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☆ Prices on Lithium Deals Start to Move With the Times
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Rhiannon Hoyle | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

ADELAIDE, Australia—The price of lithium is undergoing a minirevolution. Lithium is the battery mineral used in electric vehicles and electronic gadgets whose price surged to a record high this year. Many mining companies missed out, though, because they had previously agreed to sell production at a fixed value. Now, they are increasingly switching to deals that allow for prices to rise and fall according to changes in global supply and demand.

☆ SpaceX's moon mission gets 8 more crew members
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The mission, called Dear Moon, was first announced in 2018. Dear Moon still advertises that its mission will take off in 2023, though SpaceX’s new rocket and spacecraft system, known as Starship, has yet to conduct its first orbital test flight. The Dear Moon mission crew includes (clockwise from top left): Tim Dodd, Yemi A.D., Choi Seung Hyun, Steve Aoki, Rhiannon Adam, Karim Iliya, Miyu (backup), Dev Joshi, Yusaku Maezawa, Brendan Hall and Kaitlyn Farrington (backup). Since the Dear Moon mission was first announced, Maezawa made his first journey to space, taking a self-funded, 12-day journey to the International Space Station. If early test flights of Starship are successful and the Dear Moon mission gets off the ground, Maezawa’s crew could be the first group of private citizens to venture beyond low-Earth orbit.

☆ BHP, World’s Top Miner, Nears Biggest Acquisition in a Decade
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Rhiannon Hoyle | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

BHP runs the large Olympic Dam copper mine in South Australia and predicts that demand for copper will double in the next three decades. ADELAIDE, Australia— BHP Group Ltd. raised its offer for OZ Minerals Ltd. to value the Australian miner at $6.34 billion, as it seeks to produce more copper and nickel needed for electric vehicles, wind turbines and solar farms. OZ Minerals said it intends to recommend shareholders vote in favor of BHP’s revised offer of 28.25 Australian dollars, the equivalent of about $18.90, a share. A completed deal would represent BHP’s largest acquisition since 2011 when it bought Petrohawk Energy Corp. for more than $12 billion.

☆ Novak Djokovic Set for Australian Open Return After Visa Ban Overturned
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Rhiannon Hoyle | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Novak Djokovic will be able to compete at next year’s Australian Open. ADELAIDE, Australia— Novak Djokovic will be granted a visa to Australia so that he can compete at the 2023 Australian Open, drawing a line under an episode that made the tennis star a lightning rod in a debate about Covid-19 vaccine mandates. Australian Immigration Minister Andrew Giles has agreed to overturn a three-year ban that was imposed when authorities deported the 21-time Grand Slam champion on the eve of the tournament in January, a person familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

☆ Iron-Ore Prices Buckle as China Property-Market Slump Drags On
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Rhiannon Hoyle | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Autonomous trucks haul iron ore at Rio Tinto’s Gudai-Darri mine in Western Australia, where vast mining operations contribute more than half the world’s exports of the steel ingredient. ADELAIDE, Australia—Iron-ore prices have slumped to a three-year low as a sharp slowdown in Chinese homebuilding combines with Beijing’s zero-Covid strategy to sap demand for the steelmaking commodity. The benchmark price of iron ore—one of the world’s most-traded commodities—fell by 17% in October from September to end the month more than 50% below its 2022 high, which was set in March.

☆ Fact Check-Rishi Sunak’s colour-changing ring binder was not a glitch in the matrix
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Many users have suggested the clip reveals a “glitch in the matrix”, a reference to a conspiracy theory inspired by the Matrix science-fiction film franchise. Believers say people can tell that everything around them is simulated by watching out for errors or glitches in the alien programming – like something suddenly changing colour. The video clip of Sunak was taken from a March 9, 2020, report by Sky News (here) about Britain’s budget plans. But this was a visual effect made to make an editorial point, not a sign of a glitch in any matrix. It involved “just a small colour switch to emphasise the need for a green budget.

☆ Coal Miner Peabody Energy in Deal Talks With Australian Rival Coronado
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Rhiannon Hoyle | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Peabody’s pretax earnings in the second quarter were its highest in more than a decade. ADELAIDE, Australia— Peabody Energy is in talks to combine with an Australian rival that could result in a new global giant worth some $6 billion, illustrating how the coal-price surge that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is transforming the sector’s fortunes. Peabody, the largest American coal producer, is discussing a deal with Coronado Global Resources which has operations in the U.S. and Australia. In a regulatory filing with the Australian Securities Exchange on Wednesday, Coronado said negotiations were occurring.

☆ Australia Withdraws Threat of Gas-Export Curbs After Deal With Producers
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-29 | by ( Rhiannon Hoyle | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

ADELAIDE, Australia—Energy companies committed to direct more natural gas to Australian consumers when shortages flare, neutralizing a threat that the government would impose caps on exports to Asia and other major markets. Gas-export ventures operated by companies including Shell PLC and Santos have agreed to first offer uncontracted gas to local buyers before seeking overseas customers under a deal that Australia’s government said should avert a domestic supply crisis next year.

BusinessThe Russian steel magnate, who was sanctioned by the U.S., the European Union and the U.K. following the invasion of Ukraine, is exploring options to restructure ownership of his businesses to ease the burden of Western sanctions, according to people familiar with the matter.

☆ To Store Renewable Energy, Some Look to Old Mines
▼ + stars: | 2022-04-25 | by ( Rhiannon Hoyle | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Around the world, companies are seeking to repurpose old mines as renewable-energy generators using a century-old technology known as pumped-storage hydropower. The technology, already part of the energy mix in many countries, works like a giant battery, with water and gravity as the energy source. Water is pumped uphill to a reservoir when energy supply is plentiful. It is released and flows downhill through turbines generating hydroelectric power when electricity demand is high or there are shortages of other types of power. Finally, the water is captured to be pumped uphill again in a repeated cycle.

There’s a lot of hype and confusion about carbon-free energy sources. Here’s a look at five of them: how much they produce, what they cost, and what obstacles they face.

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Before reading "Millionaire Teacher," I thought my investing options were: go it alone, or hire a pro. But, as it turns out, there's a Goldilocks-esque option sitting smack-dab in the middle that I'd never considered: intelligent investment firms. Hallam uses Vanguard's Target Retirement Funds to outline how intelligent investing works (though robo-advisors aren't quite the same thing). In addition to the Vanguard Target Retirement Funds described above, which come with a wide range of target retirement dates, Hallam lists out a series of companies that offer the same services. ), you might really benefit from handing the reins over to an intelligent investment firm.

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The book lays out five steps to investing your money, from opening a brokerage account to buying index funds. For example, the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index is represented as VTSAX. 30% Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund (VBMFX)35% Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund (VTSMX)35% Vanguard Total International Stock Index (VGTSX)As you can see, he recommends roughly one-third in an international stock index fund, another third in a domestic index fund, and a final third-ish in a domestic bond index fund. (I have a lot of working years ahead of me and the stock market is currently going nuts, so I've opted for 90% stocks and 10% bonds.) Once you're set up, you need to adjust your ratios just once a year, letting your money work for you instead of the other way around.

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☆ Reading 2 short sentences in 'Millionaire Teacher' convinced me to change my retirement savings strategy, and it's helped me earn thousands
▼ + stars: | 2020-12-27 | by ( Alexis Rhiannon | Read More | Read Less | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Four years ago I'd started saving for retirement, but I was too afraid to actually invest the money. But reading the book "Millionaire Teacher" opened my eyes: I learned quickly that I was missing out on years of compound interest. But then, two short sentences in the book "Millionaire Teacher: The Nine Rules of Wealth You Should Have Learned In School" finally convinced me the answer was yes. "Over the past 90 years," Hallam wrote, "the US stock market has generated returns exceeding 9% annually. 'Millionaire Teacher' challenged my preconceived notions about the marketBefore I read "Millionaire Teacher," my understanding of the stock market was vague and amorphous.

But when I started reading "Millionaire Teacher" by Andrew Hallam, I had a lightbulb moment: I was living beyond my means. Once I realized I could have a comfortable retirement if I just started saving whatever I could, I changed my ways. Advertisement'Millionaire Teacher' showed me I was living way beyond my meansIn the first chapter of "Millionaire Teacher," Hallam describes an experience he had tutoring the son of a wealthy family. With a little help from "Millionaire Teacher," though, I was able to change my ways. In short, my thinking was completely backward, and thankfully, reading the first chapter of "Millionaire Teacher" finally snapped me out of it.

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Thanks to that strategy, I've maxed out my retirement savings every year since 2014, and they're still a top priority. I completely stopped saving money, and kept blowing my dad off when he asked whether I'd started a Roth yet. The next year, I made my retirement savings top priorityWith the money out of sight and out of mind, I didn't find myself missing it much. Every payday, as soon as the money hit my Bank of America account, I'd zip $230 out of it and over to a high-yield savings account at Ally. Week after week, I'd move the money over to my savings account, and force myself to forget about it once it was there.

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Our experts answer readers' credit card questions and write unbiased product reviews (here's how we assess credit cards). It's important to understand how credit card payments and interest work too, so you can avoid large interest fees. The key to using a credit card responsibly is to pay off your balance in full each month. When you swipe your Visa credit card at Whole Foods, for example, the retailer (Whole Foods) sends your information to your credit card network (Visa) and a message to your bank (Chase) asking if the charge would keep you within your credit limit. At the end of each day, Whole Foods sends all of its credit card transactions to the appropriate credit card networks for processing.

Overview of Using Credit Cards for Gift Card PurchasesIn the majority of cases, you can buy gift cards with a credit card. Steps to Purchase Gift Cards with Credit CardsSelecting the Right Gift CardThere exist two gift card variants: Store-based and open-loop. Finding Gift Card OffersThe majority of retailers allow store-based gift cards to be purchased with credit cards, but it isn't a hard and fast rule. Yes, most credit cards allow you to purchase gift cards, but it's important to check your card's terms and conditions as policies can vary. Are there any fees associated with buying gift cards with credit cards?

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Our experts answer readers' credit card questions and write unbiased product reviews (here's how we assess credit cards). If your credit limit is high enough, you may be able to purchase a car with your credit card. While you can earn a windfall of credit card rewards, it's not worth it to max out your card limits. You're probably well aware of the differences between a debit card and a credit card: A debit card is basically like cash, allowing you to spend only what you already have in the bank. Credit Limits and Payment Processing FeesUnfortunately, things don't always work out quite so easily when purchasing a car with a credit card.

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Our experts answer readers' credit card questions and write unbiased product reviews (here's how we assess credit cards). How to apply for a credit cardYou can apply for your first credit card in person, by mail, on the phone, or online, and if your credit is good, you'll have your pick of a variety of cards and banking institutions. Check your credit scoreChecking your credit score before applying for a credit card means you'll be fully educated about the kinds of interest rates you can expect from your offers, and the rewards you could qualify for. And even those without extensive credit histories can apply for a starter credit card or a secured credit card to begin building up the necessary foundation. Use your credit card responsiblyMoving from a debit card to a credit card is a crucial transition, as sudden access to all those borrowed funds can produce a temptation to overspend.

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Apply now A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star 4.8 out of 5 Stars Editor's Rating A tooltip OUR EDITOR'S RATINGS ARE PRIMARILY BASED ON 3 THINGS: SIMPLICITY, AFFORDABILITY, AND VALUE. Note that credit card lenders may use many different variations of credit score models when considering your application. Apply now A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star 4.6 out of 5 Stars Editor's Rating A tooltip OUR EDITOR'S RATINGS ARE PRIMARILY BASED ON 3 THINGS: SIMPLICITY, AFFORDABILITY, AND VALUE. Apply now A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star 4.6 out of 5 Stars Editor's Rating A tooltip OUR EDITOR'S RATINGS ARE PRIMARILY BASED ON 3 THINGS: SIMPLICITY, AFFORDABILITY, AND VALUE. But even if I'm wrong, couples therapy will be one of the last things to be cut from our budget.

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