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January 14, 2025

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In this exclusive StockCharts video, Julius takes a look at asset class rotation on Relative Rotation Graphs. He then addresses the 6 sectors that are NOT in the “best five sectors” for this week. To conclude, he dives into the Technology sector to find some of the best performing (relative) stocks.

This video was originally published on January 13, 2025. Click on the icon above to view on our dedicated page for Julius.

Past videos from Julius can be found here.

#StayAlert, -Julius

In this video, Tony starts the week with a very different tone as he looks at how markets are currently playing out. He then shares individual trade ideas, pointing out which ones they continue to have a bullish or bearish outlooks on. He looks at some key stocks including META, NVDA, AAPL, and more. This segment is meant to be the foundation of all of the trade ideas that OptionsPlay sends to members throughout the week.

This video premiered on January 13, 2025.

Rare earths prices saw some gains in May 2024, fueled by positive sentiment over consumer demand in China.

While both dysprosium (Dy) and neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr) oxides benefited from this positivity, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence notes that Dy oxides registered the largest gain, moving 10 percent high month-on-month.

“This was the first-time rare earths prices had recovered after a continuous decline (in 2023), but after a brief recovery, prices are now falling again,” Benchmark pricing and data analyst George Ingall said in a May report.

The move for Dy oxides was more pronounced as the market is smaller. NdPr oxide was up a more moderate 0.6 percent.

Muted demand has weighed on prices, but year-on-year increases in mine supply have also capped price growth.

Global rare earths output has rapidly risen from 240,000 metric tons in 2020 to 350,000 metric tons in 2023, according to US Geological Survey data. The lion’s share of rare earth production continues to be dominated by China, a factor that remains relevant for the industry as the Asian nation continues to flex its control.

East vs. west divide still key for rare earths

Rare earths, which are essential in various high-tech applications, including electric vehicles (EVs), wind turbines and electronics, have become a political pawn between the east and west.

Currently, China and the US are locked in a geopolitical struggle over rare earths, with tensions mounting.

In late 2023, China imposed bans on exporting technologies for rare earths processing, tightening its grip on the global supply chain. By mid-2024, reports were circulating that the country’s State Council would introduce stricter regulations on domestic rare earths mining, smelting and trading, effective October 1, 2024. The rules would declare rare earth resources state-owned and require companies to maintain detailed records in a traceability system.

The US responded with tariffs on Chinese EVs and critical minerals, aiming to counter China’s dominance while bolstering domestic production. These measures underscore escalating tensions, with both nations prioritizing strategic control over rare earths amid growing demand for green technologies and national security needs.

“There is a potential fork in the path regarding critical materials, more broadly, and rare earths, in particular, when it comes to overall trade strategy between western nations and China,” he said via email.

“By my calculations, if we maintain an integrated trade structure, then, together, we will probably be able to provide sufficient quantities of both NdPr and DyTb (dysprosium-terbium) to achieve our goals in both the automotive and clean energy sectors; NdPr is easy, DyTb is harder, but it can be done.”

However, if western nations decide they want to exclude China they will face shortfalls.

“If we decide to go our own way in the west, then we can likely deliver enough NdPr to do what we need to do. (But) we are unlikely to make enough DyTb to enable the intended use of all that NdPr,’ he noted.

Hykawy also took aim at governments not recognizing the increasing importance of DyTb.

“At present, there is some noise and support for ‘rare earths,’ but no one in government seems to understand that the critical materials out of the lanthanide elements is shifting from NdPr to DyTb. Without that realization, the steps that are being taken are not mitigating the correct risks,” he said.

Ex-China rare earths supply in the works

To combat China’s hold on the rare earths sector, the US is heavily investing in the space.

In April 2024, the US Department of Energy earmarked US$17.5 million for four rare earths and critical minerals and materials processing technologies using coal and coal by-products as feedstocks.

“In addition, the US government has provided financing for rare earth processing facilities under development by existing rare earth producers to be located in the US, along with NdFeB (neodymium-iron-boron) magnet production facilities.”

To bolster domestic magnet production against Chinese competition, the US government plans to impose a 25 percent tariff on NdFeB magnet imports from China starting in 2026.

However, since most NdFeB magnets are already embedded in components imported by US manufacturers, the tariff is expected to affect only a small fraction of the country’s overall NdFeB magnet consumption, Merriman said.

As the US looks to build out a domestic rare earths supply chain, China has sought to fortify its own.

“China has also taken action to reduce supply chain risk for rare earths, both at the sourcing of feedstocks and the downstream finished product stage,” he said. “China via state-owned companies has invested in several foreign rare earth operations to diversify the origin of rare earth feedstocks, particularly for heavy rare earth rich feeds.”

As Merriman pointed out, the diversification has been propelled by sourcing issues in 2024.

“The risk of China’s current feedstock sources has been highlighted in 2024 with disruption to feedstock supplies from Myanmar, which accounted for >40 percent of global mine supply of dysprosium and terbium,” he said.

In October, rare earths supply was interrupted when Myanmar’s Kachin Independence Army seized Panwa, a key rare earths mining hub, following the earlier capture of Chipwe.

The two towns in Kachin state, near China’s Yunnan province, are critical suppliers of rare earth oxides to China.

“Chinese imports of raw materials from Myanmar were 40,000 tonnes during the first nine months of 2024,” If that production drops out, there will be a big impact on (heavy) rare earth prices,” Thomas Kruemmer, founder of the Rare Earths Observer, told Fastmarkets.

Rare earths project pipeline facing fragility

Depressed prices through 2023 have weighed on explorers and developers as new projects are financially unviable.

“There are several projects which are at advanced stages of development, though few are able to compete on a cost basis with fully integrated and state-owned operators in China,” said Merriman.

“Financing, metallurgical test work and the development of a sizable terminal market outside of China for semi-refined rare earth products are all barriers to the development of several rare earth projects.”

Weak markets are often fertile ground for M&A and deals, and 2024 saw some notable ones.

In June, Astron (ASX:ATR) and Energy Fuels (TSX:EFR,NYSEAMERICAN:UUUU) completed the establishment of a joint venture to advance the Australia-based Donald rare earths and mineral sands project.

Since the agreement was penned, development activities at Donald have progressed, including work related to process plant engineering, auxiliary infrastructure, contract tendering and permitting and approvals.

In September, Defense Metals (TSXV:DEFN,OTCQB:DFMTF) signed a memorandum of understanding with the Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC) to support the development of a domestic rare earths supply chain.

Defense Metals and the SRC will explore collaborations on rare earth processing and supply, including using SRC’s proprietary separation technology for Defense Metals’ products. They aim to negotiate a long-term supply agreement as Defense Metals advances its Wicheeda rare earths project in BC, Canada.

As the year drew to a close, Ucore Rare Metals (TSXV:UCU,OTCQX:UURAF) received a US$1.8 million payment from the US Department of Defense on December 13. The funding will support Ucore’s subsidiary, Innovation Metals, in demonstrating its RapidSX rare earths separation technology at a commercial demonstration facility in Kingston, Ontario.

What factors will affect rare earths in 2025?

In 2025, Merriman sees China’s continued rare earths dominance as a key driver for the sector.

“China maintains a strong influence over rare earth pricing, with most international prices for rare-earth trades being based in some way upon Chinese domestic pricing. China has long sought price stability for key rare earths, allowing downstream value add industries to benefit from reliable and often lower feedstock prices,’ he said.

For Hykawy, precarious supply outside of China and weak prices will be a focal point in 2025.

‘Obviously, we’ve seen significant price drops for Nd, for example,’ he said.

‘That helps the auto sector, but only by the slightest amount. Let’s say there is 2 kilograms of magnet in a main motor in an EV, and I’m likely overestimating. Only 27 percent of that is neodymium metal. The impact of the price change on 500 grams of rare earth is not moving the needle on an EV’s cost,’ Hykawy added.

He also expressed concern about the supply chain for heavy rare earths. “The bigger, long-term impact I am thinking about is, as Dy and Tb production becomes a bottleneck, how does the industry adjust to a world where the projects that can produce enough Dy and Tb are also making Nd and Pr as a by-product?” he posited.

‘To meet the growing demand for heavy rare earths, do the major NdPr producers, like Lynas Rare Earths (ASX:LYC,OTC Pink:LYSCF), MP Materials (NYSE:MP) and the Bayan Obo mine, drop their NdPr output to maintain reasonable prices, or do they keep going and flood the market and drop their own prices to unsustainable levels,’ he questioned.

“For some time, NdPr have been the materials in demand. Soon, they might be valuable but overproduced commodities, with everyone scrambling to get the right amount of DyTb for their automotive or wind application.”

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

This post appeared first on investingnews.com

Today’s pharmaceutical market is facing the challenges of inflation, government-imposed drug price caps and waning demand for COVID-19 vaccines. However, the industry’s major underlying drivers — higher rates of cancer and chronic diseases — are still at play.

The US reigns supreme in the pharma market, both in terms of drug demand and development. In 2024, 50 novel medicines were approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), compared to 55 such approvals in 2023. Last year’s FDA approvals for pharmaceuticals included Eli Lilly and Company’s (NYSE:LLY) Alzheimer’s disease treatment Kisunla (donanemab-azbt).

Big pharma largely stole the show throughout the course of the past year, but a number of small- and mid-cap NASDAQ pharma stocks have also made gains.

1. Chimerix (NASDAQ:CMRX)

Year-over-year gain: 239.49 percent
Market cap: US$297.69 million
Share price: US$3.31

Chimerix is a clinical-stage company developing medicines to improve the quality of life for patients facing deadly diseases. Its most advanced drug development program is ONC201 (dordaviprone), which is in development for recurrent H3 K27M-mutant glioma, a lethal form of brain cancer.

After trading mostly sideways for much of the past year, shares of Chimerix received a big boost late in the fourth quarter of 2024 as the company reached important milestones in its drug development program. The stock jumped more than 217 percent on December 10 to US$2.76, one day after Chimerix announced it would submit a New Drug Application for accelerated approval of dordaviprone to the FDA before the end of the year.

The company’s stock price continued to gain momentum in the following weeks to push past the US$3 mark by December 23. The day following Chimerix’ December 30 press release confirming it had completed the submission process, the stock reached US$3.48 per share.

“With this submission, we now turn our attention to preparing for potential commercial launch in the U.S. next year,” stated Chimerix CEO Mike Andriole.

Chimerix shares hit a yearly high of US$3.66 on January 7, 2025.

2. Eton Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ETON)

Year-over-year gain: 195.98 percent
Market cap: US$372.89 million
Share price: US$14.00

Eton Pharmaceuticals is developing and commercializing treatments for ultra-rare diseases. Its commercial portfolio of rare disease products includes Alkindi Sprinkle, Increlex, PKU Golike and multiple FDA-approved generic bioequivalents. The company also has several product candidates in late-stage development: hydrocortisone oral solution ET-400, ET-600 for diabetes insipidus and the ZENEO hydrocortisone autoinjector.

Eton’s share price performed exceptionally well in the second half of 2024 and into the first few weeks of 2025 on robust quarterly financials, acquisitions and key milestones.

The stock made steady gains following the release of the company’s Q2 2024 financial report in early August. The quarter brought royalty revenue of US$9.1 million and a 40 percent increase in product sales over Q2 2023, representing “the 14th straight quarter of sequential product sales growth.” Shares in Eton climbed by more than 65 percent to US$6.00 by the end of Q3.

In early October, the company announced the acquisition of Increlex, a medication used in the treatment of pediatric patients with severe IGF-1 deficiency, from French biopharma company Ispen. By the end of the month, Eton’s stock reached a value of US$8.62 per share.

November was a busy month for positive news flow out of Eton. The company was awarded a second patent for its liquid formulation of hydrocortisone on November 7. A few days later, its Q3 2024 report highlighted another consecutive quarter of growth in product sales, up 40 percent year-over-year. Eton closed out the month with the acquisition of the US rights to Amglidia for the treatment of neonatal diabetes mellitus from French biotech firm AMMTeK.

By the end of November, Eton’s stock price had surged to US$13.53 per share. The stock reached its highest yearly value of US$14.31 on January 2, 2025. The next day, Eton announced the acquisition of Galzin, an FDA-approved treatment for patients with Wilson disease, which it plans to begin commercializing in the US early this year.

3. Corvus Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CRVS)

Year-over-year gain: 139.63 percent
Market cap: US$334.14 million
Share price: US$5.20

Corvus Pharmaceuticals is a clinical-stage biopharma company developing an immunotherapy platform based on ITK inhibition for the treatment of various cancer and immune diseases. The company’s lead product candidate is soquelitinib, an investigational small molecule drug that selectively inhibits ITK and is delivered orally.

Corvus is another NASDAQ pharma stock that saw significant gains in the last half of 2024.

The growth in its share price got its first major boost in early August when the FDA granted fast track designation to soquelitinib ‘for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory peripheral T cell lymphoma after at least two lines of systemic therapy.’ By the end of the month, shares in Corvus had grown by nearly 50 percent to US$4.48.

Corvus’ stock value received another bump to the upside following the September 10 announcement it had initiated registration in its Phase 3 clinical trial of soquelitinib for the aforementioned indication. Shares in the company reached what was then their highest point of US$5.91 on September 20, and continued to gain value throughout the following weeks to hit a current yearly high of US$9.56 on November 11.

4. ATyr Pharma (NASDAQ:ATYR)

Year-over-year gain: 110.9 percent
Market cap: US$276.17 million
Share price: US$3.29

ATyr Pharma is using its proprietary tRNA synthetase platform, which includes a library of domains derived from all 20 tRNA synthetases, to develop new therapies for fibrosis and inflammation. The company’s lead therapeutic candidate is efzofitimod, a first-in-class biologic immunomodulator targeting interstitial lung disease.

The fourth quarter of 2024 was very good to aTyr’s stock value, and it has continued to perform well into January 2025.

In early October, aTyr Pharma announced the publication of an analysis of the Phase 1b/2a clinical trial of efzofitimod in patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis, a major form of interstitial lung disease, in the European Respiratory Journal.

Shares in aTyr Pharma climbed by more than 92 percent through the month to a then yearly high of US$3.35 on October 22.

On December 10, the company shared its third positive safety review of its ongoing Phase 3 EFZO-FIT study of efzofitimod in patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis. Shares of the company hit their highest yearly value of US$3.98 on January 3.

5. Inhibikase Therapeutics (NASDAQ:IKT)

Company Profile

Year-over-year gain: 90 percent
Market cap: US$178.73 million
Share price: US$2.66

Inhibikase Therapeutics is developing protein kinase inhibitor therapeutics for modifying the course of cardiopulmonary and neurodegenerative disease through Abl kinase inhibition. Its two leading drug candidates are IkT-001Pro, a prodrug of imatinib mesylate, for pulmonary arterial hypertension with fewer on-dosing side-effects; and risvodetinib, a selective c-Abl inhibitor to treat Parkinson’s and Parkinson’s-related disease.

In late October, Inhibikase closed on an approximately US$110 million private placement, which with the full cash exercise of accompanying warrants could lead to a potential aggregate financing of up to approximately US$275 million before deducting fees and expenses. The company intends to use the funds in part for its Phase 2b 702 trial for IkT-001Pro in pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Shares of Inhibikase reached a yearly high of US$3.97 on December 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

The pharmaceutical industry is poised for a dynamic year in 2025. A confluence of positive trends suggests a brighter outlook ahead after declining earnings in recent years.

According to ZS consultant Cody Powers, lower interest rates could increase investment in biopharma, boosting research and development (R&D) into promising new indications, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and clinical trials.

Industry executives polled for Deloitte’s 2025 life science outlook anticipate revenue growth and margin expansion, leading to increased investment in key therapeutic areas such as oncology, immunology, neurology and, of course, treatments for obesity and diabetes. This renewed focus on innovation, coupled with a changing regulatory environment, is expected to drive interest in the sector that could reshape the competitive landscape.

Key therapeutic areas in 2025

PurpleLab data (via Axios) shows roughly a 10 percent increase in sales for GLP-1s in 2024, with continued growth predicted for 2025 due to sustained demand, according to Evaluate’s 2025 Pharma Preview.

After exceeding US$1 billion in 2024, the most recent forward-looking projections of GLP-1 sales from industry leaders Novo Nordisk (NYSE:NVO) and Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) are strong, with Novo aiming to capture more than a third of the global market share of diabetes care in 2025.

To keep up with demand, both companies are addressing previous production constraints by expanding manufacturing capacity. Novo Nordisk acquired contract manufacturer Catalent in a US$16.5 billion deal, finalizing the sale in December 2024 and securing itself as a key player in the supply chain. Meanwhile, Eli Lilly is bolstering its internal manufacturing with a new US$4.5 billion manufacturing and research and development (R&D) center in Indiana slated to open in late 2027.

In the meantime, Lilly is also expanding its existing facility in Wisconsin and has reportedly partnered with CDMOs National Resilience and BSP Pharmaceuticals to meet immediate needs.

Beyond manufacturing, both companies are making strategic moves to maintain their market dominance amidst the entry of biosimilars from corporations like Teva Pharmaceuticals and pharma companies in China.

Eli Lilly’s partnership with digital health company Ro expands patient access to its medications via telehealth, while its lower-priced single-dose vials of Zepbound lower the cost barriers for the self-pay market.

Moreover, innovation remains a key driver. Eli Lilly is actively testing tirzepatide for indications against MASH and chronic kidney disease and its oral GLP-1 agonist orforglipron is in Phase III trials for obstructive sleep apnea in addition to obesity and type II diabetes.

Novo Nordisk is also exploring new indications for semaglutide, including MASH, and as a potential treatment for Alzheimer’s disease.

According to Evaluate analysts, the field of oncology continues to be another evolving area within the pharmaceutical industry. While traditional cancer treatments remain relevant, there has been a notable shift in R&D focus towards more targeted approaches.

Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) have emerged as a promising avenue in oncology research in recent years and have shown potential in improving treatment outcomes for various types of cancer. Clinical trials examining the efficacy of Merck’s (NYSE:MRK) Keytruda, an immune checkpoint inhibitor, with various ADCs showed promising results compared to standard chemo treatments. An ongoing trial, DESTINY-Breast09, is investigating the combination of AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) and Daiichi Sankyo’s (OTCPINK:DSKYF) Enhertu and Keytruda in HER2-positive breast cancer, with primary completion data likely due in Q3 2025.

These trials could unlock new treatment options and expand the market for these already successful ADCs.

Similarly, bispecific antibodies have garnered significant attention in the oncology space, demonstrating efficacy in hematologic malignancies. A trial directly comparing Keytruda to Ivonescimab, a bispecific antibody under development by Chinese pharma company Akeso Biopharma (OTCPINK:AKESF) and licensed by Summit Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SMMT), resulted in ivonescimab leading to a better overall survival rate than Keytruda. Further testing is required, but the suggested outcome could impact the future development and potential commercial success of ivonescimab and the bispecific antibody mechanism overall.

Another area of renewed interest in recent months is bispecific antibodies targeting the TIGIT immune checkpoint. While Roche (OTCQX:RHHBF) and its subsidiary Genentech’s tiragolumab faced a setback in a Phase III trial, Gilead (NASDAQ:GILD) and Arcus Biosciences (NYSE:RCUS) have shown promising results with their anti-TIGIT drug domvanalimab.

In a Phase I trial, domvanalimab plus anti-PD-1 antibody zimberelimab led to a 36 percent reduction in the risk of death for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer compared to patients who took zimberelimab alone.

“These are the first results demonstrating an improvement in overall survival reported for domvanalimab and zimberelimab,” said Dimitry Nuyten, chief medical officer of Arcus, sharing the results at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) annual meeting in November 2024.

“They add to the growing body of evidence that domvanalimab…may have a differentiated efficacy, safety and tolerability profile relative to published data from studies with Fc-enabled anti-TIGIT antibodies.”

While immunology remains a key area of pharmaceutical investment following the success of interleukin inhibitors Dupixent, jointly developed and commercialized by Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY) and Regeneron (NASDAQ:REGN); and Skyrizi, developed and marketed by AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV), the sector is also experiencing shifts.

On January 13, amidst declining demand for Covid-19 and respiratory syncytial virus, Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) one of the most prominent names in immunology, cut its sales forecast for 2025. The company expects 2025 revenue of between US$1.5 billion to US$2.5 billion, down from its previous projection of between US$2.5 billion and US$3.5 billion.

Pharma regulation to shape investment decisions in 2025

Changes in the pharmaceutical industry’s heavily regulated environment could impact how companies make investment decisions in 2025. While Big Pharma may be hopeful that President-elect Trump will ease drug price negotiation rules, he has been relatively quiet about repealing that aspect of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). His stance on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is unclear, but he has been vocal about his intentions to trim federal funding for various programs.

The ACA currently provides health insurance coverage to over 45 million Americans. Changes to coverage could have ripple effects throughout the healthcare sector, including the pharmaceutical industry, as reduced coverage could lead to decreased demand for certain medications.

If IRA provisions remain in place or are strengthened, they could put downward pressure on drug prices, potentially impacting company revenues and investor returns. Conversely, if these provisions are weakened or repealed, it could provide a boost to the industry. Investors will need to closely observe political developments and any signals regarding the future of the IRA.

Trump’s unconventional nominees for key health and regulatory positions add another layer of complexity. During his announcement naming celebrity Dr. Mehmet Oz as his choice for administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Trump said Dr. Oz would “cut waste and fraud within our country’s most expensive government agency,” prompting analysts to speculate that he may alter rules on who qualifies for Medicaid and Medicare by instituting work requirements to receive them.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK) as Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) could impact pharma companies developing vaccines due to his skepticism; however, he has clarified that he supports rigorous research into vaccine safety rather than eliminating them entirely; Research and testing, however, are expensive.

The nomination of Dr. Marty Makary as FDA Commissioner has been met with optimism from some market analysts, who anticipate a potentially more streamlined drug approval process. This could be a positive sign for investors, as faster approvals mean quicker market entry for new drugs and potentially faster returns on investment.

Investor takeaway

Overall, the pharmaceutical industry in 2025 is expected to be characterized by innovation, growth, and transformation. While challenges remain, the industry’s focus on research and development, coupled with advancements in technology and a commitment to patient care, is expected to drive progress and deliver significant benefits to patients worldwide.

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

This post appeared first on investingnews.com

Mali’s government has begun seizing gold stockpiled at Barrick Gold’s (TSX:ABX,NYSE:GOLD) Loulo-Gounkoto mine, enforcing a provisional order issued last week amid a dispute over changes to the nation’s mining rules.

The seizure was confirmed by Barrick in a memo to staff, according to a Monday (January 13) Reuters report. The military-led government continues to claim a greater share of mining revenues from foreign operators.

The enforcement began on Saturday (January 11), as per Barrick’s memo, which notes that the company may be compelled to suspend operations at the site if the issue remains unresolved.

Loulo-Gounkoto contributes significantly to Barrick’s global production, and is set to account for about 14 percent of its gold output for 2025. Barrick has an 80 percent stake, with the Malian government owning the remaining 20 percent.

While Barrick has not disclosed the exact volume of gold affected, internal estimates suggest that around 4 metric tons of gold, valued at approximately US$380 million based on the current spot price, are at stake.

Multiple sources told Reuters on Monday that around 3 metric tons had already been seized from the site by helicopter as of Saturday, with one source valuing the seized gold at US$245 billion.

The move comes amid ongoing tensions over the Malian government’s claims of unpaid taxes and dividends. Mali claims the company owes US$512 million in unpaid taxes and dividends, a claim Barrick has rejected.

On January 6, the company warned it would have to halt operations if the government continued to restrict gold shipments. Barrick is seeking arbitration through the International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes.

The conflict has led to multiple detentions of Barrick executives, with the most recent occurring in November, after negotiations between broke down. In early December, the country issued an arrest warrant for CEO Mark Bristow.

Mali changes mining code post-coup

Gold is Mali’s primary export, contributing over 80 percent of the country’s total export revenues in 2023. The West African country’s government has been led by the military since a 2021 coup.

In 2023, Mali introduced a new mining code that aims to raise its stake in mining operations from 20 to 35 percent. It also allows the government to collect 7.5 percent of sales revenue when the gold price exceeds US$1,500 per ounce.

Last year, following an audit into the mining sector, Mali began pursuing alleged back taxes and dividends owed by international mining companies working in the country.

Finance Minister Alousseni Sanou said Mali expects to collect 750 billion CFA francs, about US$1.2 billion, from miners in the first quarter of 2025, following a similar collection of 500 billion CFA francs in late 2024.

Some companies have already come to agreements with the Malian government. For example, B2Gold (TSX:BTO,NYSEAMERICAN:BTG) reached a new agreement last September for its Fekola operations. It includes financial settlements and a commitment from Mali to expedite permitting for the Fekola underground mine.

Australia’s Resolute Mining (ASX:RSG,LSE:RSG) resolved a tax dispute with the government in November 2024 by agreeing to pay US$160 million after its CEO and two other executives were detained in Mali.

Barrick’s dispute remains unresolved at this time.

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

This post appeared first on investingnews.com

Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Monday signed a bill restricting the use of smartphones at school, following a global trend for such limitations.

The move will impact students at elementary and high schools across the South American nation starting in February. It provides a legal framework to ensure students only use such devices in cases of emergency and danger, for educational purposes, or if they have disabilities and require them.

Education minister Camilo Santana told journalists in the capital Brasilia on Monday that children are going online at early ages, making it harder for parents to keep track of what they do, and that restricting smartphones at school will help them.

“We want those devices, as in many other countries, to only be used in class for pedagogical purposes and with a teacher’s guidance,” Santana said.

The bill had rare support across the political spectrum, both from allies of leftist Lula and his far-right foe, former President Jair Bolsonaro.

Many parents and students also approved the move. A survey released in October by Brazilian pollster Datafolha said that almost two-thirds of respondents supported banning the use of smartphones by children and teenagers at schools. More than three-quarters said those devices do more harm than good to their children.

“(Restricting cell phones) is tough, but necessary. It is useful for them to do searches for school, but to use it socially isn’t good,” said Ricardo Martins Ramos, 43, father of two girls and the owner of a hamburger restaurant in Rio de Janeiro. “Kids will interact more.”

His 13-year-old daughter Isabela said her classmates struggled to focus during class because of their smartphones. She approved the move, but doesn’t see it as enough to improve the learning environment for everyone.

“When the teacher lets you use the cell phone, it is because he wants you to do searches,” she said. “There’s still a lot of things that schools can’t solve, such as bullying and harassment.”

As of 2023, about two-thirds of Brazilian schools imposed some restriction on cellphone use, while 28% banned them entirely, according to a survey released in August by the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee.

The Brazilian states of Rio de Janeiro, Maranhao and Goias have already passed local bills to ban such devices at schools. However, authorities have struggled to enforce these laws.

Authorities in Sao Paulo, the most populous state in Brazil, are discussing whether smartphones should be banned both in public and private schools.

Gabriele Alexandra Henriques Pinheiro, 25, works at a beauty parlor and is the mother of a boy diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. She also agrees with the restrictions, but says adults will continue to be as a bad example of smartphone use for children.

“It is tough,” she said. “I try to restrict the time my son watches any screens, but whenever I have a task to perform I have to use the smartphone to be able to do it all,” she said.

Institutions, governments, parents and others have for years associated smartphone use by children with bullying, suicidal ideation, anxiety and loss of concentration necessary for learning. China moved last year to limit children’s use of smartphones, while France has in place a ban on smartphones in schools for kids aged six to 15.

Cell phone bans have gained traction across the United States, where eight states have passed laws or policies that ban or restrict cellphone use to try to curb student phone access and minimize distractions in classrooms.

An increasing number of parents across Europe who are concerned by evidence that smartphone use among young kids jeopardizes their safety and mental health.

A report published in September by UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, said one in four countries has already restricted the use of such devices at schools.

Last year in a US Senate hearing, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg apologized to parents of children exploited, bullied or driven to self harm via social media. He also noted Meta’s continued investments in “industrywide” efforts to protect children.

This post appeared first on cnn.com

Venezuela’s foreign minister on Monday accused opponents of President Nicolás Maduro as being linked to damages at the country’s diplomatic facilities in five nations.

Foreign Minister Yvan Gil in a statement said the vandalism was coordinated by grassroots groups known as “comanditos” – meaning small commandos – but he did not offer any evidence to back up the accusation, which comes three days after Maduro was sworn in to a third six-year term, despite credible evidence of his election defeat.

Gil said he has asked the authorities in Portugal, Germany, Spain, Colombia and Costa Rica to expedite their investigations “to find those responsible and to ensure the integrity of our facilities.” He did not say when exactly the diplomatic facilities were vandalized.

The main opposition coalition did not immediately respond to the minister’s accusations.

Law enforcement authorities in Lisbon, Portugal, are investigating a weekend attack with a small incendiary device that caused some minor damage on the façade of Venezuela’s consulate in that city.

Portugal’s Foreign Ministry in a statement Sunday called it and “intolerable act” and said it was reinforcing security in the area.

Portugal has a strong immigrant community in Venezuela, the second largest following Brazil.

According to official data by the diplomatic mission in the country, at least around 200,000 Portuguese nationals are registered in the country – a figure that does not include the descendants already born in Venezuela.

Venezuela’s Foreign Ministry on Monday released images of the alleged vandalism that Gil announced.

One shows hanging from a building a Venezuelan flag spray-painted with the word “Edmundo,” which is the first name of the opposition candidate recognized by several governments as the legitimate winner of Venezuela’s July presidential election.

Venezuela’s National Electoral Council, stacked with government loyalists, declared Maduro the election winner hours after polls closed. But unlike in previous contests, electoral authorities did not provide detailed vote counts to back the announced result.

The opposition, however, collected tally sheets from 85% of electronic voting machines and posted them online – showing its candidate, Edmundo González, had won by a more than a two-to-one margin.

UN experts and the US-based Carter Center, both invited by Maduro’s government to observe the election, said the tally sheets published by the opposition are legitimate.

The comanditos groups were formed by supporters of the main opposition coalition to encourage voter participation and organize other efforts for the July presidential election.

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Surrounded by forest-covered mountains cloaked in mist, a patchwork quilt of green farmland and steel-blue waves breaking on mangrove-strewn mudflats, Lai Chi Wo does not look like it belongs in Hong Kong.

The remote 300-year-old village is one of the city’s oldest settlements — and one of its most biodiverse.

Its location is no accident: it draws on the traditional philosophies of the Hakka people, one of Hong Kong’s pre-colonial indigenous groups, who built the settlement.

“We maintain what is called a feng-shui forest, to preserve the village,” says Susan Wong. The 73-year-old grandmother is the village chief, and was born in Lai Chi Wo, when the town was home to around 1,000 residents. “From our ancestors to now, it has been passed down, not to let anyone cut down the trees. If you cut all the trees out, the mountain will become bare, and nothing can cover the village.”

Feng shui — which literally means “wind” and “water” — is a design philosophy about how homes, villages and cities should be arranged for good fortune.

In Lai Chi Wo, the position of the forest is intended to shelter the village from typhoons, prevent landslides, and manage extreme heat and cold.

However, in the 1960s, residents began to leave their ancestral home: Hong Kong was industrializing rapidly, and it was becoming hard to make a living from farming.

“We didn’t even have shoes or clothes to wear,” Wong recalls. Lai Chi Wo is so remote that, even today, it can only be reached by a three-hour hike through the jungle, or a long boat trip around the coast.

In the 1960s, ‘70s and ‘80s, many families emigrated overseas — like Wong’s, who moved to the UK when she was 15 — for better opportunities, and elderly residents passed away.

Lai Chi Wo became a ghost town.

Restoring a community

Over the decades that Lai Chi Wo lay empty, buildings crumbled, and farmland grew wild with weeds. The roots of banyan trees twined around open doorways, and wild boar or lost hikers were the only foot traffic through the decaying village.

But Lai Chi Wo was not entirely forgotten.

“Elsewhere in Hong Kong, many abandoned villages had houses collapsed beyond recognition and vegetation invaded the whole village,” says Chiu Ying Lam, head of the Hong Kong Countryside Foundation. However, when he first visited Lai Chi Wo in 2009, he was surprised to find several homes were well maintained.

Lam speculated that these absentee homeowners were still connected to their ancestral home, and were planning to return one day, perhaps to retire. This sparked an idea that would eventually become the Sustainable Lai Chi Wo program: a decade-long collaboration between NGOs, universities and government agencies to restore the village to its former glory.

In re-establishing the community, the unique biodiversity around the village could be protected too, says Lam.

Over the years, Lam estimates around HK$100 million ($12.8 million) in funding from businesses, non-profits and the Hong Kong government has been invested into the village’s redevelopment, including the restoration of five hectares of farmland and the reconstruction of 15 dilapidated homes.

While the project aimed to bring back former residents, it also wanted to bring in new people. In 2015, Ah Him Tsang and his wife, who are not Hakka, were one of the first families to move to the village, looking for a life “closer to nature” to raise their then-infant son.

Like many residents in Lai Chi Wo, Tsang works a variety of jobs: he grows vegetables and cash crops on a small farm, and on weekends, runs “Hakka Experience” homestays and a store that serves locally grown tea, coffee, and homemade vegan ice cream to tourists who pass through.

“I also grow these vegetables for my staycation program, (for a) farm-to-table dining experience,” says Tsang, adding that the Hakka Experience is designed to give visitors a more authentic experience of village life. “You can really feel the quietness, the serenity of the nature here. I hope more people can stay longer and enjoy the slow pace.”

Homecoming

The influx of new residents to Lai Chi Wo encouraged more of the original residents to move back, too.

Upon retiring, Wong returned to Hong Kong from the UK to care for her elderly parents, and heard about the revitalization project.

In 2019, she decided to return to the village with her now-103-year-old father, into the home they were both born in. “I’m very happy because I like this village. I have so many friends (who have) come back,” she says.

With her father, Wong runs a small farm, growing mandarin oranges, lemons, chilis, flowers, and vegetables, and uses organic agriculture techniques, such as grinding up discarded oyster shells to make plant food.

The project also introduced new crops like coffee, which grows in the shade. This agroforestry technique protects the forest by growing high-value plants around the perimeter of the native woodland, while boosting profits for farmers.

Lai Chi Wo now has around 700 coffee plants across several farms, making it the “biggest coffee-producing region in Hong Kong,” says Ryan Siu Him Leung, senior project officer at the Centre for Civil Society and Governance at the University of Hong Kong, which oversaw parts of Lai Chi Wo’s revitalization program.

The University of Hong Kong is leasing some of the land for experimental farming, and helping villagers turn their crops into higher-value products in a licensed food processing plant in nearby Sha Tau Kok, on Hong Kong’s border with mainland China. Products include pickles and unusual fruit jams, or seasonal foods like popular radish cake for Chinese New Year, says Leung.

“We’re also looking at traditional Hakka recipes, and trying to explore the possibility of turning those recipes into commercial products,” he says, adding that they are currently selling via local supermarket suppliers and pop-up farmers markets, and plan to launch an online shop soon, to reach more customers.

A model for redevelopment

While the project has garnered positive attention — including recognition from UNESCO in 2020 for cultural heritage conservation and sustainable development — it’s not all been smooth sailing.

There’s been resistance from some of the original villagers, who claim they were not properly consulted about the redevelopment.

Additionally, more than a decade into the project, the village is still not financially sustainable, and is supported by external funding, including government subsidies for the farmers.

Farming at such a small scale is largely unprofitable; so like Tsang, most residents have multiple income streams. Leung says that most of the new residents work remote jobs online, or in creative industries, with farming as a hobby where any income is a bonus.

Leung says that, aside from preserving the town’s traditional lifestyle, there’s an ecological advantage to maintaining the farmland: sustainable agriculture helps to better manage water drainage and improve soil health.

Even if the village isn’t economically independent, he feels it’s worthwhile, and that cultivating a sustainable community is more important. “As long as there are people willing to stay in the village, and they are making their living — to me, it’s financially viable for those individual households.”

The project has become a model for sustainable revitalization, and the Forest Village Project, launched in 2024, is applying the lessons from Lai Chi Wo to two nearby hamlets, Mui Tsz Lam and Kop Tong. These settlements are around one-tenth the size of Lai Chi Wo, says Leung, but they both have a feng shui woodland, diverse flora and fauna, and offer the potential to develop a wider eco-tourism destination.

“Hopefully, we could have a more comprehensive region of revitalized villages, which (could be) a bigger attraction to the wider (Hong Kong) community,” Leung adds.

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