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July 2025

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Tesla’s $69,770 Model Y enters India: a premium EV bet to drive global sales?

4 Mins Read

Tesla Inc., the electric vehicle pioneer helmed by Elon Musk, has finally made its long-awaited entry into India with the launch of its Model Y SUV, priced at a steep ₹6 million ($69,770).

The company inaugurated its first showroom in Mumbai on Tuesday, formally stepping into the world’s third-largest automobile market, although its initial approach remains cautious and premium-focused.

The rear-wheel-drive Model Y has been listed on Tesla’s India website for ₹6 million, with the long-range version costing ₹6.8 million.

These prices mark the highest globally for the same vehicle. Tesla’s high pricing in India is primarily due to the country’s steep import duties on fully assembled cars, which can go as high as 70%.

In comparison, the Model Y starts at $44,990 in the United States, 263,500 yuan (approximately $36,700) in China, and €45,970 (about $53,700) in Germany.

Tesla enters niche EV segment to compete with BMW, Mercedes-Benz

Tesla’s Indian operations will begin with imported units, and customer deliveries are expected to start from the third quarter of 2025.

The company is targeting India’s small but growing premium EV segment, which currently accounts for only about 4% of total electric vehicle sales.

With the launch, Tesla positions itself to compete with global luxury names like BMW and Mercedes-Benz rather than homegrown EV manufacturers such as Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra.

Tesla has already shipped six Model Y SUVs from its Shanghai Gigafactory to Mumbai for display and demonstration purposes.

According to auto portal Carwale, these vehicles will serve as initial showcases while Tesla gauges consumer interest.

Meanwhile, Reuters reported that Tesla has imported about $1 million worth of goods into India, including vehicles, chargers, and accessories, sourced mainly from China and the United States.

Bookings for the Model Y are open on the company’s Indian website, which lists the on-road price in Mumbai at ₹6.1 million.

A deposit of ₹22,220 is required to reserve the vehicle.

Tesla is also offering its Full Self-Driving (FSD) package for an additional ₹600,000, with promises of gradual software enhancements via over-the-air updates.

The current version of FSD requires driver supervision and is not yet fully autonomous.

Brand establishment before scaling

Despite lobbying for reduced duties for several years, Tesla chose to test the Indian market through imported units rather than wait for a complete manufacturing ecosystem to fall in place.

While the current approach is volume-light, it gives Tesla visibility in a growing market.

Industry analysts believe Tesla’s entry into India is more about establishing its presence than chasing immediate scale.

“It’s not meaningful from a volume standpoint yet,” Bloomberg quoted Jay Kale, an analyst at Elara Securities based in Mumbai, as saying.

“But it plants the brand. Over time, as charging infrastructure improves and the lineup expands, Tesla could scale.”

As India continues to develop its EV charging infrastructure and incentivizes domestic production, Tesla may consider a factory at a later stage.

For now, the company appears focused on evaluating brand acceptance, infrastructure readiness, and regulatory clarity.

Testing Indian waters amid global pressures

Tesla’s India entry also comes at a time when the company is navigating significant headwinds in its top markets — the US and China.

In the first quarter of 2025, Tesla reported revenue of $19.34 billion, missing analyst expectations of $21.11 billion.

The company’s gross margin fell to 16.3%, compared to 17.4% a year earlier.

In China, Tesla’s once-dominant EV market share has slipped due to fierce competition from local players.

In the first five months of 2025, Tesla accounted for just 7.6% of China’s EV sales, down from 10% in 2024 and a peak of 15% in 2020.

Domestic brands such as BYD and Xiaomi have steadily gained ground with feature-rich and more affordable alternatives.

Global competition from BYD is also eating into Tesla’s overall market share. With its dominance under threat, India represents a potentially important, albeit long-term, growth frontier.

Government tweaks EV policy to attract Tesla

India’s government responded to Tesla’s concerns last year by unveiling a new EV policy aimed at attracting global manufacturers.

The scheme allows approved companies to import up to 8,000 completely built electric vehicles per year at a reduced Customs duty of 15%—down from 70%—if they commit to investing at least ₹4,150 crore (roughly $500 million) in setting up local manufacturing.

To be eligible, companies must have global revenues of ₹10,000 crore or more and fixed assets worth at least ₹3,000 crore.

Although Tesla has yet to officially commit to building a plant in India, this policy has been widely viewed as a direct effort to lure the company.

The post Tesla’s $69,770 Model Y enters India: a premium EV bet to drive global sales? appeared first on Invezz

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Gold Price Update: Q2 2025 in Review

9 Mins Read

After soaring to all-time highs during the first quarter of 2025, how could gold follow up during Q2?

By setting new price records, of course.

Tariff threats, financial uncertainty and geopolitical tensions all fueled the yellow metal’s price rise during the second quarter of the year, which saw gold reach the US$3,500 per ounce mark for the first time.

While central banks continued to make gold purchases during the period, so too did retail investors, who shied away from US treasuries in favor of a more tangible safe-haven asset class.

What happened to the gold price in Q2?

Gold had an impressive run during the first quarter of the year, steadily rising from US$2,658.04 on January 2 to US$3,138.24 on April 2, leaving investors to wonder how much more gas was available for Q2.

Gold price, April 1 to July 10, 2025.

Chart via Trading Economics.

The price of gold started the second quarter on a downswing, falling below the US$3,000 mark by April 8, but quickly found momentum and soared to its quarterly high of US$3,434.40 on April 21.

It broke through the US$3,500 threshold briefly during the day’s trading session.

However, the gains were temporary, and gold once again fell; by May 1, it had dropped to US$3,237.30.

The metal saw a slight rebound to US$3,400.70 before the May meeting of the US Federal Reserve, but it came under pressure after that and had fallen to US$3,185 by May 14.

The end of May saw more tailwinds for the gold price, pushing it first to US$3,358 by May 23, then to US$3,381.70 by June 2. By the middle of the month, it was back to trading above US$3,400. Since that time, the precious metal has remained mainly above the US$3,300 level, closing the quarter at US$3,303.30 on June 30.

Tariff uncertainty helps boost gold price

The biggest story from the first quarter has carried over into the second quarter: tariffs.

Since the start of his second term in the Oval Office, US President Donald Trump has applied the threat of tariffs like a cudgel in trade talks with other countries. His long-held belief is that other nations, even longtime allies, are benefiting from trade with the US, while the US itself is facing detrimental effects.

During the first quarter of the year, the Trump administration levied tariff threats against Canada and Mexico. While most of his promised import fees were dialed back at the eleventh hour, a 25 percent tax was still applied to imports of Canadian steel and aluminum, as well as non-CUSMA-compliant automobiles and parts.

On April 2, Trump announced a broader set of tariffs on nearly every country in the world, regardless of trade status with the US. Dubbed “Liberation Day” by Trump, the executive order applied a baseline 10 percent fee to all imports from most countries to the US, plus significant reciprocal measures against countries with the largest trade deficits.

The new measures, set to be implemented on April 9, created panic among investors, causing a global market meltdown. Fear also spread to US debt holders, such as Japan and Canada, which began to sell US treasuries, pushing up the 10 year bond yield. Spooked investors rapidly flocked to gold, pushing the price to record highs above US$3,400.

“The bond market understands that Washington is so broken and the debt situation is so bad,’ he explained. ‘It varies in degrees compared to other countries, but everybody’s in the same boat. That’s why gold all of a sudden … gold is the safe haven now, even more than treasuries. And I don’t think a lot of people every thought they’d see that again.’

Ultimately, the stock market turmoil and the shift in bond market sentiment brought about a quick reversal from Trump, who paused his tariff plans for 90 days. Although the gold price showed signs of easing as market participants calmed, the metal remained high through the end of the quarter as uncertainty remained near the surface.

The pause was set to expire on July 9, but the White House announced a last-minute extension delaying the implementation of the tariffs on all but 14 countries, including Japan, South Korea and South Africa.

However, there are still underlying concerns.

The US-China trade war, which raged through much of the first half of the year, was put on hold on May 12 after tariffs between the two largest economies reached their peak, adding headwinds to the gold price. Up to that point, the US had levied a 145 percent import tax on Chinese goods while China had applied a 125 percent tax on US imports.

Although tensions have stabilized since the pause, on July 7, China warned the US against reigniting conflicts. China also said it would retaliate against any country that makes deals with the US to China’s detriment.

Geopolitical tensions erupt in the Middle East

Financial uncertainty was a key driver of the gold price through the second quarter as investors sought to diversify their portfolios amid a chaotic investment landscape, but it wasn’t the only factor.

Geopolitical tensions also played a significant role, particularly in the Middle East.

With the Israel-Gaza conflict now past 18 months, the larger fear was that it would spill into a broader regional war.

Those fears were stoked in late May, when there was speculation that Israel was preparing to attack nuclear facilities in Iran. The news helped pull gold out of monthly lows as more investors sought the safety of the metal.

Ultimately, the speculation was true — on June 12, Israel launched attacks against key nuclear sites in Iran, causing Iran to launch counterattacks against targets in Israel and providing further tailwinds for the gold price.

What’s driving demand for gold?

Other support for the gold price came from continued purchases from central banks.

According to World Gold Council data, central banks bought 244 metric tons of gold in Q1. The amount was 24 percent higher than the five year quarterly average, but 9 percent lower than the average from the last three years.

The largest first quarter gold buyers were the National Bank of Poland, which added 49 metric tons of the metal to its holdings, increasing its total to 497 metric tons. This was followed by the People’s Bank of China, which purchased 13 metric tons, bringing its reported gold reserves to 2,292 metric tons

In another report, the World Gold Council indicates that despite high prices, central banks continued to buy gold in May, albeit at a slightly reduced pace, with a net 20 metric tons entering their reserves.

But it’s not just central banks that are picking up gold.

“In the past, there has been relatively little involvement, even to now, from western retail investors in this move. This has been overwhelmingly led by central banks and large funds,” Temple said.

However, he noted a shift in buying on the back of wider interest, pointing to gold’s popularity at Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST), although he noted, ‘So far, this hasn’t moved the needle significantly.’

Temple added, “Traditionally the big needle mover when you’ve got these larger swings in markets and market sentiment has come from investors who are buying exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and buying the larger gold stocks, and then ultimately working their way down the food chain and buying the better exploration stories. We finally started in recent months to see some of that where it’s deserved. There have been some really nice moves.’

This idea is echoed in the World Gold Council’s June ETF report, which indicates that ETF flows ended the first half of 2025 with the highest semiannual inflows since the first half of 2020.

The North American movement led the way, with more than US$4.8 billion entering the market in June, bringing the total for the first half of the year to US$21 billion. This was followed by US$2 billion in inflows in Europe, with its first half total reaching US$6 billion. Asian markets added US$610 million with a first-half record of US$11 billion.

Gold price forecast for 2025

The expectation is that the factors that drove the gold price in H1 are unlikely to go away soon.

Trump continues to kick the tariff question down the road. And although a ceasefire has been called between Israel and Iran, tensions in the region are still high. The conflict between Russia and Ukraine is ongoing, with Russia escalating attacks at the start of July, to the point of invoking Trump’s ire.

“We were thinking that by the time you got into June, July, August, not only would you have some seasonal weakness, but you’d also have a situation where financial markets might have calmed down and taken a less pessimistic outlook to the economy, simply because the initial shock of Trump policies was in there and had been digested. What we’re seeing is a prolongation of that shock period.’

Financial uncertainty and conflicts were a theme echoed by Kandoshko.

She pointed to the July 9 — now August 1 — deadline for tariffs as a potential inflection point.

“This could spark another rally in gold prices if trade tensions escalate. I have a feeling that the existing tariffs will gradually push prices up, which might lead the Fed to hold off on cutting rates. In the grand scheme of things, higher inflation is likely to boost gold demand, especially from central banks,” Kandoshko said.

She also believes a weak US dollar will likely be a boon for gold, making it more attractive to overseas buyers.

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

This post appeared first on investingnews.com

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Hawley urges DHS Secretary Noem to declassify all Trump Butler rally assassination attempt documents

4 Mins Read

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., is urging Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem to declassify all documents related to the assassination attempt on then-presidential candidate Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024.

Hawley’s request comes a year after 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks fired off several shots at Trump from a rooftop near the presidential rally grounds. The gunman had a clear shot and grazed the president’s ear.

Even after a year, though, questions still remain about how Crooks was able to get a clear shot.

In his letter to Noem, Hawley mentions the one-year anniversary of the first assassination attempt on Trump.

‘This occasion marks a deeply troubling chapter in our nation’s history and serves as a reminder of the importance of transparency in preserving public trust during moments of national crisis,’ he wrote. ‘To that end, I urge you to take the necessary steps to declassify all documents within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) related to the events of July 13, 2024.

‘As you know, assassination attempts against current and former presidents are rare but profoundly consequential events in American life,’ Hawley continued. ‘And the American people rightly expect full transparency from their government.’

The senator pointed to investigation stonewalling tactics from the Biden administration’s Secret Service and DHS, which he said ultimately denied basic facts to the American people.

‘The public learned far more from whistleblowers than they did from public officials, and I released a report documenting these disclosures, many of which have been corroborated to date,’ Hawley wrote. ‘In October of last year, in a unanimous vote, the Homeland Security Committee passed my legislation requiring the Secret Service release to the public all pertinent documents.

‘Now, I am requesting that you immediately declassify and release all documents relating to the first assassination attempt on President Trump within the full extent of your authority, subject only to the narrowest possible redactions necessary to protect ongoing operations or individual safety,’ he said. ‘The public deserves a full and accurate account of this event, the circumstances that allowed it to happen, and the steps the government has taken since to strengthen protective measures.’

Hawley requested a complete inventory of all classified or non-public materials related to the first assassination attempt on Trump, including reports, internal communications, threat assessments, after-action reviews and coordinated records with other agencies.

He also requested a formal explanation for the continued classification of materials Noem believes must remain restricted, as well as a proposed plan and timeline for the immediate declassification and public release of all remaining documents, all by July 30, 2025.

Fox News Digital has reached out to DHS for comment on the matter.

Hawley released a report in September, detailing the failures of the Secret Service in connection with the attempted assassination of Trump in July, which included whistleblower allegations that are ‘highly damaging to the credibility’ of the agency.

The report uncovered a ‘compounding pattern of negligence, sloppiness, and gross incompetence that goes back years, all of which culminated in an assassination attempt that came inches from succeeding.’

Hawley accused the Secret Service, FBI and DHS of all trying ‘to evade real accountability.’

‘These agencies and their leaders have slow-walked congressional investigations, misled the American people, and shirked responsibility,’ the report states. 

After the first of two assassination attempts against Trump in just over two months, Hawley visited the Butler rally site to interview whistleblowers and opened up a whistleblower tip line, encouraging those with relevant information to share with officials. 

Documents subpoenaed by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs also show major failures among the six U.S. Secret Service (USSS) agents who were suspended without pay in response to the assassination attempt.

The documents were based on interviews with the agents and their colleagues and revealed that several agents admitted the existence of major security concerns at the Butler rally, but none of them elevated the concerns or helped produce a plan to properly cover the roof that provided Crooks a clear shot of Trump.

The documents show that some agents in charge never even conducted walk-throughs of the site. For example, the lead advance agent, documents show, never did a final security walk-through of the rally site because she was in the hospital for heat exhaustion, the special agent in charge said when questioned.

Some of the agents were suspended without pay for various terms, though none of the agents were fired.

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

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China’s exports surge amid waning frontloading demand

3 Mins Read

In June, China’s exports saw a renewed surge, and imports also recovered. 

The surge was largely due to companies expediting shipments to leverage a temporary tariff agreement between Beijing and Washington, anticipating an upcoming August deadline, according to a Reuters report.

Businesses globally are anticipating the outcome of negotiations between the world’s two largest economies. 

The key question is whether a lasting agreement will be reached, or if the global supply chains face disruption once more due to the potential re-imposition of duties exceeding 100%.

Trade tensions intensify as China’s exports surge

China’s outbound shipments saw a 5.8% year-on-year increase in June, according to customs data released on Monday.

This figure surpassed economists’ predictions of a 5.0% rise in a Reuters poll and also exceeded May’s growth of 4.8%.

Imports rebounded 1.1%, following a 3.4% decline in May. Economists had predicted a 1.3% rise.

“There are some signs that frontloading demand is beginning to wane gradually,” Chim Lee, senior analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit was quoted in the Reuters report. 

Global supply chain concerns

Lee added:

While frontloading ahead of the August tariff pause deadline is likely to continue, freight rates for China-bound shipments to the U.S. have started to decline.

He added export controls between the US and China have eased substantially, bringing trade conditions broadly back to mid-April levels.

In June, trade relations between the US and China seemingly stabilised. 

This followed an agreement to revive a delicate truce established during May talks in Geneva.

Prior to these talks, the agreement had been jeopardized by a series of export controls that disrupted global supply chains in critical industries.

China’s customs data indicates a significant increase in rare earth exports, rising 32% in June compared to the previous month. 

This surge suggests that agreements reached last month to facilitate the flow of these metals may be proving effective.

Difficulties for Chinese manufacturers

Analysts caution that Beijing could face indirect harm from the expanding US global trade offensive.

Trump’s new tariffs on other trade partners may impact China, particularly through pressure on third countries extensively used for transhipments of Chinese goods.

Trump recently introduced a 40% tariff on US-bound transhipments via Vietnam. This action could potentially hinder Chinese manufacturers who are attempting to reroute shipments to evade increased duties.

The US President has proposed a 10% tariff on imports from BRICS nations, a move that significantly impacts China as a founding member of the bloc. 

This potential economic measure exacerbates existing trade tensions and introduces new uncertainties for Beijing’s export-oriented economy. 

The imposition of such a tariff could lead to increased costs for Chinese goods entering the US market, potentially dampening demand and disrupting established supply chains.

The White House and China have until August 12 to finalise a lasting agreement.

Compounding these challenges, tensions with the European Union have also intensified. 

The EU has accused China of flooding the global market with excess capacity and enabling Russia’s war economy, an accusation made ahead of a key summit later this month.

China’s trade surplus increased to $114.7 billion in June, up from $103.22 billion in May.

The post China’s exports surge amid waning frontloading demand appeared first on Invezz

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Rare Earths Firm MP Materials to Get US$400 Million Defense Department Investment

3 Mins Read

The US Department of Defense (DoD) will become the largest shareholder in MP Materials (NYSE:MP) after agreeing to purchase US$400 million worth of preferred stock in the company.

MP Materials is known for owning and operating the only US rare earths mine.

The rare earths producer said the proceeds from the investment will fund the expansion of its processing capabilities at the Mountain Pass mine in California and support the construction of a second magnet manufacturing facility in the US.

The materials mined and processed by MP Materials are critical to the production of permanent magnets used in military systems, including the F-35 fighter jet, drones, and submarines.

The US has depended heavily on foreign imports for these materials — primarily from China, which accounted for about 70 percent of rare earth imports in 2023, according to the US Geological Survey.

In a press release issued on Thursday (July 10), MP Materials described the agreement as a ‘transformational public-private partnership.’ The company also said the deal will ‘dramatically accelerate the build-out of an end-to-end US rare earth magnet supply chain and reduce foreign dependency.’

The investment gives the Pentagon newly created preferred stock convertible into common shares, along with a 10-year warrant to buy additional stock at US$30.03 per share. If fully converted and exercised, the DoD would own 15 percent of MP Materials, based on current share counts as of Wednesday (July 9). That would exceed the 8.61 percent stake held by CEO James Litinsky and the 8.27 percent stake held by BlackRock Fund Advisors.

Litinsky emphasized that the deal does not equate to government control of the company. “This is not a nationalization,” he told CNBC. “We remain a thriving public company. We now have a great new partner in our economically largest shareholder, DoD, but we still control our company. We control our destiny. We’re shareholder driven.”

MP’s new magnet facility, called 10X, will increase the company’s magnet manufacturing capacity to 10,000 metric tons annually once it begins commissioning in 2028. The exact location of the facility has not yet been disclosed.

The Pentagon has committed to purchasing 100 percent of the magnets produced at the 10X facility for 10 years.

Additionally, the DoD will guarantee a minimum price of US$110 per kilogram for MP’s neodymium-praseodymium oxide, a key material for magnet production.

If market prices fall below that level, the Pentagon will pay the difference quarterly. In return, once the new facility is operational, the government will receive 30 percent of any upside above US$110 per kilogram.

To further support the buildout, MP Materials expects to receive a US$150 million loan from the Pentagon within 30 days to expand its heavy rare earth separation capabilities at Mountain Pass, the only active rare earth mine in the US.

It is also commissioning a magnetics facility in Texas, known as Independence, to bolster its downstream processing capabilities.

As the only domestic miner with vertically integrated capabilities and a clear path to rare earth magnet production at scale, MP Materials now sits at the center of the Biden-to-Trump era effort to bring critical minerals supply chains back to American soil.

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

This post appeared first on investingnews.com

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Trump’s tariffs on Brazil could make your coffee even more expensive

5 Mins Read

President Donald Trump’s proposed 50% tariff on Brazilian imports is bad news for coffee drinkers.

Brazil, the largest U.S. supplier of green coffee beans, accounts for about a third of the country’s total supply, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Coffee beans need to grow in a warm, tropical climate, making Hawaii and Puerto Rico the only suitable places in the United States to farm the crop. But, as the world’s top consumer of coffee, the U.S. requires a massive supply to stay caffeinated. Mintel estimates that the U.S. coffee market reached $19.75 billion last year.

The increase in trade duties could leave consumers with even higher costs after several years of soaring coffee prices. Inflation-weary consumers have seen prices for lattes and cold brew climb as droughts and frost hit the global coffee supply, particularly in Brazil. Earlier this year, coffee bean futures hit all-time highs. They rose 1% on Thursday, although still well below the record set in February.

To be sure, there’s still time for Brazil to strike a deal with the White House before the tariffs go into effect on Aug. 1. Plus, food and beverage makers are hoping that the Trump administration will grant exemptions for key commodities. U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said in an interview in late June that the White House is considering exemptions for produce that can’t be grown in the U.S. — including coffee.

But if that doesn’t happen, coffee companies like Folgers owner J.M. Smucker, Keurig Dr Pepper, Starbucks and Dutch Bros will face much higher costs for the commodity. Giuseppe Lavazza, chair of Italian roaster Lavazza, said on Bloomberg TV on Thursday morning that the latest tariff could mean “a lot of inflation” for the coffee industry.

Roasters will try to mitigate the impact of the higher tariff, but it won’t be easy.

“Every company is always trying to eke out the next efficiency, to dial into their operations or find the way to minimize inflationary pressures, but a 50% tariff on a commodity that fundamentally is not available in the U.S. — you can’t really do much with that,” Tom Madrecki, vice president of supply chain and logistics for the Consumer Brands Association, a trade group that represents the consumer packaged goods industry.

One mitigation tactic could be to import beans from countries other than Brazil, but companies will likely still be paying more for the commodity.

“A characteristic of tariffs, especially when you have tariffs on multiple countries at once, is that not just the inbound cost rises. It allows the pricing floor to also rise,” Madrecki said. “If you have cheaper coffee in a country different than Brazil, you’re not inclined to sell it at a 30% lower cost. You’re going to try to bump your coffee up a bit more, too.”

At-home coffee brands, like JM Smucker’s Dunkin’ and Kraft Heinz’s Maxwell House, have already been hiking their prices this year in response to spiking commodity costs. More price increases could be on the way for consumers, although retailers may push back.

Keurig Dr Pepper would consider additional price hikes in the latter half of the year to mitigate the impact of tariffs, CEO Tim Cofer said in late April, after Trump introduced his initial round of so-called reciprocal duties.

And Smuckers warned investors on its quarterly conference call in early June that tariffs on coffee were weighing on its profits. Coffee accounts for roughly a third of the company’s revenue.

“Green coffee is an unavailable natural resource that cannot be grown in the continental United States due to its reliance on a tropical climate,” Smuckers CEO Mark Smucker said. “We currently purchase approximately 500 million pounds of green coffee annually, with the majority coming from Brazil and Vietnam, the two largest coffee-producing countries.”

Vietnam, which announced a tentative trade deal with the White House earlier this month, supplies about 8% of the U.S.’s green coffee beans. Under the agreement, the U.S. will impose a 20% duty on Vietnamese imports.

Consumers who prefer a caramel macchiato from Starbucks for their caffeine hit will likely see a more muted impact on their wallets.

After several quarters of sluggish U.S. sales, Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol said in late 2024 that the company wouldn’t raise prices in 2025, in the hopes of winning back customers who had complained about how expensive its drinks had gotten. While it waits for its turnaround to take hold, Starbucks might choose to swallow the higher coffee costs.

The coffee giant also benefits from its diversity — both in suppliers and the breadth of its menu, which now includes the popular Refreshers line. Starbucks imports its coffee from 30 different countries, and roughly 10% of its cost of goods sold in North America comes from coffee.

The new trade duty could mean a 0.5% increase in Starbucks’ North American cost of goods sold, assuming about 22% of its beans come from Brazil, TD Cowen analyst Andrew Charles wrote in a note to clients on Thursday. Starbucks’ packaged drinks, which are distributed by Nestle, could see their cost of goods sold increase 3.5%. Altogether, that represents a 5-cent drag on annual earnings per share, according to Charles.

For rival Dutch Bros, higher coffee costs also wouldn’t hurt its bottom line much. Coffee accounts for less than a tenth of the drive-thru coffee chain’s cost of goods sold. Assuming that Dutch Bros sources more than half of its coffee from Brazil, its cost of goods sold would rise just 1.3%, according to Charles’ estimates.

This post appeared first on NBC NEWS

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Biden defends controversial autopen use for mass clemency decisions in NYT interview: ‘A whole lot of people’

3 Mins Read

Former President Joe Biden defended his use of an autopen during a recent interview, shedding light on his administration’s rationale for the controversial use of the technology.

The interview with the New York Times was centered around his use of an autopen during the last pardons that he made during the end of his administration.

In his final weeks in office, Biden granted clemency and pardoned more than 1,500 individuals, in what the White House described at the time as the largest single-day act of clemency by a U.S. president.

Speaking to the Times on Thursday, Biden said that he ‘made every decision’ on his own.

‘We’re talking about [granting clemency to] a whole lot of people,’ the Democrat said.

However, the Times reported that Biden ‘did not individually approve each name for the categorical pardons that applied to large numbers of people,’ according to the former president and his aides.

‘Rather, after extensive discussion of different possible criteria, [Biden] signed off on the standards he wanted to be used to determine which convicts would qualify for a reduction in sentence,’ the Times’s report read.

Instead of repeatedly asking the president to resign updated versions of official documents, his staff used an autopen to put Biden’s signature on the final version.

Biden’s comments came as Republicans attacked him for his autopen use on a massive number of official documents.

In June, President Donald Trump sent a memo to the Department of Justice directing Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate the autopen use, and to determine whether it was related to a decline in Biden’s mental state.

‘In recent months, it has become increasingly apparent that former President Biden’s aides abused the power of Presidential signatures through the use of an autopen to conceal Biden’s cognitive decline and assert Article II authority,’ Trump wrote. 

‘This conspiracy marks one of the most dangerous and concerning scandals in American history. The American public was purposefully shielded from discovering who wielded the executive power, all while Biden’s signature was deployed across thousands of documents to effect radical policy shifts.’

Also in June, Trump told reporters that he thought it was ‘inappropriate’ to use an autopen at all, though past presidents have used them.

‘Usually, when they put documents in front of you, they’re important,’ Trump said. ‘Even if you’re signing ambassadorships or – and I consider that important, I think it’s inappropriate.’

‘You have somebody that’s devoting four years of their life or more to being an ambassador. I think you really deserve that person deserves to get a real signature… not an autopen signature.’ 

Fox News Digital’s Breanne Deppisch contributed to this report.

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

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Wall Street braces for weakest earnings season since 2023 amid market highs

3 Mins Read

As the second-quarter earnings season kicks off, US equity markets are hovering near record highs, buoyed by optimism that many now hope will be validated by incoming corporate results.

Yet expectations for earnings are subdued. Analysts forecast a modest 2.5% year-on-year rise in S&P 500 profits for Q2, making it the weakest earnings season since mid-2023, according to Bloomberg.

Despite recent market strength, the broader outlook has dimmed.

Six of the S&P 500’s 11 sectors are expected to report profit declines.

The full-year growth forecast for the benchmark index has dropped to 7.1%, down from 9.4% in April.

Still, the lowered bar may work in the companies’ favor as the companies can beat the low expectations, said market experts.

Kevin Gordon, senior investment strategist at Charles Schwab, told Bloomberg that the emphasis will be on gross margins to understand the effect of gross margins.

The earnings season unofficially begins Tuesday, with key reports from JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, and BlackRock.

Other high-profile companies such as J.B. Hunt and Netflix are also set to release results in the coming week.

AI spending dominates big tech outlook

While macroeconomic uncertainty and trade concerns loom, US tech giants continue their aggressive push into artificial intelligence.

Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, and Alphabet are projected to spend approximately $337 billion in capital expenditures in fiscal 2026, up from $311 billion this year, according to Bloomberg.

These investments reflect confidence in AI’s long-term value.

In Q2, the “Magnificent Seven” — Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Nvidia, Meta, and Tesla — are expected to post a combined 14% rise in profits. In contrast, the rest of the S&P 500 is forecast to see a slight decline of 0.1%.

AI hyperscalers alone spent more than $80 billion in the first quarter of 2025 and are on track to hit $300 billion in collective spending over the next year, further cementing their role as growth engines.

Trade tensions and currency moves add complexity

Despite earlier fears, the impact of President Trump’s tariff policies has yet to fully show in corporate earnings.

According to Bloomberg, net income margins for the S&P 500 are likely to dip to their lowest level since early 2024, though this may be temporary.

Margins are projected to rebound in the coming quarters, assuming cost-cutting or AI efficiency gains materialize.

Across the Atlantic, European firms face more immediate challenges.

A Citigroup index shows consistent earnings downgrades since mid-March, with automakers and miners particularly affected.

A stronger euro — up 13% against the dollar this year — could further pressure export-driven firms.

Back in the U.S., the dollar’s decline is providing a quiet tailwind for multinational companies.

Down 10% year-to-date, the dollar has posted its worst first-half performance since 1973.

Morgan Stanley’s David Adams said the weak currency should support earnings, especially for large-cap firms with significant foreign exposure.

As Lisa Shalett of Morgan Stanley concluded, “It’s a good market for some but not all.”

In a low-correlation, stock-picker’s environment, identifying winners amid mixed earnings may be key to navigating the months ahead.

The post Wall Street braces for weakest earnings season since 2023 amid market highs appeared first on Invezz

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In World news

Top 5 Canadian Mining Stocks This Week: Avanti Gold Gains 158 Percent on Misisi Settlement

12 Mins Read

Statistics Canada released its June Labour Force Survey on Friday (July 11). The data indicated that 83,000 new jobs were added to the workforce, led by 34,000 new employees in the wholesale and retail trade category and a 17,000 worker rise in the healthcare and social assistance category.

In other positive news for the Canadian job market, the overall employment rate rose by 0.1 percent to 60.9 percent, while the unemployment rate declined by 0.1 percent to 6.9 percent.

The strong labour report came as a surprise to analysts who had been expecting employment rates to be flat month-over-month and the unemployment rate to increase to 7.1 percent. The June data signifies the first notable improvement in the job market since January and breaks a three-month rising trend in the unemployment rate.

Late on Thursday (June 10), US President Donald Trump threatened Canada with a 35 percent tariff on all exports starting on August 1. In his letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney, Trump said that Canada had imposed unfair trade practices, citing a 400 percent tariff on dairy products.

However, Canada has a trade deficit with the US when it comes to dairy. Imports in 2024 reached a record C$877 million, while exports of Canadian dairy totaled just C$358 million. Canada imposes a tariff rate quota, which limits the amount of duty-free dairy products that can enter Canada. Tariffs are only applied once the quota is exceeded.

Trump also pointed to continued flows of fentanyl into the US, saying, “If Canada works with me to stop the flow of fentanyl, we will, perhaps, consider an adjustment to this letter.”

The president has used fentanyl as a reason for imposing tariffs against Canada since the start of his term, although the Canadian government is already taking action to secure the border further and the flow of the drug through the northern border remains a fraction of what it is at the southern border.

So far in the 2025 fiscal year, which started in October 2024, there have been 58 pounds of fentanyl seized at the Canada-US border. While the quantity of drugs seized coming from Canada has increased from 43 pounds the prior year, the number of events recorded has fallen to 38 from 67 in fiscal year 2024.

In December 2024, Canada announced C$1.3 billion in additional funding for increased security at the border, which included new and expanded detection capacity for illegal drugs. Between February and March, the Canada Border Services Agency conducted a one month drug-seizure operation focused on air, land and sea shipments named Operation Blizzard.

In May, the agency reported it seized 1.73 kilograms of fentanyl during the operation, 1.44 kilograms of which were en route to the United States. Additionally, 67.5 percent of the 2,600 seizures related to any drug ‘were of illegal narcotics coming to Canada from the United States,’ with only 17.5 percent going in the other direction.

Trump also announced on Tuesday (July 8) a 50 percent tariff on copper imports into the United States. The levies were imposed under section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act, which is designed to give the president the power to levy tariffs on imports deemed to be critical to national security.

According to the United States Geological Survey, Canada is the second largest exporter of refined copper to the United States behind Chile and top exporter of copper ore to the country.

The effects of the tariffs may take some time to work into the market. Still, British Columbia and Ontario will feel the impact as the two largest copper-producing provinces.

The copper price skyrocketed on the news to a fresh all-time high of US$5.72 per pound on the COMEX.

Markets and commodities react

In Canada, equity markets were mixed this week. While the S&P/TSX Composite Index (INDEXTSI:OSPTX) fell 0.04 percent to close at 27,023.25 on Friday (July 11), the S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index (INDEXTSI:JX) fared better, gaining 4.01 percent to 784.42, and the CSE Composite Index (CSE:CSECOMP) climbed 6.53 percent to 129.79.

US equity markets ended the week largely flat overall, with the S&P 500 (INDEXSP:INX) gaining just 0.21 percent to close Thursday at 6,259.74, the Nasdaq 100 (INDEXNASDAQ:NDX) climbing 0.13 percent to 22,780.60 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) falling 0.44 percent to 44,371.52.

In precious metals, the gold price rose 0.56 percent over the week to US$3,356.14 by Friday at 4 p.m. EDT. The silver price reached US$38.53, its highest price since 2011, near the end of trading Friday, before pulling back slightly to end the week up 3.38 percent at US$38.41.

In base metals, copper pulled back slightly from its fresh all-time high mentioned above, but still ended the week with a 10.24 percent gain to US$5.58. The S&P GSCI (INDEXSP:SPGSCI) lost 0.98 percent to close at 551.38.

Top Canadian mining stocks this week

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 4 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. Mineral companies within the non-energy minerals, energy minerals, process industry and producer manufacturing sectors were considered.

1. Avanti Gold (CSE:AGC)

Weekly gain: 158.33 percent
Market cap: C$10.92 million
Share price: C$0.155

Avanti Gold is an exploration and development company working to advance its flagship Misisi gold project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

The project consists of three mining licenses covering an area of 133 square kilometres in the Kibara gold belt and is a 73.5/21.5 joint venture between Avanti and Chinese mining company MMG (HKEX:1208), with the DRC government retaining a 5 percent interest.

An August 2023 technical report demonstrated an inferred mineral resource estimate of 3.11 million ounces of contained gold from 40.8 million metric tons of ore with an average grade of 2.37 g/t.

Shares in Avanti rose this week after the company announced on Thursday that it settled the payment dispute between itself, Arc Minerals (LSE:ARCM) and Regency Mining, which Avanti acquired in December 2022.

Prior to its acquisition by Avanti, in April 2022 then-private company Regency agreed to purchase Arc subsidiary Casa Mining, owner of the 73.5 percent interest in the Misisi project. Under the terms of the original deal, Regency agreed to pay Arc in part with US$1.25 million in shares of a public company, which was never fulfilled.

The new settlement agreement will enable Avanti to reduce the amount it owes if it pays within certain timeframes: US$562,500 if it pays Arc by August 31, or US$625,000 by October 31 or US$750,000 by December 31. If the payment is not completed this year, the amount owed will revert to the original US$1.25 million and be due on January 1, 2026.

2. Silver Mountain Resources (TSXV:AGMR)

Weekly gain: 139.68 percent
Market cap: C$27.87 million
Share price: C$1.51

Silver Mountain Resources is an exploration and development company working to restart production at the Reliquias underground mine in Central Peru.

The mine is part of the larger Castrovirreyna project, which consists of three blocks of mineral concessions. The main Reliquias block consists of 245 concessions covering an area of 24,093 hectares. The site also hosts a 2,000 metric ton per day processing plant, with an operating tailings dam.

A May 2024 preliminary economic assessment demonstrated project viability with an after-tax net present value of C$85 million, an internal rate of return of 51 percent and a payback period of 1.8 years.

The included mineral resource estimate showed measured and indicated grades of 4.25 ounces per metric ton silver, 0.41 grams per metric ton (g/t) gold, 2.02 percent lead, 3.09 percent zinc and 0.32 percent copper from 1.31 million metric tons of ore.

Shares in Silver Mountain gained significantly this week after it announced on Tuesday (July 8) that it was finalizing an agreement with global commodities supplier Trafigura for a US$10 million prepayment facility to advance work at Reliquias.

The company said it would provide further details once definitive documentation is completed.

3. Altima Energy (TSXV:ARH)

Weekly gain: 100 percent
Market cap: C$23.99 million
Share price: C$0.49

Altima Energy is a light oil and natural gas exploration and development company with operations in Alberta, Canada.

Its primary asset is the Richdale property in Central Alberta. The property consists of five producing light oil wells and sits on 5,920 acres of long-term reserves. The property hosts combined proved and probable reserves of just under 2 billion barrels of oil equivalent, with a pre-tax net present value of C$25.8 million.

The company also owns two wells at its Twinning light oil site near Nisku, seven producing wells at its Red Earth property in Northern Alberta and two multi-zone wells at its Chambers Ferrier liquid gas production property.

Shares in Altima gained this week after it released news on Tuesday that it had completed a private placement for proceeds of up to C$5.5 million. Under the terms of the deal, the company will issue 20 million units at C$0.275 per unit, which each include one common share and one warrant allowing the holder to purchase a common share for C$0.40.

The company said that part of the proceeds would be used to complete field upgrades at its Red Earth and Richdale properties.

4. McFarlane Lake Mining (CSE:MLM)

Weekly gain: 83.33 percent
Market cap: C$14.88 million
Share price: C$0.055

McFarlane Lake Mining is a gold exploration company working to advance a portfolio of properties in Southern Ontario, Canada, with options agreements in place to earn 100 percent interests in the projects.

Its primary focus has been on its McMillan property southwest of Sudbury. The site consists of 12 mining leases over 268 hectares and hosted historic mining in the 1930s.

McFarlane Lake explored the property throughout the first half of 2025. On July 3, the company shared assay results from the final drill hole of its drill program at the project. The drill hole intersected a broad interval of 1.3 g/t gold over 29.5 meters, which included intersections of 6.6 g/t gold over 4.55 meters and 20.1 g/t over 1.45 meters.

In the same announcement, the company reported that a downhole electromagnetic survey of the drill hole located an electromagnetic ‘superconductor’ nearby.

Shares in McFarlane were up this week after it was announced on Monday (July 7) that it would be acquiring the Juby Gold project from Aris Mining (TSX:ARIS) for a total consideration of US$22 million, including US$10 million in cash.

The transaction includes Aris’ 100 percent stake in Juby and its 25 percent stake in the adjacent Knight property, in which Orecap Invest holds the other 75 percent interest.

In a follow-up release on Tuesday, the company said the property is one of Ontario’s largest undeveloped gold properties and highlighted a historical indicated mineral resource of 775,000 ounces of gold from 21.31 million metric tons of ore with an average grade of 1.13 g/t gold, plus an inferred resource of 1.49 million ounces of contained gold from ore grading 0.98 g/t.

5. World Copper (TSXV:WCU)

Weekly gain: 75 percent
Market cap: C$14.63 million
Share price: C$0.07

World Copper is an exploration and development company focused on its Zonia copper project in Central Arizona, US. It also owns the Escalones copper project in Chile.

The Zonia property, acquired following a merger with Cardero Resources in January 2022, has seen extensive exploration dating back 100 years and hosted open-pit mining operations until 1975.

In November 2024, the company released an amended resource estimate for the project, showing a total indicated resource of 668 million pounds of contained copper from 112.2 million short tons of ore with an average grade of 0.297 percent, and an inferred resource of 320 million pounds from 62.9 million short tons of ore with an average grade of 0.255 percent.

On February 19, World Copper reported it had entered into a binding agreement to sell Zonia to an arm’s length third party for cash considerations of C$26 million. However, on May 6, World Copper announced that it terminated the agreement.

The company has not released news since. Shares gained this week against a backdrop of US copper tariffs and a surging copper price.

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.

This post appeared first on investingnews.com

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In Politics

Bondi says all charges against doctor who allegedly destroyed COVID vaccines have been dropped

4 Mins Read

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Saturday that charges against a doctor accused of destroying COVID-19 vaccines and giving children fake shots at their parents’ request have been dropped. 

‘At my direction @TheJusticeDept has dismissed charges against Dr. Kirk Moore,’ Bondi wrote on X. ‘Dr. Moore gave his patients a choice when the federal government refused to do so. He did not deserve the years in prison he was facing. It ends today.’ 

Moore, whose trial got underway Monday, was facing decades in prison for allegedly destroying more than $28,000 in COVID-19 vaccines and fraudulently completing and distributing hundreds of vaccination record cards. 

The Utah-based plastic surgeon was indicted by a federal grand jury in January 2023. 

Prosecutors say Moore and his three co-defendants ran a scheme out of Plastic Surgery Institute of Utah Inc. to ‘defraud the United States and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).’ 

On Tuesday, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., said she was writing a letter to the Justice Department to urge it to drop charges against Moore. 

‘This man is a hero, not a criminal,’ she contended on X. ‘The charges were filed under Biden’s DOJ, not Trump.’

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. also praised Moore on X in April, writing, ‘Dr. Moore deserves a medal for his courage and his commitment to healing!’

Greene thanked Bondi on Saturday. 

‘Thank you AG Pam Bondi for dropping the WRONGFUL charges against Dr. Kirk Moore!’ she wrote on X. ‘We can never again allow our government to turn tyrannical under our watch. Thankfully, as soon as I told Pam Bondi about Dr. Moore’s case she swiftly moved to drop the charges against him. This is a big win!’

Bondi wrote that getting the charges against Moore dropped would not have been possible without Greene, ‘who brought this case to my attention. She has been a warrior for Dr. Moore and for ending the weaponization of government.’

Bondi’s actions come as some supporters of President Trump are calling for her resignation after the Justice Department and FBI on Sunday released a joint review that ended theories about an alleged Jeffrey Epstein client list, concluding there was no such list detailing the names of the world’s elite who allegedly took part in Epstein’s history as a sexual predator.

The DOJ also concluded the disgraced financier committed suicide in his New York City jail cell in 2019 while awaiting further sex trafficking charges. 

Public outrage ensued after the release of a prison surveillance video that the administration used to prove that no one entered Epstein’s cell in the hours leading up to his death.

The 10-hour video, though, has one minute missing, which has fueled conspiracy theories that the administration is participating in a cover-up involving Epstein’s death.

‘President Trump is proud of Attorney General Bondi’s efforts to execute his Make America Safe Again agenda, restore the integrity of the Department of Justice, and bring justice to victims of crime. The continued fixation on sowing division in President Trump’s Cabinet is baseless and unfounded in reality,’ White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt siad.

FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino is also considering resigning over the Justice Department’s handling of the Epstein files after a heated argument with Bondi this week, a source told Fox News Digital this week.

Bongino has not been seen in his office since Wednesday, a source said, adding he has yet to make a final decision about his future. 

Fox News’ Amanda Macias, David Spunt and Jake Gibson contributed to this report. 

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

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