Category: 3. Business

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The US could break its dependence on China for many critical minerals if metals found in the waste from existing American mines were used rather than discarded, new research has found.

The US is among a growing number of countries racing to secure more independent supplies of metals including copper, lithium and nickel — which are essential for a broad range of industries, from energy to technology and defence. 

China has invested heavily in the sector for two decades and dominates the supply chains for many critical minerals.

That dominance contributed to the Trump administration’s imposition of hefty tariffs on a range of Chinese products in a bid to encourage domestic US supply chains.

The paper, published in the journal Science on Thursday by researchers at the Colorado School of Mines, said that the US could supply most of its metals needs if it made better use of mining waste.

“The US’ vulnerable supply of critical minerals is not a function of domestic geological availability,” they said. Recovering even small quantities of the byproducts “would substantially reduce net import reliance for most critical minerals,” said the researchers. 

The waste from the 54 mining operations active in the US were likely to be rich in many of the critical minerals needed by the country’s industrial sector, they added.

Their analysis found that recovering some of the metals that occur as byproducts at active mines, combined with existing production, could be “sufficient to meet US manufacturing demand for copper, iron, molybdenum, silver, nickel, zinc and [rare earths].” 

Making better use of these waste products could prove difficult, however, since the researchers noted that “a lot more research, development and policy” was needed to make it “economically feasible”.

Other nations including Australia, Canada and the EU are also trying to wean themselves off a heavy dependency on Chinese metals with plans that include investing in domestic mining or stockpiling material.

Thursday’s analysis drew on geologic data from the US, Australian and Canadian Geological Surveys, among other sources. 

Rare earth elements, which are essential for the production of magnets, have drawn particular attention in recent months following a temporary Chinese export ban on the materials that upended the global supply chain.

Despite their name, these metals are not especially rare but are often not economic to extract, with many mined as byproducts of other minerals. 

The amount of critical minerals that currently end up as US mining waste could “exceed US imports and US manufacturing demand for most elements,” the researchers said.

For 15 elements — including rare earths, gallium and germanium — recovering less than 1 per cent of the potential byproducts found in mines across the US would be enough to replace imports, they found.

For another 11, including the battery metal lithium, recovery of between 1 and 10 per cent would be needed to replace imports, they said.

“US metal mines already have sufficient mineral endowment to substantially reduce the nation’s mineral [deficit],” they said. “Unrecovered, these byproducts contribute to the country’s growing industrial waste.”

Walmart’s second-quarter results are showing that United States consumers across the spectrum are still flocking to the retailer’s stores despite economic headwinds, but its shares have dipped as the company’s margins ebbed and inventory costs rose.

The world’s largest retailer has scooped up market share from rivals as wealthier consumers frequent the store more often, worried about the effects of tariffs on prices, the company’s results on Thursday showed.

That has fueled an 85 percent surge in the stock over the last year-and-a-half that some analysts say has made its valuation too lofty.

Shares were down 4 percent in midday trading in New York, as its second-quarter profit was lower than expected, registering Walmart’s first earnings miss in more than three years.

Investors also focused on Walmart’s gross margins for the quarter, which fell short of their expectations, even though the company raised its fiscal year sales and profit forecasts.

Overall gross margins were about flat at 24.5 percent versus 24.4 percent last quarter, missing consensus estimates of 24.9 percent, according to brokerage DA Davidson.

“Expectations were high for a margin beat and we didn’t get that, so we’re getting a little bit of a pullback on the stock,” said Steven Shemesh, RBC Capital Markets analyst.

Still, the Bentonville, Arkansas-based chain’s results showed it has continued to benefit from growing price sensitivity among Americans, earning revenue of $177.4bn in the second quarter. Analysts on average were expecting $176.16bn, according to LSEG data. Adjusted earnings per share of 68 cents in the second quarter fell short of analyst expectations of 74 cents.

Consumer sentiment has weakened due to fears of tariffs fueling higher inflation, hitting the bottom lines of some retail chains, but Walmart’s sales have remained resilient. Companies have been able to withstand paying those import levies through front-running of inventories, but as those products are sold, the next shipments are pricier, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said.

“As we replenish inventory at post-tariff price levels, we’ve continued to see our cost increase each week,” he said on a call with analysts, noting those costs will continue rising in the second half of the year. The effects of tariffs have so been gradual enough for consumer habits to change only modestly.

Walmart had warned it would increase prices this summer to offset tariff-related costs on certain goods imported to the US, a move that drew criticism from President Donald Trump. Consumer-level inflation is increasing modestly, while wholesale inflation spiked in July to its fastest rate in more than three years.

According to an S&P Global survey released on Thursday, input prices paid by businesses hit a three-month high in July, with companies citing tariffs as the key driver. Prices charged by businesses for goods and services hit a three-year high, as companies passed along costs to consumers. A day earlier, rival Target warned of tariff-induced cost pressures.

Walmart got a boost from a sharper online strategy as more customers relied on home deliveries. Its global e-commerce sales jumped 25 percent during the second quarter, and Walmart said one-third of deliveries from stores took three hours or less.

Shoppers adjust to higher prices

McMillon expects current shopping habits to persist through the third and fourth quarters. He noted middle- and lower-income households are making noticeable adjustments in response to rising prices, either by reducing the number of items in their baskets or by opting for private-label brands. This shift has not been seen among higher-income households, which Walmart defines as those earning over $100,000 annually.

Walmart expects annual sales to grow in the range of 3.75 percent to 4.75 percent, compared to its prior forecast of a 3 percent to 4 percent increase. Adjusted earnings per share are expected in the range of $2.52 to $2.62, compared to its previous range of $2.50 to $2.60.

Chief Financial Officer John David Rainey said the company is looking at more possible financial outcomes than before because of trade policy talks, uncertain demand, and the need to stay flexible for future growth. Based on what it saw in the second quarter, Walmart expects the impact on margins and earnings from the higher cost of goods to be smaller in the current quarter than it previously thought, Rainey said.

“Broad consumer and macro trends remain favourable to Walmart, especially in the shape of consumers wanting to maximise bang for their buck,” said Neil Saunders, managing director of retail consultancy GlobalData.

Walmart’s total US comparable sales rose 4.6 percent, beating analysts’ estimates of a 3.8 percent increase. The company noted strong customer response to over 7,400 “rollbacks,” its term for discounted prices, with 30 percent more rollbacks on grocery items.

Average spending at the till rose 3.1 percent from an increase of 0.6 percent last year, but growth in customer visits fell to 1.5 percent from 3.6 percent in the year-earlier period. Walmart logged 40 percent growth in marketplace sales, including electronics, automotive, toys, and media and gaming.

Two-thirds of what Walmart sells in the US is domestically sourced, executives had said last quarter, which gave it some insulation from tariffs compared to competitors.

This is how, in retail-land, to shatter your credibility with investors in one short statement: confess to a significant overstatement of profits related to the recognition of payments from suppliers.

This stuff is both sensitive – witness the upheaval after an episode at Tesco a decade ago – and basic. While it is normal for retailers to receive payments from suppliers related to the volume of goods sold, or promotional activity, accounting rules are strict. The sums must be booked as they are earned. In a multi-year agreement, payments cannot all be taken upfront.

WH Smith’s last annual report was also clear that the principle should be straightforward to put into practice: “The level of complexity and judgment is low in relation to establishing the accounting entries and estimates, and the timing of recognition.”

Thus a £30m profits overstatement in WH Smith’s North American division – “largely due to the accelerated recognition of supplier income” – is enormous in the context of the size of the operation. The estimate of headline trading profits in the unit this year has been cut from £55m to £25m.

Group-wide profits should still arrive at £110m this year because the UK operation – think shiny shops in airports and railway stations, rather than the now-sold dusty high street stores – is still bigger. But the 42% fall in the group’s share price on Thursday, equating to almost £600m in terms of stock-market value, still looks more than justified.

North America was meant to be the gleaming growth opportunity for WH Smith. The promise, after the sale of its UK high street shops, was for a pure “global travel” retailer with a single-minded focus on expanding its presence. Its US business takes in a tech and gadget format, InMotion, plus stores for other retailers. About 40 shops were opened in US airports last year on the way to making the division “an increasingly significant part of the group”, as Carl Cowling, the chief executive, put it.

At least for now, the expansion plans are intact and it’s just a question of correcting the accounting errors and waiting for Deloitte, a freshly appointed independent reviewer, to run a forensic check on all the supplier contracts. Well, let’s see. These types of accounting cock-ups rarely become smaller on closer inspection and the affair raises questions that Cowling, the chair, Annette Court, and the board haven’t begun to address.

For starters, WH Smith investors will want a comprehensive account of how the financial controls could have failed so badly that more than half this year’s promised profits from the US could evaporate in one swoop. Then they will want to know the degree to which the US operation is dependent on supplier payments. What would returns look like without them? As Peel Hunt’s analyst said: “Bigger questions remain about the margin structure of the US businesses.”

Come back in November for WH Smith’s full-year numbers and its complete version of what went wrong. Until then, the shares – now at the lowest in a decade – look like dead money. The US rollout plan requires projections shareholders can believe.

A Russian state-backed messenger application called Max, a rival to WhatsApp that critics say could be used to track users, must be pre-installed on all mobile phones and tablets bought in the country starting next month, the Russian government said on Thursday.

The decision to promote Max comes as Moscow, locked in a standoff with the west over Ukraine, is seeking greater control over the internet. The Kremlin said in a statement that Max, which will be integrated with government services, would be on a list of mandatory pre-installed apps on all “gadgets”, including mobile phones and tablets, sold in Russia from 1 September. The firm behind Max said this week that 18 million users had downloaded its app, parts of which are still in a testing phase.

State media says accusations from Kremlin critics that Max is a spying app are false and that it has fewer permissions to access user data than rivals WhatsApp and Telegram.

It will also be mandatory from 1 September for Russia’s domestic app store, RuStore, which is pre-installed on all Android devices, to be pre-installed on Apple devices. A Russian-language TV app called Lime HD TV, which allows people to watch state TV channels free of charge, will be pre-installed on all smart TVs sold in Russia from 1 January.

The push to promote homegrown apps comes after Russia said this month it had started restricting some calls on WhatsApp, owned by Meta Platforms, and on Telegram, accusing the foreign-owned platforms of failing to share information with law enforcement in fraud and terrorism cases.

WhatsApp, which in July had a reach of 97.3 million users in Russia, responded by accusing Moscow of trying to block Russians from accessing secure communications, while Telegram, which had a reach of 90.8 million users, said it actively combats the harmful use of its platform.

The third most popular messenger app in July, according to Mediascope data, was VK Messenger, at 17.9 million users, an offering from the same state-controlled tech company VK which developed Max.

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Russia’s interior ministry said on Wednesday that Max was safer than foreign rivals, but that it had arrested a suspect in the first fraud case using the new messenger.

BankIslami, one of Pakistan’s fastest-growing Islamic financial institutions, reported a profit before tax (PBT) of PKR 8.95 billion for the first half of 2025 and announced an interim dividend of PKR 1.50 per share (15%) as it continues to transform into a digital and regionally competitive institution.

BankIslami’s Non-Funded income surged by over 90%, despite declining policy rates and compressed spreads. While total income contracted by 4.9%, the decline was modest compared with industry trends. Operating expenses rose 47%, reflecting strategic investments in branch network expansion, digital infrastructure, and the acquisition of the 32-storey tower in Karachi, set to become the bank’s new headquarters.

Deposits grew by 12.7%, driven by a 37.9% increase in current accounts, pushing the CASA ratio to a record 70%. The Capital Adequacy Ratio stood at 19.37%, comfortably above regulatory requirements, while the Asset-to-Deposit Ratio remained healthy at 43.3%. Delinquent financing declined by 8% to PKR 22.3 billion, though the infection ratio inched up from 7.4 to 8.2% due to a smaller financing base.

The Bank’s commitment to Riba-free banking earned global recognition in the period under review. BankIslami was named Pakistan’s Best Islamic Bank by Euromoney and received the Pakistan Digital Award for Best Social Media Campaign for its “Saving Humanity from Riba” initiative.

Commenting on BankIslami’s performance, President & CEO, Rizwan Ata, commented: “BankIslami’s performance in the first half shows that we are ready to take on challenges and continue meeting the expectations of our customers. What drives us forward is not only our growth aspirations but our mission of Saving Humanity from Riba. Our teams have shown resilience in challenging times, and as we move ahead, we will stay true to our purpose and remain firm on our journey.”

Earlier this year, BankIslami launched aik – Pakistan’s first Islamic Digital Banking experience. This initiative is poised to lead the way in the digital transformation of Islamic finance by establishing a dedicated, fully digital division offering Riba-free financial products for a modern, tech-savvy clientele.

BankIslami currently operates over 550 branches and offers a comprehensive suite of Shariah-compliant banking products to its customers.

The Bank continues to strengthen its presence across high-impact areas, including Digital Banking, Cash Management, Investment Banking, Trade, and Home Remittance, further enhancing customer experience and service delivery. It remains focused on executing its strategy of sustainable growth through prudent financial management and customer-centric innovation.

A few years ago, a 26-year-old single mom named Candelaria was overwhelmed and exhausted. She’d been trying to balance work and caring for her two kids, but was struggling to find someone qualified to help—especially with two-year-old Santiago, who had complex medical needs and used a feeding tube. When Santiago was hospitalized for a serious infection in his bloodstream, Candelaria missed work to be by his side. Then she was fired.

Thankfully, Candelaria’s tax preparer told her about Abby Care, a company that helps family members train and become employed as Certified Nursing Assistants for their loved ones with disabilities or special needs. With the company’s guidance, Candelaria passed the state licensing exam, and was able to provide even better care to Santiago and earn a living by doing so.

When founder Havi Nguyen launched Abby Care in 2021, Colorado was the only state with a robust pediatric family caregiving program. Today, seven states have similar active programs, with Abby Care live and running in five of them, and another eight states are currently implementing or piloting. Politically, it has proven to be a bipartisan win-win-win, not only creating skilled employment, but also improving patient outcomes, and reducing the cost of care to the state.

When we first met Havi, we were immediately intrigued. At the time, Abby Care was only a website with a waitlist. But we had seen countless digital healthcare companies and recognized that solving the supply problem was key to better, more accessible care. Abby Care’s business model does just that. Just as Airbnb created hosts out of homeowners who’d never considered starting a hotel, and millions of people who had never worked in a restaurant became delivery drivers with DoorDash, Abby Care unlocks a new supply of quality clinical caregivers.

Havi herself is an undeniable force of nature. Abby Care is inspired by her own experience growing up on Medicaid, and she understands deeply the challenges of that system and the people her company can help. She will also run through any wall to make things happen, which is exactly what’s needed in a founder driving this kind of change.

We have seen firsthand Havi and her team’s commitment to the family caregiving community, and we are proud to have partnered with them from day one of their journey and to continue supporting them at every stage. They are building a future where every patient can receive the support they deserve and where their caregivers are trained, compensated and empowered. It is nothing less than a revolution in caregiving, with Abby Care leading the way.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. committed a $6 billion debt financing package to support Thoma Bravo’s acquisition of human resources software provider Dayforce Inc., according to a person with knowledge of the matter.

The debt includes a $5.5 billion term loan and a $500 million revolving credit facility, said the person, who asked not to be identified discussing private information. Goldman Sachs could sell the financing to a variety of lenders, the person said.