"The history of Eureka lies in its future." - Lambert Molinelli, 1878

DISCLOSURE

The author/editor of the Eureka Miner owns common shares of local mining stocks, McEwen Mining (MUX) and General Moly (GMO). Please do your own research, markets can turn on you faster than a feral cat.

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

End of Quarter Bounce?

Morning Miners!

It is 6:48 am (PDT) and we're seeing an end of quarter bounce in early trading. Hey, remember the mutual fund guys that blew all your retirement savings last fall? They are coming back in to scoop up cheap stocks on the last day of the quarter to shine the apple. Chuck those jerks in the front loader!

The commodity index (.CRB) is up nearly a percent and gold has recovered a bit, up $6.50 to $924.2 (June contract). Dollar is down a scotch, pretty much the flip-flop of yesterday.

The DOW is up 50 points (7,574.19) with sideways action in the miners:

Barrick (ABX) $32.41 up 0.13%
Newmont (NEM) $44.86 down 0.44%
General Moly (GMO) $1.06 down 0.03%
Freeport McMoran (FCX) $37.33 down 1.20%

Watch out for earnings season which fires up in a week or so. The ole Colonel is putting on his parachute.

Cheers,

Colonel Possum

Monday, March 30, 2009

A Muscle Car that runs like a FIAT

Howdy Miners!

It is 11:27 am (PDT) and I waited a bit to write my report until the auto news was out. The government has rejected both the GM and Chrysler plans giving the former 60 days to regroup and the latter only 30 days. Big Rick of GM is out and I'm anxiously waiting the revival of a Plymouth Fury that looks like a muscle car and runs like a FIAT.

The auto news and gloomy remarks by the bankers Friday tumbled the markets today. Midday, the DOW is down 300 points (7,474.71) with little lemonade left in the punch bowl.

Gold has dropped $7.1 to $918.2(June contract), Copper is down $.074 to $1.7620 (May contract) with another very strong pop in the dollar (up 0.95%). Freeport McMoran (FCX) and General Moly (GMO) got taken to the woodshed dropping more than 9%. FCX is a good bellwether because its interests span gold, copper and moly. Here's the midday roundup:

Barrick (ABX) $31.81 down 1.18%
Newmont (NEM) $45.08 down 1.25%
General Moly (GMO) $1.0801 down 9.24%
Freeport McMoran (FCX) $38.31 down 9.05%

Yuck!

Cheers,

Colonel Possum

Saturday, March 28, 2009

General Moly Whacked by RBC

Morning Miners!

It's Saturday and I don't give a hoot. RBC Capital downgraded General Moly (GMO) yesterday to "under perform" in it's sector. They did, however, raise this year's price target to $1.30 from $1.00. Their new number is close to the trading highs this week. The ole Colonel has a buy order on these guys if they dip back to $0.76.

Heck, Citibank was trading at $1.00 not too long ago. I'd much rather invest in Mt. Hope!

Have a good weekend and Cheers,

Colonel Possum

Friday, March 27, 2009

GMO Press Release

Trish just informed me about yesterday's General Moly news release. The ole Colonel regrets any impact it may have on local folks but has every confidence that things will get better with a positive change in the global economy (see blog below). You can access the 3-26-09 news release by clicking on the General Moly link to the right. You'll find it on their home page.

Cheers,

Colonel Possum

Don't Drink the Lemonade

Morning Miners!

It is 6:56 am and it looks like some pretty fair weather for Eureka this weekend with a chance of the white stuff Sunday.

The DOW closed up 21% yesterday (7,924.56) from its 12-year closing low hit on March 9. Some folks are talking about a new Bull Market but the ole Colonel ain't drinking their lemonade.

I think commodities will remain strong for the time being. Dennis Gartman, the "Commodity King", advises people to invest in things they can drop on their feet (and it hurts). Hey, I think we're talking metals! If I could drop enough gold on my foot to break a toe I'd probably forget the pain pretty quick.

Gold dropped $17.5 to $922.5 in early trading (May contract) with a very strong pop in the dollar (up 1.12%). In fact just about everything except our greenback is in the red this morning. No problem, just a little profit taking. Compare the early morning action from our March lows:

Barrick (ABX) $32.47 up 27% from 3/11
Newmont (NEM) $46.12 up 34% from 3/10
General Moly (GMO) $1.32 up 106% from 3/2

Rock on!

Cheers,

Colonel Possum

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Fire Trucks, Mining and the Price of Oil

Morning Miners!

It is 6:48 am, the ole Colonel is on his second cup and it looks like a good day in early morning trading. General Moly continues its winning streak at $1.38 up another 5% from yesterday. Barrick and Newmont are moving sideways at $32.99 and $46.05. April contract for gold is up $7.00 at $942.8.

My good buddy Eric tells me the new Eureka firehouse has doors and will soon be ready for bricks, lay'um tall and true Stu! At least we'll all have a safe place to go if North Korea points a missile at Eureka. This brings me to my thought for the day: North Korea is fixing to launch soon and that caused a pop in the oil futures yesterday even with a lower than expected inventory report.

Last June, geopolitical concerns could move oil $10 in a day; nowadays it's hardly worth a buck. Futures opened around $54, up again from yesterday. High oil is bad for mining's bottom line resulting in higher operating costs. In this goofy environment, however, low oil prices could erode the company’s top line revenue. There is general consensus that $25 sweet crude means the world economy is in deep doo-doo with a lower demand for raw materials.

T. Boone Pickens predicted the other day that oil would see $60 before $40 and hit $75 before the end of the year. Not too many folks have gotten rich betting against this Texas octogenarian. I'd like to see things stabilize around $45; the average price for this year is inching up just north of $42. We’ll see, by the way where are all the fire trucks?

Cheers,

Colonel Possum

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Wednesday Morning Flash on General Moly

Morning Miners!

It is 6:48 am and coffee tastes good. General Moly (GMO) opened up over 5% today with an intraday high (so far) of $1.32. That's more than a 100% gain from it's March 2 close of $0.64. Over one million shares traded yesterday. Somebody loves us. Yee-ha!

Cheers,

Colonel Possum

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Eureka Miner's Monday Report (03/23/09)
Morning Miners!
Monday morning trading opened with the news that Treasury has unveiled a new plan to suck up toxic assets from our banking system. We'll see how Tiny Tim's plan is received in the coming days but so far bank stocks are surging, the dollar is up and gold has stalled from its recent run up.
8:00 am (PDT)
General Moly (GMO) is up 5.56% at $0.95; Barrick (ABX) is down 0.75% at $33.14; Newmont (NEM) is down 0.59% at $43.93; Freeport McMoran (FCX) is up 5.74% at $41.24. FCX is a good bellwether because Freeport mines gold, copper and moly.
Copper remains hot, so far staying above $1.80, 2 bucks here we come.
Here's the action since March 5:
Gold up 3.7%
Silver up 4.8%
Dollar down 5.8%
Copper up 9.7%
Oil up 17.8%
The rise in copper and oil are important since they may signal some improvement in the global economy. Here's a plot of oil versus gold (since 1/5/09) that I call the "China Chart" since China has a voracious appetite for both when the sleeping dragon is feeling better. The yellow wiggly line shows recent price movement in both commodities. The blue line (Mr. Blue Snake) is a 20-day average. Both the yellow wiggly and the snake are on a tear.
Cheers,
Colonel Possum