Observations – Statistics – Commentary
A rare look inside a Swiss gold refinery (video)
BBC News Europe
As the global economic crisis continues, there is a rush on gold, as it is increasingly regarded as one of the only safe commodities around. The world’s four major gold refineries are in Switzerland and most of the world’s gold is processed there. Last year a record 2600 metric tonnes or almost $100bn-worth (75.9bn euros) was imported and refined in Switzerland.
http://jlne.ws/TpLrSI
A Time To Pause And Look Ahead: Precious Metals, Emerging Markets And The Macro Situation
Seeking Alpha
There is a time for every purpose under heaven. But aside from doubts about the correlation of divine blessing and economic-market-fiscal matters, the main issue of the day, indeed for the past four decades, is uncertainty. Timing is more important than ever, so how does one approach various sectors and allocation when the ambiguities of policy unsettle even cash-rich mega-caps?
http://jlne.ws/VCUrBC
1980 Top in Gold as a Reference Point for Precious Metals Investors
Goldseek.com
This essay is inspired by a question we received from one of our subscribers. On December 2012, we published an essay on gold and the dollar collapse in which we pointed out why you might profit from gold even if the U.S. dollar doesn’t deteriorate completely. Today, we will elaborate on why we actually use the 1980 top in comparisons.
http://jlne.ws/VCUQUH
Precious Metals Decouple from Stock Market
Resource Investor
At the end of July we wrote an article examining the relationship between gold stocks and general equities. We sought to understand the huge variance in performance between the two markets. Sometimes they trended higher together. Sometimes the gold stocks surged while conventional equities fell into a bear market.
http://jlne.ws/VCXBVY
Lead Stories
Gold is about to do something that no other asset has ever done: Jim Rogers (video)
Mining.com
Jim Rogers told Kitco (video embed below) that if gold closes 2012 higher, it will be an unrivaled accomplishment.
“If gold stays up this year, this will be the 12th consecutive year that gold rises. That is extremely unusual,” says Rogers.
“I don’t know of any asset in history that has gone up 12 years in a row without a down year. There may be some, but I don’t know about it.”
http://jlne.ws/VCFlMy
Miners file South Africa’s biggest ever class-action lawsuit against gold giants
Mining.com
Four thousand former miners suffering from lung disease have launched South Africa’s biggest ever class action lawsuit against some of the world’s leading gold producers. Al Jazeera reports the miners have filed affidavits in the High Court of South Africa against Anglogold Ashanti (NYSE:AU), Goldfields (NYSE:GFI) and Harmony Gold (NYSE:HMY).
http://jlne.ws/VCGjbH
Shanghai Futures Exchange to open up to foreign players
Reuters
The Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) will open up to foreign institutions and develop options and other derivative contracts under a plan to become a leading Asia-Pacific bourse over the next five years.
http://jlne.ws/VhrGeQ
Futures & ETF News
Physical platinum fund unveiled by Sprott
Mining.com
Investors have a new tool for investing in physical platinum.
Sprott Asset Management completed the initial public offering for its Sprott Physical Platinum and Palladium Trust last week. The fund is listed on the NYSE Arca (SPPP) and the Toronto Stock Exchange (PPT.U).
http://jlne.ws/VCMYT9
Silver ETFs Lead Precious Metals Rebound
ETF Trends
Silver ETFs were up more than 1% on Thursday to lead the bounce in precious metals, which have been pushed lower in December with all eyes on the U.S. fiscal cliff.
http://jlne.ws/12Iw7FS
Commodities & Macroeconomics
The End of the Global Commodity Boom?
The Motley Fool
Commodities have been booming for more than a decade.
Gold has been on a historic bull run, increasing manyfold since bottoming in the early 2000s. Oil prices peaked in 2008, but are still up roughly ninefold since the late 1990s. Compare these returns to stock prices – mostly flat over the last decade – and we’re talking real money.
But no bull market lasts forever.
http://jlne.ws/VCREZc
**A video interview with Mohamed El-Erian, CEO of PIMCO
METALS-Copper up as data signals China growth acceleration
* Softer dollar supports metals prices
* China industrial profit jumps 22.8 pct in Nov
* Indonesia to raise purity requirements for tin exports
Reuters
Copper rose to a one-week high in thin trade on Thursday, rebounding from falls in the previous session, as encouraging data from China reinforced signs of recovery in the economy of the world’s top metals consumer.
http://jlne.ws/12IwPmn
Company & Production News
Fortescue Metals to restart $1bn Kings project, but job cuts stand
FORTESCUE Metals Group chief executive Nev Power says the miner will not reinstate the 1000 employees and contractors it sacked four months ago despite reactivating its $1.1 billion Kings deposit under a plan to boost production to 155 million tonnes a year.
http://jlne.ws/VCUDRh
Analyst Favorites of the Metals Titans: Silver Wheaton Corp Ranks As a Top Pick
Forbes
A study of analyst recommendations at the major brokerages shows that Silver Wheaton Corp (NYSE: SLW) is the #1 broker analyst pick, on average, out of the 50 stocks making up the Metals Channel Global Mining Titans Index, according to Metals Channel.
http://jlne.ws/VCWrcY