Investigators also pointed the finger at a pair of South Korean chipmakers, tooThe shares of Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) are down 2.2% to trade at $38.58, after the Financial Times reported Chinese investigators alleged "massive evidence" of antitrust violations against the U.S.-based chipmaker, as well as South Korea's Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. A Wall Street Journal report that Ap...Read More
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union’s Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said on Monday the draft Brexit deal reached with London was “fair and balanced”, as the bloc haggled with Britain over any extension to the envisaged transition period.Barnier told a news conference after briefing the 27 national EU ministers that they generally approved of the draft divorce agreement rea...Read More
HARARE - Zimbabwe will allow gold and platinum mining companies to retain up to 55% of their earnings in dollars, government and central bank officials said on Monday, as authorities in the southern African nation move to ensure operators remain viable.Mining accounts for more than two-thirds of Zimbabwe's export earnings but the sector has seen some companies close due to a dollar crunch that has...Read More
PORT MORESBY (Reuters) - The C in APEC stands for Cooperation. But when the two biggest members are fighting a trade war and using the forum to attack each other’s policies, it was always going to be hard work delivering on that.The weekend’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Port Moresby was one of open disagreement, led by disputes between the United States and China over t...Read More
(Reuters) - General Electric Co is bringing back former vice chairman John Rice to the conglomerate as chairman of its revamped gas power business, the company said on Monday.GE also named Scott Strazik chief executive officer of the business and Russell Stokes the CEO of the power portfolio unit.Strazik is currently the president of GE's power services business and Stokes the CEO the power busine...Read More
Overall, analyst expectations are quite different on IRWD versus MDGLDrug stocks Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRWD) and Madrigal Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:MDGL) have both been struggling on the charts in recent months, and Wall Street is reacting. That is, shares of IRWD and MDGL are dealing with bearish analyst notes this morning, which we'll discuss in more detail below.Starting with...Read More
Palladium,underpinned by demand from the auto sector, has hit a fresh record high of$1,179.40 an ounce for spot metal. “Pollution-limiting catalytic converter demand in China isboosting palladium consumption, drawing prices 9% higher this year,” says commoditiesbrokerage SP Angel. “The Asian nation is on a mission to reduce smog emissions,with tougher standards meaning car makers...Read More
The WSJ said Apple has cut iPhone production ordersFutures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) are lower ahead of the holiday-shortened week. Dragging the Dow down is FAANG heavyweight Apple (AAPL), under pressure after the Wall Street Journal reported the company has cut production for its new iPhone models. S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) futures are in the red as well,...Read More
LONDON (Reuters) - World shares struggled higher on Monday amid conflicting signals of a potential truce in the China-U.S. trade dispute, while the Federal Reserve’s new-found concerns over the global economy sapped the dollar.Asia had taken a while to warm up but finished strongly and Europe was heading for its first rise in four sessions as mining, tech and bank share gains helped offset a...Read More
Gold has underperformed many assets in recent months and years.This is not surprising as sentiment surrounding the yellow metal has been atrocious lately.However, some fundamental elements appear supportive of higher gold prices going forward.The Fed's tightening path appears limited, and as economic growth slows further, the Fed may need to cease tightening or reverse monetary policy all toge...Read More
Kirkland LakeGold Ltd. (TSX, NYSE: KL; ASX: KLA) announces that David Soares is the newchief financial officer and Eric Kallio is senior vice president for exploration.Both appointments are effective immediately. The company also lists a number ofinternal management changes. Soares has 15 years of finance and managementexperience, reflecting progressively senior leadership roles with multinational...Read More
(Kitco News) - Gold prices are slightly lower in quieter early U.S. trading Monday. Some backingand filling on the daily chart is seen following recent good gains. Decembergold futures were last down $0.90 an ounce at $1,222.10. December Comex silverwas last up $0.003 at $14.385 an ounce. Globalstock markets were mixed in subdued, pre-holiday trading overnight. U.S. stockindexes are slightly lo...Read More
With key support holding up, bears shouldn't get too excited by last week's decline"...the equity-only, buy-to-open put/call volume ratio rolled over from a relatively high level. The roll-over in this ratio implies that the pessimism that was building in October and pressuring stocks lower climaxed, an important ingredient for carving out a bottom after a sharp decline... The SPY high last week w...Read More
The Brexit uncertainty sparked a flight to safety on Friday. Safe haven currencies, the yen, and the Swiss franc were bid higher. Dovish comments from Fed officials, Clarida, and Harker who expressed some doubt about the December rate hike kept the U.S. Dollar's rally in check. Gold prices also advanced strongly on the day as investors' risk appetite waned on renewed concerns that the UK a...Read More
TOKYO (Reuters) - Nissan Motor Co Ltd (7201.T) said it was ousting Chairman Carlos Ghosn for alleged financial misconduct and Japanese media reported he been arrested, a shocking fate for a leader hailed for rescuing the company from close to bankruptcy.The Japanese automaker said Ghosn’s alleged misconduct included personal use of company money and under-reporting how much he had been paid....Read More
(Reuters) - Iran will continue to export oil despite U.S. sanctions, which are part of a psychological war doomed to failure, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Monday.By reimposing sanctions on OPEC’s third biggest crude producer, Washington wants to force Tehran to drop its ballistic missile programs, further curb its nuclear work and limit its support for proxy militias from Syria t...Read More
LONDON (Reuters) - Bitcoin slumped to a new 13-month low on Monday, with the biggest cryptocurrency touching $5173.23 on the Bitstamp platform BTC=BTSP.Bitcoin was last down 5.2 percent at $5270. The cryptocurrency, and other lesser coins including ethereum and XRP, endured a sell-off last week, with some blaming fears that a “hard fork” in bitcoin cash, where the smaller coin that sp...Read More
The last two years of a presidential election cycle tend to be even more bullish than the first twoThe following is a reprint of the market commentary from the December 2018 edition of The Option Advisor, published on November 16. For more information, or to subscribe to The Option Advisor -- featuring 10 new option trades each month -- visit our online store.While the final results are still bein...Read More
Editor's Note: Welcome to Kitco's new Bitcoin Daily Technical Alert. Every trading day veteran Kitco technical analyst Jim Wyckoff will provide you with a concise and easy-to-understand near-term technical brief on Bitcoin. Importantly, Jim will glean the short-term charts and technical studies, and then alert you to the signals he sees regarding upcoming potential bigger price moves or price tren...Read More
The countdown is on for theblastoff in gold. The churning pattern that we are seeing now means only onething -- a big move is coming. We all know that the big move can go either way,but all signs point to higher rather than lower.The best way to play a patternlike this is to wait for a footprint confirming direction, since trying to playinside the churning pattern typically causes more frustration...Read More