Futures: Overnight, LME lead opened at $1,937.5/mt. During the Asian session, it moved sideways around the intraday moving average. After entering the European session, it rose to a high of $1,945.5/mt, then fluctuated rangebound at high levels before pulling back to a low of $1,932/mt. Before the close, it edged up slightly to recover part of the losses, and finally closed at $1,935.5/mt, down $3/mt, or 0.15%. Overnight, the most-traded SHFE lead contract opened at 16,605 yuan/mt. After dipping to 16,550 yuan/mt in early trading, it rebounded and consolidated near the intraday moving average, finally closing at 16,595 yuan/mt, down 35 yuan/mt from the previous day, or 0.21%. On the macro front: The fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress closed in Beijing. The meeting voted to adopt the resolution on the government work report and reviewed and approved the outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan, charting the course for economic and social development over the next five years. Data released by the US Department of Labor on Thursday showed that although the February nonfarm payrolls report released last week came in weaker than expected, the mild pullback in initial jobless claims indicated that the scale of corporate layoffs remained limited, with employers still more inclined to retain workers. This eased market concerns about a sharp deterioration in the labour market. After the data release, major US stock indexes maintained their declines, while energy stocks were among the few sectors that rose due to a sharp increase in oil prices. Spot Fundamentals: In the Shanghai market, Chihong lead was quoted at discounts of 50-0 yuan/mt against the SHFE lead 2604 contract. The center of SHFE lead moved further lower, and suppliers shipped in line with market conditions. In addition, with delivery approaching, some suppliers became less willing to sell, and quotations appeared somewhat firmer, with significantly fewer transactions at large discounts. Among them, ex-factory quotations in major primary lead producing areas were at discounts of 25 yuan/mt to premiums of 25 yuan/mt against the SMM #1 lead average price. Meanwhile, circulation of spot cargo in the secondary lead market was limited, and secondary refined lead was quoted ex-factory around parity against the SMM #1 lead average price. Downstream enterprises mainly purchased under long-term contracts, with limited spot order replenishment, while some purchased as needed. Trading in the spot market was subdued on both sides. Inventory: As of March 12, LME lead inventory fell by 375 mt to 284,500 mt; as of March 12, SMM social inventory of lead ingots across five regions continued its accumulation trend. Lead Price Forecast for Today: Approaching the weekend, operating rates at primary lead smelters in Hunan gradually resumed, though they had not yet returned to full production, and primary lead quotations in Hunan and Guangdong remained relatively firm. As the delivery date of the SHFE lead 2603 contract approached, suppliers were shifting inventory to delivery warehouses one after another, and social inventory of lead ingots continued to become more visible. With more imported lead arriving at ports and China refined lead supply gradually recovering, spot cargo in the spot market was relatively ample. Downstream enterprises had more procurement options, actively negotiated prices, and bought the dip. In the short term, the accumulation trend in social inventory of lead ingots is expected to be difficult to reverse, and lead prices are expected to remain in the doldrums.

[SMMS Morning Meeting Summary: Sudden Geopolitical Risks in the Middle East, Zinc Prices Expected to Fluctuate at Highs] Last Friday, LME zinc recorded three consecutive days of decline, with the daily candlestick center shifting downward. The core PPI in the US reached its fastest growth rate in a year, complicating the US Fed's monetary policy. Additionally, over the weekend, a sudden geopolitical conflict erupted in the Middle East, leading to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz...

[Price Review] During the Chinese New Year holiday, overseas precious metals were affected by multiple factors including US macro policies and Middle East geopolitical conflicts. Silver prices showed a V-shaped reversal trend, falling first and then rising. As of the closing on February 23, spot silver in London closed at $88.17 per ounce, up approximately 13.8% compared to the pre-holiday closing price of $77.46 per ounce on February 13. A pre-holiday decline in US stocks, combined with weakened liquidity, dragged down overseas precious metal prices, which continued to fall in the early part of the Chinese New Year holiday week. Subsequently, the US released its Q4 GDP growth for last year, which fell short of expectations, leading precious metals to stop falling and rebound. Last Friday (February 20), the US Supreme Court ruled to repeal most of the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration last year, and Trump immediately announced an additional 10% tariff on all global imports to the US over the next 150 days. This news reignited market concerns about trade conflicts and economic downturn. Additionally, stalled US-Iran negotiations, which could lead to a worsening situation in the Middle East, stimulated safe-haven demand. Precious metals surged significantly during the session, recovering previous losses, with silver leading the gains sharply. After the Chinese New Year holiday this week, uncertainties around tariff policies and geopolitical impacts continued to ferment. Domestic silver prices opened higher and extended their strong upward trend. After SHFE deliveries concluded on Thursday, spot cargo flowed out, and previously imported crude silver materials entered the market after processing, temporarily alleviating the tight supply of national standard silver ingots. Approaching the weekend, silver prices showed some weakness in continuing their rally. Regarding the gold/silver ratio, as silver led the precious metals gains during the holiday against a backdrop of low inventory levels, the gold/silver ratio dropped back slightly below 60 times. As of February 25, the LBMA gold/silver ratio pulled back to about 57 times. [Important Data] Bullish: US EIA crude oil inventories for the week ending February 13 were -9.014 million barrels, lower than the previous value and expectations. The final University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index for February was 56.6, lower than the previous value and expectations. Bearish: US initial jobless claims for the week ending February 14 were 206,000, lower than the previous value and expectations. The US core PCE price index annual rate for December was 3%, higher than the previous value and expectations. US EIA crude oil inventories for the week ending February 20 were 1,598.9, higher than the previous value and expectations. Data and macro news releases to focus on next week include: This Friday, the US will release the January core PCE price index, the inflation indicator most closely watched by the US Fed, which will directly impact monetary policy expectations. On March 6 (Friday) at 21:30, the US will release the February seasonally adjusted non-farm payrolls data and unemployment rate, key indicators for assessing the US labour market conditions and the US Fed's policy direction. Next week, Fed Chairman Powell and several governors and voting members will deliver speeches, requiring attention to their latest statements on inflation, the job market, and the impact of tariff policies. U.S.-Iran situation: The third round of indirect talks between the U.S. and Iran was held on February 26, with both sides reaching consensus on the guiding principles for negotiations, but core disagreements remain. The U.S. military has deployed two aircraft carriers to the Middle East, and the period from March to July 2026 is a high-risk window, requiring vigilance against risks of negotiation breakdown or escalation of military friction. [Price Forecast] Silver prices have ended the wild swings in the short term. As London silver prices break through the 50-day daily average and stabilize above key support levels, bulls are expected to return to the market. Overall, overseas silver prices may move sideways next week, but risks of high fluctuations due to further escalation of U.S.-Iran negotiation outcomes and Trump's tariff policies still require caution. On the domestic spot price front, despite robust downstream demand, previously imported crude silver and large ingots have been processed and refined and are gradually entering the market. Some suppliers have slightly lowered their premium quotes, and further narrowing of domestic silver ingot premium is expected.

During the Chinese New Year holiday, overseas precious metals were affected by multiple factors such as US macro policies and Middle East geopolitical conflicts, with silver prices showing a V-shaped reversal trend, falling first and then rising. As of the close on February 23, London spot silver settled at $88.17 per ounce, up approximately 13.8% from the pre-holiday closing price of $77.46 per ounce on February 13. Due to the drag from pre-holiday US stock declines and weakening liquidity, overseas precious metals continued their decline at the beginning of last week, with silver and platinum once falling below the 60-day moving average and gold losing the 20-day moving average. Subsequently, as the US announced that the Q4 GDP growth rate fell short of expectations, precious metals stopped falling and rebounded. After the US Supreme Court ruled to revoke most tariffs imposed by the Trump administration last year and Trump immediately announced an additional 10% tariff on globally imported goods to the US within the next 150 days, market concerns over trade conflicts and economic downturn were reignited. Coupled with the deadlock in US-Iran negotiations potentially worsening the Middle East situation, which stimulated safe-haven demand, precious metals surged significantly during the session and recovered previous losses, with silver leading the gains. During the 2026 Chinese New Year holiday, refined silver supply from copper, lead, and zinc smelters mainly maintained stable production, while large-scale downstream enterprises such as silver nitrate and alloy manufacturers generally suspended operations for the holiday. Except for a few small and medium-sized silver-based material, jewelry, and some industrial users processing urgent orders normally, downstream consumption temporarily stalled due to holiday factors and the high silver price and premium market conditions. Although multiple smelters mentioned accumulated in-factory inventory after the holiday, compared to previous years, the destocking speed for the accumulated inventory after the 2026 holiday was faster. Some manufacturers transferred in-factory inventory to social warehouses on the first day after the holiday and prepared for delivery or sold directly at market premiums. Smelter in-factory inventory levels are expected to gradually decrease to safe levels. Looking ahead this week, although import tariffs on investment-grade gold and silver are exempted, the policy's impact on US dollar assets and its boost to precious metal allocation demand will both benefit gold and silver prices. The market will further price in the impact of Trump's tariffs. In the spot market, physical investment demand for precious metals may again see stockpiling and rush to buy amid continuous price rises. Some downstream enterprises expect to purchase physical goods from the exchange after the delivery of the SHFE February contract ends, thus cautiously watching the high premium quotes for circulating supplies after the holiday. Additionally, it is worth noting that the significant volatility in silver prices in early 2026 and the hedging liquidity pressure brought by the exchange's raised margins have prompted intermediate silver-containing material processing manufacturers to weigh between maintaining customer relationships with orders at breakeven or even small losses and halting production to stop losses. Although downstream enterprises resumed normal operations after the holiday, most industrial enterprises basically did not take new orders during the holiday. Post-holiday orders for silver nitrate and electronic/electrical intermediate processing products are expected to be average. Spot transactions are mainly driven by investment demand, with jewelry and investment silver bar processing recovering quickly. Industrial consumption end-users currently have low acceptance of the significantly increased prices and post-holiday spot premiums, thus placing orders relatively cautiously. After the holiday, the precious metals market is partially hot but overall sluggish. Besides macro disturbances and geopolitical changes, subsequent attention should still be paid to premium changes after the delivery of the SHFE front-month contract and whether low inventory in overseas COMEX will again cause price anomalies.

[SMM Aluminum Morning Meeting Minutes: AI Concerns Triggered a Broad Decline in Risk Assets, Aluminum Prices Under Pressure and in the Doldrums] Overall, the bullish sentiment in the nonferrous metals market cooled down, coupled with high inventory pressure on the fundamentals, aluminum prices were in the doldrums this week. During the Chinese New Year holiday, the domestic market was closed, while the LME market continued trading. Be cautious of fluctuations in the macro market and the LME market during the holiday, which may cause volatility in aluminum prices after the holiday.

Influenced by CME's further increase in margin requirements overnight, precious metal prices continued their sharp decline today, with sellers maintaining firm prices and holding back sales. In Shanghai, suppliers offered few premium quotes against TD, with individual suppliers holding back sales and adopting a wait-and-see attitude with premiums of 4,500-5,000 yuan/kg against TD or 3,900 yuan/kg against the 2604 contract. In Guangdong, smelters reported transactions with premiums of 3,500-3,800 yuan/mt against TD for cargoes self-picked up from production sites. However, according to purchasing traders, downstream enterprises generally adopted a wait-and-see approach today, with overall weak purchasing interest for high premiums. Market transactions were limited to small-lot deals with high premium quotes in Shenzhen, with trading volume less than 100 kg. Spot market circulation remained tight today. Despite the sharp decline in futures, the supply of circulating cargoes in the trading market was limited. Some downstream enterprises expected a post-holiday adjustment in the current premium quotes, leading to very cautious stockpiling before the holiday, resulting in overall weak market transactions.

SMM Nickel November 21: Macro and Market News: (1) September non-farm payrolls unexpectedly surged by 119,000, but the unemployment rate climbed to 4.4%, the highest in four years, complicating the US Fed's interest rate cut decision; interest rate markets still priced in no rate cut by the Fed in December. (2) As the mixed non-farm payrolls data failed to dispel market doubts about a December Fed rate cut, the US dollar index maintained fluctuating trend above the 100 mark, hitting a six-month high during the session, and ultimately closed up 0.105% at 100.23; all three major US stock indices fell, with the Dow down 0.84%, the S&P 500 down 1.55%, and the Nasdaq Composite down 2.15%. Spot Market: On November 21, SMM #1 refined nickel prices were 114,400-119,000 yuan/mt, with an average price of 116,700 yuan/mt, down 1,500 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. The mainstream spot premiums for Jinchuan #1 refined nickel were quoted in the range of 4,000-4,400 yuan/mt, with an average premium of 4,200 yuan/mt, up 100 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. The spot premiums/discounts for mainstream domestic brands of electrodeposited nickel were quoted in the range of 0-500 yuan/mt. Futures Market: The most-traded SHFE nickel contract (2601) fluctuated rangebound during the night session; after the morning session opened, prices fell sharply, and by the midday close, it was quoted at 114,110 yuan/mt, down 1.70%. US September non-farm payrolls data exceeded expectations, showing economic resilience; the latest Fed meeting minutes indicated a high degree of caution within the Fed about declaring victory over inflation. The market was generally under pressure and fell today. Overall, against the backdrop of macro pressure and high inventory, nickel prices are expected to remain in the doldrums.

SMM7月14日讯： 金属市场方面: 截至午间收盘，内盘基本金属近全线下行，沪铝跌1.76%，沪铜跌0.15%，沪镍跌0.18%。沪铅跌0.29%、沪锌跌0.89%，沪锡涨0.37%。 此外，铸造铝主连期货跌1.35%，氧化铝主连跌1.14%。碳酸锂涨3.43%，工业硅跌0.12%。多晶硅跌0.82%。 黑色系多飘绿，铁矿微涨，螺纹、热卷分别跌0.22%、0.18%。不锈钢跌0.43%。双焦方面：焦煤跌0.16%，焦炭涨0.66%。 外盘金属方面，截至11:40分，LME金属涨跌互现，伦铝跌0.94%。伦镍涨0.18%。伦锌跌0.07%。伦锡涨0.36%。伦铅跌0.3%。伦铜涨0.33%。 贵金属方面，截至11:40分，COMEX黄金涨0.23%，COMEX白银涨0.58%；国内方面，沪金涨0.66%；沪银涨2.01%，盘中刷新历史新高至9267元/千克。全球最大黄金上市交易基金(ETF)--SPDR Gold Trust公布，截至周五(7月11日)，其黄金持仓量为947.64吨，减少1.16吨，或0.12%。前一交易日为948.8吨。美国商品期货交易委员会（CFTC）周五公布的报告显示，截至7月8日当周，黄金投机客减持COMEX黄金期货和期权净多头头寸1,855手，至134,842手。 截至午间收盘，欧线集运主力合约跌0.33%，报2010点。 截至7月14日11:40分，部分期货午间行情: 》7月14日SMM金属现货价格 现货及基本面 铜： 截至7月14日周一，SMM全国主流地区铜库存环比上周四增加0.39万吨至14.76万吨；相比上周四库存的变化，各地区库存除了上海地区外其他地区普遍增加...... 》点击查看详情 宏观面 国内方面: 【海关总署：上半年我国货物贸易进出口同比增长2.9% “新三样”产品增长12.7%】 国务院新闻办公室今日上午10时举行新闻发布会，请海关总署副署长王令浚等介绍2025年上半年进出口情况，并答记者问。Wang Lingjun introduced: Since the beginning of this year, under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, China has adhered to the general principle of pursuing progress while ensuring stability, remained steadfast in managing its own affairs, unswervingly expanded high-standard opening up, and focused on stabilizing employment, enterprises, markets, and expectations while effectively responding to external shocks. The national economy has maintained overall stability with progress, and China's foreign trade has withstood pressures, sustained momentum, and demonstrated vitality amid complex environments. According to customs statistics, in the first half of this year, China's import and export of goods totaled 21.79 trillion yuan, up 2.9% YoY. Among these, exports reached 13 trillion yuan, increasing by 7.2%, while imports stood at 8.79 trillion yuan, down 2.7%. Specific features are highlighted in five aspects: 1) Steady growth in foreign trade scale. In H1, China's import and export scale exceeded 20 trillion yuan, reaching a record high for the same period. From a quarterly perspective, Q2 imports and exports grew 4.5% YoY, accelerating by 3.2 percentage points compared to Q1, marking seven consecutive quarters of YoY growth. 2) Diversification of foreign trade partners. 3) Optimized and upgraded export momentum. In H1, China's machinery and equipment exports reached 7.8 trillion yuan, up 9.5%, accounting for 60% of total exports—a 1.2 percentage point increase compared to the same period last year. High-end equipment closely related to new quality productive forces grew by over 20%, while "new three" products representing green and low-carbon sectors increased by 12.7%. 4) Expanding domestic demand stabilized imports. With policies like "implementing major national strategies" and "large-scale equipment upgrades" taking effect, imports turned positive in Q2. In H1, China's imports of machinery equipment for petrochemical and textile sectors achieved double-digit growth, key parts like electronic components grew rapidly, and imports of crude oil, metal ores, and other critical raw materials increased. 5) Vitality of foreign trade entities continued to release. 》Click for details [PBOC injects 119.7 billion yuan net liquidity today] The People's Bank of China conducted 226.2 billion yuan in 7-day reverse repo operations today at an unchanged interest rate of 1.40%. With 106.5 billion yuan in 7-day reverse repos maturing, the net injection reached 119.7 billion yuan. ► On July 14, the central parity rate of the yuan in the interbank foreign exchange market was 7.1491 yuan per US dollar. US dollar update: As of 11:40, the US dollar index rose 0.09% to 97.96. US President Trump announced in a letter to the European Commission that a 30% tariff will be imposed on all European goods starting August 1. Several EU analysts have stated that announcing tariff hikes is a negotiating tactic employed by Trump. The market is currently awaiting the US inflation data for June, which will be released on Tuesday, to gain more clues about the US Fed's path for interest rate hikes. According to media reports on Friday, Austan Goolsbee, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, said that Trump's new tariffs could spark fresh concerns about inflation, which might force the US Fed to remain on the sidelines. In other currencies: The euro fell to a three-week low on Monday, and the Mexican peso also came under pressure after US President Trump threatened to impose a 30% tariff on imports from the US's two largest trading partners starting August 1. Trump sent letters to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Saturday, announcing the new tariffs. In response, the EU and Mexico called the tariffs unfair and disruptive. The EU said it would suspend retaliatory measures against US tariffs until early August while continuing to urge a negotiated solution. During the Asian morning session, the foreign exchange market's reaction to Trump's latest tariff threats was largely mediocre, with only the euro falling to a roughly three-week low. The market has become increasingly insensitive to Trump's series of tariff threats. His recent stirring up of global trade turmoil has hardly been able to stop the US stock market from repeatedly hitting new highs, and has only slightly boosted the US dollar. Taylor Nugent, a senior economist at National Australia Bank, said it was difficult to attribute the market's mediocre reaction in the past week to either increased resilience or self-delusion. However, negotiations are still ongoing, and the recent key substantive progress was that the July 9 deadline for reciprocal tariffs had arrived without any tariff rate increases, making it difficult for the market to price in a series of major news items that were said to determine the tariff levels on August 1. Data: Today, data such as China's M2 money supply annual growth rate for June (time uncertain from July 14 to 17), China's total social financing for the year to date in June (time uncertain from July 14 to 17), and China's new yuan-denominated loans for the year to date in June (time uncertain from July 14 to 17) will be released. In addition, it is worth noting that the State Council Information Office will hold a press conference on financial statistics for the first half of 2025; the National Energy Administration will release data on total electricity consumption around the 15th of each month; and US President Trump plans to make a "major announcement" on Russia. Crude oil: Both crude oil futures rose slightly. As of 11:40, US crude oil was up 0.13%, and Brent crude oil was up 0.16%. Concerns that further US sanctions on Russia could affect global supply have supported oil prices, but increased production by Saudi Arabia and ongoing tariff uncertainties have limited the gains in oil prices. 国际能源署(IEA)称，沙特6月石油日产量超出目标43万桶，达到980万桶/日，而根据OPEC 配额该国的产量目标应为937万桶/日。沙特能源部周五表示，沙特完全遵守了OPEC 的自愿产量目标，并补充称，沙特6月的市场原油供应量为935.2万桶/日，符合配额要求。 美国能源服务公司贝克休斯(Baker Hughes)周五在其备受关注的报告中表示，美国能源公司本周连续第11周削减石油和天然气钻机数量，为2020年7月以来首次。数据显示，截至7月11日当周，未来产量的先行指标--美国石油和天然气钻机总数减少2座至537座，为2021年10月以来最低水平。（文华综合） 现货市场一览: ► 周末全国主流地区铜库存增加0.39万吨【SMM周度数据】 ► 铜价回落且月差收窄，下游采购积极性上升【SMM华南铜现货】 ► 交割日临近 市场氛围表现安静【SMM华北铜现货】 ► 上海锌：现货成交一般 升水继续走低【SMM午评】 ► 宁波锌：下游订单走弱 成交表现平淡【SMM午评】 ► 【SMM铁矿石航运】全球铁矿石发运量和到港量同步小幅下滑6% ► 【SMM钢材航运】上周中国出口钢材总量环比上升28% ► 【SMM煤焦航运】上周焦煤到港213.36万吨 环比+40.05万吨 ► 需求减弱但下游囤货意愿增强 光伏玻璃7月冷修产能再增【SMM分析】 其他金属现货午评稍后更新，敬请刷新查看~

Rick Rule, a seasoned investor and the president and CEO of Rule Investment Media, warned that the recent downturn in the US dollar is far from over. He predicts that within the next decade, the US dollar will lose 75% of its "purchasing power," while gold prices could surge to $12,000 per ounce.

As reminded by a Caixin article on Tuesday evening, overnight and into the morning, overseas markets have been busy reassessing the prospects of the Middle East conflict, with the three major US stock indices collectively under pressure and declining. As of Tuesday's close, the S&P 500 fell 0.84% to 5,982.72 points; the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.91% to 19,521.09 points; and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.7% to 42,215.8 points. As a bellwether for the Middle East conflict, international oil prices surged again. (Daily chart of Brent crude oil, source: TradingView) According to CCTV News, as the military conflict between Israel and Iran continues, the market's focus has shifted to whether the US military will intervene. According to reports, US President Trump met with his national security team in the White House Situation Room on Tuesday to weigh whether to further intervene in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran. US Treasury bond prices also rose simultaneously, though this was also related to weak US retail, housing, and industrial output data. Later on Wednesday (early Thursday Beijing time), the US Fed will announce its latest interest rate decision and hold a press conference. The market generally expects that before a series of uncertainties that could trigger inflation are resolved, Fed officials will have no room to cut interest rates. Meanwhile, Andrew Tyler, head of global market intelligence at JPMorgan Chase, who successfully predicted the April rebound, said this week that despite the success of investors' strategy of buying the dip in the US stock market this year, with negative news always being rewarded after fading away, it is now best to reduce risk exposure. Regardless of the Israel-Iran situation, the US stock market itself is already ripe for a correction. The latest Bank of America Fund Manager Survey also shows that about 54% of institutional investors expect international stocks to be the best-performing asset class over the next five years, while only 23% choose US stocks. Performance of Popular Stocks Tech giants generally fell on Tuesday, with Apple down 1.4%, Microsoft down 0.23%, Amazon down 0.59%, Nvidia down 0.39%, Google-A down 0.46%, Tesla down 3.88%, and Meta down 0.7%. Chinese ADRs also weakened due to market sentiment, with the Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index closing down 1.77%. As of the close, Alibaba was down 0.8%, JD.com was down 0.93%, Baidu was down 1.42%, Pinduoduo was down 0.25%, Bilibili was down 2.6%, NIO was down 2.27%, NetEase was down 1.12%, and Futu Holdings was down 1.47%. The "Traditional Chinese Medicine + Brain-Computer Interface" concept stock that captured market attention yesterday, Brain Regeneration Technology, continued to rise by 30%, reaching a market capitalization of $38.5 billion, with a cumulative increase of 59,900% since the beginning of the year. It should be emphasized that the core reason for the stock's speculative surge lies in its extremely small free float. Company News [Amazon CEO Issues Warning on "AI Taking Jobs"] On Tuesday local time, Andy Jassy, CEO of Amazon, the world's largest e-commerce and cloud computing platform, publicly wrote that as the company widely adopts AI to enhance efficiency, it is expected that the overall workforce will be reduced. [US Energy Giant Chevron Officially Enters Lithium Industry] US energy giant Chevron announced on Tuesday its entry into the lithium industry. The company acquired two oilfield areas with the intention of building a "commercial-scale" lithium business in the US. Chevron stated that in the future, it will utilize the "Direct Lithium Extraction" (DLE) process at oilfields to extract lithium from brine. [Coinbase to Seek SEC Approval for Tokenized Equities] Paul Grewal, Chief Legal Officer of Coinbase, a cryptocurrency exchange and newly added member of the S&P 500 Index, revealed that the company is seeking approval from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to launch a "tokenized equities" service. [Eli Lilly to Acquire Gene-Editing Startup Verve for $1.3 Billion] On Tuesday Eastern Time, US pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly announced that it would acquire gene-editing startup Verve Therapeutics for up to $1.3 billion. In response to this news, Verve's stock price closed up 81.50% on Tuesday. [JPMorgan Chase Launches Deposit Token JPMD, Emphasizing It's Different from Stablecoins] JPMorgan Chase stated on Tuesday that it plans to launch a so-called deposit token, JPMD, on Coinbase's public blockchain Base, which is built on the Ethereum network. The token will provide customers with 24/7 settlement services and the ability to pay interest to holders. The Wall Street giant stated that this is a so-called "permissioned token," meaning it is limited to JPMorgan Chase's institutional clients only—different from most publicly circulating stablecoins. [Tesla's Stock Falls Due to Temporary Production Halt News] Tesla's stock price fell by 3.88% on Tuesday amid news that the company would suspend production of the Cybertruck and Model Y car models at its Austin, Texas, factory for a week. It is reported that the production halt for maintenance will begin on June 30, marking the third similar shutdown at the Austin factory in the past year. [Meta to Launch AI Glasses in Collaboration with Prada and Oakley] Market news on Tuesday reported that Meta and its AI glasses partner EssilorLuxottica plan to launch new AI glasses products under the Prada and Oakley brands. Meta had already announced on Monday that it would unveil a new collaboration with Oakley this week, focusing on sports scenarios. [Intel Reportedly to Cut Up to 20% of Employees in Its Foundry Division] An internal memo disclosed by the media on Tuesday revealed that Intel plans to reduce its workforce in the foundry business unit by 15% to 20% starting from July. It remains unclear how many employees will be directly affected by this move. Regulatory filings indicate that as of the end of last year, Intel had a total of 108,900 employees.