| Welcome to our guide to the energy and commodities powering the global economy. Today, mining reporter Jacob Lorinc looks at what shinier gold prices might do for bullion miners. The Zero podcast discusses why US Vice President Kamala Harris isn’t talking about climate change in her presidential campaign. To get this newsletter sent straight to your inbox, sign up here. For gold miners, falling interest rates and rising prices are about more than a revenue boost. They’re a welcome second chance with investors. At this week’s Denver Gold Forum, the Broadmoor hotel at the foot of the Rockies was buzzier than usual as hundreds of executives converged to talk about deals, mine development and an epic surge in the bullion price. The upbeat mood marks a stark contrast to last time around, when producers of the precious metal were wrestling with persistently high operating costs and subdued prices. The 2023 event was so muted that Royal Bank of Canada analysts published a note afterward titled “You Could Hear a Pin Drop.” Some bankers mused aloud about why they bothered to show up.  Workers pour melted gold into molds at the ABC Refinery smelter in Sydney. Photographer: Brendon Thorne/Bloomberg What a difference a year makes. Prices are up about 25% since the beginning of January as demand from emerging economies picks up and outlooks for the US economy get more pessimistic. The “barbarous relic” set another record Wednesday, pushing through $2,600 per ounce after the US Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points. The revival has transformed prospects for producers who were stuck in a rut. Industry leaders such as Newmont Corp. and Barrick Gold Corp. are now in line for billions of dollars in additional revenue. Investment to replace aging mines is more likely. Takeovers are now more than just the subject of idle speculation. With this tailwind, miners are determined to win back generalist investors who fled the industry after disastrous transactions more than a decade ago. That will be no small feat, given the stubborn allure of tech stocks and even other commodities. It will also require restraint. Gold companies need to show discipline on cost control, offer attractive dividends and pursue only carefully considered acquisitions, said Peter Marrone, chief executive officer of Allied Gold Corp. “We have to demonstrate as an industry that we can capitalize on a higher gold price,” he said. “Money will chase the best returns. When we deliver those returns, investors will come back to us.” --Jacob Lorinc, Bloomberg News A network stretching from Dubai to China is involved in a multibillion-dollar effort to ship sanctioned liquefied natural gas for Russia, helping retain its status as the world’s fourth-largest exporter. A Bloomberg analysis of company data, satellite images and ship-tracking information shows the lengths to which Moscow appears to be willing to go to capture market share. Read our deep dive into the shadow fleet here. Oil advanced as a risk-on tone swept across wider financial markets following the steep interest-rate cut by the Federal Reserve. Europe is in a strong position to maintain steady gas supplies this winter even as a key Russian transit route is set to close, according to energy companies in top consumer Germany. Severe rains bucketed down on central Europe, Africa, Shanghai and the US Carolinas this week, underscoring the extreme ways in which climate change is altering the weather. Germany’s electric-vehicle market plunged last month, leading a broader decline in Europe that’s left carmakers calling on Brussels to reconsider key climate targets. China will remove its tariff exemptions on some agricultural products imported from Taiwan as Beijing ramps up pressure on the democracy. - Northvolt AB’s sub-Arctic battery factory in northern Sweden was meant to symbolize Europe’s green pushback against China and the US. Instead, the startup is in danger of turning into an emblem of failure, the Financial Times reports.
- The New York Times shows how America’s biggest oil-producing state — Texas — is increasingly running on renewables.
- While the worst might be over for lithium prices if producers proceed with supply cuts, the Wall Street Journal says a rebound in the EV-battery metal — and shares of companies that mine it — might not last.
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