Category: Blog
China’s new president dashes hopes for new stimulus measures
Few political reforms are expected to emerge from a once-in-a-decade change in leadership of China’s Communist Party but investors hoping Xi Jinping would kick off his first term at the head of China’s Politburo with bold new economic stimulus programmes …
Chocolate-style bars – just what the discerning Armageddon survivor needs
Gold has a few major drawbacks as a currency, not least its tendency to cause deflation. But put even the most ardent supporter of fiat currency in an Armageddon scenario and he’ll prefer a bar of gold to a fistful …
What’s in a name?
Where would you find a Monkey, Flea, Rabbit and Cobra? Not to mention Tiddles, Pee-Wee, Radar and Dipper? As well as Shrek, Handbags, Alfi and an Odd-Ball? The answer is trading metals in and around the London Metal Exchange. Nicknames …
Conferences: A tough job but somebody has to do it
For “Conference Creatures” such as the diverse movers and shakers, the buyers and sellers, the purchasing managers and supply agents – not to mention the habitual hangers-on and the hacks – the 2013 metals season is now getting up a …
Metal Warehouses: The requirement for LME Data!
We are well into 2013 already and the FastMarkets European Sales Office is fully backing Dominic’s prediction that this could be the year where Europe emerges from the recession or at least starts to. One Opportunity we have seen at …
The Secret confessions of a Sales Director Part 2
I have just spent the week in Chicago with our sales team. I arrived just in time to watch the Super Bowl final. It was not quite as exciting as watching England beat Scotland, but I did enjoy Beyoncé Kevin …
Dawning of a new era – what lies ahead for the LME
The year 2013 is now underway, and the landscape of the London Metal Exchange (LME) has altered rather drastically in the past 12 months, most notably being its recent takeover by Hong Kong Exchange & Clearing (HKEx). At the start …
Building a FastMarkets campaign aimed at Primary Metal Producers
With the New Year come new sales campaigns, as opposed to resolutions!! Having done some considerable research on the various sectors our clients come from, we have decided to focus on Primary Producers. Presently 23% of our subscribers come from …
A global economic recovery for metals in 2013?
As I plan the year ahead for FastMarkets, it’s not difficult to see the problems in the global economy. We seem to have a state of permanent crisis in the Eurozone, where structural imbalances between the north and south remain …
Chianti, Content and Base Metals – Marketing at FastMarkets in 2013
2012 was a watershed year for the marketing team at FastMarkets. Not only did we increase marketing resource in the UK and America we introduced ambitious plans to improve the metals content we provide visitors and at the same time …
My favourite Fastmarkets sale
My first trip to Germany and my favourite metals news and prices sale I first had contact with Aurubis back in December 2011 when I set up a FastMarkets Professional free trial for 3 of their users. It was hard …
Hurricane Sandy reveals New York’s humanity
Hurricane Sandy has reminded me exactly how important actual human beings still are to the markets in which we live and work. Seemingly everyday, there’s a new story about how computer algorithms have made flesh-and-bone traders dinosaurs on the verge …
The secret confessions of a Sales Director
After the recent rapid expansion of our sales force who are responsible for selling FastMarkets into the metals market – 4 new staff in Chicago, 4 new staff in London and a new Sales Director in Singapore, stories from the …
Smell out stolen metal? They must be barking!
Dogs have pretty sharp noses, its true; but smelling out the stolen metal in a junk yard, surely not? Well, that is exactly what Jazz, the K9 metal detector does. The black Labrador wunderdog has been trained by a former …
Belly Dancers, Lords and Free-Flowing Champagne – LME Week was a marathon and not a sprint
Each year, as October approaches, the prospect of LME Week can be quite daunting. With events kicking off on Sunday and lasting throughout the first half of the week, it certainly isn’t for the faint of heart. This year was …
The international challenges of providing live metal news and data
Can a company function without technology? This is like asking whether the Pope’s butler can keep a secret? The obvious answer is ‘no’. We are all “sheep” to technology whether we embrace it or hate it. Our lives are governed …
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Featured Authors
Bridget Kendrick I am a digital marketing expert with over 15 years pure digital experience.
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Dominic Hall As CEO Dominic is dedicated to creating agile and innovative solutions for our customers that can compete with larger operations both on price and quality.
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Kathleen Retourne Kathleen has been reporting on commodity markets since 2006. She joined FastMarkets in 2011 and has immersed herself into the metal industry, specialising in LME coverage. Follow her on twitter @kathretourne
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Martin Hayes Martin has spent over 30 years reporting on the LME, both at Reuters and, since 2006, with FastMarkets, where he heads up the global editorial team and continues his passion for Minor Metals.
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Perrine Faye Perrine started reporting on commodities (oil and gold mainly) in 2002 for Agence France Presse. She switched to base metals in early 2007 when she joined FastMarkets, and has since 2009 led the coverage of the physical market, pricing premiums for primary and secondary metals.
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