📈 LWS Financial Research's Model Portfolio continues to outperform the S&P 500, both in 2026 and since its inception in September 2022. As of October 16, 2026, the portfolio has delivered a 34.9% year-to-date return, compared with 17.85% for the S&P 500 Total Return Index in euros, outperforming the benchmark by 17.05 percentage points. Since September 2022, the Model Portfolio has gained 247.7%, versus 77.1% for the S&P 500, representing 170.6 percentage points of cumulative outperformance. The investment philosophy behind these results is straightforward: buy assets below their intrinsic value and remain patient until the market recognizes that value. Simple in principle, difficult in practice. Source: LWS Financial Research, @albertrjf. #ValueInvesting #PortfolioPerformance #SP500

🇦🇷 Argentina recorded a $2.98 billion trade surplus in September 2026, significantly exceeding the $1.8 billion expected by analysts surveyed by Reuters. According to INDEC, exports surged 23.5% to $10.04 billion, while imports declined 1.8% to $7.06 billion. Argentina has maintained consecutive monthly trade surpluses since President Javier Milei took office in December 2023. #Argentina #TradeBalance #Economy

🛢️ Oilfield services companies are accelerating hiring in Venezuela as the first wave of investment in the country's energy sector begins to take shape. Weatherford $WFRD has opened at least 20 positions, Baker Hughes $BKR has around 12 vacancies, and SLB $SLB is advertising 35 positions. Halliburton $HAL is also expanding recruitment efforts. Weatherford is reportedly discussing a potential partnership with Eni $ENI following the Italian company's agreement with PDVSA to expand operations in the Orinoco Belt. Equipment is also beginning to arrive. Chevron $CVX is expected to activate four rigs, while Patterson-UTI $PTEN is shipping components for 10 older drilling units. However, Venezuela currently has just two active drilling rigs, according to Baker Hughes. Initial activity is expected to focus on repairing and reopening existing wells rather than developing new fields. Welligence Energy Analytics forecasts Venezuelan crude production could reach 1.5 million barrels per day by late 2027, up from approximately 1.2 million bpd today, although the recovery is expected to take time. #Venezuela #OilfieldServices #OilAndGas

🏭 Cleveland-Cliffs $CLF surged more than 15% after reporting its first quarterly profit in over two years and significantly raising its 2027 earnings outlook. The U.S. steelmaker reported Q3 adjusted EPS of $0.28, beating analysts' expectations of $0.19 and reversing a $0.45 loss per share a year earlier. Management raised its 2027 adjusted EBITDA forecast to more than $4 billion, up from $3.3 billion, supported by stronger steel prices, lower costs and recently signed contracts. CEO Lourenco Goncalves said the company is operating in the strongest steel pricing environment in three years, with customers seeking more contracted volumes for 2027 than in 2026. Cleveland-Cliffs also expects approximately $715 million in adjusted EBITDA for Q4 2026. #ClevelandCliffs #Steel #Earnings

📉 Cleveland Research downgraded PayPal $PYPL from Neutral to Underperform, citing deteriorating business trends, market share losses and macroeconomic pressure ahead of Q3 earnings. The firm expects third-quarter performance to fall short of expectations, with international branded payment volumes slowing amid weaker consumer demand and competition from alternative payment methods. PayPal is reportedly offering more flexible pricing across Branded Checkout and Braintree to defend market share, putting pressure on transaction margins. Its buy now, pay later strategy is also showing limited progress, with merchants reporting little improvement in overall PayPal volumes. At $56.70 per share, PayPal trades at approximately 10.7 times earnings and has declined nearly 15% over the past year. Cleveland Research expects the turnaround to take time, with quarterly earnings scheduled in eight days. #PayPal #Fintech #Earnings

🛢️ Saturn Oil & Gas $SOIL.NE has agreed to acquire Corex Resources for $302 million, adding approximately 7,000 barrels per day of light oil production in Southwest Manitoba, adjacent to its Saskatchewan operations. The transaction includes $252 million in cash and $50 million in Saturn shares, with closing expected in December 2026. The acquisition adds 279 net identified drilling locations and is valued at just 1.6 times net operating income, according to the company. Saturn now expects 2026 exit production of 54,000–56,000 boe/d, while maintaining its target of net debt below 1.0x adjusted EBITDA by the end of 2027. Its full-year 2026 average production guidance remains unchanged at 43,000–44,000 boe/d. #SaturnOil #OilAndGas #Canada

🇨🇴 Colombia's Ecopetrol $EC has canceled its tender processes for imported liquefied natural gas (LNG) as the country faces a growing domestic gas supply deficit. The company said international offers failed to meet its requirements for competitive pricing, expected profitability and acceptable risk. According to Ecopetrol, local buyers were unwilling to commit to purchasing gas at prices sufficient to support the international offers. The procurement process was launched in July to secure additional natural gas supplies for Colombia's domestic market. #Ecopetrol #NaturalGas #Colombia

⛏️ Freeport-McMoRan $FCX is developing a new chemical leaching technology that could significantly increase copper recovery from existing mine waste, supporting its target of producing 800 million pounds of copper annually through leaching by 2030. Over the past three years, Freeport has tested dozens of chemical formulations to extract copper from waste rock containing more than 40 billion pounds of copper. The company currently recovers only about 30% of its targeted copper volumes through existing leaching methods. According to CEO Kathleen Quirk, a newly developed chemical compound, combined with heat, could at least triple recovery rates if field trials scheduled for late 2026 are successful. Freeport expects greater clarity on the technology's commercial deployment during 2027. The company recovered 214 million pounds of copper through leaching in 2025. This approach costs approximately one-third less than conventional hard-rock mining and does not require new mining permits or smelting facilities. Freeport views leaching, alongside expansions in Arizona and Chile, as central to its growth strategy. Although the company remains open to acquisitions, Quirk emphasized that its existing assets provide substantial opportunities for organic growth. In Indonesia, Freeport reaffirmed its target of restoring full production at the Grasberg copper and gold mine by late 2027, following the fatal mudslide that disrupted operations in 2025. The company also confirmed that its two Indonesian smelters now have sufficient capacity to process Grasberg's copper concentrate, eliminating the need for sales to Chinese smelters. Regarding potential U.S. copper import tariffs, Quirk said the uncertainty is not affecting Freeport's investment decisions. #FreeportMcMoRan #Copper #Mining

🛢️ Oil prices retreated from multi-month highs on Monday as investors took profits, while escalating attacks on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz continued to threaten global crude supplies. Brent fell 1.22% to $108.52 per barrel, after closing Friday at its highest level since May 19. WTI slipped 0.13% to $101.28, following its strongest weekly close since September 17. According to Iranian state media, a tanker caught fire and exploded after striking a naval mine in the southern Strait of Hormuz on Sunday. Shipping disruptions have intensified significantly. According to Kpler, seven-day average crude flows from the Gulf dropped to approximately 8.5 million barrels per day last week, compared with more than 20 million bpd the previous week. At least 10 confirmed incidents involving commercial vessels were reported during the week. Meanwhile, Egypt has expressed its willingness to support Saudi Arabia's security amid attacks by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis. On the supply side, President Trump signed an executive order easing certain sanctions and tariffs affecting Russian exports. The decision follows an agreement with Vladimir Putin to facilitate Russian diesel exports to the United States and other countries, initially targeting 2.3 million barrels this month, potentially increasing to 7.6 million barrels per month. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the administration would take up to 60 days to assess the economic impact of the sanctions and tariffs. #CrudeOil #StraitOfHormuz #EnergyMarkets

🔋 Metalshub is launching a new real-time lithium trading service in November, allowing buyers and sellers to view live bids, offers and orders in a more transparent physical market. The Germany-based digital commodities platform will introduce Open Trading, initially covering battery-grade lithium carbonate, technical-grade lithium carbonate and spodumene concentrate. Founded in 2016, Metalshub already facilitates trading across more than 40 commodities, including nickel, alumina, ferroalloys, graphite and industrial minerals. Until now, transactions have primarily taken place through anonymous term sheets, tenders and structured auctions. The platform's lithium business has expanded through auctions involving major producers, including Albemarle $ALB and Australia's Liontown Resources $LTR. Under the new system, participants will be able to view firm bids and offers in real time, although transactions will only be permitted between companies that have mutually approved each other as counterparties. Prices posted by other participants will remain visible for reference. The launch follows growing lithium trading activity on China's Guangzhou Futures Exchange, whose prices have become an important global benchmark. #Lithium #BatteryMetals #CommodityTrading

🛰️ AST SpaceMobile $ASTS shares rose 3.5% Monday morning after the company announced progress toward launching space-based cellular broadband services across Europe. Deutsche Telekom, Orange $ORA, Telefónica $TEF and Vodafone $VOD have signed a Letter of Intent to explore a potential joint bid for Mobile Satellite Services spectrum. The initiative brings together Europe’s four largest mobile network operators to coordinate spectrum access, network integration and satellite broadband deployment, particularly in areas lacking reliable terrestrial coverage. AST SpaceMobile is developing dedicated European-operated ground infrastructure connecting its BlueBird satellites directly to operators’ core networks. The architecture is designed to serve a market of more than 500 million mobile subscribers, while keeping data handling and service control within European jurisdiction. The company’s satellites connect directly to ordinary smartphones without specialized equipment. AST has already demonstrated peak download speeds of 98.9 Mbps, while its next-generation satellites are expected to approach 200 Mbps. AST’s technology can operate across approximately 1,150 MHz of partner operators’ low- and mid-band spectrum globally. Combined with its S-band priority rights, this flexibility could support expanded European coverage and capacity, subject to regulatory approvals. The proposed spectrum bid remains exploratory, with the operators having signed a Letter of Intent rather than a definitive agreement. #ASTS #SatelliteBroadband #Telecommunications

⛏️ Antofagasta Minerals $ANTO has reached a preliminary labor agreement with striking workers at its Centinela copper mine in Chile, potentially ending a strike that began on October 7. The Distrito Centinela and Minera Esperanza unions, representing more than 700 workers, announced the agreement on Friday after renewed negotiations with the company. Union members are scheduled to vote on ratifying the agreement on Saturday, October 17. The strike will not formally end unless the agreement is approved. The dispute centered on demands for equal employment benefits regardless of union membership. Three workers had also been participating in a hunger strike as negotiations remained deadlocked. Antofagasta said it had submitted improved economic proposals and maintained normal production levels throughout the strike, avoiding operational disruptions. Centinela produced 240,400 tonnes of copper in 2025. The strike, alongside the previously threatened but averted stoppage at BHP's $BHP Escondida mine, had contributed to concerns about global copper supply. #Copper #Antofagasta #ChileMining

⛏️ Peabody Energy $BTU evacuated workers from part of its North Antelope Rochelle coal mine in Wyoming following an imminent danger order issued by the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA). The order, issued on July 9, cited concerns that loose material from a mine slope could fall onto an active haul road used by mining trucks and other vehicles. According to the company, the material could potentially have overtopped a protective embankment, creating a safety hazard. No miners were injured, and mine personnel took measures to mitigate the risk. The MSHA withdrew the Section 107(a) imminent danger order later that same day, following the company's response. #PeabodyEnergy #CoalMining #MineSafety

🛢️ U.S. drilling activity remained unchanged this week, with the total oil and gas rig count holding at 603, according to Baker Hughes $BKR. The latest report for the week ending October 16 shows the total rig count is now 55 rigs higher than a year ago, an increase of 10%. Oil rigs fell by 3 to 459, while natural gas rigs increased by 1 to 133. Rigs classified as other rose by 2 to 11, their highest level since January. The stabilization follows three consecutive years of declining drilling activity, with total rig counts falling 20% in 2023, 5% in 2024 and 7% in 2025. Despite the latest decline in oil rigs, the U.S. Energy Information Administration expects crude production to rise from a record 13.7 million barrels per day in 2025 to 13.9 million in 2026, supported by higher oil prices amid supply disruptions linked to the Iran war. For natural gas, the EIA forecasts production increasing from 107.6 Bcf/d in 2025 to 112.2 Bcf/d in 2026, supported by growing electricity demand from data centers and expanding LNG exports. #BakerHughes #OilAndGas #USDrilling

🛢️ Brent crude oil surges toward $110 per barrel, reaching its highest level since September 15, amid escalating tensions between Iran and Israel.

🛢️ Canadian oil producers are missing out on the global crude price rally as the discount on Alberta's heavy oil widens sharply. Canadian oil sands producers are now receiving approximately $26 per barrel less than their U.S. counterparts, with the price differential expanding significantly in recent weeks. The widening discount reflects two developments linked to U.S. foreign policy. First, Venezuelan heavy crude has become a stronger competitor following the removal of President Nicolás Maduro in January. Venezuelan oil has similar characteristics to Canadian heavy crude and competes for demand from refineries configured to process it. Second, the war with Iran has driven tanker shipping rates sharply higher, contributing to an accumulation of heavy crude in the United States and weakening demand for Canadian supplies. As a result, Canadian producers are receiving substantially lower prices for their barrels even as global oil benchmarks rise. #CanadianOil #CrudeOil #OilSands $SU

🇦🇷 Argentina recorded a primary fiscal surplus of ARS 1.43 trillion (approximately $941.4 million) in September 2026, according to Economy Minister Luis Caputo. The country also posted an overall fiscal surplus of ARS 977.17 billion for the month, after accounting for interest payments. Caputo reported that, for the January–September period, the accumulated primary surplus reached 1.2% of GDP, while the overall fiscal surplus stood at 0.3% of GDP. The exchange rate at the end of September was approximately ARS 1,519 per U.S. dollar. #Argentina #FiscalPolicy #Economy

🛢️ ExxonMobil $XOM expects a $4.5 billion increase in Q3 refining earnings compared with Q2, driven by a sharp recovery in refining margins. Refining profitability has surged amid disruptions to energy exports through the Strait of Hormuz caused by the war with Iran, alongside Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries. Meanwhile, Exxon expects upstream earnings to decline by approximately $1.3 billion quarter over quarter, reflecting lower crude prices. The average Brent benchmark price fell around 5.6% in Q3 compared with Q2. The company also disclosed that upstream asset divestments are expected to add $700 million to earnings, while confirming that the Iran conflict caused no volume-related operational disruptions during the quarter. Higher fuel prices have increased political pressure ahead of November's U.S. midterm elections. President Trump previously criticized ExxonMobil and Chevron $CVX in August for making excessive profits. ExxonMobil will report its full Q3 2026 results on October 30. #ExxonMobil #Refining #OilAndGas