June 2009

Pentagon Examines Real-Life Transformer

by Lisa Reisman on June 30, 2009

Style:    Category: Humor, Product Developments

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I cringed this weekend as my six year old opened up a Trasformer birthday gift and squealed with glee.  There is something about these boy toys that I will never understand. But my son, despite being obsessed with the firearm capabilities of these toys also enjoys tinkering with each piece to understand its functionality and [...]

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Could Coal Fired Power Stations be the Answer to Global Warming?

by Stuart Burns on June 30, 2009

Style:    Category: Macroeconomics, Product Developments

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We have written recently about what a shambles we feel the whole cap and trade policy is in the US and how it is essentially a form of taxation but that the funds will flow as much into private coffers as the state, as can be evidenced by the enthusiasm with which major financial institutions [...]

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Obama Administration Fights Chinese Export Restraints on Key Raw Materials

by Lisa Reisman on June 30, 2009

Style:    Category: Ferro Alloys, Ferrous Metals, Global Trade, Non-ferrous Metals

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I’ve been thinking about the term stockpiling lately because it has come up recently in many conversations. In a classic sense, most of us probably think of stockpiling as buying up something. And when we talk about China and metals, we can say it’s true (has been true) for commodities such as steel, copper, zinc, [...]

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Is China’s Stimulus Plan enough?

by Stuart Burns on June 29, 2009

Style:    Category: Macroeconomics

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I will start by saying I cannot provide a link to the article I am quoting from but should anyone wish to see the original text drop me an e-mail and I will gladly forward a copy. The analysis was written by Wang Shuo, acting editor in chief of the Finance Magazine Caijing, and asks [...]

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Steel Producer and Analyst Price Predictions

by Lisa Reisman on June 29, 2009

Style:    Category: Ferrous Metals

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Just as my colleague posted a piece last week on what the analysts and industry pundits see for the future of aluminum and copper, we thought we’d take a look at what folks see in their crystal balls for steel. And much of the steel story rests on current production levels and actual demand (vs. [...]

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Saudi Arabia Diversifying into Metals

by Stuart Burns on June 29, 2009

Style:    Category: Commodities, Non-ferrous Metals, Precious Metals

Keywords: ,

Think of Saudi Arabia and one normally thinks of oil. With both the largest reserves and largest production, oil is estimated to be good for 72 years according to Wikipedia. Although the level of reserves is a hotly debated issue there is no question that Saudi Arabia’s economy is overwhelmingly dependent on oil and gas [...]

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Did Goldman Sachs Cause Six Bubbles?

by Lisa Reisman on June 26, 2009

Style:    Category: Macroeconomics

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Instead of writing a lengthy blog post this Friday morning, we will leave you with some weekend reading that came to our attention via one of our regular readers and guest contributors Lloyd Philip (thanks Lloyd). The piece, from Rolling Stone Magazine has received much praise for its candor and insight into how bubbles form [...]

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Analysts Metal Price Predictions – Copper and Aluminum

by Stuart Burns on June 26, 2009

Style:    Category: Inventory Stock Levels, Non-ferrous Metals, Supply & Demand

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It is always interesting to see what the analysts working for the major banks predict metal prices will do, whether you agree with them or not they often have access to more global trade data than the average buyer and though they lack the on-the-ground sense for supply and demand movements it often pays to [...]

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