RHJ/iStock via Getty Images Source: Own Processing Precious metals royalty and streaming companies represent a very interesting sub-industry of the precious metals mining industry. They provide some leverage to the growing metals prices, similar to the typical mining companies; however, they are less risky in comparison to them. Their incomes are derived from royalty and streaming agreements. Unde...
RHJ/iStock via Getty Images Source: Own Processing Precious metals royalty and streaming companies represent a very interesting sub-industry of the precious metals mining industry. They provide some leverage to the growing metals prices, similar to the typical mining companies; however, they are less risky in comparison to them. Their incomes are derived from royalty and streaming agreements. Under a metal streaming agreement, the streaming company provides an upfront payment to acquire the right to future deliveries of a predefined percentage of the metal production of a mining operation. The streaming company also pays some ongoing payments that are usually well below the market price of the metal. They can be set as a fixed sum (e.g., $300/toz gold) or as a percentage (e.g., 20% of the prevailing gold price), or a combination of both (e.g., the lower of a) $300/toz gold and b) 20% of the prevailing gold price). The royalties usually apply to a small fraction of the mining project production (usually 1-3%), and they are not connected with ongoing payments. They can have various forms, but the most common is a small percentage of the net smelter return ("NSR"). The NSR is calculated as revenues from the sale of the mined products minus transportation and refining costs. To better track the overall performance of the whole sub-industry, I created a capitalisation-weighted index (the Precious Metals Royalty and Streaming Index) consisting of 11 companies (in June 2020, expanded to 15). Later, based on the inquiries of readers, I also introduced an equal-weighted version of the index. Until March 2021, both indices included the same companies and were calculated back to January 2019. However, some major changes occurred in April 2021. Due to the boom of the royalty and streaming industry and the emergence of many new companies, the indices experienced two major changes. First of all, the market capitalisation-weighted index was modified to include only the 5 biggest c...
The opposition push to impeach Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te has entered a new phase after he refused to appear at related legislative hearings. The no-show has further deepened partisan strife and is likely to complicate governance ahead of year-end local government elections, observers warn, although most of them agree that the impeachment motion is unlikely to clear Taiwan’s high consti...
The opposition push to impeach Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te has entered a new phase after he refused to appear at related legislative hearings. The no-show has further deepened partisan strife and is likely to complicate governance ahead of year-end local government elections, observers warn, although most of them agree that the impeachment motion is unlikely to clear Taiwan’s high constitutional threshold. The impeachment motion – an unprecedented move against a sitting leader of Taiwan – was launched late last year by the main opposition party Kuomintang (KMT) and the smaller Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). Advertisement It came after the cabinet declined to countersign amendments to a revised fiscal allocation law passed by the legislature, where the opposition holds a slim majority. The revised law aims to increase the share of central funds allocated to local governments, thereby reducing central government funds. Under Taiwan’s constitutional system, an impeachment motion against the island’s leader must be proposed by more than half of the 113-seat parliament, or a minimum of 57 lawmakers. It must then be approved by at least a two-thirds majority – or 76 votes – before being sent to the Constitutional Court for adjudication. Advertisement This bar is widely seen as unattainable for the opposition. The ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) holds 51 seats, compared with 62 for the opposition and independents – leaving them 14 votes short of the two-thirds majority needed to pass the motion. Nevertheless, the opposition-led legislature voted last month to proceed with two public hearings and four parliamentary review sessions, inviting Lai to attend and explain his position.
Hong Kong’s housing market may be on the verge of a sharp rebound and a new upcycle after four years of decline, according to Praveen Choudhary, head of Asia gaming, Hong Kong and India property research at Morgan Stanley. Choudhary expects home prices to rise about 10 per cent in 2026 – among the most bullish forecasts for a market that has fallen roughly 30 per cent from a peak in 2021. For him,...
Hong Kong’s housing market may be on the verge of a sharp rebound and a new upcycle after four years of decline, according to Praveen Choudhary, head of Asia gaming, Hong Kong and India property research at Morgan Stanley. Choudhary expects home prices to rise about 10 per cent in 2026 – among the most bullish forecasts for a market that has fallen roughly 30 per cent from a peak in 2021. For him, the call is less about a single year’s gain and more about a shift in the cycle after years of drag. The shift in momentum was a combination of several factors: falling borrowing costs, rising rents and policy changes introduced earlier in the downturn finally starting to take effect. Advertisement “When I look at the numbers and the weightings of different factors, I’ve never been as convinced as I am today,” Choudhary said. Residential buildings in Tsuen Wan viewed from Shing Mun Reservoir. Photo: Eugene Lee One of the most important and overlooked factors, he said, was the government’s decision in 2024 to abolish stamp duties that for more than a decade imposed levies of up to 30 per cent on buyers and sellers. The move initially drew little response, coming at a time when prices were still falling and confidence remained weak.
Steven Garcia, as told to Gaby Del Valle: I was in the middle of a frozen lake when I got the notification from the Minnesota Star Tribune that there had been a shooting. I was at a pond hockey event, and someone who was supposed to play later that evening said he probably wouldn’t be able to make it — they knew there would be protests and demonstrations happening. I arrived a little over three ho...
Steven Garcia, as told to Gaby Del Valle: I was in the middle of a frozen lake when I got the notification from the Minnesota Star Tribune that there had been a shooting. I was at a pond hockey event, and someone who was supposed to play later that evening said he probably wouldn’t be able to make it — they knew there would be protests and demonstrations happening. I arrived a little over three hours later. Federal officers had already cleared the scene — the FBI had been there investigating — so the only law enforcement present were state and local officials: the Minneapolis Police Department, their SWAT team, the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, and the Minnesota State Patrol. State and local law enforcement stand by after federal officers left the scene of a fatal shooting by federal officers at the intersection of 26th and Nicollett in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Reports say that 37-year-old Alex Pretti was the victim of the fatal shooting by federal officers, who was at the scene as an observer. The incident was captured on video by bystanders. Photo by Steven Garcia / The Verge Photo by Steven Garcia / The Verge Photo by Steven Garcia / The Verge Photo by Steven Garcia / The Verge Photo by Steven Garcia / The Verge Photo by Steven Garcia / The Verge Photo by Steven Garcia / The Verge Photo by Steven Garcia / The Verge There were protesters at multiple intersections. People had blocked off the streets with trash cans and dumpsters, and there were mattresses on the ground. Protesters were heckling officers, but there were no physical altercations. Eventually law enforcement retreated by a block and started throwing tear gas. They drove their trucks over the mattresses as they left. It was the green smoke: hexachloroethane, a chemical irritant they’ve been using. When those canisters go off, they pop and bang, kind of like a firework. Dozens of canisters were going off. Even initially, there were four, five, six canisters at a time that they were throwing. I had to ...
Would Term Limits Make The DC Swamp Even Worse? Via Brian McGlinchey at Stark Realities Though America is beset by increasingly bitter political divisions, there are two convictions that unite Americans across party and demographic lines. Large majorities are certain that Congress isn’t serving the interests of the American people, and that Capitol Hill would become far more virtuous with the impo...
Would Term Limits Make The DC Swamp Even Worse? Via Brian McGlinchey at Stark Realities Though America is beset by increasingly bitter political divisions, there are two convictions that unite Americans across party and demographic lines. Large majorities are certain that Congress isn’t serving the interests of the American people, and that Capitol Hill would become far more virtuous with the imposition of term limits. Despite their broad appeal to our “throw out the bums” instincts, term limits would probably make Congress even worse than it is now. Even as a proposed policy, the concept does the country a disservice by distracting Americans from the more extreme remedies required for a federal government guiding us along a dangerous path into mounting partisan hostility, unconstitutionally-concentrated power, and obliviousness to coming financial ruin. According to a 2023 McLaughlin and Associates poll, an overwhelming 87% of US adults favor congressional term limits, a finding that’s consistent with other surveys . Proposals vary. Reflecting a common recommendation, one of the term-limit bills introduced this session would limit House representatives to six two-year terms, and senators to two six-year terms , thus maxing out both varieties of legislator at a dozen years. Notably, members who served before 2023 -- including the bill’s introducing sponsor, Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) -- would be exempted. One dynamic that makes term limits appealing is the overwhelming power of incumbency in US electoral politics: Federal incumbents who sought reelection had a 98% success rate in 2024 , matching the pace of 2022 and edging the 96% rate seen in 2020. Jarring as they are, those stats create a false impression of the degree of stagnancy in the House and Senate . That’s because -- over the dozen years often floated as a term-limit maximum tenure -- a substantial number of legislators already leave on their own. According to the most recent Pew Research calculations, over ...
Cosmetic surgeon sorry for picking apart singer Troye Sivan's looks on TikTok 15 minutes ago Share Save Yasmin Malik and Srosh Khan , BBC Newsbeat Share Save BBC/Sarah Louise Bennett Singer Troye Sivan hit out at a cosmetic doctor who gave him "unsolicited medical advice" on Instagram A cosmetic surgeon who faced a backlash over a video picking apart pop star Troye Sivan's appearance says he "feel...
Cosmetic surgeon sorry for picking apart singer Troye Sivan's looks on TikTok 15 minutes ago Share Save Yasmin Malik and Srosh Khan , BBC Newsbeat Share Save BBC/Sarah Louise Bennett Singer Troye Sivan hit out at a cosmetic doctor who gave him "unsolicited medical advice" on Instagram A cosmetic surgeon who faced a backlash over a video picking apart pop star Troye Sivan's appearance says he "feels terrible" for upsetting the singer - but will continue to post. London-based Dr Zayn Khalid Majeed posted a two-minute clip drawing attention to the 30-year-old's "problem" areas following an appearance at a recent event in Australia. Fans criticised the "unsolicited" advice, and the singer himself responded with an essay explaining how the video had triggered long-held insecurities about his body. Since deleting the video and contacting Sivan to apologise, Majeed tells BBC Newsbeat he will try to make a more positive impact with his content. Sivan, whose career began when he was a teenager, is regarded by many as a poster boy for the "twink" look. The term refers to younger, slim gay men with a boyish look, and Sivan's image appears prominently in Google results and on Wikipedia's definition page. In the video, which compared studio images of the singer with recent footage from a red carpet interview, Majeed said Sivan appeared to be showing signs of "twink death". The cosmetic doctor, who has more than 250,000 followers across platforms, pointed towards several "problem areas", such as shadows and "volume loss" in the singer's face. He then imagined a scenario where Sivan was his patient and listed various cosmetic "improvements" he could opt for, including skin boosters and dermal filler. Zayn Khalid Majeed/TikTok Troye Sivan said he considered getting cosmetic surgery after watching a video breakdown of his face on Instagram People on social media and fans of Sivan criticised Majeed's "unsolicited" advice on ways to "retwinkify" himself. The singer himself then got in...
The bond market rebounded considerably in 2025, and these two bonds may help investors gain exposure to a market that's expected to continue strengthening. Both the iShares 5-10 Year Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF (IGIB +0.06%) and iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF (AGG +0.09%) are core bond ETFs from iShares, designed for investors seeking diversified exposure to the U.S. investment-grade...
The bond market rebounded considerably in 2025, and these two bonds may help investors gain exposure to a market that's expected to continue strengthening. Both the iShares 5-10 Year Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF (IGIB +0.06%) and iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF (AGG +0.09%) are core bond ETFs from iShares, designed for investors seeking diversified exposure to the U.S. investment-grade fixed-income market. This comparison examines how their costs, performance, yields, risks, and portfolio makeup differ, helping investors decide which may be a better fit for their bond allocation. Snapshot (cost & size) Metric IGIB AGG Issuer IShares IShares Expense ratio 0.04% 0.03% 1-yr return (as of Jan. 24, 2026) 4.65% 3.2% Dividend yield 4.58% 3.88% Beta 0.34 0.27 AUM $17.6 billion $136.78 billion Beta measures price volatility relative to the S&P 500; beta is calculated from five-year weekly returns. The 1-yr return represents total return over the trailing 12 months. AGG is slightly more affordable, with a lower expense ratio. However, IGIB offers a substantially higher dividend yield, which may be more important for income-focused investors. Performance & risk comparison Metric IGIB AGG Max drawdown (5 y) -20.64% -17.83% Growth of $1,000 over 5 years $883 $857 What's inside With a 22-year track record, AGG is an established ETF that tracks the total U.S. investment-grade bond market, with 13,067 holdings. About 74% of the ETF’s holdings are AA-rated bonds, the second-highest rating a bond can receive. IGIB, by contrast, focuses on U.S. dollar-denominated investment-grade corporate bonds with maturities of 5 to 10 years. Its holdings primarily consist of A bonds (44.29%) and BBB bonds (49.18%), which carry a higher risk of default than AAA and AA bonds but typically offer greater volatility and higher yields. What this means for investors What’s interesting about these two ETFs is that, even though IGIB has a higher dividend yield, AGG still pays a higher monthly d...
Video recorded by witnesses to the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis on Saturday shows that the 37-year-old registered nurse was holding a phone, not a gun, when he was tackled and shot, directly contradicting the claims of senior Trump administration officials that he threatened to “massacre” officers. In the aftermath of the killing, which was recorded by multiple wi...
Video recorded by witnesses to the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis on Saturday shows that the 37-year-old registered nurse was holding a phone, not a gun, when he was tackled and shot, directly contradicting the claims of senior Trump administration officials that he threatened to “massacre” officers. In the aftermath of the killing, which was recorded by multiple witnesses, the Department of Homeland Security released an image of a handgun, which Donald Trump referred to as “the gunman’s gun” in a social media post. Kristi Noem, the DHS secretary, said at a briefing that Pretti had “approached US border patrol officers with a 9mm semi-automatic handgun”, though she later declined to say whether or not Pretti pulled the gun out. Greg Bovino, a senior border patrol commander who was reprimanded by a federal judge last year for lying, also told reporters that Pretti had approached border patrol agents with the same gun. “The agents attempted to disarm the individual, but he violently resisted. Fearing for his life and the lives and safety of fellow officers, a border patrol agent fired defensive shots,” Bovino said. “This looks like a situation where an individual wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement.” That account is directly contradicted by video evidence of the incident reviewed by the Guardian. While Pretti was legally licensed to have a gun, it is unclear whether he had one on his person at the time of the incident, and the videos do not show him ever having one in his hand. Video provided to the Guardian by a Minneapolis resident who drove past the scene at 8.58am local time, as a group of observers recorded video on their phones of federal officers on Nicollet Avenue in south Minneapolis, showed Pretti standing on the street holding up his phone as one officer reached out and shoved him back. Pretti retreated, but appeared to continue recording the officer as he did so. 0:40 Video shows confrontation before fat...
Key Points Coinbase’s revenue mix is improving steadily. The company is benefiting from increasing institutional adoption of cryptocurrencies. Derivatives can prove to be a new growth avenue for the company. 10 stocks we like better than Coinbase Global › Coinbase Global (NASDAQ: COIN) is set to report its fourth-quarter fiscal 2025 earnings results on Feb. 12, 2026. Do clearer U.S. crypto regulat...
Key Points Coinbase’s revenue mix is improving steadily. The company is benefiting from increasing institutional adoption of cryptocurrencies. Derivatives can prove to be a new growth avenue for the company. 10 stocks we like better than Coinbase Global › Coinbase Global (NASDAQ: COIN) is set to report its fourth-quarter fiscal 2025 earnings results on Feb. 12, 2026. Do clearer U.S. crypto regulations and accelerating institutional adoption of cryptocurrencies make this stock a buy ahead of its earnings results? Let's find out. Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now, when you join Stock Advisor. See the stocks » Improving financials In the third quarter, Coinbase generated $1.9 billion in revenue, $801 million in adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA), and $433 million in net income. The company's subscription and services segment generated $747 million in revenue, accounting for nearly 40% of the total revenue. Management expects fourth-quarter subscription and services revenue to be in the range of $710 million to $790 million. This implies that the company's revenue mix is shifting toward higher-quality, recurring streams, rather than relying primarily on volatile trading activity. Improving business mix Coinbase Institutional has positioned itself as a custodian for the majority of U.S. spot Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The company served as a custodian for nine out of 11 Bitcoin ETFs and eight out of nine Ethereum ETFs in 2024. Major institutional players such as BlackRock (NYSE: BLK) and Pantera Capital have also shifted large amounts of cryptocurrency to the Coinbase Prime platform. All this is translating into higher custody, settlement, and prime brokerage fees for Coinbase, regardless of short-term swings in cryptocurrency prices. Coinbase's Ethereum Layer-2 blockchain network, Base, is emerging as a new reven...
First round of trilateral meetings shows ‘a lot of progress’ made towards peace, says US official, despite new Russian attacks. What we know on day 1,432 Ukraine and Russia have agreed to hold a second round of US-brokered direct peace talks next weekend after a two-day meeting in Abu Dhabi , despite Ukrainian complaints that negotiations were undermined by a barrage of deadly strikes. The trilate...
First round of trilateral meetings shows ‘a lot of progress’ made towards peace, says US official, despite new Russian attacks. What we know on day 1,432 Ukraine and Russia have agreed to hold a second round of US-brokered direct peace talks next weekend after a two-day meeting in Abu Dhabi , despite Ukrainian complaints that negotiations were undermined by a barrage of deadly strikes. The trilateral talks in the UAE would resume on 1 February, a US official said on Saturday, adding: “I think getting everyone together was a big step. I think it’s a confirmation of the fact that, number one, a lot of progress has been made to date in really defining the details needed to get to a conclusion.” The talks were the first known direct contact between Ukrainian and Russian officials on a plan being pushed by Donald Trump to end the nearly four-year war. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said “a lot was discussed, and it is important that the conversations were constructive”. Russia was criticised for launching drone and missile attacks on Kyiv and Kharkiv – Ukraine’s two largest cities – during peace talks in Abu Dhabi, reported Peter Beaumont . “Peace efforts? Trilateral meeting in the UAE? Diplomacy? For Ukrainians, this was another night of Russian terror,” the country’s foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, said after the latest Russian assault on critical infrastructure. With Kyiv and other cities in the midst of widespread outages of heat, water and power after Russian attacks on energy infrastructure, officials in the capital said one person had been killed and at least 15 injured in the strikes that continued until morning. US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff spoke to Russian president Vladimir Putin for four hours in Moscow ahead of the trilateral peace talks , a US official said. They “met for just about four hours, and again, [a] very, very productive discussion, speaking about the final issues that are open”, the official told a media call on Saturday. T...
Netflix Inc. kicked off one of its most ambitious live events yet, streaming US free-solo climber Alex Honnold as he began scaling Taipei 101 after a 24-hour delay caused by rain. Honnold started his ascent at about 9:10 a.m. local time, climbing the exterior of the 508-meter (1,667-foot) skyscraper made of glass and steel. The weather delay only fueled online buzz, with viewers speculating about ...
Netflix Inc. kicked off one of its most ambitious live events yet, streaming US free-solo climber Alex Honnold as he began scaling Taipei 101 after a 24-hour delay caused by rain. Honnold started his ascent at about 9:10 a.m. local time, climbing the exterior of the 508-meter (1,667-foot) skyscraper made of glass and steel. The weather delay only fueled online buzz, with viewers speculating about the risks and how quickly he could complete the challenge. Read more: Netflix Tests Live Ambitions With High-Risk Skyscraper Live On a sunny day with scattered clouds, hundreds of fans gathered outside the building in Taipei, while a helicopter circled overhead. Honnold, wearing a red T-shirt, black pants and wireless earpiece, paused at the base of the tower, looking up before beginning his first-ever skyscraper climb. If completed successfully, the live event will mark a turning point not just for Honnold, but also for Netflix and the sport itself, shifting elite climbing from remote cliffs and edited documentaries to a real-time spectacle for a global audience. As he ascended the first few stories — visible to tenants inside the building — Honnold smiled and waved to spectators below, as the broadcast continued.