Author: Fiona Craig

Caledonia Mining Corporation Plc (LSE:CMCL) is analysing how Zimbabwe’s proposed updates to royalty and tax rules may influence its operations. Among the suggested measures are a possible rise in the gold royalty rate and changes to how capital expenditure is treated for tax purposes—both of which could weigh on profitability and cash flow at the Blanket Mine and alter the projected economics of the Bilboes Gold Project.

More about Caledonia Mining

Caledonia Mining Corporation Plc operates within the gold mining sector, maintaining a strong footprint in Zimbabwe. Its core assets include the long-running Blanket Mine and its involvement in advancing the Bilboes Gold Project.

CleanTech Lithium PLC (LSE:CTL) is addressing a legal claim involving its subsidiary, CleanTech Laguna Verde SpA, stemming from a delayed payment linked to a sale and purchase agreement for Laguna Verde mining concessions. The proceedings were initiated without the subsidiary’s awareness and resulted in a lien being placed on its share capital. The company is moving to overturn the action on the grounds of improper service and maintains confidence that the matter will be resolved in its favor. Management also stresses that the dispute does not impact its application for a special lithium operating contract at Laguna Verde.

More about CleanTech Lithium PLC

CleanTech Lithium PLC is an exploration and development company progressing environmentally focused lithium projects in Chile—an essential component of the global clean energy transition. Its portfolio includes two principal assets, Laguna Verde and Viento Andino, along with the earlier-stage Arenas Blancas project in the lithium-rich triangle. The company is advancing Direct Lithium Extraction methods, which can deliver higher recovery rates and faster development timelines while avoiding the need for large evaporation ponds.

Cadence Minerals (LSE:KDNC), together with its joint venture partners, has finalized a binding Prepayment Offtake Agreement for the Amapá Iron Ore Project, unlocking a US$4.6 million prepayment facility to bring the Azteca Plant back online. The capital injection will be used for licensing work, plant refurbishment, and commissioning, enabling an earlier return to cash generation while easing overall funding pressures. This step both strengthens Cadence’s equity position in the project and accelerates its pathway toward renewed production, supporting the company’s broader growth ambitions in the iron ore sector.

More about Cadence Minerals

Cadence Minerals is active in the mining sector with a primary focus on iron ore. Its flagship interest is the Amapá Iron Ore Project in Brazil—a fully integrated operation spanning mine, rail, and port infrastructure—designed to deliver high-grade iron ore concentrate.

One Health Group PLC (LSE:OHGR) posted a strong set of half-year numbers, reporting an 18% uplift in revenue alongside a 23% increase in underlying EBITDA. The healthcare provider is broadening its footprint with the launch of a new surgical hub in Scunthorpe and additional locations planned as demand grows for independent sector support to help cut NHS waiting times. By focusing on boosting patient referrals and scaling surgical capacity, the company is closely aligned with government efforts to ease pressure on the NHS, reinforcing its role as an important contributor to the UK healthcare system.

More about One Health Group PLC

One Health Group PLC delivers NHS-funded surgical services across specialties including orthopaedics, spine, general surgery, gynaecology, and its recently expanded urology offering. Its model centres on community-based outreach clinics and regional operating facilities serving Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, and Leicestershire. The organisation partners with NHS consultants on a subcontracted basis, enabling care delivery in regions where NHS demand is high and private insurance uptake is limited.

Hunting PLC’s (LSE:HTG) unit, Hunting Energy Services Production Technology, has won a major contract in Brazil to deploy its Organic Oil Recovery (OOR) technology—its first project in South America. The agreement covers sampling and performance tests across 20 wells, underscoring the company’s push to broaden its subsea footprint and demonstrating the potential of OOR to boost reservoir output and extend field profitability.

The company’s broader outlook shows firm revenue momentum and a healthy balance sheet, though profitability pressures and weak technical indicators temper the picture. While corporate developments and a respectable dividend yield add some support, the company’s negative P/E ratio continues to raise valuation questions.

More about Hunting

Hunting PLC is a global precision engineering specialist known for high-quality manufactured equipment and advanced services. Founded in 1874 and listed on the London Stock Exchange, the company operates across the UK, China, India, the U.S., and other key markets. Its business spans five reporting segments, with core product categories including OCTG, Perforating Systems, and Subsea solutions.

The British pound’s strong run is likely nearing its end, with Morgan Stanley expecting sterling to lose momentum next year as the Bank of England shifts toward a more aggressive easing cycle and the currency’s carry appeal diminishes.

In its 2026 outlook, the bank says it remains constructive on GBP/USD through early next year, anticipating that broad U.S. dollar softness and still-favorable carry dynamics will keep the pair supported in the first quarter. Beyond that point, however, Morgan Stanley expects the backdrop to weaken as incoming economic data prompt markets to price in a notably more dovish policy trajectory.

The firm highlights that sterling has consistently outperformed expectations in 2025, defying a broadly bearish consensus thanks to a carry profile strong enough to attract inflows without sparking renewed fiscal anxiety.

According to Morgan Stanley, its “Sterling Scowl” framework shows that the mix of elevated carry and relatively contained volatility has provided a solid cushion for the currency—even as investors debated whether the BoE would embark on a deep rate-cutting cycle. The bank now argues that this hesitation will fade in 2026 as disinflation gains traction, labor market slack expands, and fiscal support fades.

Economists at the firm expect investors to become more comfortable pricing Bank Rate down toward 2.75%, a move that would erode the pound’s carry advantage and drag sterling toward the weaker end of the Sterling Scowl diagram.

Morgan Stanley still projects GBP/USD could briefly touch 1.36 in the near term if the dollar softens further, but it expects the pound to underperform more growth-sensitive currencies and track the euro lower as global carry dynamics evolve. While sterling’s carry likely won’t fall enough for it to become a funding currency, the bank notes it may lose sufficient appeal to drop off investors’ preferred-buy lists.

Whether growth or interest-rate carry becomes the dominant driver will be key. Stronger U.K. economic performance next year could help offset downside pressure—especially if fiscal risks subside—while productivity improvements and advances tied to artificial intelligence offer additional upside potential.

On the other hand, Morgan Stanley cautions that sterling could face renewed pressure if fiscal concerns re-emerge or if the BoE adopts an even steeper easing path, with rate cuts toward 2% viewed as particularly negative for the pound.

Bitcoin (COIN:BTCUSD) surged higher on Thursday, reclaiming the $91,000 level as traders doubled down on expectations that the Federal Reserve could deliver another rate cut in December.

The world’s largest cryptocurrency had plunged to around $80,000 last week — its lowest point in months — before staging a sharp recovery. By mid-morning U.S. time, Bitcoin was up 5.1% at $91,527.5.

The rebound came as futures markets now assign an 85% chance of a 25bps cut, a dramatic increase from roughly 44% just a week earlier. Easing monetary conditions typically boost liquidity, fueling interest in speculative assets such as cryptocurrencies.

Still, analysts warn that sticky U.S. inflation and inconsistent economic data could complicate the Fed’s path, raising the question of whether Bitcoin’s latest jump represents a durable trend or simply short-term volatility.

Speculation around Kevin Hassett’s potential nomination as the next Fed chair — with expectations he may lean toward looser policy — added extra lift to crypto sentiment.

Meanwhile, Naver Financial announced plans to acquire Dunamu, operator of Upbit, in a landmark $10B deal that will expand the tech group’s footprint in digital assets and blockchain-based financial services.

Altcoins also gained, with Ethereum, XRP, Solana, Cardano, Dogecoin, and $TRUMP all trading higher.

The U.S. dollar gained slightly in early Thursday trading, though overall activity remained muted due to the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States. Even with the modest uptick, the currency is still on track for its sharpest weekly decline in four months.

As of 04:49 ET (09:49 GMT), the U.S. dollar index — which measures the greenback’s performance against six major peers — ticked up 0.1% to 99.69.

Market sentiment was influenced by reports indicating that White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett is currently viewed as the leading candidate to succeed Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Analysts noted that Hassett’s reputation for favoring deeper interest rate cuts could ultimately pressure the dollar.

Hassett is known to be a close ally of President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly urged both the Fed and Powell to pursue faster and more aggressive reductions in borrowing costs to boost economic growth.

Despite some policy disagreement within the Fed, traders increasingly expect the central bank to deliver a 25-basis-point reduction at its December meeting. That would follow consecutive quarter-point cuts in October and September, reflecting the bank’s recent shift toward prioritizing labor-market softness over persistent inflation.

The CME FedWatch tool now assigns an 85% probability to another quarter-point reduction during the December 9–10 meeting, a jump from roughly 39% just a week earlier.

ING strategists, including Francesco Pesole, wrote: “The dollar remains somewhat expensive against G10 currencies, but given the size of this week’s correction and limited room for further dovish repricing before some more data comes in, we are switching to a neutral bias on [the dollar] for this Thanksgiving holiday.”

The euro slipped 0.2% to $1.1580, while investors continued monitoring developments around ongoing negotiations between Russia and Ukraine — a process that could lend support to the common currency.

Although a senior U.S. envoy is expected to travel to Russia next week, reports suggest Moscow remains unlikely to agree to major concessions in any peace arrangement with Kyiv.

In Japan, the yen edged 0.1% higher against the dollar, with traders increasingly betting that the Bank of Japan may raise interest rates as early as next month — a move given added weight by the yen’s recent slide to a 10-month low.

Crude prices drifted lower in Asian trade on Thursday, weighed down by government data showing a far larger-than-expected jump in U.S. oil inventories. Additional pressure came from progress on a Washington-backed peace initiative for Ukraine, which raised the possibility of more Russian barrels finding their way back into global markets.

By 21:19 ET (02:19 GMT), January Brent futures were down 0.25% at $62.84 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) slipped 0.4% to $58.40 a barrel.

Both benchmarks had climbed more than 1% on Wednesday as traders boosted expectations for a Federal Reserve interest rate cut next month — a scenario that typically provides support for crude.

U.S. Crude Inventories Rise Sharply — EIA

The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported Wednesday that crude stocks increased by 2.8 million barrels for the week ending Nov. 21, well above consensus forecasts for a modest 55,000-barrel build.

Gasoline inventories also rose by 2.5 million barrels and distillate stockpiles grew by 1.1 million barrels, pointing to a mixed demand backdrop across fuel markets.

As ING analysts noted, “The increase was driven by a 560k b/d week-on-week decline in crude exports, while imports were up 486k b/d.”

The unexpectedly large inventory gains capped oil’s recent upside and reinforced worries that supply may exceed demand heading into 2026. The EIA and other major forecasters have warned that rising production and swelling stockpiles could keep pressure on prices next year.

Ukraine Peace Efforts Add Downside Pressure

At the same time, the U.S. is continuing to push forward on a peace proposal for the Russia–Ukraine conflict, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has indicated he is prepared to move ahead with the U.S.-supported framework.

U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to travel to Moscow next week to discuss the plan — a development that has raised hopes for a ceasefire or broader agreement that might ease Western restrictions on Russian energy flows.

Any such shift would likely boost supply in an already well-stocked market, adding further downside risk to prices.

As ING analysts wrote, “A peace deal would likely remove much of the supply risk facing the market, potentially leading to the lifting of US sanctions on Russia. For today, though, market action is likely to be relatively muted due to the US Thanksgiving holiday.”

Looking ahead to the producer side, ING added, “OPEC+ is set to meet this weekend. We believe the group will leave production unchanged. The fundamental outlook remains fairly similar to where it was at the group’s last meeting.”

Gold prices dipped modestly in Asian trading on Thursday, easing back after a strong upswing earlier in the week as confidence grew that the U.S. Federal Reserve is poised to lower interest rates in December.

Expectations for more accommodative U.S. policy were also buoyed by rising speculation about a dovish successor to Fed Chair Jerome Powell, along with a series of soft economic indicators pointing to weakening momentum in the American economy.

The dollar weakened on these expectations, providing broader support to precious metals over the week. Silver outperformed sharply, moving back toward record levels, while platinum also posted notable gains on Thursday.

Spot gold slipped 0.3% to $4,152.35 per ounce by 00:08 ET (05:08 GMT), while gold futures declined 0.4% to $4,184.15 per ounce.

Rate-Cut Hopes and Safe-Haven Interest Lift Gold

Despite Thursday’s pullback, spot gold remained more than 2% higher for the week, with prices rising as traders increased their bets on a rate cut at next month’s Fed meeting.

According to CME’s FedWatch tool, markets are now assigning a 79.8% probability of a 25-basis-point cut at the December 9–10 policy meeting, a substantial jump from the 24% likelihood priced in just a week earlier.

The shift followed comments from two Federal Reserve officials signaling support for a December rate reduction. Disappointing U.S. data releases further reinforced expectations that the central bank may need to act to prevent deeper economic weakness.

Safe-haven demand also played a role. Signs of only limited progress on a U.S.-brokered ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, alongside rising geopolitical friction between Japan and China, added to gold’s appeal.

Silver and platinum traded mixed on Thursday, following gold’s slight decline. Spot silver slipped 0.7% to $52.9525 per ounce after nearing record highs earlier in the week. Platinum, meanwhile, surged 1.7% to $1,616.76 per ounce, though the catalyst behind the jump remained unclear.

Lower interest rates typically increase the attractiveness of non-yielding assets like gold, as investors tend to shift away from government bonds when yields fall.

Focus Shifts to Fed Chair Succession

Bloomberg reported this week that White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett has emerged as the leading candidate to succeed Powell when his term expires in May 2026.

Hassett, viewed as a close ally of President Donald Trump, is widely expected to support the president’s push for sharply lower interest rates—potentially more aggressively than Powell.

As ANZ analysts noted, “The White House National Economic Council Director is seen as a close ally of the US President and would likely be perceived as someone who would bring the president’s approach to interest-rate cutting to the Fed.”

Trump has repeatedly urged the central bank to slash interest rates to stimulate the U.S. economy, though the Fed has resisted such calls due to concerns over lingering inflation.

However, several Fed policymakers recently suggested that stabilizing the labor market now outweighs the risks posed by sticky price pressures, and that inflation is likely to ease in the coming months.