CBS: China’s Strategic Monopoly on Rare Earths.

Simon Constable breaks down the reality of rare earth elements, noting they are not rare but difficult to refine.

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CBS: Commodity Markets and European Economic Hardship.

By SIMON CONSTABKE

He reports on high energy prices and diesel shortages in France and analyzes how the Iran war affects global commodities like copper and gold, while also discussing controversial new EU-aligned domestic legislation.

Listen more here.

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Briefings Magazine: Too Close to the Sun

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Look into the sky and much of the time you’ll see the Sun, at least during the daytime. And much of the population is aware that humans, animals, and plants couldn’t survive without the Sun’s presence. This massive star, central to our solar system, with a circumference of 2.7 million miles, provides our tiny planet with warmth and vitamins, plus it’s crucial to growing our food. Five thousand years ago, humans knew the Sun mattered, so many routinely prayed to the Sun god. We still use that name for the seventh day of the week: Sunday.

But the Sun isn’t always kind to the Earth. Sometimes the solar surface is very active, with many dark spots. The really bad news is that when there are a large number of spots, there is an increase in solar flares, aka explosions, which cause disruptions on Earth. “Sometimes after a big solar storm, there can be power outages,” says Arnab Rai Choudhuri, a professor at the Indian Institute of Science and an expert on solar activity. Indeed, the events often don’t make big headlines, but the last major solar storm, in May 2024, created various disruptions on Earth to GPS, radio, and power grids, particularly in the midwestern United States. Farmers there reported “possessed” tractors going in circles, with the GPS mayhem causing a reported $500 million in damage. READ MORE HERE.

FOXNews Digital: After Maduro, Venezuela faces hard choices to rebuild its shattered economy

By SIMON CONSTABLE 

Over the weekend, U.S. special forces executed a daring raid on Caracas, capturing the now-former dictator of the country, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife, subsequently taking them to New York, where both were indicted on multiple charges, including narco-terrorism conspiracy and cocaine importation conspiracy.

What next? After Maduro was captured, President Donald Trump said the U.S. would initially take over the administration of Venezuela. "We will run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition," he told reporters at Mar-a-Lago in Florida. "We can't take a chance that someone else takes over Venezuela who doesn't have the interests of Venezuelans in mind." READ MORE HERE.

FOXNews Digital: Maduro’s fall puts Iran’s deep energy and defense cooperation with Venezuela at risk

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Last week’s capture of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro opened the world to see the mess that the country with the largest proven oil deposit in the world was still starving and abusing its people. But there’s more to it than the alleged crimes of the previous leader.

Notably, one of Venezuela’s closest allies over the past few years has been the Islamic Republic of Iran. Broadly speaking, that regime is a staunch enemy of the West, and specifically, it hates the U.S. and the freedoms it stands for. 

"Despite being the country with the largest reserves, Venezuela’s oil industry is no longer able to refine its own gasoline to fulfill its own needs," Emanuele Ottolenghi, a senior research fellow at The Center for Research of Terror Financing, told FOX Business. READ MORE HERE.

FOX News Digital: How Venezuela went from South America's richest to poorest economy despite massive oil reserves

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

In the early part of the last century, Venezuela was considered the leading economy in South America. At least part of the story is that the country discovered massive oil reserves in 1922. Currently, the country has the largest reserves of any country, 303 billion barrels. While that sounds good on paper, it doesn’t change the fact that the economy is the poorest in South America. The puzzle is, how did it get so bad with all that oil wealth waiting to be monetized?

The first big move in the wrong direction was in 1976, when Venezuela’s government decided to nationalize all foreign oil companies in the country. In turn, the acquired new oil businesses were broadly placed under the already state-owned oil company Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA). 

Yet perhaps surprisingly, the economy didn’t initially crash. "What kept it up was they were still producing oil," Robert Wright, a visiting professor of history at the University of Austin, told FOX Business. "It takes a while even for a socialist to screw it up." READ MORE HERE.

FOX Business Digital: How Italy’s PM Meloni sparked an economic turnaround

By SIMON CONSTABLE 

When Italy’s Giorgia Meloni took the job of prime minister in 2022, the country wasn’t in good shape. But since then, the economy has bounced back in ways that few outsiders would have expected. Now the country looks healthier than either Germany or France, the two largest economies in the European Union.

In 2022, Italy’s deficit was 8.1% of GDP, according to Trading Economics. Unemployment in December 2022 was 7.9%, and inflation exceeded 12%. READ MORE HERE.

WSJ: How Much Do You Know About Rare Earths? Test Yourself With This Quiz

You may know they are crucial to power many technologies, including AI. But there’s much more to understand.

By SIMON CONSTABLE

1 OF 10

The periodic table identifies 118 elements. How many of those elements are rare earths?

READ MORE HERE where you will get the answers after each question.

 

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FOX News Digital: Churchill, Shakespeare and the UK flag all under siege in modern Britain, commentators say

‘Decades of woke education policy have taught people to deny and decry the history of this country,’ political analyst says.

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Over a century ago, Britain was seen as the place to be. It pioneered science, including medicine. It built industries such as railroads, major bridges and created a strong middle class. And despite what some would say, it was the only major empire that abolished slavery and policed the oceans, at its own considerable expense, to make sure other countries didn’t enslave people. And it had the largest Navy in the World. Now, many say that all seems like a distant memory.

The latest controversy involves images or statues of some of the United Kingdom’s most lauded people. The face of Winston Churchill, the British Prime Minister during WWII, is being removed from the five-pound note by the Bank of England. The Reform UK leader Nigel Farage called the decision “absolutely crackers,” noting the proposal was to replace Churchill and others with a picture of a beaver. READ MORE HERE. 

View of Union flags flying on the roof of Costa and Prezzo on Trafalgar Square by Robert Lamb, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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View of Union flags flying on the roof of Costa and Prezzo on Trafalgar Square by Robert Lamb, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Kiplinger's Retirement Report: Stocks That Could Take Off in the New Year

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

American stocks have performed well over the past three years, with annualized returns greatly exceeding the long-term average of 10.5%. That is true of both the S&P 500 index and the tech-heavy Nasdaq. The big question now is: What are the best bets in 2026?

"At the end of every year, I get the question of whether investors should buy stocks that have dropped or should I stick with my winners," says Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at research company CFRA. "It depends on what happened the prior year."

Broadly speaking, if the market was loss-making in the previous year, then buy low. If the market is up, then keep those stocks that performed well, Stovall says. He bases this on deep analysis of how stocks have performed for decades. READ MORE HERE.

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Kiplinger's Retirement Report: Yes, artificial intelligence stocks are booming

By SIMON CONSTABLEch in 

Using new tech in the workplace and at home is nothing new. But the November 2022 introduction of ChatGPT, a generative artificial intelligence service, made the use of AI the norm, and at breakneck speed.

Since the end of 2022, anyone who purchased the so-called Magnificent Seven (Mag 7) stocks, all of which are embracing AI, should have profited handsomely. The stocks are Nvidia (NVDA), Alphabet (GOOGL), Amazon (AMZN), Apple (AAPL), Meta Platforms (META), Microsoft (MSFT) and Tesla (TSLA). Collectively, these stocks were worth about $20 trillion recently, up threefold from $7 trillion less than three years ago. But stock market professionals are divided on their prospects. 

Some are bullish, others see a bubble. Brian Glenn, chief investment officer at private wealth adviser Premier Path Wealth Partners, says the surge in AI-related stocks is not yet in a bubble. "If everyone is talking about a bubble, it probably isn’t," he says. He has a point. "No one rings a bell at the top of the market," says Wall Street veteran Art Cashin. READ MORE HERE.

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Kiplinger's Retirement Report: What Made Warren Buffett's Career So Remarkable

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Warren Buffett, 95, the so-called Oracle of Omaha, is set to step down by year-end as CEO of investment company Berkshire Hathaway. Over 60 years, he and his deputy, Charlie Munger, who died in 2023 at the age of 99, produced outstanding investment returns that made other investors’ returns pale in comparison.

Look at the numbers: From 1965, the year Buffett took over a struggling textile company, through the end of 2024, Berkshire’s shares rose 5,502,284%. That’s an annual compounded return of 19.9%. Over the same six decades, the S&P 500 index rose just 39,054% or 10.4% annually.

“Buffett is the most legendary investor in the history of investing,” says Adam Patti, CEO of exchange-traded fund company VistaShares. “And he has changed the way people invest.” READ MORE HERE.