October 2024

The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged to a new record close, buoyed by robust economic data that alleviated concerns about a potential recession. In contrast, the S&P 500 fell short of setting a new benchmark despite achieving an intraday record earlier in the session, as the artificial intelligence sector saw renewed interest. The Dow climbed […]

Retail sales in the United States rose by 0.4% in September 2024, surpassing market expectations of 0.3%. This marks a steady increase from August’s 0.1% gain, as reported by the US Census Bureau. The retail sector’s growth underscores resilient consumer spending, despite ongoing inflationary pressures. Non-store retailers, which include e-commerce platforms, saw a robust 7.1%

The US economy added 254,000 jobs in September 2024, significantly exceeding the 140,000 forecast by economists. This marks a robust rebound in the labour market following slower growth in previous months. The unemployment rate remained relatively stable, edging down to 4.1% from 4.2%. Private sector hiring was a major driver of this increase, with 223,000

Mining giant Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) has announced an agreement to acquire Arcadium Lithium, a US-based lithium chemicals producer, in a $6.7 billion all-cash deal. The acquisition, revealed on October 9, 2024, will strengthen Rio Tinto’s position as one of the world’s largest lithium producers, essential for the rapidly growing electric vehicle (EV) market and the

European markets closed higher on Thursday, after the European Central Bank (ECB) cut interest rates for the third time this year. The ECB lowered its key deposit rate by 25 basis points to 3.25%, as part of its ongoing effort to control inflation, which has eased significantly in recent months. This cut, widely anticipated by

As of mid-October 2024, US crude oil stockpiles have risen, with a recent increase of 10.2 million barrels reported during the week ending October 11. This surge in inventories brings total commercial crude oil stocks to approximately 420.5 million barrels, about 5% below the five-year average for this time of year. The unexpected build-up in

Elon Musk’s Starlink has scored a significant victory in India’s satellite spectrum allocation battle, raising the prospect of a price war with Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio. The conflict centres around how India allocates satellite spectrum for broadband services. While Musk’s Starlink, along with other global players like Amazon’s Project Kuiper, supports an administrative allocation method,

Bailador Technology Investments Limited (ASX:BTI) has delivered a strong performance in FY24, posting a 9.2% post-tax portfolio return, with net profit before tax surging by 233% to $28 million. This growth was driven by substantial gains from key investments like SiteMinder, which alone contributed $36.3 million to the overall profit, alongside other portfolio successes such

De Grey Mining Limited (ASX:DEG) continues to advance its Hemi Gold Project, with significant milestones achieved in Q3 2024. The company reported that the Australian Government’s Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility (NAIF) has agreed to provide a $150 million loan to support the project, which is expected to form part of a broader $1 billion senior

Euro Manganese (ASX:EMN) has successfully completed a critical five-day continuous operation of its Chvaletice Manganese Project’s demonstration plant, surpassing its production target by 30%. The plant produced 172kg of high-purity electrolytic manganese metal (HPEMM), well above the goal of 132kg. This achievement marks a major step forward in Euro Manganese’s efforts to establish Europe’s only