A short squeeze could propel CRSP higherTwo pharma names are scaling the Nasdaq this morning, thanks to favorable rulings from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). First up is CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP), up 9.1% to trade at $40.52, after the FDA granted fast-track designation for CTX001 -- atreatment of transfusion-dependent beta thalassemia, a blood disorder -- made by CRISPR and V...Read More

Ahead of the Herd has been digging into why central banks are buying a lot of gold recently. What we've found is eyebrow-raising, to say the least. It may be the best reason you've ever read for wanting to buy gold.Take this headline from the Northern Miner: "Editorial: Central banks are major gold buyers in 2019". Citing statistics from the World Gold Council, the Northern Miner reports that cent...Read More

Ahead of the Herd has been digging into why central banks are buying a lot of gold recently. What we've found is eyebrow-raising, to say the least. It may be the best reason you've ever read for wanting to buy gold.Take this headline from the Northern Miner: "Editorial: Central banks are major gold buyers in 2019". Citing statistics from the World Gold Council, the Northern Miner reports that cent...Read More

The stock is trading near the top of the Dow this morningUnitedHealth Group Inc (NYSE:UNH) stock is near the top of the Dow this morning, after the largest U.S. health insurer reported stronger-than-expected adjusted first-quarter profit of $3.73 per share and revenue of $60.31 billion. UNH also boosted its full-year profit forecast, thanks to higher prescription volumes atits pharmacy benefits bu...Read More

Final data for the Phase 1 study is being poorly received The shares of WAVE Life Sciences Ltd (NASDAQ:WVE) are near the bottom of the Nasdaq today, after the biotech released data for its Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) treatment, suvodirsen. Safety and tolerability data for the Phase 1 study appeared worse than rival Sarepta Therapeutics' (SRPT) DMD drug, eteplirsen. As a result, WVE stock is...Read More

The Spring Meeting of the World Bank and the IMF, during which the latter organization released its fresh World Economic Outlook, has just ended. What are the takeaways for the gold market? Stagnation or Acceleration after the Slowdown? In Thursday’s Gold News Monitor, we pointed out that the IMF significantly cut outlook for the Eurozone’s economic growth this year from 1.6 to 1.3 per...Read More

Cisco Systems stock has been hot in 2019Tech firm Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) is slightly higher in early trading, last seen up 0.5% at $56.81. Goldman Sachs removed the stock from its Americas Conviction but left its "buy" rating in place, expecting more upside thanks to the company's Cat 9k product cycle. Goldman also raised its fiscal year 2020 revenue forecast by 1.5%, and hiked its pric...Read More

It's not quite yet pistols at dawn, but Rio Tinto's polite warning to mining lobby groups that they have to acknowledge the threat of climate change is likely a sign that the industry will inevitably fracture into two camps.These factions could be described as the "green" miners, who produce the minerals essential for the transition from the age of oil to the age of electricity, and the "dirty" mi...Read More

It's not quite yet pistols at dawn, but Rio Tinto's polite warning to mining lobby groups that they have to acknowledge the threat of climate change is likely a sign that the industry will inevitably fracture into two camps.These factions could be described as the "green" miners, who produce the minerals essential for the transition from the age of oil to the age of electricity, and the "dirty" mi...Read More

UNH and JNJ stocks are creating tailwinds todayDow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) futures are trading above fair value, thanks to positive earnings reactions for blue chips UnitedHealth (UNH) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ). Dovish comments from Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren could also be creating tailwinds, with the central banker saying last night, "It's appropriate for interest rates to be pa...Read More

A railway that carries zinc from major producers such as Glencore across Australia's Outback is expected to reopen this month, Queensland's transport minister said on Tuesday."Every resource has been made available to accelerate recovery works," Mark Bailey said in a statement. "Queensland Rail expects to reopen the full length of the 1,000-km Mount Isa line from Monday, April 29," he said.The 1,0...Read More

Takeover target Lynas Corp Ltd on Tuesday reported a 32.5 percent rise in production of rare earths oxides during the quarter, as it fends off a takeover offer from retails-to-chemicals conglomerate Wesfarmers Ltd .Output of rare earths oxides (REO) in the quarter ending March 31 was 5,444 tonnes, compared with 4,110 tonnes produced last year.Production of NdPr, or neodymium-praseodymium, rose 19....Read More

Shares in silver producer Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) fell on Tuesday after it became public that a judge in the US state of Montana overturned the water permit approval for the company's proposed Rock Creek mine.The licence would have allowed Hecla to pump groundwater to supply the proposed copper and silver mine in the Cabinet Mountain Wilderness, an area of glaciated peaks and valleys that take thei...Read More

Shares in silver producer Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) fell on Tuesday after it became public that a judge in the US state of Montana overturned the water permit approval for the company's proposed Rock Creek mine.The licence would have allowed Hecla to pump groundwater to supply the proposed copper and silver mine in the Cabinet Mountain Wilderness, an area of glaciated peaks and valleys that take thei...Read More

Shares in silver producer Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) fell on Tuesday after it became public that a judge in the US state of Montana overturned the water permit approval for the company's proposed Rock Creek mine.The licence would have allowed Hecla to pump groundwater to supply the proposed copper and silver mine in the Cabinet Mountain Wilderness, an area of glaciated peaks and valleys that take thei...Read More

Gold prices could move higher later this year on the back of Fed dovishness on interest rates, purchases from central banks and lingering global uncertainties, said Martin Huxley, global head of precious metals at financial services firm INTL FCStone.Huxley told CNBC that gold could "grind higher" in the second half of the year and possibly reach $1,400 an ounce.A key factor boosting gold is the U...Read More

Nearly 100,000 call options are in open interest at the IWM April 158 strikeIt was a flattish performance last week for the iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSEARCA:IWM), which tracks the small-cap Russell 2000 Index (RUT), as caution about the pace of global economic growth put a damper on buying interest for the sector. But April so far has been fairly bullish for IWM, as evidenced by its month-to-dat...Read More

A report recently published by Future Market Insights predicts that the mining flotation chemicals market will reach $10 billion by 2020.Mining flotation chemicals help a certain desired mineral float out from the rock surface during the ore beneficiation process. Given that different minerals have different surface flotation characteristics, there is a variety of corresponding chemicals that prom...Read More

During a trade mission to Sierra Leone that involved a group of 29 international diamantaires and jewelers, Martin Rapaport, Chairman of the Rapaport Group, presented a proposal to the government of Sierra Leone that he believes would optimize the country's diamond industry.In a media statement, Rapaport said the proposal includes a systematic and sustainable business model that "will optimize the...Read More

During a trade mission to Sierra Leone that involved a group of 29 international diamantaires and jewelers, Martin Rapaport, Chairman of the Rapaport Group, presented a proposal to the government of Sierra Leone that he believes would optimize the country's diamond industry.In a media statement, Rapaport said the proposal includes a systematic and sustainable business model that "will optimize the...Read More