Diamond News Archives

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank AG has agreed to pay $60 million to settle private U.S. antitrust litigation by traders and other investors who accused the German bank of conspiring to manipulate gold prices at their expense.

The preliminary settlement was filed on Friday with the U.S. District Court in Manhattan, and requires a judge’s approval.

Deutsche Bank denied wrongdoing. The bank in October agreed to pay $38 million to settle similar litigation over alleged silver price manipulation.

Amanda Williams, a spokeswoman for the bank, declined to comment. Lawyers for the plaintiffs did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The case is one of many in the Manhattan court in which investors accused banks of conspiring to rig rates and prices in financial and commodities markets.

Investors sued Deutsche Bank, Barclays Plc, Bank of Nova Scotia, HSBC Holdings Plc and Societe Generale in 2014, claiming that they conspired to fix gold prices from 2004 to 2013.

While the investors did not estimate the size of the banks’ gold portfolios, they said the gold derivatives market alone reached $650 billion during the class period.

Deutsche Bank had agreed to settle its part of the case in April, but the terms were not disclosed until now.

In an Oct. 3 decision, U.S. District Judge Valerie Caproni in Manhattan said investors could pursue much of their lawsuit against the other four banks.

Deutsche Bank has separately been in talks with U.S. authorities on a potential multibillion-dollar penalty related to mortgage securities.

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Alrosa’s (MCX:ALRS) sales dropped by 44% year-on-year in January, according to a press release issued by the Russian miner.

In detail, Alrosa said that it sold a total of $281.5 million worth of rough and polished diamonds, with rough stones leading most of the transactions and generating proceeds of $278.2 million.

According to the world's top diamond producer by output, following a busy month in December, which generated approximately $320.4 million, it is not uncommon to see lower sales in the first month of the following year. Yet, things were a little different this time.

"In January, market activity was lower than usual. After active restocking at the midstream in December 2018 (our December sales were up 20% qoq and up 46% yoy), our January sales came lower,” Yury Okoemov, Alrosa’s Deputy CEO, said in the media brief.

Okoemov explained that December 2018/January 2019 combined sales reached a three-year average by adding up to $601.9 million, something that wasn’t unexpected. “Sales in the diamond market are always cyclical, and apparently, we are seeing the expected correction after the peak values in previous periods,” he said.

But two weeks ago, when Alrosa published its production and sales results for 2018, the figures also showed a fall in sales, in that case of 6% y-o-y, with proceeds resulting in $4.5 billion. When counting carats sold, the total was of 38.1 million carats in 2018 – a drop of 8% when compared to the previous year

Production figures also were on the decline last year due to the shutdown of the Mir underground mine and the completion of open-pit mining at the Udachnaya pipe. In 2018, Alrosa produced 36.7 million carats, 7% less...

LONDON (Reuters) - Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said on Tuesday Britain should be under no illusions about the likely shock to its economy if it leaves the European Union next month without a transition deal to ease the shock.

The United Kingdom is on course to leave the European Union on March 29 without a deal unless Prime Minister Theresa May can convince the bloc to amend the deal she agreed in November and then sell it to skeptical British lawmakers.

“You have got to recognize this could go quite badly. We are 45 days before the possibility of it,” Carney said, answering audience questions after a speech at a Financial Times event.

“We shouldn’t be under any illusions — I’m not going to put a point estimate on it — but a no-deal, no-transition Brexit would be an economic shock for this economy.”

A no-deal Brexit would “certainly” deliver a hit in the short term to Britain’s economy, Carney said, adding that a weaker currency would not solve its problems.

Asked by a Brexit-supporting lawmaker about the possibility of a weaker pound helping to absorb the no-deal Brexit economic shock, Carney said: “That’s part of the necessary adjustment mechanism but it is not a step to prosperity, it is a hit to income.”

Carney, a Canadian, has previously warned of the risks that Brexit poses to the United Kingdom, the world’s fifth-biggest economy, earning him the ire of some anti-EU lawmakers.

Last year, the BoE said a worst-case scenario...

(IDEX Online) – The Indian Diamond & Colorstone Association, an association of jewelers, diamantaires and colored stone dealers, hosted its 35th Annual Tucson Gala on February 7. <?xml:namespace prefix = "o" ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /?>

IDCA President Nilesh Sheth reminded his audience that the diamond, gem and jewelry industry had faced many disruptive changes, but that that the key challenge is to adapt and work around these changes. “Our Industry has steadily been growing and there is unlimited potential for growth,” he stated.

And Ruben Bindra, who is serving another term as President of the American Gem Trade Association (AGTA), said: ”What we need to focus on is how to bring the next generation of leaders to the forefront of our industry. Millennials are the key as buyers and influencers, and we should encourage them to take over the mantle going forward.”

An ensuing panel discussion focused on the importance of marketing, in particular on the importance of storytelling to the consumer. “Consumers want a story, all the way from the mine to market,” the panel concluded.

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