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

Emerging markets risk repeating eurozone blunder of synchronised tightening. Where have [we] seen this screenplay before? A string of countries tighten policy at the same time – some drastically – in order to prevent capital flight and show investors how tough they can be. Turkey, South Africa, and India all raised rates last week. Brazil and Indonesia did so before. Chile, Peru, Hunga...Read More

Justice Antonin Scalia says World War II-style internment camps could happen again … Justice Antonin Scalia predicts that the Supreme Court will eventually authorize another wartime abuse of civil rights such as the internment camps for Japanese-Americans during World War II. – WashingtonExaminerDominant Social Theme: Whatever is happening is fully justified and in the best interests o...Read More

Treasury Secretary Jack Lew Warns Time Is Running Out To Lift Debt Ceiling … Says U.S. will be unable to pay its bills past end of February if Congress doesn't raise debt ceiling … The Treasury Department will run out of "extraordinary measures" to keep the government afloat by the end of February if Congress does not act to raise the debt limit, Treasury Secretary Jack L...Read More

Stocks unravel after factory report; Dow sinks 300-plus points … U.S. stocks were hammered on Monday, with benchmark indexes falling through key support levels after a gauge of factory activity disappointed, heightening concern about the economy before Friday's monthly jobs report. – CNBCDominant Social Theme: The Dow goes up until it doesn't.Free-Market Analysis: Once more the...Read More

Treasury Secretary Jack Lew Warns Time Is Running Out To Lift Debt Ceiling … Says U.S. will be unable to pay its bills past end of February if Congress doesn't raise debt ceiling … The Treasury Department will run out of "extraordinary measures" to keep the government afloat by the end of February if Congress does not act to raise the debt limit, Treasury Secretary Jack L...Read More

Stocks unravel after factory report; Dow sinks 300-plus points … U.S. stocks were hammered on Monday, with benchmark indexes falling through key support levels after a gauge of factory activity disappointed, heightening concern about the economy before Friday's monthly jobs report. – CNBCDominant Social Theme: The Dow goes up until it doesn't.Free-Market Analysis: Once more the...Read More

A central banker's 'license to lie' … Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, who retires this week as the world's most powerful central banker, cannot be trusted. Neither can Janet Yellen, who will succeed him this weekend at the Federal Reserve. And neither can Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England; Mario Draghi, president of the European Central Bank, or any of their...Read More

'Hidden away' in Deregulation Bill – plan to make it easier for police to seize journalistic material … The Newspaper Society has urged the Government to withdraw plans to change the law to make it easier for the police to seize journalistic material. The changes to the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 are included in clause 47 of the Deregulation Bill which has its second...Read More

A central banker's 'license to lie' … Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, who retires this week as the world's most powerful central banker, cannot be trusted. Neither can Janet Yellen, who will succeed him this weekend at the Federal Reserve. And neither can Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England; Mario Draghi, president of the European Central Bank, or any of their...Read More

'Hidden away' in Deregulation Bill – plan to make it easier for police to seize journalistic material … The Newspaper Society has urged the Government to withdraw plans to change the law to make it easier for the police to seize journalistic material. The changes to the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 are included in clause 47 of the Deregulation Bill which has its second...Read More

Deal or no deal? American politics may be becoming a bit less dysfunctional. In big annual speech to Congress, Barack Obama made several promises. He pledged to raise the minimum wage for those contracted to the federal government, to create a new tax-free savings bond to encourage Americans to save, to work for the closure of the Guantánamo Bay prison, to push immigration reforms and to ve...Read More

World risks deflationary shock as BRICS puncture credit bubbles … As matters stand, the next recession will push the Western economic system over the edge into deflation … It is a remarkable state of affairs that the G2 monetary superpowers – the US and China – should both be tightening … Half the world economy is one accident away from a deflation trap. – UK Te...Read More

Deal or no deal? American politics may be becoming a bit less dysfunctional. In big annual speech to Congress, Barack Obama made several promises. He pledged to raise the minimum wage for those contracted to the federal government, to create a new tax-free savings bond to encourage Americans to save, to work for the closure of the Guantánamo Bay prison, to push immigration reforms and to ve...Read More

World risks deflationary shock as BRICS puncture credit bubbles … As matters stand, the next recession will push the Western economic system over the edge into deflation … It is a remarkable state of affairs that the G2 monetary superpowers – the US and China – should both be tightening … Half the world economy is one accident away from a deflation trap. – UK Te...Read More

Consign forward guidance to the bin … It would be better for the Bank of England to go back to the simplicity of inflation targeting "With a solid recovery finally in prospect, the earlier the Bank of England ditches the extra stimulus that is no longer required the better" The Bank of England's forward guidance is achieving nothing useful and could become dangerous. It is time...Read More

Why 'anti-European populists' won't win big in the European elections … For months EU politicians have been warning us about the upcoming elections for the European Parliament (EP), to be held in May in all 28 member states. European Commission President Jose Barroso recently predicted "a festival of unfounded reproaches against Europe" as a consequence of the EU-wide &...Read More

Consign forward guidance to the bin … It would be better for the Bank of England to go back to the simplicity of inflation targeting "With a solid recovery finally in prospect, the earlier the Bank of England ditches the extra stimulus that is no longer required the better" The Bank of England's forward guidance is achieving nothing useful and could become dangerous. It is time...Read More

Why 'anti-European populists' won't win big in the European elections … For months EU politicians have been warning us about the upcoming elections for the European Parliament (EP), to be held in May in all 28 member states. European Commission President Jose Barroso recently predicted "a festival of unfounded reproaches against Europe" as a consequence of the EU-wide &...Read More

Iraq is poised to flood the oil market by tripling its capacity to pump crude by 2020 and is collaborating with Iran on strategy in a move that will challenge Saudi Arabia's grip on the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries. "We feel the world needs to be assured of fuel for economic growth," Hussain al-Shahristani, Deputy Prime Minister for Energy in Iraq told oil industry d...Read More

From Austerity to Abundance: Why I Am Running for California Treasurer … Governor Jerry Brown and his staff are exchanging high-fives over balancing California's budget, but the people on whose backs it was balanced are not rejoicing. The state's high-wire act has been called "the ultimate in austerity budgets." … There is another way to balance a state budget, one th...Read More