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Australia, US Pen Rare Earth Metals Deal in Albanese-Trump Meeting

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and US President Donald Trump signed a rare earths deal during their meeting at the White House on Monday (October 20).

The meeting was set to focus on critical minerals and rare earths, with Albanese telling Bloomberg on Sunday (October 19) that it would also be an opportunity to “consolidate and strengthen” the Australia-US relationship.

According to insiders, the deal had been in the works for five months.

During the meeting, Trump said he “never had any doubts” about the countries’ bond, adding that “there’s never been anybody better.” For his part, Albanese described the deal as an US$8.5 billion pipeline ‘that we have ready to go.’

The signing happened after opening remarks from Trump, during which the US president called the deal a “key objective” in reducing reliance on China. “Within a year, we’ll have critical minerals and rare earths that you won’t know what to do with them,” Trump said, adding, ‘They’ll be worth about two dollars.’

China currently holds the world’s largest rare earths reserves and is the top producer by far, but Australia has been highlighted as a key player as trade tensions between the US and China ramp up.

The country is home to some of the most significant rare earths operations globally, such as Lynas Rare Earths’ (ASX:LYC,OTC Pink:LYSDY) Mount Weld mine, and Arafura Rare Earths’ (ASX:ARU,OTC Pink:ARAFF) Nolans project.

Last week, several companies, such as Nova Minerals (ASX:NVA,NASDAQ:NVA), were invited to brief the Australian government on key projects prior to the country’s meeting with the US.

Nova was instructed to include an overview of its flagship Estelle gold project, including the key minerals identified, planned expansion activities and the company’s engagement with US government agencies.

The same goes for Resolution Minerals (ASX:RML,OTCQB:RLMLF), which was invited for a briefer on its Idaho-based Horse Heaven gold-antimony-tungsten project.

Both Nova and Resolution were among the top-gaining mining stocks on the ASX last week.

Trump supports Biden-era AUKUS deal

Albanese and Trump also discussed the AUKUS submarine deal, a multibillion-dollar agreement between Australia, the UK and the US, which is geared at boosting security in the Indo-Pacific region.

When asked whether AUKUS is meant to be a “deterrent” for China, Trump answered yes. However, he also said he doesn’t think that will be needed as the US military is the best in the world.

‘We’re going to get along great with China,’ he said.

AUKUS is worth around US$239 billion, or AU$368 billion, over 30 years.

Starting in 2032, Australia plans to buy three Virginia-class submarines from the US, with the option to get two more. These will fill the gap while the UK and Australia develop a new submarine model. Trump also said the US is working on building more submarines for Australia and is going to expedite submarine exports to the country.

Australia is expected to receive the first of the new submarines in the early 2040s.

Securities Disclosure: I, Gabrielle de la Cruz, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

This post appeared first on investingnews.com

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Business

Customers sue sneaker company On over shoes that cause ‘noisy and embarrassing squeak’

Customers of the athletic shoe company On have filed a class action lawsuit alleging that some of the brand’s sneakers squeak embarrassingly loudly when they walk.

The class action suit, filed in the U.S. district court in Portland — where On’s U.S. headquarters is located — on October 9, targets On’s shoes made with ‘CloudTec’ technology. A hallmark of many of the brand’s styles, ‘CloudTec’ is composed of differently shaped holes that cover the external and bottom surfaces of the shoes, according to the lawsuit.

At least 11 of On’s sneaker styles are referenced in the lawsuit, including the Cloud 5 and Cloud 6, CloudMonster, and Cloudrunner, among others.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A representative for On said the company does not comment on ongoing legal matters.

According to the lawsuit, ‘CloudTec’ was created to ‘provide cushioned support when wearers land.’ But according to plaintiffs, the technology ‘rubs together’ when wearers walk or run, ‘causing a noisy and embarrassing squeak with each and every step.’

The lawsuit, however, admits that while the squeaky shoes are ‘seemingly inconsequential,’ the company has allegedly refused to provide refunds to those who are unhappy with their sneakers, leaving customers with ‘no relief after buying almost $200 shoes they can no longer wear without their doing significant DIY modifications to the shoe.’

‘No reasonable consumer would purchase Defendant’s shoes — or pay as much for them as they did — knowing each step creates an audible and noticeable squeak,’ the lawsuit states.

Nurses and those who are on their feet all day ‘bear the brunt of this defect,’ the suit argues, which allegedly causes ‘issues for consumers in their daily lives.’

According to the lawsuit, complaints about the squeaking have been widespread and documented on TikTok and Reddit, where customers share ‘DIY’ remedies for the noisy shoes, including rubbing coconut oil on the soles or sprinkling baby powder inside the sneaker.

The lawsuit alleges the company is aware of its squeaky sneakers, but its warranty does not cover reports of noisy soles as On characterizes them as ‘normal wear and tear,’ and has stated in online comments that ‘squeaking isn’t currently classified as a production defect.’

The lawsuit also alleges that the company can better make its products to avoid squeakiness, but that On has ‘done nothing’ to remedy the issue.

Plaintiffs allege they have suffered an ‘ascertainable loss’ due to fraudulent business practices and a ‘deceptive marketing scheme,’ and are seeking ‘compensatory, statutory, and punitive damages’ as well as refunds on their squeaky sneakers.

This post appeared first on NBC NEWS

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Investing

Gold Fields Completes AU$3.7 Billion Acquisition of Gold Road

Gold Fields (NYSE:GFI) has completed its AU$3.7 billion purchase of Gold Road Resources.

Gold Road rejected Gold Fields’ first acquisition proposal in March, saying it undervalued the company.

Following negotiations between the two parties, Gold Fields, through its wholly owned entity Gruyere Holdings, entered into a scheme implementation deed with Gold Road on May 5. Under the AU$3.7 billion deal, the companies agreed that Gold Road shareholders would receive fixed cash consideration of AU$2.52 per share.

‘The Scheme provides Gold Road shareholders with an opportunity to realise certain value for their Gold Road shares at a compelling premium,” said Gold Road Managing Director and CEO Duncan Gibbs at the time.

“This offer price represents a material premium to the undisturbed share price prior to the initial Gold Fields’ proposal and a material premium to longer term trading levels,’ he added.

Under the deal, Gold Fields will gain a 100 percent interest in the Gruyere project in Western Australia.

Gruyere, which the companies previously worked on together as a joint venture, currently holds an open-pit mineral resource of 6.04 million ounces, and ore reserves of 3.67 million ounces.

Its average annual gold production stands at at 350,000 ounces.

According to Gold Fields, all Gold Road shares are now owned by Gruyere Holdings. Following the scheme’s implementation, Gold Road is expected to apply to delist from the Australian Securities Exchange.

Securities Disclosure: I, Gabrielle de la Cruz, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

This post appeared first on investingnews.com

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Investing

China, US Rare Earths Tensions Ramp Up Ahead of Trump-Xi Meeting

China has accused the US of “seriously distorting and exaggerating” Beijing’s newly expanded rare earths export controls, but signaled a willingness to hold talks before an expected meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping later this month.

“The US interpretation seriously distorts and exaggerates China’s measures, deliberately creating unnecessary misunderstanding and panic,” Ministry of Commerce spokesperson He Yongqian said Thursday (October 16).

According to the Global Times, he emphasized that Beijing’s restrictions are intended to protect national security and prevent the misuse of rare earths in military applications, not to destabilize global markets.

The remarks follow a sharp escalation in rhetoric between the two countries after China expanded its export controls last week to include five additional rare earth elements: holmium, erbium, thulium, europium and ytterbium.

The new rules will take effect in stages starting November 8, coinciding with the expiry of a six month trade truce between Washington and Beijing. Foreign companies that use Chinese materials or equipment to produce rare earths products will require Chinese export licenses, even if no Chinese firm is directly involved in the transaction.

Beijing has also vowed stricter scrutiny of applications tied to advanced semiconductors and defense systems, such as 14 nanometer chips and artificial intelligence used in weapons platforms.

Washington pushes back against Beijing

Top US officials have accused Beijing of attempting to weaponize its dominance in the global rare earths supply chain, which accounts for about 70 percent of global production and more than 90 percent of processing capacity.

At a press briefing on Wednesday (October 15), US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer called China’s new measures a “global supply chain power grab” and warned that Washington and its allies “would not accept the restrictions.”

However, he also said China has not yet implemented the full regulatory system and suggested there is still room to de-escalate. “These are drafted, or in draft, so it’s quite real,” Greer said.

“But our expectation is that they won’t implement this, and that we’ll be able to be back to where we were a week ago, where we had the tariff levels we’ve agreed to and the flow of rare earths that we agreed to.”

Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent echoed the sentiment, telling CNBC that the Trump administration does not want to further inflame tensions, but will act decisively if Beijing moves forward with its restrictions.

“When we get an announcement like this week with China on the rare earths, you realize we have to be self-sufficient, or we have to be sufficient with our allies,” Bessent said.

He also accused China of using its dominance in rare earths refining and processing to slash prices and drive foreign competitors out of the market. Trump has threatened to impose 100 percent tariffs on Chinese goods starting on November 1 — or sooner — if Beijing moves ahead with the export controls.

Despite the mounting friction, both sides remain committed to a scheduled meeting between Trump and Xi in South Korea later this month, highlighting the indispensable nature of rare earths to modern industry.

They are used in electric vehicles, wind turbines, smartphones and, crucially, in US military systems such as F-35 fighter jets, Tomahawk missiles and Predator drones. Each F-35 is estimated to require more than 400 kilograms of rare earths for its stealth coatings, motors and radar systems.

US eyes new critical minerals sources

In response to China’s dominance, Washington has ramped up efforts to secure alternative sources of critical minerals.

The Department of Defense earlier this year struck a deal with MP Materials (NYSE:MP), the largest US rare earths producer. It includes an equity stake, a price floor and an offtake deal to guarantee supply for defense applications.

Separately, the Trump administration is reportedly exploring a potential investment in Critical Metals (NASDAQ:CRML), a US-listed firm developing Greenland’s vast Tanbreez rare earths deposit.

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

This post appeared first on investingnews.com

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