Friday, July 16, 2010
Stocks slumped on Friday.
- By John March
Impressive corporate profits weren't enough to jolt the bulls into action this week, as stock indexes described a perfect parabola from Monday to Friday. Despite gains of 2 to 3 percent at midweek, all three major indexes had collapsed back to their starting points by noon on Friday.
That's bad news for those hoping that surging stock values alone could drive the economy out of recession. It's corporate earnings season, and the news has generally been mixed. JPMorgan Chase, chip manufacturer Intel and aluminum producer Alcoa all posted better-than-expected results, but other companies didn't fare as well.
General Electric, Citigroup and Bank of America all missed estimates, while Goldman Sachs settled the suit brought against it by the SEC for $550 million.
That just boosted the investment bank's shares, though: As it turns out, the fine is equal to just 14 days of Goldman's first-quarter earnings.
The market signals point to sustained weakness in stocks, which is probably good news for hard assets like physical gold. The price of dealer gold has jumped almost 8.5 percent since the beginning of the year, and at one point it was up almost 15 percent.
By contrast, the S&P 500 never got past 10 percent gains in 2010, and it's currently down almost 4 percent.ADNFCR-2970-ID-19895170-ADNFCR
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Thursday, July 1, 2010
One of the world's poorest nations could have the next gold rush
One of the world's poorest nations could have the next gold rush
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Gold mining could bring a measure of prosperity.
- By Bruce Sands
Burkina Faso says that its gold exports will rise more than 60 percent over the course of the next year, reports Bloomberg. The West African nation is also one of the world's poorest, with a per-capita annual income of less than $300. The last figure for unemployment, in 2004, put it at 77 percent.
Currently, Burkina Faso does not export an enormous amount of gold. But it's seeking to attract major mining corporations like Newmont Mining Corporation of the U.S. and Vale SA of Brazil.
IAMGOLD of Canada started up a mine this week in Essakane, Burkina Faso, that it projects will produce 500,000 ounces of gold by the end of next year.
The country expects its revenue from gold mining taxes to rise from #30 million last year to over $150 million in five years, according to Abdoulaye Abdoulkader Cisse, the mining and energy minister interviewed by Bloomberg. Cisse says that 800 companies sought exploration licenses in December, over twice the number the government projected.
All these trends point to a promising future for Burkina Faso in gold mining, which could finally begin to rise from the bottom of the economic heap. ADNFCR-2970-ID-19867520-ADNFCR
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Gold mining could bring a measure of prosperity.
- By Bruce Sands
Burkina Faso says that its gold exports will rise more than 60 percent over the course of the next year, reports Bloomberg. The West African nation is also one of the world's poorest, with a per-capita annual income of less than $300. The last figure for unemployment, in 2004, put it at 77 percent.
Currently, Burkina Faso does not export an enormous amount of gold. But it's seeking to attract major mining corporations like Newmont Mining Corporation of the U.S. and Vale SA of Brazil.
IAMGOLD of Canada started up a mine this week in Essakane, Burkina Faso, that it projects will produce 500,000 ounces of gold by the end of next year.
The country expects its revenue from gold mining taxes to rise from #30 million last year to over $150 million in five years, according to Abdoulaye Abdoulkader Cisse, the mining and energy minister interviewed by Bloomberg. Cisse says that 800 companies sought exploration licenses in December, over twice the number the government projected.
All these trends point to a promising future for Burkina Faso in gold mining, which could finally begin to rise from the bottom of the economic heap. ADNFCR-2970-ID-19867520-ADNFCR
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