Three editors of Colorado School of Mines' literary and arts journal received some extra-special inspiration at the Association of Writers and Writing Programs Conference in Florida: They got to meet with Man Booker Prize-winning author and Mines alumnus George Saunders '81 before he delivered the event's keynote speech.High Grade co-editors in chief Wenli Dickinson, a senior in environmental engi...Read More

This weekend, I spent a lot of time on the road...From an 8-hour drive for a family wedding on Saturday, to a half-marathon race through the streets of Atlanta Georgia, I had a chance to see a lot of pavement.And what I saw along the way was a “HUGE” opportunity for you to make some serious money in 2018.It’s all because of the badly needed infrastructure spending Trump has been...Read More

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Britain agreed to a potentially unpalatable deal to avoid a “hard border” for Northern Ireland on Monday to win agreement from the European Union that it would retain most EU benefits for nearly two years after Brexit.After a weekend of intensive talks under the shadow of Irish fears of “backsliding” by London on a “backstop” accord that Pri...Read More

Several deals were heard secured early last week, after which buying activity in the CIS export billet market faded with downward sentiment starting to spread while prices fell in China."The market got frozen recently [and] people are watching Chinese prices falling significantly," an international trading source told Metal Bulletin.Metal Bulletin's export CIS Billet Index remained largely unchang...Read More

LONDON (Reuters) - The European Union and Britain agreed that their divorce treaty would include an emergency “backstop” to avoid a hard border in Ireland, the bloc’s Brexit negotiator said on Monday, adding that meant London would now get a transition deal.“We have transition deal,” Michel Barnier told reporters after a weekend of late-night negotiations with Britain...Read More

The latest metal markets news and price moves to start the North American day on Monday March 19.Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange fell across the board during morning trading on Monday March 19, with copper the worst affected.Here's how base...Read More

* Bond yields touch higher* ECB’s de Galhau, Knot, Weidmann optimistic on inflation* But overall dovish ECB message buffers bond market* U.S. Fed meeting in focus* Euro zone periphery govt bond yields tmsnrt.rs/2ii2Bqr (Updates throughout)By Dhara RanasingheLONDON, March 19 (Reuters) - Most euro zone government bond yields crept up on Monday, pushing off multi-week lows after upbeat commen...Read More

Good morning from Metal Bulletin's office in Shanghai as we bring you the latest news and pricing stories on Monday March 19.Base metal prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were all lower during Asian morning trading on Monday, with several factors including easing supply concerns, a stronger dollar and an upcoming United States monetary policy meeting pressuring copper prices in particular.Che...Read More

Alastair Clayton, executive director of Primorus Investments PLC (LON:PRIM), tells Proactive's Andrew Scott his mission is to fund small companies, from a wide range of industries, in a way that's relatively absent in the London market.''We've got a lot of very frustrated CEOs and management teams, companies looking to grow their business and they can't find any pure equity''.''We only have one re...Read More

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union is close to offering Britain a deal on a post-Brexit status quo transition this week, EU diplomats said on Monday, as Ireland sought assurances any agreement would not let London water down pledges on its Northern Irish border.Asked about a deal, EU negotiator Michel Barnier told reporters “We are determined” as he welcomed British Brexit Secreta...Read More

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The United States has raised concerns about the functioning of the World Trade Organisation and asked for reforms, WTO Director General Roberto Azevedo said on Monday.Azevedo, speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an informal meeting of about 50 WTO members in New Delhi, said the global trade environment was quite risky and the trade body had sought an “open and hon...Read More

LONDON (Reuters) - Shares were stuck on their worst run since November on Monday, as caution gripped traders in a week in which the Federal Reserve is likely to raise U.S. interest rates and perhaps signal as many as three more hikes lie in store this year.A near 1 percent drop for Europe’s main bourses <0#.INDEXE> amid a flurry of gloomy company news [.EU] and weaker Wall Street futur...Read More

Lithium mostly hits the headlines in debate about increasing battery production, but it's probably not presently the mineral that worries the industry most. That distinction likely goes to cobalt, for a few reasons. It is - with today's technology - a vital part of lithium-ion batteries, which are those used in smartphones, laptops and other devices, including, importantly, the current generation...Read More

London Metal Exchange warehouse stocks have staged a recovery over the first few months of this year from the multi-year lows of 2017, due to a flurry of large deliveries across many of the base metals. After last year was marked by dwindling stock levels across the board, the first few months of 2018 have seen a reversal - with companies putting more metal back into LME-approved warehouses. "The...Read More

A flurry of new deals announced Monday suggests that mergers and acquisitions among junior mining companies, particularly in the gold space, could be heating up after several slow months.In the biggest mining deal announced so far this year in Canada, the 127-year old Idaho-based Hecla Mining Co. proposed what it estimated as a US$462 million cash-and-share acquisition of Nevada-based Klondex Mine...Read More

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were mostly lower at the close on Monday March 19, while most prices lacked clear direction before Wednesday's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. Nickel prices declined $145 per tonne - the metal has come under sustained pressure since it hit $14,000 per tonne last week and cannot find new support."The combination of a strong dollar index...Read More

Comex copper prices slipped further Monday March 19 morning with the market in consolidation mode due to investors heading to the sidelines ahead of the Federal Reserve meeting.Copper for May settlement on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange dipped 1.95 cents or 0.6% to $3.0890 per lb."While the consolidation in copper prices may run a little further on the back of an overall we...Read More

Turns out, it may be easier to strike gold by growing green.Just ask Jay Wilgar, a former wind power developer who started a medical marijuana company with friend Travis Kanellos after hatching the idea while lifting weights at a gym. When they began looking at ways to take their startup public, advisers suggested partnering with Newstrike Resources Inc., a Toronto-based firm that had been looking...Read More

After suffering for some seven years through to 2015, the world's steelmakers have had cause for cheer over the past couple of years. After some heavy losses and write-downs, they finally appear to have emerged from the wreckage of the global financial crisis. An economic upswing has taken root in most regions of the world, Chinese steel output and export growth has slowed noticeably, and steel pr...Read More

Peter KrauthMembers of the Federal Reserve's Open Market Committee will meet Wednesday (March 21), which will help boost gold prices in 2018…Gold prices have been stuck in a tight range between $1,310 and $1,325 over the last week, but the Fed meeting this week could propel them higher.Before the last several Fed rate hikes, gold corrected modestly in the weeks before, then jumped higher onc...Read More