Category: Flash News

On December 28th, several industry insiders told Caixin reporters that the trend of rare earth prices in 2025 may be better than this year’s market, and there will still be some increase in orders in the mid to high end sector, but it is expected that the growth rate will slow down slightly. According to our research in Ganzhou, rare earth enterprises in Longnan area are expected to resume normal production in the second quarter of next year. Based on the rare earth indicators released in previous years, growth has become a routine, and coupled with the good performance of downstream demand, it is expected that the rare earth indicators will continue to increase next year. “(Wang Bin, Caixin reporter)

On December 28th, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement stating that in response to the 15th round of sanctions imposed by the European Union on Russia, Russia has expanded the list of prohibited entry for European institutions and representatives of EU member states. Persons who are prohibited from entering the country include officials from powerful EU agencies responsible for providing military assistance to Ukraine, personnel from state institutions and business organizations, as well as citizens of EU member states; Staff members of European and EU national institutions involved in prosecuting Russian officials, establishing “courts” against Russian leaders, supporting the confiscation of Russian state-owned assets or providing their profits to Ukraine, implementing sanctions against Russia, and attempting to undermine Russia’s relations with other countries, on the grounds of so-called “illegal arrests and transfer of residents from Ukrainian territory”; Civilian activists and academic representatives who stand out through their speeches; EU member states and European Parliament members who vote in favor of anti Russian resolutions and bills.

On December 28th, independent expert in the industrial sector, Leonid Hazanov, stated that lithium prices in the world market will decrease by 5% to 10% against the backdrop of large-scale factories being put into operation in Mali, but not for too long as prices will rise within a few months. (Russian Satellite News Agency)

On December 28th, the Italian parliament finally approved the 2025 budget just days before the year-end deadline, which is an important victory for Prime Minister Meloni. Meloni and his Finance Minister Giorgetti jointly developed a tax reduction plan aimed at winning the support of voters while complying with the EU’s fiscal rules. The government plans to reduce the national deficit to 3.3% of next year’s GDP and lower it below the EU mandated 3% ceiling by 2026. At the last minute, adjustments were made to the budget, including the decision to maintain the cryptocurrency tax rate at 26% in 2025 and increase it to 33% in 2026, instead of the initially proposed 42%. The Italian Prime Minister has promised to reduce taxes for the middle and low-income groups, which will help consolidate his ruling position. However, this also means that according to EU standards, the pace of returning to fiscal stability will be slower.

On December 28th, the Russian National Space Corporation announced that the mission duration of Russian manned spacecraft to the International Space Station will be extended from 6 months to 7-9 months in the near future to save space. In its 2024 summary report, the Russian National Space Corporation stated: “Starting from 2025, the planned duration of the ‘Soyuz MS’ spacecraft in space will increase from 6 months to 7 to 9 months, which will save one spacecraft every two years.

On December 28th, the Russian National Space Corporation announced plans to land a nuclear power plant for the International Lunar Research Station produced by Russia on the moon between 2033 and 2035. The President of the Russian National Space Corporation, Borisov, previously stated that the Russian Space Corporation is currently discussing with China the possibility of sending a nuclear power plant to the moon and installing it on the lunar surface between 2033 and 2035. In early May, Borisov announced that the research and development work for the nuclear power plant under the project had begun.

On December 28th, in the first 11 months of this year, private enterprises added 1 trillion yuan in tax reductions, fee reductions, and tax refunds, accounting for 71.3%. The reporter learned that in the first 11 months, private enterprises enjoyed a tax reduction of 699.1 billion yuan, accounting for 71.2%, from two main tax preferential policies supporting scientific and technological innovation: R&D expense deduction and advanced manufacturing enterprise value-added tax deduction; Private enterprises enjoy a retained tax refund amount of 269.1 billion yuan, accounting for 70.4%.

On December 28th, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government News Network released a survey on start-up enterprises by the Invest Hong Kong Department, which showed that the number of start-up enterprises in Hong Kong reached 4694 in 2024, an increase of 10% from last year and about 40% from 2020. The number of startups and employees in Hong Kong have both reached new highs.

On December 28th, a report released by RUNTO Technology showed that in November 2024, the online market for surveillance cameras in China (excluding Douyin) sold 2.41 million units, a year-on-year increase of 11.1% and a month on month increase of 0.9%; The sales revenue was 550 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 18.6% and a month on month increase of 3.1%. Among them, Xiaomi, Yingshi, Qiao’an, Hikvision, Pulian, and Haique have firmly occupied the top six positions in terms of sales for three consecutive months, and their total market share has gradually increased from 46.1% in September 2024 to 50.1% in November 2024.

On December 28th, according to data disclosed by Cointelegraph on the X platform, spot Ethereum exchange traded funds under BlackRock and Fidelity bought a total of 101390 Ethereum coins worth approximately $342.2 million this week.