Emerging-market finance ministers must have woken up with a groan Thursday morning as news of yesterday’s Fed hike will have blipped up on their news feeds (that is, if they weren’t up late into the night their time listening to the outcome of last Wednesday’s Federal Reserve meeting). Need buying strategies for steel? Request your […]
Category: Macroeconomics
Productivity Growth (Or Lack Thereof) in the Age of Technology
You can’t open a newspaper, of the online or paper variety, without coming across an article on productivity. Productivity growth has been meager for the last decade. How to achieve productivity levels seen in the latter part of the 20th century and early part of this one has plagued the minds of economists, politicians and […]
When and Where is the Next Recession Coming From?
At a recent forum for business leaders, I was surprised the topic of conversation was not Brexit or Donald Trump’s latest tweet, or even cricket, but when the next recession would hit. That hasn’t been the case for many years now. Since 2009, we have experienced a more or less constant bull market, giving us […]
Why Are We Relaxed About a Possible Trade War with China?
The markets appear strangely relaxed about the growing economic and political standoff between the U.S. and China. Maybe because it has been a slow burn over the last six months or maybe because no one quite believes either side would be stupid enough to allow a full-blown trade war to develop, but markets are generally […]
Russian Sanctions Remain a Threat to Metals Markets
Following Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine in February 2014 — the Ukrainian crisis, as it became known as — a number of countries imposed sanctions on Russia led by the United States and Europe, but supported by many others like Canada, Australia and Japan. Buying Aluminum in 2018? Download MetalMiner’s free annual price outlook The […]
If You Thought the Trade War is as Bad as it Can Be … Get Ready for a Currency War
Whether by design or dint of investors’ view of a currency’s true worth in the wake of tariffs, emerging-market currencies are sliding — in some cases, fast. The Turkish lira is by far the most dramatically impacted, as the escalating tariff standoff with the U.S. has hastened an already weakening currency toward a 40% decline, […]
Copper Price Falls as BHP Says Deal is Reached to Avoid Escondida Strike
The breaking news this week is that Chile’s Escondida mine operator BHP has announced it looks like a strike has been averted and that a settlement plan is being put to the workers. That is good news for a market widely expected to go into deficit this year, according to Mining.com. But the prospect of […]
Turkish Currency on the Slide, Economy Set to Follow
Import tariffs appear to have become the weapon of choice for this U.S. administration. Need buying strategies for steel? Try two free months of MetalMiner’s Outlook Some administrations use military power, but Trump prefers economic pressure to achieve his ends. His latest skirmish is with Turkey — not that many in the U.S. would notice […]
Indian Economy Surges But Questions Remain About the Rise’s Longevity
India is booming, the Indians would claim — and who could deny they are doing well? Need buying strategies for steel? Try two free months of MetalMiner’s Outlook The economy grew at 7.7% from January through March, expanding gross domestic product (GDP) to $2.6 trillion, eclipsing France to become the world’s sixth-largest economy. But while […]
Australia is the Bellwether of China’s Economic Growth (Not Copper)
Stock markets in the West react to peaks and troughs on the Shanghai stock market as if the market were a true indicator of the health of the Chinese economy. Shanghai has been down since talk of sanctions has spooked markets in China, Europe and the U.S. Need buying strategies for steel in 2018? MetalMiner’s […]