watch brands Omega and Tissot and luxury jeweler Harry Winston, saw a sales slowdown in Hong Kong during the second half of 2019 amid social unrest in the municipality,...Read More
RAPAPORT... Revenue and profit at Titan Company rose in the third fiscal quarter, driven by strong sales during the Diwali festival and wedding season in India.Consolidated sales - including subsidiaries - increased 10% year on year to INR 65.5 billion ($919.9 million) in the three months ending December 31, while profit climbed 15% to INR 4.74 billion ($66.6 million), the Indian jeweler said...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) will offer $2 million in scholarship funds to aspiring students in 2020, it said Tuesday.Students interested in gemology and jewelry-manufacturing arts programs, distance-education courses and lab classes can apply for funding. The scholarships cover classes at the GIA's campuses in Bangkok, Carlsbad, Hong Kong, London, Mumbai, New York a...Read More
(IDEX Online) - For Valentine's Day, Domino's Australia is giving one lucky pizza lover the chance to win a one-of-a-kind diamond "en-crust-ed" engagement ring valued at over AU$9,000 ($6,000). The ring in question features an 18-karat yellow and white gold base topped with diamond "cheese' and 'pepperoni' rubies. The ring has over 1 carat of diamonds. For a chan...Read More
RAPAPORT... Tiffany & Co. is the jewelry brand women are most likely to buy for themselves, MVI Marketing found in a survey.Some 35% of female consumers would spend their money on products from the luxury-jewelry brand, while 22% would buy Pandora, 18% would pick Swarovski and 17% would go for Gucci. Other brands mentioned in the survey included Cartier, Rolex, Alex and Ani, and Tory Burch.Nea...Read More
(IDEX Online) Alrosa has moved its March auctions for rough and polished diamonds from Hong Kong to other trading centers. The decision comes amid the ongoing spread of the coronavirus in the region.An auction for special size rough diamonds will take place in Moscow from March 2-18. The Israeli trading center of Ramat Gan will host a polished diamond auction although the dates have yet to be fina...Read More
Dominion Diamond Mines ULC has appointed Patrick Merrin as its interim CEO. Merrin, COO - Mining of The Washing Companies, takes over from Shane Durgin who has left Dominion. "Having Patrick step in as interim CEO, in addition to his recently announced role as COO - Mining for The Washington Companies, will provide for a seamless transition in leadership and continued strong oversight m...Read More
Artemis all set thanks to unique approachSPONSOREDartemis resourcesThe updated mineral resource estimate (MRE) puts the combined Kamoa-Kakula project at 423 million tonnes grading 4.68% copper, at a 3% cut off. At a 1% cut off, the resource figure jumps to 1.Read More
Cardinal heading down familiar gold roadSPONSOREDcardinal resourcesOn one island is the big but abandoned Panguna copper and gold mine closed prematurely by an arm of Rio Tinto in 1989.Read More
Artemis all set thanks to unique approachSPONSOREDartemis resourcesGlencore announced it had appointed former China Molybdenum International CEO Kalidas Madhavpeddi as an independent non-executive director, with chairman Tony Hayward saying the company looking forward to benefitting from his experience and insights, which included substantial business dealings in the DRC.The company maintained its...Read More
A broad base of markets are rebounding after China's move to boost liquidity and stabilize the market convinced many investors that the measures being taken will help cushion the economic impact of the Wuhan coronavirus (2019-nCoV). Given that it is still early days in terms of discerning the medium-term impact of the Wuhan coronavirus will have on the China and, indeed, the global economy, the ri...Read More
U.S. equity index futures were higher this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 28 points in pre-opening trade.Index futures were virtually unchanged following release of economic news. Consensus for January ADP employment was 158,000 versus 202,000 in December. Actual was 291,000. Consensus for December U.S. Trade Deficit was $48.00 billion versus $43.10 billion in November. Actual was $48.9 bill...Read More
Ivanhoe Mines (TSX: IVN; US-OTC: IVPAF) has updated the resource estimate for its massive Kamoa-Kakula project in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).Kamoa-Kakula - among the world's largest copper deposits - contains 1.4 billion indicated tonnes grading 2.74% copper for 83.7 billion lb. copper and another 339 million inferred tonnes grading 1.68% copper for 12.5 billion lb. copper at a 1% cut-...Read More
The Canadian Mining Hall of Fame welcomed four extraordinary individuals during the thirty-second annual induction ceremony in January at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. Industry giants Jerry Asp, Alex Balogh, Hans Lundberg and Eberhard Scherkus were celebrated for their exemplary careers and key contributions to the mining industry.Master of ceremonies Anthony Vaccaro, group publisher of The...Read More
Cardinal heading down familiar gold roadSPONSOREDcardinal resourcesSarama right in the middle of big exploration, corporate build-upSPONSOREDsarama resources Exore excels in Cote d'IvoireSPONSOREDexore resourcesCase study: platform financeSPONSOREDminexiaWell it's done. For better or for worse, we have cut the ties, severed the apron strings, waved a fond farewell and ventured out into the dar...Read More
BHP's (NYSE: BHP; LON: BHP) Escondida copper mine in Chile, the world's largest, will stop drawing fresh water from the Atacama salt flat, using instead desalinated water brought from its coastal plants.The miner's decision comes as the country is stepping up protections for a natural resource that has been depleted after decades of mining activity in and around the Atacama desert, the driest plac...Read More
Fundraising for mining and metals investment slowed dramatically in 2019, falling to an eight-year low, according to a new report by private capital tracker Preqin.Only four unlisted funds closed last year, raising a combined US$300 million for investing in the mining sector. That's down from US$2.5 billion in 2018 and nowhere near the peak of 2012, when eight funds procured a combined US$4.2 bill...Read More