ReportWire

Tag: Basic Materials/Resources

  • German Economy Shows Signs of Revival

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    The German economy may be showing signs of a life after more than half a decade of stagnation.

    Europe’s largest economy has suffered a series of recent blows, including a surge in energy costs after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, higher tariffs on its exports to the U.S and fierce competition from China in key sectors such as automobiles.

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    Don Nico Forbes

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  • The Failed Crusade to Keep a Rare-Earths Mine Out of China’s Hands

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    For years, a mining project in Africa held the promise of helping free the West from its dependence on China for rare earths. Some weeks back, it fell into Chinese hands.

    The failure of Peak Rare Earths, an Australian mining company, to build a China-free supply of rare-earth minerals offers a look at how Beijing came to dominate the global supply of critical minerals—a position it is now deftly leveraging for geopolitical gain. China has choked off the supply of rare earths to wring key concessions from President Trump in his trade war.

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    Jon Emont

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  • Storied South African Club Embodies Decline of Former Gold Capital

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    JOHANNESBURG—In 1886, prospectors struck gold here on a stretch of farmland more than a mile above sea level. 

    The Rand Club was founded a year later by mining magnates, including Cecil John Rhodes, who walked the future streets of Johannesburg and selected a corner for what he deemed an essential gentlemen’s club.

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    Alexandra Wexler

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  • Opinion | End U.S. Energy Dependence

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    The Trump administration’s renewed focus on securing critical minerals highlights an urgent truth, reinforced in “China Aims to Keep U.S. Military From Obtaining Its Rare Earths” (U.S. News, Nov. 12): America’s energy future depends on what we build and where we build it.

    For too long, we have relied on foreign sources for the rare-earth elements and advanced materials that power everything from electric grids and defense systems to the data centers fueling artificial intelligence. Even with the rare-earths deal Mr. Trump struck with China last month, more action is required to diversify supplies and strengthen domestic production as an essential step toward energy security.

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  • A New Rare-Earths Plant in Europe Shows How Tough Breaking China’s Grip Will Be

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    Europe is trying to get itself on the global rare-earths map, and a new facility on Russia’s border is its opening bid.

    The city of Narva in Estonia, once a textiles hub for the Russian Empire, is now host to Europe’s biggest production plant for the kinds of rare-earth magnets needed in electric cars and wind turbines. It is part of Europe’s push to secure a foothold in a global supply chain dominated at every step by China. Built by Canada’s Neo Performance Materials and financed in part by the European Union, the factory is expected to begin commercial deliveries to companies including the German car-parts supplier Robert Bosch next year.

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    Kim Mackrael

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  • Alaska’s New Mining Rush Chases Something More Coveted Than Gold

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    ESTER, Alaska—At a mining site here, Rod Blakestad cracked open a shiny rock with his pick. He found quartz, a sign that the rock may contain gold.

    But Blakestad, a veteran gold hunter, tossed the rock aside. He and his team of geologists were searching for something even more sought-after: antimony, an obscure element widely used in the defense industry that is now at the center of the bitter U.S.-China trade fight.

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    Jon Emont

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  • How China’s Chokehold on Drugs, Chips and More Threatens the U.S.

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    BEIJING—China has demonstrated it can weaponize its control over global supply chains by constricting the flow of critical rare-earth minerals. President Trump went to the negotiating table when the lack of Chinese materials threatened American production, and he reached a truce last week with Chinese leader Xi Jinping that both sides say will ease the flow of rare earths.

    But Beijing’s tools go beyond these critical minerals. Three other industries where China has a chokehold—lithium-ion batteries, mature chips and pharmaceutical ingredients—give an idea of what the U.S. would need to do to free itself fully from vulnerability. 

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    Yoko Kubota

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  • Trump Says Xi Will Help Fight Fentanyl. Will China Follow Through?

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    For years, the U.S. and China have been locked in a pattern on the deadly issue of fentanyl. The White House pressures Beijing to stop Chinese companies from exporting chemicals used to make the drug to Mexico. Beijing takes incremental steps in exchange for Washington dialing down economic pressure—only for China to drag its feet when relations deteriorate.

    President Trump, after a summit on Thursday with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, said tariffs he had imposed on China over its role in the fentanyl trade would be lowered to 10% from 20% because of Beijing’s “very strong action” in cracking down and Xi’s commitment to do more.

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    Brian Spegele

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  • America’s Hottest New Investment: Rare-Earth Companies

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    A cascade of billion-dollar deals is reshaping the once-dormant Western critical-minerals industry, which the U.S. and its allies hope will act as a bulwark against aggressive trade practices by China.

    Since China began restricting exports of rare earths in April—causing auto factories to halt production and rare-earth prices to shoot up—a wave of private and government funding has flowed into rare-earth companies. They now have money to hire technical experts, expand plants and make strategic acquisitions as they race to build out a non-Chinese supply of materials required in high-tech manufacturing.

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    Jon Emont

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  • It Sits on a Vast Haul of Mineral Wealth. Now This Arctic City Must Be Moved.

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    The underground wealth beneath the Arctic city of Kiruna fuels Sweden’s economy and is a central cog in one of Europe’s core defense industries. It has also, quite literally, undermined the city’s foundation, prompting an unprecedented urban relocation project.

    Kiruna is home to one the world’s largest deposits of iron ore, used to produce Swedish jet fighters and combat vehicles. Two years ago, mining officials announced that the city, about 90 miles north of the Arctic Circle, also sits on what could be the largest find of rare earths in Europe.

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    Sune Engel Rasmussen

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  • Opinion | Allies United Against China on Rare Earths

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    Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday he plans to coordinate with allies to counter China’s weaponization of rare-earth minerals. It’s the right move, though he might find it easier to rally the world if President Trump weren’t also hitting our allies with unprovoked unilateral tariffs.

    Mr. Bessent earlier in the week accused Beijing of pointing “a bazooka at the supply chains and the industrial base of the entire free world,” by threatening global export controls on products that contain even minuscule amounts of Chinese rare earths. He’s right. China has a stranglehold on these minerals, and it’s a serious problem.

    Copyright ©2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

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    The Editorial Board

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  • Trump Threatens Higher Tariffs on China Citing Restrictions on Rare-Earth Elements

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    President Trump threatened to raise tariffs and impose export controls on China and said there was “no reason” to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping after Beijing’s new restrictions on rare-earth materials marked an escalation in tensions between the countries.

    China this week announced new export restrictions on rare earth minerals, which are critical components of products from semiconductors to electric vehicles and jet fighters. China dominates processing capabilities for rare earth minerals, giving it leverage over the U.S. and other nations.

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    Gavin Bade

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  • China Tightens Grip on Rare Earths Ahead of Expected Trump-Xi Meeting

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    SINGAPORE—China tightened its control over critical minerals used to make high-tech products including electric vehicles and jet fighters, threatening to reignite trade tensions with the U.S. ahead of an expected meeting between President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

    China’s Commerce Ministry said Thursday that foreign suppliers must obtain approval from Beijing to export some products with certain rare-earth materials originating from China if they account for 0.1% or more of the good’s total value. Goods produced with certain technologies from China are also subject to the export controls. Both restrictions apply to products manufactured outside of China.

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    Hannah Miao

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  • Trio Wins Nobel Prize in Chemistry for Work on Molecular Construction

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    Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson and Omar M. Yaghi were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for developing a new form of molecular architecture called metal-organic frameworks that can harvest water from desert air, capture carbon dioxide, store toxic gases or catalyze chemical reactions.

    The structures, metal ions connected by carbon-based linkers, have large holes that allow other molecules to flow in and out, almost like rooms in a house. They can capture and release gases, water or other substances. Changing the size or shape of its components can make a countless amount of new frameworks designed for specific substances, reactions or to conduct electricity.

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    Brianna Abbott

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  • Are Cheerios and Quaker Oats safe to eat? Experts weigh in on new pesticide concerns. 

    Are Cheerios and Quaker Oats safe to eat? Experts weigh in on new pesticide concerns. 

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    Should you pass on that morning bowl of cereal or oatmeal?

    That’s what some people may be asking in light of a study released this week by the Environmental Working Group, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit focused on agricultural and chemical-safety laws in the U.S. The study looked at the prevalence of a pesticide called chlormequat in oat-based food products, including cereals like Cheerios and Quaker Oats. 

    The EWG said it found detectable levels of the chemical in 92% of nonorganic oat-based foods purchased in May 2023.

    “Studies in laboratory animals show that chlormequat can cause harm to the normal growth and development of the fetus and damage the reproductive system,” Olga Naidenko, vice president at the EWG, told MarketWatch. Those risks, the EWG report noted, can include reduced fertility. 

    It has not been proven that the substance affects humans in the same way the studies cited by the EWG found it does lab animals, and there are other studies that have found chlormequat had no effect on reproduction in pigs or mice, or any impact on fertilization rates in mice.

    The EWG is still advocating that concerned consumers buy organic oat products as an alternative, however. 

    “Certified organic oats are, by law, grown without synthetic pesticides,” Naidenko said. 

    Representatives for General Mills
    GIS,
    +1.28%
    ,
    the company that makes Cheerios, and PepsiCo
    PEP,
    -0.92%
    ,
    which owns Quaker Oats, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. 

    ‘Any family raising kids or thinking about starting a family should do whatever they can do to avoid chlormequat. It’s not a safe product.’


    — Charles Benbrook, a scientific consultant who focuses on pesticides

    The EWG’s recommendation to go organic was echoed by experts that MarketWatch contacted. 

    Charles Benbrook, a scientific consultant based in Washington state who focuses on pesticides, said he’s an oatmeal eater who chooses organic oatmeal “when I can get it.”

    Regarding chlormequat, Benbrook said, “It’s not a safe product.”

    “Any family raising kids or thinking about starting a family should do whatever they can do to avoid chlormequat,” he said.

    Melissa Furlong, an assistant professor of environmental health sciences at the University of Arizona, said it’s important to note that chlormequat is not the only pesticide that is found in oat-based cereals. There’s still much we need to learn about the health effects the substance might have on humans, she added.

    “That’s not to say it isn’t the worst [pesticide]. We don’t really know,” Furlong said. 

    Chlormequat has not been approved for use on food crops grown in the U.S., according to the EWG, but it can be found in oats and oat products from other countries. Under the Trump administration, the Environmental Protection Agency started allowing imports of such products into the U.S., the EWG noted, which is why chlormequat can be found in some cereals sold in this country.

    The EPA is considering approving chlormequat for use on crops grown in the U.S., according to the agency’s website. In a call for public comment on its proposed decision, the agency said, “Based on EPA’s human health risk assessment, there are no dietary, residential, or aggregate (i.e., combined dietary and residential exposures) risks of concern.”

    The EPA didn’t respond immediately to a request for comment.

    For her part, Furlong said that while she usually buys organic oat products, she isn’t rigid about it — and she might still buy the occasional box of Cheerios.

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  • Even Cloudflare's CEO says that viral firing video is 'painful' — here's what went wrong

    Even Cloudflare's CEO says that viral firing video is 'painful' — here's what went wrong

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    A tech employee’s recording of the meeting firing her from a sales role at Cloudflare
    NET,
    -1.79%

    has spurred criticism of the company — and a broader conversation about the right way to let employees go.

    Viewers have called the roughly 10-minute TikTok video, which went viral this week, “sad” and a “disaster.” Even Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince responded on X (formerly Twitter) that it was “painful for me to watch.”

    In the video captioned, “POV: You’re about to get laid off,” former Cloudflare account executive Brittany Pietsch logs into a virtual meeting with an HR representative and a director at the company, both of whom she says she’s never met before. In a caption, Pietsch writes that she assumed they were meeting to let her go, because she had heard from coworkers who had been axed already.

    In the video, the company reps say that Pietsch hadn’t met performance expectations, and that Cloudflare had decided to “part ways” with her. Pietsch’s response is what has pushed this clip to be shared all over social-media newsfeeds: She asks for an explanation for why she, specifically, is being let go by the company, particularly because she’s a new employee who hasn’t heard any negative feedback. She also asks why her manager isn’t a part of this termination meeting.

    “Every single one-on-one [meeting] I’ve had with my manager, every conversation I’ve had with him — he’s been giving me nothing but ‘I am doing a great job,’” she says during the meeting. “I’m just definitely very confused and would love an explanation that makes sense.” 

    The director, who can’t be seen in the video, says he “won’t be able to go into specifics” on Pietsch’s performance. 

    In a statement to MarketWatch, a Cloudflare spokesperson clarified that the company did not conduct layoffs, and is not engaged in a reduction of force. “When we do make the decision to part ways with an employee, we base the decision on a review of an employee’s ability to meet measurable performance targets,” the Cloudflare statement said. “We regularly review team members’ performance and let go of those who aren’t right for our team. There is nothing unique about that review process or the number of people we let go after performance review this quarter.”

    Pietsch did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

    Company CEO Prince added on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the company fired 40 salespeople out of 1,500 in its go-to-market division. “That’s a normal quarter,” he wrote in his post. “When we’re doing performance management right, we can often tell within 3 months or less of a sales hire, even during the holidays, whether they’re going to be successful or not.” 

    But he also added: “We try to fire perfectly. In this case, clearly we were far from perfect. The video is painful for me to watch. Managers should always be involved. HR should be involved, but it shouldn’t be outsourced to them … We don’t always get it right.”

    Many viewers seem to agree, as the video has drawn close to 200,000 views on TikTok and millions of views on X, along with going viral on Reddit.

    “Total disaster on both sides,” lawyer Eric Pacifici said. 

    “Totally unfair to her,” wrote Austen Allred, CEO of the online-coding bootcamp Bloom Institute of Technology. “Pretty sad across the board.” 

    On LinkedIn, Pietsch gave her own response to the social-media uproar. She said that her manager was unaware that she was being let go, and that she asked questions during the meeting not to try and save her job, but rather to get greater clarity on why she had been singled out for termination. 

    “I’ll never be able to wrap my mind around it,” she wrote in the post. “We as employees are expected to give 2 weeks notice and yet we don’t deserve even a sliver of respect when the roles are reversed?”

    What’s the right way to fire an employee? 

    It’s never easy to part ways with an employee, according to Molly, a human-resources consultant who runs the TikTok account HR Molly, which has 80,000 followers. She asked only to be identified by her first name for privacy reasons. 

    But that being said, it’s very important to treat affected employees with respect. That can include sharing as much information as possible about why the decision is being made. 

    “I tell people that even if you catch someone stealing, even that termination meeting should have a level of decency,” she said. “It seems like there’s a significant consensus that the meeting [in the viral video] lacked some dignity.”

    It’s also important to understand these kinds of conversations will be difficult for an employee no matter what, Molly added. 

    “We know this impacts people and we know this is emotional and that it’s harmful. How can we do it in a way that creates the least amount of additional harm?” she said, noting that she picked up the concept from fellow TikTok creator and diversity consultant Ciarra Jones. “Companies need to prioritize the well-being of the employee that’s impacted.” 

    As for recording your layoff or firing meeting — that can be risky, Molly said, and downright illegal in states that require you to receive consent before doing so.

    But companies and HR professionals would be wise to remind themselves that, in this day and age, it can happen, she said. And if a camera or tape recorder would change the way you handle an interaction, it’s a good sign to reevaluate.

    According to its company website, Cloudflare has dozens of job postings for open positions across the company, including sales roles.

    In her LinkedIn post, Pietsch said that she’s not very concerned about any backlash over the video that might impede her chances of getting another job. 

    “Any company that wouldn’t want to hire me because I shared a video of how a company fired me or because I asked questions as to why I was being let go is not a company I would ever want to work for anyway,” she wrote.

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  • U.S. manufacturing sector shrinks for 14th straight month in December

    U.S. manufacturing sector shrinks for 14th straight month in December

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    The numbers: A closely watched index that measures U.S. manufacturing activity rose by 0.7 percentage point to 47.4 in December, according to the Institute for Supply Management on Wednesday.

    Economists surveyed by the Wall Street Journal had forecast the index to rise to 47.2. 

    Any number below 50 reflects a shrinking economy. Manufacturing has contracted for 14 straight months.

    Key details: The key new-orders index fell 1.2 percentage points to 47.1 in December.

    Production rose 1.8 percentage points to 50.3 from the prior month. Employment picked up slightly but remained below the 50-percentage-point threshold.

    Prices fell 4.7 percentage points to 45.2. That’s the biggest drop since May 2023. Inventories were down 0.5 percentage point to 44.3 in December.

    Customer inventories dipped back below 50 last month to 48.1 in December.

    Only one industry, primary metals, reported growth in December, while 16 reported contractions.

    Layoffs picked up in December, concentrated in the computer and electronics, machinery, and food and beverage sectors.

    Big picture: The contraction in manufacturing is the longest since 2000-01, after the dot-com bubble exploded, said Jay Hawkins, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets.

    Economists said that depressed capital spending has been the key drag on the factory sector, along with weak global trade. They expect that a sharp drop in long-term interest rates will improve the picture, but the change won’t happen overnight.

    What the ISM said: Tim Fiore, chair of the ISM manufacturing survey committee, was relatively upbeat about the data. He said the sector was closing the year in a “really good position” and forecast that the ISM factory index would rise above the 50-percentage-point threshold by March. Fiore said he also expects the inventory number to pick up in coming months.

    What economists said: “The survey indicates that conditions in the factory sector remain unusually weak and that output is likely to continue declining for at least a few more months,” said Andrew Hunter, deputy chief U.S. economist at Capital Economics.

    Market reaction: Stocks
    DJIA

    SPX
    were lower in early trading on Wednesday, while the yield on the 10-year Treasury note
    BX:TMUBMUSD10Y
    rose to just below 4%.

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  • The Russell 2000 Index has soared, but you might be better off looking elsewhere for quality small-cap stocks

    The Russell 2000 Index has soared, but you might be better off looking elsewhere for quality small-cap stocks

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    The Russell 2000 Index soared 12% in December, which might reflect investors’ exuberance about the state of the U.S. economy — it appears the Federal Reserve has won its battle against inflation.

    But if you are looking to broaden your exposure to the stock market beyond the large-cap S&P 500
    SPX,
    buying shares of a fund that tracks the Russell 2000 Index
    RUT
    might not be the best way to do it. This is because the Russell 2000 isn’t selective — it is made up of the smallest 2,000 companies by market capitalization in the Russell 3000 Index
    RUA,
    which itself is designed to capture about 98% of the U.S. public equity market.

    A better choice might be the S&P Small Cap 600 Index
    SML
    because S&P Global requires companies to show four consecutive quarters of profitability to be initially included in the index, among other criteria.

    Below is a screen of analysts’ favorite stocks among the S&P Small Cap 600, along with another for the Russell 2000.

    Watch for a “head fake”

    Much of the small-cap buying in December might have resulted from covering of short positions by hedge-fund managers. This idea is backed by the timing of trading activity immediately following the Federal Open Market Committee’s announcement on Dec. 13 that it wouldn’t change its interest-rate policy, according to MacroTourist blogger Kevin Muir. The Fed’s economic projections released the same day also indicate three cuts to the federal-funds rate in 2024.

    Heading into the end of the year, a fund manager who had shorted small-caps, and then was surprised by the Fed’s interest-rate projections, might have scrambled to buy stocks it had shorted to close-out the positions and hopefully lock in gains, or limit losses.

    That buying activity and resulting pop in small-cap prices could set up a typical “head fake” for investors as the new year begins, according to Muir.

    The long-term case for quality

    Looking at data for companies’ most recently reported fiscal quarters, 58% of the Russell 2000 reported positive earnings per share, according to data provided by FactSet. In other words, hundreds of these companies were losing money. These might include promising companies facing “binary events,” such as make-or-break drug trials in the biotechnology industry.

    In comparison, 78% of companies among the S&P Small Cap 600 were profitable, and 93% of the S&P 500 were in the black.

    Here are long-term performance figures for exchange-traded funds that track all three indexes:

    ETF

    Ticker

    2023

    3 years

    5 years

    10 years

    15 years

    20 years

    iShares Russell 2000 ETF

    IWM 17%

    7%

    61%

    99%

    428%

    365%

    iShares Core S&P Small Cap ETF

    IJR 16%

    25%

    69%

    129%

    540%

    515%

    SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust

    SPY 26%

    34%

    108%

    210%

    629%

    527%

    Source: FactSet

    An approach tracking the S&P Small Cap 600 has outperformed the Russell 2000 for all periods, with margins widening as you go further back.

    Brett Arends: You own the wrong small-cap fund. How to get into a better one.

    Looking ahead for quality… or not

    For the first screen, we began with the S&P Small Cap 600 and narrowed the list to 385 companies covered by at least five analysts polled by FactSet. Then we cut the list to 92 companies with “buy” or equivalent ratings among at least 75% of the covering analysts.

    Here are the 20 remaining stocks among the S&P Small Cap 600 with the highest 12-month upside potential indicated by analysts’ consensus price targets:

    Company

    Ticker

    Share “buy” ratings

    Dec. 29 price

    Consensus price target

    Implied 12-month upside potential

    Vir Biotechnology Inc.

    VIR,
    +4.47%
    88%

    $10.06

    $32.00

    218%

    Arcus Biosciences Inc.

    RCUS,
    +3.04%
    82%

    $19.10

    $41.00

    115%

    Xencor Inc.

    XNCR,
    +6.03%
    92%

    $21.23

    $39.83

    88%

    Dynavax Technologies Corp.

    DVAX,
    +2.86%
    100%

    $13.98

    $24.80

    77%

    ModivCare Inc.

    MODV,
    +0.95%
    100%

    $43.99

    $75.50

    72%

    Xperi Inc

    XPER,
    +1.81%
    80%

    $11.02

    $18.20

    65%

    Thryv Holdings Inc.

    THRY,
    100%

    $20.35

    $32.75

    61%

    Ligand Pharmaceuticals Inc.

    LGND,
    +1.25%
    100%

    $71.42

    $114.80

    61%

    Green Plains Inc.

    GPRE,
    -1.67%
    80%

    $25.22

    $40.30

    60%

    Patterson-UTI Energy Inc.

    PTEN,
    +0.28%
    75%

    $10.80

    $17.00

    57%

    Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Inc. Class A

    IRWD,
    +8.48%
    83%

    $11.44

    $17.83

    56%

    Catalyst Pharmaceuticals Inc.

    CPRX,
    +1.78%
    100%

    $16.81

    $26.20

    56%

    Payoneer Global Inc.

    PAYO,
    -3.45%
    100%

    $5.21

    $8.00

    54%

    Helix Energy Solutions Group Inc.

    HLX,
    -2.63%
    83%

    $10.28

    $15.00

    46%

    Arlo Technologies Inc.

    ARLO,
    -3.05%
    100%

    $9.52

    $13.80

    45%

    Pacira Biosciences Inc.

    PCRX,
    -5.16%
    100%

    $33.74

    $48.40

    43%

    Privia Health Group Inc.

    PRVA,
    +2.95%
    100%

    $23.03

    $32.53

    41%

    Semtech Corp.

    SMTC,
    -1.23%
    92%

    $21.91

    $30.90

    41%

    Talos Energy Inc.

    TALO,
    +1.19%
    78%

    $14.23

    $20.00

    41%

    Digi International Inc.

    DGII,
    -1.21%
    100%

    $26.00

    $36.14

    39%

    Source: FactSet

    Any stock screen should only be considered a starting point. You should do your own research to form your own opinion before making any investment. one way to begin is by clicking on the tickers for more about each company.

    Click here for Tomi Kilgore’s detailed guide to the wealth of information available for free on the MarketWatch quote page.

    Moving on to the Russell 2000, when we narrowed this group to stocks covered by at least five analysts polled by FactSet, we were left with 936 companies. Among these, 355 have “buy” or equivalent ratings among at least 75% of the covering analysts.

    Among those 355 stocks in the Russell 2000, these 20 have the highest implied upside over the next year, based on consensus price targets:

    Company

    Ticker

    Share “buy” ratings

    Dec. 29 price

    Consensus price target

    Implied 12-month upside potential

    Karyopharm Therapeutics Inc.

    KPTI,
    +4.18%
    75%

    $0.87

    $6.00

    594%

    Rallybio Corp.

    RLYB,
    +0.42%
    100%

    $2.39

    $16.50

    590%

    Vor Biopharma Inc.

    VOR,
    -0.89%
    100%

    $2.25

    $15.44

    586%

    Tenaya Therapeutics Inc.

    TNYA,
    -0.62%
    100%

    $3.24

    $19.14

    491%

    Compass Therapeutics Inc.

    CMPX,
    -5.13%
    86%

    $1.56

    $9.17

    488%

    Vigil Neuroscience Inc.

    VIGL,
    +2.66%
    88%

    $3.38

    $18.75

    455%

    Trevi Therapeutics Inc.

    TRVI,
    -2.99%
    100%

    $1.34

    $7.33

    447%

    Inozyme Pharma Inc.

    INZY,
    +1.64%
    100%

    $4.26

    $21.00

    393%

    Gritstone bio Inc.

    GRTS,
    +6.86%
    100%

    $2.04

    $10.00

    390%

    Actinium Pharmaceuticals Inc.

    ATNM,
    +4.72%
    83%

    $5.08

    $23.36

    360%

    Lineage Cell Therapeutics Inc.

    LCTX,
    86%

    $1.09

    $4.83

    343%

    Century Therapeutics Inc.

    IPSC,
    +9.64%
    86%

    $3.32

    $14.67

    342%

    Acrivon Therapeutics Inc.

    ACRV,
    +1.83%
    100%

    $4.92

    $21.13

    329%

    Avidity Biosciences Inc.

    RNA,
    +1.22%
    100%

    $9.05

    $37.50

    314%

    Longboard Pharmaceuticals Inc.

    LBPH,
    +316.25%
    100%

    $6.03

    $24.17

    301%

    Omega Therapeutics Inc.

    OMGA,
    -1.33%
    100%

    $3.01

    $12.00

    299%

    Allogene Therapeutics Inc.

    ALLO,
    +12.77%
    82%

    $3.21

    $12.79

    298%

    X4 Pharmaceuticals Inc.

    XFOR,
    +5.21%
    86%

    $0.84

    $3.26

    289%

    Caribou Biosciences Inc.

    CRBU,
    -2.79%
    89%

    $5.73

    $22.25

    288%

    Stoke Therapeutics Inc.

    STOK,
    +11.41%
    78%

    $5.26

    $19.33

    268%

    Source: FactSet

    That’s right — this Russell 2000 list is all biotech. And in case you are wondering if any companies are on both lists, the answer is no.

    Don’t miss: 11 dividend stocks with high yields expected to be well supported in 2024 per strict criteria

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  • These 20 stocks soared the most in 2023

    These 20 stocks soared the most in 2023

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    (Updated with Friday’s closing prices.)

    The 2023 rally for stocks in the U.S. accelerated as more investors bought the idea that the Federal Reserve succeeded in its effort to bring inflation to heel.

    The S&P 500
    SPX
    ended Friday with a 24.2% gain for 2023, following a 19.4% decline in 2022. (All price changes in this article exclude dividends). Among the 500 stocks, 65% were up for 2023. Below is a list of the year’s 20 best performers in the benchmark index.

    This article focuses on large-cap stocks. MarketWatch Editor in Chief Mark DeCambre took a broader look at all U.S. stocks of companies with market capitalizations of at least $1 billion, to list 10 with gains ranging from 412% to 1,924%.

    The Fed began raising short-term interest rates and pushing long-term rates higher in March 2022 by allowing its bond portfolio to run off. That explains the poor performance for stocks in 2022, as bonds and even bank accounts because more attractive to investors.

    The central bank hasn’t raised the federal-funds rate since moving it to the current target range of 5.25% to 5.50% in July, and its economic projections point to three rate cuts in 2024.

    Investors are anticipating the return to a low-rate environment by scooping up 10-year U.S. Treasury notes
    BX:TMUBMUSD10Y,
    whose yield ended the year at 3.88%, down from 4.84% on Oct. 27 — the day of the S&P 500’s low for the second half of 2023.

    Read: Treasury yields end mostly higher but little changed on year after wild 2023

    Before looking at the list of best-performing stocks of 2023, here’s a summary of how the 11 sectors of the S&P 500 performed, with the full index and three more broad indexes at the bottom:

    Sector or index

    2023 price change

    2022 price change

    Price change since end of 2021

    Forward P/E

    Forward P/E at end of 2022

    Forward P/E at end of 2023

    Information Technology

    56.4%

    -28.9%

    11.5%

    26.7

    20.0

    28.2

    Communication Services

    54.4%

    -40.4%

    -7.6%

    17.4

    14.3

    21.0

    Consumer Discretionary

    41.0%

    -37.6%

    -11.4%

    26.2

    21.7

    34.7

    Industrials

    16.0%

    -7.1%

    8.0%

    20.0

    18.7

    22.0

    Materials

    10.2%

    -14.1%

    -4.9%

    19.5

    15.8

    16.6

    Financials

    9.9%

    -12.4%

    -3.4%

    14.6

    13.0

    16.3

    Real Estate

    8.3%

    -28.4%

    -21.6%

    18.3

    16.9

    24.7

    Healthcare

    0.3%

    -3.6%

    -3.3%

    18.2

    17.7

    17.3

    Consumer Staples

    -2.2%

    -3.2%

    -5.4%

    19.3

    20.6

    21.4

    Energy

    -4.8%

    59.0%

    51.8%

    10.9

    9.8

    11.1

    Utilities

    -10.2%

    -1.4%

    -11.4%

    15.9

    18.7

    20.4

    S&P 500
    SPX
    24.2%

    -19.4%

    0.4%

    19.7

    16.8

    21.6

    Dow Jones Industrial Average
    DJIA
    13.7%

    -8.8%

    3.8%

    17.6

    16.6

    18.9

    Nasdaq Composite
    COMP
    43.4%

    -33.1%

    -3.5%

    26.9

    22.6

    32.0

    Nasdaq-100
    NDX
    53.8%

    -33.0%

    3.5%

    26.3

    20.9

    30.3

    Source: FactSet

    A look at 2023 price action really needs to encompass what took place in 2022 for context. The broad indexes haven’t moved much from their levels at the end of 2022 (again, excluding dividends). We have included current forward price-to-earnings ratios along with those at the end of 2021 and 2022. These valuations have declined a bit, which may provide some comfort for investors wondering how likely it is for stocks to continue to rally in 2024.

    Biggest price increases among the S&P 500

    Here are the 20 stocks in the S&P 500 whose prices rose the most in 2023:

    Company

    Ticker

    2023 price change

    2022 price change

    Price change since end of 2021

    Forward P/E

    Forward P/E at end of 2022

    Forward P/E at end of 2021

    Nvidia Corp.

    NVDA,
    239%

    -50%

    68%

    24.9

    34.4

    58.0

    Meta Platforms Inc. Class A

    META,
    -1.22%
    194%

    -64%

    5%

    20.2

    14.7

    23.5

    Royal Caribbean Group

    RCL,
    -0.37%
    162%

    -36%

    68%

    14.3

    14.9

    232.4

    Builders FirstSource Inc.

    BLDR,
    -1.02%
    157%

    -24%

    95%

    14.2

    10.7

    13.3

    Uber Technologies Inc.

    UBER,
    -2.49%
    149%

    -41%

    47%

    56.9

    N/A

    N/A

    Carnival Corp.

    CCL,
    -0.70%
    130%

    -60%

    -8%

    18.7

    41.3

    N/A

    Advanced Micro Devices Inc.

    AMD,
    -0.91%
    128%

    -55%

    2%

    39.7

    17.7

    43.1

    PulteGroup Inc.

    PHM,
    -0.26%
    127%

    -20%

    81%

    9.1

    6.3

    6.2

    Palo Alto Networks Inc.

    PANW,
    -0.24%
    111%

    -25%

    59%

    50.2

    38.0

    70.1

    Tesla Inc.

    TSLA,
    -1.86%
    102%

    -65%

    -29%

    66.2

    22.3

    120.3

    Broadcom Inc.

    AVGO,
    -0.55%
    100%

    -16%

    68%

    23.2

    13.6

    19.8

    Salesforce Inc.

    CRM,
    -0.92%
    98%

    -48%

    4%

    28.0

    23.8

    53.5

    Fair Isaac Corp.

    FICO,
    -0.46%
    94%

    38%

    168%

    47.1

    29.3

    28.7

    Arista Networks Inc.

    ANET,
    -0.62%
    94%

    -16%

    64%

    32.7

    22.3

    41.4

    Intel Corp.

    INTC,
    -0.28%
    90%

    -49%

    -2%

    26.6

    14.6

    13.9

    Jabil Inc.

    JBL,
    -0.45%
    87%

    -3%

    81%

    13.5

    7.9

    10.3

    Lam Research Corp.

    LRCX,
    -0.81%
    86%

    -42%

    9%

    25.2

    13.5

    20.2

    ServiceNow Inc.

    NOW,
    +0.57%
    82%

    -40%

    9%

    56.0

    42.6

    90.1

    Amazon.com Inc.

    AMZN,
    -0.94%
    81%

    -50%

    -9%

    42.0

    46.7

    64.9

    Monolithic Power Systems Inc.

    MPWR,
    -0.23%
    78%

    -28%

    28%

    49.1

    27.3

    57.9

    Source: FactSet

    Click on the tickers for more about each company.

    Click here for Tomi Kilgore’s detailed guide to the wealth of information available for free on the MarketWatch quote page.

    Don’t miss: Nvidia tops list of Wall Street’s 20 favorite stocks for 2024

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