Market Analysis
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Trump in Beijing: China’s Rare Earth Squeeze Is Already Working
Trump landed in Beijing this morning. Thirty-six hours. Xi Jinping across the table. Rare earths on the agenda alongside AI chips, Taiwan, and a war that has closed the Strait of Hormuz. The rare earths are the reason he went. Germany has received zero dysprosium from China since April 2025. Japan received four percent of
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Edmonton Just Hosted the Most Important Energy Meeting You’ve Never Heard Of
Last week, more than 7,500 people flew into Edmonton for three days to talk about a single fuel source. Energy executives, government officials, Indigenous leaders, engineers, investors, and international buyers from across Europe and Asia all converged on the Edmonton Convention Center for the Canadian Hydrogen Convention, North America’s largest gathering dedicated to hydrogen. The
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Beyond the Strait: 30-40% of Gulf Refining Capacity Is Already Gone
The Market Is Watching the Wrong Number Brent crude hit $105.73 on Friday. Everyone is tracking the Strait of Hormuz. Nobody is talking about what is already broken. The ceasefire is holding. Just. The US naval blockade of Iranian ports is still active. Iran is still seizing ships. Both sides are using economic strangulation as
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The Ceasefire Is Dead and the Blockade Is Live — Here’s the Full Market Breakdown
Executive Summary The Islamabad talks collapsed on a single core issue: Iran refused to commit to abandoning nuclear weapons development. After 21 hours of the highest-level US-Iran engagement since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, VP Vance announced no deal and boarded Air Force Two. Trump immediately ordered a naval blockade of Iranian ports in the Strait
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Relief Rally or Real Resolution? The Iran Ceasefire Market Breakdown
Executive Summary Late April 7, President Trump announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran, contingent on Iran reopening the Strait of Hormuz to safe passage. Iran’s Supreme National Security Council accepted. The market reaction was immediate and dramatic. WTI crude fell as much as 19% in after-hours trading to below $94, the largest single-day drop since
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Why Sustainable Cables Are One of the Fastest-Growing Industrial Markets You Have Never Heard Of
Every solar farm, wind turbine, EV charging network, and smart grid upgrade needs cables. Not just any cables, but specialised, high-performance wiring built from sustainable materials that can handle the demands of modern power infrastructure while meeting increasingly strict environmental standards. According to new research from MarkNtel Advisors, the global sustainable wire and cable market
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How the Iran War Is Breaking the Global Semiconductor Supply Chain
Executive Summary Every precision-guided munition in the US inventory, every missile defense radar, every stealth aircraft, and every naval fire control system depends on semiconductors. The most advanced of those chips, the ones inside the guidance systems of THAAD interceptors, the F-35 APG-81 fire control radar, and the Patriot LTAMDS replacement radar, are made using
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Which Energy Companies Win When Hormuz Shuts Down
Executive Summary The US Department of Defense is the single largest institutional consumer of petroleum on earth, responsible for 93% of all US government fuel consumption. In peacetime, the DoD consumes approximately 4.6 billion gallons of fuel annually, an average of 12.6 million gallons per day. Jet fuel, specifically JP-8, accounts for more than 50%
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The Embargoed Arsenal: Why China’s Mineral Ban is the Ultimate Weapon in the Gulf
Executive Summary The United States entered Operation Epic Fury in a state of documented mineral dependency that did not begin with the Iran conflict and will not end when it does. According to the US Geological Survey Mineral Commodity Summaries 2025, the US is 80% import-dependent for rare earth compounds and metals, with 56% of
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From Framework to Factory: Inside the Multi-Year Push to Rebuild US Munitions
Executive Summary Operation Epic Fury expended more than 2,000 munitions of various types in its first 100 hours. The Center for Strategic and International Studies estimates the cost of those 100 hours at $3.7 billion, of which $3.5 billion was unbudgeted. At that pace, the daily munitions replacement cost runs $758.1 million. The all-in daily
