US equities closed last week at record highs after a softer-than-expected December jobs report reinforced confidence in a steady, but not overheating, economic expansion. The S&P 500 and Dow both set new record closes, while the Nasdaq also advanced strongly, capping solid weekly gains across all three indices. Payroll growth of 50,000 came in below expectations but was offset by a slight dip in the unemployment rate to 4.4%, supporting the view that the labour market is cooling gradually without showing signs of stress. Importantly, the data was the first employment report in months unaffected by the US government shutdown, giving investors greater confidence in its reliability and easing pressure on the Federal Reserve to cut rates in the near term. Housing stocks outperformed after President Donald Trump moved to support the mortgage market by directing purchases of mortgage-backed securities, sending major homebuilders sharply higher.
In Australia, the strong lead from Wall Street is flowing through to futures, with SPI futures pointing to a 0.3% gain. Attention now turns to November household spending data due later today, where economists expect a sharp slowdown from October’s strong result. A softer consumption print would ease inflation pressures and could influence expectations for the Reserve Bank of Australia’s next policy move, even as rate hike risks remain part of the broader outlook.
In company news,
Imricor secures first US FDA clearance for MRI-guided cardiac catheter
Imricor Medical Systems
(ASX:IMR) has received US Food and Drug Administration 510(k) clearance for its Vision-MR diagnostic catheter, enabling commercial sales in the United States for the first time. The catheter is designed for use under real-time MRI guidance and forms part of Imricor’s broader MRI-compatible electrophysiology platform for cardiac ablation procedures. Management described the clearance as a major milestone, noting it is the company’s first FDA approval and opens access to the world’s largest electrophysiology market. Imricor expects additional regulatory clearances over the coming year as it rolls out further components of its MRI-guided system.
Brazilian Critical Minerals demonstrates high-purity rare earth separation breakthrough
Brazilian Critical Minerals
(ASX:BCM) reported a successful bench-scale trial showing it can upgrade and separate rare earth elements from its Ema project in Brazil into individual oxides of at least 99.9% purity. Using proprietary solid-phase extraction and chromatography technology developed by US-based Rare Earth Technologies Inc, the company achieved a 200-times concentration upgrade from its pregnant liquor solution, lifting rare earth content from 930ppm to 18.6% without material loss. The process removed 99.4% of cerium in an initial step and delivered cleanly separated rare earth oxides over a 24-minute cycle. BCM said the technology is already in commercial use in Europe and could materially improve recoveries, economics and ESG outcomes as the company advances its bankable feasibility study for the Ema ionic clay project, which hosts a 943Mt rare earth resource.
Global Uranium completes large Wyoming drill campaign with multiple mineralised zones confirmed
Global Uranium and Enrichment
(ASX:GUE) has completed a 114-hole, 38,000-metre drill program at its Pine Ridge uranium project in Wyoming’s Powder River Basin, confirming widespread roll-front mineralisation across multiple sandstone horizons. Recent results included intercepts such as 2.6m at 0.101% U3O8 and 2.0m at 0.124% U3O8, with mineralisation identified at depths of 200–400m. The company said drilling has defined at least 25 mineralised roll fronts within three major sandstone packages and supports the project’s suitability for in-situ recovery mining. Pine Ridge is located about 15km from Cameco’s Smith Ranch mill, one of the largest uranium processing facilities in the US, and the results are expected to inform planning for further drilling and project evaluation.
