Precious metals news

Now, do you still wonder why gold is having a Ralph Kramden moment? “One of these days, you’re going to the moon, Alice!”

U.S. factory orders for long-lasting goods were expected to ease 0.1% in May, after sinking 2.1% a month earlier.

But in this brave new world, bad news is better than good to keep that 50bps bogey on the table.

The dollar bounced from a three-month low on Wednesday as traders dialed back expectations of aggressive interest rate cuts from the U.S. Federal Reserve after comments by policymakers.

Bank of England Governor Mark Carney says he’d be inclined to back a stimulus package to shore up the British economy if the country crashes out of the European Union at the end of October with no deal.

Regional surveys highlight manufacturing weakness...

DALLAS (AP) — FedEx Corp. In the year ahead will be hurt by slowing growth in the world economy...

“We were about 90% of the way there [with a deal] and I think there’s a path to complete this,” Mnuchin

It doesn’t take much calculation to see that the Fed’s position on quantitative tightening (QT) is blatantly inconsistent with its position on quantitative easing (QE).

Decentral aims to perform similar monetary functions for cryptocurrencies as the Federal Reserve does for the U.S. economy.

Retail investors will soon be able to trade CDS and CDOs (both cash and synthetic). What can possibly go wrong?

Over the relevant period, the traders placed thousands of fraudulent orders.

Just two of these banks, JPMorgan Chase NA and Citibank NA control 75.7 percent of all precious metals derivatives contracts held by all of the 5,362 Federally-insured banks and savings associations.

With speculators not yet all-in and investors wildly under-deployed, gold has room to power much higher...

 Chinese bullion dealers are either out of gold or they are doing this, and the same goes for retail buyers...

Do deficits even matter?
They used to — at least in conservative circles. And even in some progressive circles when Republicans were in control of Washington D.C. But today, the federal government is running record deficits and has pushed the national debt over $22 trillion and virtually nobody even bats an eye.
In a recent Wall Street Journal article, John Yarmuth, chair of the House Budget Committee summed up the attitude toward the spending and debt in Washington D.C. He said he rarely hears from constituents concerned about rising deficits and debt. Many voters’ attitudes, he says:“There haven’t been any cataclysmic consequences, so why worry about it?”
Why indeed?

In a recent article, we explained how central banking wrecks the economy over and over again with its interventionist monetary policy. The Fed tinkers with interest rates and drives boom-bust cycles. But government also has a role to play in this drama. The policies pushed by politicians and bureaucrats help determine where malinvestments will show up in the economy.
The unholy alliance of central bankers, politicians and government functionaries always ends in economic chaos.
In the years leading up to the 2008 crash, the government tried to turn every American into a homeowner. Needless to say - it didn't end well. This should serve as a warning for the current batch of politicians and bureaucrats. Sadly, it probably won't.

The recent move higher in the precious metals sector is nothing more than just a corrective upswing within a bigger trend...

Gold continued its torrid rally last night, rising in a range of $1420.60 - $1438.80 but remaining nervous and choppy. It shot to its $1338.80 high during Asian hours with buy stops tripped over yesterday’s $1420 high, $1425 (options), and $1434 (8/25/13 high). The advance was helped by the ratcheting up of tensions between the US and Iran, with Iran declaring a “permanent closure of a diplomatic path” after the US imposed sanctions on Iran’s Supreme Leader.

Colin Purdie, chief investment officer of credit at Aviva Investors, talks about bonds and gold.