Boston Consulting Group fires two partners over Gaza aid work
New York | Boston Consulting Group has fired two partners for 'unauthorised work' related to a contentious US-backed effort to overhaul aid distribution in Gaza.
The consultancy said last week the pair 'failed to disclose the full nature of the work during the client acceptance process' and carried out subsequent unauthorised work 'in violation of BCG's policies and protocols'.
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Sky News AU
2 hours ago
- Sky News AU
Simmering United States-China trade tensions send nuclear stocks soaring, Global X ETFs' Scott Helfstein reveals
Australian uranium miners have been on a tear since the calamity of United States President Donald Trump's 'Liberation Day' spooked investors and sent stocks around the globe plummeting. Uranium mining is a cyclical industry, one which fluctuates along with the business cycle, and was devastated by the turmoil from President Trump's trade war before strongly rebounding. Global X ETFs' head of thematic solutions Scott Helfstein told Sky News' Business Now the uranium sector's rebound was a sign of strength in the the wider economy. 'What we're actually seeing in the last few weeks, since we have moved past peak US-China tensions, we're seeing cyclical areas like copper miners, uranium miners, industrials start to rally and come back,' he said. 'That is a sign of good secular growth or expectations for good secular growth.' He noted while there was a 'sense of negative sentiment' among investors, underlying economic factors were stable. 'The hard economic and fundamentals from a corporate and a GDP (gross domestic product) perspective have remained really strong,' Mr Helfstein said. Uranium miner Paladin Energy has surged more than 50 per cent since the early April wipeout from "Liberation Day". Boss Energy has added more than 80 per cent, Deep Yellow has jumped more than 60 per cent and Bannerman Energy has soared about 45 per cent. Similarly, the world's largest publicly traded uranium miner and Swedish powerhouse Cameco Corp is up more than 70 per cent since early April. The climb comes as the ASX 200 has experienced wild turbulence since the beginning of the year. China and the US placed massive tariffs on one another, but agreed last month to reduce these to undergo trade negotiations. US and Chinese officials said on Tuesday they had agreed on a framework to get their trade truce back on track and remove China's export restrictions on rare earths, but offered little sign of a durable resolution to longstanding trade tensions. The ASX 200 hit a peak in mid-February before slowly dropping after President Trump began revealing his trade policies - including tariffs on aluminium, steel and automotive parts. The index plummeted in early April after the sweeping 'Liberation Day' tariffs were slapped on most nations around the world. President Trump temporarily pausing these levies and a boost of investor confidence has led to a gradual rise of the ASX 200.
AU Financial Review
2 hours ago
- AU Financial Review
ASX to rise, US stocks fluctuate, oil surges towards $US70 a barrel
Australian shares are set to open higher, though futures pared earlier gains as US stocks fluctuated after reports that the US is preparing to evacuate its Iraqi embassy due to heightened security risks in the region. Oil surged more than 4 per cent in afternoon trade in New York, moving towards $US70 a barrel. Gold edged higher. Shares swung in New York having been bolstered earlier by the latest US-China trade détente and a muted US consumer price inflation report. Market highlights ASX futures are pointing up 18 points or 0.2 per cent to 8620. All US prices near 2.40pm New York time. Today's agenda David Jacobs, RBA head of domestic markets department is to give a speech – Australia's Bond Market in a Volatile World – at the Australian Government Fixed Income Forum, Tokyo at 5.20pm AEST. At 10.30pm on Thursday, the US will release its latest PPI and initial jobless claims data. Top stories AUKUS in jeopardy as Pentagon reviews US role | Australia's $300 billion-plus plans to build and acquire nuclear submarines to protect against Chinese military action in the Indo-Pacific are in jeopardy. Trump says China will ship rare earths in 'done' trade deal | The US and China will maintain tariffs at their current, lower levels following the two nations' agreement this week in London, the president said. Unions will push AI regulation and pay at productivity summit | White-collar groups want protections for workers disrupted by artificial intelligence while blue-collar ones are seeking wage rises through productivity boosts. | The entrepreneur who struck an agreement to buy the software start-up's assets is in dispute with his business partner, and denies any wrongdoing.
West Australian
3 hours ago
- West Australian
China's rare-earth mineral squeeze puts defence giants in the crosshairs
The automotive and robotics industries have been hit particularly hard by China's rare earth export restrictions in recent weeks, but analysts warn Western defence giants will also feel the heat. Top US and Chinese officials are resuming trade talks in London for a second consecutive day on Tuesday, pushing to de-escalate tensions over rare-earth minerals and advanced technology. The White House has signalled a willingness to ease chip export controls if Beijing accelerates rare earth exports, boosting investor hopes of a breakthrough. Both sides have accused each other of reneging on a preliminary trade deal struck in Geneva last month. China's Ministry of Commerce in early April imposed export restrictions on several rare earth elements and magnets widely used in the automotive and defence sectors. The curbs were part of a response to US President Donald Trump's tariff increase on Beijing's exported products. National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett on Monday told CNBC's 'Squawk Box' that he expected a deal on rare earths to be struck quickly. 'So, our expectation is that ... immediately after the handshake any export controls from the US will be eased, and the rare earths will be released in volume, and then we can go back to negotiating smaller matters,' Mr Hassett said. China is the undisputed leader of the critical minerals supply chain, producing roughly 60 per cent of the world's supply of rare earths and processing almost 90 per cent, which means it is importing these materials from other countries and processing them. US officials have previously warned that this dominance poses a strategic challenge amid the pivot to more sustainable energy sources. William Bain, head of trade policy at the British Chambers of Commerce, said it appeared some progress had been made on the first day of US-China trade talks, but it remains 'absolutely vital' to achieve a further breakthrough on rare earth policy. 'We've seen some relaxation over the weekend with licenses granted in sectors connected with robotics and electric vehicles, but if you take, for example, a critical mineral like samarium, within magnets, that's absolutely essential for F-35 fighter jet construction in the US,' Mr Bain told CNBC's 'Europe Early Edition' on Tuesday. 'They can't make them without that. And not having access to that is severely affecting both U.S. construction in that area, but also perhaps its national security if that remains in place,' he added. CNBC has contacted the U.S. Department of Defense and the European Commission, the European Union's executive arm, for comment. The restrictions imposed by China's Ministry of Commerce in early April require firms to apply for a license for the export of rare earths and magnets. Rare earth elements play an integral role in modern defence technologies, according to the SFA-Oxford consultancy, enabling advanced radar and sonar systems, laser guidance and propulsion technologies in combat environments. Automotive industry groups have complained about the cumbersome process of trying to get necessary approvals, warning of increasing production threats as inventories deplete. China nevertheless appeared to offer US and European auto giants something of a reprieve over the weekend. China's Ministry of Commerce on Saturday said it was willing to establish a so-called 'green channel' for eligible export license applications to expedite the approval process to European Union firms. Beijing also granted rare earth licenses to suppliers of US auto giants General Motors, Ford and Jeep-maker Stellantis, Reuters reported on Friday, citing unnamed sources. Gracelin Baskaran, director of the critical minerals security program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a Washington-based think tank, said it was just a matter of time before the defence industry sounds the alarm over a rare earth shortage — noting that many of them have already done so behind closed doors. 'Defense companies are in the front line of impact, given we need thousands of pounds of rare earths in each submarine and fighter jet,' Ms Baskaran told CNBC by email. The US, European Union and Australia must coordinate supply- and demand-side interventions to boost rare earths production, CSIS' Baskaran said, adding that this need arises primarily because of prevailing price dynamics. 'If the price of praseodymium-neodymium (PrNd) oxide—a critical input for rare earth permanent magnets—remains below $60 per kilogram by 2030, nearly half of the projected non-Chinese supply would become financially unviable. On the supply side, this will necessitate measures such as production tax credits and subsidies,' Ms Baskaran said. 'On the demand side, implementing incentives to procure minerals from allied nations—similar to the provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act—will be essential,' she added. Last month, China temporarily paused export restrictions targeting 28 American companies following a trade truce reached between Washington and Beijing in Switzerland. China continued to block exports from that country of seven rare earth metals to the US, however. Many of the 28 American companies given a reprieve on dual-use export restrictions are common targets of Beijing's sanctions because of their activity in the defence sector. Henry Sanderson, associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), a London-based defence and security think tank, said the defence industry hasn't been nearly as vocal as the automotive sector when it comes to concerns over the impact of a rare earth shortage. 'Defense is hard because its less transparent, but they definitely use rare earths and rare earth magnets and especially what's called samarium cobalt magnets, but it's a much smaller demand than EVs or robots or anything like that,' Mr Sanderson told CNBC by phone. 'I'm less clear whether defence is as worried as the civilian industries, but saying that, looking at the level of magnet production in the West, it is very small,' he added.
