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☆ Gold marches higher as U.S. jobs data boosts bets of early rate cut
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-08 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Gold prices were poised for their biggest weekly jump in five months on Friday, hovering near a historic high, as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's remarks cemented mid-year rate cut bets, ahead of a key jobs report later in the day. Gold prices surged to another record high on Friday as data showing a rise in the U.S. unemployment rate boosted expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve could begin cutting interest rates soon. Low interest rates are supportive for gold prices as they reduce the opportunity cost of holding bullion. Gold prices will continue to trend higher overall, though a short consolidation may be necessary," said Tai Wong, a New York-based independent metals trader. Meanwhile, London's gold price benchmark hit another record high of $2171.30 per troy ounce at an afternoon auction on Friday, the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) said.

Persons: Jerome Powell's, Bullion, Gold, David Meger, Tai Wong Organizations: U.S . Federal Reserve, High, Treasury, Traders, London Bullion Market Association Locations: U.S, New York

Sustainability-linked loans (SLL), which were first used in 2017, offer slightly cheaper borrowing, typically around 2.5-10 basis points less, if companies meet goals such as cutting their carbon emissions or improving board diversity. These let banks strip the sustainability-linked label from the loans if targets are no longer deemed appropriate. The banks' tougher standards are discouraging some borrowers from using SLLs entirely, bankers and lawyers told Reuters. The Engie spokesman said the utility would not agree to linking an event of default to sustainability targets. "We have stated our willingness to walk away when sustainability targets were too soft," said Brittany Agostino, vice president in the environmental, social and governance group at Los Angeles-based Ares.

Persons: Toby Melville, Banks, Constance Chalchat, Pascale Forde Maurice, Elliot Beard, Simmons, Beard, I've, David Milligan, Norton Rose Fulbright, Gemma Lawrence, Pardew, Brittany Agostino, Fredrik Altmann, Tommy Reggiori Wilkes, Isla Binnie, Shankar Ramakrishnan, Simon Jessop, Alexander Smith Organizations: FCA, Financial, Authority, REUTERS, LONDON, BNP, Corporate, Institutional Banking, Reuters, JPMorgan, Ford Motors, SLLs, CIB's, European, Sustainable Investment Banking, Simmons, Norton Rose, Market Association, BMW, Porsche, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, North America, Asia, Los Angeles, New York

DETROIT (AP) — United Auto Workers union President Shawn Fain is expected to update members Friday afternoon on progress in contract talks with Detroit's three automakers as movement was reported with General Motors. The union's strikes at targeted plants at each company began on Sept. 15 and are nearing the start of their sixth week. A person briefed on the talks says the union is exchanging offers with GM and will meet again Friday with the company. The strikes started with one assembly plant from each company after contracts expired at 11:59 p.m. Sept. 14. The union later added the parts warehouses, then one assembly plant each from Ford and GM.

Persons: Shawn Fain, Fain, they’re, Gerald Johnson, ” Johnson, Ford, Stellantis Organizations: DETROIT, United Auto Workers, General Motors, GM, UAW, Ford, Equipment Market Association, Los Angeles Auto Show, CES Locations: America, Louisville , Kentucky, Kentucky

Most foreign airlines have suspended or curtailed services, leaving passengers uncertain how to leave or reach the country and consular services struggling to keep up with demand for assistance, with priority given to those with missing relatives. Israel's parliamentary finance committee said late on Tuesday it would debate authorising state guarantees for providing war risk insurance for Israeli airlines. British Airways said it would suspend flights to Tel Aviv after diverting a flight from London back to Britain shortly before it was due to reach Tel Aviv, citing security concerns. U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Washington remains in talks with U.S. airlines about flights to Israel. Passengers have complained of mounting costs especially for leaving Israel, but airlines deny driving up prices.

Persons: Yiannis, El Al, Sun Dor, Israel, ” Neil Roberts, Jan Lipavsky, Lipavsky, couldn't, Annalena Baerbock, Carsten Spohr, Pete Buttigieg, flydubai, Steven Scheer, Carolyn Cohn, Jacob Gronholt, Pedersen, Michael Kahn, Victoria Klesty, Joanna Plucinska, Tim Hepher, Huseyin Hayatsever, David Shepardson, Alexander Cornwell, Mark Potter, Lincoln Organizations: Larnaca International Airport, REUTERS, El, Hamas, Association, British Airways, Lufthansa, German, . Transportation, U.S, Nordic, Dubai's Emirates, Etihad Airways, Thomson Locations: Israel, Larnaca, Cyprus, Israeli, Athens, Rome, Madrid, Bucharest, New York, Paris, Istanbul, El, Tel Aviv, London, Britain, Czech, Oman, Prague, Lipavsky, Denmark, Carsten Spohr ., Washington, Norwegian, Oslo, Abu Dhabi, United States, COVID

☆ London gold body aims to create secure global database
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Melted gold flows out of a smelter into a mould of a bar at a plant of gold and silver refiner and bar manufacturer Argor-Heraeus in Mendrisio, Switzerland, July 13, 2022. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsCompanies The London Bullion Market Association FollowLONDON, Sept 14 (Reuters) - The London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) on Thursday called for proposals from service firms to create a secure global database that would improve trust in the gold market's value chain. Gold refineries must source gold responsibly under the industry body's accreditation requirements, allowing them access to London's bullion market, the world's largest. The group's database of Russian gold bars held by banks in London helps to prevent sanctions evasion by Russian companies. Reporting by Polina Devitt; Editing by Richard ChangOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Denis Balibouse, Ruth Crowell, Polina Devitt, Richard Chang Organizations: REUTERS, Bullion Market, Bullion Market Association, Thomson Locations: Mendrisio, Switzerland, London

☆ Insurers reviewing Black Sea ship cover after Russia suspension
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Jonathan Saul | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, July 17 (Reuters) - Insurers are reviewing whether to freeze cover for any ships willing to sail to Ukraine after Russia said on Monday it will suspend participation in a UN-backed deal that allows the export of grain through a Black Sea safe corridor, sources said. "Due to the collapse of the Black Sea corridor deal, most shipowners will now refrain from calling Ukrainian ports," Christian Vinther Christensen, chief operating officer with Danish shipping group NORDEN told Reuters. The (key) question is whether Russia mines the area which would effectively cease any form of cover being offered," one insurance industry source said. The Lloyd's of London insurance market has already placed the Black Sea region on its high-risk list. Additional war risk insurance premiums, which are charged when entering the Black Sea area, need to be renewed every seven days.

Persons: Christian Vinther Christensen, Neil Roberts, shipowners, Jonathan Saul, Sharon Singleton Organizations: NORDEN, Reuters, . Insurance, Lloyd's Market Association, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Russia, UN, Turkey, London, Lloyd's

☆ Meet some of the 'hot rodders' making classic gas-powered cars run on electric motors and batteries — see their coolest conversions
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( Alexa St. John | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

"We're seeing that more and more, as the next generation of hot rodders come up, that they do want to do an EV conversion. 1974 BMW 2002 5-Speed electric conversion Bring a TrailerThe proof? Gadget, who was featured in the "Revenge of the Electric Car" documentary, starts by taking batteries out of crashed Teslas. "You'll see electric cars actually beat gasoline cars with the same horsepower out of the gate, but when they're absolutely quiet, you'll lose some people," Drewry said. 1966 VW Bus 21 Window with a Netgain Hyper 9 motor and EV West’s bolt-in “6 pack” Tesla battery EV WestFor Bream, it's actually about prolonging legacy.

☆ You'll likely pay more and wait longer for repairs to your electric car
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Alexa St. John | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

If car-buyers can only go to a dealer for service, that might mean longer waits and more expense. What's going on with vehicle repair today? So you can imagine if independent repair shops didn't have the opportunity to work on vehicles." "The industry has been hyper-focused on launches and now these customers are bringing their electric vehicles in for maintenance and repairs." "The EV segment has the potential to spur massive convenience improvements in how customers service their vehicles — but we're not seeing the benefits yet," Sutton added.

☆ BoE's Pill sees risk of persistent inflation, even if gas prices fall
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( David Milliken | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Markets see BoE rates peaking at 4.5% in June, while economists polled by Reuters in December predicted a peak of 4.25% in the second quarter of 2023. The BoE also forecast headline inflation will fall this year as natural gas prices level off. Natural gas prices in Britain , which spiked in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine last February, have retreated to around the same level as a year ago, but are several times higher than in early 2021. Pill said that even if natural gas prices eased further, that would not guarantee that underlying price pressures would fall enough for inflation to return to its 2% target. If businesses and workers did not pursue moderate price and wage strategies, Pill said the BoE would have to keep raising rates.

☆ Factbox: Russian gold taken out of exchange-traded fund stockpiles
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Peter Hobson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

In an analysis about investors shunning Russian gold, Reuters examined lists of gold bars owned by eleven large funds. By late November, the proportion of Russian gold in the stockpiles of eight had fallen. SPDR Gold MiniShares, whose gold is stored by ICBC Standard, saw an almost 50% fall in the amount of Russian gold it holds. Russian gold bars refined before March 7 this year are still eligible to own and trade, it said. GRANITESHARESGraniteShares said it did not distinguish between different brands of good delivery gold including pre-war Russian gold, and that it had not asked its custodian, ICBC Standard, to reduce its holdings of Russian bullion.

☆ Analysis: Russian gold removed from some Western funds after Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Peter Hobson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

But the data, compiled by Reuters, shows Russian gold being removed at a significantly faster pace than that from other countries. One said he had asked the bank paid to store his fund's gold to allocate as little Russian metal as possible to it. Russian gold removed from such funds was often reassigned to other owners in the same location, the bankers said. JP Morgan, which stored around 1,050 tonnes of gold for the funds, trimmed Russian gold by 13% and non-Russian gold by 9%. However, the two largest funds, BlackRock's (BLK.N) iShares Gold Trust and the World Gold Council's SPDR Gold Shares, actually increased their proportion of Russian gold.

☆ Gold prices inch higher on softer dollar
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

One kilo gold bars are pictured at the plant of gold and silver refiner and bar manufacturer Argor-Heraeus in Mendrisio, Switzerland, July 13, 2022. Gold prices edged up on Monday and hovered near the key $1,800-level, as a softer U.S. dollar made the greenback-priced bullion cheaper for buyers holding other currencies. Spot gold rose 0.1% to $1,800.02 per ounce as of 0027 GMT. Lower interest rates tend to be beneficial for gold as it reduces the opportunity cost of holding the non-yielding asset. Physical gold demand stalled in India last week on higher prices, while premiums fell in top consumer China as Covid-19 restrictions dulled activity.

☆ Gold hits 5-month peak as dollar dips on China reopening hopes
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Ashitha Shivaprasad | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SummarySummary Companies Dollar index down 0.2%, hovers near 5-month lowLondon body creates database of Russian gold barsDec 5 (Reuters) - Gold prices rose to a five-month high on Monday, as the U.S. dollar weakened slightly after more Chinese cities relaxed COVID-19 restrictions over the weekend. The dollar index was down 0.2%, hovering near five-month lows. Lower interest rates tend to be beneficial for gold as it reduces the opportunity cost of holding the non-yielding asset. "Also, news that China is scaling back its COVID restrictions means that gold demand will increase in the region, further supporting prices," said Simpson. The London Bullion Market Association is creating a database of Russian gold bars held by banks in London to help prevent sanctions evasion by Russian companies or the Russian central bank, the industry group said on Friday.

☆ Silver heads for biggest deficit in decades, Silver Institute says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Clark Mindock | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Global demand for silver is expected to rise 16% this year to 1.21 billion ounces, creating the biggest deficit in decades, according to the Silver Institute on Thursday night. The Silver Institute predicted a deficit of 194 million ounces this year, up from 48 million ounces in 2021. The Silver Institute predicts a 16% increase in demand this year to 1.21 billion ounces. Silver prices have fallen around 10% this year to $21 an ounce, mostly due to financial investors selling silver in response to rising U.S. bond yields and a strengthening dollar. SILVER DEMAND (MILLIONS OF OUNCES)*Source: The Silver Institute, Metals FocusReporting by Peter Hobson; Editing by Lisa ShumakerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Analysis: Investors face expensive quest for year-end cash and safe assets
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Yoruk Bahceli | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Money markets too suggest securing cash and quality assets investors need to make a smooth transition into 2023 will be expensive. But analysts noted year-end is still 1-1/2 months away and the spread tends to widen in late November as demand for cash rises. The risk is any unexpected news emerging as liquidity thins further in December, requiring investors to reconsider positioning. BofA said it now sees year-end German repo 6 percentage points below the overnight rate, which it said would still make it the most expensive on record for investors borrowing bonds then. "It's still early days, but (last year's repo pricing) would probably be the best case already in terms of year-end pricing," Commerzbank's Leister said.

☆ Natural disaster-hit countries get automatic debt freeze option
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Marc Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Countries hit by climate change-driven disasters such as flooding and hurricanes will automatically be able to freeze debt payments under new plans laid out by the bond market rule setting International Capital Market Association (ICMA). ICMA's move on Wednesday introduced new "climate resilient debt clauses" (CDRCs) that countries can now plug into the government bonds they sell to raise money on the international capital markets. Any country that uses them will be able to defer their debt payments for a maximum of 2 years, with the aim of giving them enough financial breathing space to provide aid and support to affected populations. "As well as supporting disaster resilience by freeing up cash flow, CRDCs could help avoid the liquidity challenges faced by low-income countries in such circumstances becoming costly payment defaults," ICMA said. ICMA said while technically no country is excluded from using CRDCs, they were likely to be most suitable for low-income countries, Small Island Developing States, or other developing countries particularly vulnerable to climate change.

At the COP27 climate conference in Egypt, companies and country delegates are discussing ways of enhancing the market for green bonds, or bonds that are linked to projects deemed environmentally beneficial. POPULAR DESPITE THE 'GREENIUMS'Also known as "use of proceeds bonds," green bonds involve a company or government raising money for projects considered environmentally beneficial. SUSTAINABILITY-LINKED BONDSSustainability-linked bonds, or SLBs, comprise a newer and smaller market than green bonds. SOCIAL BONDS, SDG BONDS, AND MOREBeyond bonds focused on environmental outcomes, lie pools of money for related goals around social equity or fair living standards. Social impact bonds, or impact bonds, differ from social bonds in linking financial returns to the desired outcome.

☆ Nissan showed off a stunning vintage pickup truck powered by the electric Leaf
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Tim Levin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Nissan showed off a stunning electric pickup truck with vintage looks. It's a 1987 Nissan Sunny pickup powered by parts from the brand's Leaf electric car. Nissan Sunny Leaf electric pickup truck. Nissan Sunny Leaf electric pickup truck. Nissan Sunny Leaf electric pickup truck.

☆ An electric version of a beloved vintage Jeep shows how easy converting your old gas guzzler could soon be
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Tim Levin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Jeep CJ Surge concept previews a future electric-vehicle kit for do-it-yourself projects. The Jeep CJ Surge electric concept. The Jeep CJ Surge electric concept. The Jeep CJ Surge electric concept. The Jeep CJ Surge electric concept.

☆ Gold dips as steady U.S. dollar, looming rate hikes dim appeal
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Gold inched lower on Wednesday as the dollar gained some ground, while the U.S. Federal Reserve's commitment to tightening its monetary policy also weighed on zero-yield bullion's appeal. Spot gold was down 0.1% at $1,650.02 per ounce, as of 0317 GMT, while U.S. gold futures were flat at $1,654.80. "Market participants may want to see a clearer end to Fed's rate hikes before restoring some confidence in gold prices," IG market strategist Yeap Jun Rong said, adding given upside risks to inflation, monetary tightening seems far from over. "That will keep gold prices locked in an overall downward trend for now, with any rallies running the risks of being eventually sold into." The Fed is widely expected to deliver a fourth straight 75-basis point rate hike when it meets in November, and traders of futures contracts tied to the policy rate are betting on another oversized hike in December as well.

☆ LBMA delegates predict gold price will rise to $1,830.50 in a year
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Oct 18 (Reuters) - Delegates from around the world meeting at the London Bullion Market Association's annual precious metals conference in Lisbon predicted that gold prices would rise to 1,830.50 an ounce in a year's time, up from around $1,650 on Tuesday. They forecast that silver prices would rise to $28.30 in a year from around $18.70 on Tuesday, platinum would rise to $1,238.70 from around $915 and palladium would edge up to $2,058.80 from around $2,020. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Peter Hobson. Editing by Jane MerrimanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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