Month: March 2014

The MetaTrader 4 trading platform is probably the most popular of all Forex trading platforms. It is estimated that there are over 400 Forex brokers that offer MetaTrader 4. With an estimated 80% of the retail Forex market trading on Metatrader it’s a wonder how and why this trading platform got so popular.

One of the best-known features of MetaTrader 4 are what are known as expert advisors.

What is an expert advisor?

An expert advisor is really a trading system or the parameters of the trading system in a downloadable file which is also known as an MQL4. Traders around the world are constantly updating and creating new expert advisors based on their trading systems. One of the great things about expert advisors is that it can be installed on any of the MetaTrader 4 platforms. It is as simple as dragging and dropping this into the expert advisors folder in your MT4 platform. Then after the MetaTrader 4 platform is restarted, one could drag-and-drop their expert adviser into the chart of their choice. They can then activate their expert adviser for live trading.

Although the developing and implementing an expert advisor that works can be very challenging, the popularity and the accessibility of MetaTrader 4 expert advisors has brought automated forex trading to the masses..

To learn more please visit www.clmforex.com

Disclaimer: Trading of foreign exchange contracts, contracts for difference, derivatives and other investment products which are leveraged, can carry a high level of risk. These products may not be suitable for all investors. It is possible to lose more than your initial investment. All funds committed should be risk capital. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. A Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) is available from the company website. Please read and consider the PDS before making any decision to trade Core Liquidity Markets’ products. The risks must be understood prior to trading. Core Liquidity Markets refers to Core Liquidity Markets Pty Ltd. Core Liquidity Markets is an Australian company which is registered with ASIC, ACN 164 994 049. Core Liquidity Markets is an authorized representative of Direct FX Trading Pty Ltd (AFSL) Number 305539, which is the authorizing Licensee and Principal.

By MoneyMorning.com.au

Another day, another crazy internet IPO.

Following Facebook and Twitter’s successful floats, King Digital Entertainment has also joined the IPO party. It’s the maker of Candy Crush Saga, and it’s expected to be valued at $US7.6 billion when it goes public this month.

For the uninitiated, Candy Crush Saga is a free mobile app that requires the player to push together matching coloured candy into lines of three.

Apparently it’s addictive, and has some impressive numbers behind it.

Since launching in April 2012 it’s been downloaded over 500 million times. And it has generated revenue of US$602 million in the fourth quarter of 2013 for King. That’s up from US$22 million in the first quarter of 2012.

That’s big revenue growth, sure, but it’s mostly due to Candy Crush downloads. King makes around 180 other games which don’t even come close to the popularity of Candy Crush.

Can Candy Crush sustain it’s growth?

The mobile game app is a big market — estimated at US$17 Billion.

But it’s unlikely Candy Crush will be able to sustain its growth.

Games are essentially a single-use products. While other tech companies can expand their platforms — think of the new features Facebook constantly adds — games remain mostly the same.

That’s fine if the product in question is one you need, or one it does a better job than your competitors.

But there are literally hundreds of millions of digital games on the market, each there to tempt bored commuters or lazy office workers.

And it seems unlikely that Candy Crush will remain the game of choice. In fact, odds are that another fad will sweep the game away.

Fads of the past show Candy Crush IPO is overrated

How can we be so sure?

Well, other popular games have come and gone.

Farmville for example was once the ‘addictive’ game of the moment.

In a similar flurry of insanity the company behind the hit Facebook game was valued at US$7 billion when it started trading on the stock market in 2011. At the time, that was the biggest internet IPO since Google.

But guess what? Farmville’s popularity waned and its stock price has since halved.

You’d think that would cool the excitement surrounding the <em>Candy Crush IPO.

But no, it hasn’t.

Instead, investors are smacking their lips. Are they crazy? Possibly, but no more crazy than other tech investors of late.

And King has one thing many other tech companies don’t: an ability to turn a profit.

Making a profit before tax of US$714.3 million last year, King stands out among other tech firms that have popular products, but no way of making money.

Still, the company seems massively overvalued considering how fickle our tastes in online gaming are. Maybe Wall Street traders are just looking for an excuse to play Candy Crush in the office?

Callum Denness
Contributing Editor, Money Morning
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By MoneyMorning.com.au

By MoneyMorning.com.au

There’s a new economic buzzword doing the rounds: ‘infrastructure’.

The Productivity Commission recently released a draft report that found Australia gets a poor bang for its buck when investing in infrastructure.

The draft report identified a number of factors that are to blame: slow approvals processes, a lack of rigorous cost-benefit analyses, inadequate industrial relations regimes and mandates dictating the use of Australian labour and suppliers.

It’s a timely report, because the government and many economists have begun to talk of the importance of infrastructure as mining begins to decline.

Our outdated infrastructure is also holding back investment and productivity.

Anyone who lives in an Australian capital city can see it for themselves: crowded roads, inadequate public transport, and inefficient airports.

While there is broad agreement on the need for better infrastructure; the big question is how to fund it.

Why superannuation funds and the private sector
are on the Government’s infrastructure investment ‘hitlist’

We all know that Federal and State governments are running out of money and running up big debts. There is also a critical need for infrastructure to boost productivity and investment.

So the government is naturally eyeing the private sector and the $1.8 trillion pool of superannuation funds.

They want to encourage investors to back big infrastructure projects.

But investors would be crazy to do so.

Infrastructure projects in this country are frequently expensive, poorly planned and deliver a poor return for investment — both for taxpayers and private investors.

The productivity commission report spells it out. But if there was any doubt about their findings, you’d only have to look at a recent string of projects.

Sydney’s Cross City Tunnel, the Airport rail line and Brisbane’s cross river tunnel are notable examples of big, expensive projects that have lost investors’ money.

The projects looked attractive to investors, with the government taking on most of the project cost and providing rosy projections of patronage.

But these passenger projections turned out to be fantastical, and the financial case never properly tested. Construction companies got big contracts, the politicians got their photo ops, and investors either lost money outright or got a bad return.

But the damage wasn’t limited to those who directly invested in the projects. It wasn’t just this wasteful investment that stung taxpayers. Congestion in many cases got worse after these projects were built either as a direct consequence of poor planning or the deferral of more critical projects. That’s not to mention the disruption to business caused by construction, without any pay-off.

Currently under construction, the NBN and East West Link in Melbourne (both government funded) look to be similar legacies of mis-management, bad planning and poor financial modelling.

The real opportunity for investors and governments

The government does have access to another financing option, one that is more attractive to investors: asset sales.

Power plants, ports, government enterprises: all are saleable and will generate billions of dollars of government revenues. The private sector has run businesses such as Commonwealth Bank and Telstra more efficiently than the Government, delivering probability, dividends and strong returns for investors. (Even in spite of the bad publicity around the ‘T2’ sale of shares which occurred just before the dot com bust.)

That’s where investors should be looking.

In the meantime, ignore fancy tunnels and trains with big patronage estimates. History shows they’re probably a load of bull.

Callum Denness
Contributing Editor, Money Morning
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By MoneyMorning.com.au

By Louis James, Chief Metals & Mining Investment Strategist, Casey Research

When I started working for Doug Casey almost 10 years ago, I probably knew as much about investing as the average Joe, but I now know that I knew absolutely nothing then about successful speculation.

Learning from the international speculator himself—and from his business partner, David Galland, to give credit where due—was like taking the proverbial drink from a fire hose. Fortunately, I was quite thirsty.

You see, just before Doug and David hired me in 2004, I’d had something of an epiphany. As a writer, most of what I was doing at the time was grant-proposal writing, asking wealthy philanthropists to support causes I believed in. After some years of meeting wealthy people and asking them for money, it suddenly dawned on me that they were nothing like the mean, greedy stereotypes the average American envisions.

It’s quite embarrassing, but I have to admit that I was surprised how much I liked these “rich” people—not for what they could do for me, but for what they had done with their own lives. Most of them started with nothing and created financial empires. Even the ones who were born into wealthy families took what fortune gave them and turned it into much more. And though I’m sure the sample was biased, since I was meeting libertarian millionaires, these people accumulated wealth by creating real value that benefited those they did business with. My key observation was they were all very serious about money—not obsessed with it, but conscious of using it wisely and putting it to most efficient use. I greatly admired this; it’s what I strive for myself now.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. The reason for my embarrassment is that my surprise told me something about myself; I discovered that I’d had a bad attitude about money.

This may seem like a philosophical digression, but it’s an absolutely critical point. Without realizing that I’d adopted a cultural norm without conscious choice, I was like many others who believe that it is unseemly to care too much about money. I was working on saving the world, which was reward enough for me, and wanted only enough money to provide for my family.

And at the same instant my surprise at liking my rich donors made me realize that—despite my decades of pro-market activism—I had been prejudiced against successful capitalists, I realized that people who thought the way I did never had very much money.

It seems painfully obvious in hindsight. If thinking about money and exerting yourself to earn more of it makes you pinch your nose in disgust, how can you possibly be effective at doing so?

Well, you can’t. I’m convinced that while almost nobody intends to be poor, this is why so many people are. They may want the benefits of being rich, but they actually don’t want to be rich and have a great mental aversion to thinking about money and acting in ways that will bring more of it into their lives.

So, in May of 2004, I decided to get serious about money. I liked my rich friends and admired them all greatly, but I didn’t see any of them as superhuman. There was no reason I could not have done what any of them had done, if I’d had the same willingness to do the work they did to achieve success.

Lo and behold, it was two months later that Doug and David offered me a job at Casey Research. That’s not magic, nor coincidence; if it hadn’t been Casey, I would have found someone else to learn from. The important thing is that had the offer come two months sooner, being a champion of noble causes and not a money-grubbing financier, I would have turned it down.

I’m still a champion of noble causes, but how things have changed since I enrolled in “Casey U” and got serious about learning how to put my money to work for me, instead of me having to always work for money!

Instead of asking people for donations, I’m now the one writing checks (which I believe will get much larger in the not-too-distant future). I can tell you this is much more fun.

How did I do it? I followed Doug’s advice, speculated alongside him—and took profits with him. Without getting into the details, I can say I had some winning investments early on. I went long during the crash of 2008 and used the proceeds to buy property in 2010. I took profits on the property last year and bought the same stocks I was recommending in the International Speculator last fall, close to what now appears to have been another bottom.

In the interim, I’ve gone from renting to being a homeowner. I’ve gone from being an investment virgin to being one of those expert investors you occasionally see on TV. I’ve gone from a significant negative net worth to a significant nest egg… which I am happily working on increasing.

And I want to help all our readers do the same. Not because all we here at Casey Research care about is money, but because accumulating wealth creates value, as Doug teaches us.

It’s impossible, of course, to communicate all I’ve learned over my years with Doug in a simple article like this. I’m sure I’ll write a book on it someday—perhaps after the current gold cycle passes its coming manic peak.

Still, I can boil what I’ve learned from Doug down to a few “secrets” that can help you as they have me. I urge you to think of these as a study guide, if you will, not a complete set of instructions.

As you read the list below, think about how you can learn more about each secret and adapt it to your own most effective use.

Secret #1: Contrarianism takes courage.

Everyone knows the essential investment formula: “Buy low, sell high,” but it is so much easier said than done, it might as well be a secret formula.

The way to really make it work is to invest in an asset or commodity that people want and need but that for reasons of market cyclicality or other temporary factors, no one else is buying. When the vast majority thinks something necessary is a bad investment, you want to be a buyer—that’s what it means to be a contrarian.

Obviously, if this were easy, everyone would do it, and there would be no such thing as a contrarian opportunity. But it is very hard for most people to think independently enough to risk hard-won cash in ways others think is mistaken or too dangerous. Hence, fortune favors the bold.

Secret #2: Success takes discipline.

It’s not just a matter of courage, of course; you can bravely follow a path right off a cliff if you’re not careful. So you have to have a game plan for risk mitigation. You have to expect market volatility and turn it to your advantage. And you’ll need an exit strategy.

The ways a successful speculator needs discipline are endless, but the most critical of all is to employ smart buying and selling tactics, so you don’t get goaded into paying too much or spooked into selling for too little.

Secret #3: Analysis over emotion.

This may seem like an obvious corollary to the above, but it’s a point well worth stressing on its own. To be a successful speculator does not require being an emotionless robot, but it does require abiding by reason at times when either fear or euphoria tempt us to veer from our game plans.

When a substantial investment in a speculative pick tanks—for no company-specific reason—the sense of gut-wrenching fear is very real. Panic often causes investors to sell at the very time they should be backing up the truck for more.

Similarly, when a stock is on a tear and friends are congratulating you on what a genius you are, the temptation to remain fully exposed—or even take on more risk in a play that is no longer undervalued—can be irresistible. But to ignore the numbers because of how you feel is extremely risky and leads to realizing unnecessary losses and letting terrific gains slip through your fingers.

Secret #4: Trust your gut.

Trusting a gut feeling sounds contradictory to the above, but it’s really not. The point is not to put feelings over logic, but to listen to what your feelings tell you—particularly about company people you meet and their words in press releases.

“People” is the first of Doug Casey’s famous Eight Ps of Resource Stock Evaluation, and if a CEO comes across like a used-car salesman, that is telling you something. If a press release omits critical numbers or seems to be gilding the lily, that, too, tells you something.

The more experience you accumulate in whatever sector you focus on, the more acute your intuitive “radar” becomes: listen to it. There’s nothing more frustrating than to take a chance on a story that looked good on paper but that your gut was warning you about, and then the investment disappoints. Kicking yourself is bad for your knees.

Secret #5: Assume Bulshytt.

As a speculator, investor, or really anyone who buys anything, you have to assume that everyone in business has an angle. Their interests may coincide with your own, but you can’t assume that.

It’s vital to keep in mind whom you are speaking with and what their interest might be. This applies to even the most honest people in mining, which is such a difficult business, no mine would ever get built if company CEOs put out a press release every time they ran into a problem.

A mine, from exploration to production to reclamation, is a nonstop flow of problems that need solving. But your brokers want to make commissions, your conference organizers want excitement, your bullion dealers want volume, etc. And, yes, your newsletter writers want to eat as well; ask yourself who pays them and whether their interests are aligned with yours or the companies they cover.

(Bulshytt is not a typo, but a reference to Neal Stephenson’s brilliant novel, Anathem, which defines the term, briefly, as words, phrases, or even entire books or speeches that are misleading or empty of meaning.)

Secret #6: The trend is your friend.

No one can predict the future, but anyone who applies him- or herself diligently enough can identify trends in the world that will have predictable consequences and outcomes.

If you identify a trend that is real—or that at least has an overwhelming amount of evidence in its favor—it can serve as both compass and chart, keeping you on course regardless of market chaos, irrational investors, and the ever-present flood of bulshytt.

Knowing that you are betting on a trend that makes great sense and is backed by hard data also helps maintain your courage. Remember; prices may fluctuate, but price and value are not the same thing. If you are right about the trend, it will be your friend. Also, remember that it’s easier to be right about the direction of a trend than its timing.

Secret #7: Only speculate with money you can afford to lose.

This is a logical corollary to the above. If you bet the farm or gamble away your children’s college tuition on risky speculations—and only relatively risky investments have the potential to generate the extraordinary returns that justify speculating in the first place—it will be almost impossible to maintain your cool and discipline when you need it.

As Doug likes to say; it’s better to risk 10% of your capital shooting for 100% gains than to risk 100% of your capital shooting for 10% gains.

Secret #8: Stack the odds in your favor.

Given the risks inherent in speculating for extraordinary gains, you have to stack the odds in your favor. If you can’t, don’t play.

There are several ways to do this, including betting on People with proven track records, buying when market corrections put companies on sale way below any objective valuation, and participating in private placements. The most critical may be to either conduct the due diligence most investors are too busy to be bothered with, or find someone you can trust to do it for you.

Secret #9: You can’t kiss all the girls.

This is one of Doug’s favorite sayings, and though seemingly obvious, it’s one of the main pitfalls for unwary speculators.

When you encounter a fantastic story or a stock going vertical and it feels like it’s getting away from you, it can be very, very difficult to do all the things I mention above. I can tell you from firsthand experience, it’s agonizing to identify a good bet, arrive too late, and see the ship sail off to great fortune—without you.

But if you let that push you into paying too much for your speculative picks, you can wipe out your own gains, even if you’re betting on the right trends.

You can’t kiss all the girls, and it only leads to trouble if you try. Fortunately, the universe of possible speculations is so vast, it simply doesn’t matter if someone else beats you to any particular one; there will always be another to ask for the next dance. Bide your time, and make your move only when all of the above is on your side.

Final Point

These are the principles I live and breathe every day as a speculator. The devil, of course, is in the details, which is why I’m happy to be the editor of the Casey International Speculator, where I can cover the ins and outs of all of the above in depth.

Right now, we’re looking at an opportunity the likes of which we haven’t seen in years: thanks to the downturn in gold—which now appears to have subsided—junior gold stocks are still drastically undervalued.

My team and I recently identified a set of junior mining companies that we believe have what it takes to potentially become 10-baggers, generating 1,000%+ gains. If you don’t yet subscribe, I encourage you to try the International Speculator risk-free today and get our detailed 10-Bagger List for 2014 that tells you exactly why we think these companies will be winners. Click here to learn more about the 10-Bagger List for 2014.

Whatever you do, the above distillation of Doug’s experience and wisdom should help you in your own quest.

By CentralBankNews.info
    Colombia’s central bank maintained its benchmark intervention rate at 3.25 percent, as expected, and said it would continue with its dollar-buying program for the three months of April through June, purchasing up to US$ 1 billion.
    The Central Bank of Colombia, which has held rates steady since April 2013 after cutting them by 100 basis points in the first three months of last year, said rates remain at a level that stimulates aggregate spending as inflation converges towards the 3 percent target.
    “In short, economic growth accelerated in the second half of 2013 and inflation continued to rise in February,” the bank said.
    Colombia’s inflation rate rose for the third consecutive month in February to 2.32 percent, within the bank’s 2.0 to 4.0 percent tolerance range after it was below 2.0 percent in October through December.
    Inflation expectations one-year ahead and those based on short-term public debt remain around 3.0 percent, the bank added.
    In February the central bank’s governor said inflation was likely to rise to between 2.5 and 3.0 percent this year after falling to 1.94 percent in 2013, helped by a depreciation of the peso.

    Colombia’s Gross Domestic Product expanded by 0.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2013 was the third quarter for annual growth of 4.9 percent. For the full year, growth was 4.3 percent, up from 4.0 percent for 2012.
    “The recent growth of retail sales, coffee production, energy consumption and further falls in unemployment suggest a strong dynamic of the economy so far this year,” the bank said.
    However, the decline in consumer confidence in February, weak exports and manufacturing point in the opposite direction, the bank said, adding that the bank forecast growth this year between 3.3 percent and 5.3 percent, with 4.3 percent the more likely outcome.
    The central bank has been intervening in foreign exchange markets for more than two years to counter an appreciation of the peso to help its export industry. Its intervention program for January through March was also budgeted at $1 trillion.
    Colombia’s peso has depreciated gradually through 2013 and in the first few months of 2014,  but on March 17 the peso reversed course and started rising. Today it was quoted at 1,993 to the U.S. dollar, down 3.1 percent since the beginning of the year.

    http://ift.tt/1iP0FNb

Source: Tom Armistead of The Mining Report  (3/18/14)

http://www.theenergyreport.com/pub/na/jeb-handwerger-china-isnt-slowing-down-its-buying-up-resources-that-is

Headlines about a Chinese economic slowdown may get good web traffic, but the real story is that China is buying up uranium and other resources around the world, says Gold Stock Trades writer Jeb Handwerger. Meanwhile, tensions in Russia highlight the massive country’s resource dominance in natural gas, oil, uranium, platinum group metals, rare earths and nickel. Handwerger tells The Mining Report that North America is already acting to develop resources that can meet both domestic and international demand—and this global geopolitical uncertainty is an investment opportunity.

The Mining Report: Jeb, how will the companies you follow be affected by the crisis in the Ukraine and the growing tensions in East Asia over China’s claims on islands held by Japan and the Philippines?

Jeb Handwerger: This is really all about natural resources and the ability to control the trade. There’s a whole list of 10 to 15 strategic minerals that come from China almost exclusively. Russia, on the other hand, has a major control on palladium, platinum group metals and nickel, as well some of the agricultural fertilizers, such as potash. Russia also has a critical supply of uranium; it produces about 3,000 tons of uranium, close to double United States production of uranium. Not only that, but Russia has strategic ties with Kazakhstan, which produces close to 20,000 tons of uranium—over 36% of global supply.

Global Palladium Production

Source: North American Palladium Ltd.

I’ve written for years that these metals and these materials are at risk of critical supply shortfall. It’s even more the case now as these tensions increase. There is greater risk of China or Russia turning off the natural gas pipelines or cutting exports of the rare earths and graphite.

Their control of these critical metals is going to force the West, the European Union and the U.S. to develop their own strategic, secure supplies of these materials needed for the critical technologies.

We’re already beginning to see that take place. Many junior miners have made strategic advancements with some jurisdictions in the rare earth sector. For instance, the state of Alaska made a proposal to help fund a rare earth mine in Alaska controlled by Ucore Rare Metals Inc. (UCU:TSX.V; UURAF:OTCQX). In Canada, there’s a push in the Parliament to look for secure supplies, an effort which may benefit Pele Mountain Resources Inc. (GEM:TSX.V). In Europe, I like Tasman Metals Ltd. (TSM:TSX.V; TAS:NYSE.MKT; TASXF:OTCPK; T61:FSE) as the company could be a strategic supplier of technology metals to the EU, which may be very concerned about supply as tensions increase with Russia over Crimea. If investors are not yet positioned, they should position themselves either through the strategic metal ETFs or even better, the specific REE junior miners that are positioned for upside breakouts.

Another angle: In times of war and tension and geopolitical crises, commodities are often a very good hedge against inflationary price rises. We’re already seeing outsized gains in the commodity sectors in 2014. The smart money may be already positioned for the black swans we are currently observing.

Source: USGS

TMR: China is a major buyer of uranium. How do the tensions there affect business conditions in the uranium market?

JH: China is building more nuclear reactors than ever before, and over the next 10 years it’s going to need a major increase in its supply of uranium. Uranium is one of the few materials that China is not self-sufficient in. Unlike the rare earths, it’s going to have to look abroad for that.

China has already tried to go into Africa, which is also one of the largest suppliers of uranium: Niger and Namibia together produce about 14% of global uranium supply, but those areas are not so stable. Last year, AREVA SA’s (AREVA:EPA) Niger uranium facility was the target of an Al-Qaeda terrorist attack, a double-suicide bombing that shut down the plant.

We believe that the Chinese trade agreement with the Canadians, Cameco Corp. (CCO:TSX; CCJ:NYSE), is critical. McArthur River in the Athabasca Basin is the world’s largest high-grade uranium mine. Canada provides about 17% of global supply. This is second only to Kazakhstan, but the Athabasca Basin is going to be able to cover the supply gap that may be coming. There are huge discoveries there, with the highest-grade uranium deposits; concentration is more than 100 times the global average. There are other areas within North America with significant resources, such as the Elliott Lake region in Ontario, where Pele Mountain is operating. Meanwhile, companies are coming into production in Wyoming. And there are a lot of uranium assets in Utah and New Mexico, which may benefit from a bounce in the depressed uranium spot price. We think that the U.S. and Canada over the coming years are going to increase production to alleviate the supply shortfall that may be coming from unstable areas.

TMR: Can companies like Uranerz Energy Corp. (URZ:TSX; URZ:NYSE.MKT) and Laramide Resources Ltd. (LAM:TSX; LAM:ASX) afford to begin production in their new mines with uranium prices stuck where they are?

JH: Uranerz already has offtake agreements at higher uranium prices. It can afford to begin production. Laramide is still a few years away from production in Australia, which has reversed the uranium ban. The uranium price may be depressed now, but investors realize the price could be significantly higher in two to three years. Uranerz is an in-situ mine so it’s lower cost. It can afford to begin production now because it has offtake agreements. We don’t think uranium prices are going to stick around where they are for much longer. Japan is slowly restarting its reactors. The Russian HEU Agreement has come to an end. There are more reactors being built today than ever before. We think the uranium spot prices are going to reverse higher making an astonishing move.

Right now, you can get in at eight-year lows on the top uranium assets that are in the control of the juniors. Uranerz Energy has some of the top assets in the Powder River Basin that are coming into production, and Laramide has one of the top resources with over 50 million pounds (50 Mlb) near surface in Australia, which has now overturned a ban on uranium mining in the district. Now Laramide can go ahead with that Westmoreland project.

Laramide has one of the top advanced resources that provides huge leverage for an investor for the uranium price. For investors who are looking for leverage and for advanced assets, Laramide is a good candidate. There are very few candidates in the junior sector that have 100% control of such a large asset. Investors must realize that there are so few high-quality junior uranium miners. When investors and funds return, the move could be dramatic—like an elephant trying to get through the eye of a needle.

JH: Before I discuss Enterprise, let me reiterate that the key is trying to understand the long-term trend here: China is going to have to go abroad to support its expanding economy with natural resources over the long term. Short term, we are seeing market weakness in industrial metals as investors fear a slowdown. However, over the long term, commodity mine supply is not able to keep up with demand.

While the media dazzles us with a Chinese slowdown, China’s buying up North American energy resources and precious metals during this pullback. One of the areas that has benefitted the most from this ongoing trend has been Western Canada, most notably Alberta. It may be one of the best economies in the world right now. Hundreds of billions of investment dollars are earmarked for this region to build liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities and major pipelines to transport petroleum to the growing economies in Asia.

Source: Statistics Canada

There are already five major pipeline proposals. The major pipeline proposals have been the Enbridge Inc. (ENB:NYSE) Mainline expansion and the TransCanada Corp. (TRP:TSX; TRP:NYSE) Keystone XL pipeline. In addition, there are the proposed LNG facilities with owners such as Apache Corp. (APA:NYSE), Chevron Corp. (CVX:NYSE), Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDS.A:NYSE; RDS.B:NYSE), Mitsubishi Corp. (MBC:LSE), PetroChina Co. Ltd. (PTR:NYSE; 857:HKSE), Imperial Oil Ltd. (IMO:TSX; IMO:NYSE.MKT) and Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM:NYSE). This rising demand for electricity in automobiles and emerging Asian nations could continue to support a major boom for Western Canada.

TMR: In a January issue of your newsletter, Gold Stock Trades, you expressed very high expectations forEnterprise Group Inc. (E:TSX.V). What do you like about that company, and is it meeting your expectations?

JH: Enterprise Group continues to have a phenomenal year. It’s making several strategic acquisitions in an area that’s going to benefit from this buildout in energy infrastructure. It has a tunneling company, which clears the way for the pipes to run under highways, trains and bodies of waters. It also has a pipeline business, Artic Therm, which has a patent-protected flameless heat technology to assist the operators working in cold weather conditions. It has Backhoe, a directional-drilling company. It has a heavy-equipment rental service for drill sites. Enterprise Group has developed and taken over these specialized hard-margin businesses that are generating earnings for shareholders. It has attracted a blue chip stable of companies, including Apache and Suncor Energy Inc. (SU:TSX; SU:NYSE). This is why it had a major run in 2013, and it may just be the beginning.

As Enterprise continues to announce strong revenues, earnings per share and projects that are getting awarded, the story’s just beginning to get noticed in the United States. Enterprise announced that it’s going to become a reporting issuer in the U.S. and so it will hopefully attract a larger audience. It has very strong revenue growth. It has a return on equity over 35% and very strong revenue growth. Revenue is currently at $30M and management wants to grow that to $150M by the end of 2015. This could be a major growth company and could get a lot of attention in the U.S.

TMR: You mentioned the possibility of International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. (ITH:TSX; THM:NYSE.MKT)bringing in a partner to open a mine in Alaska. How important is that and what are some good candidates?

JH: Since International Tower Hill Mines released the feasibility study, the stock was sold off and hit a 52-week low. We took a contrarian view of that selloff. The concept behind International Tower Hill Mines is that it’s a low-grade, bulk-tonnage system, which at current prices may not be economic, but as prices begin rising to $1,500, $2,000, $2,500/ounce ($2,500/oz), the company’s Livengood project becomes one of the best deposits in North America, with huge leverage to the price of gold. It has over 20 million ounces (20 Moz) gold, and great leverage to an upward-trending gold price.

With this feasibility study and management team, which consists of people who have built major Alaskan mines, such as Teck Resources Ltd.’s (TCK:TSX; TCK:NYSE) Pogo Project and Kinross Gold Corp.’s (K:TSX; KGC:NYSE) Fort Knox, International Tower Hill is one of the better candidates for strategic partners who are looking for large amounts of assets in friendly jurisdictions. We believe that there are strategic partners that want the International Tower Hill type of asset that’s able to produce over 0.5 Moz gold annually. One of its shareholders is AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. (AU:NYSE; ANG:JSE; AGG:ASX; AGD:LSE). AngloGold may consider it because it may want a mine outside of Africa on its books that can have large production numbers in a stable jurisdiction. International Tower Hill is one of the few projects that have that potential.

There’s a reason why the Livengood asset is attracting the people who built Fort Knox and Pogo. This management team makes me more confident that this will be a mine. We believe that there’s a potential for this stock to regain its uptrend and to continue to move and significantly outperform to the upside as the gold market turns higher. Huge optionality and leverage here.

TMR: You have had high praise for Comstock Mining Inc. (LODE:NYSE.MKT). What do you like about this company?

JH: What I like about it is that there are very few producers that have the strength in the balance sheet that Comstock has. It may be the gem of the entire mining industry. This balance sheet may begin to really start improving this quarter. Comstock recently announced it secured more than 300 acres of land, so there’s expansion opportunity. The company has an expanded mine plan, which includes additional operations, such as the Spring Valley and the Dayton Projects.

What it’s demonstrating to the institutional investors, who are increasing their holdings in this stock, is that it may be one of the fastest-growing producers in the entire industry on track to go from 20,000 up to 200,000 ounces annually (20–200 Koz/year). The management of the company continues to seek guidance and build institutional shareholders. Now it’s on the verge of generating free cash flow in the coming quarters because it’s increasing production. It went from 20 Koz to 40 Koz. This brings its average costs down, generating greater profit.

I’ve been to the property. This is a historic district, the Comstock district, which in the 1800s produced billions of dollars worth of gold and silver, largely underexplored by modern methods. It’s one of the few companies that’s actually able to generate cash flow, even in a lower cost environment, as most of the ounces are near surface and heap-leach amenable.

TMR: Royal Nickel Corp.’s (RNX:TSX) Dumont Nickel project in Québec is getting good press. When will the company begin production?

JH: Royal Nickel’s Dumont Nickel project is one of the best advanced nickel projects under the control of a junior. It could begin construction by the end of this year and start production in 2016. The company has a management team that knows nickel possibly better than any other junior, as it has some of the top Falconbridge Ltd. and Inco Ltd. personnel and management on the board of directors.

Dumont is one of the largest nickel deposits in the world. Again, nickel is one of the metals of which Russia is a big producer. Also, Indonesia, one of the largest exporters of nickel, just announced an export ban. We expect the nickel price to start heading higher, and we expect much more interest in the nickel sector. There are very few assets like the Dumont project in the control of a junior.

TMR: What do you expect to happen to the share price when it begins production?

JH: Royal Nickel has the capability of bringing this production onstream, but I don’t think it’s going to be in control of Royal Nickel by then. I think the project is going to be acquired by a Vale S.A. (VALE:NYSE) or a BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP:NYSE; BHPLF:OTCPK) as soon as this nickel market starts turning higher. It could be acquired at maybe a 50% to 75% premium from where it is today.

TMR: Probe Mines Limited (PRB:TSX.V) has made a major discovery that some are calling a game changer for the company. What can you tell us about that?

JH: In my last interview with The Gold Report in December, I mentioned that I had taken a position in Probe Mines. Since that time there have been a lot of developments. Probe is developing the Borden Lake project in Ontario, another jurisdiction that’s getting a lot of attention. Potential is huge for this. Probe’s stock has already made a dramatic run since our last interview from around $2 to $3.35/share. Again, it’s similar to what we found with some other companies that I’ve invested in, such as Corvus Gold Inc. (KOR:TSX), where it had this low-grade, bulk-tonnage deposit, but then it had this high-grade discovery. Keep a close eye on Canamex Resources Corp. (CSQ:TSX.V; CX6:FSE), which is doing something similar and has made a major high-grade discovery in Nevada from a low-grade historical resource. Canamex has attracted Hecla Mining Co. (HL:NYSE) and Gold Resource Corp. (GORO:NYSE.MKT; GORO:OTCBB; GIH:FSE) as major shareholders during this down bear market. You can be sure they do a lot of due diligence before putting millions of dollars into a junior miner.

TMR: Zimtu Capital Corp. (ZC:TSX.V) has been in the $0.50/share doldrums for 16 months, but it has been two or three times higher for most of its history. What does the company need to do to break out?

“Zimtu Capital Corp. has found what we consider some of the higher quality, early-stage junior miners that are in industrial minerals and metals that I’m also very bullish on.“

JH: Zimtu is one of the forces behind some high-quality, early-stage junior mining companies. This provides a great way for investors to participate and profit in the junior, especially during the starting stage. One of Zimtu’s more advanced projects is Western Potash Corp. (WPX:TSX.V), which has an advanced potash deposit in Canada. Zimtu also has a major position in the Athabasca Basin with a company, Lakeland Resources Inc. (LK:TSX.V), that has performed very well. Zimtu also is active in the graphite space and one of the companies that we’ve invested in, which isBig North Graphite Corp. (NRT:TSX.V) in Mexico. Zimtu has found what we consider some of the higher quality, early-stage junior miners that are in industrial minerals and metals that I’m also very bullish on, such as uranium, graphite and potash. We think Zimtu stock is quite attractive now. It’s trading at a huge discount to its net asset value. It has different types of projects that could take off in this commodity sector.

TMR: Any other companies you like?

JH: Yes, Pilot Gold Inc. (PLG:TSX) has one of the top geologists who helped advanced Long Canyon. We’ve liked Kinsley Mountain for years. Shares in Pilot have soared since December from under $1 to $1.55 as it hit a heavy volume when the company released results from drilling at Kinsley Mountain, where it hit 6.85 grams over 40 meters. This is very encouraging.

I am also a shareholder in NuLegacy Gold Corporation (NUG:TSX.V; NULGF:OTCPK), which is partnered with Barrick on the Cortez Trend and has a top-notch management team that has found major discoveries in Nevada. NuLegacy’s land position is adjacent to Barrick Gold Corp.’s (ABX:TSX; ABX:NYSE) world-class, 14-Moz Goldrush discovery. I am excited for its exploration program this year.

Also, don’t fall asleep on Paramount Gold and Silver Corp.’s (PZG:NYSE.MKT; PZG:TSX) Sleeper deposit, which may be one of the best-leveraged gold plays in Nevada. Paramount may have one of the largest undeveloped resources in Nevada 100% controlled by a junior.

TMR: Jeb, I appreciate your time.

Jeb Handwerger is an author, speaker and founder of Gold Stock Trades. He studied engineering and mathematics at University of Buffalo and earned a Master’s degree at Nova Southeastern University. After teaching technical analysis to professionals in South Florida for over seven years, Handwerger began a daily newsletter, which grew to include thousands of readers from over 40 nations.

Want to read more Mining Report interviews like this? Sign up for our free e-newsletter, and you’ll learn when new articles have been published. To view recent interviews with industry analysts and commentators, visit The Mining Report homepage

DISCLOSURE:
1) Tom Armistead conducted this interview for The Mining Report and provides services to The Mining Report as an independent contractor. He or his family own shares of the following companies mentioned in this interview: None.
2) The following companies mentioned in the interview are sponsors of Streetwise Reports: Enterprise Group Inc., Comstock Mining Inc., International Tower Hill Mines Ltd., Laramide Resources Ltd., NuLegacy Gold Corporation, Pilot Gold Inc., Probe Mines Ltd., Royal Nickel Corp., Uranerz Energy Corp. and Zimtu Capital Corp. Streetwise Reports does not accept stock in exchange for its services or as sponsorship payment.
3) Jeb Handwerger: I or my family own shares of the following companies mentioned in this interview: Ucore, Pele Mountain, Tasman, Uranerz, Laramide, Enterprise, International Tower Hill, Comstock Mining, Royal Nickel, Probe, Corvus, Canamex, Zimtu, Lakeland, Big North, Pilot, Paramount and NuLegacy. My company has a financial relationship with the following companies mentioned in this interview as they are sponsors on my website: Ucore, Pele Mountain, Uranerz, Laramide, Enterprise, International Tower Hill, Comstock Mining, Royal Nickel, Corvus, Canamex, Paramount and Lakeland. I was not paid by Streetwise Reports for participating in this interview. Comments and opinions expressed are my own comments and opinions. I had the opportunity to review the interview for accuracy as of the date of the interview and am responsible for the content of the interview.
4) Interviews are edited for clarity. Streetwise Reports does not make editorial comments or change experts’ statements without their consent.
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By CentralBankNews.info
    Mexico’s central bank held its policy rate steady at 3.50 percent, as expected, and said the recent inflation data show the rise at the start of the year was transient and hasn’t affected prices in general.
    The Bank of Mexico, which cut its target for overnight rates by 100 basis points in 2013, said the rise in prices in January was anticipated and concentrated on a small number of goods with no second order effects from the changes in prices that took place in late 2013 and early 2014.
    Both headline and core inflation fell in February and short-term inflation expectations have also declined slightly, the bank said, adding that expectations for 2015 and beyond have remained stable.
    Mexico’s headline inflation rate fell to 4.23 percent in February from a jump to 4.48 percent in January while core inflation eased to 2.98 percent from January’s 3.2 percent.
    In January the central bank had said it was keeping a close eye for signs of inflationary pressures in light of the rise in inflation due to higher public transport prices and taxes, with inflation expected to remain above 4.0 percent in the first few months of the year before declining in the second quarter toward the bank’s target range of 2.0 percent to 4.0 percent.
    Mexico’s economy slowed in late 2013 and early this year and the bank said a clear recovery had not yet been seen in the components of demand.
    “In particular, even when public spending is more buoyant, exports and private consumption and investment have yet to show clear signs of acceleration,” the central bank said, adding that overall slack conditions prevail and the risks to economic activity had not improved markedly.
    Mexico’s Gross Domestic Product expanded by only 0.18 percent in the fourth quarter from the third quarter for annual growth of 0.7 percent, down from a rate of 1.4 percent in the third quarter. For the full year of 2013 growth fell to 1.1 percent from 3.9 percent in 2012.
    The global economy, however, has continued to recover modestly in early 2014 and the outlook has improved despite major downside risks.

    http://ift.tt/1iP0FNb

Article by Investazor.com

This week a highly anticipated FOMC Press Conference took place, which was practically the first one for the newly appointed FED Chairman, Janet Yellen. The analysts and the media were expecting some guidance, which would shift from a forward guidance to a qualitative guidance. But first, let’s have a quick recap of the changes that happened with FED monetary policy since the beginning of the tapering.

In December 2013, the Federal Reserve had decided to start trimming the monthly monetary stimulus with 10 billion dollars, making it 75 billion dollars instead of the previous 85 billion. Based on its reaction, the capital markets took the news as a good for them, and the indexes rose after the tapering decision was made public. EURUSD was kind of volatile and directionless, but with an edge towards the appreciation of the US dollar.

January followed and a very tricky mix of data from the US labor market was published. The NFP indicator was very disappointing while the unemployment rate dropped from 7% to 6.7%, very close to the official threshold of 6.5%. However, the tapering continued and another 10 billion were cut, leaving only 65 billion dollars to be “injected” in the markets. Back then, Bernanke calmed the investors saying that the interest rates will remain low even if the unemployment rate would go below the official threshold of 6.5% and blamed the moody weather for the disastrous NFP. The American stock markets fell and the US dollar did not feel good in front of the EUR.

The post FOMC Monetary Policy: Yellen Sings, Markets Dance appeared first on investazor.com.

EURGBP- With EURGBP halting its weakness and triggering corrective recovery higher, the risk is for more strength to occur. Immediate upside target resides at the 0.8397 level where a breach will set the stage for a run at the 0.8450 level and subsequently the 0.8500 level, its psycho level. Its daily RSI is bullish and pointing higher supporting this view. On the other hand, support comes in at the 0.8328 level where a break will expose the 0.8300 level. Further down, support lies at the 0.8247 level where a violation will pave for a move towards the 0.8197 level. A turn below here if seen will open the door for a return to the 0.8157 level, its Feb 17 2014 low. All in all, the cross has halted its weakness and now looks to extend that strength.

Article by www.fxtechstrategy.com

By HY Markets Forex Blog

Gold rose slightly on Friday, picking up for the first time in five days, but still heading towards its biggest weekly drop in four months.  The metal prices were dragged lower by the strengthened US dollar and the Federal Reserve’s suggestion to increase the interest rates in the first six months of 2015.

Gold futures edged 0.12% higher to $1,332.10 an ounce on Friday, hanging close to a three-week low, compared to the six-month high of $1,391.76 seen on Monday.

Holdings in the world’s largest bullion-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Trust; came in at 812.78 tons on Thursday.

Gold – Federal Reserve Outlook

Minutes from the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) March meeting continues to weigh on the commodity market, as the Fed Chair Janet Yellen said that the benchmark interest rate is forecasted to climb within first six months of 2015.

According to the minutes from the March meeting, Fed policymakers forecasted the benchmark rate, would increase by at least 1% by the end of 2015 and by 2.25% by the end of 2016, as the US central bank announced a further reduction to its monthly bond purchases by another $10 billion to $55 billion.

St Louis President James Bullard, Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher, Minneapolis Fed President Narayana Kocherlakota and Fed Governor Jeremy Stein are expected to give speeches later in the day.

Ukraine

Meanwhile, the ongoing tensions between Ukraine and Russia over the Crimean region continues to weigh on the commodity market, as the US President Barack Obama imposed personal sanctions on officials  and business leaders that have ties with the Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The lower house of the Russian Federal Assembly approved the treaty to annex Crimea, while the upper houses are expected to vote on Friday.

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The post Gold Picks Up From Weekly Decline appeared first on | HY Markets Official blog.

Article provided by HY Markets Forex Blog