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

Justice, capitalism and progress: Paul Tudor Jones II at TED2015 … Can capital be just? As a firm believer in capitalism and the free market, Paul Tudor Jones II believes that it can be. Jones is the founder of the Tudor Investment Corporation and the Tudor Group, which trade in the fixed-income, equity, currency and commodity markets. He thinks it is time to expand the "narrow definiti...Read More

China's Place in the New World Economic Order … Competition between the world's two greatest economic powers is both inevitable and (for the most part) beneficial. This is the case even when China and the U.S. are arguing over control of increasingly obsolescent international financial institutions. – BloombergDominant Social Theme: The New World Order is coming to town?Free-Ma...Read More

Central Bank Autonomy Is Under Attack … Current events in Cyprus and Turkey hammer home a point that former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan made in the memoirs he published in September 2007. Central bank independence, Greenspan said, is "not set in stone." Left unsaid was the fact that it should be. Against an ever-shifting political backdrop, monetary policy can provide a...Read More

Global population growth threatens to outstrip fresh water supply: study … Global demand for fresh water is set to outstrip supply as a result of population growth by the middle of this century if current levels of consumption continue, a study said. – ReutersDominant Social Theme: The world is running out of everything. Soon we will freeze in the dark … or maybe die of thirst.Fr...Read More

Central Bank Autonomy Is Under Attack … Current events in Cyprus and Turkey hammer home a point that former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan made in the memoirs he published in September 2007. Central bank independence, Greenspan said, is "not set in stone." Left unsaid was the fact that it should be. Against an ever-shifting political backdrop, monetary policy can provide a...Read More

Global population growth threatens to outstrip fresh water supply: study … Global demand for fresh water is set to outstrip supply as a result of population growth by the middle of this century if current levels of consumption continue, a study said. – ReutersDominant Social Theme: The world is running out of everything. Soon we will freeze in the dark … or maybe die of thirst.Fr...Read More

Defying U.S., European allies say they'll join China-led bank … Germany, France and Italy said on Tuesday they would join a new China-led Asian investment bank after close ally Britain defied U.S. pressure to become a founder member of a venture seen in Washington as a rival to the World Bank. – ReutersDominant Social Theme: Asia will show the West how to run an investment bank.Fre...Read More

Elon Musk: cars you can drive will eventually be outlawed … Tesla co-founder and CEO Elon Musk believes that cars you can control will eventually be outlawed in favor of ones that are controlled by robots. The simple explanation: Musk believes computers will do a much better job than us to the point where, statistically, humans would be a liability on roadways. – The VergeDominant Soci...Read More

Defying U.S., European allies say they'll join China-led bank … Germany, France and Italy said on Tuesday they would join a new China-led Asian investment bank after close ally Britain defied U.S. pressure to become a founder member of a venture seen in Washington as a rival to the World Bank. – ReutersDominant Social Theme: Asia will show the West how to run an investment bank.Fre...Read More

Elon Musk: cars you can drive will eventually be outlawed … Tesla co-founder and CEO Elon Musk believes that cars you can control will eventually be outlawed in favor of ones that are controlled by robots. The simple explanation: Musk believes computers will do a much better job than us to the point where, statistically, humans would be a liability on roadways. – The VergeDominant Soci...Read More

What it means if Fed no longer says it's 'patient' on rates … For the Federal Reserve, patience may no longer be a virtue. Surrounding the Fed's policy meeting this week is the widespread expectation that it will no longer use the word "patient" to describe its stance on raising interest rates from record lows. The big question is: What will that mean? – APDom...Read More

New border deal: Canada customs agents could work in U.S., vice versa … Canadian customs agents could soon work in the U.S. and carry firearms, and the U.S. border guards could do the same in Canada, as a result of a new border agreement between Canada and the U.S. – CBCDominant Social Theme: It makes a lot of sense for US and Canadian security personnel to work together – maybe...Read More

What it means if Fed no longer says it's 'patient' on rates … For the Federal Reserve, patience may no longer be a virtue. Surrounding the Fed's policy meeting this week is the widespread expectation that it will no longer use the word "patient" to describe its stance on raising interest rates from record lows. The big question is: What will that mean? – APDom...Read More

New border deal: Canada customs agents could work in U.S., vice versa … Canadian customs agents could soon work in the U.S. and carry firearms, and the U.S. border guards could do the same in Canada, as a result of a new border agreement between Canada and the U.S. – CBCDominant Social Theme: It makes a lot of sense for US and Canadian security personnel to work together – maybe...Read More

German Chancellor Merkel Examines the Model of Cyprus As a Solution for Greece … The model of Cyprus might be the best solution for Greece in order to force the government's implementation of the structural reforms it has already agreed to with the country's creditors. This is what the German magazine Der Spiegel estimates, citing information from the Chancellery. – Greek Repor...Read More

For the first time, the world economy grows while carbon emissions don't … The change is likely due to an increase in sustainable energy … For the last 40 years, whenever the world economy grew, so did the Earth's carbon dioxide levels — until 2014, The Washington Post reports. – The VergeDominant Social Theme: When there is less carbon dioxide, the world rejoices.F...Read More

German Chancellor Merkel Examines the Model of Cyprus As a Solution for Greece … The model of Cyprus might be the best solution for Greece in order to force the government's implementation of the structural reforms it has already agreed to with the country's creditors. This is what the German magazine Der Spiegel estimates, citing information from the Chancellery. – Greek Repor...Read More

For the first time, the world economy grows while carbon emissions don't … The change is likely due to an increase in sustainable energy … For the last 40 years, whenever the world economy grew, so did the Earth's carbon dioxide levels — until 2014, The Washington Post reports. – The VergeDominant Social Theme: When there is less carbon dioxide, the world rejoices.F...Read More

Go Ahead, Bash the Fed …"Bash" is a useful word for journalists looking to stack the deck. We criticize; the people we disagree with "bash." The bashing may take the form of criticism, but the choice of words has primed readers to regard the criticism as stupid and vulgar. – BloombergDominant Social Theme: The Fed needs to be criticized so it can work better.Free-Ma...Read More

'Blurred Lines' and Bad Law … If the devolution from Marvin Gaye to Robin Thicke doesn't stand for the decline of Western civilization, nothing does. The Los Angeles jury that found Thicke's "Blurred Lines" unintentionally plagiarized Gaye's "Got to Give It Up" apparently agreed. Choosing the dead genius over the living epigone was artistically correct...Read More