Pentagon to keep investing in US critical minerals projects, defense official says
The Pentagon signed a multibillion-dollar deal last week to become the largest shareholder in rare earths producer MP Materials (MP.N), opens new tab and also agreed to several financial backstop measures for the company.
The move - which the defense official said reflected a desire to "share the risk" inherent in minerals projects - sparked questions across the mining sector about whether other companies could see similar investments from the U.S. military.
The Pentagon has invested almost $540 million into critical minerals projects and "will continue such efforts in accordance with congressional appropriations and statutory authorities," the official said.
"Rebuilding the critical minerals and rare earth magnet sectors of the U.S. industrial base won't happen overnight, but (the Pentagon) is taking immediate action to streamline processes and identify opportunities to strengthen critical minerals production," the official added.
The U.S. government and military recognize that the country no longer can produce or process many critical minerals, but plans to "take the necessary time and precautions to produce critical minerals and associated products in a safe and responsible fashion," the official said, adding that approach was unlike China's.
Chinese mining standards are considered to be lower than those in the United States.
The MP deal structure reflects a "unique approach" by the U.S. government to "account for the difficulties in establishing and sustaining production of critical rare earth magnets in a market environment in which China controls much of the supply chain," the official said.
The Pentagon investment in MP was undertaken via a Cold War-era law known as the Defense Production Act, as well as its Office of Strategic Capital, the official said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
5 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Animal shelters across US seeing rise in 'owner surrenders'
Another troubling sign of economic strain: more Americans are giving up their pets. Animal shelters across the US are seeing a rise in 'owner surrenders,' as families hand over dogs and cats they can no longer afford to keep. Volunteers say it's often an early warning sign of deeper financial distress. 'There are times when the economy has taken a dip or we've had a lot of job layoffs,' Melissa Knicely, a staffer at North Carolina shelter, told CNN . When that happens, '100 percent' there will be a jump in pets given up. Knicely's shelter has seen a 43 percent spike in surrenders this year — with most families saying they simply couldn't afford to keep their pets. They're not alone. Several rescues across the country have reported similar issues. Risa Weinstock, president of the Animal Care Centers of New York City, said her organization has stopped accepting new animals because they're over capacity. 'We're in the business to care for animals that come to us, and we want to help people with their pets,' she told NBC News . 'But when we have 1,000 animals to care for and a capacity to house them that doesn't meet that need, we're in a bit of a difficult situation.' Dog and cat ownership has become significantly more expensive in recent years, with the price of food and veterinary care climbing steeply. Porter County Animal Shelter, an adoption center in Indiana, estimates that dog owners spend between $20 and $60 a month on food alone. Annual costs — including beds, collars, medical treatments, grooming, and other basics — can total any additional $925 to $2,900, depending on the dog's breed and size, they estimate. The increasing pet prices are also coming while Americans continue to struggle with their own day-to-day bills. Food prices have soared since 2020 as restaurants, grocery stores, and suppliers scrambled to rebuild supply chains after pandemic shutdowns. Now, with tariff campaigns, heightened interest rates , growing geopolitical uncertainty, and new price rises, consumers are starting to feel their wallets getting stretched further. Last month, the Labor Department said that prices rose 2.7 percent — the largest increase since February — breaking a months-long streak of slowing inflation. And Americans are increasingly taking out consumer debt to pay for those higher prices. Still, a majority of economic indicators point to a robust economy. Unemployment claims fell again last week, and the latest jobs report showed that Americans are working and earning more than before. Those figures have helped reassure Wall Street investors, who continue to pour money into the economy on hopes that US consumers will keep spending. But for many households, the gap between those promising macroeconomic signals and the realities of rising costs feels impossible to ignore.
The Independent
5 hours ago
- The Independent
Higher US tariffs part of the price Europe was willing to pay for its security and arms for Ukraine
France's prime minister described it as a 'dark day' for the European Union, a 'submission' to U.S. tariff demands. Commentators said EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen's handshake with President Donald Trump amounted to capitulation. The trouble is, Europe depends mightily on the United States, and not just for trade. Mirroring Trump, Von der Leyen gushed that the arrangement she endorsed over the weekend to set U.S. tariff levels on most European exports to 15%, which is 10% higher than currently, was 'huge.' Her staff texted reporters insisting that the pact, which starts to enter force on Friday, is the 'biggest trade deal ever.' A month after NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte ingratiated himself with Trump by referring to him as 'daddy,' the Europeans had again conceded that swallowing the costs and praising an unpredictable president is more palatable than losing America. 'It's not only about the trade. It's about security. It's about Ukraine. It's about current geopolitical volatility. I cannot go into all the details,' EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič told reporters Monday. 'I can assure you it was not only about the trade,' he insisted, a day after 'the deal' was sealed in an hour-long meeting once Trump finished playing a round of golf with his son at the course he owns in Scotland. The state of Europe's security dependency Indeed, Europe depends on the U.S. for its security and that security is anything but a game, especially since Russia invaded Ukraine. U.S. allies are convinced that, should he win, President Vladimir Putin is likely to take aim at one of them next. So high are these fears that European countries are buying U.S. weapons to help Ukraine to defend itself. Some are prepared to send their own air defense systems and replace them with U.S. equipment, once it can be delivered. 'We're going to be sending now military equipment and other equipment to NATO, and they'll be doing what they want, but I guess it's for the most part working with Ukraine,' Trump said Sunday, sounding ambivalent about America's role in the alliance. The Europeans also are wary about a U.S. troop drawdown, which the Pentagon is expected to announce by October. Around 84,000 U.S. personnel are based in Europe, and they guarantee NATO's deterrent effect against an adversary like Russia. At the same time, Trump is slapping duties on America's own NATO partners, ostensibly due to concerns about U.S. security interests, using Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act, a logic that seems absurd from across the Atlantic. Weaning Europe off foreign suppliers 'The EU is in a difficult situation because we're very dependent on the U.S. for security,' said Niclas Poitiers at the Bruegel research institution in Brussels. 'Ukraine is a very big part of that, but also generally our defense is underwritten by NATO.' 'I think there was not a big willingness to pick a major fight, which is the one (the EU) might have needed with the U.S.' to better position itself on trade, Poitiers told The Associated Press about key reasons for von der Leyen to accept the tariff demands. Part of the agreement involves a commitment to buy American oil and gas. Over the course of the Russia-Ukraine war, now in its fourth year, most of the EU has slashed its dependence on unreliable energy supplies from Russia, but Hungary and Slovakia still have not. 'Purchases of U.S. energy products will diversify our sources of supply and contribute to Europe's energy security. We will replace Russian gas and oil with significant purchases of U.S. LNG, oil and nuclear fuels,' von der Leyen said in Scotland on Sunday. In essence, as Europe slowly weans itself off Russian energy it is also struggling to end its reliance on the United States for its security. The Trump administration has warned its priorities now lie elsewhere, in Asia, the Middle East and on its own borders. That was why European allies agreed at NATO's summit last month to spend hundreds of billions of dollars more on defense over the next decade. Primarily for their own security, but also to keep America among their ranks. The diplomacy involved was not always elegant. 'Europe is going to pay in a BIG way, as they should, and it will be your win,' Rutte wrote in a private text message to Trump, which the U.S. leader promptly posted on social media. Rutte brushed off questions about potential embarrassment or concern that Trump had aired it, saying: 'I have absolutely no trouble or problem with that because there's nothing in it which had to stay secret.' A price Europe feels it must pay Von der Leyen did not appear obsequious in her meeting with Trump. She often stared at the floor or smiled politely. She did not rebut Trump when he said that only America is sending aid to Gaza. The EU is world's biggest supplier of aid to the Palestinians. With Trump's threat of 30% tariffs hanging over European exports — whether real or brinksmanship is hard to say — and facing the prospect of a full-blown trade dispute while Europe's biggest war in decades rages, 15% may have been a cheap price to pay. 'In terms of the economic impact on the EU economy itself, it will be negative,' Poitiers said. 'But it's not something that is on a comparable magnitude like the energy crisis after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, or even COVID.' 'This is a negative shock for our economy, but it is something that's very manageable,' he said. It remains an open question as to how long this entente will last. ___
Reuters
5 hours ago
- Reuters
S&P, Nasdaq futures edge up amid earnings, UnitedHealth pressures Dow
July 29 (Reuters) - S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures ticked higher on Tuesday as investors assessed earnings reports from some of the top U.S. companies, while Dow futures lost some steam following a gloomy outlook from heavyweight UnitedHealth. At 06:50 a.m. ET, S&P 500 E-minis were up 17.75 points, or 0.28%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 110.75 points, or 0.47%. Dow E-minis rose 0.04%, but the gains were capped as healthcare conglomerate UnitedHealth (UNH.N), opens new tab dropped 4.7% in premarket trading following a disappointing profit forecast. Meanwhile, out of 168 S&P 500 companies that have reported, nearly 80% have beaten earnings expectations, according to Friday's LSEG data. But caution lingers, as some of Wall Street's giants feel the sting of U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs. United Parcel Service (UPS.N), opens new tab became the latest victim of the tariffs, falling 4% after the delivery company reported lower-than-expected second-quarter profit. On Monday, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq scored fresh record closes amid volatile trading, buoyed by a U.S.-EU trade deal that halved tariffs to 15% and stoked hopes of further global agreements ahead of Trump's looming August 1 deadline. The President has also floated a potential "world tariff" of 15-20% for non-negotiating countries. U.S. and Chinese officials on Tuesday kicked off a second day of high-stakes talks in Stockholm, aiming to cool tensions and avert a deepening trade war between the world's two largest economies. Negotiators are eyeing a possible 90-day extension to the fragile tariff truce brokered in May. Earnings from tech heavyweights Meta (META.O), opens new tab, Microsoft (MSFT.O), opens new tab, Amazon (AMZN.O), opens new tab and Apple (AAPL.O), opens new tab are scheduled for later this week, which could test Wall Street's record run. "The easiest gains (on Wall St) have now happened, and any further rise is likely to happen much more slowly," said Thomas Mathews, head of Markets at Capital Economics. "The narrowness of the rally means it may depend especially heavily on "big tech" profit results continuing to paint a positive picture." Spotify (SPOT.N), opens new tab tumbled 6.5% after the company forecast third-quarter profit below estimates. The U.S. central bank is set to begin its two-day policy meeting later in the day. While the Fed is expected to leave rates unchanged on Wednesday, traders will closely analyze policymakers' remarks to gauge the timing of future moves. According to the CME FedWatch tool, markets are pricing in a 61.7% chance of a rate cut in September. The meetings come amid the White House's campaign on the central bank to lower borrowing costs, including Trump's persistent criticism of Fed Chair Jerome Powell and occasional suggestions to remove him from his position. Investors are now focused on the latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) and consumer confidence reports for more clues on the U.S. economy, which continues to show signs of labor market strength—even as some inflationary pressures from tariffs begin to surface. Analysts urge patience, as they await more data before sounding any alarms. Among other earnings-related moves, Cadence Design (CDNS.O), opens new tab jumped 7.7% in premarket trading after the chip design software provider raised its annual sales and profit forecast.
