China Communications Construction Co (CCCC) plans to build a steel rolling mill by 2023 in Marab??, a city in the Brazilian northern state of Par??, through its local subsidiary Concremat, the company said on Thursday May 23.Iron ore producer Vale will be involved as well, ensuring collateral for the project funding, the miner stated. The unit will need around 1.5 billion Reais ($371 million) in c...Read More

CIS billet producers further increased their export offers on Thursday May 23, still buoyed by last week's halving of import taxes on Turkish steel by US president Donald Trump.The US import tax on Turkish steel products is now in line with products from most other countries at 25%, and the US move improved market sentiment generally and resulted in higher scrap prices.CIS...Read More

May 24th, 2019(S14-E697)Featured GuestsProfessor Laurence Kotlikoff &Professor Alexander KosovichevPlease Listen Here Interview RecapStanford University professor, Alexander Kosovichev makes his show debut with an overview of his unique solar research.Using NASA space craft readings of our nearest star, the Sun, our guest adjusted the acoustic waves.The debate continues over the true nature o...Read More

By: David Haggith...when the stock market's decade-long bottom trend becomes its new top trend and then it can't even make it back up to that line as a top trend.We're sloughing away now, and it can be a long slide to the bottom or endless side-winding of big ups and downs that go nowhere, just as the market has now gone nowhere for fifteen months.Yes, if you bought in January, 2018, (when I...Read More

By: SRSrocco As the markets sold off on Thursday, gold, and silver were few of the only assets that remained in the green for the entire day. Thus, the notion that the precious metals will crash with the markets continues to be proven wrong. And what an ugly day it was as the Dow Jones fell 450 points at its low, while the Dollar, oil, and shale stocks were clobbered. Of course, there was...Read More

Missing InflationDebt RubiconVelocity FallingThe Complex Debt and Currency Dance"Too High and Getting Wider"They Shall Not Grow OldModern technology was supposed to make travel less necessary. We can meet by phone, video, and now in virtual reality. But we're still traveling more than ever. I certainly am.The reason is simple: Technology can't yet replace face-to-face conversation, and especiall...Read More

The United States' reduction of tariffs on Turkish steel imports to 25% from 50% last week will only partially reopen the US market to Turkish mills, who should avoid raising prices if they are to successfully regain a share in that market, several sources told Fastmarkets this week. The US has lowered its tariffs on steel imports from Turkey to 25% effective Friday May 17. Duties had been at...Read More

Global steel billet markets continued to improve during the week ended Friday May 24 following the United States' removal of additional import duties against Turkey.Mills in Turkey fully returned to the scrap markets and paid higher prices after the United States removed the additional duties, which means that Turkey is once more on a level playing field with other prospective exporters to the US,...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Friday May 24 that are worth another look.The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange climbed by more than 4% at the close of trading on Friday May 24, soaring beyond $12,300 per tonne amid a slight softening of the dollar index and while investors sought to cover shorts ahead of the next week's bank holiday...Read More

South32's decision to review the future of its manganese alloy assets comes as little surprise to fellow manganese alloy producers because they are likely to be considering similar options. The review, which could result in the divestment of the assets, reflects a wider predicament affecting alloy producers struggling with historically high ore prices and a subdued market for their own product. So...Read More

The London Metal Exchange has decided on a dispute over when the load-in, load-out (LILO) rule should have been activated, ruling in favor of warehouse company Istim. People familiar with the situation said that the warehousing firm had been found to have acted vigorously and without delay in its dealings with Glencore at its warehouses in Port Klang, Malaysia, following large cancellations of alu...Read More

The temporary truce on tariffs between China and the United States could be over, injecting a new round of uncertainty into the global financial markets and suspending hopes that a resolution to the countries' trade impasse was likely.US President Donald Trump has threatened to raise the tariff on $200 billion-worth of Chinese imports to 25% from 10% by Friday May 10. He also said that the US may...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Friday May 24 that are worth another look.The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange climbed by more than 4% at the close of trading on Friday May 24, soaring beyond $12,300 per tonne amid a slight softening of the dollar index and while investors sought to cover shorts ahead of the next week's bank holiday...Read More

The mid-tier gold miners' stocks in the sweet spot for price-appreciation potential have been struggling in recent months, grinding lower with gold. Their strong early-year momentum has been sapped by recent stock-market euphoria. But gold-mining stocks are more important than ever for prudently diversifying portfolios. The mid-tiers' recently-reported Q1'19 results reveal their fundamentals remai...Read More

Gold miner Kirkland Lake Gold (TSX:KL)(NYSE:KL) has been a on tear, reporting robust results since I first wrote about the miner in May 2017 and gaining a whopping 338% over that period, making it one of the best-performing gold stocks.Strong first-quarter resultsThe latest results from the miner indicate there are further gains ahead for patient investors, despite gold softening in recent weeks....Read More

Wheaton Precious Metals (TSX:WPM)(NYSE:WPM) is an interesting pick for investors seeking a precious metals investment with plenty of growth prospects but little of the risk associated with traditional miners. Here’s what makes Wheaton unique among miners and why this is the precious metals company that should be in your portfolio.Wheaton’s advantage in volatile precious metalsOne of th...Read More

On May 17, investors breathed a collective sigh of relief, as U.S. and Canadian officials announced a tentative agreement on steel tariffs. The deal, in which the U.S. agreed to lift $1.27 billion worth of tariffs on Canadian goods, was hailed as a victory by the Trudeau government, whose officials referred to it as a “win win for everyone involved.” Many Canadian steel workers remain...Read More

The mid-tier gold miners' stocks in the sweet spot for price-appreciation potential have been struggling in recent months, grinding lower with gold. Their strong early-year momentum has been sapped by recent stock-market euphoria. But gold-mining stocks are more important than ever for prudently diversifying portfolios. The mid-tiers' recently-reported Q1'19 results reveal their fundamentals remai...Read More

The housing market continues show contracting sales volume. April existing home sales fell 0.4% (SAAR - Seasonally Adjusted Annualized Rate) from March and 4.4% from last April. Existing home sales have dropped year-over-year 14 months in a row. This is the worst run since the housing crisis.Obviously from a seasonal standpoint, if the market were healthy, home sales should be increasing month-to-...Read More

The U.S. Department of Energy has begun working with major American companies in an effort to make offshore wind power a lot cheaper.The DOE recently allocated up to $8 million to four projects that aim to "develop more efficient, smaller, and lighter-weight generators."The department says new designs could make the next generation of offshore wind turbines 50% smaller and lighter. And that could...Read More