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Japan’s largest copper smelter has secured a rare reprieve in one of the tightest processing-fee environments the industry has ever seen.

According to media reports, Pan Pacific Copper has agreed with Lundin Mining (TSX:LUN,OTC Pink:LUNMF) to roll over treatment and refining charges for 2026 rather than cut them further.

People familiar with the deal said the commercial terms will remain broadly unchanged from this year, preserving a fee structure that has already fallen to historic lows.

TC/RCs, which are the fees miners pay smelters to process copper concentrate, usually move in tandem with global supply trends.

But the collapse this year has been so severe that spot charges have turned decisively negative. Many smelters warn the industry is near breaking point, especially in Asia, where Chinese refiners have built capacity far ahead of available concentrate.

The Lundin-PPC rollover diverges from the wide expectation that fees will fall further next year.

It follows a warning in October from Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) that it plans to abandon the traditional benchmark-setting system to help keep smelters afloat.

The arrangement also suggests miners with long-term industrial ties to Japan are willing to make commercial concessions to avoid further financial stress on their customers.

A spokesperson for Lundin declined to comment on the deal. PPC said it could not address the details of individual contracts.

For decades, annual copper contracts have been anchored by the first major deal of the year, often involving Chinese smelters since the 2010s.

But the system has become strained as the benchmark collapses and Chinese refiners resist setting a price that could turn negative. This year’s benchmark was set at a record low of US$21.25 a ton and 2.125 cents a pound.

The dynamics are particularly complex for Japanese smelters. PPC’s parent, JX Advanced Metals (OTC Pink:JXAMY,TSE:5016), holds a 30 percent stake in Lundin’s Caserones mine in Chile, giving both sides a long-term interest in keeping operations stable.

Last month, PPC announced a plan to merge its purchasing and sales functions with Mitsubishi Materials, a move aimed at strengthening Japan’s collective buying power in a challenging market.

The pressures are most acute in China, where this year’s negative TC/RCs have prompted emergency supply-side intervention.

The China Smelters Purchase Team, representing the country’s largest refiners, recently agreed to cut output by more than 10 percent next year to counter what it called “malignant competition.”

According to Shanghai Metals Market, the CSPT also established new oversight mechanisms to police procurement practices and blacklist suppliers deemed disruptive.

With Chinese smelters at an impasse over the 2026 benchmark, the industry enters the new year without clarity on where the market will settle.

Securities Disclosure: I, Giann Liguid, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

This post appeared first on investingnews.com

Investing

Top 5 Canadian Mining Stocks This Week: Sirios Resources Gains 120 Percent

The Bank of Canada Governing Council met on Wednesday (December 10) for the final rate-setting meeting of 2025 and decided to hold its benchmark rate at 2.25 percent. Analysts had widely expected the central bank to maintain the rate and anticipate it remaining unchanged through the start of 2026.

The decision came after Statistics Canada’s jobs report, released December 5, showed that Canada’s labor force remained resilient through November, with 54,000 new jobs and the unemployment rate dropping 0.4 percentage points to 6.5 percent.

Additionally, the BoC noted that Canada’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew 2.6 percent during the third quarter despite domestic demand remaining flat. Looking ahead, it expects fourth-quarter GDP to be weak as exports decline, but anticipates growth to pick up in 2026.

The council suggested that the 2.25 percent rate was the right level to keep inflation near 2 percent while providing enough support for the economy amid uncertainty from US trade policy.

South of the Border, the US Federal Reserve also held its final rate-setting meeting of the year on Tuesday (December 9) and Wednesday. It chose to go in a different direction, lowering its benchmark rate by 25 basis points to the 3.5 to 3.75 percent range.

However, in his statements, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell hinted that the committee may pause some future rate cuts as it takes time to parse data and analyze the effects of the three rate cuts on the US economy.

Powell also stated that there was concern that the Bureau of Labor Statistics may be significantly overestimating the number of jobs created within the US economy by about 60,000 jobs per month, meaning it could actually be losing an average of 20,000 per month.

Due to the government shutdown, the BLS didn’t release September’s jobs report until November 20, which showed growth of 119,000 employees. The agency also noted that it wouldn’t be releasing October’s numbers and would roll them into November’s report, which was delayed until December 16.

A report from human resources firm ADP showed that private employment in November declined by 32,000 jobs, noting that employers have been cautious amid economic uncertainty and cautious consumers.

For more on what’s moving markets this week, check out our top market news round-up.

Markets and commodities react

Canadian equity markets saw mixed gains this week.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index (INDEXTSI:OSPTX) was little changed, gaining just 0.1 percent over the week to close Friday at 31,527.39 and the S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index (INDEXTSI:JX) was also flat rising 0.17 percent to 954.61.

On the other hand, the CSE Composite Index (CSE:CSECOMP) spiked 15.63 percent to close at 180.36 alongside a surge in cannabis stocks on Friday after it was reported that the White House was planning to reschedule cannabis this coming Monday (December 15).

The gold price reacted positively to the Fed’s rate cut gaining 2.44 percent on the week with the biggest gains coming at the end of the week, to reach US$4,299.86 per ounce on Friday at 4 p.m. EST.

Meanwhile, the silver price continued soaring with a substantial weekly gain of 6.12 percent, setting a new all time high of US$64.65 per ounce in morning trading on Friday before slipping to end the day at US$61.95.

In base metals, the COMEX copper price ended the week down 1.46 percent at US$5.37 per pound.

The S&P Goldman Sachs Commodities Index (INDEXSP:SPGSCI) fell 2.63 percent to end Friday at 545.47.

Top Canadian mining stocks this week

How did mining stocks perform against this backdrop?

Take a look at this week’s five best-performing Canadian mining stocks below.

Stocks data for this article was retrieved at 4:00 p.m. EST on Friday using TradingView’s stock screener. Only companies trading on the TSX, TSXV and CSE with market caps greater than C$10 million are included. Mineral companies within the non-energy minerals, energy minerals, process industry and producer manufacturing sectors were considered.

1. Sirios Resources (TSXV:SOI)

Weekly gain: 120 percent
Market cap: C$48.26 million
Share price: C$0.165

Sirios Resources is a gold exploration company advancing a portfolio of projects in the Eeyou Istchee James Bay region of Québec, Canada.

The company’s Aquilon property covers 7,100 hectares and hosts over 30 gold showings. It’s the subject of a December 2022 earn-in agreement that could see Sumitomo Metal and Mining earn up to an 80 percent interest through exploration commitments and cash payments totaling C$14.8 million.

On December 4, Sirios released assay results from a 13 hole, 5,420 meter drill program carried out at Aquilon during the summer targeting an underexplored area west of historic showings. Highlights from the program included one hole with 2.55 grams per metric ton (g/t) of gold over 4.8 meters, which included an interval of 10.3 g/t over 1 meter.

Sumitomo funded the program and pushes its exploration investments beyond the C$4.8 million commitment needed to earn a 51 percent stake in the project.

Sirios also owns the 15,700 hectare Cheechoo project, which hosts the namesake deposit. A mineral resource estimate included in an August 2025 technical report demonstrated a total indicated resource of 1.26 million ounces of gold with an average grade of 1.12 g/t from 34.99 metric tons of ore, with an additional inferred resource of 1.67 million ounces with an average grade of 1.23 g/t from 42.72 million metric tons.

On Thursday (December 11), Sirios announced it entered into an arrangement to acquire private company OVI Mining, which was recently spun-out of Electric Elements Mining, a subsidiary of Osisko Development (TSXV:ODV) and O3 Mining.

The two will merge to create a Québec-focused gold company with a district-scale land package centred on the Cheechoo deposit and supported by OVI’s Corvet Est and PLEX projects.

Jean-Felix Lepage, former Vice President of Project Development at O3 Mining, will become the CEO of the combined company. The deal is also backed by Osisko, whose CEO Sean Roosen and Vice President of Strategic Development Laurence Farmer will join the board upon the closing of the deal.

Sirios Founder and CEO Dominique Doucet said, “By integrating their experience as industry leaders in corporate finance and mine development with our deep knowledge of geology and exploration, we will work diligently towards advancing our flagship Cheechoo deposit into gold production.”

2. Eco (Atlantic) Oil & Gas (TSXV:EOG,OTC Pink:ECAOF)

Weekly gain: 78.38 percent
Market cap: C$99.3 million
Share price: C$0.33

Eco Atlantic is an oil and gas exploration company focused on a portfolio of offshore assets in the Atlantic Ocean.

Its holdings include a 100 percent interest in the Orinduik block and a 1.3 percent interest in ExxonMobil’s Canje Block off the coast of Guyana; an 85 percent working interest in PEL 97, 99 and 100 in the Wavis basin off the coast of Namibia; and, off the coast of South Africa, a 75 percent working interest in Block 1 and a 5.25 percent interest in Block 3B/4B.

The most recent news from Eco came on December 4, when it entered into a farm-in agreement with Navitas Petroleum.

Under the terms of the deal, Navita will pay US$2 million up front for the exclusive options to earn an 80 percent interest in the Orinduik block for an additional US$2.5 million payment, and a 47.5 percent interest in Block 1 in South Africa for an additional US$4 million. If Navita exercises the agreements, it will become the operator of the assets as well.

3. Karnalyte Resources (TSX:KRN)

Weekly gain: 65.63 percent
Market cap: C$11.72 million
Share price: C$0.265

Karnalyte Resources is an exploration and development company advancing its Wynyard potash project in Central Saskatchewan, Canada.

The property consists of three primary mineral leases covering 367 square kilometers east of Saskatoon.

Shares in Karnalyte have been climbing since it released an updated feasibility study for the project on November 26. The study demonstrated economic viability, according to Karnalyte, with an after-tax net present value of C$2.04 billion, an internal rate of return of 12.5 percent, a payback period of 8.8 years, and a mine life of 70 years.

The company also stated that development would benefit from a secured offtake agreement under which India-based GFSC would purchase 350,000 metric tons per year during Phase 1, with additional commitments for 250,000 metric tons per year after Phase 2 is complete.

4. PJX Resources (TSXV:PJX)

Weekly gain: 82.35 percent
Market cap: C$26.17 million
Share price: C$0.155

PJX Resources is an exploration company focused on gold, silver and base metal properties in British Columbia, Canada.

The company has largely been exploring claims around Cranbrook, in the southeast portion of the province. PJX has been focused on the Cranbrook area due to the co-existence of a significant base metals deposit with untapped gold potential.

The region is home to the historic Sullivan mine, which produced most of the region’s production of over 285 million ounces of silver, 8.5 million metric tons of lead and 8 million metric tons of zinc.

Additionally, the company states that the region may be responsible for more than 1.5 million ounces of historic placer gold production, but significant gold deposits have not yet been discovered.

In total, the company has amassed a land claim of over 50,000 hectares in the region, centered around these historic claim sites.

On Thursday, PJX announced that it had discovered a large sedimentary exhalative mineralized system at its Dewdney Trail property. The company said that recent drilling intersected 63 meters of anomalous mineralization in the Quake zone, including zinc, lead, silver and other critical metals, and that it bears similarities to bands of mineralization from the Sullivan mine.

Additionally, the company said that exploration discovered boulders 800 meters south along strike from the drilling area with assays of 546 g/t silver, 32.3 percent lead, and 4.89 percent zinc.

5. Triumph Gold (TSXV:TIG)

Weekly gain: 64.56 percent
Market cap: C$30.63 million
Share price: C$0.65

Triumph Gold is an explorer and developer advancing projects in the Yukon and BC, Canada, and Utah, United States.

Its three properties in the Yukon are all within the Dawson Range and consist of its flagship Freegold Mountain project, which has 20 identified mineral resources hosting gold, silver, copper, molybdenum, lead and zinc deposits; the Tad/Toro copper, gold and molybdenum project; and the Big Creek copper and gold project.

Triumph’s property in Northern BC is called Andalusite Peak, and on June 4, the company announced the acquisition of the Coyote Knoll silver-gold property in Utah.

On May 9, the company announced it had refined its exploration focus on geochemical surveys and detailed geological mapping at the Andalusite Peak project, and defined new targets at Freegold Mountain.

Triumph’s most recent update came on November 27, when it closed a non-brokered private placement for gross proceeds of C$1.94 million.

FAQs for Canadian mining stocks

What is the difference between the TSX and TSXV?

The TSX, or Toronto Stock Exchange, is used by senior companies with larger market caps, and the TSXV, or TSX Venture Exchange, is used by smaller-cap companies. Companies listed on the TSXV can graduate to the senior exchange.

How many mining companies are listed on the TSX and TSXV?

As of May 2025, there were 1,565 companies listed on the TSXV, 910 of which were mining companies. Comparatively, the TSX was home to 1,899 companies, with 181 of those being mining companies.

Together, the TSX and TSXV host around 40 percent of the world’s public mining companies.

How much does it cost to list on the TSXV?

There are a variety of different fees that companies must pay to list on the TSXV, and according to the exchange, they can vary based on the transaction’s nature and complexity. The listing fee alone will most likely cost between C$10,000 to C$70,000. Accounting and auditing fees could rack up between C$25,000 and C$100,000, while legal fees are expected to be over C$75,000 and an underwriters’ commission may hit up to 12 percent.

The exchange lists a handful of other fees and expenses companies can expect, including but not limited to security commission and transfer agency fees, investor relations costs and director and officer liability insurance.

These are all just for the initial listing, of course. There are ongoing expenses once companies are trading, such as sustaining fees and additional listing fees, plus the costs associated with filing regular reports.

How do you trade on the TSXV?

Investors can trade on the TSXV the way they would trade stocks on any exchange. This means they can use a stock broker or an individual investment account to buy and sell shares of TSXV-listed companies during the exchange’s trading hours.

Article by Dean Belder; FAQs by Lauren Kelly.

Securities Disclosure: I, Dean Belder, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

Securities Disclosure: I, Lauren Kelly, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

This post appeared first on investingnews.com

Investing

Tech Weekly: Investors Still Cautious on Tech Stocks Post-Fed Meeting

We also break down next week’s catalysts to watch to help you prepare for the week ahead.

This week’s tech sector performance

Markets opened the week subdued with investors eyeing the US Federal Reserve’s rate decision, leading to modest gains in the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (INDEXNASDAQ:.IXIC) and the S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX).

Reports of US President Donald Trump’s approval for NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) H200 chip sales to China boosted chip stocks and sustained AI enthusiasm. Tuesday’s (December 9) JOLTS report delivered data suggesting a cooling labour market amid tariff uncertainty but offering limited new clarity ahead of the Federal Reserve’s two-day meeting.

Markets rallied sharply on Wednesday (December 10) after the meeting resulted in a 25 basis point rate cut to 3.5 to 3.75 percent; however, Nasdaq gains were tempered, hinting at continued caution around AI capex sustainability ahead of earnings from Oracle and Broadcom.

Rate-sensitive areas like financials and industrials led the rally, pushing the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) ahead of the Nasdaq, which closed slightly down. This highlighted a shift from tech dominance to a more diversified market. The S&P ended up 0.21 percent at a record 6,901.

Markets interpreted Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s measured tone during his post-meeting press conference — hawkish on cuts but dovish on recession — as reinforcing a gradual easing despite tariff caution.

Gains moderated toward the end of the week as Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) and Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) reported earnings that garnered a mixed reaction from investors and analysts.

Tech stocks have whipsawed in recent weeks, rallying on Fed rate cut bets and trade negotiation optimism before sharp pullbacks triggered by AI bubble fears and overvaluation concerns.

3 tech stocks moving markets this week

1. NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA)

Nvidia’s shares initially surged on Tuesday (December 9) on reports that President Trump would permit H200 exports to pre-approved Chinese clients, subject to a 25 percent US federal surcharge.

However, these early gains diminished as further reports emerged that Beijing is reviewing its domestic chip prioritization strategy.

Meanwhile, companies like ByteDance and Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) are reportedly seeking large orders, pending approval. On Friday, Reuters reported that Nvidia is considering increasing H200 chip output due to robust Chinese demand. Its share price was US$175.02 at Friday’s close, a modest decrease of 4.35.

2. Oracle (NYSE:ORCL)

Oracle shares dropped over 7 percent after hours on Wednesday after the company’s Q2 earnings missed revenue forecasts, coming at US$16.1 billion compared to expectations of US$16.2 billion.

The report showed cloud sales rose 34 percent, while infrastructure revenue increased by 68 percent. Both figures were below analyst expectations of 35 and 71 percent, respectively.

Oracle shares plunged further after executives disclosed on a conference call that this fiscal year’s capital expenditure would reach around US$50 billion, higher than prior guidance, including around US$12 billion spent this quarter on data centers.

On a more positive note, some analysts viewed capex as a strategic investment, citing AI’s growth potential and pointing to Oracle’s US$523 billion backlog of deals with companies like Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) and Nvidia.

Oracle shares closed more than 16 percent lower this week at a price of US$189.97 on Friday afternoon.

3. Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO)

Conversely, Broadcom shares rose post-market on Thursday after reporting its Q4 2025 earnings results, which revealed a 74 percent increase in AI chip revenue, with custom XPUs now comprising 65 percent of its semiconductor business.

Total revenue reached US$18.02 billion year-over-year, exceeding expectations of US$17.46 billion.

Looking ahead, the company projects semiconductor revenue to double to US$8.2 billion in the next fiscal year. Q1 2026 guidance calls for US$19.1 billion total revenue.

During the earnings call, Broadcom CEO Hock Tan named Anthropic as the newly qualified fourth hyperscale, confirming its US$11 billion additional order for custom XPUs and AI racks. Shipments are expected to ramp up in late FY26.

After an initial rise, stocks fell during the call after the company guided low quarterly growth for its non-AI chips and a tax rate increase to 16.5 percent due to normalized post-acquisition tax benefits expiring.

Still, JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) analyst Vivek Arya reset his price target on Broadcom stock from US$460 to US$500 on Friday (December 12).

Despite the positive sentiment, Broadcom shares saw a decline of 11.79 to US$359.93 from the start of the week due to Friday’s sell-off.

Broadcom, Nvidia and Oracle’s performance, December 8 to 12, 2025.

Chart via Google Finance.

Top tech news of the week

Tech ETF performance

Tech exchange-traded funds (ETFs) track baskets of major tech stocks, meaning their performance helps investors gauge the overall performance of the niches they cover.

This week, the iShares Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SOXX) declined by 3.88 percent, while the Invesco PHLX Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SOXQ) saw a gain of 1.31 percent.

The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SMH) also decreased by 3.71 percent.

Tech news to watch next week

Speeches from Fed Governors Stephen Miran and Christopher J. Waller on Monday (December 15) and Wednesday (December 17) next week may further clarify the Fed’s dot plot.

Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem will also speak in Montreal on Tuesday (December 16), while key jobs, manufacturing and retail sales data in the US throughout the week could shift rate cut bets, pressuring growth stocks.

Earnings from Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) and BlackBerry (TSX:BB) will be released on Wednesday and Thursday (December 18), respectively.

Securities Disclosure: I, Meagen Seatter, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

This post appeared first on investingnews.com

Investing

Rio Silver Closes the Acquisition of the Maria Norte Ag-Au-Pb-Zn Property in Central Peru

Rio Silver Inc. (the ‘Company’ or ‘Rio Silver’) (TSX.V: RYO,OTC:RYOOF) (OTC: RYOOF) announces that, following regulatory approval, the closing of the previously-announced transaction (the ‘Transaction’) with Peruvian Metals Corp. (‘Peruvian’) to acquire 100% of the issued and outstanding common shares of Mamaniña Exploraciones S.A.C. (the ‘Subsidiary’), a Peruvian corporation, which holds mining rights in the Maria Norte project (the ‘Maria Norte Property’) located in Peru. The details and the terms of the Transaction are summarized in the Company’s previous press releases on March 26, June 25 and September 17, 2025.

Pursuant to the terms of the Transaction, on closing, Rio Silver has acquired from Peruvian 100% of the issued and outstanding common shares of the Subsidiary. In consideration, Rio Silver issued to Peruvian 3,999,999 common shares of the Company, representing 9.27 of the Company’s issued and outstanding share capital (accounting for the recent 5:1 share consolidation completed on July 3, 2025), and, in addition, under the terms of the Transaction, the Company is required to pay an aggregate of US$250,000 by making semi-annual payments to Peruvian over a period of five years commencing on June 15, 2025. To date, the Company has made the following cash payments (i) CDN$15,000 upon signing; (ii) US$22,500 upon an amendment; and (ii) US$25,000 option payment on June 15, 2025, resulting in US$225,000 payable in remaining option payments.

A geological report prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 in respect of the Maria Norte Property will be filed at the Company’s profile on SEDAR+.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF Rio Silver INC.

Chris Verrico
Director, President and Chief Executive Officer
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

For further information,

Christopher Verrico, President, CEO
Tel: (604) 762-4448
Email: chris.verrico@riosilverinc.com
Website: www.riosilverinc.com

This news release includes forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. All statements within, other than statements of historical fact, are to be considered forward looking. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include market prices, exploitation and exploration successes, continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. There can be no assurances that such statements will prove accurate and, therefore, readers are advised to rely on their own evaluation of such uncertainties. We do not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements except as required by applicable laws.

News Provided by GlobeNewswire via QuoteMedia

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Investing

Spartan Metals Terminates Investor Relations Agreement

(TheNewswire)

Vancouver, Canada, December 12, 2025 TheNewswire – Spartan Metals Corp. (‘ Spartan ‘ or the ‘ Company ‘) (TSX-V: W | OTCQB: SPRMF | FSE: J03) announces, effectively immediately, it has terminated the previously announced (November 17, 2025) investor relations agreement with ValPal Management Consultancy.

About Spartan Metals Corp.

Spartan Metals is focused on developing critical minerals projects in well-established and stable mining jurisdictions in the Western United States, with an emphasis on building a portfolio of diverse strategic defense minerals such as Tungsten, Rubidium, Antimony, Bismuth, and Arsenic.

Spartan’s flagship project is the Eagle Project in eastern Nevada that consists of the highest-grade historic tungsten resource in the USA (the past-producing Tungstonia Mine) along with significant under-defined resources consisting of: high-grade rubidium; antimony; bismuth; indium; as well as precious and base metals. More information about Spartan Metals can be found at www.SpartanMetals.com

On behalf of the Board of Spartan

‘Brett Marsh’

President, CEO & Director

Further Information:

Brett Marsh, M.Sc., MBA, CPG

President, CEO & Director

1-888-535-0325

info@spartanmetals.com

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.

News Provided by TheNewsWire via QuoteMedia

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Investing

Editor’s Picks: Silver Price Sets New Record as Fed Cuts Rates, Gold Retakes US$4,300

2025 is drawing to a close, and silver seems determined to end the year with a bang.

The white metal’s breakout continued this week, with the price crashing through US$60 per ounce and continuing on up, even briefly passing US$64. It ultimately finished at just under US$62.

Year-to-date silver is now up over 110 percent, far outpacing gold’s gain of about 63 percent.

Its latest rise kicked off on November 28, the same day the Comex experienced an outage that lasted about 10 hours. Since then, positive drivers have continued to pile up.

Chief among them this week was the most recent interest rate reduction from the US Federal Reserve. As was widely expected, the central bank made a 25 basis point cut at its meeting, which wrapped up on Wednesday (December 10), taking the target range to 3.5 to 3.75 percent.

Both silver and gold tend to fare better in lower-rate environments, and while gold remains below its all-time high, it retook the US$4,300 per ounce level this week.

Key Fed meeting takeaways

It’s worth noting that although the Fed’s cut went through, three out of 12 officials voted against it, a situation that hasn’t happened since September 2019. Two wanted rates to stay the same, while Governor Stephen Miran was calling for a 50 basis point reduction.

Miran took his spot on the Fed’s Board of Governors in September after being nominated by President Donald Trump, who has been critical of the Fed — and Chair Jerome Powell in particular — for not lowering rates as quickly as he would like. Powell’s term ends in May 2026, and it’s anticipated that his replacement will follow Trump’s vision. Kevin Hassett of the National Economic Council is said to be a strong contender, with 84 percent of respondents to a CNBC survey saying they think it will be him.

While the Fed’s rate decision was in focus this week, market watchers are also closely eyeing its post-meeting statement, as well as press conference comments from Powell, to figure out what the central bank’s policy will look like heading into the new year and beyond.

The latest dot plot shows that Fed officials expect only one rate cut in 2026, plus another in 2027. That’s unchanged from projections made in September, but experts have pointed out that the dot plot also highlights the growing divide between Federal Open Market Committee members.

Another important facet is the news that the Fed will start buying short-dated bonds as of Friday (December 12), with an initial round involving purchasing US$40 billion worth of treasuries per month. This move comes after the end of quantitative tightening measures on December 1, and is being looked at as a step in the direction of quantitative easing.

‘This is basically another way of saying quantitative easing, and we’re going to continue to print money,’ said David Erfle of Junior Miner Junky. ‘The Federal Reserve is in a situation where, ‘Hey, we’ve got to continue to issue new debt to pay off the old debt.’ So now the yield curve is going to steepen as the Fed pivots toward these treasury bills, and private investors are going to have to absorb more duration risk. So basically, this means loose monetary conditions are on the way, and that’s positive for both gold and especially now silver.’

Will the silver price keep rising?

With that in mind, what exactly is next for the silver price?

I’ve been asking guests on our channel where the metal goes from here, and many have said it’s becoming harder and harder to predict as silver enters uncharted territory.

Peter Krauth of Silver Stock Investor and Silver Advisor said that a ‘relatively conservative’ outlook for 2026 would be US$70. However, he also emphasized that higher levels are possible:

‘It’s taken 45 years for (silver) to finally break out through that US$50 level. And so we’re in uncharted waters, uncharted territory, and this being the kind of market that we’re in — fundamentally, as well as macroeconomically, as well as geopolitically — I think odds are silver is going to continue to climb higher.

‘And I think it’s going to convert a lot of doubters into into believers that silver is going to go on setting new record highs, and that it’s still relatively early in this market. We’re going to see it perform very, very well for several more years.’

For his part, Erfle weighed in on upside and downside for silver, outlining how the precious metal could get close to the US$100 level. Here’s what he said:

‘If you consider the supply/demand fundamentals, this is a fifth year of a supply deficit in silver, which has constantly been outpacing supply.

‘All these forces have converged to take the silver price so much higher, and looking at upside targets, the next target is the US$66, US$68 area, and then US$80 to US$83 if the momentum continues into January. But the long-term measured target of the cup-and-handle breakout is US$96.’

I’ll be having more conversations about silver next week with experts like Gareth Soloway, John Rubino and John Feneck, so drop a comment on our YouTube channel if you have any questions.

Securities Disclosure: I, Charlotte McLeod, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

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Politics

23 Dems join House Republicans to kill progressive’s Trump impeachment bid

A lone progressive’s effort to impeach President Donald Trump failed Thursday, with nearly two dozen Democrats joining the House GOP to quash it.

Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, moved to get a vote on two articles of impeachment Wednesday night via a privileged resolution, a mechanism allowing lawmakers to force action on a bill within two legislative days.

Republicans called for a vote to table the measure on Thursday, a move that effectively kills consideration of the bill itself when a privileged resolution is called for.

Twenty-three Democrats joined Republicans in pushing the impeachment aside. A significant number of Democrats also voted ‘present,’ including all three senior leaders — House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., Minority Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass., and Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar, D-Calif.

‘Impeachment is a sacred constitutional vehicle designed to hold a corrupt executive accountable for abuse of power, breaking the law and violating the public trust. The effort traditionally requires a comprehensive investigative process, the collection and review of thousands of documents, an exacting scrutiny of the facts, the examination of dozens of key witnesses, Congressional hearings, sustained public organizing and the marshaling of the forces of democracy to build a broad national consensus,’ the trio said in a statement explaining their vote.

‘None of that serious work has been done, with the Republican majority focused solely on rubber stamping Donald Trump’s extreme agenda. Accordingly, we will be voting ‘present’ on today’s motion to table the impeachment resolution as we continue our fight to make life more affordable for everyday Americans.’

The final vote fell 237 to 140, with 47 ‘present’ votes.

Among the Democrats who voted to table the measure are Reps. Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., Josh Riley, D-N.Y., Jared Golden, D-Maine, Jimmy Panetta, D-Calif., Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa., Maggie Goodlander, D-N.H., Sharice Davids, D-Kan., Don Davis, D-N.C., Shomari Figures, D-Ala., and others.

Green has filed articles of impeachment against Trump several times over the past year and notably was thrown out of the president’s joint address to Congress in March for repeatedly interrupting his speech.

The latest impeachment push includes two articles charging abuse of power, according to legislative text viewed by Fox News Digital.

The first count accuses Trump of calling for the ‘execution’ of six congressional Democrats. It was in response to Trump accusing those Democrats of ‘seditious behavior,’ which he said was ‘punishable by death’ after they posted a video urging military service members to refuse illegal orders by the federal government.

The video caused a firestorm on the right, with the FBI opening an inquiry into those Democrats — who all defended their comments.

Green’s second allegation of abuse of power charges Trump with having ‘fostered a political climate in which lawmakers and judges face threats of political violence and physical assault; and in this climate has made threats and vituperative comments against federal judges, putting at risk their safety and well-being, and undermining the independence of our judiciary.’

But while the vast majority of Democrats have made no secret of their disdain and disagreements with Trump, it appears that few have the appetite to make a largely symbolic gesture toward impeachment.

Even Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., has side-stepped questions on supporting impeachment multiple times this year, including most recently on Dec. 1 when asked about the military’s double-tap strikes on an alleged Venezuelan drug boat in September.

‘Republicans will never allow articles of impeachment to be brought to the floor of the House of Representatives. And we know that’s the case, because Donald Trump will order them not to do it. So what’s on the table is a meaningful investigation, which we can hope would be bipartisan,’ Jeffries said at the time.

Even if the impeachment vote were to move forward, it’s all but certain that the GOP majority in the Senate would quickly dispense of it.

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Politics

Trump presses Thune to ‘get something done’ on stalled nominees

President Donald Trump on Thursday pressed Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., to dismantle the Senate’s ‘blue slip’ tradition, arguing that the practice has allowed Democrats to block Republican judicial and U.S. attorney nominees.

‘If they say no, then it is OVER for that very well qualified Republican candidate. Only a really far left Democrat can be approved. It is shocking that Republicans, under Senator Chuck G, allow this scam to continue. So unfair to Republicans, and not Constitutional,’ Trump wrote on Truth Social.

‘I am hereby asking Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a fantastic guy, to get something done, ideally the termination of Blue Slips. Too many GREAT REPUBLICANS are being, SENT PACKIN’. None are getting approved!!!’

Trump’s remarks come as courts continue to scrutinize the legality of his U.S. attorney appointments.

Alina Habba announced on Monday that she would be stepping down as the top federal prosecutor in New Jersey after an appeals court ruled she was unlawfully serving in the role.

Trump appointed Lindsey Halligan to serve as interim U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, after Erik Siebert resigned. A federal judge in November dismissed the indictments of former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, finding that Halligan had been unlawfully appointed and therefore lacked the authority to bring the charges.

Trump is effectively urging the Senate to end the long-standing custom for all judicial nominees. Senators from both parties are reluctant to change the practice, fearing they would lose the ability to stall or block nominees they have concerns about.

Fox News’ Chad Pergram contributed to this report.

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Politics

Senate Dems block Republicans’ HSA plan as Obamacare deadline nears

Senate Democrats banded together to kill Republicans’ plan to replace expiring Obamacare subsidies on Thursday, knocking the first of two proposals down for the count.

Senate Republicans’ plan from Sens. Bill Cassidy, R-La., and Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, the chairs of the Senate health and finance panels, would have abandoned the Obamacare enhanced premium subsidies for health savings accounts (HSAs), along with several reforms that Republicans appeared largely unified behind earlier this week.

Still, not every Senate Republican voted for the bill. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., joined all Senate Democrats in tanking the legislation on a largely party-line vote.

Lawmakers are now set to vote on Senate Democrats’ plan, which would extend the subsidies for another three years. That proposal is also expected to fail, given that Senate Republicans broadly don’t want to extend the subsidies without myriad reforms.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Senate Democrats have pitched their plan as the only option to prevent healthcare premiums from skyrocketing, while Republicans contended that the subsidies are rife with fraud and that the entire Obamacare system was causing premium prices to crank up year after year.

‘The Cassidy-Crapo [plan] is not a healthcare plan,’ Schumer said. ‘It’s not a plan at all. It’s an excuse. It’s a fig leaf. Because Republicans are so divided and can’t come up with a plan that unites them. They propose this fig leaf.’

‘My guess is most Republicans themselves are grimacing that they even have to vote for this thing,’ he continued. ‘How is a one-time check going to help you if you’re paying 1,000 or $2,000 a month more for health insurance?’

Cassidy and Crapo’s plan would have seeded HSAs with $1,000 for people ages 18 to 49 and $1,500 for those 50 to 65 for people earning up to 700% of the poverty level. In order to get the pre-funded HSA, people would have to buy a bronze or catastrophic plan on an Obamacare exchange.

It also included several provisions that didn’t make the cut in President Donald Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill,’ including measures to reduce federal Medicaid funding to states that cover illegal immigrants, requirements that states verify citizenship or eligible immigration status before someone can get Medicaid, a ban on federal Medicaid funding for gender transition services and nixing those services from ‘essential health benefits’ for Obamacare exchange plans.

It also included Hyde Amendment provisions to prevent taxpayer dollars from funding abortions through the new HSAs, a red line for many Senate Republicans that has proven divisive between the aisles.

The deadline to either extend or replace the credits, which were first passed and then enhanced under former President Joe Biden during the COVID-19 pandemic, is at the end of the year.

But whether the Senate acts before the deadline remains in the air, given that next week will be their last working week before leaving Washington, D.C., until the new year. There are several plans still on the table for lawmakers to choose from.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said ahead of the vote that it was clear that Schumer wanted Senate Democrats to fall in line for the upcoming vote but noted that there were still ongoing bipartisan conversations, and he didn’t close the door a possible Obamacare fix with the limited time lawmakers had left before the clock runs out.

‘If there is an interest in solving that, I don’t rule it out,’ Thune said. ‘I mean, obviously we don’t have a lot of time to do this, but I think there are ways in which you could where there’s a will, and if there are two sides willing to come together.’

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Politics

Dem rep opens House hearing by telling Noem to resign in fiery statement

Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., called on Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to resign Thursday during opening remarks at a House Homeland Security Committee hearing on ‘Worldwide Threats to the Homeland.’

‘You have systematically dismantled the Department of Homeland Security, put your own interests above the department, and violated the law. You are making America less safe,’ said Thompson. ‘So rather than sitting here and wasting your time and ours with more corruption, lies and lawlessness, I call on you to resign. Do a real service to the country and just resign. That is, if President Trump doesn’t fire you first.’

As Noem was giving her opening statement, several protesters against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) interrupted, yelling, ‘Get ICE off our streets,’ and, ‘Stop terrorizing our community.’

The protesters were escorted out by Capitol Police and detained outside the hearing room.

Noem, who was joined at the hearing by National Counterterrorism Center director Joe Kent and Michael Glasheen, the operations director of the National Security Branch of the FBI, said one of her grandchildren, who was in the audience, was crying a little during Thompson’s remarks.

‘I don’t think she agreed with him,’ Noem said jokingly.

She touted the work DHS has done to secure the southern border and protect the U.S.

‘DHS is eradicating transnational organized crime and the stopping of deadly drugs from continuing to be funneled into our communities,’ she told lawmakers. ‘We’re ending illegal immigration, returning sanity back to our immigration system, and we’re defending against cyberattacks against our critical infrastructure.’

The former South Dakota governor, speaking about the global threats facing the country — including those posed by domestic extremists and radical Islamic terrorism — said the U.S. should brace for heightened risks as it prepares to host major events in 2026 such as the World Cup and the nation’s 250th birthday.

‘These large-scale events will be potential targets for a range of bad actors, and they come with an increased level of risk. DHS is using every tool and authority we have to ensure the safety of U.S. citizens, and our visitors can enjoy next year’s events,’ Noem added.

Rumors had swirled in recent days that President Donald Trump was considering replacing her as head of DHS. Trump pushed back on those rumors on Wednesday, telling reporters that Noem has been ‘fantastic.’

Noem also addressed the rumors, speaking to Fox News prior to Thursday’s hearing.

‘Oh, that’s absolutely not true,’ she said. ‘President Trump and I are doing wonderfully. I’m so proud to work for him, and I’m going to continue to serve at his pleasure.’

Fox News’ Bill Melugin contributed to this report.

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