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International Lithium Corp. (TSXV: ILC,OTC:ILHMF) (OTCQB: ILHMF) (FSE: IAH) (the ‘Company’ or ‘ILC’) is pleased to announce a non-brokered private placement (the ‘Offering’) of up to 66,666,667 common shares at CAD $0.015 per share to raise gross proceeds of up to $1,000,000. The Company may pay finders fees on a portion of the placement.

Proceeds of the private placement will be used partly to allow the Company to invest in growing its Southern African and Canadian operations and partly for general working capital purposes. Payments to persons conducting Investor Relations activities are expected not to exceed 10% of the proceeds.

Closing of the Offering is subject to acceptance by the TSX Venture Exchange. All securities issued in connection with the Offering will be subject to a four-month hold period from the date of issuance under applicable Canadian securities laws.

It is anticipated that some directors and insiders will participate in this Offering. The issue of shares (to the extent subscribed for by insiders) constitute ‘related party transactions’ pursuant to Multilateral Instrument 61-101 – Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions (‘MI 61-101’), as the subscribers include directors of the Company. The Company is exempt from the requirements to obtain a formal valuation or minority shareholder approval in connection with the shares in reliance on the exemptions contained in sections 5.5(a) and 5.7(1)(a) of MI 61-101, respectively, as the fair market value of the shares does not exceed 25% of the Company’s market capitalization.

The Company has now closed its non-brokered private placement originally announced on February 5, 2025. Under the terms of the private placement, the Company on March 31, 2025, issued 23,666,666 common shares at $0.015 per share, raising gross proceeds of $355,000. Closing of the private placement is subject to acceptance by the TSX Venture Exchange. No fees were payable on the transaction, and the payments to persons conducting Investor Relations Activities were not more than 10% of the proceeds. The proposed payments from the proceeds included $183,600 to pay outstanding fees to non-arm’s length creditors.

About International Lithium Corp.

International Lithium Corp. has exploration activities in Ontario, Canada, with intentions to expand into Southern Africa. It has projects at various stages, ranging from Preliminary Economic Assessment at Raleigh Lake to Pre-Drilling at Wolf Ridge. The primary target metals in Canada are lithium, rubidium and copper. There are three projects (two in Ontario and one in Ireland) in which ILC has sold its share but where we stand to receive future payments from either a resource milestone being achieved or from a Net Smelter Royalty.

While the world’s politicians are currently divided on the future of the energy market’s historic dependence on oil and gas and on ‘Net Zero’, there seems to be a clear and unstoppable momentum towards electric vehicles, solar power and electric battery storage, all of which contribute to rising demand for lithium. Rubidium is increasingly seen as a valuable critical metal that is strategic for high-precision clocks and for space technology. Copper has many historical uses, but demand is projected to be sharply higher as more data centres are required for AI. We have seen the clear and increasingly urgent wish by the USA, Canada, and other major economies to safeguard their supplies of critical metals and to become more self-sufficient. Our Canadian projects, which contain lithium, rubidium and copper, are strategic in that respect.

Our key mission for the next decade is to generate revenue for our shareholders from lithium and other battery metals, as well as rare metals, while also contributing to the creation of a greener, cleaner planet and less polluted cities.

This includes optimizing the value of our existing projects in Canada as well as finding, exploring and developing projects that have the potential to become world-class deposits. We have separately announced that we regard Southern Africa as a key strategic target market for ILC and that we have applied for and hope to receive EPOs in Zimbabwe. We hope to make further announcements on the portfolio developments over the next few weeks and months.

The Company’s interests in various projects now consist of the following, and in addition, the Company continues to seek other opportunities:

Name Metal Location Stage Area in 
Hectares
Current Ownership Percentage Future Ownership % if options exercised and/or residual interest Operator or 
JV Partner
Raleigh 
Lake
Lithium
Rubidium
Ontario Dec 2023 : PEA for Li completed Apr 2023 Maiden Resource Estimates for Li and Rb 32,900 100% 100% ILC
Firesteel Copper
Cobalt
Ontario Aeromagnetics and Drilling started mid 2024 6,600 90% 90% ILC
Wolf 
Ridge
Lithium Ontario Pre-Drilling 5,700 0% 100% ILC
Mavis 
Lake
Lithium Ontario May 2023
Maiden Resource Estimate
2,600 0% 0%
(carries an extra earn-in payment of AUD$ 0.75 million if resource targets met)
Critical Resources Ltd 
Avalonia Lithium Ireland Drilling 29,200 0% 0%
2.0% Net Smelter Royalty
GFL Intl Co Ltd (owned by Ganfeng Lithium Group Co.Ltd)
Forgan/
Lucky Lakes
Lithium Ontario Drilling 0% 0%
1.5% Net Smelter Royalty
Power Minerals Ltd 

 

The Company’s primary strategic focus at this point is on the Raleigh Lake Project, comprising lithium and rubidium, and the Firesteel copper project in Canada, as well as obtaining EPOs and mineral claims in Zimbabwe.

The Raleigh Lake Project now encompasses 32,900 hectares (329 square kilometres) of mineral claims in Ontario and represents ILC’s most significant project in Canada. To date, drilling has occurred on less than 1,000 hectares of our claims. A Preliminary Economic Assessment was published for ILC’s lithium at Raleigh Lake in December 2023, with a detailed economic analysis of ILC’s separate rubidium resource still pending. Raleigh Lake is 100% owned by ILC, free from any encumbrances and royalties. The Raleigh Lake Project boasts excellent access to roads, rail, and utilities.

A continuing goal has been to remain a well-funded company to turn our aspirations into reality. Following the disposal of the Mariana project in Argentina in 2021, the Mavis Lake project in Canada in 2022, and the Avalonia project in 2024, ILC continues to achieve sufficient inward cash flow to be able to make progress with its exploration projects.

With the increasing demand for high-tech rechargeable batteries used in electric vehicles, electrical storage, and portable electronics, lithium has been designated ‘the new oil’ and is a key part of a green energy, sustainable economy. By positioning itself with projects that have significant resource potential and solid strategic partners, ILC aims to be one of the preferred lithium and rare metals resource developers for investors and to continue building value for its shareholders for the rest of the 2020s, the decade of battery metals.

On behalf of the Company,

John Wisbey
Chairman and CEO
www.internationallithium.ca

For further information concerning this news release, please contact +1 604-449-6520 or info@internationallithium.ca or ILC@yellowjerseypr.com.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

Except for statements of historical fact, this news release or other releases contain certain ‘forward-looking information’ within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward-looking information or forward-looking statements in this or other news releases may include: the timing of completion of any offering and the amount to be raised, the time when the Company will receive the remaining consideration payable by Ganfeng for the Avalonia Project, the effect of results of anticipated production rates, the timing and/or anticipated results of drilling on the Raleigh Lake or Firesteel or Wolf Ridge projects, the expectation of resource estimates, preliminary economic assessments, feasibility studies, lithium or rubidium or copper recoveries, modeling of capital and operating costs, results of studies utilizing various technologies at the company’s projects, the Company’s budgeted expenditures, future plans for expansion in Southern Africa and planned exploration work on its projects, increased value of shareholder investments in the Company, the potential from the company’s third party earn-out or royalty arrangements, the future demand for lithium, rubidium and copper, and assumptions about ethical behaviour by our joint venture partners or third party operators of projects or royalty partners. Such forward-looking information is based on assumptions and subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to those discussed in the sections entitled ‘Risks’ and ‘Forward-Looking Statements’ in the interim and annual Management’s Discussion and Analysis which are available at www.sedar.com. While management believes that the assumptions made are reasonable, there can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate. Should one or more of the risks, uncertainties or other factors materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in forward-looking information. Forward-looking information herein, and all subsequent written and oral forward-looking information are based on expectations, estimates and opinions of management on the dates they are made that, while considered reasonable by the Company as of the time of such statements, are subject to significant business, economic, legislative, and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. These estimates and assumptions may prove to be incorrect and are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. Except as required by law, the Company assumes no obligation to update forward-looking information should circumstances or management’s estimates or opinions change.

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWS WIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE 
UNITED STATES

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/262166

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Nuvau Minerals Inc. (TSXV: NMC) has begun its minimum 1,500 m drill program aimed at testing continuity and extensions to the orogenic gold system discovered last month. The discovery was made with the first hole drilled of an inaugural gold-focused exploration program, in the footwall of the Bracemac-McLeod Mine approximately 200 m below surface. The follow-up program is being drilled immediately north east of this base metal mine, which was in production until mid 2022.

The Matagami Property is in the northern Abitibi Region of Quebec, one of the world’s most prolific gold endowed districts. This northern part of the Abitibi region includes Canada’s largest gold producing mine with the country’s largest gold mineral reserves: the Detour Lake Mine owned by Agnico Eagle Mines Limited. Hecla Mining Company’s Casa Berardi Mine, which has produced over 3 million ounces of gold, is located to the southwest of the Matagami Property (see Figure 1 below).

While the Abitibi’s first recorded gold discovery was 119 years ago in Rouyn-Noranda, the Matagami Property remains one of the largest areas in the region that has not been subject to a gold focused exploration program. Previous owners were concentrating on defining and developing multiple VMS deposits into multiple mines that produced extensive copper and zinc for more than 60 years. This was one of the primary opportunities Nuvau identified when it entered into the agreement to acquire the Property from Glencore. The Company recently began compiling gold related historic data, as well as launching several gold-focused initiatives (including till sampling) aimed at defining initial targets for drilling.

Figure 1: Matagami property location

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:
https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/11236/262123_8f984e3ef4857b89_001full.jpg

Nuvau’s current gold-focused exploration program has identified three initial priority targets:

  1. Bracemac Footwall Discovery
  2. Gold-in-Till Anomaly Target
  3. Thunder Mine (1988) Target

The map below shows the location of these three targets (Figure 2). The vast majority of this 1,300 km2 land pack remains open for gold exploration.

Figure 2: Current gold targets

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:
https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/11236/262123_8f984e3ef4857b89_002full.jpg

1. Bracemac Footwall Discovery

The recent discovery of gold mineralization in the footwall of the Bracemac Mine is located only 25 m from the access ramp of this permitted mine. The steeply dipping, strong shear zone structure with quartz veining mineralized with pyrite and locally visible gold was intersected at a depth of approximately 200 m. The visible gold was observed over approximately 0.5 m of core and assays are still pending on the discovery hole, BRCG-25-001.

Although located within the immediate footwall of the past-producing Bracemac-McLeod mine, the mineralized structure occurs in a late intrusive that truncated the mine host rock units (see Figure 3). The intrusive has seen very little drilling as the stratigraphy was not of interest for VMS exploration.

The follow up drill program is now underway to continue to step-out both up and down dip, and along strike, to test continuity of mineralization within the structural corridor as well as providing critical data on the dip and strike of the vein.

Figure 3: Past producing Bracemac-McLeod Mine and relative position of gold target drilled (left); schematic of the stratigraphy (right)

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:
https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/11236/262123_figure3.jpg

Figure 4: Visible gold found in more than 30 gold chips identified in logging the core

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:
https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/11236/262123_8f984e3ef4857b89_005full.jpg

2. Gold-in-Till Anomaly Target

As part of Nuvau’s target generative exploration program, an overburden (till) drilling program was launched in 2023. This program resulted in the discovery of significant gold-in-till mineralization that was announced on March 4, 2025.

From the 2023 sonic drill program, hole PD-23-030s produced a notable gold grain anomaly detected at a depth of between 29.26 to 29.87 m in the overburden and featured more than 2,000 gold grains per 10 kg of material. In addition, a near-contiguous sample with 295 gold grains per 10 kg of material between 31.12 to 32.00 m was also encountered with the interval between consisting of a large locally derived boulder. Based on the almost pristine nature of the gold grains, and their close proximity to the bottom of the hole, the source is expected to be relatively close to this hole. (See images of gold grains below in Figure 5.)

To assist in defining targets in this area, a detailed drone MAG survey was completed. The limited rock outcrops were also mapped recently and together with the MAG data, a drill program is being designed for later this year. The objective of this drill program will be to gain a better understanding of the local geological structures and to test for the potential source of the extensive gold grains.

Figure 5: Mosaic of backscattered electron images of gold grain

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:
https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/11236/262123_figure5.jpg

Notice the delicate textures and silicate attachments. LEFT: Image of 230 gold grains found in sample 155320186, hole PD-23-030s, RIGHT: Image of 112 gold grains found in adjacent sample 155320187.

3. Thunder Mine (1988) Target

The Thunder Mine property was acquired by Nuvau in 2023 for its potential for both base metal and gold mineralization. In 1988, Thunderwood Exploration Ltd. drilled a series of holes as follow-up to a 1959 hole that intersected copper mineralization (see Figure 6).

This follow-up program identified multiple gold-bearing structures; however, no subsequent follow-up work was completed. Highlight intercepts from the available public domain report include the following:

  • DT-14-88: 209.00 – 209.80 m (0.80 m) @ 26.40 g/t Au.
  • DT-10-88: 205.00 – 206.00 m (1.00 m) @ 78.16 g/t Au.
  • DT-18-88: 100.80 – 107.30 m (6.50 m) @ 1.55 g/t Au, incl.: 0.30 m @ 4.89 g/t Au.
  • DT-19-88: 226.00 – 231.00 m (5.0 m) @ 2.27 g/t Au, Incl.: 0.50 m @ 10.39 g/t Au.
  • DT-20-88: 136.80 – 137.10 m (0.30 m) @ 10.37 g/t Au and 204.50 – 205.00 m (0.50 m) @ 6.48 g/t Au.
  • DT-21-88: 310.50 – 319.90 m (9.40 m) @ 4.02 g/t Au, incl.: 0.70 m @ 42.03 g/t Au and 0.70 m @ 7.30 g/t Au.

These results been extracted from historical information, and are not compliant with NI 43-101. The original results are available via GESTIM, GM 48216, and GM 08790 at the following links:

    Thunder mine drilling is planned as part of Nuvau’s winter drilling program in Q1 2026.

    Figure 6: Thunder Mine Past drilling

    To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:
    https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/11236/262123_8f984e3ef4857b89_012full.jpg

    About Nuvau Minerals Inc.
    Nuvau is a Canadian mining company focused on the Abitibi Region of mine-friendly Québec. Nuvau’s principal asset is the Matagami Property that is host to significant existing processing infrastructure and multiple mineral deposits and is being acquired from Glencore.

    Qualified Person and Quality Assurance
    Bastien Fresia P. Geo. (Qc), Technical Services Director of Nuvau and a ‘qualified person’ as is defined by National Instrument 43-101, has verified the scientific and technical data disclosed in this news release, and has otherwise reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information in this news release.

    Drill core samples are sawn by staff technicians to create half core splits. One split is retained in the drill core box for archival purposes with a sample tag affixed at each sample interval and the other split is placed in a labelled plastic bag along with a corresponding sample number tag and placed in the shipment queue.

    Quality control samples including blind certified reference material (‘CRM’), blank material, and core duplicates are inserted at a frequency of 1 in every 20 samples and sample batches of up to 60 samples were then shipped directly by Nuvau personnel to the ALS Canada Ltd. preparation laboratory in Rouyn-Noranda, Québec.

    All submitted core samples are crushed in full to 95 % passing less than 2 mm (ALS code CRU-32). A 1000-gram sample was then riffled split from the crushed material and pulverized to 90 % passing 75 μm (SPL-22 and PUL-32a). Pulps are shipped from the preparation laboratory to ALS Canada Ltd.’s analytical lab in North Vancouver, British Columbia, for assay.

    Lead, silver, copper and zinc analyses were determined by ore grade four acid digestion with an inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (‘ICP-AES’) or atomic absorption spectroscopy (‘AAS’) finish (ALS codes Pb-OG62, Ag-OG62, Cu-OG62 and ZnOG62), whereas gold was determined by 50 g fire assay analysis with an AAS finish (code Au-AA23).

    ALS Canada Ltd. is an accredited, independent commercial analytical firm registered to ISO/IEC 17025:2017 and ISO 9001:2015.

    For further information please contact:
    Nuvau Minerals Inc.
    Peter van Alphen
    President and CEO
    Telephone: 416-525-6023
    Email: pvanalphen@nuvauminerals.com

    Cautionary Statements
    This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, ‘forward-looking statements’) within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Any statements that are contained in this news release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are often identified by terms such as ‘may’, ‘should’, ‘anticipate’, ‘will’, ‘estimates’, ‘believes’, ‘intends’ ‘expects’ and similar expressions which are intended to identify forward-looking statements. More particularly and without limitation, this news release contains forward-looking statements concerning drill results relating to the Matagami Property, the results of the PEA, the potential of the Matagami Property, the timing and commencement of any production, the restart of the Bracemac-McLeod Mine, the completion of the earn-in of the Matagami Property and the timing and completion of any technical studies, feasibility studies or economic analyses. Forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain, and the actual performance may be affected by a number of material factors, assumptions and expectations, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, including expectations and assumptions concerning the Company and the Matagami Property. Readers are cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of any forward-looking statements may prove to be incorrect. Events or circumstances may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted as a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. Readers are further cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, as such information, although considered reasonable by the management of the Company at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated.

    The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release, and are expressly qualified by the foregoing cautionary statement. Except as expressly required by securities law, neither the Company nor Nuvau undertakes any obligation to update publicly or to revise any of the included forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

    Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein.

    To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/262123

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    Here’s a quick recap of the crypto landscape for Monday (August 11) as of 9:00 p.m. UTC.

    Get the latest insights on Bitcoin, Ethereum and altcoins, along with a round-up of key cryptocurrency market news.

    Bitcoin and Ethereum price update

    Bitcoin (BTC) was priced at US$118,815, down by 0.1 percent over the last 24 hours and its lowest valuation on Monday. Its highest price for the day was US$120,693.

    Bitcoin price performance, August 11, 2025.

    Chart via TradingView.

    Analyst Omkar Godbole offered a cautious outlook, pointing to lower trading volumes for Bitcoin despite similar prices in July and a Coinbase Global (NASDAQ:COIN) discount suggesting weak US institutional demand.

    Ethereum (ETH) has outperformed after a weekend rally.

    Ethereum broke past US$4,300 on Monday as FG Nexus announced the acquisition of 47,331 ETH, worth about US$200 million. Meanwhile, data from Etherscan shows rising daily transaction counts over the past several weeks.

    Creator coins like ZRO and PUMP also saw gains after announcements like Coinbase’s new DEX feature and LayerZero’s acquisition. Bondex CEO Ignacio Palomera called these developments an evolution in how creators can monetize their content. US consumer price index data on Tuesday (August 12) could fuel or dampen the crypto rally.

    Altcoin price update

    • Solana (SOL) was priced at US$176.39, down by 3.6 percent over 24 hours and its lowest valuation for the day. Its highest price was US$180.86.
    • XRP was trading for US$3.16, down 1.7 percent in the past 24 hours and at its lowest valuation of the day. Its highest was US$3.22.
    • Sui (SUI) was trading at US$3.69, down by 5 percent over the past 24 hours, and its lowest valuation of the day. Its highest level was US$3.77.
    • Cardano (ADA) was trading at US$0.783, down by 3 percent over 24 hours and its lowest valuation on Monday. Its highest was US$0.8008.

    Today’s crypto news to know

    Bullish aims for US$4.82 billion valuation in upsized IPO

    Bullish has increased the size of its planned initial public offering (IPO), targeting a valuation of up to US$4.82 billion. It plans to raise as much as US$990 million by selling 30 million shares priced between US$32 and US$33 each, a higher range than its previous filing, but still below its US$9 billion target in a failed 2021 SPAC merger.

    The cryptocurrency exchange said it will convert a significant portion of its IPO proceeds into US-dollar-backed stablecoins through partnerships with token issuers. BlackRock-managed funds and Cathie Wood’s ARK Investment have shown interest in purchasing up to US$200 million worth of shares.

    Bullish is expected to price the offering on Tuesday and debut on the NYSE under the ticker “FLY” the next day.

    Tether and Rumble propose joint acquisition of Northern Data

    Tether and Rumble (NASDAQ:RUM) have proposed to jointly acquire all shares of artificial intelligence infrastructure company Northern Data, according to a press release issued on Monday.

    According to the proposed terms, USDt issuer Tether, already Northern Data’s largest shareholder, would support the transaction, which would see each Northern Data shareholder receive 2.319 newly issued Class A Rumble shares for each Northern Data share offered, leading to roughly 33.3 percent of Rumble ownership being transferred to Northern Data shareholders. The final exchange ratio may be adjusted for the potential sale of Peak Mining and a related debt reduction, which would increase the exchange ratio.

    Subject to definitive documentation, Tether would also significantly increase its investment in Rumble, becoming a key customer with a multi-year GPU purchase commitment.

    Chainlink to partner with ICE

    Blockchain oracle platform Chainlink announced a partnership with US-based Fortune 500 company Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) on Monday to bring foreign exchange and precious metals data onchain.

    The collaboration will unite Intercontinental’s consolidated feed, an aggregator of market data from over 300 global exchanges and marketplaces, with Chainlink Data Streams’ derived data sets, which provide market information to power tokenization for over 2,000 decentralized applications and major financial institutions.

    This partnership is the latest move to further integrate traditional market infrastructure with blockchain systems.

    El Salvador targets wealthy investors with new Bitcoin banking law

    El Salvador has approved a new investment banking law designed to attract institutional and high-net-worth crypto investors. Licensed investment banks with at least US$50 million in capital will be able to provide Bitcoin and other digital asset services, but only to clients meeting “sophisticated investor” criteria.

    Requirements include at least US$250,000 in liquid assets and advanced financial knowledge.

    The banks will be allowed to issue bonds, structure public-private projects and offer digital asset products. Lawmakers say the changes aim to position the country as a regional financial hub and draw in foreign private capital.

    The move comes as President Nayib Bukele consolidates political power through constitutional reforms extending presidential terms and removing term limits.

    Blue Origin to accept crypto payments for space flights

    According to a Monday press release, Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin has partnered with payment processing company Shift4 Payments (NYSE:FOUR) to allow customers to buy tickets to outer space using crypto and stablecoins.

    Trips will take place on Blue Origin’s New Shepard reusable rockets, and direct payments will now be accepted from popular wallets from the likes of MetaMask and Coinbase.

    “Our mission has always been to revolutionize commerce by simplifying the transaction process, and we’re thrilled to now extend that vision beyond Earth,” said Taylor Lauber, CEO of Shift4.

    “This partnership will enable adventurous travelers to book the adventure of a lifetime, no matter their preferred payment method — all with a simple, frictionless experience,’ he added. Blue Origin has flown more than 75 passengers past the Kármán Line, the boundary separating Earth’s atmosphere and space.

    “We believe crypto and stablecoins are going to become an increasingly popular way for consumers to pay, particularly for high-end purchases, as both the consumer and merchant benefit financially from these transactions,” commented Alex Wilson, head of crypto at Shift4.

    Securities Disclosure: I, Giann Liguid, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

    Securities Disclosure: I, Meagen Seatter, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

    This post appeared first on investingnews.com

    NEW YORK — A top official at the Federal Reserve said Saturday that this month’s stunning, weaker-than-expected report on the U.S. job market is strengthening her belief that interest rates should be lower.

    Michelle Bowman was one of two Fed officials who voted a week and a half ago in favor of cutting interest rates. Such a move could help boost the economy by making it cheaper for people to borrow money to buy a house or a car, but it could also threaten to push inflation higher.

    Bowman and a fellow dissenter lost out after nine other Fed officials voted to keep interest rates steady, as the Fed has been doing all year. The Fed’s chair, Jerome Powell, has been adamant that he wants to wait for more data about how President Donald Trump’s tariffs are affecting inflation before the Fed makes its next move.

    At a speech during a bankers’ conference in Colorado on Saturday, Bowman said that “the latest labor market data reinforce my view” that the Fed should cut interest rates three times this year. The Fed has only three meetings left on the schedule in 2025.

    The jobs report that arrived last week, only a couple of days after the Fed voted on interest rates, showed that employers hired far fewer workers last month than economists expected. It also said that hiring in prior months was much lower than initially thought.

    On inflation, meanwhile, Bowman said she is getting more confident that Trump’s tariffs “will not present a persistent shock to inflation” and sees it moving closer to the Fed’s 2% target. Inflation has come down substantially since hitting a peak above 9% after the pandemic, but it has been stubbornly remaining above 2%.

    The Fed’s job is to keep the job market strong, while keeping a lid on inflation. Its challenge is that it has one main tool to affect both those areas, and helping one by moving interest rates up or down often means hurting the other.

    A fear is that Trump’s tariffs could box in the Federal Reserve by sticking the economy in a worst-case scenario called “stagflation,” where the economy stagnates but inflation is high. The Fed has no good tool to fix that, and it would likely have to prioritize either the job market or inflation before helping the other.

    On Wall Street, expectations are that the Fed will have to cut interest rates at its next meeting in September after the U.S. jobs report came in so much below economists’ expectations.

    Trump has been calling angrily for lower interest rates, often personally insulting Powell while doing so. He has the opportunity to add another person to the Fed’s board of governors after an appointee of former President Joe Biden stepped down recently.

    This post appeared first on NBC NEWS

    Disney’s ESPN and Fox Corp. are teaming up to offer their upcoming direct-to-consumer streaming services as a bundle, the companies said Monday.

    The move comes as media companies look to nab more consumers for their streaming alternatives, and draw them in with sports, in particular.

    Last week, both companies announced additional details about the new streaming options. ESPN’s streaming service — which has the same name as the TV network — and Fox’s Fox One will each launch on Aug. 21, ahead of the college football and NFL seasons.

    The bundled apps, however, will be available beginning Oct. 2 for $39.99 per month. Separately, ESPN and Fox One will cost $29.99 and $19.99 a month, respectively.

    While the bundle will offer sports fans a bigger offering at a discounted rate, the streaming services are not exactly the same.

    ESPN’s flagship service will be an all-in-one app that includes all of its live sports and programming from its TV networks, including ESPN2 and the SEC Network, as well as ESPN on Disney-owned ABC. The app will also have fantasy products, new betting tie-ins, studio programming and documentaries.

    ESPN will also offer its app as a bundle with Disney’s other streaming services, Disney+ and Hulu, for $35.99 a month. That Disney bundle will cost a discounted $29.99 a month for the first 12 months — the same price as the stand-alone app.

    Last week, ESPN further beefed up the content on its streaming app when it inked a deal with the WWE for the U.S. rights to the wrestling league’s biggest live events, including WrestleMania, the Royal Rumble and SummerSlam, beginning in 2026. The sports media giant also reached an agreement with the NFL that will see ESPN acquire the NFL Network and other media assets from the league.

    The Fox One service, however, will be a bit different. Fox had been on the sidelines of direct-to-consumer streaming for years after its competitors launched their platforms. Just this year, it said it would offer all of its content — including news and entertainment — from its broadcast and pay TV networks in a streaming offering. Fox One won’t have any exclusive or original content.

    Fox’s move into the direct-to-consumer streaming game — outside of its Fox Nation app and the free, ad-supported streamer Tubi — came after it abandoned its efforts to launch Venu, a joint sports streaming venture with Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery.

    Both Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch and Disney CEO Bob Iger said during separate earnings calls last week that they were exploring bundling options with other services. Since Fox announced the Fox One app, Murdoch has said the company would lean into bundles with other streaming services.

    “Announcing ESPN as our first bundle partner is evidence of our desire to deliver the best possible value and viewing experience to our shared customers,” said Tony Billetter, SVP of strategy and business development for FOX’s direct to consumer segment, in a release on Monday.

    This post appeared first on NBC NEWS

    Nvidia and AMD have agreed to share 15% of their revenue from sales to China with the U.S. government, the White House confirmed Monday, sparking debate about whether the move could affect the chip giants’ business and whether Washington might seek similar deals.

    In exchange for the revenue cut, the two semiconductor companies will receive export licenses to sell Nvidia’s H20 and AMD’s MI308 chips in China, according to the Financial Times.

    “We follow rules the U.S. government sets for our participation in worldwide markets. While we haven’t shipped H20 to China for months, we hope export control rules will let America compete in China and worldwide,” Nvidia said in a statement to NBC News. “America cannot repeat 5G and lose telecommunication leadership. America’s AI tech stack can be the world’s standard if we race.”

    AMD said in a statement that its initial license applications to export MI308 chips to China have been approved.

    The arrangement crafted by President Donald Trump’s administration is “unusual,” analysts told CNBC, but underscores his transactional nature. Meanwhile, investors see the move as broadly positive for both Nvidia and AMD, which once more secure access to the Chinese market.

    Nvidia’s H20 is a chip that has been specifically created to meet export requirements to China. It was previously banned under export curbs, but the company last month said it expected to receive licenses to send the product to China.

    Also in July, AMD said it would resume exports of its MI308 chips.

    At the time, there was no suggestion that the resumption of sales to China would come with conditions or any kind of revenue forfeiture, and the step was celebrated by markets because of the billions of dollars worth of potential sales to China that were back on the table.

    On Monday, Nvidia shares rose modestly, while AMD’s stock was up more than 2%, highlighting how investors believe the latest development is not a major negative for the companies.

    “From an investor perspective, it’s still a net positive, 85% of the revenue is better than zero,” Ben Barringer, global technology analyst at Quilter Cheviot, told CNBC.

    “The question will be whether Nvidia and AMD adjust their prices by 15% to account for the levy, but ultimately it’s better that they can sell into the market rather than hand the market over entirely to Huawei.”

    Huawei is Nvidia and AMD’s closest Chinese rival.

    Uncertainty, nevertheless, still looms for both U.S. companies over the longer term.

    “In the short term, the deal gives both companies some certainties for their exports to China,’ George Chen, partner and co-chair of the digital practice at The Asia Group, told CNBC. ‘For the long term, we don’t know if the U.S. government may want to take a bigger cut from their China business especially if their sales to China keep growing.’

    Multiple analysts told CNBC that the deal is “unusual,” but almost par for the course for Trump.

    “It’s a good development, albeit a strange one, and feels like the sort of arrangement you might expect from President Trump, who is a deal-maker at heart. He’s willing to yield, but only if he gets something in return, and this certainly sets an unusual precedent,” Barringer said.

    Neil Shah, partner at Counterpoint Research, said the revenue cut is equivalent to an “indirect tariff at source.”

    Daniel Newman, CEO of The Futurum Group, also posted Sunday on X that the move is a “sort of ‘tax’ for doing business in China.”

    But such deals are unlikely to be cut for other companies.

    “I don’t anticipate it extending to other sectors that are just as important to the U.S. economy like software and services,” Nick Patience, practice lead for AI at The Futurum Group, told CNBC.

    The U.S. sees semiconductors as a strategic technology, given they underpin so many other tools like artificial intelligence, consumer electronics and even military applications. Washington has therefore put chips under an export control regime unlike that of any other product.

    “Semiconductor is a very unique business and the pay-to-play tactic may work for Nvidia and AMD because it’s very much about getting export approval from the U.S. gov,” the Asia Group’s Chen said.

    “Other business like Apple and Meta can be more complicated when it comes to their business models and services for China.”

    Semiconductors have become a highly sensitive geopolitical topic. Over the last two weeks, China has raised concerns about the security of Nvidia’s chips.

    Late last month, Chinese regulators asked Nvidia to “clarify” reports about potential security vulnerabilities and “backdoors.” Nvidia rejected the possibility that its chips have any “backdoors” that would allow anyone to access or control them. On Sunday, Nvidia again denied that its H20 semiconductors have backdoors after accusations from a social media account affiliated with Chinese state media.

    China’s state-run newspaper Global Times slammed Washington’s tactics, citing an expert.

    “This approach means that the US government has repudiated its original security justification to pressure US chip makers to secure export licenses to China through economic leverage,” the Global Times article said.

    The Chinese government is yet to comment on the reported revenue agreement.

    Trump’s deal with Nvidia and AMD will likely stir mixed feelings in China. On the one hand, China will be unhappy with the arrangement. On the other hand, Chinese firms will likely want to get their hands on these chips to continue to advance their own AI capabilities.

    “For China, it is a conundrum as they need those chips to advance their AI ambitions but also the fee to the US government could make it costlier and there is a doubt of US ‘backdoors’ considering US has agreed for chipmakers to supply,” Counterpoint Research’s Shah said.

    — CNBC’s Erin Doherty contributed to this report.

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    Senate Republicans faced a choice recently: Remain in session and confirm more of President Trump’s nominees, or finally abandon Washington for the vaunted August recess.

    Senators hung around – a little while – knocking out some of the President’s nominees for administration positions. But not all. That drew the ire of some conservatives, Trump loyalists and President Donald Trump himself.

    Trump seethed at Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., for requiring the Senate to run lengthy parliamentary traps and incinerate valuable floor time to confirm even non-controversial nominees. The President finally unloaded on the New York Democrat in a digital coup de grace, telling him to ‘GO TO HELL!’

    It’s notable that Trump has not yet met with Schumer or House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., during his second term. But then again, this is a two-way street. And Democrats remember multiple tumultuous meetings with Mr. Trump during the last time he was in office. It culminated in verbal grappling between the President and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif, and ended with Democrats abandoning the meeting after only a few moments.

    So, it’s far from certain any such meeting would yield anything remotely productive.

    But back to the ‘August recess.’

    First, it’s important to establish that members of the House and Senate are not on ‘summer vacation.’ Sure, there are always some breaks to visit with family and friends. Lawmakers are people, too. But truly, this is not a ‘break.’ Lawmakers are always ‘on.’ Not everything they do is centered around Washington. Any congressman or senator worth their salt will tell you that spending time back in their home states or districts is just as important – if not more so – than what goes down on Capitol Hill. Meeting with constituents. Visiting businesses. Conducting town hall meetings. Stopping by local coffee bars. Breaking bread at diners. Chatting up the local press corps. 

    Members also use this longer respite for political travel and fact-finding missions overseas. These ‘CODELS’ – short for ‘Congressional Delegation’ – are a critical function for lawmakers to build bridges with foreign leaders and make their marks on how the U.S. approaches the rest of the globe. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and former House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., have recently led groups on trips to Israel. At least one other major trip is booked for later this month.

    So, the ‘August recess’ is not inherently a ‘bad’ thing. It’s an essential part of the job and probably one of the biggest misnomers in American politics. 

    Still, many Americans simply dismiss August as a ‘vacation’ for House members and senators, and it is a challenging optic for Congress.

    Which brings us back to the tension between staying in session to get ‘something’ done and returning home.

    It’s clear the Senate could have stayed in session to plow through more of President Trump’s nominees. Schumer and other Democrats simply weren’t going to relent and allow Republicans to confirm a slate of nominees ‘en bloc.’ That’s where the Senate greenlights a large slate of nominees all at once and approves them either by unanimous consent or via voice vote. The Senate confirms the nominees all at once. The House certainly could have stayed in session to hammer out a few spending bills ahead of the deadline to fund the government by October 1.

    But here’s a stark reality – especially for the Senate:

    Lawmakers and staff desperately needed a break.

    Period. Full stop.

    Since May, the Senate in particular has conducted multiple overnight, round-the-clock and weekend sessions. Not just a few. The Senate voted deep into the night or overnight on the Big, Beautiful Bill. Then the Senate was back for late-night sessions confirming nominees. 

    Yes. This is the people’s business. But the floor staff and support teams were exhausted. Senate leaders were mindful of that. And that’s to say nothing of the lawmakers themselves.

    It’s anecdotal, but lawmakers probably needed a break from one another, too. That makes them happier – and probably more productive when they return to Washington. 

    But this still doesn’t solve the political dilemma facing Republican senators with a substantial core of their party demanding they remain moored in Washington to grind out nominees.

    And it may not satisfy President Trump, either.

    There’s lots of Senate talk now about ‘changing the rules’ to accelerate the confirmation of nominees. 

    One thing is for sure: the Senate won’t change the ‘rules’ to expedite the confirmation process. The Senate boasts 44 standing rules. It takes 67 votes to break a filibuster on an actual rules change. But what Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., could do is back the Senate into a special parliamentary posture where he can initiate a new ‘precedent’ to confirm different types of nominees. That’s a maneuver that late Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., executed to confirm some of former President Obama’s nominees. The same with former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to confirm Supreme Court nominees.

    ‘New precedents’ in the Senate require some complicated parliamentary wrangling. But only a simple majority is necessary to make good on this gambit for nominees. So, it’s easier and much more plausible than ‘changing the rules.’

    To the lay person, a new ‘precedent’ doesn’t sound important. But there’s a reason why the Senate only has 44 standing rules and a voluminous book of precedents. You can accomplish a lot in the Senate if you’re able to concoct a new precedent.

    And note that it’s not just Republicans who want to change the way the Senate does things for some lower-tier, non-controversial nominees. Some Senate Democrats have expressed interest in changes, too.

    There are only so many minutes and so many hours. Time is just as valuable to Democrats as it is to Republicans.

    Everyone on Capitol Hill knows that more long nights and overnight sessions await lawmakers in September and the fall as the Senate attempts to confirm additional nominees.

    That’s to say nothing of avoiding a government shutdown in October.

    This is why Senate Republicans elected to stick around for a bit recently – and then call it a day. Or a month.

    After all, there is only so much time available in August.

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    A senior member of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle warned that multiple countries are mounting ‘titanic efforts’ to undermine the upcoming summit between the Russian leader and U.S. President Donald Trump.

    The two leaders are scheduled to meet in Alaska on Aug. 15, though Trump’s announcement, made via a Truth Social post on Friday, offered few additional details about the summit. It is also unclear if Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will be invited to join the talks as the Kremlin’s unprovoked war stretches into its fourth year. 

    ‘Undoubtedly, a number of countries interested in continuing the conflict will make titanic efforts to disrupt the planned meeting between President Putin and President Trump,’ wrote Russia’s investment envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, in a Telegram post on Saturday, referencing the Kremlin’s ongoing war in Ukraine.

    While Dmitriev did not name specific countries, he warned that critics of the upcoming talks could seek to sabotage the summit through diplomatic maneuvers or media-driven provocations. Several NATO countries in Europe have been openly skeptical of any deal that rewards Russian aggression in the three-year-old war.

    Dmitriev, who met with Trump administration officials in Washington in April, has been dubbed Putin’s ‘shadow foreign minister’ for his behind-the-scenes role in shaping Russia’s global diplomacy.

     As head of the Kremlin’s sovereign wealth fund and a recently appointed special envoy, he has often acted as an informal bridge between Moscow and Washington.

    Meanwhile, the Kremlin said in a statement on Saturday that Trump and Putin are expected to ‘focus on discussing options for achieving a long-term peaceful resolution to the Ukrainian crisis.’

    ‘This will evidently be a challenging process, but we will engage in it actively and energetically,’ the statement added.

    Trump has previously said that Putin and Zelenskyy were close to a ceasefire deal but suggested that Kyiv would have to concede significant territory, an outcome that Ukrainians and many European allies oppose. 

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    President Donald Trump recently spoke to the South Carolina Republican Party’s Silver Elephant Gala through a phone that Sen. Lindsey Graham held up to a microphone.

    Trump, who endorsed Graham for re-election earlier this year, continued expressing his support for the senator while speaking on the phone.

    Trump said the senator has his ‘full endorsement,’ calling him a ‘great guy,’ saying that Graham has always been there for him when he needed him and he ‘won’t forget it.’

    ‘Thank you for your surprise call, Mr. President!’ Graham said in a post on X that also featured footage of Trump’s remarks about him. 

    ‘With your support, I’ll keep delivering the America First agenda to the great people of South Carolina. I’m glad to have been part of the most awesome six months in modern history led by President @realDonaldTrump.’

    Graham, who has served in the Senate since 2003, is facing Republican primary challengers.

    Paul Dans, the former director of the 2025 Presidential Transition Project at the Heritage Foundation and who is one of Graham’s challengers, attended the event where Trump spoke by phone.

    ‘Lindsey Graham’s terrified—his Senate seat’s at risk against me, his toughest challenger yet. After 32 years of broken term-limit promises, he’s done. Clinging to President Trump won’t save him from SC’s America First Patriots who see his grift. #LindseyPanic #PrezTrumpPlsHelpMe,’ Dans wrote in a post on X.

    Graham will be up for re-election in 2026.

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    President Donald Trump will use the upcoming summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin to test how serious Putin is about ending the war with Ukraine, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said Sunday.

    Rutte told ABC’s ‘This Week’ that the meeting comes as Trump continues to put pressure on Putin, noting the recent secondary sanctions on countries like India, which purchased Russian oil, and delivering lethal weapons to Ukraine.

    ‘Next Friday will be important because it will be about testing Putin, how serious he is on bringing this terrible war to an end,’ Rutte said.

    Trump announced the first in-person meeting with Putin since Moscow launched its deadly invasion of Ukraine in 2022 in a Truth Social post on Saturday. The leaders are expected to meet in Alaska on Friday, Aug. 15.

    In recent weeks, Trump has refused to mince words when asked about Putin. Trump said during a Cabinet meeting July 8 he was fed up with Putin and said he was eyeing potentially imposing new sanctions on Russia. 

    The NATO chief called the upcoming meeting ‘an important step’ in the process of reaching full-scale peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, however, wasn’t expected to be at the summit with Trump and Putin as of Sunday. Despite Zelenskyy’s absence, Rutte said ‘we need Ukraine at the table.’

    ‘It will be about territory,’ Rutte said of the upcoming meeting. ‘It will, of course, be about security guarantees, but also about the absolute need to acknowledge that Ukraine decides on its own future, that Ukraine has to be a sovereign nation deciding on its geopolitical future, of course having no limitations to its own military troop levels, and for NATO to have no limitations on our presence on the eastern flank in countries like Latvia, Estonia and Finland.’

    U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker told CNN on Sunday that no decision had been made at this point about whether Zelenskyy would be invited to the meeting.

    ‘If [Trump] thinks that that is the best scenario to invite Zelenskyy, then he’ll do that,’ Whitaker said, adding that ‘there’s time to make that decision.’

    When asked about whether Putin can be trusted, Whitaker said that in any situation of competing national interests it will be actions, not words, that decide whether peace is achieved and preserved.

    ‘Words are cheap, but in this case, whether it’s the Russians or the Ukrainians, both sides are going to have to take the actions to have peace and to continue to honor that peace,’ he said.

    Fox News Digital’s Diana Stancy contributed to this report.

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