- Clint SiegnerFirst, a bank's commodities trading department takes metals investors for a ride like unwitting victims in the back of Jeffrey Epstein's "Lolita Express."Now federal prosecutors have extended the same sort of cozy non-prosecution agreement to shield the bank itself from a criminal indictment.Federal prosecutors signed a non-prosecution agreement in June with Merrill Lynch Comm...Read More

StrengthsThe best performing metal this week was platinum, up 2.24 percent on hedge funds cutting short positions and flipped the futures composite to a net long. Gold traders and analysts in the weekly Bloomberg survey are split between a bullish and a neutral outlook on the yellow metal ahead of the Fed's meeting next week. Gold gained on Thursday after the European Central Bank (ECB) signaled...Read More

Keith Weiner, Monetary MetalsWe have spilled many electrons on the topic of capital consumption. Still, this is a very abstract topic and we think many people still struggle to picture what it means. Thus, the inspiration for this week's essay.Enterprise Car ServiceSuppose a young man, Early Enterprise, inherits a car from his grandfather. Early decides to drive for Uber to earn a living. Being...Read More

By: Gary Savagehttp://blog.smartmoneytrackerpremium.com/Read More

For silver to enter into a new bull market, certain signs and indicators on the charts need to take place. Steve St. Angelo explains...by Steve St Angelo of SRSrocco ReportAfter waiting for seven years since the silver price traded above $30, precious metals investors are wondering if 2019 will be the year that shiny metal finally enters into a new bull market. However, for silver to enter into...Read More

RAPAPORT... Robyn Hawk, who authored a number of blogs on the jewelryindustry, passed away on July 16 at the age of 63 following a stroke.  Dubbing herself a "serial blogger," Hawk, who graduated fromthe Gemological Institute of America (GIA) in 2009 with a degree in gemology,diamonds, colored stones and pearls, wrote for the Tucson Gem Show and postedarticles on the jewelry industry in...Read More

RAPAPORT... The war on conflict diamonds will remain at a standstilluntil the industry can agree on what constitutes systemic violence, accordingto World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) president Ernie Blom. The lack of agreement on the matter is preventing Africanproducing nations from accepting a broadened definition of conflict stones, asthey fear it might fuel unfair treatment agains...Read More

RAPAPORT... Alex and Ani has filed a $1.1 billion lawsuit against Bankof America, claiming its gender bias and greed have driven the jewelry company toward bankruptcy. Last year, the bank declared the company had defaulted on its revolvingloan, even though it was meeting all the terms of its line-of-credit agreement,Alex and Ani alleged in the suit, filed in a New York district court July 25....Read More

RAPAPORT... The Dubai Diamond Exchange (DDE) will soon unveil its renovated center for rough and polished diamond tenders, the bourse reported Saturday."The DDE is currently under renovation," the exchange said. "Once complete, it will be one of the biggest tender floors in the world with 40 tables, fully secured with cameras and specialist lighting for buyers to examine diamonds and precious...Read More

RAPAPORT... Firestone Diamonds saw a decline in sales during its fiscal fourth quarter due to a drop in demand for small, lower-value diamonds that make up the bulk of its supply.The company reported sales of $12.7 million for the three months that ended June 30, representing a decline of 32% from the previous year. Sales for the fiscal year fell 9% to $56.9 million, according to Rapaport rec...Read More

Avraham Eshed, a veteran Israeli diamond manufacturer, was named an Israel Diamond Industry Dignitary for the year 2019. The biennial Israel Diamond Industry Dignitary Awards aim to recognize and honor those men and women who have advanced and promoted Israel's diamond industry, at home and abroad. Eshed, who is both a manufacturer of large diamonds and high-value colored gemstones, follows i...Read More

The Angolan government hopes that the return of licenses to more than 200 companies and semi-industrial diamond mining cooperatives in seven provinces of Angola will allow for the creation of at least 20,000 jobs, Andr?? (C) Buta , the national director of Mineral Resources said.Buta, who spoke at the end of the delivery of 31 of the 81 licenses for semi-industrial exploration planned for Lunda No...Read More

The Jewelers Board of Trade (JBT) said in ia recent report that in the second quarter of the year, 185 jewelry businesses had ceased operations, constituting a 21 percent drop compared to the second quarter of 2018. Among those 185 closures, 135 were retailers and 36 wholesalers and 14 jewelry manufacturers.  In general, the rate of companies closing is slowing down. JBT noted that at the end...Read More

Jewelry designers and manufacturers Alex and Ani LLC is suing Bank of America Corp. for more than $1 billion in damages and alleging discrimination. The female-led company argues that the bank fraudulently declared it in default of a $50 million line of credit last year and that it consequently is driving the jewelry firm toward bankruptcy. Bloomberg noted that this development is a "stark turnar...Read More

Quality emerges at Galan's blue-chip lithium addressSPONSOREDgalan lithiumGEM analysed 194 mine development projects undertaken between 1994 and 2014 and found coal projects had the biggest overruns at 32% followed by gold at 31% and copper at 28%. In addition to cost overruns, the study found development time also overran by an average of eight months."These are associated to a mix of variabl...Read More

Joint venture partner and operator Newcrest Mining reported results from 2,800m of drilling, which extended Greatland's HAD006 from 838m to 1,216m and added two new holes, HAD010 and HAD011 had intersected high-grade mineralisation at depth.Highlights included 12m at 3.1g/t gold and 0.08% copper from 1,071m, and 52m at 7g/t gold and 0.17% copper from 1,122m, including 17m at 21g/t and 0.39% f...Read More

Look beyond market approach to project valuations: van ZylLeadershipThickened tailings deposition for closureSPONSOREDsrk consultingAustralian Vanadium targets growing energy-storage and steel marketsSPONSOREDaustralian vanadiumSaturn's high-grade discovery gives Apollo Hill a rocketSPONSOREDsaturn metalsMetal Tiger has agreed to invest A$500,000 for 15% of Cobre, and a further $2 million as p...Read More

With economic growth still deteriorating - the United States’ second quarter gross domestic product (GDP) came in at 2.1%, compared with 3.1% in the first quarter - the markets have little to cheer about this morning, Monday July 29.Economic headwinds, geopolitical tension in the Middle East and in Hong Kong, combined with some record equity levels make for an unstable market platform. A like...Read More

U.S. equity index futures were mixed this morning. S&P 500 futures were up 1 point in pre-opening trade. Mylan jumped $3.37to $21.80 after the company announced a deal to merge with Pfizer's Upjohn division.Cooper Tire (CTB $30.47) is expected to open lower after lower than consensus second quarter revenues and earnings. The company also lowered guidance. Goldman Sachs is expected to open high...Read More

PRIVATE BLOG - Gold is it Time? For What Exactly?Private blog posts are exclusively available to Socrates subscribers. To sign-up for Socrates or to learn more, please visit Ask-Socrates.com.https://ask-socrates.com/Read More