Lithium price surge hits automakers as they ramp up EV production

Reuters
Leader of former Syrian opposition says transitional government should not exclude any party
Hadi al-Bahra, head of the Syrian National Coalition that grouped opponents of Bashar al-Assad during the civil war, said on Wednesday Syria's transitional government should be credible and not exclude any Syrian party or be based on sectarianism. In a seismic moment for the Middle East, Syrian rebels seized control of Damascus on Dec. 8, forcing Assad to flee after more than 13 years of civil war, ending his family's decades-long rule. Representatives of the Syrian National Coalition had not met Syrian rebel leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, but had communications with the caretaker government and parties close to him, al-Bahra said during a press conference in Istanbul.
Reuters
Powell has a long to-do list for his last full year as Fed chief
The Federal Reserve will conclude its final meeting of 2024 on Wednesday, and next year will likely be Fed Chair Jerome Powell's last full one at the helm of the U.S. central bank, with his four-year term due to expire in May of 2026. Powell's more than six years as Fed chief have been consequential, but the coming months could present new challenges as well as an opportunity to close out some unfinished business. Powell's main mission is "completing the 'soft landing' with inflation at 2% and full employment, in what's likely to be trickier weather" with tax, tariff and immigration policies that could make the economic landscape harder to read, said Donald Kohn, a former Fed vice chair who is now a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.
Reuters
Transatlantic cruise to turn spotlight on Brazil-Angola slavery past
Helena Monteiro da Costa's father was brought from Angola to Brazil as an enslaved person in the 19th century. "My father was enslaved and he obeyed ... everything they (enslavers) told him to do he did," Costa said at her home in Santos, the coastal Brazilian city where her father ended up after the brutal voyage across the Atlantic. From the 16th to the 19th century, Brazil received around 5 million enslaved Africans, more than any other country.
AFP
Stock markets, dollar climb before Fed rate decision
Stock markets mostly climbed and the dollar steadied against main rivals Wednesday with the US Federal Reserve set to cut interest rates. Across the Atlantic, official data Wednesday showed UK inflation picked up in November, firming expectations that the Bank of England will hold off cutting its key interest rate on Thursday.
Associated Press
How to avoid financial stress during the holiday season
The holidays are meant to be a time of celebration with family and friends. With credit card debt rising and prices for many items still high due to inflation, overspending during the holiday season can add to the financial stress many Americans are already experiencing, said Dr. Marketa Wills, CEO and medical director of the American Psychiatric Association. “The idea that one is on the hook for buying gifts for all their friends and families adds an enormous amount of stress on someone trying to have a perfect holiday," Wills said.
Reuters
Seeing Trump 2.0 tariffs coming, America's toymakers gird for ruckus
With the incoming Trump administration promising an entirely new round of tariffs on U.S. imports, Atlanta-based Kids2 and other toymakers are reviewing product lines, looking for ways to limit the cost of new levies. In the last trade war, Kids2 redesigned an infant chair so it could be converted into a rocker by adding a moving part. Design tweaks like that are almost magical: They made a 25% tariff disappear, because children’s chairs from China carried the tax, while rockers didn’t and still don’t.
Associated Press
Accident or homicide? Medical rulings in arrest-related deaths can dictate what happens to police
Sitting alone in her car, Jen Dold was crying too hard to drive. Four sheriff’s deputies and two police officers shocked him with Tasers, wrapped an arm around his neck, punched and kicked him, then left him face down until they noticed he wasn’t breathing. Dold was certain it was a homicide.
Reuters
Explainer-Who are the immigrants who could be targeted in Trump's mass deportation plans?
President-elect Donald Trump plans to launch a mass deportation operation targeting millions of immigrants living in the U.S. illegally and with temporary protections once he takes office on Jan. 20, a challenging initiative that could split apart families and affect U.S. businesses. There were roughly 11 million immigrants in the U.S. illegally or with a temporary status at the start of 2022, a figure that some analysts say has increased to 13-14 million. WHERE DO IMMIGRANTS WITHOUT LEGAL STATUS LIVE?
Yahoo Finance
Big Tech is dominating the market once again — and that's probably just fine: Morning Brief
December is shaping up to be a tale of two markets.
Yahoo Finance
Nvidia's Blackwell chip could push the company into a new stratosphere as the AI revolution continues
Nvidia's Blackwell chip has taken the world by storm. For that reason, Yahoo Finance has selected Blackwell as its 2024 Product of the Year.
AFP
Injured Italian caver rescued, again, after four days underground
An emergency team said Wednesday they had rescued an injured Italian caver trapped underground for four days -- the second time the woman has had to be carried out of the same cave.In all, 159 rescuers "from 13 Italian regions" were mobilised to help pull Piana from the cave, said the rescue team.
AFP
Spain PM's wife testifies in corruption case
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's wife Begona Gomez testified in court on Wednesday in a probe into misappropriation allegations, one of several sensitive legal cases undermining the minority left-wing government.Her appearance at a Madrid court comes during a frenzied week of legal activity in connection with cases that have ensnared Sanchez's inner circle and emboldened the conservative opposition.
AFP
Xi hails Macau 'success' in visit for 25th anniversary of Chinese rule
Chinese President Xi Jinping hailed Macau's "world-recognised success" as he arrived in the city on Wednesday, kickstarting a three-day trip as the casino hub prepares to celebrate 25 years of Beijing rule."Over the past 25 years, the 'One Country, Two Systems' principle with Macau characteristics has achieved a world-recognised success, and has demonstrated vitality and a unique appeal," Xi said.
CBS News
Congo says mysterious disease killing dozens of kids finally identified
"The mystery has finally been solved," Congo's health ministry says, after an unidentified disease outbreak started killing mainly women and children in a remote region.
Associated Press
Xi visits casino hub Macao to mark 25 years of its return to Chinese rule
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday began a three-day visit to Macao to mark the 25th anniversary of the casino city’s return to Chinese rule. Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, were welcomed at the airport by a lavish ceremony with lion and dragon dances. Xi told reporters that Macao, a former Portuguese colony of 687,000 people, is “the pearl in the motherland’s palm.”
AFP
Syria's first flight since Assad's fall takes off
The first commercial flight since the ouster of president Bashar al-Assad took off from Damascus airport on Wednesday, offering Syrians a glimmer of hope after years of war and decades of oppression.The country's new rulers have sought to keep its institutions going and, on Wednesday, 43 people were aboard the flight from Damascus to Aleppo, the first since Assad was toppled and fled to Russia.
Associated Press
Pakistan postpones polio vaccination drive in southwest after health workers boycotted it
Pakistani authorities on Wednesday postponed a polio vaccination campaign in the country's restive southern Balochistan province after health workers boycotted it to oppose a proposed privatization of hospitals. Authorities on Monday launched the final nationwide polio vaccination campaign for the year, aiming to protect 45 million children. According to the World Health Organization, Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan remain the only two countries where the potentially fatal, paralyzing virus has not been eradicated.
AFP
France assesses scale of Mayotte 'disaster' as aid arrives
French authorities Wednesday searched for survivors and raced to supply aid as they sought to assess the full scale of devastation wrought by Cyclone Chido on the Indian Ocean archipelago of Mayotte, after the French overseas territory emerged from a first night under curfew. The true scale of the disaster is still being assessed as rescuers raced to find survivors in the ruins of slums such as those in the capital Mamoudzou, while also unblocking roads and clearing rubble and downed trees.
CNN
Small, tight-knit community in Madison, Wisconsin, reeling from school shooting as authorities continue to seek answers
Hundreds gathered outside Wisconsin State Capitol on Tuesday night despite the freezing temperatures to remember victims of a private school shooting that left one teacher and a student dead and wounded six others.
AFP
US, Chinese ships at Cambodia bases as Washington navigates diplomatic currents
When a US warship docked in Cambodia this week, it moored just a few kilometres from a base where China has built an extended new pier and two of Beijing's own vessels have been berthed for about a year.US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visited Cambodia in June, and the combat ship USS Savannah docked at the southern port city of Sihanoukville on Monday, about 30 kilometres from the Ream base and the 1,500-tonne grey Chinese corvettes.

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