Sector expert Michael Ballanger offers his take on various factors affecting the stock and commodities markets prior to today's Federal Open Market Committee meeting. Question #1: With unemployment rates at 50-year lows, inflation below the Federal Reserve's target, housing (bankers' major collateral) at or near record highs, and stock markets within 2% of all-time highs, why in the Lord's name i...Read More

The company intends to ramp up the mine to full capacity next quarter. Dundee Precious Metals Inc. (DPM:TSX) achieved commercial gold production at its Southern Bulgaria Krumovgrad project, from now on to be called Ada Tepe as it is known locally, it announced in a news release."Commercial production at Ada Tepe marks the beginning of a new chapter for Dundee Precious Metals, delivering significa...Read More

The goal now is to understand the entire project and its potential. Seabridge Gold Inc. (SEA:TSX; SA:NYSE.MKT) announced in a news release it is shifting its exploration focus at KSM this year to blind targets beneath the Sulphurets fault system. The company is sending crews to KSM for three purposes. One is to assess the possibility of additional gold-copper porphyry systems below the Sulphurets...Read More

This work is being done in advance of drilling later this summer. American Pacific Mining Corp. (USGD:CSE; USGDF:OTC) announced in a news release that a CSAMT geophysical survey has begun on its Tuscarora project in Nevada. Reno-based Zonge International is conducting the study."This nonintrusive, low-impact controlled source audiofrequency magnetotellurics survey will highlight key target explor...Read More

- Dave Kranzler"The latest University of Michigan consumer confidence report noted that its index tracking those who think it's a good time to buy a home has fallen by a hefty eight points in the past two months even as mortgage rates have dropped." - Danielle DiMartino Booth, "The Fed Can't Help Housing Or Autos At This Point"I'm not the only analyst who has concluded that lower rates likely w...Read More

Last week was a strong one for gold, which managed to eke out its fourth straight week of positive gains. The price of the yellow metal broke above $1,350 an ounce last Friday, while gold miners, as measured by the NYSE Arca Gold Miners Index, tested their 52-week high.Investors sought safe haven investments on a number of geopolitical risks, including protests in Hong Kong over the now-delayed...Read More

- Stefan GleasonUncle Sam is going broke. That's not exactly news - at least not to anyone who has been paying attention to the sorry state of federal finances.Yet to most Americans, the ballooning national debt ($22.3 trillion and counting) isn't a problem that impacts their daily lives. They won't directly perceive the cost of another trillion dollars in borrowing in the government's next fi...Read More

By Avi GilburtThe amount of discussion I am seeing on television, as well as in print, regarding what the Fed is going to do just amazes me. Are people this oblivious to the realities around them?I really have a hard time understanding this. So, maybe you good people can help me. The Fed was clearly going to continue raising rates this past winter. No one even questioned that. Well, almost no on...Read More

By: Robert LambourneThe statement of account for May 2019 of the Bank for International Settlements, published this week, indicates that the bank is still trading gold swaps, which the bank uses to gain access to gold held by commercial banks. But the statement indicates that bank's recent activity in the gold market is much reduced from its activity during the second half of 2018.There is not e...Read More

- Stewart Thomson, Graceland Updates 1. It's my firm belief that most Americans are living in a fantasy world where a superhero named President Trump is going to negotiate fabulous "America-first" trade deals with cowering governments around the world... and Americans will then magically relive the 1950s with massive GDP growth, even while QE to infinity becomes as American as apple p...Read More

By: Ira EpsteinGold in an overbought market challenging the high...Read More

Silver miners have been struggling with low prices, and falling ore grades aren't helping. Matt explains...by Matt from Silver Fortune via Silver FortuneSilver miners have been struggling with low prices, and falling ore grades aren't helping...Read More

RAPAPORT... Transparency is a growing goal for wholesalers, but there'sanother "T" word that may be even more important: trust. In an industry definedby long-abiding relationships, assurances of ethical sourcing depend heavily ona seller's reputation for integrity. Opening up Transparency is now a "definite trend," according to EricMor, president of New York-based wholesaler Abe Mor Diamond Cutter...Read More

RAPAPORT... Jewelry is one of three categories in the luxury sectorexpected to see solid growth in 2019, as domestic consumption in China and theUS increases, according to Bain & Company. Leather goods and handbags will also see sustained growththroughout the year, while watches will begin to show recovery in specificregions, including Europe. However, Hong Kong, the largest consumer mark...Read More

RAPAPORT... Royal Asscher has launched two new patented diamond cuts internationally,in honor of the brand's 165th anniversary, it said Monday. The Royal Asscher Oval and the Royal Asscher Cushion jointhe Netherlands-based jeweler's other two cuts, the Royal Asscher RoundBrilliant and the Royal Asscher, which has become a widely used generic diamondcut. Royal Asscher sells its diamond-jewelr...Read More

Shamiso Mtisi, the Zimbabwean lawyer who heads the Kimberley Process (KP) Civil Society Coalition (CSC), who addressed the Opening Session of the Kimberley Process Intersessional Meeting (KPI) in Mumbai, India, emphasized that the discussions on the broadening of the KP scope, meaning the broadening of the term 'conflict diamonds' to included human rights violations, should not raise anx...Read More

The International Colored Gemstone Association (ICA) GemLab Ltd will be taking part in the Gemmological Laboratories Zone at the June Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair, June 20 to 23, at the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre (HKCEC). Led by company director Omar Wahid Hatta and chief gemmologist Dietmar Schwarz, ICA GemLab will offer its Premium Report at the show, with the express ser...Read More

The Cultured Pearl Association of America (CPAA) announced the opening ff its 10th Annual International Pearl Design Competition (IPDC) today, complete with an exciting collaboration with a prominent retailer to showcase and sell winning designs. The contest is open today through October 4, 2019. The CPAA celebrates pearls of all varieties, so it encourages seasoned and award-winning artists and b...Read More

HRD Antwerp announced its expansion into the UK market with the opening of a new drop-off point in London's Hatton Garden,saying that it is to help combat the proliferation of lab-grown diamonds (LGDs). "The supply of laboratory grown diamonds is ever increasing. As a result, jewelers are unknowingly selling jewelry which features a mix of natural and lab-grown diamonds. HRD Antwerp is pleas...Read More

Sarine Technologies Ltd. has begun offering jewelry suppliers and retailers a "new, simple, automated and extremely cost-effective imaging and visualization service with interactive personalization functionality." The Israeli start-up Verto has developed an innovative imaging solution that generates high quality interactive video displays, derived automatically from but a handful of images capture...Read More