US markets fly like turkeys
The U.S. markets enjoyed an uneventful four trading days surrounding the American Thanksgiving holiday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average sliding 28.78 points to 9,872.60 and the Standard & Poors …
Gold Fields Limited
Private investment in gold
Net retail investment in gold between 1993 and 2000 ranged between 240 and 390 tonnes per year (excluding a 117-tonne anomaly in 2000), according to a study by Gold Fields Mineral Services.The report,…
Central Asia, Caucasia in transition
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989, most countries in Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States have tried to reintegrate with the world economy. However, 12 years later, some of t…
Hedgers battle non-hedgers
Normandy Mining’s board of directors has recommended shareholders accept the takeover bid made by Newmont Mining.Newmont arrived in mid-November as a white knight to outbid AngloGold, which had offere…
Consolidation afoot in Free State
Joint bidders Harmony Gold Mining (HGMCY-Q) and African Rainbow Minerals (ARM) have succeeded in their offer to buy the Free State assets of AngloGold (AU-N) for R2.2 billion in cash.R1.8 billion is p…
Alcoa tipped in takeover of WMC
The board of directors of Australian-based WMC (WMC-N) are reportedly mulling over an unconfirmed cash-and-share takeover bid, worth as much as US$6.2-billion (A$12 billion), or A$11 per share, from U…
Newmont bid stirs market
Newmont Mining shocked the gold mining world on Nov. 14 by launching a simultaneous, all-share takeover bid for Canada’s Franco-Nevada Mining and Australia’s Normandy Mining. The deal would create the…
US data drag prices lower
Despite fresh production cuts in zinc and copper (in byproduct form), base metals prices continued to trend lower during the report period Oct. 29-Nov. 2, dominated by poor economic data out of the U….
Feds slash key rate to 2%
The biggest market-driver in the U.S. during the report period ended Nov. 6 was the Federal Reserve’s slashing of its overnight lending rate by 50 basis points to 2%, its lowest level in more than 40 …
Gold to rise: TD study
A study by TD Economics into the causes of gold’s misfortunes over the past two decades concludes that prices are likely to trend modestly higher in the coming years.The report, titled Gold’s Lost Lus…
Cut in Bank of Canada rate falls on deaf ears
Hoping to boost investor confidence, the Bank of Canada shed 75 basis points from its key lending rate on Oct. 23, bringing it to a 40-year low. But so far, the decision appears to have backfired: the…
Forum targets diesel reductions
An international forum for the exchange of information on the reduction of diesel emissions in mines will take place Nov. 6-8 at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Markham, Ont.The conference is expected to …