The world dropped the ball on critical minerals and China pounced. Is it too late for Australia and the US to close the gap?

In the wake of Covid, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and China’s assertion in global markets, western countries have realised they can’t afford such concentrated supply chainsFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAlmost eight years to the day after the last Holden rolled off an Adelaide factory assembly line, Anthony Albanese announced a $13bn deal with Donald Trump to help champion a domestic rare-earth industry.Announcing the deal this week in Washington, the prime minister called it “a really significant day” that would take the relationship between the two countries “to the next level”.“We’re just getting started,” Albanese said.The US president claimed “in about a year from now, we’ll have so much critical mineral and rare earths, that you won’t know what to do with them”.Most Australians, it’s fair to say, would already struggle to know what to do with a kilo of gallium, for example, let alone a bucket of neodymium-praseodymium oxide

‘If you use chocolate, you’re in crisis’: the surprise ingredients being used to beat costs

Rice is not the first ingredient most people associate with confectionery and desserts, but a UK company is using it to create cocoa-free chocolate.It is part of an emerging trend in which chocolate makers are exploring alternative ingredients and new technologies to make their products more sustainable and reduce reliance on conventional cacao beans.Rising costs have also had an impact with some brands turning to “chocolate flavouring” and altering their recipes, seeking cheaper ways to keep products on store shelves. McVitie’s Penguin and Club bars, along with KitKat White and McVitie’s White Digestives, can no longer be marketed as chocolate because they do not contain enough cocoa.The climate crisis and deforestation have made cacao production increasingly unstable and environmentally costly

Buy now, pay later holiday purchases leaving travellers exposed to losses

People are missing out on vital protections by using buy now, pay later instead of credit cards to pay for holidays, experts warn.Buy now, pay later (BNPL) has grown hugely in recent years, and holiday firms and hotel chains have been adding it to the options for payment when booking online, saying it can make trips more attainable.“Stay now, pay later” is the new slogan from budget hotel chain Travelodge, which recently announced that guests can now pay via Klarna, Clearpay or PayPal – the three companies that dominate the UK BNPL market.Similarly, a number of travel agents and flight booking sites offer BNPL under the banner of “Fly now pay later”. Customers do not have to pay the full cost of their flights upfront – they can spread the cost over instalments

Co-op staff told to boost promotion of vapes after costly cyber-attack, document shows

The Co-op has quietly told staff to boost promotion of vapes in an effort to win back customers and sales after a devastating cyber-attack.The ethical retailer is making vapes more prominent in stores via new​ displays and additional advertising, according to an internal document seen by the Guardian. It is also stocking a bigger range of vapes and nicotine pouches.The action plan is to tackle a big sales drop after the April hack that resulted in gaps on its shelves.Called Powering Up: Focus Sprint: Cigs, Tobacco and Vape, the document says: “Sales haven’t recovered compared to pre-cyber

Wall Street and FTSE 100 hit record highs after US inflation report fuels interest rate cut hopes – as it happened

Newsflash: US inflation has risen, but not as much as expected, new delayed economic data shows.The annual US consumer prices index rose to 3% in September, up from 2.9% in August, but lower than the 3.1% which economists had forecast.That means the cost of living is continuing to rise faster than the Federal Reserve’s 2% target, as the US central bank comes under pressure from the White House to cut interest rates faster

Nigel Farage seeks influence over Bank of England in same vein as Trump and US Federal Reserve

Nigel Farage has suggested he would replace the governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey, if he were to become prime minister.“He’s had a good run, we might find someone new,” Farage said in an interview with Bloomberg’s The Mishal Husain show.“He’s a nice enough bloke,” the Reform leader added.However, Farage is unlikely to have a say in Bailey’s leadership, given the governor’s single eight-year term is due to end in March 2028 and the prime minister, Keir Starmer, is only required to hold a general election sometime before 15 August 2029.Farage has been calling for politicians to have greater influence on the central bank, which was made independent in 1997 by the then chancellor, Gordon Brown