Is the silver run over? Coeur d’Alene Mines (CDE), Silver Wheaton (SLW), Alto Group (ALTO), Hecla Mining (HL), Endeavour Silver (EXK) close down

The list reads like wind chills in Chicago on a cold winter day: Coeur d’Alene Mines Corporation (NYSE:CDE), Silver Wheaton Corp. (NYSE:SLW), Alto Group Holdings Inc. (OTC:ALTO), Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL), Endeavour Silver Corp. (AMEX:EXK) all close down dramatically for a second day. What to do now?

by J. Christoph Amberger

Baltimore, MD: The price decline in metals stocks — and especially silver miners — continued on Thursday.

Coeur d’Alene Mines Corporation (NYSE:CDE) closed down another -6%;

Silver Wheaton Corp. (NYSE:SLW) down -7.26%;

Alto Group Holdings Inc. (OTC:ALTO) down -11.63%;

Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL) down -8.89%;

Endeavour Silver Corp. (AMEX:EXK) down -6.57%.

Some of them (HL and SLW) are currently showing mildly bullish aftermarket activity. Some have reported, or are about to report, record crops of silver. EXK, for example, announced on Jan 14. that it set a new record for silver production in Q4, 2009, up 12% quarter-on-quarter to 779,345 oz silver. (Gold production also jumped to a new quarterly high, up 90% to 4,591 oz gold in Q4, 2009.)

Looking at the price charts, it bears pointing out that, apart from volatile penny shares such as ALTO, most silver stocks haven’t fallen past their quite high early-January levels — despite substantial corrections.

I see no imminent change in U.S. monetary policy: Interest rates will continue to be low — reducing the comparative opportunity cost of owning precious metals. Neither will there be a let-up in the push of green technologies, many of which could boost industrial silver demand.

The next few days may be a good chance to stock up on silver shares — maybe with a hedged “insurance policy” short or long-term put option on iShares Silver Trust (ETF) (NYSE:SLV).

My favorite silver portfolio constellation is:

Well, just click through to my blog!Similar Posts:

• Midas touch: Rising gold prices guide Coeur d’Alene Mines (CDE), Silver Wheaton (SLW), Hecla Mining (HL) to strong gains – September 3, 2009
• Dip in metals miners could spell buying opportunity – January 20, 2010
• Silver Wheaton (SLW), Coeur d’Alene (CDE), Hecla Mining (HL) are racking up gains… who’s next? – October 15, 2009
• Silver prices up, so are HSC miners Coeur d’Alene Mines (CDE) and Silver Wheaton Corp. (SLW) – August 29, 2009
• Cup half full: Silver Wheaton (NYSE:SLW) packs on gains as gold prices rocket – November 11, 2009

Article first published on Today's Financial News

Is the silver run over? Coeur d’Alene Mines (CDE), Silver Wheaton (SLW), Alto Group (ALTO), Hecla Mining (HL), Endeavour Silver (EXK) close down

Dip in metals miners could spell buying opportunity

Precious metals and mining stocks took it on the chin yesterday. Mining penny share Alto Group Holdings Inc. (OTC:ALTO) posted the steepest drop, losing almost 40% in a single session. My old favorite Silver Wheaton Corp. (NYSE:SLW) closed down -4.6%.

by J. Christoph Amberger

Baltimore, MD: Whatever effect the anticipated breach of the liberal deadlock on power had on Tuesday, it sure didn’t carry over to Wednesday. My anticipated knocking of the Dow on the 11,000 level simply didn’t materialize.

Chinese officials hinted that the world’s biggest metals consumer would be reining in loan growth and slowing spending… on infrastructure, construction, and the on-spec hoarding of metals and resources.

Precious metals and mining stocks took it on the chin. Mining penny share Alto Group Holdings Inc. (OTC:ALTO) posted the steepest drop, losing almost 40% in a single session. My old favorite Silver Wheaton Corp. (NYSE:SLW) closed down -4.6%.

I think this pullback especially of the silver sector will be temporary. As we approach the release of Q4 2009 earnings, I think a number of precious miners will surprise with their numbers: Plenty of them will be seeing the positive effects of having re-opened dormant mines starting summer 2009… and as mines started producing, revenues will have taken impressive jumps.

One of my favorite mining penny shares in this regard is a canadian miner who has plenty of new revenues coming in…

I’ll tell you that stock right on my blog site!

Similar Posts:

• Silver prices up, so are HSC miners Coeur d’Alene Mines (CDE) and Silver Wheaton Corp. (SLW) – August 29, 2009
• Midas touch: Rising gold prices guide Coeur d’Alene Mines (CDE), Silver Wheaton (SLW), Hecla Mining (HL) to strong gains – September 3, 2009
• Cup half full: Silver Wheaton (NYSE:SLW) packs on gains as gold prices rocket – November 11, 2009
• Top Precious Metal Stocks – December 10, 2009
• Silver Wheaton (SLW), Coeur d’Alene (CDE), Hecla Mining (HL) are racking up gains… who’s next? – October 15, 2009

Article first published on Today's Financial News

Dip in metals miners could spell buying opportunity

TFN readers up 20% on Stillwater Mining (SWC)

Stillwater Mining has jumped 10% today bringing more than 20% gains in less than 1 month(!) to TFN readers that acted on our free recommendation!

By Laura Cadden, TodaysFinancialNews.com

Baltimore (TFN): One of companies named in our Dec. 10 report, Top Precious Metal Stocks, is up over 20% for those that got in under our recommended entry price of $10.

Stillwater Mining Company (NYSE:SWC) has seen its share price rise over 10% just today on news of a successful restructuring program and potential sales to the recovering auto industry.

It’s definitely possible this upward trend will continue, but I’m reluctant to risk what we’ve made.

I recommend you sell your shares of SWC and enjoy those gains!Similar Posts:

• Top Precious Metal Stocks – December 10, 2009
• TFN Reader Grapevine Stock: Take a gander at Czech Republic Resource Corp. (CZHC) – August 25, 2009
• Silver prices up, so are HSC miners Coeur d’Alene Mines (CDE) and Silver Wheaton Corp. (SLW) – August 29, 2009
• Best Gold Stock: Buy this junior gold miner under $2 – December 4, 2009
• TFN eNews 8/14/2009: The 3 Best Chinese Stocks Under $5! – August 14, 2009

Article first published on Today's Financial News

TFN readers up 20% on Stillwater Mining (SWC)

A contrarian look at gold

Gold prices have reversed a recent trend today. Don’t get use to it. The precious metal will continue to lose value, dragging gold bugs with it.

By Andrew Snyder, TodaysFinancialnews.com

Baltimore – (TFN): Finally an up day for gold. After sliding for nearly two weeks, the precious metal is moving far enough into positive territory today to bother noting it.

Did Glen Beck up his marketing? Did Rush bring on a few more listeners? Or is this yet another example of the Colbert bump?

Does it even matter? Nope, when gold is getting this much attention, the only thing that matters is how quickly you dump your position.

Gold is supposed to be the safest investment around. Just as real estate investors love to say, there is only so much of the stuff. Unfortunately, we all know how well the real estate folks are doing these days.

Once upon a time…

Back in the day when gold actually backed the nation’s debt and played an integral role in the monetary system, a horde of gold made sense. But today, when it’s only value comes from the fact we say its valuable, gold’s no different than a fiat currency.

If the economy collapses like so many gold bugs are sure is about to happen, wouldn’t you rather have something of tangible value? Colbert is right. Sheep are the way to go. Better yet, follow the natives and take advantage of a buffalo’s ability to provide food and shelter.

While I’m pushing the argument over the top, many investors are using similar logic in their bullish pursuit of gold. It has created a micro-bubble that is ready to burst.

That is not good news for the investors that have piled into the junior gold miner sector. With gold prices soaring, these stocks offered a surefire way to leverage the debt and small size of the continent’s up-and-coming miners.

But as gold prices collapse, that leverage is going to push the stocks even harder in the opposite direction.

It is bad news for companies like Vista Gold (NASDAQ:VGZ) that have a massive pile of liabilities to worry about. Since gold prices began to fall earlier this month, shares of this $115 million firm have lost over 20% of their value.

If gold makes a move below $1,000 per ounce, the pain at Vista and its competitors is going to get even worse.

The commodity sector is a great place to find security in the event of a major economic downturn, but gold is way overdone. It’s more trouble than it is worth.

Article first published on Today's Financial News

A contrarian look at gold

Top Precious Metal Stocks

The TFN Team has uncovered 3 precious metal stocks that they believe have the best potential for gains in 2010. Get in on these FREE recommendations today!

by Laura Cadden, TodaysFinancialNews.com

Baltimore, MD (TFN): Which precious metals will be the big winners of 2010?

The weakening of the U.S. dollar has given goldbugs the ride of their lives… and from what we can tell, it’s nowhere near finished. As uncertainty continues to plague markets, gold’s a keeper.

Then we have the slowly-but-seemingly-surely recovering industrial sector pushing up silver demand. You’ll want a silver play in your portfolio.

And the final precious mineral you should own in 2010?

Platinum.

Like silver, the industrial uses for platinum are many and varied: Everything from creating jewelry, to producing medical equipment, to controlling carbon emissions, to being an active ingredient in chemotherapy treatments. (In fact, carboplatin is one of the drugs I’m receiving to keep breast cancer at bay.)

The metal took a hit in 2008 and 2009 largely due to a slump in jewelry and auto sales (auto equipment is responsible for much of the industrial demand for platinum). Yet both of these markets are clearly picking up in China… and predicted to do so globally.

Experts reckon platinum could trade up to $1.900/oz in 2010.

Strike now to maximize your gains.

Here at TodaysFinancialNews.com, we have selected one stock that we think will capitalize on the run up of each metal. But you’ll need act fast to see top gains…

Best Precious Metal Stock #1:
Many TFN readers have heard our positive outlook for Great Basin Gold Ltd. (AMEX:GBG). In case your new to us, this gold stock trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol TSE:GBG. (The slightly higher price reflects the exchange rate of the U.S. vs. the Canadian dollar. If you can buy it without higher transaction cost, we’re all for buying it in Canada. As a U.S. investor, you automatically benefit from any appreciation of the Canadian dollar.)

For ease of tracking sake, we will be following the U.S.-traded shares at Great Basin Gold Ltd. (USA) (AMEX:GBG). Buy under $2 with a profit horizon of 20-30% by April 2010.

Best Precious Metal Stock #2:
Silver Wheaton Corp. (NYSE:SLW) is a silver and gold mining company that generates 100% of its revenue from the sale of precious metals. Its 2008 silver sales totaled 1.7 million ounces and its forecast for 2009 was up to 4.6 million silver equivalent ounces.

Better even, its acquired a “streaming” company with a lock on some of the most productive and reliable silver mines in Mexico, Sweden, Peru, Greece, Arizona, and Canada.

That means they are well-positioned to ride out any regional production shortfalls due to political unrest or environmental crackdowns in any particular country… while leveraging local differentials in the cost of labor to the maximum!

Buy Silver Wheaton Corp. (NYSE:SLW) below $16.25. We’re looking for 20% gains in the next 6 months.

Best Precious Metal Stock #3:
Stillwater Mining Company (NYSE:SWC) is the only U.S. PGM miner. With increasingly higher platinum prices, the company has done better than anticipated with an expected cash flow of close to $200 million as 2009 comes to a close.

Its continued solidity, location, and a mechanized-focus to combat labor issues – and most importantly, demand pressure – should make this miner a winner in 2010.

Buy Stillwater Mining Company (NYSE:SWC) under $10 and hold for double-digit gains.

*** J. Christoph Amberger has just issued a buy on another super-cheap platinum miner to Members of our premium investment research service, Hot Stock Confidential. Maybe it will be double-digit gainer #74(!) in 2009! Read more about HSC and our latest Special Report right here!Similar Posts:

• Cup half full: Silver Wheaton (NYSE:SLW) packs on gains as gold prices rocket – November 11, 2009
• Silver prices up, so are HSC miners Coeur d’Alene Mines (CDE) and Silver Wheaton Corp. (SLW) – August 29, 2009
• Midas touch: Rising gold prices guide Coeur d’Alene Mines (CDE), Silver Wheaton (SLW), Hecla Mining (HL) to strong gains – September 3, 2009
• Sell Great Basin Gold Ltd. (GBG) for 19.2% gains: HSC cashes in on record gold prices – December 3, 2009
• HSC double-digit gainer #70: 32% on Silvercorp. (SVM) – November 18, 2009

Article first published on Today's Financial News

Top Precious Metal Stocks

Sideways Trends – where gold is going now

Bill Bonner, co-author of The New Empire of Debt, brings us his analysis of the current gold trends, from The Daily Reckoning, UK Edition.
Bill Bonnder (The Daily Reckoning, UK):

The Dow dropped 104 points yesterday. The dollar rose. And gold fell off $20… to $1,143. (More on where it could be heading below…)

Gold is clearly correcting. Whether or not it is the big correction we’ve been waiting for, we’ll have to wait to find out.

But we wouldn’t be surprised to see stocks joining in the correction… and then taking the lead. In our view of things, we’re still in ‘bounce mode’. All bounces come to an unhappy end. This will be no exception.

If you step back a bit further, you could see it in a different light. Ten years ago, The Daily Reckoning warned of a long, Japan-like slump.

Then, the stock market fell and the economy went into a recession. But the downturn didn’t last long. And in the bubbly years that followed, our alert was quickly forgotten – especially by us!

But now, 10 years have gone by. The S&P 500 has lost 20% of its value during that period. Wages and income are static. And there is not one single more job in America than there was then. It was a ‘Lost Decade’ for the American economy.

So get ready…

How about a depression that lasts for 20 years? It could be on its way.

In December exactly 20 years ago, Japan’s stocks closed at an epic high – 38,957 for the Nikkei 25 index. Last week, that same index closed at 9,977.

Readers will quickly note that the Japanese are idiots. Why else would they allow a 20-year bear market? Why else would they permit their economy to slide sideways for nearly an entire generation?

Where is the Japanese Bernanke?

This is almost the same question we posed readers 10 years go. Except then, we asked: where is the Japanese Greenspan?

Greenspan… Bernanke… it didn’t seem to make any difference.

American central bankers seemed to have magical powers, at least compared with their Japanese counterparts. They seemed able to succeed where the Japanese failed…

American economists mocked the Japanese 10 years ago. But what goes around, comes around…

Click here for the rest of Mr. Bonner’s article at The Daily Reckoning, UK Edition.

Article first published on Today's Financial News

Sideways Trends – where gold is going now

Best Gold Stock: Buy this junior gold miner under $2

"With 333.75 million shares outstanding, $1.75 currently buys you 1.67 ounces or $2,034.65 worth of this Canadian gold miner’s reserves!"

by J. Christoph Amberger, TodaysFinancialNews.com

Baltimore, MD (TFN): Blame the weakening U.S. dollar for gold’s rise. Or the lousy yields on the dollar and most other currencies. Or the U.S. government’s unchecked rush into generational mega-debt. Or the Made-in-China commodities bubble.

But today, gold traded at $1.215 an ounce.

The gold bubble will not deflate any time soon. How long will this last? As long as the Federal Reserve punishes dollar savers with non-existing interest rates! And that’ll be another year: Not because the world is abandoning ‘fiat currencies’ as the gold bugs proclaim… but because holding dollars is a losing game now — rigged by the U.S. government!

So far, the TFN team has been rubbing our hands as gold went up: Bullion may be up twenty percent for the year. But some of our silver stocks are beating that by multiples!

In the last few weeks, we took 32% gains in just over a month on Silvercorp. (SVM) and 16.2% on Anooraq (ANO) — which was double-digit gainer #71 for members of our premium investment research service, Hot Stock Confidential, so far this year. We have a 70% gain lock on Silver Wheaton (SLW)… and 52% and 39% gains solidly booked on Hecla Mining (HL) and Coeur d’Alene Mines (CDE), respectively.

Bear with me as I put this into the specious fuzzy math of financial newsletter marketers — imagine this as a bold, red headline in Courier font:

"With 333.75 million shares outstanding, $1.75 currently buys you 1.67 ounces or $2034.65 worth of this Canadian gold miner’s reserves!"

But seriously: As gold prices keep moving up in the great game we call the Commodities Carry Trade, this U.S.-traded stock could snag you a cool 30% gain before New Year’s. The company has just secured capital to continue development and expoloration. The Canadian dollar is working in our favor.

Great Basin Gold trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol TSE:GBG. (The slightly higher price reflects the exchange rate of the U.S. vs. the Canadian dollar. If you can buy it without higher transaction cost, we’re all for buying it in Canada. (As a U.S. investor, you automatically benefit from any appreciation of the Canadian dollar.)

For ease of tracking sake, we will be following the U.S.-traded shares at Great Basin Gold Ltd. (USA) (AMEX:GBG).

Buy under $2 with a profit horizon of 20-30% by April 2010.

Similar Posts:

• Sell Great Basin Gold Ltd. (GBG) for 19.2% gains: HSC cashes in on record gold prices – December 3, 2009

Article first published on Today's Financial News

Best Gold Stock: Buy this junior gold miner under $2

HSC double-digit gainer #70: 32% on Silvercorp. (SVM)

Record high gold prices are fueling a bull market in silver stocks. One of our TFN Hot Stock Confidential silver picks, Silvercorp. (NYSE:SVM) just exceeded our adventurous profit predictions by 50% — even as our wealth-preservation stop loss was triggered.

by J. Christoph Amberger

Baltimore, MD TFN: Gold is an asset notorious for not generating returns other than speculative gains. It doesn’t pay interest or dividends. But at this point, neither does the U.S. dollar. Or the yen. Or the euro, pound sterling, Icelandic krona:

The comparative opportunity cost of holding gold has been eliminated! Plus, the cash flows out of the dollar have created an asset bubble that will keep inflating!

How long will this last?

As long as the Federal Reserve keep punishing dollar savers with non-existing interest rates! That may be at least another year…

Not because the world is abandoning “fiat currencies”… but because holding dollars is a losing game now — engineered and maintained by the U.S. government!

So far, we’ve been rubbing our hands as gold went up. Gold bugs may be up twenty percent for the year. But our silver stocks are beating that yield by multiples!

In case you didn’t notice, our Hot Stock Confidential silver picks have been soaring over the past couple of days. A good thing, unless you have to make a decision on how to proceed from here!

Our core pick Silver Wheaton (NYSE:SLW) is now up 66% over our buying range. Laura Cadden’s Silvercorp. (NYSE:SVM) exceeded her original profit horizon of “20% in 4 months” by ringing in at 36% as I write.

In the medium to long term, we see only upside for gold and other precious metals. In the short term, there’s lots of potential for pullbacks.

Establishing stop losses in situations like this is a matter of “damned if you do, damned if you don’t”. It works like lines at a supermarket checkout: The one you chose inevitably slows down to a crawl the minute you line up.

The moment you set a stop loss, it usually gets triggered.

We’re going to take this risk — but allow ourselves just enough rope to hang ourselves with, basing our stop loss on the maximum recommended entry price of the original recommendation. This morning, we recommended:

For SLW (”buy below $10″), we recommend you establish a 50% stop loss at $15…

For SVM (”buy under $5.50″), we recommend you establish a 30% stop loss at $7.15…

SVM’s stop loss was triggered after lunch, kicking us out of the position with 32% gains over our official entry price in just over a month!

This was double-digit gainer #70 for HSC Members so far this year… and maybe one of the 70 very good reasons why HSC Member T.G.recently wrote to us to say, “Just want you to know I have tried several stock recommendation services. None comes close to being dead on target as HSC has. I have finally found my home for investing.”

Our next Hot Stock Pick is coming out this Thursday. With gold futures at record highs of US$1,151 an ounce today, we’re going to stick with a precious metals pick: At today’s levels, the gold reserves of this junior Canadian gold miner are worth a whopping $460.4 million!

Let’s put that into the fuzzy math of financial newsletter marketers: With 333.42 million shares outstanding, $1.70 currently buys you 1.38 ounces or $1,589 worth of that gold!

As gold prices keep moving up in the great game we call the Commodities Carry Trade, this U.S.-traded stock could snag you a cool 30% gain before New Year’s.

Hot Stock Confidential members will be receiving this Hot Stock Pick of the week tomorrow before noon. We hope you’ll be one of them. Join up right here!Similar Posts:

• Silver prices up, so are HSC miners Coeur d’Alene Mines (CDE) and Silver Wheaton Corp. (SLW) – August 29, 2009
• 22% gains on Seattle Genetics, Inc. (SGEN) – August 26, 2009
• Cup half full: Silver Wheaton (NYSE:SLW) packs on gains as gold prices rocket – November 11, 2009
• Coeur d’Alene Mines Corporation (CDE) is up over 40% – September 10, 2009
• Set trailing stop to lock in double-digit gains on U.S. Geothermal – May 26, 2009

Article first published on Today's Financial News

HSC double-digit gainer #70: 32% on Silvercorp. (SVM)

Where is the End for Gold?

Bill Bonner (The Daily Reckoning):
Bill Bonner explains why the gold price is set to go to the moon

Gold hit a new record yesterday. The price rose $22.50 to $1,139.

And we take up a disagreeable task. We ask ourselves: what if we were wrong?

If you bought gold when we first recommended it ten years ago, you are in a very comfortable position. Gold sells for more than four times as much today.

But what should you do now? And what if you didn’t go for broke on gold in the early ‘00s? Is it too late to get in on the bull market?

To give you a warning, in the following windy ambulation we come to no conclusion we haven’t come to before.

We say gold is going to the moon. If we are wrong about when… we will be delighted sooner than expected… self-satisfied… and insufferable for years. If we are right, we may have to wait a long time before saying “I told you so”.

The press has certainly noticed the bull market in gold. How could it not?

Most reporters say gold is going up simply because the dollar is going down. In the popular press, we found no other explanation.

In fact, much of the talk of gold seems to occur within articles about the dollar. We found, for example, that the dollar is at a 15-month low… and, coincidentally, gold has just hit an all-time high.

There’s something lopsided about this account of things.

If the yellow metal has hit a record high, how come the dollar is down for only 15 months and not since the Flood? Makes you wonder if the dollar isn’t the whole story.

Elsewhere, we find that the dollar is trading at $1.49 per euro.

Wait a minute.

We remember the dollar at the exact same level… was it a year ago… more? And it’s been at that same level, more or less, all the while that gold has gone up more than 10%.

It’s not the fall of the dollar that is driving the gold market, in other words. It’s something else… it’s the fall of ALL paper currencies. For when the dollar goes down, so do the rest of them – more or less.

No nation wants its currency to rise too much against the greenback.

Americans are still the world’s biggest spenders. They spend dollars… not rubles… not euros… not zlotys.

Click here to continue reading Mr. Bonner’s article.Similar Posts:

• Gold becomes the ultimate impulse buy – June 18, 2009
• Gold drops… let’s do it again! – June 5, 2009
• The Top Investing Strategy for 2009 – September 23, 2009
• Gold miners: Play the little guys – November 12, 2009
• Faith in Obama? Not according to gold prices – May 21, 2009

Article first published on Today's Financial News

Where is the End for Gold?

Cup half full: Silver Wheaton (NYSE:SLW) packs on gains as gold prices rocket

Shares of silver-related companies like Silver Wheaton (NYSE:SLW) rallied in response to gold’s record-setting prices.

by J. Christoph Amberger

Baltimore, MD — TFN: Gold prices jumped to new records trading up to $1,117.65 per ounce as the United States continues its heedless rush into debt… the dollar declined to a 15-month low… and China plows every red cent it makes into hoarding commodities.

Silver stocks rallied. This was pertly in response to news that New York-based asset manager Van Eck Global launched its new Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (NYSE Arca:GDXJ). Read more

Next Page »