gold prices

Here are two gold investing mistakes that will virtually guarantee you will lose money

Hecla Mining Company increased its cash flow by more than a third with a spike in gold and silver output, which offset weak prices.

Silver mining stocks and silver ETFs are a better way to invest in the precious metal than silver bullion.

HECLA MINING COMPANY $4.12 (New York symbol HL; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (208-769- 4100; www.hecla-mining.com; Shares o/s: 380.8 million; Market cap: $1.8 billion; Dividend yield: 0.2%) explores for, mines and processes silver and gold in the U.S....

HECLA MINING COMPANY $4.12 (New York symbol HL; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (208-769- 4100; www.hecla-mining.com; Shares o/s: 380.8 million; Market cap: $1.8 billion; Dividend yield: 0.2%) explores for, mines and processes silver and gold in the U.S. and Mexico. Most of the company’s silver output comes from three sites: the Greens Creek mine in Alaska; the Lucky Friday project in Idaho; and the San Sebastian mine in Mexico. Hecla’s Casa Berardi mine in Quebec, which it bought for $796 million in June 2013, supplies its gold. In the three months ended March 31, 2016, Hecla’s gold output rose 36.7%, to 55,688 ounces from 40,650. It produced 4.6 million ounces of silver—up 61.3% from 2.9 million a year earlier. The rise came from higher ore grades at its mines, as well as output from its new San Sebastian mine in Mexico....

NISSAN MOTOR CO., $18.86, symbol NSANY on Nasdaq, is Japan’s second-largest automaker, after Toyota and ahead of Honda. Nissan has now agreed to buy a 34% stake in Mitsubishi Motors for $2.18 billion U.S. Mitsubishi’s share price has dropped about 43% since the company admitted that it manipulated data to inflate mileage results for some of its vehicles. The deal is contingent on Nissan looking closely at Mitsubishi’s operations and not finding any new problems. The company plans to let Mitsubishi remain a separate brand, with its own network of dealers. It won’t be involved in day-to-day operations....

In 2011, gold shot up to a high of $1,950 U.S. an ounce, and silver reached a peak of $48.48. Gold prices then fell steadily, dropping to $1,050 in December 2015 for the first time since early 2010. That month, silver also declined to a five-year low of $13.65 an ounce. Each metal has since moved up to today’s price of $1,279 for gold and $17.35 for silver. The gains largely reflect higher commodity prices overall as well as the belief that slow global economic growth will keep interest rates low. That raises the prospect of higher inflation. ...

NEWMONT MINING CORP. $32 (www.newmont.com) earned $0.34 a share in the first quarter of 2016, down 26.1% from $0.46 a year earlier. Higher gold and copper production pushed up its operating costs and offset a 3.0% rise in revenue, to $2.03 billion from $1.97 billion....

NEWMONT MINING CORP. $32 (www.newmont.com) earned $0.34 a share in the first quarter of 2016, down 26.1% from $0.46 a year earlier. Higher gold and copper production pushed up its operating costs and offset a 3.0% rise in revenue, to $2.03 billion from $1.97 billion....

YAMANA GOLD $5.43 (Toronto symbol YRI; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (416-815-0220; www. yamana.com; Shares outstanding: 947.2 million; Market cap: $5.3 billion; Dividend yield: 0.5%) owns and operates 10 gold mines in Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Chile and Argentina. It also holds a 12.5% stake in the Alumbrera copper/ gold mine in Argentina and has a number of other properties in advanced stages of development. In the three months ended December 31, 2015, the company’s gold production fell 1.9%, to 345,788 ounces from 352,572 a year earlier. The decline was the result of lower output at some of Yamana’s smaller mines. Gold prices fell 8.2% in the latest quarter. That, plus the lower production, cut Yamana’s cash flow by 14.8%, to $150.5 million from $176.7 million. (All figures except share price and market cap in U.S. dollars.) Cash flow per share declined 20.0%, to $0.16 from $0.20, on more shares outstanding....