Shernel Thielman

Lithium is back. After a sharp drop of more than 80 percent from its 2022 peak and two years of sector pessimism, lithium prices in 2026 have risen nearly 50 percent year-to-date. Spodumene, the hard mineral that sits at the start of the battery chain, has risen even more sharply. The causes are both structural and cyclical: strong demand from electric vehicles and large-scale energy storage, an export ban on lithium concentrate from Zimbabwe that removed a significant supply source from the...

Four times a year, the major listed companies report their quarterly results. This period — known as earnings season — is one of the most informative moments in the investment year. Not because the numbers themselves are so important, but because they reveal something macroeconomic forecasts and news headlines rarely can: an honest picture of how real businesses are actually performing in a specific economic climate. This week illustrated that contrast sharply. Caterpillar, the American...

The IMF lowered its global growth forecast this week to 3.1% for 2026. Conflict in the Middle East, ongoing trade tensions, and persistent inflation are weighing on global economic activity. The risks are clearly tilted to the downside. For many investors, this feels like a signal to be cautious, to wait, or to sell. But history consistently shows the opposite: periods of economic uncertainty are precisely when long-term investors build positions, not reduce them. The question is not whether...