Crypto News: Rio Tinto returns to acquisitive growth

Good morning and welcome back, it's Ainsley here with all the news you need to get your working week going.

Today's must-reads:
• Rio returns to acquisitive growth
• New Zealand lures foreign investors
• Kiwis head offshore for better pay

Rio Tinto's return to the M&A fray after last week's deal to buy Arcadium Lithium for $6.7 billion marks a clear step back toward acquisitive growth. Modest by comparison with past splurges, the all-cash deal is a significant and long-awaited expansion of Rio's bet on lithium, a metal other diversified miners have stayed away from, worried about geological abundance among other factors.

New Zealand will open the door to foreign investors to attract more capital and boost productivity growth. The Overseas Investment Act will be amended next year to reverse the presumption that putting money into the country is a privilege and that investors must justify their transaction to the government, Associate Finance Minister David Seymour said Saturday.

While the New Zealand government is keen to welcome foreign money, Kiwis themselves are looking overseas. Net immigration slowed to its lowest level in 19 months as record numbers of people headed to other countries for job opportunities and better pay, data showed Friday.

China's highly anticipated Finance Ministry briefing on Saturday lacked the firepower that equity investors had hoped for, indicating that the volatility that's gripped the market following a world-beating rally will likely extend.

Bond investors are going on defense as the outlook for the Federal Reserve's interest-rate cutting path turns more uncertain. The combination of sticky inflation and weak labor-market figures last week led traders to trim bets on the degree of Fed easing left in 2024, while also driving yields to the highest since July.

As Boeing lurches from one crisis to the next, there's been one constant for the embattled planemaker: Its predicament appears to be only getting worse. On Friday, Chief Executive Officer Kelly Ortberg Ortberg cut 10% of Boeing's workforce, equivalent to about 17,000 people. And he tucked in a hint that more dramatic steps might be needed to get the company back on course.

Oscar winner Errol Morris is one of the living legends of documentary film, and his latest feature, Separated, focuses on former President Donald Trump's role in separating immigrant families at the US-Mexico border, writes Jason Bailey for Bloomberg Opinion. It's a film that voters should have the opportunity to watch before the election, but in a move that can only be described as a dereliction of journalistic duty, they'll have to wait.

Former President Donald Trump Photographer: Tom Lynn/Getty Images North America

Nothing major scheduled

SpaceX made big strides on its path to creating a rocket capable of flying to the moon and Mars, completing a journey to space with its Starship that included catching the vehicle's booster back at the launchpad using giant mechanical arms. The successful test underscores the astonishing progress SpaceX is making with its launch capabilities, even as Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk garners headlines for tussling with regulators and faces fresh opposition over expansion plans.

The Starship spacecraft, right, and Super Heavy booster, left, on the launchpad at Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, in 2023. Photographer: Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images