user: IN: Metals Discount Trump's Emissions Stance
Anyone expecting that President-elect Donald Trump will have a free hand in tearing up U.S. rules on auto emissions may find a rude shock in precious metals markets: The ratio between platinum and palladium prices is collapsing.

The platinum-palladium ratio is close to its lowest levels since 2002

Last Tuesday, a troy ounce of platinum cost about 50 percent more than the same amount of palladium. A week later, it was worth about $945 an ounce , only about a third more than palladium's $701. The ratio between the two metals is only narrowly above its tightest levels in almost 15 years.

Europe uses more platinum in its auto catalysts, but palladium is the leader globally

With auto lobbyists urging the Trump transition team to loosen emission regulations, you might expect that measure to be going the other way.

About 72 percent of the world's palladium goes into catalytic converters, the filters attached to vehicle exhausts that capture soot and convert nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide into less toxic gases. Some 19 percent is for catalysts in North America alone, but palladium has risen about 5 percent since last week's election. That suggests traders are betting on strong consumption growth -- hardly the move you'd expect to see from a metal facing a demand crunch.

Percentage of world's palladium used in catalytic converters

There are a couple of alternative explanations for the shifting ratio.

One possibility, more worrying for global climate, is that Trump's election is being seen as a blow to electric vehicles. Cars that don't produce exhaust pollutants don't need reactive precious metals to catch them, and the real nightmare scenario for platinum (also used in catalytic converters) and palladium is the sort of rapid switch toward battery-powered cars that Volkswagen AG and General Motors Co. are betting on.

Another is that palladium is just behaving like the industrial metal it is in all but name. Jewelry and bullion accounted for less than 5 percent of palladium demand in 2013, compared with 42 percent for platinum. Bloomberg's index of such lower-priced commodities is up 2.2 percent since the election, versus a 4.9 percent decline for the precious metals index.

The simplest explanation is normally the best, however, and palladium's relative health is easiest to explain as a reaction to real demand expectations. Auto emissions are forecast to tighten further in all countries over the years ahead, as Johnson Matthey Plc -- a U.K. producer of specialist metals -- pointed out in a presentation earlier this year:

Tightening auto regulations in North America and China are still one of the main bullish demand factors for palladium, the company said in its latest market outlook Monday. The platinum-palladium ratio says Trump won't reverse that trend.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Prices as of Tuesday afternoon in Asia.

To contact the author of this story: David Fickling in Sydney at dfickling@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Matthew Brooker at mbrooker1@bloomberg.net
What is a short summary of the above article?

OUT: A narrowing palladium-platinum price gap points to tighter rather than looser regulation.


Q: Bud Spencer, the ‘Good Giant’ of Spaghetti Westerns, Dies at 86

Bud Spencer, a burly comic actor known as the “good giant” for punching out bad guys on the screen in a series of spaghetti westerns, died on Monday in Italy. He was 86.

His son, Giuseppe Pedersoli, confirmed his death to the Italian news agency ANSA, but did not say where he died or specify the cause.

Born in Naples on Oct. 31, 1929, Carlo Pedersoli adopted the screen name Bud Spencer — the first name inspired by a beer and the last to honor his favorite star, Spencer Tracy.

In his youth, Mr. Spencer was an athlete, becoming the first Italian to swim the 100-meter freestyle in under a minute.

His roles exploited his physical strength, especially his big frame and girth. His imposing figure earned him a walk-on part as a Praetorian guard in the 1951 film “Quo Vadis?”

Mr. Spencer abandoned his swimming career after the 1960 Olympics in Rome. Working on a 1967 film, “Dio Perdona Io No” (“God Forgives, I Don’t”), he met Mario Girotti, who would take the screen name Terence Hill and become his frequent movie partner in spaghetti westerns.

A review of “They Call Me Trinity” in 1972 in The New York Times described Mr. Spencer as “a grizzled bear of a man” and said that he and Mr. Hill “couldn’t be more likable.”

Mr. Spencer, who had a law degree, made his name in unmistakably lowbrow films.

After he made a film with the Italian director Ermanno Olmi in 2003, Mr. Spencer confessed that it was perhaps the first time he felt he was an actor. “I always said that I was only a character,” he said.

The New York Times contributed reporting.

Reprinted from Wednesday’s early editions.

A version of this article appears in print on June 30, 2016, on page A24 of the New York edition with the headline: Bud Spencer, 86, Good Guy in Spaghetti Westerns. Order Reprints| Today's Paper|Subscribe
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A:

assistant: A burly Italian comic actor who punched out bad guys on the screen, he appeared in “They Call Me Trinity” with his frequent movie partner Terence Hill.