Today the Hon. Jerome H. Powell executed the high and solemn duty of his office…Word came down at 2:00 that he is raising the Fed's target rate another quarter-point.The new target will ply the range between 1.5% and 1.75% - up 0.25% from its previous range.The Dow Jones popped some 70 points on the news.The news was expected, after all.And markets enjoy having their expectations confirmed.B...Read More

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. home sales rebounded strongly in February, boosted by hefty gains in the South and West regions, but a chronic shortage of houses on the market remains an obstacle heading into the spring selling season.The National Association of Realtors said on Wednesday that existing home sales jumped 3.0 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.54 million units last month....Read More

My Dad had to put himself through college.To pay his own way, he worked a number of jobs while taking classes and studying. And to save money and time, he ate the vast majority of his meals at "greasy spoon" diners.So by the time I was born he had gained a college diploma ... a solid job ... and also more than a hundred pounds of extra weight.As a kid, I recall jumping on his very large belly and...Read More

Domestic prices for hot-rolled coil (HRC) in the EU have been stable this week with buyers remaining in "wait-and-see" mode, sources have told Metal Bulletin.Although activity is scarce, prices are not expected to go down, according to market sources.European steelmakers have largely sold out their second-quarter production of HRC, but have not announced new prices yet. The mills will make attempt...Read More

TAIPEI (Reuters) - The United States’ commitment to Taiwan has never been stronger and the island is an inspiration to the rest of the Indo-Pacific region, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Alex Wong said on Wednesday, in comments certain to anger Beijing.Wong was speaking during a visit to Taipei at a time of increased hostility between the self-ruled island and Beijing and just a da...Read More

The latest news and price moves to start the Asian day on Thursday March 22.Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange closed higher across the board on Wednesday March 21 after the dollar weakened slightly. Read more in our live futures report.Here are how LME prices looked at Wednesday's close:Major international mining companies active in the Democratic Republic of the Congo previously sup...Read More

“Hey Dad, does this dress make me look...”I had to cut her off mid-sentence.“Beautiful? Yes, sweetheart it does!”She rolled her eyes the way only a 16-year-old daughter can, and said “you’re just saying that so we can quit shopping and go home.”It did seem like we had been shopping a long time. And at that point, all of the dresses were starting to look th...Read More

A new residence hall scheduled to break ground this fall on the Colorado School of Mines campus was recently featured by Business Den, a Denver-focused online business publication.The 400-bed hall will be located between Starzer Welcome Center and Weaver Towers. It is being designed by Denver-based Anderson Mason Dale Architects and Seattle's NAC Architecture.Read More

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission proposed rules on Wednesday to make digital companies pay their fair share of tax, with U.S. tech giants such as Google (GOOGL.O), Facebook (FB.O) and Amazon (AMZN.O) set to foot a large chunk of the bill.Under the Commission’s plan, companies with significant digital revenues in Europe will pay a 3 percent tax on their turnover on various online...Read More

Vered Toledo, chief operating officer of Shefa Yamim (ATM) (LON:SEFA), talks to Proactive about the ongoing bulk sampling at Kishon Mid-Reach in Israel, where the unique Carmel sapphire has been prevalent so far.Fourteen samples have been taken from zone 1 at the alluvial deposit, of which two are left to be processed, she said.Once that is done, the company will process samples from zone 2.Toledo...Read More

The 12 Apostles of the Keynesian faith huddled in prayer today, beseeching the Almighty for light... and guidance.New Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell is leading the business.Should they raise the federal funds target rate another quarter point, to 1.75%?Or should they leave it be - and abet further the deadly sin of greed?Tomorrow at 2 p.m. EDT the holy bell will ring... and the announcemen...Read More

The latest metal markets news and price moves to start the North American day on Wednesday March 21. Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange were on divergent paths during morning trading, with copper prices falling further. The three-month copper price was down $40 per tonne and trading at levels unseen since December 2017. Easing supply concerns have put pressure on copper prices over th...Read More

Six Colorado School of Mines students will head to England over spring break to compete in the 40th International Mining Games. The Camborne School of Mines is hosting the games at the King Edward Mine, welcoming teams from 40 mining schools from around the world to compete in seven events that showcase traditional mining methods. The games were started in 1978 to commemorate the 1972 Sunshine M...Read More

BEIJING (Reuters) - China will prudently advance cooperation with the Philippines on joint oil and gas exploration in the South China Sea, China’s top diplomat State Councillor Wang Yi said on Wednesday after meeting his Philippine counterpart.Any potential deals between Manila and Beijing on energy exploration in the disputed waterway should be agreed with a company and not the Chinese gove...Read More

Good morning from Metal Bulletin's office in Shanghai as we bring you the latest news and pricing stories on Wednesday March 21. Base metal prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were broadly lower during Asian morning trading on Wednesday with the risk-off tone persisting amid fears of a trade war between the United States and China, and ahead of the US Federal Open Market Committee's monetary p...Read More

Mark Scanlon, chief executive of Personal Group Holdings plc (LON:PGH), caught up with Proactive to discuss their preliminary results for the year to the end of December 2017.2017's been described as a 'strong' year across much of the Group's operations with underlying earnings (EBITDA) of ?10.8m - a touch ahead of market expectations.Looking ahead Scanlon says the key for them this year will be...Read More

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Wednesday he remained optimistic Canada would get a good deal on NAFTA, adding he was aware of the time pressures imposed on the negotiations by the U.S. and Mexican elections.“We continue to be optimistic about our capacity to get to a good win-win-win (deal),” Trudeau told reporters when asked about the trade talks. &...Read More

Leo Koot, executive chairman of Columbus Energy PLC (LON:CERP), discusses with Proactive the restructuring of the Beach Oilfield Limited (BOLT) transaction in the South West Peninsula of Trinidad.''Up until now we've been focused on Goudron and Goudron production ... this deal gives us the opportunity to allow Goudron to do what it does ... but the big growth is in this deal in the South West Peni...Read More

(Reuters) - DZ Bank was the third Wall Street brokerage this week to make a rare cut in price targets for Facebook Inc (FB.O) on Wednesday as the social network’s shares slid for a third day in response to a row over data use by Cambridge Analytica.The brokerage cut its target for the California-based firm by $20 to $210, still way above the current share price of $165 but adding to signs th...Read More

BERLIN (Reuters) - All options to respond to planned U.S. tariffs on aluminum and steel will be discussed at a summit of EU leaders this week, a German government official said on Wednesday.The official expressed confidence that the European Union would take a coherent stance on the issue and said there was willingness to talk to the United States about reducing tariffs and other restrictions to t...Read More