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

French employer group urges 'shock therapy' for economy … France's main employer group urged the government on Wednesday to scrap the 35-hour work week, raise the legal retirement age and cut the minimum wage to bring down chronically high unemployment and stimulate growth. Medef said its proposals would help Europe's second-largest economy create 1 million jobs over the next...Read More

Rouhani Blames the West for Rise of Islamic State, Demands Apology … Iranian president Hassan Rouhani, whom the Obama administration has considered enlisting in the fight against the Islamic State, blamed the growing threat of the jihadist group on the West's involvement in the Middle East. – National ReviewDominant Social Theme: Those crazy Iranians are at it again. Who believes t...Read More

French employer group urges 'shock therapy' for economy … France's main employer group urged the government on Wednesday to scrap the 35-hour work week, raise the legal retirement age and cut the minimum wage to bring down chronically high unemployment and stimulate growth. Medef said its proposals would help Europe's second-largest economy create 1 million jobs over the next...Read More

Rouhani Blames the West for Rise of Islamic State, Demands Apology … Iranian president Hassan Rouhani, whom the Obama administration has considered enlisting in the fight against the Islamic State, blamed the growing threat of the jihadist group on the West's involvement in the Middle East. – National ReviewDominant Social Theme: Those crazy Iranians are at it again. Who believes t...Read More

Japan's Debt Trap … Japan's government has a lot of debt. Not as much as people think — since much of that debt is owed by one branch of the government to another, net debt held by the public is only 134 percent of gross domestic product, not the widely quoted figure of 240 percent. But 134 percent is still a lot. About 15.6 percent of Japanese tax revenue goes to pay interest...Read More

Cannabis Cash: How Much Money Could Your State Make From Marijuana Legalization? … On Nov. 4, citizens in Alaska, Florida, Oregon and Washington, D.C., will cast their ballots on marijuana initiatives, and other states are also likely to consider legalization in upcoming elections. Colorado, the first state to allow the sale of recreational marijuana, is expected to take in $60 million to $7...Read More

Japan's Debt Trap … Japan's government has a lot of debt. Not as much as people think — since much of that debt is owed by one branch of the government to another, net debt held by the public is only 134 percent of gross domestic product, not the widely quoted figure of 240 percent. But 134 percent is still a lot. About 15.6 percent of Japanese tax revenue goes to pay interest...Read More

Cannabis Cash: How Much Money Could Your State Make From Marijuana Legalization? … On Nov. 4, citizens in Alaska, Florida, Oregon and Washington, D.C., will cast their ballots on marijuana initiatives, and other states are also likely to consider legalization in upcoming elections. Colorado, the first state to allow the sale of recreational marijuana, is expected to take in $60 million to $7...Read More

Germany's energy policy is expensive, harmful and short-sighted … Berlin is failing the poor while protecting neither security nor the climate. – Financial TimesDominant Social Theme: This global warming is a problem and only Green solutions can cure it.Free-Market Analysis: There are two parts to this analysis. In the first part, we'll take a look at what's going on in Ger...Read More

SEC Announces Largest Reward Ever … An anonymous tipster living abroad will be receiving $30 million, in the largest whistleblower award ever doled out by U.S. securities regulators as part of a program that aims to incentivize insiders to report wrongdoing. – ReutersDominant Social Theme: In taking criminals off the street, almost any tactic is justified and even righteous.Free-Market...Read More

Germany's energy policy is expensive, harmful and short-sighted … Berlin is failing the poor while protecting neither security nor the climate. – Financial TimesDominant Social Theme: This global warming is a problem and only Green solutions can cure it.Free-Market Analysis: There are two parts to this analysis. In the first part, we'll take a look at what's going on in Ger...Read More

SEC Announces Largest Reward Ever … An anonymous tipster living abroad will be receiving $30 million, in the largest whistleblower award ever doled out by U.S. securities regulators as part of a program that aims to incentivize insiders to report wrongdoing. – ReutersDominant Social Theme: In taking criminals off the street, almost any tactic is justified and even righteous.Free-Market...Read More

Nikkei Crash a Risk Seen by Posen If Abe Blinks on Tax … [Economist Adam Posen] warns that the foreign love affair with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's economic program may be in jeopardy. Posen's fear, outlined in an interview in his office last week, is that Abe reneges on a plan to raise Japan's consumption tax to 10 percent, from the 8 percent level it was boosted to in April. If...Read More

Stoners get high on love with marijuana dating sites … Dinner and a movie make for a typical date night but dinner followed by a joint could raise some eyebrows or be a turn-off despite increasing acceptance of marijuana use across the United States. So now, tuned-in stoners and users of medical pot are turning on to dating websites that cater exclusively to tokers or, at the very least, the...Read More

Nikkei Crash a Risk Seen by Posen If Abe Blinks on Tax … [Economist Adam Posen] warns that the foreign love affair with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's economic program may be in jeopardy. Posen's fear, outlined in an interview in his office last week, is that Abe reneges on a plan to raise Japan's consumption tax to 10 percent, from the 8 percent level it was boosted to in April. If...Read More

Stoners get high on love with marijuana dating sites … Dinner and a movie make for a typical date night but dinner followed by a joint could raise some eyebrows or be a turn-off despite increasing acceptance of marijuana use across the United States. So now, tuned-in stoners and users of medical pot are turning on to dating websites that cater exclusively to tokers or, at the very least, the...Read More

Global deal on growth as G20 agrees to add 1.8pc to economic output … A GLOBAL deal on growth appears on track to create millions of jobs after the world's most powerful finance ministers announced plans to add at least 1.8 per cent to their combined economic output. The G20 finance summit has ended in Cairns with a renewed commitment to a growth target that is meant to add $2 trillion t...Read More

Suspicions Run Deep in Iraq That C.I.A. and the Islamic State Are United … The United States has conducted an escalating campaign of deadly airstrikes against the extremists of the Islamic State for more than a month. But that appears to have done little to tamp down the conspiracy theories still circulating from the streets of Baghdad to the highest levels of Iraqi government that the C.I.A...Read More

Global deal on growth as G20 agrees to add 1.8pc to economic output … A GLOBAL deal on growth appears on track to create millions of jobs after the world's most powerful finance ministers announced plans to add at least 1.8 per cent to their combined economic output. The G20 finance summit has ended in Cairns with a renewed commitment to a growth target that is meant to add $2 trillion t...Read More

Suspicions Run Deep in Iraq That C.I.A. and the Islamic State Are United … The United States has conducted an escalating campaign of deadly airstrikes against the extremists of the Islamic State for more than a month. But that appears to have done little to tamp down the conspiracy theories still circulating from the streets of Baghdad to the highest levels of Iraqi government that the C.I.A...Read More