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

The middle class is poorer today than it was in 1989 … The fundamentals of the economy are, well, okay. It's been slow and steady, but the recovery has chugged along enough to get us back to something close to normal. The economy has surpassed its pre-crisis peak, unemployment is at a six-year low, and stocks have more than tripled from their 2009 low. It's not the best of times, but...Read More

Wall Street Pays Its Workers to Suffer … Why do people on Wall Street get paid so much? It could be because Wall Streeters have generally high skills. Finance people tend to be good at using computers and working with numbers, but also at networking and forming business relationships. But a new study shows that there really is something special about Wall Street — when a worker moves f...Read More

The middle class is poorer today than it was in 1989 … The fundamentals of the economy are, well, okay. It's been slow and steady, but the recovery has chugged along enough to get us back to something close to normal. The economy has surpassed its pre-crisis peak, unemployment is at a six-year low, and stocks have more than tripled from their 2009 low. It's not the best of times, but...Read More

Wall Street Pays Its Workers to Suffer … Why do people on Wall Street get paid so much? It could be because Wall Streeters have generally high skills. Finance people tend to be good at using computers and working with numbers, but also at networking and forming business relationships. But a new study shows that there really is something special about Wall Street — when a worker moves f...Read More

David Cameron: he said everything we might have hoped for … Uncharacteristically, I'm almost lost for words – or at least for critical words. David Cameron said pretty much everything I wanted him to say in his belter of a conference speech. He chose to identify his overall theme as a "Britain people can be proud to call home". What this amounted to in effect was a pictur...Read More

It's Normal for Regulators to Get Captured … I'm in Chicago this week, preparing to give a seminar on covering the policy process at the Institute for Politics. So I don't have much time to write about the secret Fed tapes that were released by "This American Life" last week. But I do want to make one point: This is not surprising. It's normal. – BloombergDomi...Read More

David Cameron: he said everything we might have hoped for … Uncharacteristically, I'm almost lost for words – or at least for critical words. David Cameron said pretty much everything I wanted him to say in his belter of a conference speech. He chose to identify his overall theme as a "Britain people can be proud to call home". What this amounted to in effect was a pictur...Read More

It's Normal for Regulators to Get Captured … I'm in Chicago this week, preparing to give a seminar on covering the policy process at the Institute for Politics. So I don't have much time to write about the secret Fed tapes that were released by "This American Life" last week. But I do want to make one point: This is not surprising. It's normal. – BloombergDomi...Read More

Mass default looms as world sinks beneath a sea of debt … As if the fast degenerating geo-political situation isn't bad enough, here's another lorry load of concerns to add to the pile. The UK and US economies may be on the mend at last, but that's not the pattern elsewhere. On a global level, growth is being steadily drowned under a rising tide of debt, threatening renewed finan...Read More

Why Beijing Is Buying [Gold] … If China were to convert a relatively modest part of its $4 trillion foreign exchange reserves into gold, the country's currency could take on unexpected strength in today's international financial system. It would be a gamble, of course, for China to use part of its reserves to buy enough gold bullion to displace the United States from its position as...Read More

Mass default looms as world sinks beneath a sea of debt … As if the fast degenerating geo-political situation isn't bad enough, here's another lorry load of concerns to add to the pile. The UK and US economies may be on the mend at last, but that's not the pattern elsewhere. On a global level, growth is being steadily drowned under a rising tide of debt, threatening renewed finan...Read More

Why Beijing Is Buying [Gold] … If China were to convert a relatively modest part of its $4 trillion foreign exchange reserves into gold, the country's currency could take on unexpected strength in today's international financial system. It would be a gamble, of course, for China to use part of its reserves to buy enough gold bullion to displace the United States from its position as...Read More

How Eric Holder Failed the Economy … Attorney General Eric Holder, who plans to step down after more than five years in office, has efforts and achievements to be proud of, no doubt, but will probably be remembered above all for something he didn't do: prosecute top executives for their role in the 2008 financial crisis. – Bloomberg editorialDominant Social Theme: One of the hallma...Read More

Marijuana industry makes political donations … The entrepreneurs of the young U.S. marijuana industry are taking another step into the mainstream, becoming political donors who use some of their profits to support cannabis-friendly candidates and ballot questions that could bring legal pot to more states. The political activity includes swanky fundraisers at Four Seasons hotels and art aucti...Read More

How Eric Holder Failed the Economy … Attorney General Eric Holder, who plans to step down after more than five years in office, has efforts and achievements to be proud of, no doubt, but will probably be remembered above all for something he didn't do: prosecute top executives for their role in the 2008 financial crisis. – Bloomberg editorialDominant Social Theme: One of the hallma...Read More

Marijuana industry makes political donations … The entrepreneurs of the young U.S. marijuana industry are taking another step into the mainstream, becoming political donors who use some of their profits to support cannabis-friendly candidates and ballot questions that could bring legal pot to more states. The political activity includes swanky fundraisers at Four Seasons hotels and art aucti...Read More

Falling Out of Love With Gold … Gold has let down its loyal investors during the past year, declining by about 8 percent. It has failed to benefit, as one might expect, from a series of geopolitical crises and concerns that stocks are overvalued. It has even failed to keep up with government bonds, usually the other recipient of flight-to-quality trades. Moreover, it has responded weakly to...Read More

Hong Kong clashes, arrests kick-start plans to blockade city …. Violent clashes between Hong Kong riot police and students galvanized tens of thousands of supporters for the city's pro-democracy movement and kick-started a plan to lock down the heart of the Asian financial centre early on Sunday. Leaders and supporters of Occupy Central with Love and Peace rallied to support students who...Read More

Falling Out of Love With Gold … Gold has let down its loyal investors during the past year, declining by about 8 percent. It has failed to benefit, as one might expect, from a series of geopolitical crises and concerns that stocks are overvalued. It has even failed to keep up with government bonds, usually the other recipient of flight-to-quality trades. Moreover, it has responded weakly to...Read More

Hong Kong clashes, arrests kick-start plans to blockade city …. Violent clashes between Hong Kong riot police and students galvanized tens of thousands of supporters for the city's pro-democracy movement and kick-started a plan to lock down the heart of the Asian financial centre early on Sunday. Leaders and supporters of Occupy Central with Love and Peace rallied to support students who...Read More