The past year was a difficult one overall for the metals, with the main standouts to the upside being a geopolitical risk-driven gain in gold, a China-driven rise in iron ore and a surge in uranium on broadening global support for nuclear power (Figure 1). A jump in global interest rates to near two-decade highs saw recession fears persist all year, and while one still did not actually eru...Read More

This year the post-global health crisis boom was brought to an end by a surge in inflation to forty-year highs, a major rise in global interest rates in an attempt to curb the rising prices and surging geopolitical risk after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. While precious metals held up reasonably well as markets turned to them as a risk hedge, by Q2/22 the higher interest rates put an end t...Read More

Chile is the world leader in copper production, at 28.5% of the total in 2020, and this looks set to continue, with the country having the largest global reserves, at 23.0% of total. It is also the global leader for molybdenum, which is often found along with copper, and is a major lithium player, holding 51.1% of global reserves. Read More

Newfoundland has become a gold exploration hotspot over the past few years, with the sector seeing some of its strongest activity ever. While the province remains a small contributor to Canadian gold production, it has a substantial mineral industry well supported by the government, focused on iron ore, copper and nickel, and the surge in exploration suggests that gold output from the...Read More

Nevada is the core of the U.S. gold output, accounting for by far the majority, at 75.4% on average for the past year. The state looks set to remain a dominant player in U.S. gold, as it accounts for 49% of total U.S. reserves, with Alaska slightly ahead with 51% of reserves, but just 8.6% of current production. The U.S. accounts for 6.1% of global gold output, making Nevada one of the largest gol...Read More

The Golden Triangle in northwestern British Columbia has historically been a major site of Canadian gold production, beginning as early as the mid 1800s. There was a wave of production in the 1990s which cooled as the gold price declined, but larger scale production resumed in 2017, and the area has seen surging exploration interest over the past year, given that the region has some of the largest...Read More

In this report we outline the Quebec gold mining industry, including its major producers, and a survey of many of the junior miners focused on the province. Quebec accounts for 34% of Canadian gold production (second to Ontario, with 44%) and remains a major focus for both producers and junior miners.Read More

Red Lake has been one of the most prolific gold mining districts in Canada and the world, with exploration having started in the 1920s, and production, which began in the 1930s, continuing to the present day. The district is known for the high grade of its gold, its infrastructure, and strong institutional support, given the long history of mining in the area.Read More

A deeper dive into the historical correlation between stocks and the 2-year and 10-year yield spreadThe following is a reprint of the market commentary from the June 2015 edition of The Option Advisor, published on May 21. For more information or to subscribe to The Option Advisor, click here."Stocks end lower amid bond volatility," USA Today, May 12"Rise in Long-Term Interest Rates Pushes Down Ma...Read More

[T]he U.S. has bombed and/or invaded at least one other country at least once every year for the past twenty-one years straight. There has been an almost uninterrupted string of foreign interventions dating back to the invasion of Panama in 1989. The U.S. bombed Iraq on a regular basis between 1991 and 2003 in the name of patrolling the "no-fly" zones. There were also sporadic missile st...Read More

[T]he U.S. has bombed and/or invaded at least one other country at least once every year for the past twenty-one years straight. There has been an almost uninterrupted string of foreign interventions dating back to the invasion of Panama in 1989. The U.S. bombed Iraq on a regular basis between 1991 and 2003 in the name of patrolling the "no-fly" zones. There were also sporadic missile st...Read More

After nearly 20 years on the job, Jim Jeffries, the police chief in LaFollette, Tenn., has seen his share of marijuana seizures — dry green buds stashed in trunks or beneath seats, often double-bagged to smother the distinctive scent. But these days, Chief Jeffries is on the lookout for something unexpected: lollipops and marshmallows. …Recently his officers pulled over a Chevy Blazer...Read More

After nearly 20 years on the job, Jim Jeffries, the police chief in LaFollette, Tenn., has seen his share of marijuana seizures — dry green buds stashed in trunks or beneath seats, often double-bagged to smother the distinctive scent. But these days, Chief Jeffries is on the lookout for something unexpected: lollipops and marshmallows. …Recently his officers pulled over a Chevy Blazer...Read More

Image provided by the Government of Alberta.Canadian firefighters are trying to control a massive wildfire in northern Alberta, which has spread into the oil sands area, threatening several operations and keeping about 10% of production offline.As of Wednesday night, there were 63 fires burning in Alberta and 13 were considered to be out of control. They have prompted the shutdown of about 230,00...Read More

The Department of Defense and the National Guard are facing growing questions over why they spent millions of dollars on a promotional campaign to salute members of the military at professional football, baseball and basketball games around the country."So far everybody's just shocked to learn that this, that these feel-good moments are paid for by the U.S. taxpayer," Sen. Jeff Flake...Read More

The Department of Defense and the National Guard are facing growing questions over why they spent millions of dollars on a promotional campaign to salute members of the military at professional football, baseball and basketball games around the country."So far everybody's just shocked to learn that this, that these feel-good moments are paid for by the U.S. taxpayer," Sen. Jeff Flake...Read More

What if I told you there was a $70 billion tax that the poor pay the most. You'd probably say that isn't very fair. But that's exactly what the lottery is: an almost 12-figure tax on the desperation of the least fortunate…Researchers have found that the bottom third of households buy more than half of all tickets. So that means households making less than $28,000 a year are dishi...Read More

What if I told you there was a $70 billion tax that the poor pay the most. You'd probably say that isn't very fair. But that's exactly what the lottery is: an almost 12-figure tax on the desperation of the least fortunate…Researchers have found that the bottom third of households buy more than half of all tickets. So that means households making less than $28,000 a year are dishi...Read More

Bank of England officials are secretly researching the financial shocks that could hit Britain if there is a vote to leave the European Union in the forthcoming referendum.The Bank blew its cover on Friday when it accidentally emailed details of the project – including how the bank intended to fend off any inquiries about its work – direct to the Guardian.According to the confidential...Read More

Bank of England officials are secretly researching the financial shocks that could hit Britain if there is a vote to leave the European Union in the forthcoming referendum.The Bank blew its cover on Friday when it accidentally emailed details of the project – including how the bank intended to fend off any inquiries about its work – direct to the Guardian.According to the confidential...Read More

A collection of tech industry giants like Facebook, Google, Apple and Microsoft, as well as civil liberties organizations and Internet security experts, sent a letter to President Obama on Tuesday warning of the unintended consequences of any policy meant to weaken the encryption technologies that protect Internet communications.The White House has been weighing whether to mandate that companies u...Read More

A collection of tech industry giants like Facebook, Google, Apple and Microsoft, as well as civil liberties organizations and Internet security experts, sent a letter to President Obama on Tuesday warning of the unintended consequences of any policy meant to weaken the encryption technologies that protect Internet communications.The White House has been weighing whether to mandate that companies u...Read More

It was a lifetime ambition for 22-year-old Joseph Rivers to arrive in Los Angeles and become a big name in the music business.And he nearly made it…until a team of DEA agents put a stop to everything by snatching his life savings without even charging him with a crime.The aspiring businessman from the outskirts of Detroit had managed to scrape together $16,000 and was finally on the train to...Read More

It was a lifetime ambition for 22-year-old Joseph Rivers to arrive in Los Angeles and become a big name in the music business.And he nearly made it…until a team of DEA agents put a stop to everything by snatching his life savings without even charging him with a crime.The aspiring businessman from the outskirts of Detroit had managed to scrape together $16,000 and was finally on the train to...Read More

Last year, a city in North Texas banned fracking. State lawmakers want to make sure that never happens again.On Monday, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed a law that prohibits bans of hydraulic fracturing altogether and makes it much harder for municipal and county governments to control where oil and gas wells can be drilled. Similar efforts are cropping up in states including New Mexico, Ohio, C...Read More

Last year, a city in North Texas banned fracking. State lawmakers want to make sure that never happens again.On Monday, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed a law that prohibits bans of hydraulic fracturing altogether and makes it much harder for municipal and county governments to control where oil and gas wells can be drilled. Similar efforts are cropping up in states including New Mexico, Ohio, C...Read More

Is cash still king? Based on data from the Federal Reserve Board, you might think so. The Fed routinely tracks M1, which covers cash plus checking deposits. In March, the cash component of M1 had a face value of $1.3 trillion, a record high.About $1 trillion of that $1.3 trillion is in $100 bills. Another $300 million is in denominations of $500, $1,000, $5,000 and even a gasp-provoking $10,000. (...Read More

Is cash still king? Based on data from the Federal Reserve Board, you might think so. The Fed routinely tracks M1, which covers cash plus checking deposits. In March, the cash component of M1 had a face value of $1.3 trillion, a record high.About $1 trillion of that $1.3 trillion is in $100 bills. Another $300 million is in denominations of $500, $1,000, $5,000 and even a gasp-provoking $10,000. (...Read More