
Georgetown 100, Albany (NY) 68China’s outbound mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity could jump, as US president-elect Donald Trump’s tariff threats accelerate the globalisation of mainland enterprises, according to industry experts. Bracing for the possibility of 60 to 100 per cent tariffs on Chinese goods, firms in the world’s second-largest economy are exploring ways to reduce reliance on the US, albeit in a frail global M&A environment beset by high interest rates and ongoing geopolitical tensions. “More tariffs may mean that the globalisation of Chinese companies is going to get faster,” said Stanley Lah, Asia-Pacific and China M&A services leader at Deloitte. “Chinese companies will consider moving faster to look for alternatives in shipping or selling to the US. That is quite loud and clear.” M&A activity should emerge as a speedier solution to satisfy Chinese companies’ objective of being more effective in global markets, compared with greenfield investments such as setting up sales offices or manufacturing facilities, he added. Chinese outbound M&A deals fell 16.5 per cent to US$17 billion so far this year, compared with the same period last year, according to London Stock Exchange Group data. Last year, the tally rose 59 per cent year on year to US$27 billion – still far below the 2016 peak of US$202 billion. Dealmakers have seen some rebound in China’s outbound M&A, especially in the sectors with Beijing’s “blessings”, according to Federico Bazzoni, CEO of investment banking at Vantage Capital Markets. “I see some activities coming back in specific sectors,” he said, mentioning manufacturing, technology, new energy such as solar power and batteries, and “a little bit” on consumer products. “Valuations are coming down.”
AI Boom Makes 139-Year-Old Cable Maker Japan’s Hottest Stock - BloombergThe disability worker at the centre of the tense exchange with Taoiseach Simon Harris in Cork yesterday said she was “shaken” following the interaction and accused Simon Harris of being “horrible” in their exchange. The woman, Charlotte Fallon, who works with St Joseph’s Foundation, told The Irish Times that she was “upset” and that “he was horrible last night.” "I am not going to deny that. He was totally wrong. It wasn’t very nice. I hope nobody else has to have an interaction like that ever, because it’s not very nice going home crying. He said he didn’t sleep much last night. He’s a politician,” she said. Ms Fallon also said that the taoiseach rang her this morning to apologise, adding: “I’m glad I got the apology.” Mr Harris had responded over Instagram earlier this morning to criticism over his handling of their conversation while out canvassing in Cork yesterday. In a livestream this morning he said: “I should have taken the time to engage”. It came as both political parties and activists levelled criticism at the Fine Gael leader for turning away from Ms Fallon, a section 39 disability carer, who told him: “you have done nothing for carers”. The conversation, which took place in a supermarket while he was out on the campaign trail in Kanturk in north Cork yesterday was filmed by RTÉ. In it, Ms Fallon said of the Budget: “We’ve fought for our money ... but we are ignored.” We need your consent to load this Social Media content. We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. To which the Taoiseach said: “No, no, not at all.” and she responded: “Yes, we were.” She told the Taoiseach that she is passionate about her job but that people are suffering, adding that there is no mention of his “passion” for carers in the Budget. Mr Harris then shakes her hand and walks off abruptly for a second, before returning. She told him: “Keep shaking hands and pretend you’re a good man”. Ms Fallon added: “You’re not a good man” to which he questions before abruptly walking off again: “You don’t think I’m a good man?” Speaking to reporters in Rathfarnham this afternoon, Simon Harris said he was “annoyed” with himself for not giving Charlotte Fallon more time. “I called Charlotte this morning because she was absolutely owed an apology from me, the buck stops with me entirely here. We had a very good conversation, a very good conversation. I was very grateful to her for her time and her kindness. We spoke about a number of issues. We spoke about disability services. We spoke about the issue of pay parity in people in section 39 organisations and we also spoke about the issue of the means test for carers. I was grateful to have a chance to be able to listen to charlotte and also talk through with her some of my own views and plans and vision in relation to disability services. I am really grateful for the conversation, learned a lot from it and I have also said I would love to call in to where she works in Cork in the coming weeks and she said I would be very welcome. "So I really do appreciate that. I am annoyed at how I didn’t give that person, Charlotte, the time last night. She deserved that time. I have been around the country and have had hundreds of conversations some days and I have learned a lot and I always learn a lot from listening to people and I’m very sorry that didn’t happen last night,” Mr Harris said. Mr Harris was also asked to expand on his reasoning that he had a long day before the encounter. Questioned as to whether he was tired, Mr Harris said: “Not at all. Not at all. I’m not making any excuses at all. The buck stops with me.” But he said “much more importantly from my conversation with Charlotte today is what we are going to do to help people with disabilities and that was really the thrust of the conversation that Charlotte and I had today, making Charlotte aware of our plans to get rid of the means test for carer’s which is something I know she feels very strongly about.” Read more On Instagram live this earlier this morning, the Taoiseach said: "I should have taken the time to engage, there is no excuse on my part in relation to that. But please, please know this is what makes me tick.” He said that he will try to improve things for carers and those with disabilities - ending the means test for carers, putting therapists in schools and doubling college places for therapy posts, more special needs classes and chairing a cabinet committee on disability. We need your consent to load this Social Media content. We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. One commenter on his Instagram live asked ‘why have you not done all of this so far, when you’ve been in government?’ “That is a fair question. But I would point out I’ve only been Taoiseach for seven months. I’ve made this a personal mission for me and I’m absolutely determined to do that. So thank you so much for listening. "I would have liked to have an opportunity to say that in Kanturk last night, it is my fault that I didn’t. I should have taken the time to engage, there is no excuse on my part in relation to that.” The Taoiseach also said that he would not have gotten into politics at all if it were not for disability services, with his brother, Adam Harris, born with autism. "Seeing what my parents, particularly my mother went through, fighting for services, fighting for answers, and the loneliness that my family often felt as well.” He cited this as the reason for being determined to prioritise disability issues as well as the needs of carers throughout the country. "I didn’t give her the time I should have given her and I feel really bad about that because it’s not who I am, it’s not what makes me tick. "I am really passionate about disability services. I do hope to have a longer conversation with her because I want you to know and I want her to know that I am absolutely in the business of listening, learning and acting when it comes to disability services, I always will be,” he said. Reacting the incident, Tánaiste Micheál Martin acknowledged the fact that Mr Harris had apologised for his handling of the encounter. “He himself has said he has apologised for it and he has acknowledged that he should have dealt with it differently and in a better manner and I think that I would leave it at that at this stage,” said Mr Martin. Asked whether he would ‘turn on his heal’ if he had found himself in the same situation Mr Martin said: “I would hope not,” and added “I would give my contact numbers to people so they could follow up and meet with people for a lengthier time.” Empathising with Mr Harris he said “Anybody can get in to difficult situations in an election campaign.” Read more
Finally, there’s some good news about super and retirementA MUM of three with a loving husband, marketing exec Kellie James*, 49, of Barnet, North London, is happy with her secret habit. Grabbing the all-important after-school snack, and my handbag and coat, I head toward the door. 3 Mum of three Kellie James is happy with her secret habit (stock picture) 3 She watches porn daily before the school pick-up (stock picture) Credit: Getty But before I hit the school run, I need to do one more thing to prepare myself for my kids’ return — watch a ten-minute porn video. Many days, as the clock rolls around to 2.45pm, I reach for my mobile and watch a sexy romp. People who know me would be shocked, but it makes me a calm, relaxed mum when I meet the children at the school gates. Nobody’s kid deserves a mum who is tightly wound, and is nagging them from the minute they step out of school. Read more on porn PORN PROBLEM My husband lied about his hardcore porn habit and it's ruining our sex life THE CHEEK OF IT Mike Tyson offered to star on adult website after showing bum live on TV And after having some “me time”, which is exactly what my viewing habits are, I am not that tense, wired mother. I am happy, relaxed and genuinely delighted to hear about their day. It makes me a great mum. Women watching sex is a massive taboo, but I watch porn on my phone daily — and sometimes I will indulge twice a day. Most read in Fabulous AISLE SAY Inside Millie Radford’s winter wedding with £9k venue & 7 bridesmaids PEOPLE'S PRINCESS Princess Andre hints HUGE career move - dad Peter will be happy about it HOME & DRY I'm an interior pro - the perfect temp to keep your home to prevent condensation POISON PROBE Mum accused of ‘faking baby’s brain tumours’ to rake in cash, sympathy & likes None of my friends talk about porn, and I’m sure they’d think of me as some kind of deviant if I confessed to it. I’m a mum to three gorgeous young kids and happily married. Marcus Brigstoke reveals he was hooked on porn after cheating on his wife My husband and I have been together for 11 years and I like having sex with him, but find that I’m often just too tired to bother. After having children, we are both so exhausted and sex has sadly been put on the back-burner. It was during lockdown in March 2020 that our intimate time hit rock bottom, with the kids always under our feet — and that’s when I started looking at porn. I simply enjoy it and genuinely believe it makes me a better mum. I’m not alone. A new study of 1,200 women found 77 per cent admitted to having watched porn in the last month. I’m one of them but, while 28 per cent of the women said they viewed at least once a week, I’m more of a regular than most — as watching porn is something I incorporate daily into my busy life. I work full-time for a charity as a marketing executive, and as I often work from home I schedule porn-watching time into my breaks. If I’m in the office, I factor it into the times I am alone at home without the kids. Favourite is threesomes My usual routine would be to watch it in my bedroom in my lunch hour, maybe for about ten minutes or even less. Watching a bit before the school run is great — my working hours are arranged around school pick-up, so the fact that I’m rushed makes me more aroused. I sometimes masturbate while watching, and other times I watch it to feel turned on but won’t take it any further. I admit I usually feel bad afterwards — part of this might be because it feels like a compulsion, almost like vaping. During the first lockdown, my hours became more home-based and one lunchtime I realised I’d never thought to look on my phone at porn. It was an urge that came out of the blue, and something I wouldn’t have dreamt of doing when I had been entirely office-based. But from that first viewing, I looked pretty much every day. I feel guilty because some of the pornography isn’t very ethical and depicts women being degraded and treated badly — though I only watch porn where it looks consensual and I certainly hope the women aren’t being forced to do it. There was absolutely no way I could reveal I watch it regularly. Kellie James I recently went out with some mum friends in the evening and we were talking about sex. One of the mums admitted her partner regularly viewed porn, and I watched how the other mums reacted. They were all horrified and said they were certain their partners didn’t watch it, and would worry that their other half was attracted to other women if they caught them viewing. Realisation hit me at that moment — there was absolutely no way I could reveal I watch it regularly as they’d probably judge me. It’s strange that so many people watch it but pretend they don’t. Once, when I was very drunk, I told a friend I sometimes watched it. She blushed, looked embarrassed and changed the subject, and I never brought it up again. I couldn’t sleep for days after, as I was convinced she’d never speak to me again, but when we met for coffee the next week she pretended it hadn’t happened. I find work super-stressful because I have a difficult manager who is unpredictable, and we have a lot of long meetings on Zoom. These are often tedious and if I’m working from home, I will sometimes watch porn right after a meeting to distract myself and to relax. It gets me away from work, and helps access a different part of myself. A quick watch of porn is an easy way for me to take care of sexual tension. Watch it together It takes longer to feel satisfied when I have sex with my husband, whereas if I masturbate while watching porn I can be finished in about five minutes. I have mentioned to my husband that I’ve watched it as a one-off, not revealing how often. He didn’t seem fussed by my revelation and said we should maybe watch it together, but that has never happened. Sometimes I worry porn watching is creating a distance between us, as I suspect he’s watching it too and doing that instead of having sex with me. This leads me to worry about the type of sex that he watches and what his preferences are. My favourite category is usually threesomes — two men and one woman. Interestingly, I would never like to do this in real life, so it’s escapism for me to watch something totally different. I definitely notice that I am getting more used to watching porn and am no longer shocked by seeing different types of sex, as I was at first. But I still do not watch films where girls are victims — that is morally wrong. I know deep down there is too much judgment for that. Kellie James There must be some kind of algorithm, as the site I use definitely shows me more of the same on my phone — it always offers up threesomes. I always check that I’m browsing privately, turn down the sound if my husband is home and make sure I’ve deleted my browsing history so the family won’t inadvertently see things they shouldn’t. I have no plans to stop watching porn but wish I could feel better about it, and less ashamed. Dating app IllcitEncouters.com reports that 80 per cent of women feel more comfortable discussing and watching porn compared to five years ago. This makes me feel wishful about chatting about my viewing habits freely with my mates over a glass of wine — but I know deep down there is too much judgment for that. My gut tells me to keep my porn viewing secret, but I’m pretty sure my pals are probably watching it too and just not admitting to it. *Name has been changed ...But don't get addicted 3 Psychologist Emma Kenny offers advice for when porn habits become too much Credit: supplied PSYCHOLOGIST Emma Kenny has advice for those who feel their porn habit is getting too much. She says: “That dopamine high from viewing it can be addictive.” Here Emma shares some words of advice . . . WORK OUT WHAT’S BEHIND YOUR PORN INTEREST : Why are you turning to porn? Is it because you’re stressed, bored or feeling disconnected from your partner? Once you understand the reason, you can tackle it head on. For stress, try something calming like yoga or five minutes of deep breathing. If boredom is the culprit, find something that excites you, whether it’s bingeing a new TV series or diving into a good book. Recognising what’s driving you helps to break the cycle of automatic behaviour. MAKE IT A REWARD, NOT A REFLEX : Think of porn like a slice of chocolate cake – delicious as a treat, but unhealthy if consumed too often. When you use it as a reward, rather than a routine, it becomes more enjoyable and less of a habit. For example, after a busy week at work, let it be a Friday night treat rather than something you turn to on your lunch break. Keeping it special helps you to maintain control, stop it feeling like a necessity and set limits. CHANGE UP THE MOMENT WITH SOMETHING RANDOM : If you want to cut back how much you use, next time you feel the urge, do something completely unexpected instead. Blast your favourite song, try a five-minute workout or even start decluttering that drawer. Read more on the Scottish Sun REST EASY Andy Murray flooded with messages as he shares heart-breaking family update COUGH UP Motorhome park owner shuts after guests leave without paying using shock trick Distracting yourself with something random gives your brain a chance to reset and interrupts the habit loop. Little moments like these can help you to regain control without feeling as though you are missing out.
Article content Edmonton Police Commissioners voted this week not to make Edmonton Police Service response time numbers public just yet. The radio silence from 2021 will continue for the time being. At the height of the pandemic, the Edmonton Police Service (EPS) stopped reporting response times in its annual report. That same year, the EPS also moved to an encrypted scanner the media and the public couldn’t listen to. Thursday’s motion to know response time numbers came from city Coun. Anne Stevenson, a commissioner who also sits on the Edmonton Police Commission ’s governance committee. “That is not the only metric that shares how the service is performing, but I think for Edmontonians, that is an important measure to at least understand what those response times are,” Stevenson told the commission. The time it takes for an officer to attach to a call was one of the main factors to sell the commission on switching to the much-touted “10 Squad” model, she said. “It’s something that I continue to hear from Edmontonians in terms of an interest in having an understanding of how that’s trending. I think if it’s a resource question, that’s a really important one.” There are two steps to getting from the call for service to the service itself. First, the call is assigned to an officer, then the officer goes to the call. That window, from dispatch to the scene, is the sweet spot. Outgoing Police Chief Dale McFee decried paying too much minute-by-minute attention to response times. “And the reality is, we had the highest crime rate in the country ... for many years, because our main metric was measured response calls and times, which is really irrelevant, because if I have a priority call, I want to know why you weren’t there faster than you were. It’s not an average response time. Average response times gets average results. That’s why we changed,” McFee said. In the sometimes dangerous world of responding to emergencies, police response time shouldn’t be a main consideration, said the chief, who announced his February 2025 retirement this week. Anyone who has tried to inch forward in a construction zone to let flashing lights by knows construction ties up emergency vehicles. Back in 2021, some Edmontonians fumed on social media about the city kicking off construction projects — complaints that rage on. “The level of construction happening on major thoroughfares in the city would dramatically impact your response time right now,” McFee said. “The second half of part of why that was taken away is if we use that as a target measure for officers, decisions about how quickly and safely they will travel to those calls become part of that thinking process when an officer is getting to a call.” Commissioner Ben Henderson said he remembers seeing call response numbers for years, but he takes the chief’s point. “A worry about all these things with metrics is you create an imprecise metric, and then you begin to develop your response to it, to meet the metric, not what you’re really trying to achieve,” Henderson said. A few commissioners expressed concern the request seemed to get ahead of strategic planning. The response time issue may not be dead in the water. The commissioners were assured by Lori Lorenz, executive director of the EPS Value & Impact division, that gaps and goals will be addressed in the EPS 2025 strategic plan. “In 2021 we did have Priority 1 calls in there, and so we are discussing how to highlight that again, and that will be coming forward in our annual report in Q1 of 2025,” Lorenz said. “I think that, in history, we took out call response time as it’s not a strategic measure to identify if we’re meeting our goals,” she said. The 10-squad model previous numbers were applied to “is having an evaluation right now,” she said. “One of the primary outcomes of that is to ensure we have the right people at the right place, at the right time,” Lorenz said. Municipal transparency on and use of response times can vary by jurisdiction. In a memorandum for Calgary City Council in 2023, the Calgary Police Service cited five years of numbers for drive time from dispatch to the call scene, showing a gradual creep from eight minutes in 2018 to 9.5 minutes in 2022. Among a number of other metrics, they set a goal of decreasing the drive time from when a call is dispatched to Priority 1 calls — the most urgent types of calls — and when officers arrive on scene. “It is reflection of the availability of resources and how effectively those resources are deployed across the city. The target is to maintain or improve the five-year average response time of eight minutes this year,” the memorandum read. At the Vancouver Police Department, the Public Safety Indicators (PSI) report covers key trends, with numbers of calls for service and Priority 1 response times. In April 2024, Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw celebrated “a modest, yet consistent reduction in the time it takes to get to Torontonians when they need us most,” with response times to Priority 1 calls dropping from 22 minutes to 18.1 minutes. “While we are seeing a positive, promising trend in relation to Priority 1 response times, I am also mindful that we have a lot of work to still do in this area,” he said.DEPRIVING most old folk of their winter fuel allowance was the meanest, and daftest, thing Labour has done. The decision within days of taking office was wrong in principle, ill-timed and amateurishly presented. It provoked widespread anger. And the absence of an impact assessment was unforgivable. Ministers should have known – or, at least, tried to find out – what the consequences would be. Now we know, they did, in secret. Four months later, we are finding out from their own statistics. Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall reveals that her officials made an internal assessment that 100,000 more pensioners would be pushed into poverty. So they knew what would happen, but still carried on. They decided not to tell millions of pensioners affected by their “tough decision”. And this is a Labour government? as former leader Neil Kinnock might have said. The shameful truth emerges from Whitehall as freezing temperatures grip the country and inflation rises sharply again because of soaring fuel prices. It’s not too late for a U-turn on this deeply-unpopular hit. Scottish Labour have promised to bring back the winter fuel allowance there if they gain power north of the border. Many Labour MPs are unhappy with what is being done in their name. They should listen to the voters, not the government Whips ordering them to follow the government like sheep. They should remember the sheep with the bell round its neck in the abattoir survives, and the rest perish. Yo, ho, ho and a bottle of rum! But not, perhaps, the new hooch on sale at Highgrove, the King’s Gloucestershire retreat. Not, me hearties, at £44.95 a bottle, even if it is infused with honey from the royal hives. I’m partial to dark rum, usually at the end of a session when I should know better. Thankfully, I can’t stand whisky. The King’s limited edition costs an eye-watering £250. Limits not specified.Democrat Bob Casey concedes to Republican David McCormick in Pennsylvania Senate contest
UCF, LSU face off with improved focus in mind
All of my TikTok screenshots are from Mango, H&M, and COS-—these are the must-have pieces that have made it on saleNone
Commodities are heading for their best week since April, driven by geopolitical tensions and adverse weather. The main focus across markets has been heightened tensions after Russia lowered the threshold for using its nuclear arsenal. This followed President Joe Biden’s decision to allow Ukraine to use US-supplied missiles to strike Russia. Subsequently, Ukraine struck Russian targets with US and UK-made missiles, prompting Putin to respond by firing a new medium-range ballistic missile at Ukraine. This escalation has raised geopolitical tensions beyond levels seen during the year-long conflict between Israel and Iran-backed militants. The dollar responded with its eighth weekly gain, while gold saw fresh haven demand, injecting momentum back into the market after an early November correction. Crude oil also benefited, despite forecasts for ample supply and sluggish demand through 2025. Elsewhere, colder US weather increased power demand, driving US natural gas prices to a one-year high. Similar to cocoa’s rally earlier this year due to weather-related production concerns in West Africa, coffee prices surged on fears over Brazil’s 2025 crop, pushing Arabica coffee to a 13-year high. Rising wheat prices offset losses in corn and soybeans as the escalation stoked concerns about Black Sea region supply disruptions. The Bloomberg Commodity Index, tracking 24 major futures markets, trades up 3% on the week, marking its best performance since April. Gains were led by energy and precious metals, including index heavyweights WTI and Brent crude, natural gas, and gold with cocoa and coffee also delivering solid performances. Mounting supply risks and strong demand in Europe have pushed regional gas prices to approximately EUR 50/MWh or USD 15.4/MMBtu. Despite rising US prices, European consumers and industries are still paying 4.5 times more for gas than their US counterparts. The looming expiry of the Ukraine–Russia gas transit agreement on 31 December, which will not be renewed, has further driven prices upward as Europe secures LNG supplies over Asia. European gas prices had already surged due to a period of unusually cold, windless weather, which cut renewable power generation and led to an early, rapid drawdown of storage across the region. With forecasts predicting a colder winter than in recent years, prices for summer 2025 gas have risen sharply, reflecting the need for higher prices to compete for LNG supplies and ensure robust inventory buildup ahead of the 2025/26 winter. Precious metals, gold and silver, experienced a strong rally ahead of the US elections but reversed sharply as a surge in the USD and yields drove prices through key technical support levels. This pressured a market where hedge funds had maintained elevated long positions for months, particularly in gold. Weekly positioning data from the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) revealed that while hedge funds reduced long positions, there was little appetite for outright short selling. This supports the view that the weakness stemmed from reactive selling rather than a shift in the fundamental outlook for gold. This week, a sudden escalation between Russia and Ukraine reignited momentum for gold. At the time of writing, the metal trades above USD 2,700, recovering USD 170 from the recent USD 250 correction. This marks its biggest weekly jump in 13 months, even as the dollar heads for an eighth consecutive weekly gain. The correction has also encouraged fresh physical demand as buyers gain confidence in gold’s ability to maintain the strong gains achieved earlier this year. Despite the stronger dollar acting as a headwind, our bullish outlook on gold—and eventually silver—remains intact. An unsettled global landscape continues to drive investors toward gold, often regarded as a ‘dead’ asset offering no income but price appreciation. The US debt situation is expected to worsen under the Trump administration’s unfunded spending on tax cuts, infrastructure, and defence. Additionally, central banks seeking to de-dollarize reserves and inflation concerns from tariffs are likely to offset any slowing pace of US rate cuts. Crude oil traded higher this week, supported by rising refinery margins for distillate products amid an incoming cold snap driving US natural gas prices to a one-year high, heightened Russia–Ukraine tensions, and doubts about OPEC+ unwinding voluntary production cuts in 2025 due to market oversupply. However, the 2025 outlook remains non-supportive for crude prices, with lacklustre growth not only in China but also in Europe, where economic data continues to weaken. In addition, robust production from non-OPEC+ producers may lead to a crude surplus exceeding 1 million barrels per day, according to a recent report from the International Energy Agency. Still, some upside risks remain, including a potential Trump administration adding fresh sanctions on Iran and Venezuela and geopolitical risks intensified by the Russia–Ukraine war and the Israeli conflict with Hamas and Hezbollah. We see limited risk of a resurgence in US drilling activity, as US crude production is unlikely to increase significantly unless oil producers find it profitable. With WTI currently trading below USD 70, the incentive for further production increases remains constrained. As a result, we view natural gas as a more significant opportunity, with strong global demand making inexpensive US natural gas highly attractive worldwide. The industrial metals sector traded higher this week despite challenges from weak Eurozone growth, geopolitical tensions driving up the dollar, and risks to demand from proposed tariffs on imports, particularly from China—a move that could disrupt global trade and reduce demand for industrial metals like copper and aluminium. Furthermore, copper has been impacted by fears of a slowdown in the energy transition following Trump’s statement that he would “rescind all unspent funds” under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the Biden-Harris administration’s flagship climate law. We believe the initial negative price response addresses near-term risks, as infrastructure spending plans and potential deregulation could boost demand for metals in the medium to long term. Additionally, tariffs imposed by Trump on China are likely to trigger further support measures from Beijing, while the supply outlook for the coming years could be constrained by a lack of new mining projects. Notably, copper stocks at warehouses monitored by the three major futures exchanges have continued to decline. Over the past five weeks, particularly steep drops in Shanghai-monitored stocks have reduced total stock levels to 473,000 tons—the lowest since May. Source: Saxo Bank