Plus, China's feeling deflated |
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Hi John, here's what you need to know for July 10th in 3:12 minutes.

  1. The US president threatened to slap a 50% import tax on copper, sparking a buying frenzy that sent the metal’s price to a record high
  2. Why sitting in cash could cost you more than you realize – Read Now
  3. China's factory prices fell by the most in nearly two years, deepening deflation worries

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Not Cu
Not Cu

What’s going on here?

American copper prices hit a record high on Tuesday after the US president threatened – you guessed it – a fresh 50% tariff on the metal.

What does this mean?

That proposed 50% import tax was twice what investors were bracing for – and the curveball sent US copper prices flying past global ones as buyers scrambled to get their hands on the stuff. So much so, in fact, that the red metal had its biggest one-day price jump in decades. See, the US imports nearly half of all the copper it uses – mostly from Canada and Chile – and that’s got manufacturers feeling exposed. (One big importer even warned that supplies could simply be rerouted to China, leaving American firms in the lurch.) The president’s ultimate goal may be to increase homegrown output – but until that’s up and running, you can expect more price swings, trade tensions, and inflation headaches.

Why should I care?

Zooming in: Making things in America just got even pricier.

The newly created gap between US copper prices and international ones is sizable: New York copper is trading at around 25% more than the global average, as firms rush to stockpile the metal. That disparity is already weighing on some American companies’ stocks – especially in wiring, construction, and electronics. Because while US copper miners (like Freeport-McMoRan) might win big from all this, manufacturers likely won’t. That “Made in the USA” label just got more expensive – and the tariffs haven’t even taken effect yet.

The bigger picture: Pedal to the metals.

Beyond their physical application in all kinds of stuff, commodities like copper play an important, shock-absorbing role in your portfolio. When inflation heats up, stocks and bonds can start to lose their footing – but commodities tend to hold their ground. So right now, with the economic outlook still uncertain, keeping a few commodities in your investment mix could help deliver that balance.

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📚 Investors were reading...

❌ From X CEO... to ex-CEO: Linda Yaccarino is stepping down.

🦾 Nvidia hits $4 trillion in market value – the first company to do so.

🏎️ Brad Pitt’s pretty persuasive… Apple wants the streaming rights for Formula One racing.

FROM OUR RESEARCH DESK

How To Keep Your Portfolio Strong – And Your Cash Handy

Theodora Lee Joseph, CFA

How To Keep Your Portfolio Strong – And Your Cash Handy

The stock market doesn’t sit still for long. One month, it’s flying, and the next, it’s under pressure.

That’s why many investors keep a pile of cash on the sidelines. It feels safe and savvy – cash doesn’t crash.

But here’s the thing: cash doesn’t grow either. If your money isn’t invested, you miss out on the power of compounding – your money’s ability to make more money over time.

The good news is that you don’t have to choose between safety and growth. You can build a portfolio that’s tough enough to handle market shocks – and still keep cash on hand for when life throws a curveball.

That’s today’s Insight: how to keep your portfolio strong and your cash ready.

Read or listen to the Insight here

* SPONSORED BY DIREXION

China and the US have been arguing over rare earths lately.

No wonder: they’re essential for everything from batteries to defense systems. So, determined to bolster reserves, the US president has been pushing for more support for American mining.

The president’s expected to fast track a ton of projects, which could leave certain American infrastructure firms seeing dollar signs. If you see a comeback coming for US manufacturing, you could consider Direxion’s Daily Industrials Bull 3X Shares (DUSL):the fund aims to amplify the performance of the wider US Industrials Select Sector Index by 300%, before fees and expenses.

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Downhill Battle
Downhill Battle

What’s going on here?

China's factory prices fell hard in June, suffering their steepest decline in almost two years and ramping up deflation worries.

What does this mean?

Producer prices in China dropped 3.6% from the same time last year – a red flag from the economy. The pain was pretty sharp for export-heavy stuff, with solar equipment and electronic parts tumbling nearly 11%. But coal had it even worse: mining and related prices slid 22% in their worst fall since 2007. You could blame that on the rise of renewable energy – but with other industries falling too, the greater trend points to a slower global economy and oversupply issues. Chinese firms have been cranking out cheap products and flooding global markets for months, after all, so a slowdown was inevitable at some point.

Why should I care?

Zooming in: Silver, sparkly linings.

It wasn’t all bad news. China’s consumer prices unexpectedly inched into positive territory, ticking up 0.1% in their first foray above zero since January. Only, that was mostly thanks to a surge in shiny stuff. Gold and platinum jewelry prices respectively jumped 39% and 16% from a year ago. If you strip out those shimmering outliers, everything else looks pretty deflationary – and the country as a whole is on fairly shaky ground.

The bigger picture: Rare leverage.

China’s situation would be a lot more dire if it weren’t sitting on a global treasure chest of rare earths: the essential minerals used in everything from fighter jets to EVs and smartphones. That dominance gave the country some serious clout in its recent trade negotiations with the US, ultimately forcing the States to soften its harshest tariffs. Now, America’s racing to dig up its own rare earth supply, but that’s no overnight fix – far from it. So China’s got the upper hand for now, and it’s not afraid to use it.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY

"Imagination and fiction make up more than three quarters of our real life."

– Simone Weil (a French philosopher)
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Perfectly timing every move is impossible. But history indicates that those who stay invested — and keep building smart portfolios — tend to emerge from volatile times ahead of the rest.

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This is marketing material and not intended to be investment advice. Capital at risk. Tax rules can change, and the value of any benefits depend on your personal circumstances

When you support our sponsors, you support us. Thanks for that.

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🎯 On Our Radar

Don’t worry, the next Urgent Care is only… many, many miles away. America’s rural hospitals need help.

Keep your friends close, and your successors closer. Microsoft had some ironic (at best, and unkind at worst) advice for the staff it laid off.

It’s like a breakup, but the ex is in charge of your future reference. Here’s what to do if your boss takes your resignation badly.

America has another war on its hands. Rats, it’s on.

Real life really is stranger than fiction. The case of the poisoned cheesecake will keep you up at night.

🎙 Finimize Live

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🇺🇸 How To Navigate Today’s US Market: July 15th

🚀 Modern Investor Summit 2025: December 2nd and 3rd

Distributor: ALPS Distributors, Inc.*Direxion’s Disclaimers:

An investor should carefully consider a Fund’s investment objective, risks, charges, and expenses before investing. A Fund’s prospectus and summary prospectus contain this and other information about the Direxion Shares. Click here to obtain a Fund’s prospectus and summary prospectus or call 866-476-7523. A Fund’s prospectus and summary prospectus should be read carefully before investing.

Leveraged and Inverse ETFs pursue daily leveraged investment objectives which means they are riskier than alternatives which do not use leverage. They seek daily goals and should not be expected to track the underlying index over periods longer than one day. They are not suitable for all investors and should be utilized only by sophisticated investors who understand leverage risk and who actively manage their investments.

Direxion Shares Risks – An investment in the Fund involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. The Fund is non-diversified and includes risks associated with the Fund’s concentrating its investments in a particular industry, sector, or geography which can increase volatility. The use of derivatives such as futures contracts and swaps are subject to market risks that may cause prices to fluctuate over time.

Leverage Risk – The Fund obtains investment exposure in excess of its net assets by utilizing leverage and may lose more money in market conditions that are adverse to its investment objective than a fund that does not utilize leverage. A total loss may occur in a single day even if the Index does not lose all of its value. Leverage will also have the effect of magnifying any differences in the Fund’s correlation with the Index and may increase the volatility of the Fund.

Daily Index Correlation Risk – A number of factors may affect the Fund’s ability to achieve a high degree of correlation with the Index and therefore achieve its daily leveraged investment objective. The Fund’s exposure to the Index is impacted by the Index’s movement. Because of this, it is unlikely that the Fund will be perfectly exposed to the Index at the end of each day. The possibility of the Fund being materially over- or under-exposed to the Index increases on days when the Index is volatile near the close of the trading day.

Industrials Sector Risk — Stock prices of issuers in the industrials sector are affected by supply and demand both for their specific product or service and for industrials sector products in general.

Additional risks of the Fund include Effects of Compounding and Market Volatility Risk, Market Risk, Counterparty Risk, Rebalancing Risk, Intra-Day Investment Risk, Other Investment Companies (including ETFs Risk), Cash Transaction Risk, and Passive Investment and Index Performance Risk. Please see the summary and full prospectuses for a more complete description of these and other risks of the Fund.

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