China has sought for decades to turn its clout as the world’s largest commodities consumer into pricing power. With iron ore — the most traded raw material after oil, and the backbone of global economic expansion — it is closer than ever to success. The engine behind the current campaign is China Mineral Resources Group Co., an opaque company directly under the country’s central government which h...
China has sought for decades to turn its clout as the world’s largest commodities consumer into pricing power. With iron ore — the most traded raw material after oil, and the backbone of global economic expansion — it is closer than ever to success. The engine behind the current campaign is China Mineral Resources Group Co., an opaque company directly under the country’s central government which has been locked in a confrontation with mining giant BHP Group Ltd. for months. This is already the most significant commercial clash in nearly two decades between the country and one of its top suppliers, and has sent shockwaves through the industry. Those heated negotiations are now reaching a critical juncture. A new chief executive is set to take the helm at BHP, with every incentive to resolve a deepening crisis. For China, meanwhile, a month-long war in the Middle East has only underscored the importance of CMRG’s mission, as the conflict deals another blow to US financial dominance and reinforces the urgency of holding more sway in key commodity markets. “CMRG is not just an economic instrument,” said Marina Zhang of the University of Technology Sydney’s Australia-China Relations Institute, who works on supply chains and global power dynamics. “It is a geopolitical blueprint.” This account of CMRG’s rise is based on interviews with more than 20 industry executives, financiers, traders and others involved working with the institution, all of whom asked not to be named given the sensitivity of the discussions. They reveal the depth of CMRG’s relationships within China’s economic power structure as well as nascent plans to expand its reach beyond iron ore. CMRG and BHP declined to comment. With a vast steel industry that consumes more than 70% of seaborne iron ore, China has consistently pushed for greater influence. Yet even after it overtook Japan as the leading importer in the early 2000s and ultimately forced a dramatic change in pricing — the industry moved toward s...
America's Half-Trillion-Dollar Sewage Problem Authored by Autumn Spredemann via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), Beneath city streets and suburban neighborhoods, a vast network of pipes and wastewater treatment systems is reaching the end of its life . This subterranean infrastructure is already suffering tens of thousands of failures per year, while exposing millions of Americans to contamination...
America's Half-Trillion-Dollar Sewage Problem Authored by Autumn Spredemann via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), Beneath city streets and suburban neighborhoods, a vast network of pipes and wastewater treatment systems is reaching the end of its life . This subterranean infrastructure is already suffering tens of thousands of failures per year, while exposing millions of Americans to contamination risks. Utilities, plumbing experts, and environmentalists warn that the scope of the problem has expanded rapidly in recent years. As of 2024, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimated that $630 billion in wastewater infrastructure investment would be needed to repair and replace deteriorating systems. At the same time, extreme weather events and growing populations were putting additional strain on America’s aging pipes. The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), in its 2025 report card, gave U.S. wastewater infrastructure a D-plus, which the group largely attributed to a lack of funding to meet the needs of communities with failing systems. Meanwhile, average utility prices for wastewater consumers increased from $35 per month to nearly $65 per month between 2010 and 2020, ASCE researchers found. Even still, they said, rising utility prices aren’t “keeping pace with the growing costs for utilities to provide routine operation and maintenance.” Paradoxically, as household water and sewer bills increased more than 24 percent between 2020 and 2025, wastewater infrastructure renewal and replacement rates for large-scale projects actually decreased over the past decade, from 3 percent to 2 percent, according to the ASCE analysis. The scope of the problem becomes clearer when considering the sheer volume of sanitary sewer overflows . As of April 2025, the EPA estimated there were between 23,000 and 75,000 overflow incidents per year, and that didn’t include sewage that backed up into buildings or residential homes. Some of the reasons for these spills included b...
B2Gold (NYSEMKT:BTG), operates gold mines in Mali, the Philippines, and Namibia. Shares closed at $4.84, up 6.84%, after the company announced a renewed and expanded share buyback program. Investors are watching the pace of future repurchases following Toronto Stock Exchange appr
B2Gold (NYSEMKT:BTG), operates gold mines in Mali, the Philippines, and Namibia. Shares closed at $4.84, up 6.84%, after the company announced a renewed and expanded share buyback program. Investors are watching the pace of future repurchases following Toronto Stock Exchange appr
Good morning, Sharon here in Sydney. As US President Donald Trump contemplates an exit from the Iran war, the five-week conflict continues to unsettle the Australian economy. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese last night asked Australians to save fuel , in a rare national address last, and the government has passed a law empowering the country’s export credit agency to physically buy, stockpile and s...
Good morning, Sharon here in Sydney. As US President Donald Trump contemplates an exit from the Iran war, the five-week conflict continues to unsettle the Australian economy. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese last night asked Australians to save fuel , in a rare national address last, and the government has passed a law empowering the country’s export credit agency to physically buy, stockpile and sell fuels . Meanwhile, we look at why businesses are opposing Victoria’s proposed work-from-home laws and at the rugby legend tasked with turning the fortunes of New Zealand’s All Blacks around. - Sharon Klyne, Australia private credit reporter What’s happening now Albanese used his national address to call on citizens to save fuel and plans financial support for businesses hit by soaring energy costs in the wake of the Iran war. He will speak further on fuel policy at the National Press Club today. Meanwhile, Parliament passed l egislation giving the country’s export credit agency the power to physically buy, stockpile and sell fuels alongside critical minerals including rare earths. ASX Ltd. ’s risk and compliance failures could potentially have serious consequences that negatively impact Australia’s financial markets , a probe into the exchange operator found. Melbourne workers may soon get the legal right to work from home two days a week, a move that the city’s commercial landlords, cafes, barbers, dry cleaners and other small businesses fear will reduce foot traffic in the central business district, making it harder to survive. The country’s manufacturing sector posted its first contraction in five months in March as demand weakened and cost pressures surged amid the escalating war in the Middle East. However consumer spending held up , according to Commonwealth Bank of Australia. And BlackRock has emerged as the biggest winner from the expanding alternatives portfolio of Australia’s sovereign wealth fund, with its mandate growing 74% over two years. What happened ove...
Asking for a Trend host Josh Lipton speaks with D.A. Davidson Head of Technology Research Gil Luria and Cleo Capital Managing Director Sarah Kunst about Apple CEO Tim Cook's handling of the company's legacy and his potential succession (AAPL).
Asking for a Trend host Josh Lipton speaks with D.A. Davidson Head of Technology Research Gil Luria and Cleo Capital Managing Director Sarah Kunst about Apple CEO Tim Cook's handling of the company's legacy and his potential succession (AAPL).
Nio (NYSE:NIO) designs and sells electric vehicles, including sedans and SUVs. The stock closed at $6.20, up 2.82%. Shares moved higher after the company reported sharply higher March and first-quarter delivery volumes, and investors are watching how its three-brand strategy sust
Nio (NYSE:NIO) designs and sells electric vehicles, including sedans and SUVs. The stock closed at $6.20, up 2.82%. Shares moved higher after the company reported sharply higher March and first-quarter delivery volumes, and investors are watching how its three-brand strategy sust
BBC Sport pundits Ellen White and Steph Houghton react to Katie McCabe's hair pull on Alyssa Thompson as Chelsea beat Arsenal 1-0 in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final, but lose the tie 3-2 on aggregate.
BBC Sport pundits Ellen White and Steph Houghton react to Katie McCabe's hair pull on Alyssa Thompson as Chelsea beat Arsenal 1-0 in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final, but lose the tie 3-2 on aggregate.
Danny Funt, author of 'Everybody Loses: The Tumultuous Rise of American Sports Gambling,' said that online sports betting is a 'whole new ballgame' as the ability to make thousands of real time bets 24/7 has ballooned over the last decade, outpacing any attempt to regulate sportsbooks. Funt detailed how sports leagues changed their tune on betting when officials learned that gambling could revital...
Danny Funt, author of 'Everybody Loses: The Tumultuous Rise of American Sports Gambling,' said that online sports betting is a 'whole new ballgame' as the ability to make thousands of real time bets 24/7 has ballooned over the last decade, outpacing any attempt to regulate sportsbooks. Funt detailed how sports leagues changed their tune on betting when officials learned that gambling could revitalize struggling media deals and make a windfall for major sports. Funt also talked about the meteoritic rise of prediction markets as regulators question what counts as gambling. (Source: Bloomberg)
Jayson Joseph Michaels allegedly planned attack on police headquarters, Parliament House and mosques Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast A man accused of plotting a mass casualty terror attack targeting public buildings and places of worship believed his assault would be worse than the Bondi beach mass shootings, a cou...
Jayson Joseph Michaels allegedly planned attack on police headquarters, Parliament House and mosques Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast A man accused of plotting a mass casualty terror attack targeting public buildings and places of worship believed his assault would be worse than the Bondi beach mass shootings, a court has heard. Jayson Joseph Michaels detailed his alleged plan for a violent assault on Western Australia police headquarters, WA Parliament House and mosques in a diary, the Perth magistrates court was told during a failed bid for bail on Wednesday. Continue reading...
Andrii Shablovskyi/iStock via Getty Images Introduction It has been over a year since the first time I covered Allison Transmission ( ALSN ), and now that we have the full year’s results, it is a good time as any to revisit. Since the first article , when I gave it a hold rating, due to an uncertain macroeconomic outlook, the company’s share price advanced 16.6% vs SPY’s ( SPY ) 11.5%. The truckin...
Andrii Shablovskyi/iStock via Getty Images Introduction It has been over a year since the first time I covered Allison Transmission ( ALSN ), and now that we have the full year’s results, it is a good time as any to revisit. Since the first article , when I gave it a hold rating, due to an uncertain macroeconomic outlook, the company’s share price advanced 16.6% vs SPY’s ( SPY ) 11.5%. The trucking demand remains soft in key markets, with some positives in other segments; however, not enough to offset the negatives fully. Therefore, my initial hold rating stands. Briefly on Performance Now that we have the full year under our belt, let’s take a look at the top-line performance. Revenue for FY25 was around $3B, which is down almost 7% y/y. The same issue is still causing the company’s top-line performance to be lackluster. The NA on-highway demand, especially medium-duty and vocational truck builds, is causing it. On the positive side, the defense segment and outside NA sales helped offset the issues slightly. Seeking Alpha Going over the company’s margin development in 2025, we can see a mixed bag. Overall, gross profitability stayed strong, but its operating expenses and product mix moved quite a bit over the year. Most of the margins went down at the end of the year, apart from gross margins, which essentially were maintained. Pricing held up pretty well, with contractual pass throughs helping the company maintain and even improve gross margins. Seeking Alpha With the decline in the bottom line, we naturally get a decline in other efficiency metrics like ROA and ROE. These are still quite attractive, but they have declined quite a bit from the beginning of the year. Also, the company’s return on total capital took a hit, which is not ideal. The company may be losing its pricing power, and its moat is eroding. Seeking Alpha Going over to the company’s balance sheet, ALSN finished the year with around $1.5B in cash and equivalents, against close to $2.9B in long-ter...