American rare-earths miner and processor leading Mountain Pass operations
China has placed 10 US companies, including rare‑earth producers MP Materials and USA Rare Earth and several drone makers, on its export control list, barring Chinese companies from selling dual‑use items to them. Beijing has also excluded 46 US firms from government procurement, and has framed the moves as retaliation for a recent Pentagon blacklist of Chinese companies.
OpenAI has proposed that the U.S. government take roughly a 5% stake in the company and has discussed a plan for other leading AI firms to give similar stakes to a government-backed vehicle. The talks have taken place with Trump administration officials and would likely require congressional approval. (Updated Wed, 08 Jul 2026 07:15:26 +0100)
The latest exchanges in the Iran–U.S. confrontation have escalated, with Trump-related polling shifting and new strikes intensifying the conflict. A string of reports shows economic and political pressures are rising as talks falter and hostilities resume.