“Australia is really, really going to be helpful in the effort to take the global economy and make it less risky, less exposed to the kind of rare earth extortion that we’re seeing from the Chinese,” Kevin Hassett, the director of the White House’s National Economic Council, told reporters on Monday morning ahead of Trump’s

AFP via Getty Images The US and Australia have signed a deal intended to boost supplies of rare earths and other critical minerals, as the Trump administration looks for ways to counter China’s dominance of the market. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the deal would support a pipeline of $8.5bn (£6.3bn) “ready-to-go” projects that

The dollar index DXY today is up by +0.17%. The dollar is moving higher today due to an easing of US-China trade tensions, which is positive for global growth prospects and the dollar after President Trump said on Sunday that, “I think we’re going to be fine with China.” The dollar also has support rose

The S&P 500 Index SPY today is up +0.71%, the Dow Jones Industrials Index DIA is up +0.51%, and the Nasdaq 100 Index QQQ is up +0.89%. December E-mini S&P futures (ESZ25) are up +0.75%, and December E-mini Nasdaq futures (NQZ25) are up +0.91%. Stock index futures are climbing today and adding to last Friday’s gains, with the