Royal Canadian Mint 'Managing' Silver Supply

Following the news last week that the U.S. Mint had run out of its initial production of 2013 Silver Eagles, reports were circulating on industry blogs that the Royal Canadian Mint was next-in-line, and suffering a silver shortage. Confirming this strain on physical silver supplies, just this morning the RCM went on allocation, limiting the quantity of sales of the popular Silver Maple Leaf coin. “Due to very high demand for Silver Maple Leaf bullion coins, the Royal Canadian Mint is carefully managing supply to ensure all our bullion distributors are served and we continue to take orders,” Alex Reeves, senior manager, communications for the Royal Canadian Mint, told Kitco News this morning. Peter Hug, global trading director for Kitco Metals, offered this explanation: “The Mints tend to want to be out of a specific year prior to offering the next year dated coin. I suspect in October, the Mints looked at the current demand, their stock and anticipated some year-end demand. When that demand failed to materialize in November and early December, I think they reduced their production for 2013 release assuming that the demand would continue to be lukewarm.” When the metals popped after U.S. officials reached a fiscal cliff deal, they were caught short with produced inventory, says Hug. The U.S. Mint suspended sales of its newly minted 2013 American Eagle silver bullion coins after its supplies were depleted due to soaring investor demand. “Investor concerns really have risen at the end of last year,” said Mu Li, an analyst with the New York-based research firm, CPM Group. “You can see this in the silver coin sales data from the Mint. In November 2012, the monthly sales of silver coins were more than double the previous November. In that period of time, this surge in demand was pretty much unanticipated by the Mint and there were some strains in supply of silver blanks,” she said. “In January we will probably see all-time highs of 7 million ounces of Mint silver coin sales.” Li said that it is typical to see seasonally high demand in the month of January. As of Jan. 15, Silver Eagle sales exceeded 5 million ounces and were on track to surpass the all-time monthly high of 6.1 million ounces, set in January 2012. Sales to authorized dealers are expected to resume on or about the week of Jan. 28 after the U.S. Mint has replenished its inventory, it said in an email to authorized dealers.

Gold And Silver Are Popular But Do Not Forget About Copper

have previously recommended gold, silver and platinum in prior articles. Copper is both a precious metal and an industrial metal. There are a few reasons to consider being bullish on copper as both a precious and industrial metal. As a precious metal, I think it could rise with gold, silver and platinum due to central bank actions worldwide that will debase the value of fiat currencies. Copper, in addition to the other metals, are used in currencies (or in the case of gold as a currency itself). I lay out the thesis for precious metal appreciation in several articles, most prominently in the introduction of this recent article. Copper also has uses industrially. Copper plays a vital role in many facets of our lives. People have been using copper since at least 9000 BC. One reason copper is so important is that it can be made into alloys, which are combinations with other metals to make new materials like brass and bronze. These alloys are harder, stronger and more corrosion resistant than pure copper. Copper has many unique properties which make it.........READ MORE

A Big Night For Apple: A Few Ways To Profit From Poor Earnings

All eyes are on Apple's (AAPL) earnings report tonight. There is growing chatter that AAPL, and tech's performance as a whole could dictate the entire direction of the market for the next few months. Google (GOOG) reported an earnings beat, and investors have responded favorably. Thus far, about 16% of companies in the S&P 500 have reported earnings, and in my opinion have been slightly better than expected overall, considering the economy is still weak. However, with the S&P 500 near 5 years' highs, there is a lot more risk to the downside, in my opinion. We have not seen a market correction in sometime. With all eyes on AAPL tonight, if we see some real bad news out of the company and from the remaining companies this earnings season, investors may want to consider taking some bearish action should market panic ensue. The media will be all over the report, so after hours expect the stock to move. The numbers to look for are of course the top and bottom lines, which consensus estimates are for $54.69 billion in revenue and earnings per share of $13.42. Other items to watch are the margins, which AAPL has guided to be 38% gross margin, 28.4% for operating margin and 21.5% for net profit margin. Naturally, analysts are more bullish, so beating these guided figures is paramount. Finally, look for unit sales of iPhones, iPads, Macs and iPods. A beat on all the numbers could spark the stock to....READ MORE

Bullish On Silver? Dividend Paying Companies To Consider In 2013

Aside from silver being a precious metal, it also has many industrial applications and therefore, will always have demand, especially when the global economy finally comes out of recession. Silver, as opposed to gold, has real-world everyday uses, as it's one of the most conductive metals out there and a key part of many electronics and batteries. It remains in high demand for film photography applications, even in a digital age. Silver is also an important element of surgical tools and other medical devices, and is an important component utilized in nanotechnology. With uses in electronics, nanotech and medical devices, more silver has been utilized in the past 30 years than has been mined, and inventories are now at historic lows. Silver currently trades at $30.40 an ounce and given the appreciation of silver in the last few years, some silver companies have begun to pay shareholders dividends. I believe that silver, which has yet to appreciate in value compared to gold and platinum, will eventually increase significantly in value. Thus, companies involved in mining and trading of silver will see increased revenues and higher share prices. In turn, higher profit potential could lead these companies to maintain and increase their dividends in the coming years. In this article, I highlight four companies in the silver industry that currently.....READ MORE

Solazyme A Buy At Current Levels For The Short And Long Term

Shares of Solazyme (SZYM) have taken an absolute beating in the past 6 months, down approximately 45% as of Friday January 18th's close. For those unfamiliar with the company, SZYM engages in the production of renewable oil with a focus on chemicals and fuels, nutrition, and skin and personal care markets. SZYM's proprietary technology transforms a range of plant-based sugars into oils. Its renewable products could replace or enhance oils derived from petroleum, plants, and animal fats. SZYM's industrial biotechnology platform harnesses the prolific oil-producing capability of microalgae. Its biotechnology platform also helps in the production of bioproducts, which are made from the protein, fiber, and other compounds produced by microalgae. SZYM utilizes industrial fermentation equipment to scale and accelerate microalgaes' natural oil production time to a few days. It focuses on selling renewable oil as drop-in replacements for marine, motor vehicle, and jet fuels, as well as replacements for chemicals that are traditionally derived from petroleum or other conventional oils. SZYM also........READ MORE

Why You Should Consider Selling Your Gold Company And Buying Yamana

In light of the recent Federal Reserve announcements and lack of Washington's ability to truly control the United States' debt, I believe that gold and silver stand to benefit from price appreciation, and in this article, I will further highlight why AUY is a great way to play the precious metals sector. I will show that AUY's last two quarters demonstrate that this company is strengthening and is rapidly becoming one of the best-of-breed precious metal mining companies. AUY, after its recent dip from the highs, is a strong opportunity buy that long-term investors should consider going forward as the company offers the lowest cash cost per ounce of gold produced, incredible debt management, long-term growth, and a decent dividend for the precious metals sector which it has increased every year. Unlike most of its competition, Yamana has.............READ MORE

Silver Bull? 6 Funds To Consider In Addition To Bullion

We have had a great pull-back presenting precious metal investors with opportunity buys for the long term. My primary thesis, much of which is laid out here, is that the endless easy money policies from central banks around the globe have created a long-term tailwind for the various precious metals. In recent articles, I have suggested that gold prices have long-term tailwinds in the form of extensive inflationary pressures and have recommended considering several gold plays, most notably the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) and the iShares Gold Trust (IAU). I believe all precious metals will benefit from inflationary actions by central banks worldwide in the coming years. While gold is a straightforward way to benefit from the currency debasement occurring globally, I have opined that platinum could outperform gold but I further believe that silver is poised to outperform both of these metals for various reasons. First, there will always be demand for silver because aside from silver being a precious metal, it also has many industrial and technological applications. Therefore, there will always be some level of demand, but such demand should pick up significantly when.......READ MORE

Platinum Is Outperforming Gold Despite A Large Deficit: Is It A Buy?

It has been my central thesis that central bank actions around the globe have essentially locked in the long-term trend of devaluation of national currencies while at the same time assuring a long-term bull market in precious metals. I have recently opined that silver could outperform gold in the next few years, and have laid out the bullish case for silver. While gold and silver are the most popular precious metals, one of the world's top precious metals is often ignored. Platinum, which is....READ MORE

Vista Gold Is Undervalued: Why Reserves At One Property Are Worth Your Consideration

I have previously laid out my thesis for gold and precious metal appreciation as a result of the United States' addiction to debt and the endless easy money policies of the central banks, and thus the recent selloff in gold and silver stocks presents a buying opportunity. The most popular gold and silver ETFs, the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) and the iShares Silver Trust (SLV) are down 4.2% and 5.5% in the last three months, respectively. The ETFs that track the miners of these metals such as the Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX) and the Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (GDXJ), are down even further in the last three months compared to the metals they produce, losing 14.3% and 15.7%, respectively, while the Global X Silver Miners ETF (SIL) is down slightly less, losing 10.7% in the last three months. Given this selloff and the long term-tailwinds that gold and silver prices have due to central bank stimulus, I have opined that a buying opportunity has arisen for the long-term investor in silver and silver companies, as well as the best of breed gold stocks. In the present article, I highlight........READ MORE