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August 1, 2025

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Asian currencies reel as Trump’s new tariffs spark market jitters

4 Mins Read

Asian currencies dropped sharply on Friday, with South Korea’s won and Malaysia’s ringgit suffering the steepest declines, as US President Donald Trump announced sweeping new tariffs on imports from dozens of trading partners.

The move sparked a retreat from riskier regional assets, highlighting investor anxiety about the direction of global trade policy.

The South Korean won weakened 0.69% to 1,401.53 per dollar, its lowest level in more than two months, while the ringgit shed 0.5% to hit its weakest mark since late June.

Both currencies are poised for their worst weekly performance since early 2024.

Doubts over South Korea’s reform agenda

Currency pressure in South Korea was exacerbated by domestic concerns after the government proposed reversing recent tax cuts.

Investors took the move as a signal that Seoul may be retreating from its push to reduce the so-called “Korea Discount” — a chronic undervaluation of South Korean equities relative to peers due to governance and policy concerns.

The benchmark KOSPI index tumbled 3.5% on the day.

Elsewhere in Asia, the Taiwan dollar and Thai baht declined more than 0.3%, while the Philippine peso recovered from earlier six-month lows to end the session flat.

The MSCI emerging market currency index fell more than 1% this week, snapping a six-month rally that had extended into July.

Trump’s tariffs shake trade outlook

The sell-off came after Trump signed executive orders late Thursday imposing new import duties ranging from 10% to 41% using emergency powers. India faces 25% tariffs on key exports to the US, while Taiwan was hit with 20%.

Malaysia and Thailand were levied at 19%, and South Korea secured a reduced 15% rate after last-minute negotiations.

“Tariff rates settling at 15-20% for most of the region outside of China will hurt producers, narrow profit along the supply chain and curtail US demand,” said Alex Holmes, regional director for Asia Pacific at EIU, noting that core emerging market countries with stronger fundamentals are expected to prove more resilient than frontier economies.

The tariffs are the latest in a series of moves that have heightened tensions between the US and its Asian trading partners.

Analysts said that while many in the region had prepared for a protectionist pivot, the broad and aggressive nature of the tariffs adds a new layer of complexity.

Central banks and trade partners brace for fallout

The US dollar rose broadly on the back of the announcement, gaining 0.3% on Friday and pushing the dollar index up 2.5% for the week — its strongest weekly showing in two months.

Regional stock markets posted mixed reactions: while Malaysia’s Bursa and Indonesia’s Composite Index each rose over 1%, likely buoyed by optimism over existing U.S. agreements, the reaction elsewhere was more muted.

Central bank responses are now in focus.

While the Monetary Authority of Singapore and Bank of Japan kept policy unchanged, India’s central bank meets next week, and Thailand’s decision is due shortly.

Analysts at Barclays expect the Reserve Bank of India to pause dovishly before moving toward rate cuts in October.

“A number of emerging market central banks appear to be shifting toward a more accommodative stance,” with India expected to deliver “a dovish pause” before likely cutting rates in October, Barclays analysts said.

Lorraine Tan of Morningstar said the revised tariff schedule was largely in line with expectations and would not significantly impact regional markets.

However, she and her colleagues noted that the delay in a final US-China trade deal, despite multiple negotiation rounds, raises questions about underlying progress.

“We think the new 90-day extension between China and US may be viewed as headwind by investors given that a framework seemed to be already in place for the last 3 months amid multiple rounds of negotiations,” Morningstar’s Asia equity market strategist Kai Wang said in the same Friday note.

“The extension is signaling that there may be some snags in talks which have the potential to fall apart entirely given that Trump is still indirectly targeting China through transshipping and other loopholes,” Wang said, adding that the performance of the Hang Seng Index and the CSI 300 index in the last two days largely supported this thesis.

The post Asian currencies reel as Trump’s new tariffs spark market jitters appeared first on Invezz

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In World news

Top 5 Canadian Nickel Stocks of 2025

11 Mins Read

Nickel prices have experienced much volatility in the past few years due to uncertainty on both the demand and supply sides.

This trend has continued into 2025, and is expected to remain for the year. While this environment has been tough, some nickel stocks are still thriving amid the ongoing uncertainty.

Supply is expected to outflank demand over the short term, but the longer-term outlook for the metal is strong. Demand from the electric vehicle (EV) industry is one reason nickel’s outlook looks bright further into the future.

Battery nickel demand is poised to triple by 2030, according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence.

“Mid and high level performance EVs will be the primary driver of battery nickel demand growth in the coming years, particularly in Western markets,” said Jorge Uzcategui, senior nickel analyst at the firm. “There will be growth in China, but it won’t be as pronounced as in ex-China markets.”

As for Canada, nickel is listed as a top priority in the government’s Critical Minerals Strategy. The country is the world’s fourth largest producer of nickel, with much of its production coming from mines in Ontario’s Sudbury Basin, including Vale’s (NYSE:VALE) Sudbury operation and Glencore’s (LSE:GLEN,OTC Pink:GLCNF) Sudbury Integrated Nickel Operations.

Many Canadian-listed resource companies also have important projects in the United States. While the US is only the 9th largest nickel producing country, the metal is listed on the nation’s Critical Minerals List and the government is keen on increasing its domestic production of nickel even if it means funding projects operated by Canadian nickel companies.

Against that backdrop, how have Canadian nickel stocks performed in 2025? Below are the top nickel stocks in Canada on the TSX, TSXV and CSE by share price performance so far this year.

All year-to-date and share price data was obtained on July 21, 2025, using TradingView’s stock screener. Canadian nickel stocks with market caps above C$10 million at that time were considered.

1. Talon Metals (TSX:TLO)

Year-to-date gain: 205.88 percent
Market cap: C$239.45 million
Share price: C$0.26

Talon Metals is focused on developing high-grade nickel resources for the US domestic battery supply chain. The company has partnered with mining giant Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO,NYSE:RIO,LSE:RIO) on the Tamarack nickel-copper project located in Minnesota, US. Talon has an earn-in right to acquire up to 60 percent of Tamarack and currently owns 51 percent.

An environmental review process is underway for the proposed Tamarack underground mine. The company plans to process ore from the mine at a proposed battery mineral processing facility in North Dakota. Talon has said it intends to initiate the permitting process for the processing facility in 2025.

Talon has a six year offtake deal with Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) set to commence once Tamarack enters commercial production, for a total of 75,000 metric tons, or 165 million pounds, of nickel concentrate, as well as cobalt and iron by-products, from Tamarack once it’s in commercial production.

The company is also the operator of the Boulderdash nickel-copper discovery and numerous high-grade nickel-copper prospects in Michigan, which it optioned to Lundin Mining (TSX:LUN,OTC Pink:LUNMF) in early March.

Talon has made multiple significant discoveries at Tamarack in 2025 that supported its share price. In late March, the company announced a significant massive sulfide discovery at Tamarack with an intercept measuring over 8.25 meters logged as 95 percent sulfide content.

After starting Q2 at C$0.12, Talon’s share price took off in earnest after the May 12 news of another massive sulfide discovery with this one measuring a cumulative 34.9 meters over 47.33 meters in total length starting at a depth of 762.34 meters — the thickest in the project’s history.

On June 5, Talon reported record assays from the new discovery at Tamarack, with the 34.9 meter intercept grading 57.76 percent copper equivalent or 28.88 percent nickel equivalent. Later that month, the company completed a C$41 million financing, with proceeds to be used to advance Tamarack.

After climbing through Q2, Talon shares hit a year-to-date high of C$0.28 on July 2.

2. Homeland Nickel (TSXV:SHL,OTCQB:SRCGF)

Year-to-date gain: 140 percent
Market cap: C$13.38 million
Share price: C$0.06

Homeland Nickel has a portfolio of nickel projects in Oregon, US: Red Flat, Cleopatra, Eight Dollar Mountain and Shamrock. Previously named Spruce Ridge Resources, the company changed its name in mid-2024 in a vertical amalgamation after acquiring Homeland Nickel, which owned the Red Flat and Cleopatra nickel projects.

Benton Resources (TSXV:BEX) completed an earn-in agreement for a 70 percent interest in Homeland’s Great Burnt copper and South Pond gold projects in Newfoundland, Canada, last year.

In addition, the company holds investments in mining companies with nickel projects, including Benton Resources Canada Nickel Company (TSXV:CNC,OTCQX:CNIKF), Noble Mineral Exploration (TSXV:NOB,OTCQB:NLPXF) and.

Shares in Homeland Nickel reached their year-to-date high of C$0.07 a few times this year between March 18 to April 16.

In early April, the company released an exploration update for its properties. At its Oregon nickel properties, a bulk sample program is being planned at Red Flats, an exploration program is planned for this year at Shamrock and a sampling program was upcoming at Eight Dollar Mountain.

On July 17, Homeland shared results from its Eight Dollar Mountain sampling program, with assays indicating the presence of nickel laterite in values ranging from 0.21 percent to 2.21 percent nickel with an average of 0.67 percent nickel across 56 samples.

3. Stillwater Critical Minerals (TSXV:PGE)

Year-to-date gain: 91.67 percent
Market cap: C$53.61 million
Share price: C$0.23

Stillwater Critical Minerals’ flagship asset is its Stillwater West polymetallic project in Montana, US. In addition to the platinum-group elements, copper, cobalt and gold resources identified on the property, a January 2023 inferred mineral resource estimate on Stillwater West shows it has the largest nickel resource in an active US mining district.

In late March, the company reported multiple large-scale magmatic sulfide targets following analysis of a property-wide third-party MobileMtm magneto-telluric geophysical survey completed in late 2024.

The data from the survey was also used to build a new 3D geological model of the lower Stillwater Igneous Complex that the company used to further prioritize targets at Stillwater West for its 2025 drill campaign.

Stillwater Critical Minerals’ share price reached a year-to-date high of C$0.28 on June 2.

Drill rigs were mobilized in mid-June for the company’s 2025 drill program Stillwater West project, which aims to expand drill-defined high-grade sulfide mineralization in its advanced project areas and test priority targets identified with its earlier geophysical survey. The campaign will be conducted in collaboration with Glencore and technical partners ALS GoldSpot.

Stillwater competed a C$7 million financing in mid-July.

4. Magna Mining (TSXV:NICU)

Year-to-date gain: 32.96 percent
Market cap: C$345.71 million
Share price: C$1.80

Magna Mining is a base metals exploration and development company based in Sudbury, Ontario. The company’s key assets are the Crean Hill project and the formerly producing Levack and Shakespeare mines. In July, Magna also recently acquired a portfolio of projects including past-producing assets from NorthX Nickel (CSE:NIX).

Shakespeare is a past-producing nickel, copper and platinum-group metals mine with major permits in place. The property hosts an indicated open-pit resource of 16.51 million metric tons at 0.56 percent nickel equivalent. Crean Hill also hosts a past-producing mine that produced the same resources.

Magna’s share price started off the year at C$1.42, and gradually climbed throughout the following weeks to reach a year-to-date high of C$1.84 on February 5.

Its share price was supported by continued positive updates on its acquisition of a portfolio of base metals assets in the Sudbury Basin, including the producing McCreedy West copper-nickel mine, through a share purchase agreement with a subsidiary of KGHM Polska Miedz (FWB:KGHA). The company closed the deal at the end of February.

Magna was included in the 2025 TSX Venture 50 list, which was released in mid-February, and closed a C$33.5 million private placement in early March.

The Ontario government awarded Magna C$500,000 in funding for the Crean Hill project in late June from the Critical Minerals Innovation Fund.

At Levack, the company reported significant drill results in July, highlighting a 2.9 meter interval of high-grade mineralization that included a 0.6 meter interval grading 2.6 percent copper, 8.1 percent nickel and 17.8 grams per metric ton combined platinum, palladium and gold.

5. Power Metallic Mines (TSXV:PNPN)

Year-to-date gain: 23.85 percent
Market cap: C$303.04 million
Share price: C$1.35

Power Metallic Mines, formerly Power Nickel, is developing its 80 percent owned Nisk polymetallic property near Nemaska in Québec, Canada, which hosts high-grade nickel, copper, platinum, palladium, gold and silver mineralization.

The company was recognized as one of 2024’s top 50 performers on the TSX Venture Exchange, ranking as the top mining company and fourth overall company due to its 365 percent share price appreciation for the year.

Ongoing work at the Nisk project has generated positive news flow for Power Metallic in 2025. After starting the year at C$1.07, the company’s share price climbed to C$1.49 by January 30 following two key announcements.

First, the company released drill results from a 2024 fall campaign at Nisk’s Lion zone and said it was starting a winter 2025 drill campaign at the site. Shortly after, it announced the discovery of Tiger, a new find located 700 meters east of the Lion zone; it said it would target Tiger during winter drilling.

From there, Power Metallic shares jumped more than 26 percent to reach C$1.88 on February 6, its year-to-date high. This followed further drill results out the 2024 fall campaign, with notable assays further demonstrating the high-grade nature of the mineralization.

Other notable news supporting the company’s share price in Q1 included the closing of a C$50 million private placement and plans to scale up the 2025 winter drill campaign from three to six rigs in the second quarter. Additionally, further results from the 2024 fall campaign expanded the Lion zone with the deepest assayed intersection to date, plus initial nickel-copper assays from the new Tiger zone.

While its share price trended downwards through mid-May, it began moving back up in the second half of Q2, during which time the company expanded the Nisk and Lion deposit areas with the acquisition of 167 square kilometers of claims from Li-FT Power (TSXV:LIFT,OTCQX:LIFFF).

In July, Power Metallic announced that its summer to fall drilling program was well underway, with four drill rigs targeting the Lion, Tiger and Nisk deposits.

FAQs for nickel investing

How to invest in nickel?

There are a variety of ways to invest in nickel, but stocks and exchange-traded products are the most common. Nickel-focused companies can be found globally on various exchanges, and through the use of a broker or a service such as an app, investors can purchase companies and products that match their investing outlook.

Before buying a nickel stock, potential investors should take time to research the companies they’re considering; they should also decide how many shares will be purchased, and what price they are willing to pay. With many options on the market, it’s critical to complete due diligence before making any investment decisions.

Nickel stocks like those mentioned above could be a good option for investors interested in the space. Experienced investors can also look at nickel futures.

What is nickel used for?

Nickel has a variety of applications, including stainless steel, coins and lithium-ion batteries. Its main use is an alloy material for products such as stainless steel, and it is also used for plating metals to reduce corrosion. As for coins, its uses include the 5 cent coin, named the nickel, in the US and Canada; the US nickel is made up of 25 percent nickel and 75 percent copper, while Canada’s nickel has nickel plating that makes up 2 percent of its composition.

Nickel is also used in certain lithium-ion battery compositions, bringing demand from sectors like electric vehicles and energy storage systems.

Where is nickel mined?

The world’s top nickel-producing countries are primarily in Asia: Indonesia, the Philippines and Russia make up the top three. Rounding out the top five are Canada and China. Indonesia’s production stands far ahead of the rest of the pack, with 2024 output of 2.2 million metric tons compared to the Philippines’ 330,000 metric tons and Canada’s 190,000 metric tons.

Significant nickel miners include Norilsk Nickel (MCX:GMKN), Nickel Asia, BHP (ASX:BHP,NYSE:BHP,LSE:BHP) and Glencore.

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

This post appeared first on investingnews.com

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In Business

Ontario cancels internet deal with Musk’s Starlink as part of U.S. tariff fight

2 Mins Read

The Canadian province of Ontario has canceled a C$100 million ($68.12 million) satellite high-speed internet contract with Elon Musk’s company Starlink, following through with a vow by the province’s premier to cut ties in retaliation for U.S. tariffs imposed on Canada.

Stephen Lecce, Ontario’s minister of energy and mines, confirmed the cancellation of the contract for internet services at an unrelated news conference in Toronto on Wednesday. Lecce, who oversees broadband connectivity in Canada’s most populous province, didn’t say how much the termination would cost.

“I can confirm that the premier has fulfilled his word, which is to cancel that contract because of the very reasons he cited in the past,” Lecce said. “We are standing up for Canada.”

Under the terms of the deal, which Ontario signed last November, Starlink was to provide high-speed internet access to 15,000 eligible homes and businesses in more remote communities.

In February, Ontario Premier Doug Ford threatened to end the agreement with Starlink in response to U.S. President Donald Trump imposing tariffs on Canadian goods. He later postponed the cancellation after Trump agreed to a 30-day pause on tariffs.

SpaceX, Starlink’s parent, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Musk headed Trump’s drive to shrink the federal government and was a close ally before falling out with the president.

Canada and the U.S. are working on negotiating a trade deal by August 1, the date Trump is threatening to impose a 35% tariff on all Canadian goods not covered by the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement.

Earlier this week, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said talks were at an intense phase while reiterating that a deal that would remove all U.S. tariffs was unlikely.

Lecce said Ontario has taken other measures against the U.S., including restricting the ability of U.S. companies to bid on provincial government contracts, removing U.S.-made alcoholic beverages from store shelves and working to decouple the province’s energy sector from the U.S.

This post appeared first on NBC NEWS

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In Politics

Secret Service must ‘course correct’ after alleged smuggling episode on Trump trip, former agent says

3 Mins Read

The Secret Service must move to ‘course correct’ after reports a Secret Service agent attempted to smuggle his wife onto a Secret Service cargo plane accompanying President Donald Trump on his trip to Scotland, according to a former agent. 

Tim Miller, who served as a Secret Service agent during the administrations of presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, said the alleged incident was unusual and that the agency must ‘step up’ to address growing threats against Trump. 

‘The threats to the President are serious and growing,’ Miller said in an email Thursday to Fox News Digital. ‘This agency must step up to address these threats. … Imagine a world where our elected leaders are not safe to lead the critical issues facing our world? 

‘The mission that they have been given requires the absolute best people available who have the highest level of commitment, experience, professionalism and skill.’

While Miller predicted conduct like this would have previously resulted in a suspension or firing of the agent, Miller said that is unlikely given that the Secret Service did not fire those on duty during the assassination attempt against Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July 2024. 

The agency did, however, announce that it suspended six of its agents due to their response to the attempt.

Likewise, Miller said he anticipates an investigation into the Scotland incident will be handled meticulously. 

‘I am confident that they will thoroughly investigate this matter,’ Miller said. ‘To that end, the Secret Service must course correct and hold agents accountable for these types of errors in judgment. The current threats are too high. It’s time for high levels of accountability and a return to mission focus. The lives of our elected leaders depend on it! This truly is a ‘no fail’ mission!’ 

Even so, Miller said the agency did the right thing in identifying the threat and fixing the problem. 

‘The bottom line is there is more to this story and, with the exception of one agent’s extremely poor judgment, the Secret Service did a good job identifying and correcting this issue,’ Miller said. 

RealClearPolitics first reported that a Secret Service agent attempted to smuggle his wife aboard a Secret Service cargo aircraft during Trump’s travels for his Scotland trip.

Trump told reporters Tuesday he had just heard about the alleged incident, describing it as a ‘weird deal.’ He also told reporters the agency is handling the matter. 

‘I don’t know, that’s a strange one. I just heard that two minutes ago. I think Sean’s taking care of it. … Is that a serious story?’ Trump told reporters on Air Force One Tuesday, appearing to reference Sean Curran, Secret Service director.

The White House confirmed to Fox News Digital Wednesday that Trump had been briefed on the matter and that an investigation was ongoing. 

‘The U.S. Secret Service is conducting a personnel investigation after an employee attempted to invite his spouse, a member of the United States Air Force, aboard a mission support flight,’ a Secret Service spokesperson told Fox News Digital Tuesday.

‘The aircraft, operated by the U.S. Air Force, was being used by the Secret Service to transport personnel and equipment,’ the spokesperson added. ‘Prior to the overseas departure, the employee was advised by supervisors that such action was prohibited, and the spouse was subsequently prevented from taking the flight. No Secret Service protectees were aboard, and there was no impact to our overseas protective operations.’

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

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