Breaking
Dark Pool Bulls
Author

admin

Browsing
Investing

Crypto Market Update: World Liberty Announces US$1.5 Billion Crypto Treasury, Bullish Surges on IPO

Investing 5 Mins Read

Here’s a quick recap of the crypto landscape for Wednesday (August 13) as of 9:00 p.m. UTC.

Get the latest insights on Bitcoin, Ethereum and altcoins, along with a round-up of key cryptocurrency market news.

Bitcoin and Ethereum price update

Bitcoin (BTC) was priced at US$122,444, up by 2.6 percent over the last 24 hours, and its highest valuation of the day. It briefly dropped to its lowest valuation of $120,414 shortly after the opening bell.

Bitcoin has found itself at the crossroads of macroeconomic data, political influence and shifting capital flows. Inflation statistics and central bank dynamics have introduced caution, while stablecoin activity and institutional appetite are hinting at a redistribution into altcoins.

Bitcoin price performance, August 13, 2025.

Chart via TradingView.

Meanwhile, Ethereum (ETH) continued to rally, up by 4.5 percent to US$4,716.60. The cryptocurrency’s lowest valuation on Wednesday was US$4,638.43, and its highest was US$4,738.59.

Glassnode notes that ETH is a bellwether for altcoins, and its current move as capital continues to flow into exchange-traded funds suggests further upside. In an X post on Wednesday, Charles Edwards, founder of crypto quantitative digital asset fund Capriole Investments, shared data showing that 75 percent of Coinbase Global’s (NASDAQ:COIN) volume came from institutional players on Tuesday (August 12).

He pointed to the outlook for interest rates following the release of July inflation data.

Altcoin price update

  • Solana (SOL) was priced at US$200.74, up by 6.1 percent over 24 hours, and its highest valuation of the day. Its lowest valuation was US$195.81.
  • XRP was trading for US$3.27, up 0.1 percent in the past 24 hours and at its highest valuation of the day. Its lowest was US$3.24.
  • Sui (SUI) was trading at US$3.99, up by 2.3 percent over the past 24 hours, and its highest valuation of the day. Its lowest level was US$3.93.
  • Cardano (ADA) was trading at US$0.8827, up by 4.6 percent over 24 hours, and its highest valuation on Wednesday. Its lowest was US$0.8660.

Today’s crypto news to know

World Liberty Financial sets up US$1.5 billion crypto treasury

World Liberty Financial, a digital asset venture backed by US President Donald Trump and his sons, has announced plans to establish a US$1.5 billion “crypto treasury” in partnership with ALT5 Sigma (NASDAQ:ALTS).

Under the deal, ALT5 will raise US$1.5 billion through the sale of its own shares. The funds will go toward the purchase of World Liberty’s in-house token, $WLFI, and will also be used to set up a crypto treasury, settle litigation, pay down debt and for other corporate uses. It will ultimately hold about 7.5 percent of $WLFI tokens.

Unnamed institutional investors and venture capital firms participated in the share sale. Crypto treasury models have grown in popularity this year amid a friendlier US regulatory stance under the Trump administration.

The project’s leadership is heavily tied to the Trump family, with Trump himself listed as “co-founder emeritus,” and Eric, Donald Jr. and Barron Trump holding co-founder titles.

As part of the arrangement, Eric Trump will join ALT5’s board and Zach Witkoff will serve as its chair.

Bullish shares surge on NYSE debut

Bullish (NYSE:BLSH), the parent company of Bullish Exchange and CoinDesk, began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday. Shares were priced at US$37 each, an increase from an earlier target of US$33, with 30 million on offer to raise US$1.1 billion and value the company at nearly US$5.4 billion.

Shares surged as much as 218 percent to reach US$118 on trading volume of roughly 38 million shares, before pulling back to close at US$70.65. The initial public offering pushed the company’s market cap above US$10 billion.

Banking groups push for stablecoin loophole closure

US banking groups, led by the Bank Policy Institute (BPI), are urging Congress to close a loophole that allows stablecoin issuers to indirectly offer yields through affiliates. They argue that while new stablecoin laws prevent issuers from directly offering yield, they don’t prohibit crypto exchanges or affiliated businesses from doing so.

The groups contend that this circumvents the law and could lead to a US$6.6 trillion outflow of deposits from traditional banks, potentially disrupting credit flow to American businesses and families.

Banks are concerned that yield-bearing stablecoins undermine their ability to attract deposits, which are crucial for backing loans. The offering of yield is a significant marketing draw for stablecoins, with some, like USDC, already rewarding holders on exchanges such as Kraken and Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN).

Safe harbor programs proposed for DeFi

In a Wednesday letter, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and the DeFi Education Fund asked the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Hester Peirce, head of the commission’s Crypto Task Force, to set up a safe harbor program from broker-dealer registration requirements for non-fungible token (NFT) and DeFi applications.

The group said the letter was a follow up to Trump’s Working Group on Digital Assets, which called on the SEC to give certain DeFi service providers relief from registration provisions under the Exchange Act, specifically those related to broker-dealers, exchanges and clearing agencies. SEC Chair Paul Atkins also directed staff to update “antiquated agency rules and regulations” for certain crypto and blockchain applications in July.

To avoid enforcement actions, a safe harbor provision would exempt some companies that offer crypto-related products and services from enforcement actions. a16z has sent two previous letters to the commission this year recommending safe harbors for NFTs, airdrops and network tokens.

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

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

This post appeared first on investingnews.com

Keep Reading
Investing

Zinc Stocks: 4 Biggest Canadian Companies in 2025

Investing 6 Mins Read

The price of zinc was on the rise in 2024, but this year has been a different story. The metal’s value has trended down for most of 2025 on the back of increased supply and weakening demand.

Many base metals have taken hit from lagging demand in recent years due to sticky inflation and higher interest rates, and zinc is no exception. Zinc supply has also faced pressure from higher mining and refining costs, causing some major zinc mines and smelters to suspend operations, with more possible if the current economic situation continues.

With its important role in the steel manufacturing process, the zinc market is heavily influenced by international trade. One area of support in the last few months has been turmoil caused by the US-China trade war and tariff threats .

Data was gathered on July 30, 2025, using TradingView’s stock screener, and only zinc stocks with market caps greater than C$50 million at that time were considered. Read on to learn more about their operations and plans.

1. Teck Resources (TSX:TECK.A,TSX:TECK.B)

Market cap: C$22.01 billion
Share price: C$45.04

Teck Resources is a major global polymetallic miner, as well as one of the world’s top zinc producers.

The Vancouver-headquartered company produced 615,900 metric tons (MT) of zinc in concentrate in 2024, with 555,600 MT coming from its Red Dog zinc mine in Alaska. The remaining 60,300 MT came from Teck’s 22.5 percent share of zinc production from the Peru-based Antamina copper-zinc mine.

Teck’s total 2025 production guidance for the base metal is set in a range of 525,000 to 575,000 MT. As of June 30, the company’s zinc production for the year totaled 384,000 MT.

In addition to the sites mentioned, Teck owns the Trail operations, which it describes as ‘one of the world’s largest fully integrated zinc and lead smelting and refining complexes.’ Located in BC, Canada, the Trail operations produced 256,000 MT of refined zinc in 2024, with 190,000 to 230,000 MT of the material expected in 2025.

Teck pays a quarterly dividend. On September 29, it will pay out a dividend of C$0.125 per share.

2. Fireweed Metals (TSXV:FWZ)

Market cap: C$485.11 million
Share price: C$2.32

Fireweed Metals is a critical metals company whose flagship Macmillan Pass zinc project is located in Canada’s Yukon. In 2023, the company acquired the Gayna River zinc project in the Northwest Territories, as well as the Mactung tungsten project, which is adjacent to Macmillan Pass and straddles the border between Yukon and the Northwest Territories. According to Fireweed, Mactung ‘hosts the world’s largest high-grade tungsten deposit.’

Even with these new assets, the company still has a strong focus on Macmillan Pass. In fact, in November 2023, the Fireweed team, led by Dr. Jack Milton, the firm’s vice president of geology, received the Association for Mineral Exploration’s H.H. “Spud” Huestis Award for its work at the Macmillan Pass property.

Fireweed’s best drill intersection to date from Macmillan Pass’ Boundary zone includes 143.95 meters true width at 14.45 percent zinc, including 28.71 meters at 25.52 percent zinc. In September 2024, after its largest regional exploration campaign ever at Macmillan Pass, the company released an updated resource estimate for the Tom and Jason deposits, as well as inaugural resource estimates for the Boundary zone and End zone deposits.

Fireweed launched its 2025 field program in early June, saying it will include 12,000 meters of diamond drilling at Macmillan Pass. The work will target ‘both high-priority regional prospects and step-outs around known zinc-lead-silver-gallium-germanium deposits,’ according to a press release.

3. Trilogy Metals (TSX:TMQ)

Market cap: C$405.68 million
Share price: C$2.47

Trilogy Metals is focused primarily on copper, zinc and cobalt at its Alaskan Upper Kobuk projects, which are held by Ambler Metals, a joint venture operating company owned equally by Trilogy and South32 (ASX:S32,OTC Pink:SHTLF).

Its most advanced zinc project is the Arctic copper-zinc-lead-gold-silver volcanogenic massive sulfide project, which is in the feasibility stage and has proven and probable reserves of 43.44 million MT grading 3.12 percent zinc.

In addition, early stage 2023 field work at the company’s wholly owned Helpmejack project in Alaska’s Ambler schist belt outlined two target areas prospective for volcanogenic massive sulfide and shale-hosted zinc deposits.

Trilogy had been focusing on improving access to the region with its Amber Access project, but it was rejected by the US Bureau of Land Management under the Biden administration in June 2024 due to the impact the proposed road could have on the environment and communities in the region, which have seen little development.

However, under the Trump administration, a series of executive and secretarial orders focusing on developing Alaska’s natural resources have been enacted that could reverse this decision.

“Recent actions taken by President Donald Trump and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum signal a positive path forward for the Ambler Road,’ Trilogy Metals President and CEO Tony Giardini said. ‘This transportation corridor is crucial not only for providing access to the minerals that are vital to U.S. national security and prosperity, but also for much-needed economic growth and job creation in Alaska. Trilogy Metals is committed to working with all stakeholders on progressing the road, to unlock the vast natural resource potential of the Ambler Mining District.”

4. Emerita Resources (TSXV:EMO)

Market cap: C$317.02 million
Share price: C$1.20

Emerita Resources has a portfolio of high-grade, large-scale polymetallic projects covering more than 26,000 combined hectares in Spain’s Iberian Pyrite Belt. The company’s flagship asset is the Iberian Belt West project, which hosts three massive sulfide deposits: La Infanta, La Romanera and El Cura.

Emerita released a resource estimate for Iberian Belt West in May 2023. It finished environmental baseline studies the following month, and completed supporting documentation for its mining license application in December 2023.

In July 2024, the Andalusian government granted Iberian Belt West a declaration of strategic interest, which will streamline the process of moving the project through development.

Phase 2 metallurgical testing results for the La Romanera and La Infanta deposits released in late 2024 show that commercial-grade copper, lead and zinc concentrates can be obtained from both deposits.

In March of this year, Emerita announced an updated resource estimate for Iberian Belt West, showing a 35 percent increase to the total indicated mineral resource tonnage and a 44 percent increase in total inferred mineral resource tonnage. Also this year, Emerita made the cut for the latest TSX Venture 50 list.

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

This post appeared first on investingnews.com

Keep Reading
Investing

Top 3 Canadian Graphite Stocks of 2025

Investing 6 Mins Read

Graphite prices have experienced volatility recently due to bottlenecks in demand for electric vehicles.

One major factor experts are watching right now is the trade war between China and the US.

China introduced export restrictions on certain graphite products on December 1, 2023, making it a requirement for Chinese exporters to apply for special permits to ship the material to global markets. In July 2024, the Trump administration in the US announced it would raise tariffs on battery-grade graphite imports from China to 93.5 percent.

Another trend shaping the graphite market in 2025 has been increasing substitution of natural graphite with synthetic in battery anode production; this comes in response to Chinese exports restrictions and US tariffs on natural graphite.

This has led to much lower prices for natural graphite, and against that backdrop, many Canadian graphite stocks have trended down. However, several graphite-focused companies have seen strong performances this year.

Below is a look at the year’s best-performing graphite stocks on the TSXV and CSE; TSX companies were considered, but none made the cut this time. Data was obtained on July 29, 2025, using TradingView’s stock screener, and all companies listed had market caps above C$10 million at that time. Read on to learn more about their work this year.

1. HydroGraph Clean Power (CSE:HG)

Year-to-date gain: 384.21 percent
Market cap: C$282.81 million
Share price: C$0.99

HydroGraph Clean Power produces cost-effective, high-purity graphene, hydrogen and other strategic nanomaterials.

Graphene, a pure carbon material extracted from graphite, has myriad potential applications in industries such as transport, solar cells, medicine, electronics, energy, defense and desalination. HydroGraph has an exclusive license from Kansas State University to produce graphene and hydrogen through the organization’s patented detonation process.

Much of HydroGraph’s news flow in 2025 has centered on strategic partnerships.

Results from a research study conducted with Arizona State University were released in January, demonstrating that the company’s HydroGraph’s Fractal Graphene is well suited for ultra-high-performance concretes and 3D-printed structures. In February, HydroGraph announced a technical collaboration with an unnamed global leader in synthetic fiber manufacturing to assess the potential of its graphene technology in high-performance fiber applications.

The following month, HydroGraph shared the launch of a line of advanced graphene dispersions developed in collaboration with battery materials and testing services company NEI. The products have the potential to be used to produce high-performance electrodes for use in energy storage solutions.

The company signed a letter of intent in April that could lead to a leading North American industrial gas supplier providing it with access to large volumes of high-purity acetylene. This is an essential material in HydroGraph’s patented detonation synthesis process. Acquiring this feedstock will help the firm advance its plans to build a new graphene production facility in Texas with the capacity to produce over 350 metric tons of graphene annually.

HydroGraph launched its Compounding Partner Program in July with the goal of attaining commercial-scale production of its high-performance Fractal Graphene in thermoplastics. According to the company, initial certified partners are testing new formulations in the automotive and packaging sectors.

After trading in a range of C$0.22 to C$0.35 for much of the year, shares of HydroGraph jumped nearly 300 percent in a matter of days to reach a year-to-date high of C$0.99 on July 29.

2. Black Swan Graphene (TSXV:SWAN)

Year-to-date gain: 107.35 percent
Market cap: C$60.02 million
Share price: C$1.41

Black Swan Graphene describes itself as an emerging powerhouse in the bulk graphene business.

The company is a spinout of Mason Resources (TSXV:LLG,OTCQX:MGPHF), which owns the Uatnan graphite project in Québec and holds a 39 percent stake in Black Swan. Graphite from Uatnan is used to supply Black Swan.

UK-based global chemicals manufacturer Thomas Swan & Co. holds a 15 percent interest in Black Swan, and brings a portfolio of patents and intellectual property related to graphene production. Through this partnership, Black Swan is building out a fully integrated supply chain of mine-to-graphene products.

Black Swan’s share price traded sideways for much of the year before benefiting greatly from a summer surge. Shares of Black Swan reached their highest year-to-date price of C$1.52 on July 23.

This followed a series of positive news items concerning progress on increasing commercial output. On June 3, Black Swan announced the installation of an additional production unit at its operational facility in the UK. It is working to more than triple its annual production capacity from 40 metric tons of high-quality graphene to 140 metric tons.

Later in the month, the company signed a non-exclusive distribution and sales agreement with Indian specialty materials and polymers supplier METCO Resources. The agreement will allow METCO to “distribute and promote Black Swan’s graphene nanoplatelets and GEM advanced masterbatch products to customers across India’s industrial, packaging, automotive, and construction sectors,” as per a press release.

Black Swan made another key announcement in the following month. On July 9, the market learned the company had secured a US patent for its breakthrough continuous graphene production process.

3. Focus Graphite Advanced Materials (TSXV:FMS)

Year-to-date gain: 100 percent
Market cap: C$12.26 million
Share price: C$0.135

Focus Graphite Advanced Materials is both a graphite miner and a battery technology company. Its wholly owned flagship Lac Knife high-grade crystalline flake graphite project is located in Northeastern Québec.

With a completed feasibility study, Lac Knife is one of North America’s most advanced graphite deposits. The company also holds Lac Tétépisca, the highest-purity graphite project in Québec.

In terms of battery technologies, Focus Graphite has a patent-pending proprietary silicone-enhanced spheroidized graphite technology that is designed to enhance battery performance and efficiency.

In late May, definition drilling at Lac Tétépisca led to an extension of the strike length of the mineralized zone to over 6 kilometers, while preliminary metallurgical testing confirmed the quality of the project’s flake graphite.

In mid-June, the company said thermal purification testing on Lac Knife flake graphite completed by American Energy Technologies Company had resulted in refined concentrate to a purity level of 99.999 percent carbon.

“This milestone underscores Focus Graphite’s potential to supply ultra-high-purity graphite material for nuclear energy applications, a market historically dominated by synthetic graphite and limited to a small cohort of qualifying producers,” states the company’s press release.

Shares of Focus Graphite hit their highest year-to-date value of C$0.17 on June 17.

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

This post appeared first on investingnews.com

Keep Reading
Politics

Trump predicts little progress in potential shutdown talks with ‘crazy’ Schumer, Jeffries

Politics 3 Mins Read

President Donald Trump indicated Wednesday that he would meet with the top congressional Democrats ahead of the looming government funding deadline, but said he didn’t believe it would go well.

Lawmakers in the House and Senate are currently away from Washington, D.C., in their respective districts and states, but the Sept. 30 deadline to prevent a partial government shutdown will be just a handful of weeks away when they return after Labor Day.

And there is a brewing tension between Republicans and Democrats over just how the looming government funding fight will shake out.

Trump, during a press conference where he announced a slate of Kennedy Center honorees, said he would meet with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., before the deadline.  

‘But it’s almost a waste of time to meet, because they never approve anything,’ Trump added.

‘I don’t believe anybody is capable of making a deal with these people,’ he continued. ‘They have gone crazy.’

Fox News Digital reached out to Schumer and Jeffries for comment but did not immediately hear back.

Lawmakers must pass the dozen spending bills needed to fund the government to avert a partial shutdown, but that process, known as regular order, has not happened in decades.

While Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has made clear he wants to pass spending bills, and the Senate did indeed pass a trio of funding measures before leaving town, Congress will likely again turn to a short-term government funding extension, known as a continuing resolution (CR).

However, any CR must pass muster with Senate Democrats, given that the legislation has to pass through the upper chamber’s 60-vote threshold.

And congressional Democrats have a bitter taste left in their mouths after Republicans rammed through Trump’s $9 billion clawback package, which included deep cuts to NPR, PBS and foreign aid. They warned that any more attempts to claw back congressionally approved funding on a partisan basis could doom government funding negotiations.

Ahead of the vote to pass three spending bills in the Senate, which included funding for military construction and Veterans Affairs, agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the legislative branch, congressional Democrats vowed that they would play ball – as long as the appropriations process was bipartisan.

‘We all want to pursue a bipartisan, bicameral appropriations process,’ Schumer said at the time. ‘That’s how it’s always been done, successfully, and we believe that, however, the Republicans are making it extremely difficult to do that.’

Earlier this year, Schumer briefly flirted with a government shutdown. However, he eventually relented and voted with Republicans to keep the lights on in Washington, and in the process ignited a firestorm within his own party over his ability as leader of the Senate Democratic caucus.

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

Keep Reading
Politics

Trump threatens ‘very severe’ consequences if Russia doesn’t agree to end Ukraine war

Politics 2 Mins Read

President Donald Trump threatened ‘very severe consequences’ for Russia if President Vladimir Putin doesn’t agree to end the war in Ukraine after their meeting in Alaska on Friday. 

Trump issued the warning Wednesday as he is preparing for a sit-down with Putin in Anchorage. 

‘Yes, they will. There will be consequences,’ Trump said in response to a reporter’s question on the topic. The president then refused to elaborate on what the punishment would be. 

‘I don’t have to say. There will be very severe consequences,’ he added. 

Trump later appeared to cast doubt on whether he could convince Putin to stop bombing Ukrainian civilians. 

‘I’ll tell you what. I’ve had that conversation with him. I’ve had a lot of good conversations with him then I go home and I see that a rocket hit a nursing home or a rocket hit an apartment building, and people are laying dead in the streets,’ Trump said. 

‘So, I guess the answer to that is no, because I’ve had this conversation. I want to end the war. It’s Biden’s war, but I want to end it. I’ll be very proud to end this war, along with the five other wars I ended. But, I guess the answer to that is probably no,’ Trump continued. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also said Wednesday that there is ‘no sign’ that Russia is preparing to end the war in Ukraine. 

‘At present, there is no sign that the Russians are preparing to end the war. Our coordinated efforts and joint actions – of Ukraine, the United States, Europe, and all countries that seek peace – can definitely compel Russia to make peace,’ Zelenskyy said on X. 

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

Keep Reading
Politics

Vance: Adversaries are ‘afraid’ of US military, and that makes tough talks like Putin possible

Politics 3 Mins Read

Adversaries’ fear of the U.S. military is what makes tough negotiations like the one President Donald Trump is scheduled to have with Russian President Vladimir Putin possible, Vice President JD Vance told U.S. troops stationed in England on Wednesday. 

Vance’s comments come as he’s spent the past several days meeting with multiple European leaders in preparation for Trump’s meeting in Anchorage, Alaska, with Putin in an attempt to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.

‘You guys make that possible,’ Vance, a former Marine, told U.S. troops stationed at Royal Air Force Base Fairford. ‘You guys are the reason why we can go into a negotiation with strength. You guys are the reason why we have leverage in these conversations with world leaders. Because they know that if we cut a deal, it is backed up by the finest fighting force anywhere in the world. And that is what makes your job so important.’

‘The fact that people are impressed by you, the fact that so many people are frankly afraid of you is why we’re able to do what we do as an administration,’ Vance said. 

Royal Air Force Base Fairford is home to the U.S. Air Force’s 501st Combat Support Wing and the 99th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron. It is also paramount for U.S. Air Force operations and serves as Air Force Global Strike Command’s preferred bomber forward operating base in Europe. 

The Air Force routinely sends bomber aircraft to the military base as part of Bomber Task Force Europe 25-2 to train with NATO allies. For example, multiple Air Force B-52H Stratofortress bombers from Fairford participated in an exercise with Germany and Romania over NATO’s eastern flank in March 2022 — just after Putin launched his invasion into Ukraine.

Roughly 10,000 U.S. troops are based in the U.K., according to foreign policy think-tank Council on Foreign Relations.

Vance told troops that he had just wrapped up a call with approximately 30 European leaders, coming on the heels of various meetings with other European allies about Ukraine talks in recent days. 

A Saturday meeting with representatives of Ukraine and other European allies led to ‘significant progress’ on ending the conflict in Ukraine, a U.S. official told Fox News Digital. More details on the discussions were not available. 

But Vance said in a Sunday interview that he informed European leaders the U.S. is ‘done with the funding of the Ukraine war business,’ and that they must take on more of the burden in resolving the war. 

‘What we said to Europeans is simply, ‘First of all, this is in your neck of the woods. This is in your back door. You guys have got to step up and take a bigger role in this thing, and if you care so much about this conflict, you should be willing to play a more direct and a more substantial way in funding this war yourself,’’ Vance told Fox News Sunday.

Trump told reporters Monday that he’d be able to tell almost instantly if Putin is serious about negotiating a deal or not, and that he’d keep European leaders like Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the loop after the meeting.

‘If it’s a fair deal, I will reveal it to the European Union leaders and the NATO leaders and also to President Zelenskyy,’ Trump said. ‘I may say, ‘Lots of luck, keep fighting,’ or I may say we can make a deal.’

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

Keep Reading
Politics

Vance visits US troops during high-stakes UK trip ahead of Trump’s Putin meeting

Politics 4 Mins Read

Vice President JD Vance is poised to meet with U.S. troops at a military installation in England Wednesday – capping off a high-stakes trip to the U.K. meeting with European leaders to discuss the war in Ukraine ahead of President Donald Trump’s Friday meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Vance’s visit to the U.K. comes as he’s sought to lay some groundwork with European allies leading up to Trump’s talk with Putin in Anchorage, Alaska – and as he’s turned up the heat on them to take greater ownership in the discussions since the conflict is in their backyard. 

The vice president is slated to visit Royal Air Force Base Fairford, where the U.S. Air Force’s 501st Combat Support Wing and the 99th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron are based. Vance, a former Marine, is expected to voice appreciation for their service, according to a source familiar with Vance’s prepared remarks. 

The military installation serves as a key location for U.S. Air Force operations and is Air Force Global Strike Command’s preferred bomber forward operating base in Europe. U.S. Air Force bombers are regularly deployed to the military base as part of Bomber Task Force Europe 25-2 to integrate with NATO allies and sharpen the service’s global strike capabilities. 

Days after Putin invaded Ukraine in 2022, several Air Force B-52H Stratofortress bombers from Fairford conducted joint operations with Germany and Romania over NATO’s eastern flank.

There are approximately 10,000 U.S. troops stationed in the U.K., according to foreign policy think tank Council on Foreign Relations. 

Prior to addressing U.S. troops, Vance is poised to participate in calls with European leaders to discuss the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Fox News Digital has learned. 

The calls come on the heels of multiple other discussions with European allies on a series of topics – including the war – during Vance’s U.K. visit. Vance has met with multiple U.K. leaders, including U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy. 

A U.S. official told Fox News Digital that Vance and Lammy discussed the relationship between the U.S. and the U.K. and the two allies’ shared economic and technology goals during a meeting on Friday at Lammy’s official residence, Chevening House, in Kent, England. 

Meanwhile, the two leaders also discussed the state of affairs in the Middle East, as well as negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, the U.S. official said. 

The two also met with representatives of Ukraine and other European allies at Chevening House on Saturday. The meeting led to ‘significant progress’ on ending the conflict in Ukraine, according to a U.S. official. 

No other details were provided regarding the Ukraine talks. It’s unclear if Vance will accompany Trump to Alaska for talks with Putin. 

However, Vance said in an interview with Fox News that he communicated to European leaders that the U.S. is ‘done with the funding of the Ukraine war business,’ and that European allies must assume more responsibility in ending the conflict. 

‘What we said to Europeans is simply, first of all, this is in your neck of the woods, this is in your back door, you guys have got to step up and take a bigger role in this thing, and if you care so much about this conflict you should be willing to play a more direct and a more substantial way in funding this war yourself,’ Vance told Fox News on Sunday. 

Congress has passed multiple measures to support Ukraine, totaling at least $175 billion in spending to aid Ukraine since February 2022, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. 

Meanwhile, Trump told reporters Monday that he’d know within minutes is Putin actually interested in a deal or not. Still, he said Moscow and Kyiv must come to terms with some ‘land swapping’ issues to sign off on a deal. 

‘If it’s a fair deal, I will reveal it to the European Union leaders and the NATO leaders and also to President Zelenskyy,’ Trump said. ‘I may say, ‘lots of luck, keep fighting,’ or I may say we can make a deal.’

Trump’s meeting with Putin also comes as his relationship with the Russian leader has soured as peace negotiations have lagged. While the two seemed to remain cordial with each other publicly during Trump’s first administration, that’s changed in recent weeks as Trump has grown fed up with Putin’s tactics. 

‘We get a lot of bulls— thrown at us by Putin, if you want to know the truth,’ Trump said during a Cabinet meeting on July 8. ‘He’s very nice all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless.’

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

Keep Reading
Business

What Trump’s Nvidia and AMD China deal means for the world

Business 5 Mins Read

Nvidia and AMD have agreed to share 15% of their revenue from sales to China with the U.S. government, the White House confirmed Monday, sparking debate about whether the move could affect the chip giants’ business and whether Washington might seek similar deals.

In exchange for the revenue cut, the two semiconductor companies will receive export licenses to sell Nvidia’s H20 and AMD’s MI308 chips in China, according to the Financial Times.

“We follow rules the U.S. government sets for our participation in worldwide markets. While we haven’t shipped H20 to China for months, we hope export control rules will let America compete in China and worldwide,” Nvidia said in a statement to NBC News. “America cannot repeat 5G and lose telecommunication leadership. America’s AI tech stack can be the world’s standard if we race.”

AMD said in a statement that its initial license applications to export MI308 chips to China have been approved.

The arrangement crafted by President Donald Trump’s administration is “unusual,” analysts told CNBC, but underscores his transactional nature. Meanwhile, investors see the move as broadly positive for both Nvidia and AMD, which once more secure access to the Chinese market.

Nvidia’s H20 is a chip that has been specifically created to meet export requirements to China. It was previously banned under export curbs, but the company last month said it expected to receive licenses to send the product to China.

Also in July, AMD said it would resume exports of its MI308 chips.

At the time, there was no suggestion that the resumption of sales to China would come with conditions or any kind of revenue forfeiture, and the step was celebrated by markets because of the billions of dollars worth of potential sales to China that were back on the table.

On Monday, Nvidia shares rose modestly, while AMD’s stock was up more than 2%, highlighting how investors believe the latest development is not a major negative for the companies.

“From an investor perspective, it’s still a net positive, 85% of the revenue is better than zero,” Ben Barringer, global technology analyst at Quilter Cheviot, told CNBC.

“The question will be whether Nvidia and AMD adjust their prices by 15% to account for the levy, but ultimately it’s better that they can sell into the market rather than hand the market over entirely to Huawei.”

Huawei is Nvidia and AMD’s closest Chinese rival.

Uncertainty, nevertheless, still looms for both U.S. companies over the longer term.

“In the short term, the deal gives both companies some certainties for their exports to China,’ George Chen, partner and co-chair of the digital practice at The Asia Group, told CNBC. ‘For the long term, we don’t know if the U.S. government may want to take a bigger cut from their China business especially if their sales to China keep growing.’

Multiple analysts told CNBC that the deal is “unusual,” but almost par for the course for Trump.

“It’s a good development, albeit a strange one, and feels like the sort of arrangement you might expect from President Trump, who is a deal-maker at heart. He’s willing to yield, but only if he gets something in return, and this certainly sets an unusual precedent,” Barringer said.

Neil Shah, partner at Counterpoint Research, said the revenue cut is equivalent to an “indirect tariff at source.”

Daniel Newman, CEO of The Futurum Group, also posted Sunday on X that the move is a “sort of ‘tax’ for doing business in China.”

But such deals are unlikely to be cut for other companies.

“I don’t anticipate it extending to other sectors that are just as important to the U.S. economy like software and services,” Nick Patience, practice lead for AI at The Futurum Group, told CNBC.

The U.S. sees semiconductors as a strategic technology, given they underpin so many other tools like artificial intelligence, consumer electronics and even military applications. Washington has therefore put chips under an export control regime unlike that of any other product.

“Semiconductor is a very unique business and the pay-to-play tactic may work for Nvidia and AMD because it’s very much about getting export approval from the U.S. gov,” the Asia Group’s Chen said.

“Other business like Apple and Meta can be more complicated when it comes to their business models and services for China.”

Semiconductors have become a highly sensitive geopolitical topic. Over the last two weeks, China has raised concerns about the security of Nvidia’s chips.

Late last month, Chinese regulators asked Nvidia to “clarify” reports about potential security vulnerabilities and “backdoors.” Nvidia rejected the possibility that its chips have any “backdoors” that would allow anyone to access or control them. On Sunday, Nvidia again denied that its H20 semiconductors have backdoors after accusations from a social media account affiliated with Chinese state media.

China’s state-run newspaper Global Times slammed Washington’s tactics, citing an expert.

“This approach means that the US government has repudiated its original security justification to pressure US chip makers to secure export licenses to China through economic leverage,” the Global Times article said.

The Chinese government is yet to comment on the reported revenue agreement.

Trump’s deal with Nvidia and AMD will likely stir mixed feelings in China. On the one hand, China will be unhappy with the arrangement. On the other hand, Chinese firms will likely want to get their hands on these chips to continue to advance their own AI capabilities.

“For China, it is a conundrum as they need those chips to advance their AI ambitions but also the fee to the US government could make it costlier and there is a doubt of US ‘backdoors’ considering US has agreed for chipmakers to supply,” Counterpoint Research’s Shah said.

— CNBC’s Erin Doherty contributed to this report.

This post appeared first on NBC NEWS

Keep Reading
Business

A top Federal Reserve official says bleak jobs data backs the case for 3 rate cuts

Business 3 Mins Read

NEW YORK — A top official at the Federal Reserve said Saturday that this month’s stunning, weaker-than-expected report on the U.S. job market is strengthening her belief that interest rates should be lower.

Michelle Bowman was one of two Fed officials who voted a week and a half ago in favor of cutting interest rates. Such a move could help boost the economy by making it cheaper for people to borrow money to buy a house or a car, but it could also threaten to push inflation higher.

Bowman and a fellow dissenter lost out after nine other Fed officials voted to keep interest rates steady, as the Fed has been doing all year. The Fed’s chair, Jerome Powell, has been adamant that he wants to wait for more data about how President Donald Trump’s tariffs are affecting inflation before the Fed makes its next move.

At a speech during a bankers’ conference in Colorado on Saturday, Bowman said that “the latest labor market data reinforce my view” that the Fed should cut interest rates three times this year. The Fed has only three meetings left on the schedule in 2025.

The jobs report that arrived last week, only a couple of days after the Fed voted on interest rates, showed that employers hired far fewer workers last month than economists expected. It also said that hiring in prior months was much lower than initially thought.

On inflation, meanwhile, Bowman said she is getting more confident that Trump’s tariffs “will not present a persistent shock to inflation” and sees it moving closer to the Fed’s 2% target. Inflation has come down substantially since hitting a peak above 9% after the pandemic, but it has been stubbornly remaining above 2%.

The Fed’s job is to keep the job market strong, while keeping a lid on inflation. Its challenge is that it has one main tool to affect both those areas, and helping one by moving interest rates up or down often means hurting the other.

A fear is that Trump’s tariffs could box in the Federal Reserve by sticking the economy in a worst-case scenario called “stagflation,” where the economy stagnates but inflation is high. The Fed has no good tool to fix that, and it would likely have to prioritize either the job market or inflation before helping the other.

On Wall Street, expectations are that the Fed will have to cut interest rates at its next meeting in September after the U.S. jobs report came in so much below economists’ expectations.

Trump has been calling angrily for lower interest rates, often personally insulting Powell while doing so. He has the opportunity to add another person to the Fed’s board of governors after an appointee of former President Joe Biden stepped down recently.

This post appeared first on NBC NEWS

Keep Reading
Business

Bed Bath & Beyond relaunches with first store in Nashville, plans dozens more

Business 3 Mins Read

Bed Bath & Beyond is back — kind of.

The bankrupt home goods chain is being resurrected by the owners and licensees of its intellectual property, which opened the first new Bed Bath & Beyond store in Nashville, Tennessee, on Friday with potentially dozens of more to come.

This time around, the store has a new name — Bed Bath & Beyond Home — and marks a “fresh start” for the beloved brand, said Amy Sullivan, the CEO of The Brand House Collective, the store’s operator.

“We’re proud to reintroduce one of retail’s most iconic names with the launch of Bed Bath & Beyond Home, beautifully reimagined for how families gather at home today,” Sullivan said in a news release. “With Bed Bath & Beyond Home we’re delivering on our mission to offer great brands, for any budget, in every room. It’s a powerful addition to our portfolio and a meaningful step forward in our transformation.”

In honor of the brand’s legacy, the new store will accept the brand’s famous 20% coupon, regardless of when it expired.

“We encourage guests to bring in their legacy Bed Bath & Beyond coupons which we will gladly honor,” the company said in a news release. “The coupon we all know and love is back and for those who need one, a fresh version will be waiting at the door.”

Bed Bath and Beyond 2.0 has been several years in the making and involved a rigmarole of corporate acquisitions and rebrandings. When the original Bed Bath and Beyond filed for bankruptcy in April 2023 following a string of corporate missteps, it struggled to find a buyer and ended up liquidating and selling off its business in parts. Overstock.com later bought the brand’s intellectual property, rebranded its business to Beyond Inc. and launched an online-only version of Bed Bath and Beyond.

What followed from there was a dizzying array of corporate deal-making. Ultimately, Beyond took an ownership stake in Kirkland’s Inc., a home decor chain with around 300 stores across the U.S., and gave it the exclusive license to develop and create Bed Bath & Beyond Home stores, as well as Buy Buy Baby stores.

Kirkland’s later rebranded to The Brand House Collective and plans to convert some of its existing Kirkland’s Home stores into more Bed Bath and Beyond shops. Friday’s launch in Nashville is the first of six planned for the market and, pending the results, it plans to convert around 75 additional stores through 2026.

The company said it chose Nashville for the launch because of its proximity to its corporate headquarters, which will allow it to “closely manage every detail and set the standard for future rollouts.”

While the relaunch is exciting for fans of the legacy brand, it comes at a difficult time for the home decor market. In many ways, Bed Bath & Beyond’s bankruptcy was the fault of its management team and execution missteps, but it also faced macro challenges as well, experts said at the time. Competition from players like Amazon, Walmart, Home Goods and Wayfair has made it harder for other brands to capture customer spend, and the overall sector has been soft for several years because of high interest rates and the sluggish housing market.

Even the current leaders in the home decor space have seen soft trends and it’s unlikely that will change until interest rates fall and the housing market picks back up, some analysts have said.

This post appeared first on NBC NEWS

Keep Reading