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  • Enzalutamide Plus Leuprolide Yields OS Benefit in nmHSPC With Biochemical Recurrence

    Enzalutamide Plus Leuprolide Yields OS Benefit in nmHSPC With Biochemical Recurrence

    nmHSPC | Image credit:

    © pikovit – stock.adobe.com

    Enzalutamide (Xtandi) combined with leuprolide generated a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in overall survival (OS) vs placebo plus leuprolide in patients with nonmetastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer (nmHSPC; also known as nonmetastatic castration-sensitive prostate cancer [nmCSPC]) with high-risk biochemical recurrence at high risk for metastasis, meeting the key secondary end point of the phase 3 EMBARK trial (NCT02319837).1

    Top-line results from the OS analysis of EMBARK also showed a favorable trend toward improved OS for patients who received enzalutamide monotherapy vs placebo plus leuprolide, although this difference was not statistically significant. Detailed OS results from the EMBARK trial are planned to be presented at an upcoming medical conference.

    “These data demonstrate that treatment with [enzalutamide] can extend life for men with nmHSPC and high-risk biochemical recurrence who have relapsed after initial curative-intent therapy with prostatectomy, radiation therapy or both, further validating EMBARK’s metastasis-free survival [MFS] data,” Neal Shore, MD, FACS, of START Carolinas/Carolina Urologic Research Center in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, stated in a news release. “While men with nmHSPC with high-risk biochemical recurrence now have expanded treatment choices, these results demonstrate a clear clinical benefit, including both MFS and OS, supporting the clinical practice of initiating [enzalutamide] for these patients.”

    The EMBARK investigators reported no new safety signals, and the safety findings were deemed consistent with the previously demonstrated safety profile of enzalutamide. Safety data from the initial analysis showed that the most common adverse effects (AEs) in the enzalutamide/leuprolide and placebo/leuprolide arms included fatigue and hot flashes. The most common AEs in the monotherapy arm were hot flashes, gynecomastia, and fatigue.

    “[Enzalutamide] is the only androgen receptor inhibitor–based regimen to demonstrate a survival benefit in metastatic HSPC and nmHSPC with high-risk biochemical recurrence, as well as castration-resistant prostate cancer, highlighting its significant patient impact in advanced prostate cancer,” Johanna Bendell, MD, oncology chief development officer of Pfizer, added in the news release. “These positive results add to the robust clinical support for the use of [enzalutamide] and broaden clinical confidence, offering men with high-risk biochemical recurrence evidence that they might live longer when they start [enzalutamide] early.”

    In the double-blind, multi-national EMBARK trial, 1068 patients with nmHSPC with high-risk biochemical recurrence were randomly assigned to receive enzalutamide at 160 mg daily plus leuprolide (n = 355), placebo plus leuprolide (n = 358), or enzalutamide monotherapy at 160 mg (n = 355).2 Data from the initial analysis, which were published in The New England Journal of Medicine in October 2023, showed that the study met its primary end point of a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in MFS for patients who received enzalutamide plus leuprolide vs placebo plus leuprolide. The median follow-up of 60.7 months. The 5-year MFS rate was 87.3% (95% CI, 83.0%-90.6%) in the enzalutamide/leuprolide arm, 71.4% (95% CI, 65.7%-76.3%) in the leuprolide/placebo arm, and 80.0% (95% CI, 75.0%-84.1%) in the enzalutamide monotherapy arm. MFS outcomes with enzalutamide plus leuprolide were superior to those with leuprolide plus placebo (HR, 0.42; 95% CI, 0.30-0.61; P < .001). MFS outcomes with enzalutamide monotherapy were also superior to those with leuprolide plus placebo (HR, 0.63; 95% CI, 0.46-0.87; P = .005).

    Notably, in November 2023, the FDA approved enzalutamide for the treatment of patients with nmCSPC with biochemical recurrence at high risk for metastasis based on data from EMBARK.3

    “Over 1.5 million men with advanced prostate cancer around the world have benefited from treatment with [enzalutamide] since its initial approval in 2012,” Shontelle Dodson, executive vice president and head of Medical Affairs at Astellas, added in the news release.1 “The scope and rigor of the EMBARK trial exemplify Astellas’ and Pfizer’s longstanding commitment to the prostate cancer community, and we look forward to sharing detailed findings in a future scientific forum.”

    References

    1. Xtandi plus leuprolide significantly improves survival outcomes in men with non-metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer with high-risk biochemical recurrence. News release. Pfizer Inc. July 10, 2025. Accessed July 10, 2025. https://investors.pfizer.com/Investors/News/news-details/2025/XTANDI-Plus-Leuprolide-Significantly-Improves-Survival-Outcomes-in-Men-with-Non-Metastatic-Hormone-Sensitive-Prostate-Cancer-with-High-Risk-Biochemical-Recurrence/default.aspx
    2. Freedland SJ, de Almeida Luz M, De Giorgi U, et al. Improved outcomes with enzalutamide in biochemically recurrent prostate cancer. N Engl J Med. 2023;389(16):1453-1465. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa2303974
    3. Pfizer and Astellas’ Xtandi approved by U.S. FDA in earlier prostate cancer treatment setting. News release. Astellas. Updated November 17, 2023. Accessed July 10, 2025. https://www.astellas.com/en/news/28626

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  • Space startup Varda raises $187 million to make drugs in orbit

    Space startup Varda raises $187 million to make drugs in orbit

    Pavlo Gonchar | Lightrocket | Getty Images

    Space startup Varda announced on Thursday that it has raised $187 million in Series C funding, led by venture capital firms Natural Capital and Shrug Capital, to continue advancing drug manufacturing in space.

    The latest round included participation from Peter Thiel, Lux Capital, Khosla Ventures and Caffeinated Capital. It brought the total capital Varda’s raised to $329 million.

    “By expanding, we can support work on more complex molecules and ultimately increase cadence to achieve the turnaround times the pharmaceutical industry expects,” Chief Science Officer Adrian Radocea said in a press release Thursday.

    Varda’s main mission is to launch and return drugs made in space. The startup has said the medicines crystallize differently in orbit due to the gravity differences, which would allow it to complete drugs that are currently difficult to manufacture.

    In 2024, the space startup’s W-Series 1 capsule received FAA approval to return after successfully creating the drug Ritonavir the previous year.

    So far, Varda said the company has been able to complete three space launches. Now, a fourth is in orbit, and the company expects to launch a fifth by the end of the year. Varda’s system uses Rocket Lab’s Photon spacecraft for its operation and adds its manufacturing module and a heatshield-protected capsule.

    “With this capital, Varda will continue to increase our flight cadence and build out the pharmaceutical lab that will deliver the world’s first microgravity-enabled drug formulation,” said Varda CEO Will Bruey.

    Varda Space Industries is the first company to process materials outside the International Space Station.

    Recently, the space company has also operated a testbed for the U.S. government to use the W-series reentry vehicles to advance technology.

    Varda said it has expanded into Huntsville, Alaska, and opened a laboratory in El Segundo, California, to begin work to crystallize more drugs.

    “Our new lab space is an investment in our belief that in-space pharmaceutical manufacturing will drive the foundation of the orbital economy,” Radocea said.

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  • Lula threatens 50% tariff on US goods in retaliation for Trump levy on Brazil | Trump tariffs

    Lula threatens 50% tariff on US goods in retaliation for Trump levy on Brazil | Trump tariffs

    Brazil threatened to hit back against Donald Trump’s plan to introduce 50% tariffs on its exports with its own 50% tariff on US goods, setting the stage for a precipitous trade war.

    “If he charges us 50%, we’ll charge him 50%,” Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the Brazilian president, told local news outlet Record, a day after Trump threatened to impose steep duties on Brazilian goods and accused the country of conducting a “witch-hunt” against its former president Jair Bolsonaro, who is facing a trial over his attempt to overturn his 2022 election defeat.

    Brazil could appeal to the World Trade Organization, propose international investigations and “demand explanations”, Lula suggested. “But the main thing is the Reciprocity Law, passed by Congress,” he told Record, referring to recent legislation designed to defend Latin America’s largest economy from tariff attacks.

    Trump’s claim that Brazil’s economic relationship with the US was “far from Reciprocal” was also “inaccurate”, Lula had said in a statement on Wednesday. US tariff hikes “will be addressed” by Brazil, he said.

    Early on Thursday, Lula convened Brazilian ministers to discuss how his government should address Trump’s 50% tariff threat. The office of Lula’s chief of staff said a study group would be formed to decide how to react.

    Trump has already pledged to retaliate if Brazil retaliates against his attack, with US tariffs due to come into force on 1 August. “If for any reason you decide to raise your Tariffs, then, whatever the number you choose to raise them by, will be added onto the 50% that we charge,” he wrote in a letter to Lula on Wednesday, published on social media.

    The threatened tariffs on Brazil are part of a wave of proposed US levies unveiled by Trump this week. While the White House had been scheduled to hike duties on dozens of countries on Wednesday, he ordered a fresh three-week delay to 1 August.

    Alongside the latest delay, Trump has written letters to a string of countries, including Bangladesh, Japan and South Korea, informing them of new US tariff rates they will face unless they strike a deal with his administration.

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  • Health care is trading at a big discount to the broader market. How to play it using options

    Health care is trading at a big discount to the broader market. How to play it using options

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  • UAE ready for another oil capacity boost if markets require – Reuters

    1. UAE ready for another oil capacity boost if markets require  Reuters
    2. State giant poised to float tenders for expansion of world’s second-largest offshore oilfield  Upstream Online
    3. UAE stays course on five million barrels production capacity plan by 2027  thenationalnews.com
    4. UAE committed to achieving planned oil production capacity  Dubai Eye 103.8
    5. UAE remains focused on delivering its planned production capacity of 5 million barrels per day by 2027: Ministry of Energy and infrastructure – UAE BARQ  uaebarq.ae

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  • Ganoderma Lingzhi: Ganoderic Acid Distribution Mapped

    Ganoderma Lingzhi: Ganoderic Acid Distribution Mapped

    A recent study published in Engineering has provided new insights into the spatiotemporal distribution and biosynthesis of ganoderic acids (GAs) in Ganoderma lingzhi (G. lingzhi), a mushroom renowned for its medicinal properties in traditional Chinese medicine. The research, led by scientists from Northeast Forestry University, China, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, and the University of Macau, utilized a multi-omics approach to map the distribution of GAs and elucidate their biosynthetic pathways.

    G. lingzhi, often referred to as the “mushroom of immortality,” has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for over 2000 years. It contains various bioactive substances, including polysaccharides, terpenoids, glycopeptides, nucleotides, and steroids, with ganoderic acids being particularly significant for their anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-aging, hepatoprotective, and nephroprotective properties. However, the biosynthetic pathway of GAs has remained poorly understood, limiting their large-scale commercialization.

    To address this gap, the researchers employed high-resolution matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry imaging (MALDI-MSI) to spatially map the distribution of GAs in both the primordium and fruiting body of G. lingzhi. The study revealed that GAs predominantly accumulate in the shell of G. lingzhi, suggesting a role in environmental stress response. The Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry imaging (MALDI-MSI) analysis detected 24 types of GAs, grouped into eight common molecular weight categories, with distinct accumulation patterns at different developmental stages.

    In addition to MALDI-MSI, the researchers assembled the telomere-to-telomere (T2T) genomes of two haploid G. lingzhi strains, achieving the highest integrity and quality reported to date. The T2T genome assembly provided a complete and accurate genetic blueprint for analyzing the GA biosynthetic pathway. The study also constructed the first single-cell transcriptome atlas of the G. lingzhi fruiting body, identifying six distinct cell types and reconstructing the developmental trajectory of the shell.

    A multi-omics analysis was used to annotate a novel cytochrome P450 enzyme (GlCYP512A3) involved in the oxidation of GA 3-hydroxy-lanosta-8,24-dien-26-oic acid (GA-HLDOA) into ganolucidic acids E and F. This finding is crucial for understanding the downstream oxidative modification steps in GA biosynthesis, which have been largely unknown due to the structural diversity of GAs.

    The study’s comprehensive spatiotemporal multi-omics framework offers valuable insights into the molecular mechanisms mediating GA biosynthesis. The high-resolution mapping of GA distribution and the identification of key biosynthetic enzymes lay the foundation for future research on metabolic engineering and molecular breeding for high-yield and high-quality GA production.

    The research was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and other funding sources. The findings not only enhance the understanding of GA biosynthesis in G. lingzhi but also provide a scientific basis for the development of new medicinal applications and cultivation practices to maximize GA yields.

    The paper “Unveiling the Spatiotemporal Landscape of Ganoderma lingzhi: Insights into Ganoderic Acid Distribution and Biosynthesis,” is authored by Yupeng Du, Shuang Peng, Hongguo Chen, Jun Li, Feiyu Huang, Wenxiao Chen, Jing Wang, Xiaoxue Fang, Leijiao Liu, Lihui Wei, Kaiquan Zhang, Shuhao Xu, Chang Li, Chunqing Wang, Zheyong Xue, Xin Hua, Shuangcheng Ma, Jing Xu, Hui Xiong, Shasha Zhou, Jing Wu, Shengpeng Wang, Hirokazu Kawagishi, Mohamed A. Farag, Wei Sun, Zhenhao Li, Chengwei Liu, Zhichao Xu. Full text of the open access paper: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eng.2025.03.030

    /Public Release. This material from the originating organization/author(s) might be of the point-in-time nature, and edited for clarity, style and length. Mirage.News does not take institutional positions or sides, and all views, positions, and conclusions expressed herein are solely those of the author(s).View in full here.

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  • The Lore Of The Hermès Birkin Bag, Explained—After $8 Million Sale

    The Lore Of The Hermès Birkin Bag, Explained—After $8 Million Sale

    Topline

    A 40-year-old purse that inspired the world’s most prestigious line of handbags sold at a Sotheby’s auction in Paris on Thursday morning for €8.6 million ($10.1 million) after fees to an unidentified Japanese bidder after more than 10 minutes of intense bidding by nine potential buyers vying for the very first Hermès Birkin bag ever made.

    Key Facts

    The Birkin prototype, which was created specifically for actress and French style icon Jane Birkin, inspired a line of Hermès bags that are notoriously expensive—they commonly resell for tens of thousands of dollars—and hard to acquire.

    The bag is the most expensive handbag ever sold at auction, costing the buyer €7 million ($8.2 million) before fees, handily beating an Hermès Kelly 28 that fetched $513,040 in November 2021.

    The bag was sold to an unnamed private collector from Japan, according to The Wall Street Journal.

    The Birkin is now the second most valuable fashion item ever sold after a pair of Ruby Red Slippers from “The Wizard of Oz,” which sold for $32.5 million in 2024.

    The original bag, which includes a non-removable strap and is stamped with Jane Birkin’s initials, differs from the purses later produced in its name in several ways: it’s a unique size between the 40 and 35 sizes later made for the Hermès line, it has gilded brass hardware instead of the gold-plated hardware used when the bag was officially launched and it has noticeably smaller bottom studs, or “feet,” than those used on production Birkin bags.

    The purse is also noticeably worn from use—Jane Birkin was known to treat the bag as any other, as opposed to keeping it in pristine condition as many collectors do today, and she famously personalized her bag with stickers and other accouterments.

    This particular bag has been sold twice before for undisclosed amounts: Birkin donated it to an auction benefiting Association Solidarité Sida, a French AIDS charity, in 1994 and it was sold again at auction in 2000 to Parisian collector Catherine Benier, who has had it since.

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    Key Background

    The origin story of the Birkin bag has fallen into fashion legend. Jane Birkin, considered a French icon and muse thanks to her unique Parisian style, was reportedly carrying a plastic bag as a purse on a plane in the mid 1980s. The bag broke, and she audibly complained that Hermès, the French design house, didn’t design a bag that would hold all her things. Jean-Louis Dumas, the CEO and head designer of Hermès at the time, happened to be sitting next to her. Birkin then sketched the design of the now-famous handbag on an airplane sickness bag, and Dumas went on to create a chic leather bag meant to be suitable for everyday use. The first Birkin bags were released later that year and have since become a symbol of status. The bags range in price, but on average cost between $10,000 and $60,000 and waiting lists for rare bags can extend for months or years. Customers must be personally invited to purchase a Birkin by sales associates of Hermès, and the invitation often isn’t extended until a customer has spent thousands on other merchandise. Customers also aren’t usually permitted to request a specific bag—they’re offered what’s available on a take-it-or-leave-it basis. Because of their scarcity, Birkin bags have a crowded resale market. Today, Sotheby’s has 239 Hermès Birkin bags listed for resale on its website ranging from an $8,000 orange Birkin 42 to a $220,000 white crocodile Himalaya Birkin.

    Big Number

    $2 million. That’s the price of the most expensive Birkin ever designed. The Sac Bijou Birkin bag, unveiled in Hermès’ 2012 collection, was designed by the brand’s fine jewelry director. The mini bag included 2,712 diamonds and was intended to be worn as a bracelet, according to Sotheby’s. Only three diamond Sac Bijou Birkin bags were made.

    What We Don’t Know

    Who placed the winning bid. The auction was open to individual collectors and institutions, like museums. The largest known Hermès collection belongs to Singaporean socialite Jamie Chua, who keeps it in a fingerprint-secured, 700-square-foot closet. Her bags are kept behind glass and her collection includes what’s called a Himalayan diamond Birkin, which is estimated to be worth as much as $500,000. Stars like Victoria Beckham, Kim Kardashian, Kylie Jenner and Jefree Star are also known to have large collections, while other high-profile lovers include Pippa Middleton, Kate Moss, Jennifer Lopez and Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen.

    Tangent

    People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals U.K. has sent a letter to Benier asking she donate the proceeds from the auction to wildlife charities “to make up for at least some of the harm caused to animals by the production of Birkin bags.” Hermes is one of a handful of luxury brands that have faced criticism for their use of exotic animal skins, particularly crocodile, alligator and snake, to make their products. PETA has said three crocodiles are killed to make a single exotic Birkin bag, and Jane Birkin herself once asked Hermès to remove her name from the bag, specifically the crocodile version, due to concerns about animal welfare. She later dropped the request after Hermès responded by threatening to end its affiliation with a crocodile farm in Texas found to not be following international production standards.

    Further Reading

    ForbesHermès Surpasses Growth Estimates, Nears $5 Billion In The First QuarterBy Kevin RozarioForbesThe Hermès Man Proves Quiet Luxury Sometimes Raises Its VoiceBy Roxanne RobinsonForbesWhat Makes Hermès: A Tapestry Woven In Leather And LegacyBy Gustaf Lundberg ToressonForbesHermès Heir Giving Billions To Gardener Isn’t Alone: Here Are Other Shock Inheritance Choices From The Super-RichBy Mary Whitfill Roeloffs


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  • Julian McMahon obituary | Australian television

    Julian McMahon obituary | Australian television

    Julian McMahon, who has died of cancer aged 56, was one of a select band who graduated from Australian soap actor to Hollywood star. Guy Pearce, Alan Dale and Margot Robbie were among those who conquered Tinseltown after regular roles in Neighbours – which also helped to launch Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan’s singing talents on both sides of the world – while Home and Away could boast McMahon, Isla Fisher and Chris Hemsworth.

    McMahon’s appearances as a model in 1987 Levi’s commercials, which included him teasingly pulling up a pair of the brand’s famous 501 jeans over his briefs, brought his clean-cut good looks and sex appeal to the attention of producers at the Seven Network.

    They cast him in a new daytime serial, The Power, The Passion (1989-90), as Kane Edmonds, a medical student and grandson of the wealthy but nasty business executive surrounded by a family of vultures waiting to pounce once he dies.

    McMahon as Ben Lucini in Home and Away in 1990. Photograph: David Nichols/Shutterstock

    When the soap was dropped after a year, McMahon joined Home and Away, broadcast in the evening in Australia. After four auditions, he had a 16-month run as Ben Lucini (1990-91), a relaxed, easy-going soldier with Italian ancestry arriving in the fictional Summer Bay and grappling with whether to sign on for a further five-year term in the army.

    Within two weeks, Ben proposed to Carly Morris (Sharyn Hodgson), a teenager with a troubled past. He rejoined the army and she moved to Perth with him. More than 12 million ITV viewers tuned in for the wedding in Britain, where McMahon and Hodgson were among the cast during a 1991 stage tour of Home and Away: The Musical.

    McMahon also met Dannii Minogue, sister of Kylie, through the soap. When she launched her music career, he appeared as her boyfriend in promotional videos for her 1993 hits This Is It and This Is the Way, before they married in 1994.

    They divorced a year later, with Minogue claiming that her mother-in-law, the socialite Lady Sonia McMahon, refused to speak to her. “I was never accepted,” she said.

    The couple were also separated for long intervals by McMahon spending time in the US as Hollywood opened its doors to him. He eased himself in through another soap, playing Ian Rain, a gardener, then restaurant manager, aiming to take revenge on his father’s killer, in the long-running daytime serial Another World. “Here I was, this 22-year-old dude from Australia, and the first scene I had to shoot was in a Speedo, getting out of the Cory [family] pool,” he told Soap Opera Digest in 2020.

    McMahon, right, with his co-star Dylan Walsh in a publicity photograph for Nip/Tuck in 2003. Photograph: Alamy/Allstar

    Further roles came his way in US peak-time programmes before he found worldwide fame as the playboy plastic surgeon Dr Christian Troy in Nip/Tuck. He and Dylan Walsh, who played Dr Sean McNamara, starred as the owners of the McNamara/Troy plastic-surgery centre in a drama reflecting a new real-life obsession with beauty and looking young.

    Nip/Tuck’s first series, screened on FX in the US, was the most-watched cable programme of 2003 and by its second run was dubbed the “coolest show on television” by TV Guide. The drama was finally axed in 2010 after 100 episodes.

    McMahon was born in Sydney shortly before his father, the Liberal politician William McMahon, became Australia’s 20th prime minister. Julian and his sisters, Deborah and Melinda, were left in the care of a nanny while William and his wife, Sonia (nee Hopkins), stayed in Canberra, the seat of government. On leaving Sydney Grammar, a private school, McMahon spent several months studying economics at Wollongong University before dropping out to become a model.

    One of his earliest TV roles on settling in the US was the crusading Detective John Grant in all four series of Profiler (1996-2000). He followed it by playing Cole Turner, a half-demon who marries Phoebe Halliwell (Alyssa Milano), one of the three leading witches, in the supernatural drama Charmed, between 2000 and 2005.

    McMahon as Doctor Doom in Fantastic Four – Rise of the Silver Surfer in 2007. Photograph: 20th Century Fox/Marvel/Kobal/Shutterstock

    Later, he was Jonah, an Australian doctor, in Runaways (from 2017 to 2019); a special agent, Jess LaCroix, in FBI (from 2019 to 2021) and its spin-offs, FBI: Most Wanted (from 2020 to 2022) and FBI: International (in 2021); and the Australian prime minister in the Netflix comedy-mystery The Residence (2025).

    McMahon was best known in films as the Marvel Comics villain Doctor Doom in Fantastic Four (2005) and its sequel, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007). He also played Sandra Bullock’s husband in Premonition (2007) and the corrupt US vice-president, alongside Bruce Willis, in RED (2010).

    Returning to Australia occasionally, he appeared in the films Bait (2012) as a supermarket robber, the 1970s beachside partner-swapping comedy Swinging Safari (2018) and the leader of a group of beach bullies, opposite Nicolas Cage, in The Surfer (2024).

    McMahon’s second marriage, in 1999 to the Baywatch actor Brooke Burns, ended in divorce in 2001. In 2014, he married Kelly Paniagua. She and Madison, the daughter from his second marriage, survive him, along with his sisters.

    Julian Dana William McMahon, actor, born 27 July 1968; died 2 July 2025

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  • FTSE 100 hits record high as investors shrug off trade war concerns | FTSE

    FTSE 100 hits record high as investors shrug off trade war concerns | FTSE

    The FTSE 100 index of the most valuable companies on the London Stock Exchange has soared to a new record high as investors shrugged off concerns over Donald Trump’s trade wars.

    The FTSE 100 had the 9,000-point mark in its sights on Thursday, as it climbed to 8,973 points, above its previous all-time high of 8,908 points.

    Stocks rose in London amid a global rally, as traders grew confident that Trump would either reach agreements with US trading partners, or again delay or dial back his threatened tariffs.

    Mining stocks led the FTSE 100 risers, with Anglo American up more than 5%, closely followed by Glencore and Rio Tinto.

    Victoria Scholar, the head of investment at Interactive Investor, said: “Commodities are fuelling the gains for the FTSE 100, with copper in the green and gold catching a bid on the back of a weaker US dollar.”

    The blue-chip share index has now risen by more than 9% during 2025, having recovered from sharp losses in early April when markets tumbled after Trump announced new tariffs on what he called “liberation day”, before recovering after he postponed them.

    The precious metals producer Fresnillo has been the top-performing FTSE 100 stock so far this year; its shares are up 140% since 1 January, driven by gains in the prices of gold and silver.

    The British defence company Babcock’s share price has doubled so far this year, while weapons-maker BAE Systems is up 63% year-to-date, helped by expectations of a surge in defence spending as the Russia-Ukraine war continued.

    Shares have pushed higher this week despite Trump announcing new tariff rates that will be imposed on imports from 1 August – postponed from a previous date of 9 July.

    Chris Beauchamp, the chief market analyst at IG, said investors were in an “ebullient summer mood”.

    “Perhaps most notable is the market’s apparent indifference to escalating trade tensions. Trump’s 50% tariff on copper imports and threats toward Brazil triggered little reaction. Many now view such announcements as political posturing, summed up by Taco: Trump always chickens out,” he said.

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    Germany’s DAX share index also hit a record high on Thursday. It has gained more than 23% so far this year, lifted by plans from the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, to increase government spending to drive investment and lift growth.

    The FTSE 100 is seen as a gauge of optimism about the world economy, as many of the largest companies listed in London have a global focus.

    Susannah Streeter, the head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “The FTSE 100 is stuffed full of multinationals which are sensitive to the outlook for the world economy and with the so-called ‘Taco trade’ in full swing, it’s benefiting from more optimism around.

    “Investors expect that Trump will ‘chicken out’ from imposing his threat,” Streeter added.

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  • Shirley Hooper Re-elected as World Netball (WN) Vice President as WN Congress 2025 Concludes.

    Shirley Hooper Re-elected as World Netball (WN) Vice President as WN Congress 2025 Concludes.

    World Netball (WN) today held its virtual Congress 2025, with Shirley Hooper re-elected as Vice President (VP).

    Hooper was up for re-election for the role, having completed her first term of four years, and was running alongside second candidate Kate Palmer AM.

    Both candidates addressed Congress, before voting delegates elected Hooper into the role.

    Speaking on being elected Hooper said: “We are at an exciting point in the development of netball across the world in all 76 of our Member countries.

    “I hugely appreciate the support from those Members to remain in the role of Vice President and hope to continue to drive this momentum.”

    In addition to this, Rob Mills was also re-appointed by Members as WN’s Independent Director.

    Mills, who is Director and CEO of Tenka, a global sport and entertainment consultancy, was first appointed as WN Independent Director for an initial term of four years at Congress in 2021 and has now been appointed for a second term of four years.

    To view all items that were discussed at Congress, you can view our Board papers here.

    WN would also like to congratulate its latest Service Award Holders Dr Grace Bryant OAM (Australia), Noeleen Dix AM (Australia), Pam Smith (Australia), and Wai Taumaunu (New Zealand).

    To view the full list of Service Award Holders and read their citations which were read out at Congress, click here.  

    Make sure you are following us on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok for the latest World Netball news.


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