Metals & Mining


December 28, 2023

GLJ Macro Weekly – What if the Same “Catalyst” that Sparked the Record 4Q23 Stock Market Surge is Set to Force the Fed’s Hand on Resetting Rate Cut Expectations (Meaning a Sell-Off is Near)?

By Gordon L. Johnson II

Did Janet Yellen Intentionally Squeeze the Long-Duration Bond Shorts with her 10/31/23 Quarterly Refunding Announcement (“QRA”), and is it About to Make the Fed’s Job a Lot Harder? By way of background, we remind our…

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December 13, 2023

GLJ Macro/Steel Weekly – What Does the Nov. Acceleration in Core Services Inflation + The Loosest Financial Conditions, Currently, Since Before the Fed Began Hiking Rates = Mean for Whether Powell will Lean Dovish or Hawkish Today?

By Gordon L. Johnson II

How’s Inflation Trending, and Just How Loose Are Financial Conditions at Present Ahead of the Fed’s Rate Decision/Powell’s Testimony Later Today? In this note, in detail, we analyze yesterday’s CPI inflation report, and also look…

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November 19, 2023

GLJ Macro/Steel Weekly – Is the Fed About to, De Facto, Use the Remaining ~$936bn in Reverse Repo Facility Reserves to “Spray” Stocks w/ Fresh-Cash Through (at least) Mar. 2024?

By Gordon L. Johnson II

What’s Up? In this note, we detail why, with last week’s release of the US Treasury’s latest Quarterly Refunding Announcement (“QTR”), the relationship between the Federal Reserve and the US Treasury, through 1Q24E, will likely…

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June 16, 2023

Fireside Chat 2.0 with U.S. Steel Distribution Bellwether Sheds Light on What to Expect Over the Coming Months

By Gordon L. Johnson II

Fireside Chat with Steel Industry Veteran Provides Insights into what to Expect Looking Forward. In light of the forward June U.S. spot HRC contracted price falling -1.4% over the past month (Ex. 1), Chinese spot HRC…

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June 16, 2023

Fireside Chat 2.0 with U.S. Steel Distribution Bellwether Sheds Light on What to Expect Over the Coming Months

By Gordon L. Johnson II

Fireside Chat with Steel Industry Veteran Provides Insights into what to Expect Looking Forward. In light of the forward June U.S. spot HRC contracted price falling -1.4% over the past month (Ex. 1), Chinese spot HRC…

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May 19, 2023

Is Iron Ore the Next “Big Short” – i.e., Looking at a Plethora of Chinese Data, is the Long-Fabled $20/mt Iron Ore Price Back on the Table?

By Gordon L. Johnson II

Has the Greatest Iron Ore (“IO”) Commodity Consumption Bubble in History Burst, Suggesting Underappreciated Risk to IO Prices in 2H23/2024? In the analysis put fourth within this report, we look to answer the question posed…

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May 10, 2023

GLJ Metals & Mining Weekly – J. Powell’s Claim Red-Hot Rent CPI Will Simply “Vanish” Appears Wishful Based on Comments from Landlords (Even for April)

By Gordon L. Johnson II

Comments from Landlords and Tenants Suggest J. Powell’s Prediction “Sizzling” Rent CPI Inflation will Vanish in 2H23 May Prove Aspirational. Rather it’s comments from the largest publicly-traded landlords of single-family homes in the US, or…

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May 2, 2023

GLJ Inflation Watch Update – Sticky Inflation is Becoming Entrenched: Core PCE Price Index Stubbornly High at ~5% for 6 Months; Is the Fed Failing, Meaning a Hawkish +25bps/No Pause is on Deck for this Wednesday’s Fed Meeting?

By Gordon L. Johnson II

Large Asset Manager Provides Insights into What One Should do If the Fed is Going to Hike 25bps and Signal No Pause Yet this Wednesday. In our discussion with one of the largest U.S. hedge…

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April 25, 2023

Fireside Chat with U.S. Steel Distribution Bellwether Sheds Light on What to Expect Over the Coming Months

By Gordon L. Johnson II

Fireside Chat with Steel Industry Veteran Provides Insights into what to Expect Looking Forward. In light of the forward May U.S. spot HRC contracted price falling -6.4% over the past month (Ex. 1), Chinese spot…

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April 12, 2023

GLJ Global Macro Weekly – Is The Fed Failing to Cool the Labor Market, Meaning Inflation is Becoming Entrenched (i.e., the Fed’s “worst nightmare”)?

By Gordon L. Johnson II

Is the Current Labor Market Tighter than Even the “Feel Good Times” Pre-Pandemic? The question on the minds of many is, given an (amazingly) still-tight labor market means consumers are still working/making money, incomes are…

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April 4, 2023

GLJ Global Macro Weekly – Is the S&P 500 Index About to Get Hit with a “Mike Tyson Uppercut” in the Form of a U.S. Debt Ceiling Agreement?

By Gordon L. Johnson II

The U.S. Treasury’s Cash on Hand is Running Very Low; Should This Scare Equity Bulls? As displayed in Ex. 1 below, following last week’s drain of $76.0bn, the federal government is running dangerously low on…

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March 29, 2023

GLJ Global Macro Weekly – Are There Storm Clouds Ahead in “U.S. Steelville”?

By Gordon L. Johnson II

Should One be Buying Steel Stocks (i.e., US Steel and Cleveland Cliffs), or Selling them? In light of our recent double downgrades of both US Steel (X; SELL) and Cleveland Cliffs (CLF; SELL), we wanted…

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March 22, 2023

Weekly Graphite Electrode Pricing Update (Week of 3/22/23) – GE Prices Flat Again; US HRC Futures Move (Slightly) Lower, Chinese Rebar Prices Now -3.3% Off Recent Highs (Is the “Grand Reopening” Fizzling?)

By Gordon L. Johnson II

Graphite Electrode Prices “Quiet” this Week After Big Declines; US HRC Prices Appear to be Stabilizing. Below, in Ex. 1, we provide 2023 (i.e., WoW, MoM, YoY, and YTD) pricing gyrations for a number of different graphite…

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March 15, 2023

Weekly Graphite Electrode Pricing Update (Week of 3/15/23) – Prices Flat Across the Board; US HRC Futures Stabilize, While US Rebar Prices Edge Lower

By Gordon L. Johnson II

Graphite Electrode Prices “Quiet” this Week After Big Declines; US HRC Prices Appear to be Stabilizing. Below, in Ex. 1, we provide 2023 (i.e., WoW, MoM, YoY, and YTD) pricing gyrations for a number of different graphite…

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March 10, 2023

GLJ Global Macro Weekly – US Money Supply is Officially Contracting for the First Time Since the Great Depression; Should I be Worried?

By Gordon L. Johnson II

Should Investors Worry that US M2 is Officially Falling as the Velocity of M2 Stages a Violent Resurgence? As we’re seeing with Silicon Valley Bank (SIVB; NC), free money, while attractive when it’s flowing, can…

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