The London Metal Exchange has discovered bags of stones instead of the nickel that underpinned a small handful of its contracts at a warehouse in Rotterdam, in a revelation that will deliver another blow to confidence in the embattled exchange. The amount of metal represents just 0.14% of live nickel inventories on the LME, however metals traders generally consider LME contracts to be beyond question, so the news that even a few of them could contain irregularities is hugely problematic. The news comes weeks after trader Trafigura Group revealed that it had been the victim of a vast alleged fraud involving missing ... (full story)