EDENVILLE, South Africa (Reuters) - Earlier this year, Nick Serfontein wrote an open letter to South African President Cyril Ramaphosa asking him to take the views of white farmers on board as the government considers expropriating land without compensation to reduce rural poverty.Now Serfontein sits on a 10-person board advising the president where to go next, based on what he says is his own exp...Read More

POTUS said trade discussions were going well with ChinaThe Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) has kicked off November with a bang -- up triple digits on strong blue-chip earnings and an upbeat tone on trade talks from President Donald Trump. Specifically, Trump tweeted that tariff discussions with Chinese President Xi Jinping were "moving along nicely," and that meetings between the two leaders w...Read More

(Reuters) - From suburbs to conservative rural areas, Democrats seeking a majority in at least one house of the U.S. Congress in next week’s elections are spending the last days of the campaign on one message: They will protect Americans’ healthcare coverage.The strategy is clear in campaigns like that of Democrat Andy Kim, who has spent the past 16 months trying to unseat Republican U...Read More

(Reuters) - Top U.S. automakers reported another month of rises in sales of sports utility vehicles and pick-up trucks on Thursday as American consumers continued to shun sedans and hatchbacks.The country’s No. 2 producer, Ford Motor Co (F.N), reported a 6.7 percent rise in SUV sales to 67,554 units in October, while smaller rival Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (FCAU.N) (FCHA.MI) saw overall s...Read More

Summaries of the Benchmark, Argus and Metal Bulletin (now Fastmarkets) lithium LME pitchesRead full newsRead More

WASHINGTON/BEIJING (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday said trade discussions with China were “moving along nicely” and that he planned to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the upcoming G-20 summit, after the two had a “very good” talk.Earlier on Thursday, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang told a group of visiting U.S. politicians that China and the United...Read More

DODGE CITY, Kan. (Reuters) - Clemente Torres has proudly cast his vote in person at Dodge City’s lone polling place in every election since he became a naturalized citizen 20 years ago.This year is different.After Republican officials said in September they would move the Hispanic-majority city’s only polling place to a remote spot outside the city limits, across railroad tracks and aw...Read More

TEL AVIV (Reuters) - Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (TEVA.TA) (TEVA.N) raised its 2018 earnings outlook, said it was seeing “a very strong launch” for its long-awaited migraine treatment Ajovy and expects to launch generic EpiPen in the fourth quarter.Teva raised its full-year forecast for adjusted EPS to $2.80-$2.95, from a previous estimate of $2.55-$2.80 and its shares were 8.5 perc...Read More

(Kitco News) - Gold prices are sharply higher and near their daily highs inlate-morning trading Thursday. The precious metals are getting a solid boostfrom a big drop in the U.S. dollar index today, showing its largest daily lossin quite some time. December gold was last up $18.20 an ounce at $1,233.20.By Jim Wyckoff For Kitco NewsFollow @jimwyckoffjwyckoff@kitco.comwww.kitco.com Disclaimer: The v...Read More

Square reports earnings on Nov. 7Like most of the stock market, the shares of Square Inc (NYSE:SQ) struggled in October, giving up more than 25%. However, SQ stock recently sent up a pair of technical buy signals, and seasonality could bode well for the security. With earnings less than a week away, we decided to look at the prospects of a short-term Square rebound.After touching a record high of...Read More

Apple earnings are due after the close tonightIt's been a busy month for the shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), per the stock's 30-day historical volatility of 34.6% -- in the 95th annual percentile. Today, the security is down a modest 0.1% to trade at $218.55, but the options market is pricing in a larger-than-usual move after the iPhone maker reports earnings later tonight.At last check, Trade...Read More

NEW YORK (Reuters) - BlackRock Inc (BLK.N) Chief Executive Larry Fink said on Thursday the United States is on a path to a full-fledged trade war against China as the world’s two largest economies engage in tit-for-tat tariffs.Fink is one of the most influential figures in global finance, who keeps up relations with politicians in many countries as leader of the world’s largest fund ma...Read More

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India’s environment minister blamed the Delhi government and its neighboring states for failing in their efforts to check air pollution which was six times above the recommended limit on Thursday, posing severe health risks.The minister, Harsh Vardhan, said in a statement that efforts by state governments, including Punjab and Haryana, to bring down incidents of widespr...Read More

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump in a tweet on Thursday said he had a “very good” talk with Chinese President Xi Jinping on trade and North Korea and that the two planned to meet at the upcoming G-20 summit.“Just had a long and very good conversation with President Xi Jinping of China. We talked about many subjects, with a heavy emphasis on Trade,” Trump w...Read More

The shares are in territory not charted since August 2017Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) stock is getting destroyed this morning, after the chipmaker revealed that it recently discovered a cyber attack that may have compromised confidential customer information. Adding salt to the proverbial wounds, the firm reported weaker-than-expected third-quarter revenue, and issued current-quarter guida...Read More

(Reuters) - U.S. stocks opened higher on Thursday, leaving behind a brutal October, as a slew of positive earnings reports helped boost risk sentiment.The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 26.32 points, or 0.10 percent, at the open to 25,142.08.The S&P 500 .SPX opened higher by 5.84 points, or 0.22 percent, at 2,717.58. The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC gained 21.92 points, or 0.30 percent...Read More

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department is set to announce multiple criminal charges on Thursday against two former Goldman Sachs Inc (GS.N) bankers and Malaysian financier Jho Low tied to the Malaysia 1MDB sovereign wealth fund scandal, the Wall Street Journal reported.Citing sources familiar with the case, the Wall Street Journal said Tim Leissner, former partner for Goldman Sachs in...Read More

SBUX has added 23% since late JuneThe shares of Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) are down 0.1% to trade at $58.23 this morning. The coffee giant just announced the release of its red-and-green holiday cups, but more importantly, will report fiscal fourth-quarter earnings after the close tonight. Over the last eight quarters, Trade-Alert data shows SBUX making an average move of 3.3% in the...Read More

(Kitco News) - Gold prices ticked up and were trading near daily highs after the headline manufacturing index from the Institute for Supply Management missed expectations and came in at 57.7% in October. Market consensus called for the index to come in at 59%. October’s monthly decrease marked a 2.1-percentage point drop from September’s reading of 59.8%.Readings above 50% in such diff...Read More

(Kitco News) - Gold prices ticked up and were trading near daily highs after the headline manufacturing index from the Institute for Supply Management missed expectations and came in at 57.7% in October. Market consensus called for the index to come in at 59%. October’s monthly decrease marked a 2.1-percentage point drop from September’s reading of 59.8%.Readings above 50% in such diff...Read More