Weekly Wrap

The precious metal's prices plummeted from record highs during Monday's global session in Asia, driven by a stronger dollar and increased US treasury yields as the day progressed.

China's official activity survey for November indicates a continued slowdown in its economy. Manufacturing contracted for a second consecutive month, while non-manufacturing activity reached a new yearly low.

It seems most market participants are now expecting and pricing an interest rate environment that is ‘"higher for longer". If this is the case, what will it mean for real estate?

This report evaluates recent lithium M&A activities and provides a closer examination of lithium development projects. The primary focus is on new projects that RFC Ambrian believes have the potential to become targets for future industry consolidation, either through outright takeovers or third-party entities taking substantial interests in these projects.

Inflationary pressures eased slightly in October, as many economists had forecast, following a poor result in September and data for the September quarter. However, the improvement is not a cause for great excitement and will not lead the Reserve Bank to change its stance on the risks of "sticky" inflation, heightened expectations, and potential interest rate hikes.

Investors are finding compelling opportunities in an unexpected corner: small-cap value shares.

Let’s start with a quick recap of the most recent reporting season.

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Clean energy stocks are mired in their most severe downturn in years, triggering a multi-billion-dollar erosion of the sector's value and casting a shadow over America's environmental objectives.

The vast desert expanse of Western Australia, once renowned for its gold, nickel, and iron ore deposits, has now become the epicenter of a fierce competition among miners vying for control of lithium, a crucial raw material in the global shift towards greener energy.

Wall Street offered Australian investors little guidance as they resumed trading today, leaving them with nothing but fond wishes and hopes for retailers.

Global oil prices steadied in early Asian trading on Thursday after slumping earlier in the session due to the surprise news that an OPEC+ meeting had been postponed by four days to the following week.

In a recent development, Citi analysts have upgraded their short-term iron ore price forecast to a staggering US$140 per tonne, citing China's anticipated fiscal stimulus measures.

Moneyspot, a lending entity specialising in short-term financial solutions, offers fast online personal cash loans to address immediate financial requirements.

China's central bank kept its key one-year and five-year loan prime rates unchanged for November on Monday.

Here's another market factoid for our inflation hawks in the Reserve Bank and Governor Michell Bullock to ponder and ignore as they shelter from the storm of criticism after Tuesday's rate rise.

As expected, the Reserve Bank has failed to hold its nerve and lifted its cash rate by 0.25% to 4.35%.

This week confirms that world gold production is on track to reach record levels in 2023, driven by soaring prices (above $2,000 per ounce three times this year) and the lifting of Covid restrictions that had hindered output in 2020, 2021, and 2022.

Australian lithium companies and investors face grim tidings as Albemarle, the world's largest lithium group and a major presence in Australia's lithium industry, reports a sharp earnings slump in the third quarter of 2022. This weak quarterly performance prompts the company to downgrade its outlook for 2023.