Futures Fall, Oil Rises As Mideast Violence Flares Up

NOAA OKs First Deep-Sea Mining Plan For Critical Minerals In Pacific Ocean Authored by Jill McLaughlin via The Epoch Times, The Trump administration approved on May 1 its first deep-sea critical minerals exploration application, submitted by North Carolina-based deep-sea mining explorer The Metals Company USA (TMC). The company expects to find millions of tons of nickel, copper, cobalt, and manganese on the sea floor needed in the United States for electric vehicle batteries, infrastructure, and national defense systems. TMC applied for the 10-year license last year after President Donald Trump ordered the National...

Petrochemical Supply Shock Begins Idling Asian Factories For weeks, we mapped out for readers how the Gulf energy shock dominoes would fall, spreading outward from the Middle East and striking Asia first through tightened energy-product flows that risk destabilizing the global economy. That transmission of tightening energy flows is now becoming alarmingly visible on factory floors across Asia. Goldman analysts, led by Georgina Fraser, warned clients on Monday that the petrochemical shock is worsening across Asia, with textile and packaging plants emerging as the first major downstream casualties. "The supply shock...

SpaceX Reportedly Lowers IPO Valuation Target SpaceX is targeting a valuation of at least $1.8 trillion in its upcoming initial public offering, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. This is below an earlier goal of more than $2 trillion. In practice, the initial IPO valuation target is a marketing range, not a final number. Therefore, any valuation shifts ahead of the trading day would not be unusual. This suggests advisers are calibrating the deal to what investors are willing to absorb, especially given the massive proposed raise of...