The Wuxi Stainless Steel Exchange plans to launch electronic trading contracts for cobalt sulfate in September, to align with the development of the electric vehicle (EV) sector in China, a spokeswoman for the exchange told Fastmarkets on Wednesday August 12. Cobalt sulfate is a key chemical used in the production of nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM) lithium-ion batteries that are used in EVs, and Chi...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday August 12 that are worth another look.ABN Amro will end its financing activities of commodity clients globally, it said on August 12.The London Metal Exchange's latest data shows a rise of 109,968 tonnes of off-warrant...Read More

One of the greatest fortunes in history was built by Henry Ford.At its peak, his wealth surpassed $200 billion in today's dollars.To throw a little perspective on this, just keep in mind that it would take the combined net worths of BOTH Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerburg to barely top this feat.It was all thanks to the Model T.By 1925, Ford's Model T accounted for 40% of all cars sold in the United S...Read More

Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil increased over the week to Wednesday August 12 in Northern and Southern Europe, despite the seasonal market slowdown, sources have told Fastmarkets.Steelmakers have been seeking to achieve further price rises, according to market participants.Fastmarkets' daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was calculated at ?,?417.27 ($490.54) per...Read More

Domestic prices for heavy steel plate in Southern Europe were stable over the week to Wednesday August 12, although Italian re-rollers continued to push for a price rise.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel domestic plate, 8-40mm, exw Southern Europe, was unchanged over the week at ?,?450-470 ($529-553) per tonne on August 12.The assessment was based on deals heard in early August at ?,?...Read More

While it is often obvious who the losers are in a market rout, the winners can sometimes be harder to recognize. Technology stocks were the clear big dollar losers on Tuesday, falling almost on queue after back-to-back warnings from INK in our market report Monday and Charlie McElligot on INK Ultra Money yesterday (premium). Some of the winners, as it turns out, are leveraged to the economy. Copp...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday August 12 that are worth another look.ABN Amro will end its financing activities of commodity clients globally, it said on August 12.The London Metal Exchange's latest data shows a rise of 109,968 tonnes of off-warrant...Read More

Consumption of steel end-products by Turkey increased by 8.7% year-on-year in January-June 2020, while crude steel production decreased by 16.3% compared with the first six months of 2019, the Turkish Steel Producers' Association (TCUD) said on Tuesday August 11.The TCUD believed that the decline in production was a consequence of exports decreasing as a result of quota regimes in external markets...Read More

A summary of the financial results for Egypt's biggest steelmaking group, Ezz Steel, for the period from January 1 to March 31, 2020.In briefEarnings were down because "the negative effect of Covid-19 damped the positive volume trend [seen by Ezz Steel] at the beginning of the first quarter of 2020... Export quantities suffered the most," according to Paul Chekaiban, chairman and managing director...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday August 12 that are worth another look.ABN Amro will end its financing activities of commodity clients globally, it said on August 12.The London Metal Exchange's latest data shows a rise of 109,968 tonnes of off-warrant...Read More

Domestic ferrous scrap prices in Germany have increased month on month so far in August, supported by a recovery in international raw material prices and solid demand from German mills, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday August 12.Fastmarkets' monthly price assessment for steel scrap No E3 (old thick steel scrap), domestic, delivered mill, Germany, was ?,?225-240 ($265-282) per tonne on August...Read More

Steel producers in Turkey continued to stay away from the deep-sea scrap market and maintained their focus on the finished long steel markets, sources said on Wednesday August 12.Turkish steelmakers have booked a number of cargoes in recent weeks, with the latest transactions for HMS 1&2 (80:20) from the US and Baltic Sea done at $285 per tonne cfr.But the mills went quiet in the deep-sea markets...Read More

China's domestic rebar prices dropped on Wednesday August 12 following early hour futures losses, however, demand was stronger than in the past two days, sources said.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,610-3,640 yuan ($519-524) per tonne, down by 30 yuan per tonneBuyers raised their procurement rates at lower prices to replenish their rebar inventories. Construction sites, for example, typically...Read More

Are you planning on inflation, deflation or crisis? That's the question answered by Mike Maloney, Jeff Clark and Chris Martenson in today's video update. Also covered - the precious metals pullback, increasing strains on the global economy, the latest insane actions by the Fed, and most importantly...Mr Jeff Clark throws down some serious trash talk.Michael Maloney is a precious metals investment...Read More

For those who study currencies and economics, it's no longer a secret that we are witnessing the largest wealth transfer in global history. The big question is, will your wealth be included in that transfer, or would you like to hold onto it? As you know, I recommend holding on to it -in specific types of gold & silver, so it can't be hyper-inflated to zero like what's happening to the dollar righ...Read More

What makes Jim Rogers so bullish on bullion?Jim Rogers co-founded the Quantum Fund with George Soros in 1973, helping to steer the fund to a 4200% return before "retiring" at age 37. He is considered to be one of the greatest investors of all time. Rogers has made two record-setting journeys - once by motorcycle and once by car - and is in the Guinness Book of World Records for doing so. In betwee...Read More

David Stockman, who served as OMB director under Ronald Reagan, joins Gene Epstein, formerly of Barron's, to discuss where the economy is right now and where it's going. Gene is more optimistic than David, and a spirited exchange ensues.David Stockman is a former Republican congressman from Michigan and was President Reagan's budget director from 1981 to 1985. After leaving the White House, Stockm...Read More

Financial writer and precious metals expert Craig Hemke says we have not seen this sort of "perfect storm" in the precious metals market since the 1970's when gold increased nine fold until it topped out in 1980 at nearly $900 per ounce. If that happens again, that would put the gold price at nearly $18,000 per ounce. Hemke says, "This whole system is hyper-leveraged by the central banks. So, we h...Read More

Michael says, "We see now a rebound in the virus, the closing of the economies, and a fiscal cliff that is going to be absolutely devastating... The cliff is coming because you can't print trillions of dollars and borrow trillions every few months. No economy in the history of planet earth has ever been able to do that without destroying its currency and bond market. I don't think the US will be a...Read More

Jim Rogers co-founded the Quantum Fund with George Soros in 1973, helping to steer the fund to a 4200% return before "retiring" at age 37. He is considered to be one of the greatest investors of all time. Rogers has made two record-setting journeys - once by motorcycle and once by car - and is in the Guinness Book of World Records for doing so. In between his frequent travels, he has served as a p...Read More