MARKET CURRENTS
real-time news and commentary for investors
MARKET CURRENTS
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Wednesday, May 22, 2013
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5:18 PM Barrick Gold (ABX) is considering shrinking in size as it focuses on returns over production volumes, CEO Jamie Sokalsky says. Shrinkage makes sense for ABX, Stifel Nicolaus says, adding selling the company’s Australian assets would be a good place to start: "In order to have better managerial control, you’re better off with fewer but much larger assets, preferably in the same north-south time zones.” 2 Comments
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3:59 PM Prospects for gold mining stocks (GDX +1.2%) could be turning around at least in the short term, MKM Partners' Katie Stockton says. She would consider adding some exposure to take advantage of a short-term relief rally within the downtrend, adding "the trade is likely to play out in the near term or not at all, so we expect to know if it is working in the next week or two." 5 Comments
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3:27 PM Terex (TEX -2.3%) gives back all the love plus more from an earlier Barclays upgrade to Overweight. The bank says that despite the stock recent 20% runup this month, it sees more upside from its consistent execution, leverage to an improving crane cycle and still-positive trends in the aerial-work-platform space. Comment!
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2:17 PM Up as high as $1,413 following Bernanke's (at the time) perceived dovish testimony this morning, gold (GLD -0.9%) reverses along with stocks. Markets make opinions, and now the focus on Bernanke is he's prepping the markets for tapering. The just-released FOMC minutes push down gold even further, now at $1,357/oz. 9 Comments
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9:16 AM Outflows from gold ETPs of 10.27 metric tons YTD have surpassed the combined inflows of the previous 2 years, according to Bloomberg. One portfolio manager notes the outflows about equal the amount mined, meaning new supply has doubled this year. "The market has a lot of metal to absorb." GLD +1.3% premarket. 7 Comments
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9:06 AM Freeport Indonesia (FCX) remains uncertain when it will restart operations following last week's mining accident, news that has helped push copper prices up 2% in global markets. FCX says it is losing production of ~220K metric tons/day of concentrated ore since the tunnel collapse that killed 28 people. Comment!
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Tuesday, May 21, 2013
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10:24 PM Don't say Goldman didn't warn you (I, II). Corn (CORN) prices fell Tuesday to multi-week lows after the Department of Agriculture reported a 43 percentage point increase from last week to this week in the amount of the corn crop planted, bringing the total to 71% compared to just 28% a week ago. Comment!
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3:47 PM Freeport McMoRan's (FCX -2.8%) Indonesian mine could face a prolonged closure and scrutiny over its underground mining plans, as the death toll from the collapsed tunnel at the Grasberg complex reaches 28, analysts and mining sources say. The bigger strategic question concerns whether FCX engineers fully understand ground conditions or rock mechanics of the area. Comment!
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2:17 PM South Africa's rand falls to its lowest level in four years as clashes between mine owners and workers erupt again today. Government "heavy-handedness" with mining companies has created a "major negative" for investors both inside and outside mining, as it reduces companies’ abilities to set their balance sheets and control their own destinies, Greenbriar Partners says. AU -3.3%, GFI -3%, HMY -2.6%. 5 Comments
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11:59 AM Risks surrounding the Chinese-fueled commodity supercycle leave higher, fixed-cost specialty metals and miners vulnerable, so in preparing a list of stocks to buy, BAML seeks companies able to control more of their destiny beyond waiting for improving market conditions. BAML says a rebound in global growth over 12-18 months could spark these favorites: NUE, KALU, SXCP, TMS, RS, ATI, RTI, CNX. Comment!
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10:57 AM Given their activity in the Platts oil trading window, it’s not surprising that European regulators would send questionnaires to Glencore (GLCNF.PK), Vitol and other trading houses asking for information about how fuel pricing works. But no one knows exactly what is being investigated; a look at the Platts daily European oil markets newsletter shows the EU could be looking at any of dozens of daily price assessments. Comment!
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9:41 AM IAMGOLD (IAG -4.9%) reports encouraging drill results from its Boto Gold project in West Africa, saying drilling continues to return wide intervals with good grades, confirming previous results and further extending the zones drilled. But gold miners (GDX -2.5%) are broadly lower as futures resume their descent after yesterday's wild ride: KGC -4.7%, EGO -4.6%, GFI -3.6%, ABX -2.8%, GG -2.2%, NEM -1.8%. Comment!
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8:05 AM Molycorp (MCP) +5.4% premarket on a report that China exported 2,196 metric tons of rare earth in April, a 28% rise from March, and 6,112 tons in the first four months of this year, double the year-ago volume. The data indicates bargain hunting may be reviving global demand for rare earth metals. Comment!
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Monday, May 20, 2013
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6:55 PM Rockwood Holdings' (ROC) pigments businesses have attracted offers from buyout firms including Blackstone (BX) and Advent International, Reuters reports. ROC is packaging its Sachtleben titanium dioxide unit with its color additives units and is hoping to sell or spin off the businesses by the end of the year for as much as $2B. 1 Comment
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5:49 PM Alcoa (AA) fills in more of the details on the 460K metric tons of smelting capacity it wants to remove, saying it will postpone construction of a potline at its Baie-Comeau smelter in Quebec and prepare for the upgrade by investing $100M during the next three years, as well as permanently shutting the plant’s two Soderberg potlines. AA says related charges will remove $0.11-$0.13 from EPS in 2013. 2 Comments
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2:16 PM Plains Exploration (PXP +7.5%) shareholders vote to approve Freeport McMoRan’s (FCX -0.2%) acquisition of PXP at today's special meeting. The transaction is expected to close on May 31. Following completion of the transaction, there are expected to be ~1B shares of FCX outstanding. Earlier today, PXP declared a $3/share special dividend conditioned upon the completed merger. Comment!
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12:57 PM As precious metals prices turn around, share prices of gold (GDX +4.7%) and silver miners (SIL +3.1%) surge: ABX +5.9%, GG +4.5%, KGC +6.4%, NEM +4.7%, SLW +4%. Even South African producers turn mixed, despite the call from the country's mine workers union for big pay increases: AU -0.8%, GFI +1.5%, HMY -0.5%. 2 Comments
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12:40 PM This just in. Precious metals (GLD +2.2%), (SLV +2.6%) are sharply higher on the session after a panicky Sunday evening plunge brought both to multi-year lows. Other than dollar weakness (UUP -0.5%) across the board, there's no news in particular - perhaps some satiated bears decided to cover and a trend took hold. 38 Comments
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11:27 AM Silver's (SLV -0.6%) 9% plunge in the first minutes of trading overnight is being linked to hawkish talk from Japanese Economy Minister Akira Amari who warned the yen's (FXY +0.7%) fast decline may be hurting the economy. One fails to see the connection but dollar/yen did dive along with silver and Andrew Wilkinson suggests hedge funds short the yen were forced to raise cash by bailing on stale silver longs. 11 Comments
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10:20 AM Stillwater Mining (SWC +1.2%) says Brian Schweitzer, the former governor of Montana, is elected chairman, replacing CEO Frank McAllister, who will continue to lead SWC until it finds a replacement. Schweitzer is one of four Clinton Group nominees voted onto the board on May 2. Comment!
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