Trump's Venezuela action could break China's rare earth strangle hold
300k tons of rare earths, is roughly half of China’s known reserves
Hello Capitalists,
Here is everything you should be following today:
China may finally have competition in rare earths
Defense stocks soar on Trump’s budget demand
Rolls-Royce rises every day of 2026
BlackRock says the crypto revolution is just getting started
Gold tracks steady through rebalancing instigated sell off
Scandal brewing over “localized” pollution lawsuits
Today’s markets + assets:
✅ DOW: 49472.15 (⬆️ 0.42%)
✅ S&P: 6962.91 (⬆️ 0.01%)
✅ NASDAQ: 23647.80 (⬆️ 0.70%)
⚠️🔴CBOE VIX Volatility Index: 14.58 (⬇️ 5.63%)
✅ Gold: $4499.60 (⬆️ 0.87%)
✅ Silver: $79.52 (⬆️ 5.82%)
✅ Bitcoin: $91,001 (⬆️ 0.07%)
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Venezuela’s rare earths threaten China’s monopoly
Venezuela’s estimated 300,000 metric tons of rare earth minerals could help slash U.S. reliance on China, which dominates 70% of global production and 90% of processing, amid post-Maduro geopolitical shifts.
Expert estimates reserves: Venezuela holds about 300,000 metric tons of rare earths, roughly half of China’s known reserves, tied to the Guayana Shield’s monazite sands and other deposits.
China’s supply dominance: Beijing controls 70% of mining production, 50% of global reserves, and 90% of processing, creating a major bottleneck for critical tech and defense materials.
Chinese influence in Venezuela: Prior to Maduro’s capture Chinese firms, alongside Iranians, have advanced into Venezuelan rare earth supplies, potentially bottlenecking resources even as U.S. interests grow.
Long-term development timeline: Extracting and utilizing these minerals would require three to six years of infrastructure building, positioning it as a strategic but gradual play in U.S.-China competition.
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Defense stocks soar as Trump demands Trillion Dollar boost
US defense stocks surged Thursday after President Trump called for a staggering $1.5 trillion military budget in 2027, rebounding sharply from prior losses tied to his threats against dividends and buybacks amid escalating geopolitical tensions.
L3Harris Leads Gains: L3Harris Technologies and Huntington Ingalls each climbed 11% in the first five trading days of 2026, fueled by recent US military action in Venezuela.
Drone Maker Explodes: AeroVironment jumped over 40% recently, highlighting investor bets on evolving warfare technologies in a tense global environment.
Global Rally Spreads: European firms like BAE Systems rose 5% and Asian players including Hanwha Aerospace advanced, as Trump pressures allies to increase defense spending.
Analyst Bullish Outlook: Experts cite the hawkish administration and reasonable valuations as creating excellent risk-reward, with potential for further gains despite policy uncertainties.
Rolls-Royce smashes records Every. Single. Day. of 2026
Rolls-Royce shares have surged to fresh record highs every trading day in 2026 so far, fueled by escalating geopolitical tensions sparking a defense stock rally after U.S. actions in Venezuela and talk of Greenland control.
Geopolitical Tensions Ignite: Defense rotation sweeps European markets, with U.S. attack on Venezuela capturing leader Nicolas Maduro and Trump’s Greenland ambitions driving broad gains in peers like BAE Systems, Rheinmetall, and Saab.
Power Systems Thrives: Order intake jumps 85% year-on-year in this segment, which benefits from shorter governmental cycles in land and naval defense plus “huge potential” in data centers powering AI growth.
Analyst Upgrades Boost: UBS hikes price target to 1,625p citing upgraded power generation sales forecasts (26% from 2028) and potential 60% EBIT rise in power business from accretive data center deals.
Civil Aerospace Turnaround: Largest revenue unit progresses as long-term recovery story with jet engines for Boeing and Airbus, complementing stable 25% defense revenue and U.K. small modular nuclear reactor backing.
BlackRock declares crypto revolution just beginning
BlackRock’s ETF chief declared spot Bitcoin and Ethereum funds “still so early” despite two years of trading, predicting 2026 as the year retail investors flood into cryptocurrency exposure amid ongoing education and growing loyalty.
Early adoption phase continues as many investors begin their educational journey on Bitcoin’s portfolio role, with BlackRock viewing current ETF traction as the starting point for mainstream integration.
Advisor access expands dramatically through spot Bitcoin ETFs like IBIT, enabling financial advisors who previously lacked crypto options to now offer clients regulated exposure.
Investor loyalty shines amid volatility, with holders sticking to crypto ETFs rather than selling quickly, signaling strong confidence in long-term cryptocurrency trends.
Market pullback context follows Bitcoin’s record $126,000 high in October, now trading in the low $90,000s, yet BlackRock remains bullish on future retail appetite growth.
Gold steadies amid massive index rebalancing selloff
Gold steadied Thursday after early losses as traders positioned for billions in futures sales from annual commodity index rebalancing, while analysts stayed bullish following the metal’s blockbuster 2025 rally and eye a potential $5,000 price in early 2026.
Index Rebalancing Triggers massive futures selling of precious metals this week to adjust for last year’s sharp rallies in gold and silver.
Silver Faces Heavier pressure with outsized outflows and its biggest one-day ETF drop since October amid elevated volatility.
Central Bank Buying and ETF inflows continue fueling gold’s rally alongside a weaker US dollar and policy uncertainty.
HSBC Analyst Forecasts gold surging to $5,000 per ounce in the first half of 2026 driven by geopolitical risks and rising fiscal debts.
Litigation scandal looms if SCOTUS keeps Big Oil pollution suits local
Legal experts are sounding the alarm that the Supreme Court must shift massive Gulf Coast pollution lawsuits against Chevron and ExxonMobil to federal courts, or risk the biggest scandal in the U.S. litigation system through unchecked local bias in Louisiana.
Local bias fuels massive verdicts, with a 2023 Plaquemines Parish jury hitting Chevron with a $740 million award for historical wetlands damage tied to its former subsidiary Texaco.
Over forty cases pending against oil giants seek billions in total for alleged coastal erosion in Louisiana’s Gulf region, linked to decades-old operations including WWII-era federal fuel production.
Federal contract defense allows companies to argue these suits belong in federal court to avoid “hometowning,” where local juries allegedly favor plaintiffs against out-of-state energy firms.
Energy agenda threatened as failure to intervene could deter investment in U.S. oil and gas production amid President Trump’s push for energy dominance, experts warn of “climate extortion” risks.
Another example of Trm
Thinking out of a box. China dependency no on oil from Venezuela and opening rate earth avaiilabilit from the US and Ukraine and now Venezuela will
Have China 🇨🇳 in a weakened international
Position. Haw ya likes this TDS radical Democ rats 🐀 ???
And I would imagine the Trump administration is fully aware of that. However don't worry yourself over China. They still have a lot of Democrat politicians in their pockets.