For a measure of how much last week's surge in gold prices may have caught the market by surprise, consider that hedge funds had just made their biggest-ever bearish wager on the metal days before.Speculators boosted their net-short position in bullion futures and options to the largest since at least 2006 in the week ended Tuesday, according to government data released three days later. By Thursd...Read More

A free tool can help traders bank big this earnings season.Financial stocks (JPM, C, and WFC) kicked off earnings season on Friday, and traders need to position themselves now in order to ensure maximum profit from it.One company can help any investor do just that.They've developed a tool that predicts volatility based on earnings announcements.The tool works on select stocks with a 77.6% accuracy...Read More

The bull market could be nearing its end, and a new panic is approaching.The U.S. Mint just issued a troubling report.It appears that sales of physical gold and silver are in full collapse.At the Mint, U.S. Gold Eagle coins sold through August have dropped 18% compared to last year.And sales of U.S. Silver Eagle coins fell a whopping 32.6% in August 2018 compared to August 2017.What exactly is go...Read More

(Bloomberg) - The Gentleman coal plant was once the linchpin of Nebraska's electricity grid, its twin smokestacks visible for miles across the prairie. Now, the state's biggest power source is routinely pushed aside to make room for more wind and solar energy.Forty years ago there was no influx of intermittent energy. Now, the coal plants can make more money when the renewables are down.Operators...Read More

Trump may be facing an uphill battle he can't win in 2020.He's a successful businessman who never held public office before winning the Presidency...He's coming into power after an electoral college landslide...And he did it by beating an out-of-touch New Yorker opponent.Once in office, he launches a vast trade war, promising to stand up for America's heartland, with 890 increased tariffs in total...Read More

JNJ has had a volatile run on the charts over the past yearShares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) are modestly higher in mid-morning trading, the Dow name seeing a slight lift from an early morning price-target hike to $154 from $150 at BMO. Plus, traders are gearing up for the drug giant's third-quarter report, which is scheduled to surface before the market opens, tomorrow, Oct. 16. At last che...Read More

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A sharp pullback in stocks last week, including the S&P 500's .SPX biggest single-day drop since a market correction in February, has left investors questioning whether this could signal danger for the longest-ever bull run for U.S. equities.The following are five arguments on either side of the debate:REASONS TO BE BULLISHPROFITS, PROFITS, PROFITS: Strong growth in U.S....Read More

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday reiterated that he made no deal with Turkey to lift U.S. sanctions in exchange for the release of an American pastor who had been detained there and who returned to the United States over the weekend.“We had no deal with Turkey,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “I feel much differently about Turkey today than I...Read More

Somehow, Sears owners Eddie Lampert and his ESL Investments have managed to stave off a liquidation - for now, at least.Read full newsRead More

The shares are lower today, howeverActivision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATVI) was already on our radar coming into today due to where the stock was trading on the charts, and now Barclays is jumping on the bullish bandwagon. The brokerage firm just upgraded ATVI to "overweight" from "equal weight" and hiked its price target to $86 from $79. The analyst note called out positive early engagement metric...Read More

NEW YORK (Reuters) - In March, noted short-seller Andrew Left took a swipe at Netflix Inc’s stock, calling the online video company’s aggressive spending on content acquisition “unsustainable.”The stock took a brief dive on the Citron Research chief’s assertion, but the volume of bets against it has since dropped to the lowest in at least half a decade.Netflix bonds a...Read More

Oct 15 (Reuters) - Australian Atlas Iron on Monday named Sanjiv Manchanda as chief executive in a board overhaul, replacing Cliff Lawrenson amid an acquisition by billionaire Gina Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting.Manchanda has earlier served as Head of Project Development for Hancock Prospecting.Atlas also appointed Spiro Pappas as its Chairman.The changes in the board come as Hancock Prospecting's...Read More

PARIS (Reuters) - The United States still aims to cut Iran’s oil sales to zero and does not expect restored oil sanctions against Tehran to have a negative impact on a market that is well-supplied and balanced, a senior U.S. official said on Monday.U.S. special envoy for Iran, Brian Hook, was talking to reporters after a visit to India, a major importer of Iranian oil, and talks with officia...Read More

Both Raymond James and Goldman Sachs chimed in on the FAANG stockNetflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) is scheduled to report its third-quarter results after the market closes tomorrow, Oct. 16, marking the start of FAANG earnings. Ahead of the highly anticipated event, NFLX stock received a round of bearish brokerage notes -- sending the shares down 1.7% this morning to trade at $333.70.Specifically, Raymo...Read More

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices steadied on Monday as tension over the disappearance of a prominent Saudi journalist stoked supply worries, balancing concerns over the long-term demand outlook.Benchmark Brent crude oil jumped by $1.49 a barrel to a high of $81.92 before giving up its gains to trade around $80.38, down 5 cents, by 1345 GMT. U.S. crude was down 5 cents at $71.29.“Growing tension...Read More

(Reuters) - Credit Suisse on Monday downgraded the U.S. steel sector as it expects prices to fall due to oversupply, stemming from the Trump administration’s move to slap tariffs on Chinese imports.U.S. steel prices and production have hit multi-year highs due to the tariffs as well as strong demand from an expanding economy.The brokerage cut its rating on the sector to “market weight&...Read More

On Friday we asked the question-- could the gold rally continue? The markets have spoken with a resoundingyes. Gold traded as high as $1,237 this morning. The next key level to watch is$1,240. A breakout above brings $1,275 into play.The most important thing toremember now is not to chase the market higher. If you missed this rally, therewill be other opportunities. Don't let the fear of missing o...Read More

Alumina, which sits in the aluminium production process between bauxite and refined metal, has historically been a highly efficient link in the supply chain.It hasn't generated many headlines over the years because it has largely avoided any newsworthy disruption.It is, to quote Greg Wittbecker, analyst at the CRU research house, one of those markets "people have taken for granted".Not any moreA s...Read More

McDonald's stock was not spared in last week's bloodbathThe shares of McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD) are up 0.7% to trade at $164.89 this morning, after Evercore ISI upgraded the fast food icon to "outperform" from "in-line." The analyst in coverage thinks the blue-chip stock is well-equipped to handle market volatility, and likes the lowered expectations on its valuation relative to last year...Read More

One in every twenty Europeans works in the automotive industry and the European Union believes that unless it catches up on battery technology, those jobs are at risk.That's why the group is planning to allow state aid for electric battery research and will offer billions to companies willing to build giant plants, it said Monday."Public investment in developing the battery industry in the EU is a...Read More