Cliffs Natural Resources CEO Yearns for Iron Ore Collusion, uh, Cooperation

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on March 12, 2015. Click here to read the entire piece.) When I last wrote about the colorful CEO of Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF), Lourenco Goncalves, he was lambasting the Australians for manipulating their currency as a last desperate measure to save … Read more

It Had to Happen – An Outright Call for Iron Ore Collusion

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on March 26, 2015. Click here to read the entire piece.) {snip} The response was swift. The The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) released a statement indicating it will investigate the context and nature of comments made by Andrew Forrest, founder … Read more

More Rate Cut Pressure As Australian Dollar’s Multi-Year Weakness Fails to Curb Trade Deficit

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on April 2, 2015. Click here to read the entire piece.) A drop in the Australian dollar (FXA) toward a fresh six-year low has not stopped Australia’s trade balance from worsening. {snip} Source: The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Source for currency … Read more

Surprising Divergences Tugging At the Australian Dollar

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on March 31, 2015. Click here to read the entire piece.) Over the weekend another wave of rumors about plans for economic stimulus in China made the rounds. These rumors were credited for helping to drive China’s Shanghai index toward a 7-year … Read more

Gold Is Unloved But Still Not Cheap

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on March 8, 2014. Click here to read the entire piece.) Friday’s U.S. employment report delivered strong results yet again. It helped increase expectations of a Fed rate hike by June as iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond (TLT) and SPDR Gold Shares … Read more