Yep, saw that. Here's the background.

Glencore was founded by criminal financier, Marc Rich, after he was pardoned by Bill Clinton. After all, Rich was a big contributor to the Democrat party, so should a pardon not have been in the cards to keep him out of prison?

Anyway, it, Glencore, grew from nothing to a beheamouth in a very, very short period of time. Was some of this growth the result of more ciminal activies? Dunno, but sudden wealth always raises doubts of this nature, especially when connected with a known criminal.

Though Marc Rich died a couple of years ago, I'm sure that his vision/ethics/plans, etc., remain alive and well at Glencore.

Friends in the Canadian mining industry told me years ago that Rich intended to as much as corner the market in zinc, given the looming shortages that could be seen even then. Though quite early, his moves in this regard were perfect timing for acquiring zinc mines, off take agreements, and trading houses on the cheap, including with some companies where I had shares and connections.

This is all just prelude to guesstimating that the news from Glencore today was all about poking the market with a red hot iron. Afterall, Glencore as the word's largest trader in zinc has a heck of a lot more to gain from higher prices for zinc than it does in wages saved by laying off zinc miners. Such is the way to play the game when you can control much of the production, and much of the trading.

Besides, when shortages become apparent, not only will zinc be in short supply, but many producers will find it that much harder to meet demand having reduced operations to the barest of essential activity. In other words, it can take months to years to bring back curtailed production.

Win, win for Glencore, and a win too in the case of major new zinc discoveries.

...just the way I see it (for now).

VP