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AstraZeneca commits $50B to US expansion amid Trump tariff pressure

3 Mins Read

AstraZeneca on Monday announced plans to invest $50 billion in its US operations by 2030, a sweeping commitment that includes building its largest-ever manufacturing facility in Virginia and expanding research and development across several states.

The move comes as global pharmaceutical firms face mounting pressure to relocate production to the United States amid the prospect of steep trade tariffs under the Trump administration.

The Anglo-Swedish biopharmaceutical company said the investment will bolster US manufacturing and research capabilities, with a particular focus on its weight management and metabolic disease portfolio.

A new multi-billion-dollar facility in Virginia will serve as the cornerstone of the initiative and is set to produce, among other products, its oral GLP-1 obesity drug.

“This will be our largest single manufacturing investment globally,” the company said in a statement, noting that the plant will incorporate artificial intelligence, automation and data analytics to improve efficiency.

AstraZeneca’s US expansion

Beyond the Virginia facility, AstraZeneca’s investment will expand cell therapy manufacturing and R&D operations in Maryland, Massachusetts, California, Indiana and Texas.

The company said the initiative would create “tens of thousands of jobs” as it deepens its presence in the world’s largest pharmaceutical market.

CEO Pascal Soriot said the move reflects the company’s confidence in the US as a global leader in life sciences.

“Today’s announcement underpins our belief in America’s innovation in biopharmaceuticals and our commitment to the millions of patients who need our medicines in America and globally,” Soriot said.

AstraZeneca expects half of that projected revenue to come from the US market.

AstraZeneca, which played a major role in the global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, has steadily increased its US footprint in recent years.

The company reported that the United States accounted for over 40% of its annual revenue in 2024.

In November, it announced a $3.5 billion US investment shortly after the US presidential election.

Earlier this month, The Times reported that AstraZeneca was considering a potential move of its primary listing from London to a US exchange, a shift that analysts described as a blow to the United Kingdom’s public markets.

The company is the most valuable constituent of the FTSE 100 index.

Industry-wide repositioning in response to Trump tariffs

The announcement places AstraZeneca among a growing list of global pharmaceutical companies—including Novartis, Sanofi, Roche, Eli Lilly and Johnson & Johnson—that have pledged to ramp up US investment in recent months.

The moves follow policy signals from US President Donald Trump, who has advocated for reshoring domestic manufacturing and warned the pharmaceutical industry to prepare for aggressive trade measures.

A pending Section 232 investigation into the pharmaceutical sector is expected to conclude by the end of July, with the administration weighing tariffs that could reach as high as 200%.

Trump has proposed a 12- to 18-month grace period to allow pharmaceutical firms to realign their supply chains, though industry leaders have pushed back, citing logistical constraints.

“Typically for most medicines it’s a three to four year horizon,” Novartis CEO Vas Narasimhan said on an earnings call last week.

“We’re working very hard to accelerate that as fast as we can and demonstrate we’re making the investments we have planned,” he added.

As the tariff landscape evolves, AstraZeneca’s announcement signals a broader industry shift to mitigate regulatory risk and secure access to the US market, which remains a key growth driver for the sector.

The post AstraZeneca commits $50B to US expansion amid Trump tariff pressure appeared first on Invezz

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Lithium Market Update: Q2 2025 in Review

7 Mins Read

The second quarter of 2025 brought more downward pressure for lithium prices, as values for lithium carbonate continued to contract, slipping to their lowest level since January 2021.

After starting the year at US$10,484.37 per metric ton, battery-grade lithium carbonate rose to a year-to-date high of US$10,853.85 on January 27. Prices sank through Q1 and most of Q2, bottoming at US$8,329.08 on June 24.

Lithium hydroxide followed a similar trajectory, with Fastmarkets analysts noting an 89 percent drop in prices for battery-grade lithium hydroxide monohydrate between 2022 and 2025.

“The lithium industry is definitely navigating a period of complexity,” said Paul Lusty, head of battery raw materials at Fastmarkets, at Fastmarkets’ Lithium Supply & Battery Raw Materials conference in June.

“We’re facing headwinds, no doubt, and we’re also seeing quite a lot of negative or bearish sentiment widespread in the market, and I think at times, it’s amplified by voices that really overlooked the phenomenal levels of demand that we’re seeing in many aspects of the market.”

However, Lusty explained that despite facing a multi-quarter price slump, lithium’s long-term drivers remain robust, and are primarily driven by what he described as “mega trends.”

“The fundamentals are really still very strong, and these are anchored in some very powerful, mega trends that we see developing within the global economy; the urgent drive for climate change mitigation, the once in a generational shift in the global energy system, and also the rise of energy intensive technologies such as artificial intelligence,” he said.

Chinese expansions behind lithium oversupply

Although the long-term outlook for lithium remains positive, oversupply and market saturation have added headwinds during the first half of 2025. Demand, particularly from the electric vehicle (EV) sector, remains strong, but global lithium mine supply has outpaced it, rising by an estimated 22 percent in 2024 alone.

“We’re forecasting similar year on year increases for both 2025 and 2026 equivalent to around 260,000 tons of additional (lithium carbonate) alone just this year,” explained Fastmarkets’ Lusty.

“Chinese producers have been particularly aggressive in terms of expanding capacity.” Australia, Argentina and Chile are also driving growth alongside emerging producers like Brazil, and several African nations.

According to data from the US Geological Survey, mined supply from China increased 14.85 percent from 35,700 metric tons in 2023 to 41,000 in 2024, however an asterisk notes that the tallies are estimates, and exact numbers may be “withheld to avoid disclosing company proprietary data.”

For Fastmarkets, the total is likely higher.

“China has rapidly expanded its mining footprint, boosting domestic lithium output by 55 percent since 2023 and is on track to surpass Australia as the world’s top producer by 2026,’ said Lusty. “One of the most notable developments has been the rise of African supply that we started to see over the last two years,” said Lusty.

Africa’s emerging role in the lithium sector

The importance of African supply to the future lithium market was also the topic at Claudia Cook’s presentation, ‘The Lithium Market Shift: China’s and Africa’s Role in Redefining Supply.’

During the 20 minute overview Cook explained that China is increasingly looking to African hard-rock lithium supply to provide feedstock for the country’s growing chemical segment.

So much so that by 2030 18 percent of global hard-rock lithium supply will originate from the continent.

Additionally, the continent will see a 170 percent uptick in hard-rock lithium supply output between 2025 and 2035, according to Cook, who attributes the massive expansion to China’s need to diversify its lithium sources due to domestic supply constraints. To facilitate this demand, China has invested heavily in African production.

“In 2025, 79 percent of African output will be China owned,” she said. “That percentage reduces down to 65 percent in 2035 however, with the increase in tonnage, even though there’s a reduction in percentage, there’ll be an almost doubling in terms of how much that’s actually being put out.”

Regionally, Cook pointed to Zimbabwe and Mali as the country’s poised to see the most growth.

In 2025, Zimbabwe alone is expected to account for 70 percent of African lithium supply, though its share is projected to fall to 43 percent by 2035 as new countries come online.

Despite that shift, African output overall is set to rise significantly, with nations like the DRC, Ethiopia, and Namibia expected to begin production by 2035, said Cook.

Lithium demand surges, but prices lag

The rapid increase in supply has pushed prices to multi year lows, levels that are unsustainable and fail to incentivize new production. Despite this demand remains strong and is expected to grow.

According to the US Geological Survey, global consumption of lithium in 2024 was estimated to be 220,000 tons, a 29 percent increase from revised consumption of 170,000 tons in 2023.

Much of the demand story is attributed to soaring global EV sales, which were up 35 percent in Q1. Lithium consumption in this segment is projected to grow 12 percent annually through 2030.

“Globally, electric car sales this year are forecast to surpass about 20 million units in 2025 representing more than a quarter of all cars sold,” said Lusty.

Future lithium demand remains underpinned by deep structural shifts in global energy consumption.

“We’re witnessing extraordinary battery demand tied to the electrification of the global economy and the rise of renewable energy,” said Lustyt, pointing to surging electricity needs and the increasing role of storage solutions.

In 2024, global electricity demand rose by over 4 percent, adding 1,100 terawatt-hours to the grid, more than Japan’s total annual consumption. This marks the largest year-on-year increase outside post-recession rebounds and reflects broad trends such as greater electricity access, the proliferation of energy-intensive appliances, the expansion of artificial intelligence and data centers, and the shift to electric-powered heavy manufacturing.

Notably, 95 percent of future demand growth is expected to be met by renewables like solar and wind, further boosting the need for battery energy storage systems (BESS) to manage intermittency and stabilize grids.

“Batteries are now essential — not just for EVs, but to balance power systems across sectors,” Lusty added.

Data centers, in particular, are becoming a key growth driver. Since 2017, their electricity use has grown 12 percent annually, according to Fastmarkets, with the US seeing half its centers concentrated in five regional hubs.

By 2030, BESS demand from data centers alone could represent a third of the market, with a projected compound annual growth rate of 35 percent over the next five years.

Overall, lithium demand is forecast to grow 12 percent annually through 2030, underpinned by EV adoption, renewable integration, and digitalization. While China currently accounts for 60 percent of global demand, that dominance is expected to wane as other regions scale up.

“The long-term fundamentals remain intact,” he said, “and it’s hard to envision a future where lithium isn’t central to the global economy.”

What’s next for lithium in 2025?

After June saw prices slip to year-to-date lows, lithium saw a brief uptick in early July amid speculation about supply cuts from Australian miners Mineral Resources (ASX:MN,OTC Pink:MALRF) and Liontown Resources (ASX:LTR,OTC Pink:LINRF). However, gains were reversed after the rumors were denied.

In the US, policy uncertainty continues to weigh on sentiment. A rollback of EV tax credits under the Trump administration could spark a short-term sales bump, but longer-term support appears fragile.

New fair competition rules in China, aimed at curbing downstream dumping, have fueled speculation about broader impacts. While upstream effects are unclear, the policy contributed to July’s brief price rise.

“The nascency of the lithium market means that it is prone to be led by sentiment,” wrote Cook in a monthly update.

‘We have especially seen this at play this month as prices ticked up momentarily mainly from rumors of supply cuts, highlighting how twitchy and reactive the market currently is,’ she continued.

‘These rumors have since been denied … However, with healthy inventory levels and continued ramp-up of production, the reported supply cuts, even if they proved true, may not be enough to dip the market into a deficit.”

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

This post appeared first on investingnews.com

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‘All the options’: GOP eyes cutting August recess to move dozens of Trump nominees stalled by Dems

3 Mins Read

Senate Republican leadership is weighing whether to cancel, or shorten, their upcoming August break following President Donald Trump’s request to stay in town and finish confirming his outstanding nominees. 

Over the last six months, the Senate has moved at a breakneck pace to confirm the president’s nominees all while facing resistance from Senate Democrats. So far, 96 of Trump’s nominees have been confirmed. Still, there are 136 outstanding nominations on the upper chamber’s calendar that haven’t made it over the finish line.

Year in and year out, lawmakers typically escape from the Hill for the entire month of August, either recuperating from months in Washington, D.C., or selling their legislative accomplishments to people back home.

But Trump on Sunday called on Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., to keep lawmakers in town to finish their work on confirming his slew of outstanding nominees.

‘Hopefully the very talented John Thune, fresh off our many victories over the past two weeks and, indeed, 6 months, will cancel August recess (and long weekends!), in order to get my incredible nominees confirmed,’ Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social. ‘We need them badly!!! DJT’

Thune said he had spoken with the president about the August recess issue, but did not say whether the entire break would be canceled. A senior GOP aide told Fox News Digital that discussions over shortening the August recess were already happening before Trump’s request.

‘We’re thinking about it,’ Thune said. ‘We want to get as many noms through the pipeline as we can. And honestly, it’d be nice to have Democrats who actually would kind of act more according to historical precedents when it comes to this.’

The remaining spots that need to be filled run across nearly every facet of the federal government, including positions in the Defense Department, Environmental Protection Agency, Commerce Department and a slew of ambassadors, among others.

Among the remaining nominees are some familiar faces from the 2024 election and beyond, including Hung Cao, who ran against Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., and was nominated as Navy undersecretary; Donald Trump Jr.’s ex-fiancee Kimberly Guilfoyle, who was tapped to be the U.S. ambassador to Greece, and former Rep. Marc Molinaro, R-N.Y., who was nominated to be Federal Transit administrator.

Thune accused Senate Democrats of being obstructionist and noted that so far, not a single nominee has been approved through the fast-track voice vote or unanimous consent processes. Indeed, every nominee has been put to a floor vote. Only Secretary of State Marco Rubio received a near unanimous, 99 to 0, vote.

Earlier this year, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., supported delaying all the president’s nominees who lack unanimous support in the upper chamber, effectively triggering floor votes for each. He also used an arcane Senate procedural move to stall federal prosecutors in committee.

‘This is something that we’re very committed to, and we’re going to be looking at all the options in the next few weeks to try and get as many of those across the finish line as we can,’ Thune said. 

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

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Reliance shares fall despite record profit jump: should you buy?

3 Mins Read

Shares of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) dropped over 2.5% in Monday’s trading session, as investors appeared unimpressed by the conglomerate’s highest-ever quarterly profit and EBITDA performance, amid underwhelming results in its key retail and oil-to-chemicals (O2C) segments.

The stock opened at ₹1,465 per share, below the previous close of ₹1,476, and declined further to ₹1,439 by noon, down 2.5%.

This came despite the Mukesh Ambani-led firm posting a 76% year-on-year jump in consolidated net profit for the April-June quarter of FY26.

Strong top-line and profitability gains in Q1

Reliance reported consolidated profit after tax (PAT) of ₹30,681 crore for the first quarter of FY26, significantly ahead of analysts’ estimates and up from ₹17,448 crore in the same quarter a year ago.

Consolidated EBITDA rose 35.7% to ₹58,024 crore, marking the group’s best quarterly performance to date.

Revenue grew 6% year-on-year to ₹2,73,252 crore.

Chairman Mukesh Ambani said, “Reliance has begun FY26 with a robust, all-round operational and financial performance. Consolidated EBITDA improved strongly from the year-ago period, despite significant volatility in global macros.”

The EBITDA margin improved by 460 basis points to 21.2% from 16.6% last year, reflecting improved cost efficiencies and growth in high-margin segments.

Retail and oil-to-chemicals fail to meet analyst expectations

Despite the strong headline numbers, earnings in the O2C and retail segments came in lower than expected, tempering the market’s response.

The company cited planned maintenance shutdowns at its Jamnagar refinery and seasonal weakness in consumer electronics as key factors affecting performance.

Nomura flagged a weaker-than-anticipated show in retail and O2C, attributing it to maintenance activities and elevated feedstock and freight costs.

CLSA noted that a 3% miss in O2C EBITDA and a 5% miss in retail EBITDA overshadowed strong showings from the upstream and telecom unit Jio.

Brokerages raise price targets despite market reaction

While the market reacted negatively in the short term, the results prompted at least 10 analysts to raise their target prices on the stock.

Analysts believe the moderation in stock prices may be short-lived.

A rebound in gross refining margins, coupled with Jio’s expansion and recovery in discretionary retail, could drive stronger performance in upcoming quarters.

The median target price has climbed to ₹1,640 from ₹1,565 a month ago.

“Retail and Jio are likely to accelerate, and the new energy ecosystem is expected to fully operationalise in four to six quarters, with partnerships and a self-funded model in a few years,” Emkay analysts said in a note.

Domestic brokerage Motilal Oswal Financial Services cut FY26–27 earnings estimates by 1–4%, but raised its price target slightly to ₹1,700 per share.

“While 1Q was soft, we remain sanguine on RIL’s growth prospects across segments and build in a CAGR of ~11% in EBITDA/PAT over FY25-28E,” the brokerage said.

Jefferies maintained a “buy” rating with a revised target of ₹1,726, acknowledging short-term weakness but expressing optimism about the O2C outlook.

Reliance shares are still up about 19% year-to-date, outperforming the broader Nifty 50 index, which has gained 5.9% in the same period.

As the company navigates operational hurdles and global headwinds, the street appears to be betting on a longer-term story built around telecom, retail expansion, and clean energy transformation.

The post Reliance shares fall despite record profit jump: should you buy? appeared first on Invezz

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Trump celebrates 6 months back in office: US ‘totally revived’ after being ‘DEAD’ under Biden

4 Mins Read

President Donald Trump celebrated six months since he was sworn into his second term on Sunday, saying that the United States has been ‘totally revived’ after being ‘DEAD’ under former President Joe Biden. 

‘Wow, time flies! Today is that Sixth Month Anniversary of my Second Term. Importantly, it’s being hailed as one of the most consequential periods of any President,’ Trump wrote on social media. 

‘In other words, we got a lot of good and great things done, including ending numerous wars of Countries not related to us other than through Trade and/or, in certain cases, friendship,’ he added on TRUTH Social. ‘Six months is not a long time to have totally revived a major Country.’ 

Trump continued: ‘One year ago our Country was DEAD, with almost no hope of revival. Today the USA is the ‘hottest’ and most respected Country anywhere in the World. Happy Anniversary!!!’ 

Trump’s first six months have been marked by a number of significant moments, particularly on the international stage.

After Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen ramped up attacks on shipping vessels in the Red Sea in late 2024, the Trump administration designated the group a foreign terrorist organization, reinstating a move that had been reversed under Biden.

U.S. and U.K. forces earlier this year pounded Houthi missile and radar sites as part of an operation to ensure freedom of navigation, and the Trump administration secured a ceasefire deal with the terror group in May.  

Trump intervened in the Israel-Iran war in June, ordering U.S. military strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities and infrastructure that pummeled Tehran’s capabilities and forced the regime into quick submission. 

Though Trump had promised on the campaign trail to end the Ukraine-Russia war within 24 hours, a peace agreement between the two sides has so far failed to materialize. 

Earlier in his second term, Trump had slammed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for a perceived lack of gratitude for billions of dollars in U.S. support to his war effort under Biden’s presidency. Trump more recently has sharpened his criticism of Russian leader Vladimir Putin, slamming Moscow for the massive loss of life on both sides during the more than three-year-long conflict. 

Trump issued a new deadline in mid-July that Russia had 50 days to agree to a ceasefire or face ‘maximum tariffs.’ He also recently approved the sale of additional U.S. Patriot missiles to Ukraine. 

In its first six months, the Trump administration had also brokered a ceasefire between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda in late June. 

Beyond ‘ending numerous wars,’ Trump has celebrated other accomplishments during his first six months back in office, including securing the passage of his ‘big, beautiful bill,’ which made the 2017 Trump tax cuts permanent. The legislative package also earmarked funding for the president’s other initiatives, including for his mass deportation campaign and border security. 

On overseas trips and at home, Trump has repeatedly said the U.S. is the ‘hottest’ country, claiming to have restored America’s reputation both domestically and on the world stage with his ‘America First’ foreign policy. 

Delivering on his 2024 pledge to make the U.S. the ‘crypto capital of the planet,’ Trump on Friday signed landmark legislation that creates a regulatory regime for dollar-pegged cryptocurrencies known as stablecoins. 

Trump on Sunday also appeared to dismiss concerns that his administration’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files could cost Republicans control of Congress in the 2026 midterm elections and beyond. 

‘My Poll Numbers within the Republican Party, and MAGA, have gone up, significantly, since the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax was exposed by the Radical Left Democrats and, just plain ‘troublemakers’,’ Trump wrote in another post Sunday morning. ‘They have hit 90%, 92%, 93%, and 95%, in various polls, and are all Republican Party records. The General Election numbers are my highest, EVER! People like Strong Borders, and all of the many other things I have done. GOD BLESS AMERICA. MAGA!’ 

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

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Top catalysts for the German DAX Index this week

3 Mins Read

The German DAX Index wavered near its all-time high, mirroring the performance of most global indices. It ended the week at €24,290, a few points below the year-to-date high of €24,635. This price is about 33% above its lowest point in April. Here are the top catalysts for the index this week. 

European Central Bank (ECB) decision

A key catalyst for the German DAX will be the European Central Bank’s decision on Thursday. Economists expect the bank to leave interest rates unchanged at 2.15%. This will be the first time that it has left them intact for so long.

The decision to leave rates unchanged will not necessarily move the DAX and other European indices. Instead, what will move these indices will be the guidance on what to expect later this year. Signs that the bank will cut rates will be bullish to the DAX Index as analysts expect it to leave rates unchanged.

Top German corporate earnings

The other key catalyst for the DAX Index will be reports by many of its constituent companies. The most important one will be SAP, the biggest constituent company that will publish its results on July 22.

Its results are notable because it is one of the biggest European companies and is also a major competitor to American giants like Amazon and Microsoft. 

READ MORE: Here’s why SAP share price may crash to €208 soon

Another notable company to watch is Deutsche Bank, the country’s largest bank. Its results will come at a time when its stock is in a strong uptend, mirroring the performance of other European banks. 

The other DAX Index companies that will publish their earnings are Deutsche Börse, Satorius, MTU Aero Engines, and Volkswagen. VW is also notable as its results will provide more information on the impact of Donald Trump’s tariffs on German automobiles.

The DAX Index will also react to companies by some of the biggest American companies like Microsoft and Tesla. While these are all American firms, they consistently have a significant impact on global indices.

The DAX will also be influenced by reports from some of the other major European companies, such as LVMH, BNP Paribas, and Thales.

US and European trade talks

The other most notable catalyst for the DAX Index is the ongoing trade talks between the US and the European Union as the August 1st deadline nears.

Recent reporting by the FT shows that the two sides are still in talks, with the US pushing for a minimum tariff of between 15% and 20% on European goods. That baseline is much higher than the minimum 10% tariff that the US reached with the UK.

Trump has consistently criticized the European Union and its substantial $231 billion trade surplus with the US. He has always complained that the EU sells so much to the US without buying US-made cars and agricultural products.

The EU has offered a zero-to-zero tariff with the US, which Trump rejects because of the other non-tariff barriers. A trade deal with the EU will boost the DAX Index.

The post Top catalysts for the German DAX Index this week appeared first on Invezz

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Top 5 Canadian Mining Stocks This Week: Altima is Energetic with 98 Percent Gain

11 Mins Read

Statistics Canada released June’s consumer price index (CPI) data on Tuesday (July 15). The report showed that year-over-year inflation gained momentum during the month, rising to 1.9 percent from the 1.7 percent recorded in May.

The increase was attributed in part to the 13.4 percent year-over-year decline in gas prices seen in June, as it was a smaller drop than May’s 15.5 percent decrease caused by the removal of the consumer carbon tax.

Other factors contributing to the rise included a 2.7 percent increase in durable goods, with passenger vehicles posting the largest gains at 4.1 percent. Grocery prices also increased 2.8 percent, although they eased off from a 3.3 percent increase in May.

While economists had predicted a larger 2 percent rise in CPI, the figures still make it unlikely that the Bank of Canada will cut its benchmark rate at its next meeting on July 30. Canada’s central bank has cut its interest rates seven times since June 2024, lowering it from 5 percent to 2.75 percent in March.

South of the border, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics also released its June CPI data the same day, reporting year-over-year growth of 2.7 percent, sharply up from the 2.4 percent gain posted in May. On a monthly basis, CPI rose 0.3 percent, also higher than May’s 0.1 percent.

Analysts have attributed the gain to an increase in prices resulting from US President Donald Trump’s tariff policy, as vendors restocked shelves with inventories purchased after tariffs were applied.

Goods and services increased across the board, except for new and used vehicles, which declined by 0.3 percent and 0.7 percent on a monthly basis. Energy rose 0.9 percent, including a 1 percent increase in gasoline prices, a reversal from May’s energy and gas price decreases of 1 percent and 2.6 percent respectively.

The data will likely play a role in what the US Federal Reserve decides during its next rate meeting on July 29 and 30. Economist consensus is that the central bank will continue to hold at the current 4.25 to 4.5 percent range.

Markets and commodities react

In Canada, equity markets were mostly positive this week. The S&P/TSX Composite Index (INDEXTSI:OSPTX) gained 1 percent to close at 27,314.01 on Friday (July 18) and set a new all-time high during the week. The S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index (INDEXTSI:JX) fared even better this week, gaining 2.53 percent to 797.75. However, the CSE Composite Index (CSE:CSECOMP) fell 2.6 percent to 126.84.

As for US equity markets, the S&P 500 (INDEXSP:INX) gained 0.66 percent to close Friday at 6,296.78 and the Nasdaq 100 (INDEXNASDAQ:NDX) climbed 1.35 percent to 23,065.47, with both also setting new record highs during the week. On the other hand, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) fell 0.1 percent to 44,342.20.

In precious metals, the gold price rose 0.78 percent over the week to US$3,349.66 by Friday at 5 p.m. EDT. Meanwhile, the silver price continued to trade near 11-year highs, climbing 3.13 percent on the week to US$38.15 per ounce.

In base metals, copper ended the week were it started out, but was still trading near all time highs at US$5.60 per pound. The S&P GSCI (INDEXSP:SPGSCI) posted a 1.26 percent gain to finish the week at 551.61.

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. Altima Energy (TSXV:ARH)

Weekly gain: 97.96 percent
Market cap: C$43.99 million
Share price: C$0.97

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 started to gain after it released news on July 8 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.

2. Kirkland Lake Discoveries (TSXV:KLDC)

Weekly gain: 81.82 percent
Market cap: C$11.26 million
Share price: C$0.10

Kirkland Lake Discoveries is a gold and copper exploration company focused on projects in its district-scale land package located in the Kirkland Lake area of Ontario, Canada.

Its holdings span an area of approximately 38,000 hectares in the Abitibi Greenstone Belt that has been host to past-producing gold and copper mines. It is broadly divided into KL West and KL East, which contain the Goodfish-Kirana and Lucky Strike gold projects, respectively, among others.

On April 29, the company announced it entered into a mining option agreement with Val-d’Or Mining (TSXV:VZZ) to acquire a 100 percent interest in the Winnie Lake and Amikougami properties, as well as mining claim purchase agreements with two vendors to acquire further claims around the Winnie Lake Pluton. The properties expand KL West’s southern portion.

Following the agreement, the company conducted grab samples at the Winnie Lake property and reported the results on July 9. One grab sample collected near the historic Winnie Shaft zone yielded grades of 1.6 grams per metric ton (g/t) gold, 28.2 g/t silver, 5.7 percent copper, 5.3 percent zinc and 1.65 g/t tellurium.

The company also discovered a quartz-veined intrusive outcrop 150 meters west of the shaft during field prospecting, with samples displaying characteristics of magmatic-hydrothermal copper-gold systems, including visible malachite and strong potassic alteration.

Additionally, Kirkland Lake reported it has received full drill permits for Winnie Lake and plans to initiate activities at the site this summer, focusing on the newly defined zones.

3. Happy Creek Minerals (TSXV:HPY)

Weekly gain: 70 percent
Market cap: C$10.33 million
Share price: C$0.085

Happy Creek Minerals is an exploration company focused on advancing a portfolio of assets in British Columbia, Canada.

Its primary focus has been on its Fox tungsten property located in the South Caribou region of the province. It comprises 135.9 square kilometers of mineral tenure and hosts deposits containing tungsten, molybdenum, zinc, indium, gold and silver. In total, 21,125 meters of exploration drilling have been carried out at the site, primarily in shallow holes, for resource definition.

Happy Creek’s share price began climbing Tuesday after the company announced a non-brokered private placement to raise gross proceeds of up to C$3.25 million in flow-through units at C$0.07 per share and non-flow-through units at C$0.05 per share.

The following day, Happy Creek upsized the offering to C$3.75 million.

The company plans to use the gross proceeds for drilling, exploration and development at Fox, as well as other exploration work in the Caribou.

4. Camino Minerals (TSXV:COR)

Weekly gain: 56.52 percent
Market cap: C$13.5 million
Share price: C$0.36

Camino Minerals is a copper exploration and development company with a portfolio of projects in Chile and Peru.

Earlier in 2025, the company shifted its focus to its newly acquired, construction-ready Puquois copper project in Chile.

In October 2024, Camino entered a definitive agreement to create a 50/50 joint venture with Nittetsu Mining (TSE:1515) that would acquire Cuprum Resources, which owns the Puquios project. The partners completed the acquisition April 17 and said they would turn their attention to project financing.

On March 17, Camino filed a prefeasibility study for the project. The study results demonstrate a post-tax net present value of US$118 million, with an internal rate of return of 23.4 percent and a payback period of 3.1 years at a fixed copper price of US$4.28. It also outlines all-in sustaining costs of US$2.00 per pound over a 14.2 year mine life.

In addition to the economic details, the included mineral resource estimate shows a measured and indicated resource of 149,000 metric tons of copper from 32.16 million metric tons of ore grading 0.46 percent copper.

Camino also owns the Los Chapitos project, which has been a long-time focus of the company. The project covers approximately 22,000 hectares near the coastal town of Chala, Peru, and hosts near-surface mineralization.

Camino has been conducting exploration efforts at Los Chapitos throughout the first half of 2025. On Wednesday, it reported trench results from the newly identified Mirador zone, including 1.07 percent copper over 90 meters, with a four-meter section containing 3.05 percent copper.

5. Solstice Gold (TSXV:SGC)

Weekly gain: 56.25 percent
Market cap: C$29.38 million
Share price: C$0.125

Solstice Gold is an exploration company focused on its flagship Strathy gold project in Ontario, which it acquired in June 2024.

The project consists of 45 claims covering an area of 45 square kilometers in the Temagami Greenstone belt. Historical documents report six gold showings in the central portion of the project areas, with documented mineralization at the Leckie prospect.

In its latest project update on July 2, Solstice announced it had wrapped up its spring drill program, which focused on four target areas. In total, the company completed 3,125 meters of drilling across 14 holes, and results are expected in July.

The company also reported that it had entered into an agreement to acquire 17 additional claims, which would increase the project area by 50 percent. It added that targets identified from its IP program may extend along strike into these claims.

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 Business

A flagging U.S. industry looks for new life in a Philadelphia shipyard

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The U.S. shipbuilding industry is looking for help. A South Korean company is answering the call.

Hanwha Philly Shipyard CEO David Kim, nodding to the gargantuan vessels under construction just off the Delaware River, on Wednesday offered the kind of vision that has brought some optimism back to the U.S. shipbuilding community.

“You take that level of experience, the technology that we have, the know-how, the process expertise, and so clearly, we believe we have a lot to bring to the Philly Shipyard, as well as to the U.S. maritime industrial base, in terms of modernization capacity,” he said on a walkthrough of the shipyard.

Hanwha Philly Shipyard CEO David Kim.Obtained by NBC News

Hanwha Group bought the Philly Shipyard in December for $100 million and plans to invest multiple times that amount in the yard, training over a thousand new workers and bringing in new high-tech equipment. The company hopes to build naval ships and become the first U.S. builder of specialized liquefied natural gas tankers.

Shipbuilding in the United States has been all but dormant. China, South Korea, Japan and Europe all produce far more ships than the United States, with the few shipyards still operating in the country concentrating on military ships.

Revitalizing shipbuilding has been one of the areas President Donald Trump has pointed to as part of a broader effort to bring manufacturing back to the United States — a move some see as shortsighted considering the costs associated with building the kind of gigantic modern ships that remain a core part of how goods and commodities move around the planet.

This post appeared first on NBC NEWS

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In Politics

Trump has now been in office for six months, for the second time. Here are the highlights

6 Mins Read

President Trump has been in office for six months, delivering on campaign promises, securing his ‘big beautiful bill’ by his self-imposed deadline and taking decisive action on the world stage.

The president was sworn into office Jan. 20, and the Trump administration has operated at warp speed since Day One.

Key tenets of Trump’s first 100 days included imposing harsh tariffs on Chinese imports, starting and continuing peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, and cracking down on border security amid a mass deportation initiative. 

The next chapter of the second Trump administration began, with the House of Representatives, as promised, passing Trump’s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill,’ before Memorial Day, sending it to the Senate for weeks of negotiations.

The Senate made its changes, approved the legislation and kicked it back to the House just in time for the lower chamber to pass the bill before Trump’s self-imposed Fourth of July deadline. 

The president welcomed House and Senate Republican leadership to the White House July 4 for a signing ceremony on his landmark legislation, which included key provisions that would permanently establish individual and business tax breaks included in his 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, and incorporate new tax deductions to cut duties on tips and overtime pay. 

Trump’s second administration has also focused on the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which was run by Elon Musk. DOGE proposed cuts to programs that the Trump administration chalked up to wasteful and excessive government spending.

Congressional lawmakers prepped a rescissions package — a bill to codify those DOGE cuts into law. Congress passed that package by its deadline. 

Trump signed the package Friday, which blocks $8 billion in funding to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and $1 billion to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for the remainder of the fiscal year. The dollars had been allocated by Congress for the duration of fiscal year 2025.

As for Musk, his ‘special government employee’ window expired, and he returned to the private sector. Shortly after, Musk started a short-lived feud with the president, who chose not to prolong the tensions. Trump only hit his former ally briefly, and carried on with business as usual, leaving Musk to a lonely rant on social media.

Meanwhile, on the world stage, the president ordered strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities. 

Trump’s historic precision strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites in June hit their targets and ‘destroyed’ and ‘badly damaged’ the facilities’ critical infrastructure — an assessment agreed upon by Iran’s Foreign Ministry, Israel and the United States. 

But Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei recently issued his latest threat against the U.S. and ‘its dog on a leash, the Zionist regime (Israel),’ saying that Iran’s attack on U.S. Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar was just the beginning of what Tehran could throw at Washington. He warned that ‘an even bigger blow could be inflicted on the U.S. and others.’

Iran has until the end of August to agree to a nuclear deal with the United States and its allies, Fox News has learned. 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the foreign ministers of France, Germany and the United Kingdom set the de facto deadline, according to three sources with knowledge of a call Wednesday among the officials. 

If Iran fails to agree to a deal, it would trigger the ‘snapback’ mechanism that automatically reimposes all sanctions previously imposed by the United Nations Security Council. 

The sanctions were lifted under the 2015 Iran deal. 

In his first six months as president, Trump also signed a sweeping order blocking travel to the U.S. from nearly 20 countries identified as high-risk for terrorism, visa abuse and failure to share security information.

The travel restrictions — announced under executive order 14161 — apply to nationals from 12 countries, including Afghanistan, Iran, Somalia, Libya and Yemen, all deemed ‘very high risk’ due to terrorist activity, weak or hostile governments, and high visa overstay rates. 

Domestically, the president has focused efforts on securing the border, with border crossings at a record low.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported the lowest number of border crossings in recorded history in June. Nationwide, there were 25,228 CBP encounters, the lowest monthly number the agency has recorded, including a ‘historical low’ of 8,024 apprehensions. Encounters include legal ports of entry, whereas apprehensions are arrests of those coming into the United States illegally. 

As for tariffs, the Trump administration had leveled tariffs as high as 145% on Chinese goods following the president’s reciprocal tariff plans in April, when China retaliated against the U.S. with tariffs of its own. China and the U.S. reached a preliminary trade agreement in May, which Trump said China violated in a Truth Social post at the end of May.  

An agreement was reached between the U.S. and China in June, which includes China supplying rare earth materials to the U.S., and that Trump will ‘work closely’ with Chinese President Xi Jinping ‘to open up China to American Trade.’

‘Full magnets, and any necessary rare earths, will be supplied, up front, by China,’ Trump said in June. ‘Likewise, we will provide to China what was agreed to, including Chinese students using our colleges and universities (which has always been good with me!). We are getting a total of 55% tariffs, China is getting 10%. Relationship is excellent!’ 

The president also celebrated the U.S. Army’s 250th birthday with a massive parade in Washington June 14 — kicking off a yearlong extravaganza leading up to America’s 250th birthday.

Outside the White House, Trump administration agencies have delivered on promises. 

The Department of Education unveiled plans to scale down its workforce, terminating nearly 1,400 Education Department employees. The Supreme Court upheld Trump’s move.

The Justice Department released the audio of former President Joe Biden’s interview with former Special Counsel Robert Hur. Hur was investigating Biden for alleged improper retention of classified records.

Congressional lawmakers had been demanding the audio of that interview be released since 2024, after the transcript of Biden’s interview was littered with mistakes and revealed significant memory lapses.

The Department of Justice also has started an investigation into Biden’s pardons his final days in office to determine whether they are valid. Fox News Digital has learned the pardons, in his final weeks in office, were signed by autopen, with just one signed by hand — the pardon for his son Hunter. 

Trump has also directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to make public any relevant grand jury testimony relating to the Jeffrey Epstein case. 

Over at the FBI, CIA and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, intelligence officials and political appointees are in the process of declassifying all records related to the Trump–Russia investigation, also known as ‘Crossfire Hurricane.’

Fox News Digital also exclusively reported that former FBI Director James Comey and former CIA Director John Brennan are under criminal investigation relating to their actions tied to the Trump–Russia probe.

Fox News’ Emma Colton, Diana Stancy, Elizabeth Elkind and Louis Casiano contributed to this report. 

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

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