The AOCE and WB have moderate overall forecasts for the metals in 2025 inline with IMF forecasts for a decline in economic growth and inflation, although we see the probability of a stagflationary scenario as still reasonably high.Read More

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

Israel spied on Iran's nuclear talks with the United States — and used the information to undermine the Obama administration's position with the GOP-led Congress, according to an explosive report in The Wall Street Journal… A senior official in [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu's office fired back, calling the allegations "utterly false" in an interview...Read More

[U]nder the United States' UCC code (uniform commercial code) as long as bitcoins are treated as general intangibles, no high value investor can be sure that an angry Tony Soprano won't show up one day to claim that the bitcoins they thought they received in a completely unencumbered manner are actually his. – FT Alphaville Bitcoin, the cryptocurrency allegedly invented by one "...Read More

[U]nder the United States' UCC code (uniform commercial code) as long as bitcoins are treated as general intangibles, no high value investor can be sure that an angry Tony Soprano won't show up one day to claim that the bitcoins they thought they received in a completely unencumbered manner are actually his. – FT Alphaville Bitcoin, the cryptocurrency allegedly invented by one "...Read More

The political push for labeling genetically engineered foods is spreading across the country. Groups in more than 20 states are pushing local initiatives. Now Congress could step in, and scuttle all of them. A bipartisan bill to be introduced today by Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-Kan.) and Rep G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.) would bar states from requiring the labeling of foods derived from genetically modified...Read More

The political push for labeling genetically engineered foods is spreading across the country. Groups in more than 20 states are pushing local initiatives. Now Congress could step in, and scuttle all of them. A bipartisan bill to be introduced today by Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-Kan.) and Rep G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.) would bar states from requiring the labeling of foods derived from genetically modified...Read More

House Members Target Patriot Act with "Surveillance State Repeal Act" … U.S. Representatives Mark Pocan (D-Wis., photo on left) and Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), who are seeking to repeal the PATRIOT Act in its entirety and combat any legal provisions that amount to American spying, unveiled their Surveillance State Repeal Act on Tuesday. – New AmericanDominant Social Theme: We need...Read More

Study Finds No Link Between Military Suicide Rate and Deployments … In 2013, a former combat videographer, Kathryn Robinson, described trying to get her life back on track after her return from Iraq left her with P.T.S.D. and thoughts of suicide. – New York TimesDominant Social Theme: Military service doesn't cause depression. Well … it's complicated.Free-Market Analysis:...Read More

House Members Target Patriot Act with "Surveillance State Repeal Act" … U.S. Representatives Mark Pocan (D-Wis., photo on left) and Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), who are seeking to repeal the PATRIOT Act in its entirety and combat any legal provisions that amount to American spying, unveiled their Surveillance State Repeal Act on Tuesday. – New AmericanDominant Social Theme: We need...Read More

Study Finds No Link Between Military Suicide Rate and Deployments … In 2013, a former combat videographer, Kathryn Robinson, described trying to get her life back on track after her return from Iraq left her with P.T.S.D. and thoughts of suicide. – New York TimesDominant Social Theme: Military service doesn't cause depression. Well … it's complicated.Free-Market Analysis:...Read More

Why are interest rates so low? … The Fed's ability to affect real rates of return, especially longer-term real rates, is transitory and limited. Except in the short run, real interest rates are determined by a wide range of economic factors, including prospects for economic growth—not by the Fed. – Ben Bernanke's BlogDominant Social Theme: Let us be educated about money b...Read More

IRS chief to GOP: You can't abolish us … The IRS commissioner on Tuesday brushed aside GOP proposals to abolish his agency, insisting the U.S. would have to have a tax collector one way or another. "You can call them something other than the IRS if that made you feel better," the agency's chief, John Koskinen, said after a speech at the National Press Club. Republicans have...Read More

Why are interest rates so low? … The Fed's ability to affect real rates of return, especially longer-term real rates, is transitory and limited. Except in the short run, real interest rates are determined by a wide range of economic factors, including prospects for economic growth—not by the Fed. – Ben Bernanke's BlogDominant Social Theme: Let us be educated about money b...Read More

IRS chief to GOP: You can't abolish us … The IRS commissioner on Tuesday brushed aside GOP proposals to abolish his agency, insisting the U.S. would have to have a tax collector one way or another. "You can call them something other than the IRS if that made you feel better," the agency's chief, John Koskinen, said after a speech at the National Press Club. Republicans have...Read More

Body Count Report Reveals At Least 1.3 Million Lives Lost to US-Led War on Terror … Although a conservative estimate, physicians' groups say the figure 'is approximately 10 times greater' than typically reported … – CommonDreams.orgDominant Social Theme: These are just skirmishes.Free-Market Analysis: It is important to keep track of the war on terror and its damages....Read More

Teen libertarian is face of Brazil's young free-market right … The March 15 demonstration was the largest Sao Paulo had seen in more than three decades, since 1984 protests demanding democratic elections after a long dictatorship. But more surprising than the crowd of over 200,000, according to the Datafolha polling and statistics agency, was the fact it was being led by Kataguiri, a ski...Read More

Body Count Report Reveals At Least 1.3 Million Lives Lost to US-Led War on Terror … Although a conservative estimate, physicians' groups say the figure 'is approximately 10 times greater' than typically reported … – CommonDreams.orgDominant Social Theme: These are just skirmishes.Free-Market Analysis: It is important to keep track of the war on terror and its damages....Read More

Teen libertarian is face of Brazil's young free-market right … The March 15 demonstration was the largest Sao Paulo had seen in more than three decades, since 1984 protests demanding democratic elections after a long dictatorship. But more surprising than the crowd of over 200,000, according to the Datafolha polling and statistics agency, was the fact it was being led by Kataguiri, a ski...Read More

Lee Kuan Yew and the Myth of Asian Capitalism … When Lee Kuan Yew took office, Singapore was poor; in 2015, it's one of the richest countries in the world. – BloombergDominant Social Theme: Prosperity has little to do with freedom.Free-Market Analysis: Predictably, the death of Lee Kuan Yew has generated many positive comments in the mainstream media about his "leadership"...Read More

Africa and Around the World … Experience has shown that force alone cannot reduce the drug supply or the criminality and corruption that it induces. – Kofi Annan, Chair of the Kofi Annan Foundation via Vice magazineDominant Social Theme: We were wrong. But let's not dwell on the past.Free-Market Analysis: Leaders in high places around the world are making it clear that the drug war...Read More

Lee Kuan Yew and the Myth of Asian Capitalism … When Lee Kuan Yew took office, Singapore was poor; in 2015, it's one of the richest countries in the world. – BloombergDominant Social Theme: Prosperity has little to do with freedom.Free-Market Analysis: Predictably, the death of Lee Kuan Yew has generated many positive comments in the mainstream media about his "leadership"...Read More