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Black Box Casino

This cautionary tale explains how the murky and complex world of mortgage finance caused a global market meltdown―and offers new insights on how to create a stronger world of banking and mortgage finance.

Mr. England writes about the financial crisis with harrowing precision.

-- Daniel Henninger, deputy editorial page director, columnist, Wall Street Journal

First Reckless Endangerment and now it is Black Box Casino's turn to shine a bright light on the root causes of the mortgage meltdown. England, relying on decades of experience as a financial reporter and consummate research skills, documents how government housing policy, political expediency, and crony capitalism combined to cause the mortgage meltdown that nearly sank the world’s economy.

-- Ed Pinto, former chief risk officer of Fannie Mae

Drawing upon sources not available to previous writers, England presents the most complete account yet of how the collapse of an obscure subprime mortgage lender in January 2007 could eventually take down some of the greatest names on Wall Street by September 2008, wreaking massive economic destruction that Americans are still struggling with today.

-- Kenneth Cline, managing editor, Banking Strategies Magazine

Electric vehicle pivot by automakers will likely drive 2026 US auto production trends: analysts

Fastmarkets Metals and Mining
By Robert England
January 7, 2026

US automakers' reset of their strategies for electric vehicles (EVs) is likely to impact overall US automotive production trends in 2026, according to auto and steel sector analysts.

The end of EV mandates and subsidies, combined with a reduction in federal average corporate fuel standards, provides a boost for sales of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles as consumer preferences guide trends, slowing the adoption rate for EVs and speeding up adoption rates for hybrids, analysts said.

Overall US-based auto production volumes next year could shift by up to 1% in either direction, analysts told Fastmarkets, reflecting differing assessments of how effective reset strategies are, and how quickly and smoothly automakers can implement those strategies.

The resulting shifts in US automotive production will, in turn, drive demand for US-produced steel, especially for cold-rolled and galvanized steel sheet, as well as special bar quality and cold-heading quality steel rods.

Supreme Court likely to deliver split decision on tariffs: Wilbur Ross

Investor mogul Wilbur L. Ross, who served as US Secretary of Commerce in President Trump’s first term, discussed the potential impact of the Supreme Court’s decision in a case brought against tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) during an exclusive interview with Fastmarkets on Tuesday November 11.

By Robert England
Fastmarkets Metals and Mining
November 13, 2025

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments on November 5 in the cases brought by several small businesses led by Learning Resources, Inc. and twelve states co-led by Arizona and Oregon. Lower courts ruled the tariffs exceeded the President’s authority under IEEPA, staying their rulings pending an appeal.

The IEEPA tariffs were imposed by the Trump Administration earlier this year against Canada, Mexico and China over fentanyl flowing into the US. Further, Trump invoked IEEPA when he imposed “reciprocal” tariffs on trading partners to address trade deficits and trading policies the President deemed unfair.

Some of the reciprocal tariffs have been reduced subsequently after countries and trading blocks, such as the European Union, reached new bilateral trade agreements with the US.

Boston Metal scores breakthroughs in carbon-free metals production: exec

Boston Metal’s innovative carbon-free molten-oxide electrolysis (MOE) technology, which can produce iron from iron ore and selected metals from metal oxides, is racking up deployment milestones and breakthroughs in advancing the longevity and durability of its anodes, according to Adam Rauwerdink, senior vice president of business development.

By Robert England
Fastmarkets Metals and Mining
September 12, 2025

The latest milestone was achieved on Tuesday September 9, when stainless steelmaker Outokumpu announced a joint agreement with Boston Metal to provide chromium oxide and chromium feedstock from its Kemi mine in northern Finland, giving Boston Metal a potential significant source of chrome it needs to manufacture its inert anodes.

The joint agreement, inked in a memorandum of understanding with Outokumpu, is part of the Woburn, Massachusetts-based company’s long-term strategy for establishing earnings potential for anode technology, Rauwerdink told Fastmarkets in an interview.

ArcelorMittal’s tailored blanks transform automaking

The automotive industry's embrace of the pioneering steelmaking technology of tailored welded blanks to make hot stamped door rings has reached a break-out point with annual output volumes expected to double over the next five years

June 26, 2025
By Robert England
Fastmarkets Metals and Mining

The door ring is a key structural part in the vehicle body-in-white that encircles each set of side doors. It plays a critical role in protecting the passengers and battery during a crash.

ArcelorMittal Tailored Blanks Americas’ (AMTB) tailored blanks method for making door rings allows for material optimization, weight reduction, cost efficiency and manufacturing simplicity while reducing the carbon dioxide equivalent footprint of the car, according to Gagan Tandon, chief product officer.

In 2024, AMTB produced over 4 million door rings for six automotive brands in North America,

Based on projects in the pipeline, AMTB expects that by 2030 annual production for North America has the potential to grow to over 10 million door rings applied to over 19 brands

The success of this technology will also reaffirm steel’s role as the dominant material used to make cars, the chief product officer said.

US-China lower tariffs deal brightens trade, economic outlook: sources

A US-China trade agreement to sharply lower reciprocal tariffs for 90 days that emerged on Monday May 12 boosts the outlook for trade and the economy, according to analysts and market observers.

Robert England
12 May 2025
Fastmarkets Metal and Mining

Under the bilateral agreement, crafted over the weekend of May 10-11 in Geneva, Switzerland, in high-level discussions, tariffs for US goods going into China will fall from 125% to 10% while duties for Chinese goods going into the US will drop from 145% to 30%, according to The White House.

The impact on metals and minerals may be muted, given the various sectoral tariffs in place or under investigation.

Sectoral 25% tariffs on autos, auto parts, steel and aluminium remain intact.

Investigations into semiconductors, copper, critical minerals, timber, lumber and trucks remain to be completed.

Economic analysts expect the 90-day deal to push up economic growth in the US and China over prior forecasts.

Shipping giant's investment signals turnaround for US shipbuilding: sources

French shipping giant CMA CGM Group’s plan to invest $20 billion in maritime transportation, logistics and supply chains in the US over the next four years signals the start of a turnaround for US shipbuilding and will increase demand for steel plate by as much as an estimated $2 billion over the term of the investment, according to market participants.

Fastmarkets Metals and Mining

By Robert England

March 13, 2025

“While $20 billion is a lot, it’s not a huge amount, but it will give an incentive to fortify the infrastructure to build ships and that capability is definitely missing in the US,” a steel plate distributor said.

"The raw material in a $20 billion investment won’t be much but it’s a lot more than anyone did in the past. I’d guess it will amount to $2 billion over several years. So while it won’t move pricing or demand much, the psychological impact is huge,” he said.

“It also represents an about-face in thinking about shipbuilding. The change in direction is worth so much more than $20 billion. The momentum it is creating is priceless,” the distributor said.

A steel plate buyer also offered a positive view on the investment, saying, “It seems like a huge investment. I am not sure what it equates to from a tonnage perspective. Shipbuilding uses a lot of steel [per ship].”

Trump restores 25% Section 232 steel tariffs, ends exemptions

US President Donald Trump issued an executive order on Monday February 10 restoring the full 25% tariffs that were initially imposed in 2018, under Section 232 of US trade regulations, to apply to imports of steel articles from all countries, in an attempt to stem a surge in imports that he said once again is a threat to national security.

By Robert England

Fastmarkets Metals and Mining
February 11, 2025

The order eliminated exemptions and alternative arrangements for some countries put into place over the intervening years that Trump said have weakened the effectiveness of the tariffs. The order was based on a recommendation from US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick.

Under the order, tariff exclusions currently in place will expire on March 12, 2025.

Trump noted that, while US steel consumption declined in 2024, global steel capacity continued to expand, to an excess capacity of 630 million tonnes per year, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

The president’s order cited an 18% increase in imports from Canada since 2018, and highlighted a surge of exports from China in 2024, reaching 114 million tonnes by November, “displacing production in other countries and forcing them to export greater volumes of steel articles and derivative steel articles to the US.”

“This is a very significant action,” according to Christopher Weld, a trade policy attorney at Wiley Rein in Washington, DC.

North American steel demand to rise in 2025 in line with modest increase in auto output: sources

By Robert England
January 7, 2025

The new year is likely to show a modest pick-up in overall North American automotive production that will, in turn, boost demand for key steel product sectors, such as cold-rolled coil, galvanized sheet and special bar quality steel, according to industry analysts and market participants.

The potential improvement in demand for steel will vary within North America, with a modest gain in the United States, flat demand in Canada and a potential 4% increase in Mexico, according to AutoForecast Solutions in Pottstown, Pennsylvania.

Despite rising optimism in the US that the incoming Donald Trump administration’s policies will jump-start manufacturing and the steel industry, some industry watchers do not expect any immediate significant improvement.

“I don’t think we’re anticipating a material change in production and consumer demand [in the automotive sector],” said Phil Gibbs, metal equity research analyst at KeyBanc Capital Markets, Cleveland, Ohio.

Steel industry on edge with Trump threatening new tariffs on Mexico, Canada, China on first day

Steel market participants had varying reactions to US President-elect Donald Trump’s assertion on Monday September 25 that he will impose a 25% tariff of all products being imported from Canada and Mexico into the US, as well as levy a 10% additional tariff on all Chinese imports

November 28, 2024
By Robert England, Rijuta Dey, Gabriela Brumatti, and the Fastmarkets team

True to the Trump modus operandi, the announcement was made on social media, and ups the ante on the president-elect’s rhetoric on being tough on trade and tariffs.

“On January 20th, as one of my many first Executive Orders, I will sign all necessary documents to charge Mexico and Canada a 25% Tariff on ALL products coming into the United States, and its ridiculous Open Borders,” Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social, asserting that “thousands of people are pouring through Mexico and Canada, bringing Crime and Drugs at levels never seen before.”

Trump said the new tariffs would remain in place “until such time as Drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country!”

US Steel expects DOJ to clear Nippon Steel bid amid delay, market doubt

US Steel continues to make "progress" toward clearing regulatory scrutiny from the US Department of Justice in its heightened antitrust review of Nippon Steel's bid to acquire the company, bolstered by overwhelming shareholder approval on April 12, the company said in a press release on Thursday May 2.

May 3, 2024

By Robert England
Fastmarkets Metal and Mining

Both Nippon Steel and US Steel reported on Thursday that the deal will now likely close in the second half of the year, compared with earlier estimates it would close in the second or third quarter, representing a potential deadline that could move approval from September to December.

"The company and Nippon Steel Corporation each received, and are working to respond to, a request for additional information and documentary materials from the US Department of Justice in connection with antitrust review," US Steel said in its release.

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