Gold traded as high as $1,620 overnight, in advance of today’s Fed announcement, but came under some pressure following release of a stronger-than-expected ADP private sector jobs report for July, showing the U.S. jobs market could be improving after three sluggish months…however, the ADP report has often deviated sharply from the government report…the Labor Department releases July’s job numbers Friday…as of 6:00 am Pacific, the yellow metal is down $9 an ounce at $1,606…Silver is off 73 cents at $27.27…Copper is down a penny at $3.40…Crude Oil has gained 34 cents to $88.40 while the U.S. Dollar Index is relatively unchanged at 82.66…
U.S. Raises Pressure On ECB
The United States raised pressure on euro zone leaders to take decisive action to solve the region’s debt crisis, notably by lowering troubled members’ borrowing costs, on the eve of a crucial European Central Bank meeting tomorrow…Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said the euro zone must take steps including “bringing down interest rates in the countries that are reforming and making sure those banking systems can provide the credit those economies need”…he made the comments in an interview with Bloomberg Television recorded in Los Angeles on Tuesday, a day after he flew specially to Germany to meet Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble and ECB President Mario Draghi…the interview was broadcast this morning…
What Will The Fed Do?
While most market observers do expect the Fed to launch another QE program during the second half of this year, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke is likely to do little more than keep the door open to more easing when the Fed winds up its meeting this afternoon…the Fed statement could be tweaked somewhat to highlight their ongoing concerns and readiness to do more, but one step Bernanke may take today is to extend the time frame for the Fed’s extraordinary low rate policy into mid-2015 from 2014…there’s a greater chance of significant Fed action at the beginning of September, on the heels of their Jackson Hole symposium, when Bernanke and his crew will have much more economic data to review in addition to more information at hand regarding the euro zone and its progress or lack thereof…
High Expectations For ECB Meeting
Expectations are higher for tomorrow’s ECB meetings, thanks in large part to Mario Draghi’s comments last week when he stressed the ECB will do “whatever it takes” to save the euro…Draghi has proposed actions such as further bond purchases, rate cuts, and a new Long-Term Refinancing Option (LTRO), which allows the ECB to lend to euro zone banks at very low interest rates…the market wants to see some “shock and awe” from the ECB which sets up the possibility of a disappointment…tomorrow will be a very important day…
Hopeful Signs In China
There are encouraging signs behind the latest economic data out of China…while China’s Purchasing Managers’ Index fell to 50.1 in July from 50.2 in June, after adjusting for seasonality the reading shows that the manufacturing sector is actually improving thanks to the slew of stimulus measures implemented by the Chinese government…in addition, a drop in the index of inventories of finished goods may mean that de-stocking has ended, which implies that any pick-up in demand (stimulus-driven) should translate to higher output…indeed, a final reading of the HSBC PMI (a private survey) in July, also released today, showed output firming up for the first time in five months…the HSBC PMI rose to a seasonally adjusted 49.3, its highest level since February, little changed from the earlier flash estimate of 49.5 and higher than 48.2 in June…the central committee of the Chinese Communist Party signaled yesterday that stable economic growth will be a key priority for the rest of the year…
Shanghai Composite Chart
China’s Shanghi Composite Index gained 20 points overnight to close at 2123, rebounding from a 41-month low the previous day…the market was boosted by comments by an official of the country’s securities regulator encouraging companies with strong capital to buy back shares…
Below is a China chart from John prior to the strong overnight move, showing the market has very strong support around 2100 but is constrained on the upside by a downsloping wedge…with the Chinese economy expected to show clear signs of a pick-up by September, the upside potential of this market likely outweighs the downside risk which has to be considered positive for commodities and global equities…
Today’s Markets
China led the way on Asian markets overnight, while European shares are mostly higher this morning…stock index futures in New York as of 6:00 am Pacific are pointing toward a modestly higher open on Wall Street…
Venture Exchange
One long-time and very respected broker we spoke to yesterday in Vancouver believes the Venture Exchange has likely seen the bottom at 1154, and any strong upside move should kick in by late August/early September…volumes are low right now which reflects the fact that many traders and investors are at the beach or the golf course instead of their desks…
The Venture closed at 1183 yesterday, right at its 10-day moving average (SMA)…
Arian Silver (AGQ, TSX-V)
Arian Silver (AGQ, TSX-V) has taken a tumble in these difficult markets in recent months, but John’s 2.5-year weekly chart below shows that RSI(2) recently hit an extreme low while strong technical support for the stock exists at 16 cents…the company’s San Jose Project in Mexico holds over 100 million ounces of Silver in the indicated and inferred categories, and this is a situation that definitely provides some leverage in a bullish Silver price environment over the balance of the year…
Puma Exploration (PUM, TSX-V)
A company worthy of our readers’ due diligence is Puma Exploration (PUM, TSX-V) which is working on a very interesting Silver-Gold-lead-zinc project in New Brunswick (Nicholas-Denys) that could host a series of deposits over a 10-km strike length…the chart for Puma is favorable with very strong support at 25 cents, a penny above the rising 500-day moving average (SMA)…
Note: John, Jon and Terry do not hold positions in AGQ or PUM.
BMR – Volumes are low right now which reflects the fact that many traders and investors
are at the beach or the golf course instead of their desks…
Bert – Easy to state, but is it factual, or is there another reason for the low volume, etc.
Are we to believe that any manager of authority, would go on vacation without someone relieving
them of or taking on their responsibilities. Also, with today’s technology, trades can not only
be made at the beach, but at the dining room table. It’s all debatable. The same thing applies
to companies, who are using the present market conditions for their depressed stock prices, but
is it factual, or is it that the market now see those companies for what they really are, fluff !
R !
Comment by Bert — August 1, 2012 @ 5:18 am
Realize beggars, can’t be choosers, but would like to know the process for determining when an interview gets posted. Does the final edited version require review by the company agreeing to the interview?
Thanks for providing the interviews. They have been great tools and are among the best found anywhere on the net.
Comment by George Wohanka — August 1, 2012 @ 5:47 am
The better than expected jobs report caused gold to reverse & is now trading down
-13.4, as opposed to up before the report. I would suggest we can’t win for losing.
R !
Comment by Bert — August 1, 2012 @ 5:49 am
Another stock to watch, in yukon, is CSL Comstock.They have great chip results and now have enlisted the help of the former undercover ceo. H
Comment by richard l — August 1, 2012 @ 6:18 am
RBW volume picking up see if we test the 20s here…
Comment by db — August 1, 2012 @ 10:51 am
What is going on with RBW? when can we expect drilling?
Comment by Albert — August 1, 2012 @ 11:35 am
relax kids – it’s up a penny
geez talk about getting a little to excited here
Comment by alex — August 1, 2012 @ 11:43 am
Hello BMR,
Is there any chance to have an interview with Mr. Greg Chamandy, executive chairman at Richmont Mines. Richmont has indicated that they are looking at an acquisition, and these days with the very low valuation of so many mining companies, it would be a good time to acquire something. Mr. Chamandy has stated previously that mining for gold is very exciting. Furthermore I think that with their objective, albeit a challenging one, to be a 200,000 ounces producer, Richmont has a potential to challenge its highs.
Comment by Alexandre — August 1, 2012 @ 12:02 pm
RBW’s jump has not started yet…. once it is going to jump, it will be 40 cents! If you are holding RBW, good for you…. Very very soon…. 20 cents will be in history soon. GQC as I said yesterday, it will move up…. and by year end, it will double current value … . Still so many opportunities to make money in this one … lots of real players there!
Comment by Theodore — August 1, 2012 @ 12:19 pm
Al- don’t be surprised if the drills are turning by the end of next week at the latest…
Comment by db — August 1, 2012 @ 12:19 pm
Newstrike Capital Intersects 103.11 Meters of 5.06 g/t Au at the Ana Paula Project
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA–(Marketwire – Aug. 1, 2012) –
NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWS WIRE SERVICES OR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES
Newstrike Capital Inc. (TSX VENTURE:NES) (“Newstrike” or the “Company”) announces the results from 3,973 meters of drilling completed this period as part of the 2012 drill program in progress at the Company’s 100%-owned Ana Paula Project in the Guerrero Gold Belt. The results are from the ongoing delineation program in the southeast quadrant and from new exploration in the southwest quadrant. Results from the Breccia zone delineation program indicate that mineralization still remains open in several directions and at depth. New step out drill holes are planned to follow up on these results.
Highlights from the delineation program include:
AP-12-97 includes a best intersection of 12.34 meters of 32.11 g/t Au (uncut), that includes 0.50 meters of 760.00 g/t Au. Other intersections include 26.00 meters of 1.24 g/t Au, 26.25 meters of 0.68 g/t Au, 12.50 meters of 1.11 g/t Au, 17.35 meters of 1.40 g/t Au and 13.43 meters of 0.65 g/t Au.
AP-12-100 intersected 37.60 meters of 4.81 g/t Au at surface within a 197.00 meter mineralized interval.
AP-12-101 intersected very strong mineralization from surface to 224.84 meters with local course visible gold including a 103.11 meter interval of 5.06 g/t Au that includes a 12.74 meter interval of 21.61 g/t Au that also includes 4.24 meters of 57.22 g/t Au.
AP-12-102 also intersected strong mineralization over multiple intersections including 48.50 meters of 2.48 g/t Au at surface. Other intersections include 20.70 meters of 3.14 g/t Au, 12.18 meters of 0.80 g/t Au and 8.23 meters of 3.22 g/t Au.
Comment by Andrew — August 1, 2012 @ 12:39 pm
todays smile .A wife says to her husband you think everything you have is better than what I have he said thats not true you have a lot better inlaws than me
Comment by gil — August 1, 2012 @ 3:51 pm
Although posts have to certified as okay by a moderator before
being released to readers, i find it funny, that my narrative
clearly marked ”for his (the moderator’s) eyes’ only” appears
on the board, but in all honesty, i am not bothered by it. It do
though, make me wonder, what the heck is going on.. Enough says me,
Mr. Moderator, you are doing a half decent job, say 50/50.
RBW
Yesterday’s action would indicate that the permits may have been
received & those close to the company, were the first to know &
could have been yesterday’s buyers. If what i am thinking is
correct, we should have a NR today. Once the permits are announced,
i can see it moving up with time, to it’s yearly high, that is 0.295.
ATC & GQC
For those holding ATC & GQC, a good day yesterday, although it only
recouped it’s previous day’s losses. A follow up today, may indicate
something may be in the works. Good luck ! R !
Comment by bert — August 2, 2012 @ 2:47 am
Sorry, Bert, it’s early (4:30 in the am). Haven’t had my coffee yet and u threw a curve at us!
Comment by Terry - BMR — August 2, 2012 @ 4:05 am