(Bloomberg) - Moti Group is preparing to double its investments in Zimbabwe to $500 million after the removal of Robert Mugabe as president in November saw the government adopt a more open approach to foreign companies.Emmerson Mnangagwa, 75, who replaced Mugabe after the military briefly took control, has declared that "Zimbabwe is open for business" and has said he will ease the country's local...Read More
SHANGHAI, Mar 19 (SMM) – This is a roundup of global macroeconomic news last weekend and what is expected today.Last Friday nightBase metals edged down as the US dollar climbed up from lows and hovered around 90.1. SHFE copper and nickel dipped, while other SHFE metals registered small gains. LME zinc and aluminium closed higher, while LME lead fell close to 1%. LME copper tumbled to a low t...Read More
HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe has changed its empowerment law to limit majority ownership by state entities to only diamond and platinum mines and not the entire mining sector as in previous legislation, according to a government notice.The Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act introduced during the rule of former president Robert Mugabe was designed to increase black Zimbabweans’ stake...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Registration has opened for a three-day Analytical Methods in Gemology course to be held by AIGS (Asian Institute of Gemological Sciences) in Bangkok from April 25-27. The course will cover FTIR (Fourier Transformed Infrared Spectroscopy), ED-XRF (Energy Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometry) and UV-Vis-NIR (Ultra Violet-Visible-Near Infrared Spectroscopy), both theory...Read More
JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Mining production increased by 2.4% year-on-year in January, bolstered by strong growth in iron-ore production and “other” non-metallic minerals, Statistics South Africa figures how.The January growth compares with a contraction of 0.5% in December.AdvertisementInvestec states that the growth was above consensus expectations of 1.3% year-on-year,...Read More
RAPAPORT...The Diamond Dealers Club (DDC) has signed a memorandum of understanding(MoU) with the Shanghai Diamond Exchange (SDE) in an ongoing effort to facilitatebusiness opportunities. The SDE delegation's visit to the New York-based DDC is the Chinese bourse's first in more than 10 years, and will be the start of a series ofcollaborations between the groups. "As a member of a bourse or an excha...Read More
Zimbabwe's new government has changed its empowerment ownership laws for the diamond and platinum sectors, in an effort to re-engage international lenders, curb spending and attract investors to revive the country's battered economy.The new rules, Reuters reports, limit majority ownership by state entities to only diamond and platinum operations and not the entire mining sector as in previous...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Tiffany & Co. (NYSE:TIF) reported worldwide net sales increased 4% to $4.2 billion in its financial year ended January 31, 2018. The results reflected sales growth in most regions and across most jewelry categories; comparable store sales were equal to the prior year and were consistent with guidance previously issued. Net earnings of $370 million were 17% below...Read More
SHANGHAI, Mar 19 (SMM) –Copper: LME copper lost the support from the five- and 10-day moving averages as the US dollar strengthened, while its SHFE counterpart performed no better. We expect LME copper to trade at $6,830-6,900/mt today, with SHFE copper at 51,400-51,900 yuan/mt. Spot discounts are seen smaller at 250-200 yuan/mt.Aluminium: LME aluminium gradually fell with resistance at the...Read More
RAPAPORT... India's polished-diamond exports grew slightly inFebruary, according to data from the nation's Gem & Jewellery ExportPromotion Council (GJEPC). Polished exports increased 0.5% year on year to $2.43 billionand, by volume, fell 6% to 3.1 million carats. The average price rose 6% to $791per carat. Polished imports dropped 12% year on year to $158.3 million,while net polished expo...Read More
Jonathan Satchell, chief executive at Learning Technologies (LON:LTG) , talks to Proactive about the group's plans to increase its presence in North America and trading ahead of expectations.Revenue of ?52.1mln was up 84% from ?28.3mln in 2016. Recurring revenue accounted for 39% of total revenue, up from 27% in 2016, while revenue from outside the UK rose to 46% of the total from 36% the previo...Read More
LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) is tracking how regularly customers shop at its store without checkout lines in Seattle - and so far, the verdict is they keep coming back.“The ones who work very close, like in the building up above, will come down even just to grab a drink because it’s so fast and easy,” Amazon Vice President Gianna Puerini said in an interview at t...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. said its second diamond sale of 2018 of approximately 177,000 carats raised $25.1 million, with a price per carat of $142 which is the highest achieved by Mountain Province in any tender sale to date. The price per carat of $142 "reflects in part the deferral into this sale of half of the fancies and specials from the last production split of...Read More
Joao Andrade, chief executive of WideCells Group PLC (LON:WDC), and chief scientific officer Peter Hollands tell Proactive about the significance of the UK grant to work for research on a new form of stem cell technology.The new technology allows specialised adult cells such as skin cells to be genetically re-programmed to be used in stem cell treatment and in the study of disease.Following the re...Read More
(Reuters) - U.S. stocks dropped on Monday as a plunge in shares of Facebook led a sell-off in technology stocks on reports that the social media company’s user information was misused.Facebook shares tumbled 7.1 percent as Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg faced calls from both U.S. and European lawmakers to explain how a consultancy that worked on President Donald Trump’s election campa...Read More
(Kitco News) - As the Federal Open Market Committee meeting approaches, one analyst tells investors to keep their “zen” when it comes to gold prices.The main driver for the yellow metal this week is the Federal Reserve’s highly anticipated rate hike on Wednesday.Until then, there is “no clear direction in gold,” Boris Mikanikrezai, precious metals analyst at FastMarke...Read More
(IDEX Online) - ALROSA's United Selling Organization (USO) sold 112 special size rough diamonds (over 10.8 carats) weighing a total of 1,787 carats for $13.5 million at the recent Hong Kong International Diamond, Gem & Pearl Show. "The Hong Kong auction with 50 participating companies demonstrated that demand for rough diamonds of this size category remains stable," said ALROSA Dep...Read More
Zoo Digital Group PLC's (LON:ZOO) Stuart Green tells Proactive's Andrew Scott the company has seen rapid traction in its digital business following the global transition toward streaming service models.He adds that in the period since then the company has grown dramatically, drawing interest from investors as a result.Green also says the expansion of streaming is driving the demand for localisatio...Read More
RAPAPORT... Tiffany's sales jumped 9% in the fourth fiscal quarter, as US and Far East demand strengthened.Global revenue grew to $1.33 billion, the company said Friday. Sales increased 13% year on year to $320 million in the Asia-Pacificregion for the three months ending January 31, while revenue in the Americas climbed 5% to $619 million.However, worldwide comparable-store sales - those atb...Read More
WARSAW (Reuters) - The European Union must have a common policy towards Russia and China, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday.“We must have a common policy towards Russia and China,” Merkel said via a translator at a joint conference with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki in Warsaw.Merkel also said that the future of the entire European Union was important for her gov...Read More