Lana

Mining giants like Rio Tinto and Glencore are even talking about joining forces.

Makes sense.

That would let them share infrastructure, cut costs, and keep cash flows steadier when prices dart around.

That's it for today.

I'm Lana.

I'll see you tomorrow.

Hey, I'm Lana with your daily brief for Wednesday, January 21st.

Coming up, investors bailed out of Japanese government bonds, sending their yields up to record levels.

And UK unemployment stayed high, with layoffs outpacing vacancies.

We'll also check in with Carl to get his answers to your burning questions.

More on the way, but first, a word from Guy at Finimize HQ.

On Monday, Japan's new prime minister called for a snap election to be held in a few weeks, putting her position on the line to try and secure support for plans to cut taxes and spend more on the country.

That sounds like good news, at first.

Thing is, the government is already up to its eyeballs in debt, and it'll need to sell more bonds to raise funding for those plans.

Investors had been nervous about Japan's ever-growing debt for a while, and on Tuesday they bailed out of government bonds in their droves.

That rush for the exit has sent yields on 30- and 40-year bonds sharply higher, with the latter rising above 4% for the first time ever.

That's reflective of the extra reward investors want for taking on what they see as more risk.

Long-term investors need to estimate corporate profit as best they can, and that's a lot easier to do in calm conditions.

After all, when economies and politics are steady, there are fewer wildcards to knock trends off course.

But when policies and outlooks change by the day, markets lurch around and company results become much harder to call.