Over the past 2 years Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have been hammered as investors headed toward the exits. Major brokers were in flux in 2022 when Binance refused to buy out Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX exchange. Some experts warned that Bitcoin could fall as low as $9,000. Simply put, the Bitcoin...
As global automakers transition to manufacturing Electric Vehicles (EVs), it’s critically important that the raw materials are available in the supply chain to ensure battery quality and availability.  Lithium is a critical component in the production of electric vehicle (EV) batteries, and therefore, it is essential for the growth of...
Phase Two of the $700B electric vehicle boom—the electric boat rush—is becoming just as crowded as its four-wheeled predecessor, with so many start-ups dotting this landscape it’s dizzying.  Loads of debt, problems getting into production, far-off delivery dates that make revenues a thing of the distant future—if at all—and failures-to-deliver...
A historical event without precedent in living memory, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the commodity markets, including metals and mining, in a variety of ways with many miners experiencing the downside of relying on global supply chains, specialization and ultra-lean operations.  Many mining operations have been disrupted through government-mandated shutdowns...
2023 has been a slow year for IPOs, due largely to tightening monetary policies and a slowdown of global economic growth according to a report issued by Ernst & Young. While the IPO landscape is quiet at the moment, it is believed that IPO activity will pick up once...
Welcome back to The Market Pulse, your weekly dose of financial wisdom and wit. Today, we're turning our attention to the AI chip arena, where a fascinating drama is unfolding. Nvidia, the current champion, is basking in the limelight, fueled by the insatiable demand from tech titans like Microsoft and...
Celebrities may soon find themselves out of an advertising side job when they need to shore up funds.   You don’t have to be a trustworthy figure like Tom Selleck to advertise reverse mortgages, and this is only effective for a dwindling demographic that still watches local TV.  It doesn’t take Jennifer...
The Return of the Commodities Supercycle Welcome to the second full week of 2026, and if you thought the markets were going to ease into the new year with a gentle stretch and a yawn, you were sorely mistaken. We are seeing a mix of old-school geopolitical tension and new-age...
The End of Just-In-Time Manufacturing as we Know It Just-in-time (JIT) manufacturing was initiated in the 1950s and 1960s by Toyota. The approach was developed as part of the Toyota Production System (TPS), which aimed to minimize waste and improve efficiency in manufacturing processes.  The concept of JIT revolves around producing...
In the race to build a new generation of electric vehicles, the demand for certain rare earth minerals has skyrocketed.  Two critical rare earth minerals are Germanium and Gallium, and China is the largest supplier of these minerals. We covered the industrial applications of these minerals in a recent Global...