Diamond News Archives
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By Pam Martens and Russ Martens: October 4, 2019 ~
John Williams, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York
Yesterday, the House Financial Services Committee released its hearing schedule for October. There is not a peep about holding a hearing on the unprecedented hundreds of billions of dollars that the Federal Reserve Bank of New York is pumping into unnamed banks on Wall Street at a time when there is no public acknowledgement of any kind of financial crisis taking place.
Congressional committees should have been instantly on top of the Fed’s actions when they first started on September 17 because the Fed had gone completely rogue from 2007 to 2010 in funneling an unfathomable $29 trillion[1] in revolving loans to Wall Street and global banks without authority or even awareness from Congress. The Fed also fought a multi-year court battle with the media in an effort to keep its giant money funnel a secret.
According to Section 1101 of the Dodd-Frank financial reform legislation of 2010, both the House Financial Services Committee and the Senate Banking Committee are to be briefed on any emergency loans made by the Fed, including the names of the banks doing the borrowing. The section reads:
“The [Federal Reserve] Board shall provide to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives, (i) not later than 7 days after the Board authorizes any loan or other financial assistance under this paragraph, a report that includes (I) the justification for the exercise of authority to provide such assistance; (II) the identity of the recipients of such assistance; (III) the date and amount of the assistance, and form...
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(Press Release) - The Federation of Belgian Diamond Bourses has been operating M-Screen services for its members since 2018.
This service, offered in the premises of the Diamantclub van Antwerpen, is dedicated for the screening and detection of undisclosed lab-grown diamonds and simulants, to help protect the Industry.
Upon control of the small loose stones with the M-screen 4.0, the suspect stones are further checked with the Sherlock Holmes tester. In both analyses, a print of the report with the last test results is given. Furthermore, the stones that have passed are then sealed separately with a tamperproof seal mentioning a unique serial number that matches the report number.
Thanks to its efficient equipment, the testing center is able to give a short turnaround time, enabling customers to move their goods swiftly without potential loss of business.
The M-screen service in the Diamantclub van Antwerpen is available to all members of the Antwerp diamond bourses.
For further info, please contact: 03-220.93.31....
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(IDEX Online) - The National Retail Federation (NRF) is predicting holiday retail sales during November and December will increase between 3.8 percent and 4.2 percent over 2018 to a total of between $727.9 billion and $730.7 billion. This is just slightly above the average 3.7 percent increase seen over the past five years.
NRF expects online and other non-store sales, which are included in the total, to increase between 11 percent and 14 percent to between $162.6 billion and $166.9 billion, up from $146.5 billion last year.
According to an NRF survey in September, 79 percent of consumers were concerned that newly imposed tariffs will cause prices to rise, potentially affecting their approach to shopping. Many retailers are using various mitigation tactics to limit the impact of newly imposed trade tariffs on consumers. However, many small businesses have already been forced to raise prices.
"The U.S. economy is continuing to grow and consumer spending is still the primary engine behind that growth," said Matthew Shay, NRF president and CEO.
"Nonetheless, there has clearly been a slowdown brought on by considerable uncertainty around issues including trade, interest rates, global risk factors and political rhetoric. Consumers are in good financial shape and retailers expect a strong holiday season. However, confidence could be eroded by continued deterioration of these and other variables."]
"There is significant economic unease, but current economic data and the recent momentum of the economy show that we can expect a much stronger holiday season than last year," said Jack Kleinhenz, NRF chief economist. "Job growth and higher wages mean there's more money in families' pockets, so we see both the willingness and ability to spend this holiday season."...
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Gold Sheds $2 to $1504 Against Equity Rally on Steady Us Payroll Report - Gold Today October 4, 2019
Jim Pogoda, Senior Gold Trader, Gold Bullion International
Overnight – gold trades narrowly between $1506 - $1510 ahead of the US Payroll Report
· Gold edged moderately higher last night, trading in a narrow range of $1506 - $1510 with activity somewhat muted ahead of this morning’s much awaited US Employment Report.
· It faded some weakness in S&P futures (-14 to 2898) - which reversed a modest gain during early Asian hours.
· Gold was also lifted by a slight pullback in the US 10-year bond yield (1.544% - 1.52%) and the US dollar (DX from 98.93 – 98.73).
· The dollar was weighed by a firming yen (106.92 – 106.65, risk off) and euro (stronger Germany’s Construction PMI).
· News that Carrie Lam invoked emergency powers and announced a face mask ban on Hong Kong protestors ahead of the weekend heightened tensions and was also gold supportive.
Gold retreats to $1496 on a steady US Payroll Report
· At 8:30 AM, the US Payroll Report was a mixed bag.
· The miss in Nonfarm Payrolls (136k vs. exp. 145k) sent gold spiking up to $1515 from knee jerk algorithmic trading that sent the DX down to 98.67.
· However, after a closer look, markets looked favorably - and with some relief after the poor US data released this week – on the large (45k) revisions to the last 2 months reports along with decline in the Unemployment Rate (3.5% vs....
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Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell described the U.S. economy on Friday as being solid, noting the central bank must do what it can to keep it there.
"While not everyone fully shares economic opportunities and the economy faces some risks, overall it is— as I like to say— in a good place," Powell said in prepared remarks delivered at a "Fed Listens" event in Washington. The event is part of a monetary policy communication review by the Fed. "Our job is to keep it there as long as possible."
Powell's comments came after a raft of disappointing data releases this week. On Tuesday, the Institute for Supply Management said U.S. manufacturing contracted to its weakest level in a decade. ISM also said Thursday the U.S. services sector grew at its slowest pace since August 2016. The Labor Department, meanwhile, reported weaker-than-expected jobs growth for September.
This batch of weaker-than-forecast economic numbers led traders to ratchet up their bets on easier monetary policy from the Fed. Market expectations for a rate cut later this month are around 80%, according to the CME Group's FedWatch[1] tool.
"While we believe our strategy and tools have been and remain effective, the U.S. economy, like other advanced economies around the world, is facing some longer-term challenges—from low growth, low inflation, and low interest rates," Powell said, adding the Fed is "examining strategies" that will help it achieve its inflation goal of 2%.
The Fed has already cut rates twice this year, in part because inflation remains below the bank's target. Fed officials will meet again between Oct. 29 and Oct. 30.
Subscribe to CNBC on YouTube.[2]...