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    Weekly Commodities Wrap: Iron Down 30% Since March 5th

    Copper: Fund Managers Slash Long Positions Copper prices fell lower again this week as continued risk aversion, in response to rising geopolitical tensions, continues to weigh on commodity prices. Reflecting the shift in sentiment, the latest COT data shows that fund managers have slashed their long positions in the metal from 101k contracts at its peak to just 55k now. In terms of open interest, exposure has been reduced from nearly 35% to 19% over the same period. Further downward pressure is being exerted as investors are growing skeptical regarding Trump’s proposed infrastructure expenditure program. The massive wave of infrastructure s...
    On April 21, 2017 / By
  • Finance 0

    5 Reasons I Favor Junior Exploration Companies

    I started following Gold and precious metals in 2002 and first invested in small cap and junior resource companies in 2005. Until recently I always focused on junior producers rather than junior explorers. Production stories were easier for me to understand. Towards the end of the 2008-2011 bull cycle I began covering more exploration companies and by late 2016 my focus had almost shifted entirely to exploration companies. In this piece I discuss the reasons why I currently favor junior exploration companies. Exploration Companies From This Point Offer Greater Upside Potential From the very bottom or from around the start of bull markets prod...
    On April 21, 2017 / By
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    Euro Steadies Ahead Of Sunday Election

    The Euro steadied against the US Dollar and held below the recently struck 3-week peak as the first round of the French presidential voting nears. Recent polling continues to suggest that Marine Le Pen and Emmanuel Macron will move into the next round of voting. Analysts caution, however, that if Marine Le Pen does, in fact, make it through the Euro is likely to see a significant impact, given her far-right leanings. Given the unexpected votes in the Brexit referendum last June and the Trump win in November’s US Presidential election, investors are wary of another surprise. As reported at 10:57 am (JST) in Tokyo, the EUR/USD was trading a...
    On April 21, 2017 / By
  • Finance 0

    Why The Relationship Between OPEC And Hedge Funds Is On The Verge Of Falling Apart

    Following years of acrimony between OPEC and the hedge fund community, which the cartel dismissed simply as “speculators”, things suddenly changed in 2016 when the two groups got so close, there were outright reports of collusion between the two on various occasions. We documented this last month in “Why OPEC Is Colluding With Hedge Funds.” However, as Reuters’ energy analyst John Kemp pointed out on twitter this morning, that relationship may be ending as hedge funds start to lose confidence in OPEC. Taking us to the beginning, Kemp notes that OPEC and some of the most important hedge funds active in commoditi...
    On April 21, 2017 / By
  • Finance 0

    Rule The World

    DOW + 184 = 20,589SPX + 18 = 2357 NAS + 57 = 5920 RUT + 13 = 1381 10 Y + .05 = 2.25%OIL – .02 = 50.42 GOLD + 1.40 = 1282.70 Each day this week, the Dow has posted triple digit moves: 2 down, 2 up. The Dow is still about 100 points below its 50-day moving average. The S&P 500 broke above its 50-day moving average intraday but closed just a fraction below the trendline; and that is why it is called resistance. Still volume increased today, so we wait for confirmation tomorrow. If you are looking for leadership, the Nasdaq Composite closed at a record high. Bonds slipped today, pushing yields on the 10-year not back up to 2.25%, which stil...
    On April 21, 2017 / By
  • Finance 0

    Gold Trades In Tight Range

    Gold prices ended slightly higher on Thursday but the trading range was relatively tight as investors took a cautious stance ahead of France’s closely watched presidential election. The XAU/USD pair swung between the $1283.35 and $1276.62 levels. The market is trading above the Ichimoku clouds on the daily and the 4-hourly charts, indicating that bulls have the overall medium-term technical advantage. However, prices are still below the clouds on the H1 time frame and the intra-day resistance at 1283.40 remains intact. Flat Tenkan-Sen (nine-period moving average, red line) and Kijun-Sen (twenty six-period moving average, green line) lines o...
    On April 21, 2017 / By
  • Finance 0

    Indian Indices Trade Marginally Higher; Realty Sector Up By 2.2%

    After opening the day on a positive note, share markets in India have maintained their momentum and are presently trading in the green. Sectoral indices are trading on a positive note with stocks in the realty sector, energy sector, and consumer durable sector witnessing maximum buying interest. The BSE Sensex is trading up 74 points (up 0.3%) and the NSE Nifty is trading up 23 points (up 0.3%). The BSE Mid Cap index is trading up by 0.4%, while the BSE Small Cap index is trading up by 0.9%. The rupee is trading at 64.57 to the US$. The offer for sale (OFS) of Nalco got good response from the investors. This was seen with the ...
    On April 21, 2017 / By
  • Finance 0

    Euro May Look Past PMI Data As French Election Looms

    The preliminary set of April’s Eurozone PMI figures headlines the economic calendar in European trading hours. The region-wide composite measures is expected to show the pace of manufacturing- and service-sector growth held at the six-year high set in March. The outcome can hardly be expected to boost the Euro however as the ECB remains committed to a dovish posture and the French presidential election looms ahead. Indeed, the Yen edged up overnight, seemingly buoyed as traders remain jittery about first-round voting set for this weekend. The four leading candidates are worryingly close in the polls, meaning the possibility of a ru...
    On April 21, 2017 / By
  • Finance 0

    Will Technology Change The Prospects For Emerging Market Growth?

    In July 2016 the International Labor Organisation (ILO) released a report entitled – ASEAN in Transformation – in the preface it relates the apocryphal story of a 1950’s conversation between Henry Ford, Chairman of Ford Motor Company, and Walter Reuther, Leader of the United Automobile Workers Union. Ford asked, “Walter, how are you going to get those robots to pay your union dues?” to which Reuther responded, “Henry, how are you going to get them to buy your cars?” It reminds us that disruptive technology is not new. As the latest wave of innovation begins to disrupt employment globally, it makes sense to reassess the prospects...
    On April 21, 2017 / By
  • Finance 0

    Forget IBM, Buy These Thematic Tech ETFs Instead

    International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) witnessed year-over-year revenue decline for the 20th time in a row with its Q1 results. The company’s earnings per share came in at $2.38, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.34. Its revenues of $18.2 billion, however, fell short of $18.494 billion and declined 3% year over year. The company’s shares slid over 5% after hours, as per CNBC. IBM is up 2.5% so far this year (as of April 18, 2017). So, what should investors do now? Should they take cues from IBM’s lackluster revenue numbers and get all disappointed about the broader tech sector or look out for tech ETFs that have...
    On April 21, 2017 / By