(Reuters) - U.S. Representative Steve King, an Iowa Republican, won re-election late Tuesday despite publicly losing a corporate supporter shortly before Election Day and being criticized by some within his own party for inflammatory remarks on immigration and race.Just days before the Nov. 6 elections, agricultural dairy cooperative Land O’Lakes pulled its support for King, saying it sought...Read More

Brazil's Gerdau expects international steel prices to remain at current levels throughout 2019, but is concerned about trade conflict pressure, president and chief executive officer Gustavo Werneck said on Wednesday November 7.Market fundamentals are expected to be supportive for long steel, the company's main product, due to the US Section 232 tariffs leading to increased steel prices in the Unit...Read More

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa is likely to hold a parliamentary election in May next year, after the electoral commission announced a timeline on Wednesday, in a vote that will decide whether President Cyril Ramaphosa remains in power.The commission said the election would take place sometime between May 7 and August 5 next year but Ramaphosa, who has the final say on the date, has previou...Read More

(Reuters) - The United States on Monday re-imposed sanctions against Iran’s oil exports to punish Tehran for its involvement in several Middle Eastern conflicts.Washington had been pushing governments to cut imports of Iranian oil to zero. but fearing a crude oil price spike, it granted Iran’s biggest buyers - China, India, South Korea, Japan, Italy, Greece, Taiwan and Turkey - sanctio...Read More

Latin American steelmakers are worried about the effects of the Section 232 tariffs imposed on steel imports into the United States, as well as a diversion of steel products to the region and low-priced material from China.Increasing protectionism worldwide was one of the factors behind the slow economic growth in the region, along with currency volatility and uncertainty in Argentina, Brazil and...Read More

BEIRUT (Reuters) - The United States said on Wednesday it hoped Russia would continue to allow Israel to strike Iranian targets in Syria, despite Moscow’s supply of the S-300 air defense system to the Syrian government.“Russia has been permissive, in consultation with the Israelis, about Israeli strikes against Iranian targets inside Syria. We certainly hope that that permissive approa...Read More

LISBON (Reuters) - EU regulators are close to wrapping up their third case against Alphabet (GOOGL.O) unit Google involving its AdSense advertising service, Europe’s antitrust chief said on Wednesday, suggesting the company may soon be hit with another hefty fine.The comments by European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager come four months after she levied a record 4.34 billion euro...Read More

Turkish steel producers continued their deep-sea scrap purchases on Wednesday November 7, with prices remaining largely stable, according to market sources.A steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a European cargo, comprising 15,000 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (75:25) at $330 per tonne, 3,000 tonnes of shredded at $340 per tonne and 7,000 tonnes of bonus at $345 per tonne cfr.Another steel producer in t...Read More

Iron ore prices weakened on Wednesday November 7 amid steel market falls, while supply issues in Australia supported premiums for index-linked cargoes.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index: $75.27 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $0.47 per tonne.MB 62% Fe Pilbara Blend Fines Index: $74.30 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $0.47 per tonne.MB 62% Fe Iron Ore Index-Low Alumina: $78.38 per tonne cfr Qingdao, down $0.92 per t...Read More

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif./SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Albemarle Corp’s (ALB.N) claim to have developed a unique process that would more than triple its lithium production from Chile’s Atacama desert without using more water is drawing increased scrutiny from regulators and investors pushing for more details.The development could help Albemarle cement its position as the world’s largest lith...Read More

ROME (Reuters) - Italy's government won a confidence motion in the upper house Senate on Wednesday on a contested security decree, which tightens immigration regulations and bolsters anti-terrorism and anti-mafia rules.The bill was championed by Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, who is also head of the far-right League, but was opposed by a handful of members of his coalition ally, the anti-es...Read More

(Reuters) - U.S. satellite TV service provider Dish Network Corp (DISH.O) reported a 5 percent fall in quarterly revenue on Wednesday as it leaked more subscribers in the face of cheaper options like Netflix and Hulu.Dish shed a net 367,000 satellite subscribers during the third quarter, far beyond a consensus estimate of 232,000 net customer losses, according to research firm FactSet.Net income a...Read More

 CloseGain/LossGold $1226.30-$0.10Silver$14.56+$0.04XAU65.59-1.09%HUI145.87-1.33%GDM538.78-0.48%JSE Gold1113.84-23.48USD96.12-0.16Euro114.42+0.26Yen88.27+0.04Oil$61.67-$0.5410-Year3.222%+0.003T-Bond137.25-0.1875Dow26180.30+2.13%Nasdaq7570.75+2.64%S&P2813.89+2.12%  The Metals: Gold gained $9.50 to $1235.90 in London, but it then dropped back to as low as $1225.40 in New York...Read More

By Ira EpsteinMetals take a backseat to strong stock market rally today.https://www.iraepstein.com/ Read More

By Stefan GleasonTuesday's elections produced some winners, some losers, some surprises, and some lingering uncertainties.For investors, the potential for a major shock to the markets was averted. But with Democrats poised to take control of Congress, new legislative threats to wealth holders loom on the horizon.Even though the GOP lost the House of Representatives, it gained seats in the Senate...Read More

As contentious as the US midterm elections were, there was never a scenario in which they mattered. Any possible configuration of Republicans and Democrats in the House and Senate would have yielded pretty much the same set of economic policies going forward: Ever-higher debt, upward trending interest rates and (through the combination of those two) rising volatility.So with the sideshow now in...Read More

Miles Franklin sponsored this article by Gary Christenson.Johnny Cash wrote "Committed to Parkview" in 1985. The Highwaymen (Cash, Nelson, Jennings, and Kristofferson) sang the song. Verse four is:"They wake me about six-thirtyJust before the morning mealWhile they're takin' my blood pressureThey ask me how I feelAnd I always say fantasticThere ain't nothing wrong with meAnd then they give me my...Read More

As part of Merk's in-house research we regularly evaluate a consistent set of charts covering the economy, equities, fixed income, commodities and currencies. The aim is to keep our eyes open and to look through the noise of the headlines, avoiding the distractions of sensationalized click-bait. In sharing this content, we offer a cross-check to your own thinking and aim to add value to your own...Read More

How did that "exhaustive" investigation of the silver market by the U.S. Commodities Futures Trading Commission miss this? How will the World Gold Council and most monetary metals mining companies continue to miss it? How many more anti-trust lawsuits will this prompt? Anybody seen Blythe Masters lately?* * *Former JP Morgan Trader Pleads Guilty to Manipulating U.S. Metals Markets for Years By H...Read More

By Craig HemkeIt has been an odd and frustrating year for COMEX Digital Gold and Silver. However, conditions exist that could drive prices back to unchanged or even slightly positive by year end. Let's begin by noting why and how this year got sideways on us. We were on the record stating that COMEX gold would break out of its 5-year "bowl" pattern by late 2018. Why did we think this? See the ch...Read More