Archive

May 4, 2025

Browsing
In Stocks

From Bunge’s Viterra deal to Shein’s IPO: US-China trade war derails major cross-border deals

4 Mins Read

Trade tensions between the United States and China are throwing a spanner in billions of dollars worth of acquisitions and initial public offerings, dealing a fresh blow to a dealmaking market that was already slow to recover this year.

Prevailing tensions between the two nations have reportedly stalled Bunge Global SA’s $8.2 billion acquisition of Viterra, as Chinese regulatory approval remains elusive.

According to people familiar with the matter reported by Bloomberg on Friday, Bunge executives, including CEO Greg Heckman, have made repeated trips to China, hoping to secure the green light.

But with the political rift deepening, concerns are growing that the process may drag on.

Bunge, one of the world’s largest agricultural commodity traders and a member of the so-called ABCD quartet, announced its intention to acquire Glencore-backed Viterra in June 2023.

The merger is set to create a $25 billion global powerhouse to challenge crop trading giants like Cargill Inc.

While the deal has passed regulatory hurdles in Europe and Canada, and is expected to proceed in Argentina, subject to post-closing remedies, China remains the major holdout.

Bunge stated it is in “constructive dialogue” with Chinese officials, but the lack of formal approval has become a sticking point.

Sources close to the matter say Beijing’s reluctance is not necessarily tied to competition concerns but is reflective of broader geopolitical tensions with the US.

China’s commerce ministry and antitrust regulator have not responded to requests for comment.

Shein’s London IPO faces delays as US ramps up tariffs

Chinese-founded fast-fashion giant Shein is also facing fallout from US-China tensions.

The company is considering a shake-up of its US operations as tariffs on Chinese imports put its planned London IPO at risk, according to a Financial Times report.

The company’s American division, which accounts for around one-third of Shein’s $38 billion in annual revenue, is expected to come under strain with the imminent expiration of a key tax exemption known as “de minimis,” the report said.

The de minimis rule expired on Friday.

Reuters reported on Friday that Shein had also severed ties with communications firms Brunswick and FGS, both of which were supporting its IPO strategy in London.

Their contracts expired on April 30 and will not be renewed, sources confirmed, in what the report said was another sign that the flotation was not going as planned.

Though Shein has received clearance from Britain’s financial regulator, it still requires approval from Chinese authorities.

With regulatory uncertainty on both ends and a hostile trade environment, the IPO, initially expected in the first half of the year, is now likely to be pushed into the latter half of 2025.

Wave of IPO postponements signals deeper market anxiety

The ripple effect of US-China trade tensions is being felt across global financial markets, with a growing list of companies delaying IPO plans.

Firms like Klarna Bank AB, Medline, and StubHub Holdings Inc. have all shelved their listing efforts in recent weeks due to heightened volatility sparked by Trump’s tariff announcements on April 2.

Offerings from adtech group MNTN Inc. and insurer Ategrity Specialty Holdings were also on hold, it was reported.

Trading platform EToro Group Ltd., had in April reportedly paused its IPO ambitions, but according to a Bloomberg report on Friday, it is now considering launching its US initial public offering as soon as next week.

Sources cited in the report caution, however, that no final decision has been made.

If EToro proceeds, it would be the first among the group of delayed IPOs to move forward following the tariff turmoil.

But the broader picture remains bleak: protectionist trade policies and retaliatory measures from China are weighing heavily on companies with global exposure, disrupting both M&A deals and capital-raising efforts.

The post From Bunge’s Viterra deal to Shein’s IPO: US-China trade war derails major cross-border deals appeared first on Invezz

Keep Reading
In World news

Top 5 Canadian Mining Stocks This Week: Lion Rock Jumps 60 Percent

11 Mins Read

The Liberal Party of Canada and Prime Minister Mark Carney will form a minority government following their victory in Canada’s national election on Monday (April 28). The Liberals won 168 seats, just shy of the 172 required to form a majority, meaning the Liberal government will have to work with the Bloc Québécois or the NDP, which won 23 and 7 seats, respectively.

The Conservative Party of Canada, led by Pierre Poilievre, won 144 seats. While the CPC was originally expected to win the election, the trade war and sovereignty threats from new US President Donald Trump turned the tide in favor of Carney, who took a firmer stance against Trump. Other election issues included the high cost of living, housing, immigration and crime.

Both parties came into the election with visions for Canada’s economy, which included energy and infrastructure corridors, a commitment to energy production and a focus on resource nationalism.

Statistics Canada released February’s gross domestic product by industry figures on Wednesday (April 30). According to the data, the resource sector’s January gains were largely erased by contractions in February. Oil and gas extraction slipped by 2.8 percent, while mining and quarrying contracted by 2.6 percent during the month. Metal ore mining posted its second month of declines, falling 2.5 percent. On the other hand, non-metallic mineral mining climbed by 2.7 percent, including a 3.5 percent rise in potash mining.

South of the Border, The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics released its April employment situation summary on Friday (May 2). In the report, the agency said that 177,000 new nonfarm jobs were added to the economy in April, which exceeded analysts’ expectations of 133,000 jobs.

The biggest gains came in the healthcare sector, which added 51,000 workers, followed by transportation and warehousing, where 29,000 people found new employment.

Overall, the unemployment rate remained steady at 4.2 percent, and the participation rate was unchanged at 62.6 percent.

However, there were some caveats, most notably, downward revisions of 15,000 fewer jobs in February and 43,000 jobs in March than initially reported.. Long-term unemployment also ticked up by 179,000 to 1.67 million in April, the highest since March 2022.

While the number showed strength in the job market, many analysts expect these gains to be temporary, as the effects of US tariffs have yet to be felt in the economy.

The US government also announced on Wednesday that it signed a critical minerals deal with Ukraine. Under the terms of the agreement, the US will provide funding for Ukraine’s reconstruction in exchange for preferential access to the country’s natural resources, including rare earth minerals, which are critical to tech and military development and supply chains.

Additionally, the Trump administration announced it added 10 new projects to be fast-tracked to its federal permitting dashboard on Friday. The projects include the NorthMet copper and nickel project in Minnesota, which is a 50/50 joint venture between Teck (TSX:TECK.A,TECK.B,NYSE:TECK) and Glencore (LSE:GLEN,OTC Pink:GLCNF), as well as Sibanye Stillwater’s (NYSE:SBSW) Stillwater platinum and palladium project in Montana.

Markets and commodities react

In Canada, major indexes posted gains by the week’s close. The S&P/TSX Composite Index (INDEXTSI:OSPTX) gained 1.32 percent during the week to close at 25,031.51 on Friday, the S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index (INDEXTSI:JX) moved up 0.01 percent to 656.40 and the CSE Composite Index (CSE:CSECOMP) climbed 2.52 percent to 122.75.

US equity markets also posted gains by close on Friday, with the S&P 500 (INDEXSP:INX) increasing 2.85 percent to close at 5,686.66, the Nasdaq-100 (INDEXNASDAQ:NDX) gaining 3.45 percent to 20,102.61 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) rising 2.8 percent to 41,317.44.

The gold price fell from recent highs, closing out Friday at US$3,233.98, down 2.56 percent over the week. The silver price was also down, shedding 3.21 percent during the period to US$32.03.

In base metals, the COMEX copper price fell 4.29 percent over the week to US$4.69 per pound. Meanwhile, the S&P GSCI (INDEXSP:SPGSCI) was down 3.17 percent to close at 520.19.

Top Canadian mining stocks this week

So how did mining stocks perform against this backdrop?

Take a look at this week’s five best-performing Canadian mining stocks below.

Stock data for this article was retrieved at 3:30 p.m. EDT on Friday using TradingView’s stock screener. Only companies trading on the TSX, TSXV and CSE with market capitalizations greater than C$10 million are included. Companies within the non-energy minerals and energy minerals sectors were considered.

1. Lion Rock Resources (TSXV:ROAR)

Weekly gain: 60 percent
Market cap: C$20.51 million
Share price: C$0.32

Lion Rock Resources is a gold and critical mineral exploration company focused on advancing its Volney gold-lithium-tin project in South Dakota, United States.

The property is situated on 142 hectares of private land with surface and mineral rights in place. The site hosts historic gold and tin mining operations dating back to the 1920s. Additionally, the site contains the Giant Volney pegmatite body, from which 15 grab samples graded an average of 4.4 percent lithium oxide, with the highest grading 5.4 percent.

The most recent news from the project came on Thursday (May 1) when Lion Rock announced that it had started its 2025 exploration program, including a high-resolution magnetic survey, mapping and sampling. The company said that the program will target high-grade lithium, gold and tin, and results will be used to refine drill targets and expand known mineralized zones.

The company also released its year-end 2024 financial report on Tuesday (April 29).

2. Foremost Clean Energy (CSE:FAT)

Weekly gain: 42.86 percent
Market cap: C$14.27 million
Share price: C$1.30

Foremost Clean Energy is a uranium exploration company working to advance projects in the Athabasca Basin in Northern Saskatchewan, Canada.

In 2025, its primary focus has been its Hatchet Lake property, part of its Eastern Athabasca projects. The site consists of nine mineral claims within two blocks covering an area of 10,2012 hectares and has seen exploration dating back to the 1960s.

Foremost announced in October 2024 that it had completed the first phase of an option agreement with Denison Mines (TSX:DML,NYSEAMERICAN:DNN) to acquire a 20 percent stake in 10 uranium properties, including Hatchet Lake, in exchange for 1.37 million common shares.

Under the terms of the agreement, Foremost can earn up to a 70 percent stake in the properties in exchange for meeting certain milestones within 36 months.

This Thursday, Foremost announced a new uranium discovery at Hatchet Lake from initial results of the company’s ongoing inaugural drill program.

In the announcement, the company said the discovery included multiple intervals of mineralization, highlighting one grading 0.22 percent equivalent U3O8 over 0.9 meters, including an intersection of 0.5 percent over 0.1 meters.

3. Baru Gold (TSXV:BARU)

Weekly gain: 42.86 percent
Market cap: C$13.53 million
Share price: C$0.05

Baru Gold is a development company working to advance its Sangihe gold project in Indonesia.

The company holds a 70 percent stake in the 42,000 hectare project, with the remaining 30 percent interest held by three Indonesia-based companies.

Baru Gold is progressing towards approval of its production operations plan, which was redesigned due to the significant macroeconomic shift and increase in the gold price since its last mineral resource estimate in May 2017.

On February 14, the company published a technical report with an updated mineral resource estimate. The mineral resource estimate demonstrated an indicated resource of 114,000 ounces of gold and 1.93 million ounces of silver from 3.15 million metric tons of ore with grades of 1.12 grams per metric ton (g/t) gold and 19.4 g/t silver. The project also hosts an inferred resource of 91,000 ounces of gold and 1.08 million ounces of silver from 2.3 million metric tons of ore with grades of 1.22 g/t gold and 14.5 g/t silver.

The update marks a significant step towards government approval for production operations status, with the only remaining requirement being the payment of taxes.

The most recent news came on April 2 when the company announced the closing of the first tranche of a private placement for C$336,321.88. Funding raised through the placement will be used in part for payment of land use taxes on the Sangihe property.

4. Taranis Resources (TSXV:TRO)

Weekly gain: 42.5 percent
Market cap: C$21.07 million
Share price: C$0.285

Taranis Resources is a copper explorer focused on advancing work at its Thor project in Southeast British Columbia, Canada.

The site has seen previous mining dating back to the early 1900s and hosts at least seven different epithermal zones. In a February mineral resource estimate update, the company reported an indicated resource of 1.14 million metric tons of ore containing 27,400 ounces of gold, 5.58 million ounces of silver, 3.1 million pounds of copper, 47.8 million pounds of lead and 77.9 million pounds of zinc.

The most recent news from the Thor project came on April 9, when Taranis provided an update on its 2024 deep drilling program. The company finalized an alteration study of the drill holes, which encountered anomalous gold, zinc and arsenic, and plans to use the results to improve targeting and lower costs for its 2025 drilling program.

5. Black Iron (TSX:BKI)

Weekly gain: 41.18 percent
Market cap: C$38.02 million
Share price: C$0.12

Black Iron is an exploration and development company working to advance its Shymanivske iron project in Ukraine.

The 300 hectare property is located approximately 330 kilometers south-east of the capital of Kiev and is situated within the well-known iron ore mining district of KrivBass.

According to a March 2020 preliminary economic assessment, project economics demonstrated an after-tax net present value of US$1.44 billion at a discount rate of 10 percent with an internal rate of return of 34.4 percent and a payback period of 3.3 years.

The included mineral resource estimate reported a measured and indicated resource of 645.8 million metric tons of ore with an average grade of 31.6 percent total iron and 18.8 percent magnetic iron.

Although Black Iron did not release any news this week, the company’s share price gained alongside news of the US and Ukraine reaching a critical minerals agreement.

FAQs for Canadian mining stocks

What is the difference between the TSX and TSXV?

The TSX, or Toronto Stock Exchange, is used by senior companies with larger market caps, and the TSXV, or TSX Venture Exchange, is used by smaller-cap companies. Companies listed on the TSXV can graduate to the senior exchange.

How many mining companies are listed on the TSX and TSXV?

As of February 2025, there were 1,572 companies listed on the TSXV, 905 of which were mining companies. Comparatively, the TSX was home to 1,859 companies, with 181 of those being mining companies.

Together the TSX and TSXV host around 40 percent of the world’s public mining companies.

How much does it cost to list on the TSXV?

There are a variety of different fees that companies must pay to list on the TSXV, and according to the exchange, they can vary based on the transaction’s nature and complexity. The listing fee alone will most likely cost between C$10,000 to C$70,000. Accounting and auditing fees could rack up between C$25,000 and C$100,000, while legal fees are expected to be over C$75,000 and an underwriters’ commission may hit up to 12 percent.

The exchange lists a handful of other fees and expenses companies can expect, including but not limited to security commission and transfer agency fees, investor relations costs and director and officer liability insurance.

These are all just for the initial listing, of course. There are ongoing expenses once companies are trading, such as sustaining fees and additional listing fees, plus the costs associated with filing regular reports.

How do you trade on the TSXV?

Investors can trade on the TSXV the way they would trade stocks on any exchange. This means they can use a stock broker or an individual investment account to buy and sell shares of TSXV-listed companies during the exchange’s trading hours.

Article by Dean Belder; FAQs by Lauren Kelly.

Securities Disclosure: I, Dean Belder, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

Securities Disclosure: I, Lauren Kelly, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

Keep reading…Show less
This post appeared first on investingnews.com

Keep Reading
In Business

Jeff Bezos discloses plan to sell up to $4.8 billion in Amazon stock

2 Mins Read

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos plans to sell up to 25 million shares in the company over the next year, according to a financial filing on Friday.

Bezos, who stepped down as CEO in 2021 but remains Amazon’s top shareholder, is selling the shares as part of a trading plan adopted on March 4, the filing states. The stake would be worth about $4.8 billion at the current price.

The disclosure follows Amazon’s first-quarter earnings report late Thursday. While profit and revenue topped estimates, the company’s forecast for operating income in the current quarter came in below Wall Street’s expectations.

The results show that Amazon is bracing for uncertainty related to President Donald Trump’s sweeping new tariffs. The company landed in the crosshairs of the White House this week over a report that Amazon planned to show shoppers the cost of the tariffs. Trump personally called Bezos to complain, and Amazon clarified that no such change was coming.

Bezos previously offloaded about $13.5 billion worth of Amazon shares last year, marking his first sale of company stock since 2021.

Since handing over the Amazon CEO role to Andy Jassy, Bezos has spent more of his time on his space exploration company, Blue Origin, and his $10 billion climate and biodiversity fund. He’s used Amazon share sales to help fund Blue Origin, as well as the Day One Fund, which he launched in September 2018 to provide education in low-income communities and combat homelessness.

This post appeared first on NBC NEWS

Keep Reading
In Politics

World Press Freedom Day: Release my father Jimmy Lai, who published what China’s leaders did not want to hear

5 Mins Read
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

George Orwell famously said, ‘If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.’ On World Press Freedom Day, we must remind ourselves of the people who have lost their freedoms fighting for this very right. 

My father Jimmy Lai is one such man. He is currently in Stanley maximum security prison in Hong Kong, facing potential life in prison for simply publishing what Chinese authorities do not want to hear. 

His story is one of extraordinary transformation and unwavering conviction. Arriving in Hong Kong at age 12 after fleeing Communist China, he began his journey as a child laborer in a clothing factory, enduring hardship and poverty. 

Yet, through grit and vision, he rose from factory worker to factory manager, and by 1975, used his savings to purchase a bankrupt garment factory. This bold move laid the foundation for his first major success: Giordano, a clothing chain that grew into an international brand with thousands of employees and stores across Asia.

The 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre marked a turning point for him. Witnessing the brutal suppression of pro-democracy protesters, he redirected his life’s work from business to activism, determined to fight for freedom and human rights in Hong Kong. 

In 1995, he founded Apple Daily, a newspaper that quickly became a beacon for free speech and democracy, unafraid to criticize the Chinese Communist Party and expose corruption. My father poured $100 million of his own fortune into the venture, ensuring the paper’s independence and fearless reporting.

His media empire, including Next Magazine and Apple Daily, became a megaphone for Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement, rallying citizens and challenging the authorities. His outspoken criticism of Beijing and unwavering support for protestors made him a target. 

The CCP labeled him a ‘troublemaker,’ and his businesses faced retaliation, including the closure of his Beijing Giordano store after a controversial column. Yet, he never wavered, famously stating, ‘Information is choice and choice is freedom’ using both high-brow and popular content to spread the message of liberty.

His commitment to principle set him apart from other tycoons. While many business leaders in Hong Kong chose silence or compromise, he stood alone, enduring threats, arrests, and ultimately imprisonment for his beliefs. In 2014, he was arrested during the pro-democracy Umbrella Movement protests, and in 2020, as Beijing tightened its grip on Hong Kong, my father was again detained under the draconian National Security Law. 

Despite the risks, he refused to flee, choosing to remain in Hong Kong and continue the stand for his beliefs, even as Apple Daily was forced to close, even as he now faces the possibility of the rest of his life behind bars.

My father’s life is a testament to the power of conviction. He is not just a businessman or media mogul – he is a symbol of freedom and hope for many. His outsider status, as an immigrant who never quite fit in, gave him the strength to play by his own rules and challenge the status quo.

Despite his wealth and influence, he remains deeply human – a husband, father and practicing Catholic. We miss his booming voice and boisterous laughter around our dinner table. We long for the day we can again share a meal, again pray together.

Over the past few months, both President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have publicly stated their commitment to securing my father’s freedom, consistent with the president’s prioritizing the release of those wrongly detained abroad. He has secured the release of 14 prisoners since taking office in January.

My father is fortunate to have deep bipartisan support in this country and abroad. The U.S. and the U.K. have called for his immediate and unconditional release, as have the parliaments of Canada and the EU. He has received numerous awards for his courage, and I will receive a Bradley Prize on his behalf on May 29 in Washington. But he remains in prison.

My father is one of 10 journalists who are still being held in Hong Kong’s prisons, some of whom worked for him at Apple Daily. While he may be the most high-profile among them, all of these journalists were fighting for their right to speak truth to power, and to defend their way of life.

Their bravery reminds us that freedom is never guaranteed – it must be fought for, often at great personal cost. My father’s defiance in the face of overwhelming power, his willingness to sacrifice everything for his principles, and his belief in the dignity of every individual make him a genuine hero of our time. 

At 77 years old, he has spent the last four years in a maximum-security prison for these beliefs. His legacy endures as a beacon of hope, showing that just one person’s courage can change the course of history. 

The end to my father’s story is not yet written. This World Press Freedom Day, I appeal to all who cherish free speech to join our fight to secure my father’s release so he can leave Hong Kong and spend his old age with his family.

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

Keep Reading