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Gold is firmer this morning…as of 7:05 am Pacific, the yellow metal is up $9 an ounce at $1,663…Silver is 38 cents higher at $31.22…Copper is up a penny at $3.65…Crude Oil has added 67 cents to $97.11 while the U.S. Dollar Index has slipped one-fifth of a point to 79.56…

Today’s Markets

Asian markets were mostly higher overnight…the Nikkei share average edged up as investors welcomed a newspaper report that major banks were likely to have significantly larger profits this year, while small caps such as bio-chemical stocks attracted retail investors…China’s Shanghai Composite gained another 12 points to 2359…European shares are mixed after reaching multi-month highs yesterday…meanwhile, the Dow and S&P are both up slightly in early trading…blow-out earnings reported by Ford Motor this morning while Pfizer also beat expectations…investors are cautious, however, ahead of the Federal reserve’s announcement on monetary policy tomorrow…

The Venture Exchange nearly touched its 50-day moving average (SMA) when it dropped as low as 1214 intra-day yesterday before rebounding slightly at the end of the day to finish at 1218…the 50-day is flattening out just above 1210 after being in decline since mid-November…a reversal to the upside in the 50-day is critical in order to give this market fresh technical momentum and an opportunity to push through resistance at 1240…

Below is a 2-day CDNX chart from John that shows some interesting patterns and strong support…the Venture has gained 10 points to 1228 through the first 35 minutes of trading today…

Cap-Ex Ventures (CEV, TSX-V) Updated Chart

In December, we pointed out the “bottom fishing” opportunity in Cap-Ex Ventures (CEV, TSX-V) when it was trading in the mid-20’s and showing technical signs of a reversal…it has traded as high as 40 cents this month and closed yesterday at 36.5 cents…below is an updated 6-month chart from John…a breakout above the pennant would be a very bullish development…the EMA-20 is providing strong support…

Discovery Ventures (DVN, TSX-V) Chart Update

Discovery Ventures (DVN, TSX-V) continues to unwind a recent overbought condition, and touched Fibonacci support yesterday at 27 cents…the company has just received conditional TSX Venture approval for its recent acquisition of the Willa deposit in the Slocan mining district…below is a 2.5-year weekly DVN chart from John…

India Cuts Interest Rate, Injects Liquidity Into System

The Reserve Bank of India cut the country’s benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points today, a move that will bring relief to the coalition government as it struggles to return the economy to higher growth…the central bank also said in a statement that it would cut the cash reserve ratio – the share of their deposits that banks must hold at the RBI – by 25 basis points to 4%, a surprise move that will release fresh liquidity into the banking system…while the single rate cut may not have a sizable impact on bringing down borrowing costs, it will provide a sentiment boost for Indian consumers, said experts, pointing to the property and auto sectors as the primary beneficiaries of policy easing…the two industries are particularly sensitive to changes in interest rates as purchases are largely financed through bank loans…”The rate cut may build expectations of an easing cycle…demand for more real estate and automobile loans will start increasing marginally,” Rahul Bajoria, economist at Barclays, told CNBC…he forecasts 100 basis points in rate cuts over 2013…

German Consumer Confidence Edges Higher

Consumer confidence in Europe’s largest economy is set to rebound slightly in February, market research group GfK said today, indicating that the positive sentiment in euro-zone markets has lifted spirits despite Germany’s sluggish economic growth…the forward-looking GfK consumer sentiment index rose slightly to 5.8 points for February from an upwardly revised 5.7 points for January, beating economists’ forecast for 5.7 points…despite the difficult economic climate in Germany during the fourth quarter of last year, consumers are “expecting a gradual revival in the economy over the course of this year” thanks to the “present calm situation on the financial markets,” GfK said…consumer spending has gained significance in Germany as a means of cushioning the euro zone’s economic engine as export growth slows…a strong labor market, steadily increasing wages and modest inflation have combined to boost consumer confidence, economists say…

Anglo-American Takes $4 Billion Writedown On Iron Ore Project

Global mining giant Anglo-Ameican PLC said today it would book a $4 billion impairment charge against the value of a Brazilian iron ore project, in a widely anticipated move following large cost overruns and delays that contributed to the resignation of Chief Executive Cynthia Carroll…Anglo-American purchased the Brazilian project, called Minas-Rio, at the top of the market in two installments in 2007 and 2008 for $4.8 billion in total…since then, the capital required to develop the project has ballooned more than threefold to $8.8 billion and the start date has been pushed back five years to the end of 2014…

Conference Board Sees Major Mineral Output Growth In Canada’s North

The Conference Board of Canada forecasts that Canada’s overall northern metal and non-metallic mineral output will grow by 91% from 2011 to 2020, a compound annual growth rate of 7.5%…in contrast, the Canadian economy is forecast to grow by an average of just 2.2% annually over this period, the Conference Board says…the annual gross domestic product of mining in the north, which was $4.4 billion in 2011, is expected to reach $8.5 billion in 2020 (both figures in constant 2002 dollars), according to the Conference Board… “Mining is the future economic driver of Canada’s North…to fully reap the benefits of this potential, we must find the right balance between risk and opportunity,” said Anja Jeffrey, director, Centre for the North. “For instance, governments need to be conscious of how changes to the regulatory environment can affect communities and industry.” The report also focuses on the need to improve infrastructure, labor skill and Aboriginal rights in order to maximize resources in the northern Canada. The Conference Board of Canada’s Centre for the North works with Aboriginal leaders, businesses, governments, communities, educational institutions, and other organizations to provide new insights into how sustainable prosperity can be achieved in the North…