The big questions being tossed around Wall Street today are: why are markets such a mess? Why are we getting these wild swings?The reality is that the markets are NOT a mess. These are actually normal healthy markets. Healthy markets move, sometimes a lot in a small span of time.The real issue is that from '09 until recently, the market was completely artificial because Central Banks cornered ALL...Read More

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Lawmakers have included nearly $400 million in a massive federal government spending bill to help safeguard U.S. voting systems from cyber attacks, three sources familiar with negotiations said on Wednesday.The spending package, expected to be publicly unveiled on Wednesday, includes $380 million to provide states with grants that would help them purchase more secure voting...Read More

Mills across Europe producing hollow steel sections have continued this week to be largely unsuccessful in raising their prices for tube products because many producers are in need of bookings, sources told Metal Bulletin on Wednesday March 21."They've been trying for several weeks, but they've been unsuccessful. If they don't get orders, they can't raise their prices, and they are all in urgent n...Read More

Key Metric LIBOR OIS Signals Major Credit Concerns - Widening of the spread between LIBOR OIS (overnight index swap) rate raises concerns- Spread jumped to 9 year widest spread, rising to 54.6bps, most since May 2009.- Libor recently moved to over 2% for first time since 2008- Wider spread usually associated with heightened credit concernsMajor credit concerns are back as one of the key U.S. metri...Read More

The tech giant has been one of the worst stocks to own during Easter weekFAANG stocks have been in focus this week, amid the fallout from Facebook's (FB) data harvesting scandal. While FB shares are pacing for their worst week in years, Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) stock is currently staring at a 3.7% week-to-date deficit -- down 0.3% today to trade at $1,092.96. And if history is any guide, GOOGL...Read More

By Graham Summers The big questions being tossed around Wall Street today are: why are markets such a mess? Why are we getting these wild swings? The reality is that the markets are NOT a mess. These are actually normal healthy markets. Healthy markets move, sometimes a lot in a small span of time. The real issue is that from '09 until recently, the market was completely artificial because Ce...Read More

(Kitco News) - Gold prices have extended early gains and are trading solidly up andnear their daily highs in late-morning action Wednesday. After seeing sellingpressure in recent days, it's likely that traders have already factored in aquarter-point interest rate rise coming from the Federal Reserve thisafternoon. The rally today is a "sell-the-rumor, buy-the-fact"phenomenon so commonly...Read More

SHANGHAI, Mar 21 (SMM) – The global demand for cobalt is expected to surge to over 200,000 mt per year by 2025, according to Eurasian Resources Group (ERG), a leading producer for battery-use cobalt that is headquartered in Luxembourg. ERG believes that cobalt is currently the commodity with the greatest potential.Most of the growth will come from lithium-ion batteries which will accoun...Read More

Domestic prices for steel beams have inched down across Europe although market participants expect to see mills raise their offer prices in the coming week after ferrous scrap prices increased.Prices for ferrous scrap in Italy increased by ?,?30 ($37) per tonne in March, while those in Germany rose by around ?,?20 per tonne."I expect to see some movement [in prices] because these guys can't keep r...Read More

"Basically... if the Federal Reserve was inflicted upon America by a foreign power it would have been considered an act of war." Join Mike Maloney and Stefan Molyneux as they explore the unintended consequences that await us due to the immoral acts perpetrated by government and the Federal Reserve System.********* Read More

CRM stock is slipping after the cloud concern said it is buying MuleSoftSalesforce.com, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) said it is purchasing San Francisco-based software firm MuleSoft (MULE) in a cash-and-stock deal valued at roughly $6.5 billion, which includes debt. And while most analysts are upbeat over the buyout -- with Canaccord Genuity calling the deal a "good outcome for shareholders" and Barclays boost...Read More

Dear Friend of GATA and Gold:One could spend a lifetime trying to correct the unsupported beliefs about the gold market expressed by Keith Weiner of Monetary Metals, but your secretary/treasurer has his own failings to correct, like his own omission yesterday, in "Does Weiner Really Know What Central Bankers Think Better Than They Themselves Do?" --http://gata.org/node/18115-- of another telling...Read More

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. bond market shows investors are confident that inflation has picked up from last year’s low levels, but they are not so sure it will head much higher from here.The muted outlook comes as Federal Reserve officials at a two-day policy meeting that began on Tuesday are likely discussing whether they should stick with their path on raising key short-term interest ra...Read More

Prices for rebar produced and delivered in Southern Europe narrowed downward by ?,?5 per tonne this week with demand and market activity weakening, sources told Metal Bulletin on Wednesday March 21."The price has moved down a little due to the very cold weather and weak demand," one Southern European producer source said.Metal Bulletin's weekly domestic price assessment for rebar in Southern Europ...Read More

Rising costs caused General Mills to slash its full-year outlookGeneral Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) stock is cratering today, down 7.9% at $45.96, and earlier touching a five-year low of $44.80, after the company reported fiscal third-quarter earnings this morning. While earnings and sales beat expectations, the company slashed its full-year profit outlook. The packaged food giant cited high costs in...Read More

SHANGHAI, Mar 21 (SMM) – Prices of prebaked anode will continue to tumble as supply grows after production restrictions are lifted at the end of the heating season, SMM believed. SMM sees downward room in prices, which have declined for three consecutive months. According to SMM, profit margins could be significant if current cash costs for prebaked anode are capped ...Read More

By Ronan Manlyhttps://www.bullionstar.com/Collectively, the central bank sector claims to hold the world's largest above ground gold bar stockpile, some 33,800 tonnes of gold bars. Individually within this group, some central banks claim to be the top holders of gold bullion in the world, with individual holdings in the thousands of tonnes range.This worldwide central bank group, also known as t...Read More

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump will likely announce tariffs on Chinese imports by Friday, a source in the administration said, as the top U.S. trade diplomat told lawmakers he had the tools to strike back over Chinese theft of U.S. tech know-how.Reuters reported last week that the president could target up to $60 billion in imports from China. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighth...Read More

"under the veil of protection offered them as Primary Dealers for the Federal Reserve...price manipulation continues with no end in sight.by Craig Hemke via SilverSeekMuch has been written lately about the size and scope of JPMorgan's COMEX silver vault. We thought we'd add to that conversation today.First of all, some background.JPMorgan didn't even have a COMEX silver vault in early 2011. The ap...Read More

Weak demand for Turkish long steel products in the country's export market and Section 232 uncertainty kept Turkish steel producers out of the deep-sea scrap markets on Wednesday March 21.After stepping back from the deep-sea scrap markets on March 9, when the United States applied a 25% duty on imports of steel products following the Section 232 investigation, there has been no...Read More