Value investing just can’t catch a break. The bull market — remember that? — was all about chasing upside. Value investors and contrarians were rubbing shoulders. Now comes the coronavirus, and not only is nobody rubbing shoulders anymore, but value investing is just as unpopular. But again, the contrarian thesis is strong here. There are a bunch of names that are simply reviled...Read More

There may be bumps in the road for the green economy. Staunch oil bulls must be relieved to see it. After all, the emergence of better electric vehicle (EV) tech and the increasing cost efficiencies of renewables are major headwinds for oil. But the war for the middle ground of the energy sector is far from over. In fact, a pullback in green economy stocks could even be seen as a mid-term value op...Read More

Commodities  markets have been odd this year, while oil is going through one of the most unprecedented crashes in history, many other commodities markets are seeing a shortage in production. This is creating the perfect environment for several TSX stocks.Gold, for example, is likely to see a major increase in demand this year as governments put downward pressure on their currencies. Yet many...Read More

Autonomous truck at the Solomon Hub. (Image courtesy of Fortescue Metals Group) Fortescue Metals ASX: (FMG) has upgraded its guidance for 2020 iron ore shipments to 175-177 million tonnes, based on strong operating performance year-to-date. The company reported third-quarter iron ore shipments of 42.3 million tonnes, 10% higher than 38.3 million tonnes a year earlier. Year-to-date shipments are...Read More

"Never allow a crisis to go to waste." Depending on your interpretation, that can mean several things. For some, it can mean learning from whatever happened to prevent it from occurring again. For others, it can mean using a crisis to further some goal. If you've been reading the headlines over the past few weeks, you know China has taken it to mean the latter. As the world continues dealing w...Read More

Image by M W from Pixabay. Investment inflows helped push the gold price to a seven-year high during Q1, as global gold demand in value terms reached $55 billion - the highest since Q2 2013.In the first quarter, global demand for the yellow metal inched up 1% year-on-year to 1,083.8 tonnes, in large part due to an 80% surge in total investment demand (to 539.6 tonnes) as investors look to safe-ha...Read More

Image courtesy of Yamana Gold. Yamana Gold (TSX:YRI; NYSE:AUY) has raised its annual dividend by a further 25% to $0.0625 on the back of strong first-quarter results. This is the third dividend increase announced by the company over the past year, representing a cumulative total increase of 213%.For the three-month period, Yamana posted net earnings of $45 million or $0.05 per share, an improveme...Read More

The China-Belarus deal ends a 19-month wait for an annual potash contract. (Image courtesy of BPC.) Belarusian potash marketer BPC, the world's largest exporter of fertilizers, has inked a deal with a consortium of Chinese companies who agreed to buy the commodity for $220 a tonne, a $70 per tonne decline on the previous contract.Supply contracts to China and India traditionally are benchmarks f...Read More

Endeavour's first and highest grade silver mine, Guanacevi, in the Durango state. (Image courtesy of Endeavour Silver.) Canada's Endeavour Silver (TSX:EDR) (NYSE: EXK) anticipates reopening its three Mexican mines on May 18, despite the country'sgovernment extending the suspension of all non-essential activities until May30.The reason for the early resumption of operations is that President A...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday April 30 that are worth another look.Indian steel mills are unlikely to cut domestic hot rolled coil prices for sales in May, private mill sources in the country told Fastmarkets this week.ABN AMRO Bank has filed a claim against China's largest private copper smelter Dongying Fangyuan, according to a court document seen by Fastmar...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.Stainless steel prices have fared relatively well over the past couple of months in the face of the threat from the Covid-19 pandemic.In grade-304 material, the most common grade of stainless steel, prices were down by about 5-7% since the turn of the year - not bad, when compared with the falls in prices of other assets so f...Read More

The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange lost ground at the close of trading on Thursday April 30, closing at its lowest level in more than a week against thin turnover, while selling pressure pushed copper futures below nearby support levels.Nickel's outright price on the LME closed at $12,192 per tonne on Thursday afternoon, falling from an intraday high of $12,355 per tonne. Tu...Read More

Bob Moriarty ArchivesApr 30, 2020Even as a teenage fledgling fighter pilot going through training in the mid-1960s, I understood the vital nature of optics. Long before Tom Wolfe came up with the name The Right Stuff to describe what jet pilots went through and sometimes survived during the early jet age, we accepted the possibility of an early death. Hell, that’s what made it so much fun.It...Read More

Key pricing data from the pricing session for Fastmarkets' alumina index, fob Australia on Thursday April 30. Fastmarkets' daily alumina index, fob Australia moved up to $241.37 per tonne on Thursday from $233.93 per tonne the previous day. The index is now at its highest since April 1 when it was at $241.52 per tonne. Key drivers:  Three new deals concluded Thursday, with two destined f...Read More

KAZ Minerals has delayed the start of production at its $1.2 billion Aktogay copper expansion project in Kazakhstan to late 2021, citing the impacts to its supply chain of the Covid-19 pandemic. The company has also cut its capital expenditure for the project this year to $300-350 million from $400 million previously forecast. KAZ Minerals had spent $663 million on the project by the end of 2019,...Read More

The company had announced an exit strategy for VNC in the France-governed island in the Pacific Ocean in December.Travers said Vale received some non-binding offers for VNC at the end of February and he did not believe the COVID-19 pandemic would impact the process too much."So we have a good level of confidence that we should be finding a potential investor in the next month or two," he said."So...Read More

Lundin Mining has cut its 2020 copper and zinc production guidance due to changes related to the Covid-19 pandemic and said forecasts for expanded zinc output next year at its Neves-Corvo mine in Portugal should no longer be counted on. The Toronto, Canada-headquartered company, which has not experienced significant disruptions to output, concentrate shipments or its supply chain, said 2020 group...Read More

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday April 30 that are worth another look.Indian steel mills are unlikely to cut domestic hot rolled coil prices for sales in May, private mill sources in the country told Fastmarkets this week.ABN AMRO Bank has filed a claim against China's largest private copper smelter Dongying Fangyuan, according to a court document seen by Fastmar...Read More

The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets' team of analysts is ready to view.Stainless steel prices have fared relatively well over the past couple of months in the face of the threat from the Covid-19 pandemic.In grade-304 material, the most common grade of stainless steel, prices were down by about 5-7% since the turn of the year - not bad, when compared with the falls in prices of other assets so f...Read More

RambusBefore we look at tonight's Precious Metals charts I would like to make a comment on the US stock markets. I will take some flack over some of the comments I'm going to make but that's fine as it won't be the first time nor the last.Let me start by saying, "The only rule when it comes to trading the stock markets is, "There Are No Rules." The other important rule that I live by is that, "t...Read More