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U.S. Economy News 5 January 2026 - 12 January 2026

Lithium Americas (LAC) stock: U.S. critical-minerals push puts Thacker Pass back in focus next week

Lithium Americas (LAC) stock: U.S. critical-minerals push puts Thacker Pass back in focus next week

New York, Jan 11, 2026, 18:04 EST — Market closed. Lithium Americas Corp (LAC) shares are set to attract attention when U.S. markets open Monday, amid Washington’s efforts to curb dependence on China for key battery minerals. The stock slipped roughly 2.4% Friday, finishing at $5.39 after swinging between $5.31 and $5.64 on volume near 9.9 million shares. This matters because the market is once again viewing lithium miners and developers through the lens of policy, not just as commodity bets. For Lithium Americas, the implications are clear: any shift in U.S. supply support or lithium price forecasts can send
12 January 2026
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Why Alcoa stock bounced after a JPMorgan downgrade as U.S. aluminium premiums hit records

Why Alcoa stock bounced after a JPMorgan downgrade as U.S. aluminium premiums hit records

NEW YORK, Jan 10, 2026, 18:29 EST — Market closed Alcoa Corporation shares ended Friday up 4.2% at $63.67, capping a choppy two-session stretch that started with a sharp drop after a broker downgrade. (Yahoo Finance) The rebound did not erase the fresh skepticism. JPMorgan analyst Bill Peterson cut Alcoa to “underweight” from “neutral” on Thursday, even as he raised his price target to $50 from $45, according to a note circulated by StreetInsider. (StreetInsider.com) The timing matters because the pricing backdrop has shifted fast. U.S. buyers are paying record highs for aluminium, driven by tariffs and unusually low domestic
11 January 2026
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Dow Jones flips positive after weak U.S. jobs print, with Supreme Court tariff call looming

Dow Jones flips positive after weak U.S. jobs print, with Supreme Court tariff call looming

New York, Jan 9, 2026, 10:03 EST — Regular session The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 14.30 points, or 0.03%, to 49,280.41 by about 9:45 a.m. EST, after a choppy open. The S&P 500 rose 0.28% and the Nasdaq gained 0.29%. (Investing.com) The early move mattered less than the message from the jobs data: hiring looks soft enough to keep pressure off yields, but not so weak that it screams recession. With the Federal Reserve expected to pause this month after a run of rate cuts late last year, investors were trying to map out how much easing is
9 January 2026
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MYR Group stock sinks nearly 8% as infrastructure contractors slide ahead of U.S. jobs data

MYR Group stock sinks nearly 8% as infrastructure contractors slide ahead of U.S. jobs data

New York, Jan 8, 2026, 15:03 EST — Regular session MYR Group Inc shares were down 7.6% at $218 on Thursday afternoon, putting the electrical contractor among the sharper decliners in U.S. infrastructure-linked stocks. The stock opened higher and then slid, hitting an intraday low of $215.30. The selling came as major U.S. indexes eased and Treasury yields firmed, with investors reluctant to add risk before Friday’s nonfarm payrolls report. That report is a key input for rate-cut bets because it can shift views on growth and inflation. Reuters Fresh labor-market data did little to calm nerves. Initial jobless claims
8 January 2026
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Nvidia’s China upfront-payment demand puts AI stocks in focus ahead of U.S. payrolls

Nvidia’s China upfront-payment demand puts AI stocks in focus ahead of U.S. payrolls

New York, January 8, 2026, 06:41 (EST) — Premarket Nvidia shares rose about 1% to $189.11 in premarket trade on Thursday after sources said the chipmaker is demanding full upfront payment from Chinese buyers of its H200 artificial-intelligence chips. The terms leave customers no option to cancel or ask for refunds once an order is placed, the people said. Reuters The tighter stance matters because China demand is a swing factor for AI stocks that have powered the rally, and policy risk is now showing up in contracts, not just headlines. Beijing has asked some Chinese tech firms to halt
8 January 2026
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Dow Jones futures slip ahead of U.S. jobs report as Trump defense budget call lifts RTX

Dow Jones futures slip ahead of U.S. jobs report as Trump defense budget call lifts RTX

New York, Jan 8, 2026, 05:58 EST — Premarket Dow Jones Industrial Average futures edged lower on Thursday after the blue-chip index logged its steepest one-day drop since Nov. 18, with traders bracing for Friday’s U.S. jobs report. Defense names climbed after President Donald Trump called for a $1.5 trillion military budget for 2027; by 5:08 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis — futures tied to the index — were down 146 points, or 0.30%, while S&P 500 E-minis fell 0.22% and Nasdaq 100 E-minis dropped 0.31%, and RTX gained 4.9%. Jefferies economist Mohit Kumar said a shift toward more government intervention
8 January 2026
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Rithm Capital (RITM) stock slips below $11 as rate bets shift ahead of U.S. jobs data

Rithm Capital (RITM) stock slips below $11 as rate bets shift ahead of U.S. jobs data

New York, January 6, 2026, 10:53 EST — Regular session Rithm Capital Corp shares were down about 1.5% at $10.99 in morning trading on Tuesday, drifting back below the $11 mark a day after a sharp gain. The stock is still roughly 14% below its 52-week high of $12.74. StockAnalysis The move matters because Rithm sits in the mortgage REIT corner of the market, where valuations can swing quickly with interest-rate expectations. Mortgage REITs use borrowing to buy mortgage-related assets, so changes in bond yields can alter funding costs and book value — the value of assets minus liabilities per
6 January 2026
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Rocket Companies stock steadies in premarket after 6% jump as rate bets turn on U.S. data

Rocket Companies stock steadies in premarket after 6% jump as rate bets turn on U.S. data

New York, January 6, 2026, 08:42 EST — Premarket Rocket Companies’ shares hovered around $21.10 in premarket trading on Tuesday, after the mortgage lender closed up 6.14% at $21.10 a day earlier. Monday’s session saw the stock trade as high as $21.43 and as low as $19.90. StockAnalysis The move matters because Rocket tends to track shifts in interest-rate expectations. Treasury yields — a key benchmark for mortgage rates — slipped after a weaker-than-expected reading of U.S. manufacturing activity, feeding hopes borrowing costs ease further into 2026. Yahoo Finance Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari on Monday flagged the risk
6 January 2026
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U.S. factory slump won’t quit: ISM hits 14-month low as tariffs keep costs high

U.S. factory slump won’t quit: ISM hits 14-month low as tariffs keep costs high

WASHINGTON, Jan 5, 2026, 14:30 EST U.S. manufacturing activity sank to a 14-month low in December, with a closely watched ISM survey showing a 10th straight month of contraction as tariff-driven costs stayed high. ( Yahoo Finance) The Institute for Supply Management’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) — a diffusion index where readings below 50 signal contraction — slipped to 47.9 from 48.2 in November, ISM said. Manufacturing is a smaller slice of the economy than services, but it is highly sensitive to trade rules and shifts in demand. ( MarketWatch) The report lands as businesses and investors assess how President
5 January 2026
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Natural gas price stock UNG slides as Henry Hub futures tumble 5% on warm U.S. outlook

Natural gas price stock UNG slides as Henry Hub futures tumble 5% on warm U.S. outlook

New York, January 5, 2026, 14:17 EST — Regular session Shares of the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) fell about 4% on Monday as benchmark U.S. natural gas futures dropped more than 5% in winter trade. The NYSE Arca-listed fund was down 4.1% at $11.57, while the February Henry Hub contract fell 5.5% to $3.419 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), a standard unit for gas pricing. CME Group The move matters now because the market is still in the heart of the heating season, when a few degrees of temperature change can quickly rewrite demand expectations. Meteorologists are
5 January 2026
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Centrus Energy stock jumps after U.S. lines up $900 million nuclear fuel award

Centrus Energy stock jumps after U.S. lines up $900 million nuclear fuel award

New York, January 5, 2026, 11:57 EST — Regular session Shares of Centrus Energy Corp climbed 4.8% to $285.60 by late morning, after rising as much as 9.0% earlier in the session, following a report that the U.S. is awarding the nuclear fuel supplier $900 million. Trading volume was about 817,000 shares, with the stock ranging from $275.00 to $297.05. Bloomberg Government The proposed award lands as Washington pushes to rebuild a domestic supply chain for low-enriched uranium, or LEU — the standard fuel used by most nuclear power reactors. The Energy Department has said Russia holds about 44% of
5 January 2026
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Exxon Mobil stock faces Monday test as Trump pitches Venezuela oil rebuild for U.S. giants

Exxon Mobil stock faces Monday test as Trump pitches Venezuela oil rebuild for U.S. giants

NEW YORK, Jan 5, 2026, 03:46 ET — Market closed Exxon Mobil (XOM) shares are in focus ahead of Monday’s session after President Donald Trump said U.S. oil companies would spend “billions of dollars” to restore Venezuela’s “badly broken” oil infrastructure, hours after Nicolás Maduro was captured and removed by U.S. forces. Analysts cautioned that the effort would run into years of repairs and a U.S. embargo that Trump said remains in place. “It will take tens of billions of dollars to turn that industry around,” said Peter McNally, global head of sector analysts at Third Bridge. Reuters The news
5 January 2026
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Stock Market Today

Rio Tinto stock jumps as Glencore mega-merger is shelved; what to watch next week

Rio Tinto stock jumps as Glencore mega-merger is shelved; what to watch next week

7 February 2026
Rio Tinto’s U.S. shares closed up 2.5% at $93.37 Friday after the company ruled out a merger with Glencore, triggering a six-month “no-bid” lockout under UK takeover rules. Both companies cited disagreements over valuation. Attention now turns to Rio’s Feb. 19 results and iron ore prices, which fell below $100 a tonne amid weak Chinese demand.
iFAST share price drops 3% as markets shut; earnings next week in focus

iFAST share price drops 3% as markets shut; earnings next week in focus

7 February 2026
iFAST shares fell 3.2% to S$9.64 in heavy trading Friday, closing near the day’s low as investors awaited FY2025 results due Feb. 12. The stock is about 13% below its 52-week high. iFAST recently agreed to buy a 30% stake in Financial Alliance for S$19.6 million, pending regulatory approval. Assets under administration stood at S$30.62 billion as of Sept. 30.
Sembcorp Industries share price: what to watch after Friday dip as Feb 25 results near

Sembcorp Industries share price: what to watch after Friday dip as Feb 25 results near

7 February 2026
Sembcorp shares closed at S$6.05 on Friday, down 0.33%, as Singapore’s STI dropped 0.8%. Shareholders approved the A$6.5 billion Alinta Energy takeover on Jan 30, but the deal still faces regulatory and closing conditions. Sembcorp will release FY2025 results on Feb 25 before market open. Trading volume reached about 4.3 million shares.
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