The global cobalt market is projected to expand from USD 16.12 billion in 2025 to USD 34.73 billion by 2035, with a CAGR of 7.23%. Growth is driven by increasing demand in electric vehicles, renewable energy technologies, and industrial applications. Cobalt sulfate currently dominates the market, while industrial chemicals and aerospace sectors are expected to accelerate growth. Asia-Pacific leads in market share, though North America is anticipated to experience higher growth rates.

RWC Asset Advisors completely liquidated its Li Auto position, selling 1,638,544 shares worth approximately $33 million in Q4 2025. The exit represents a full abandonment of a holding that comprised 6.8% of the fund's assets. Li Auto shares have declined 38% over the past year amid weak earnings, declining revenue, and challenges in the Chinese EV market.

The cobalt market is projected to grow from 258.99 million tons in 2026 to 398.2 million tons by 2031 at an 8.98% CAGR, driven by rising EV battery production, aerospace superalloys demand, and 5G infrastructure deployment. The DRC dominates global supply at 76%, while new production from Indonesia and North America is expected to ease supply constraints.

Kawa Capital Management fully liquidated its $6.49 million position in Gerdau S.A. (2,094,404 shares) in Q4, reducing exposure from 11.8% to 0% of assets under management. This comes after Gerdau shares surged 47% over the past year, significantly outperforming the S&P 500's 14% gain. The fund's exit appears driven by portfolio risk management following the sharp rally, despite the company's strong fundamentals including steady cash generation, capital returns, and balance sheet strength.

Vale (VALE) closed up 4.29% at $15.57 on January 21, 2026, with trading volume surging 74% above its three-month average to 57.9 million shares. The mining and materials sector rebounded as investors reacted positively to President Trump's Davos speech, which eased tensions regarding potential tariffs and a U.S. takeover of Greenland. Peer mining stocks BHP Group and Rio Tinto Group also gained significantly on the day.

Leverage Shares by Themes launched seven new 2X leveraged single-stock ETFs on December 18, 2025, offering 200% daily performance exposure to stocks including Nio, Snap, Baidu, Centene, KLA, Petrobras, and Vale. These products carry a 0.75% expense ratio and are designed for short-term traders rather than long-term investors. The expansion brings Leverage Shares' total single-stock daily leveraged ETF offerings to 60.

A BMI study suggests iron ore prices will gradually decline due to rising seaborne supply, macroeconomic pressures in China, and a shift towards less steel-intensive sectors, with prices expected to fall from $95/ton in 2026 to $78/ton by 2034.

Serabi Gold reported strong financial and operational performance in Q3 2025, with gold production increasing 19% to 32,634 ounces, EBITDA rising 95% to $48.2 million, and cash balance growing to $38.8 million.

Contrarian Capital Management acquired a new stake in Baidu, signaling the company's strategic transformation from a search engine to an AI-focused technology provider with promising developments in cloud services and AI models.

Kawa Capital Management bought 340,000 additional shares of Vale in Q3 2025, bringing total holdings to 1,020,000 shares with an estimated trade value of $3.47 million. Vale represents 20.1% of Kawa Capital's assets under management.

United Steelworkers Local 2020-05 members have ratified a four-year collective agreement with Vale, securing a five-percent wage increase in the first year, followed by three-percent increases, and a $3,500 signing bonus. The agreement includes improved pension, health, safety, and workplace provisions.

Serabi Gold reported strong financial performance in the first half of 2025, with gold production increasing 14% to 20,545 ounces, EBITDA more than doubling to $26.3 million, and post-tax profit rising to $18.9 million, driven by higher gold prices and improved operational efficiency.