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(Bloomberg) — Gold rose to a record high, boosted by an escalation in US-China frictions and bets the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates twice more this year.

Bullion climbed to a peak of $4,185 an ounce. Spot silver advanced after a volatile day on Tuesday that saw prices surge to an all-time high above $53.54 an ounce, before tumbling sharply amid signs a historic squeeze is starting to ease.

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Yields on US Treasuries fell to the lowest levels in weeks on Tuesday, after Fed Chair Jerome Powell signaled the US central bank is on track to deliver another quarter-point cut later this month. Lower yields and borrowing costs tend to benefit precious metals, which don’t pay interest.

Meanwhile, risk-off sentiment swept markets — boosting gold’s haven appeal — after President Donald Trump said he might stop trade in cooking oil with China. The comments injected fresh tensions into the relationship between the world’s two largest economies, with Beijing vowing to retaliate after Washington threatened an additional 100% tariff on China last week.

In silver, the market has been gripped by a lack of liquidity in London, sparking a worldwide hunt for metal and driving benchmark prices to soar above futures in New York. The gap between the two markets narrowed on Tuesday after London prices fell, while the cost of borrowing silver in the city also started to decline, although both remained at very high levels.

Traders remain on edge ahead of the conclusion of the US administration’s so-called Section 232 probe into critical minerals — which includes silver, as well as platinum and palladium. The investigation has revived fears the metals could be swept up in new tariffs, even after they were officially exempt from levies in April.

The four main precious metals have surged between 58% and 80% this year, in a rally that’s dominated commodity markets. Gold’s advance has been underpinned by central-bank buying, rising holdings in exchange-traded funds, and Fed rate cuts.

Demand for havens has been aided by recurrent US-China trade tensions, threats to the Fed’s independence, and a US government shutdown. Investors have also been seeking safety in precious metals to protect themselves from the threats posed by runaway budget deficits — a phenomenon known as the “debasement trade.”

Meeting Australia’s emissions reduction targets is not going to be simple and the Queensland Liberal National government has gone out of its way to make it much harder.

Its energy roadmap, released on Friday, can’t really be interpreted as anything other than a transparently political document, designed to placate climate deniers that have a stranglehold on significant parts of the state’s governing party. You wouldn’t be heading down this path otherwise.

As previously promised, Queensland’s treasurer and energy minister, David Janetzki, confirmed the government plans to repeal the former state Labor government’s target of 80% of the electricity coming from renewable energy by 2035. That target included a now abandoned commitment to shut state-owned coal power plants by that date.

Instead, Janetzki said, coal would “play a critical role” in the energy system until at least 2046, meaning the dirty fossil fuel “will be part of the state’s generation for decades”. He has pledged $1.6bn to help keep coal plants running longer.

The government also wants to more than double the amount of gas-fired power in the state over the next decade, including building a new 400 megawatt gas plant in central Queensland. It has kicked in $479m to help get there.

Janetzki argued there would also be an expansion of renewable energy, promising $400m to help with the transition. But in reality, the state’s plans for large-scale solar and wind have been dramatically scaled back.

Up to 6.8 gigawatts of new renewable capacity is promised by 2030, but this is just a reiteration of what is already planned by private investors, including developments being underwritten by the federal government’s capacity investment scheme.

After that, the treasurer says expansion of clean energy will slow. Only 4.4GW is expected to be built between 2030 and 2035.

If this happens, it will lead to vast amounts more greenhouse gas than currently forecast being pumped into the atmosphere over the next decade. But you wouldn’t know this from reading the energy roadmap. The phrases “climate change” and “fossil fuels” don’t appear.

This is not just a major step back from what was promised under Labor – parts of which renewable energy supporters quietly believed may have been more ambitious than realistic. It also works against the Australian Energy Market Operator’s blueprint for an optimal future power grid.

Janetzki argued his plan was “pragmatic and realistic” and “founded on economics and engineering, and not on ideology”. The latter is a familiar line used by some other Liberal party figures, notably Malcolm Turnbull and Matt Kean, and usually when making the case for renewable energy with firming support as the cheapest and most flexible electricity solution.

The Queensland treasurer has turned this on its head, claiming unreleased government modelling shows that propping up coal, building gas and injecting less solar and wind into the system will save the average household $1,035 a year.

How, exactly? The view among experts is this seems wildly optimistic. It is at odds with other analyses. And it rides roughshod over an obvious point: the coal plants are going to have to be replaced. Pushing that transition beyond a timeframe when the current leadership will be in government doesn’t change that.

Most analysts say the transition is likely to be cheaper if there is a plan for the fossil fuel’s exit. Big energy investors – who these days are overwhelmingly solar and wind and battery investors – will be better prepared to deliver replacement plants if they know when they will be needed. The LNP is stripping away that certainty and sending a signal that investors may be better off building somewhere else.

It’s been doing this for a while, including by cancelling windfarms that had been approved and changing environment laws to make it harder to build them.

Queensland is Australia’s biggest polluting state. It has huge amounts of sun and land, but the lowest proportion of electricity from renewable energy in the country. Even Western Australia, which has no climate targets and is famously in the thrall of fossil fuel companies, performs better.

Over the past year, just 32% of Queensland’s power came from solar, wind and hydro, while 64% came from coal. Strip out booming rooftop solar and the proportion from large-scale big generators was less than 18%.

Compare this with the entire nation, where 42% of electricity was from renewables and 53% from coal. Or compare it with the global picture where, according to the thinktank Ember, renewable energy in the first six months of 2025 surpassed coal generation for the first time, largely thanks to solar generation growing by a third.

The sunshine state could choose to be a leader in this shift but is instead opting to crawl while others sprint.

Meanwhile, its coal plants are often failing – 78 times last summer alone, according to Renew Economy.

Perhaps this is why the premier, David Crisafulli, can keep a straight face while arguing he is still committed to meeting targets of cutting state emissions by 75% by 2035 (compared with 2005 levels) and net zero. Without coal shutdowns and a corresponding surge in renewable energy, he has no plan to get there.

Nationally, the same can be said of the Albanese government’s recently announced 62-70% emissions target range for 2035. The backslide up north ultimately means there will need to be a bigger drive in Canberra to cut pollution – and sooner, rather than later.

Sapiens International (NasdaqGS:SPNS) has quietly advanced over the past three months, gaining attention from investors interested in its steady performance and growth in the insurance software sector. The company’s recent track record has outpaced broader benchmarks.

See our latest analysis for Sapiens International.

Sapiens International’s share price has surged nearly 65% year-to-date and climbed 44.5% over the last three months, highlighting strong momentum. This stands in contrast to a steadier long-term total shareholder return of 23% over the past year and 143% over three years. Investors appear to be rewarding its consistent growth, indicating renewed optimism about its future prospects.

If Sapiens’ rise has you considering what’s next in tech, now is the perfect time to explore other potential standouts with our See the full list for free.

But with shares now trading well above analyst targets and recent gains reflecting strong sentiment, investors may wonder whether Sapiens remains undervalued or if markets have already priced in all its future growth.

Sapiens International’s last close at $43.09 stands notably above the most widely followed fair value estimate of $37.25, sparking debate around the company’s premium and what underpins this ambitious target.

The expansion of Sapiens’ insurance platform, especially with successful contract wins and platform implementations, is expected to drive revenue growth by enhancing their market position and adding new customers. Increasing cloud adoption, with a goal to transition over 60% of customers to their SaaS model within five years, can lead to higher margins and increased recurring revenue, positively impacting net margins and ARR.

Read the complete narrative.

Want the full playbook behind this high sticker price? The narrative’s valuation hinges on aggressive tech adoption, platform dominance, and a margin growth story. The biggest surprise is how these fast-moving drivers add up, so don’t miss the calculations behind the hype and see which assumptions could tip the scales.

Result: Fair Value of $37.25 (OVERVALUED)

Have a read of the narrative in full and understand what’s behind the forecasts.

However, modest projected revenue growth and challenges during the SaaS transition could limit Sapiens’ upside if these headwinds persist longer than anticipated.

Find out about the key risks to this Sapiens International narrative.

If you have your own view or want to dig deeper, you can analyze the numbers and shape your own narrative in just a few minutes. Do it your way

A great starting point for your Sapiens International research is our analysis highlighting 2 key rewards and 1 important warning sign that could impact your investment decision.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

Companies discussed in this article include SPNS.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com

Striving to help people through its mobility products and services and continue to offer new value that will surprise and inspire people, Honda has been developing new technologies across its wide range of businesses. In the area of power products, Honda has been pursuing enhanced application of autonomous and intelligent technologies to its products to deliver new value that enables people to make their daily lives more enjoyable, while addressing various societal challenges.

In particular, in the lawn care and landscaping industry in advanced countries, where an aging workforce and human resource shortage have become a concern, there is growing demand for products that increase the efficiency of landscaping work. Since the market launch of its first robotic lawn mower, the Miimo HRM500, in Europe in 2012, Honda has continued to offer products that contribute to making mowing and trimming more efficient and less labor-intensive.

Against such a backdrop, Honda is introducing the ProZision series of riding lawn mowers that combine advanced mowing technologies Honda has amassed through years of research and development of various types of lawn mowers, with the latest autonomous and intelligent technologies. ProZision series models will deliver outstanding terrain handling capability that stands up to difficult landscaping conditions, as well as outstanding cutting performance with Honda MicroCut^® Twin Blades.

The ProZision Autonomous is capable of operating in autonomous mode by memorizing and accurately following mowing routes and patterns pre-set by the operator, while recognizing its accurate location using GNSS^*. During operation, onboard radar and LiDAR sensors provide 360-degree sensing of the surroundings to detect changes in terrain and obstacles to enable the ProZision Autonomous to automatically determine the appropriate mowing route. This makes it possible for the ProZision Autonomous to operate safely and achieve a high-quality lawn finish without needing a human operator on board.

The ProZision Autonomous will contribute not only to addressing labor shortage and cost reduction challenges facing the lawn care and landscape maintenance industry, but also to mitigating worker burden in harsh work environments, such as rough terrain and dusty conditions.

In addition to electrification, Honda will continue to expand application of autonomous and intelligent technologies to offer products that help people in their daily lives.