INDUSTRY
Woburn-based rare earths refiner Phoenix Tailings eyes IPO within 3 years
US metals refiner Phoenix Tailings plans to pursue an initial public offering within three years after building out plants to produce rare earth elements to go into automobiles, medical devices, and military equipment. “That’s our big target,” chief executive Nick Myers said in a Monday interview. “It’s an aggressive goal, but I like to wake up and do aggressive things on a daily basis.” The six-year-old firm, based in Woburn, is focused on extracting rare earths — a group of 17 elements used in magnets, batteries, and personal electronics — from mining waste. Phoenix Tailings has a Massachusetts facility that can produce 40 metric tons a year. The refiner expects to boost output in the coming weeks after opening a New Hampshire plant that has an initial production capacity of 200 tons annually. Longer-term plans include building an even larger plant, possibly in West Virginia, Nevada, or Texas, that could produce as much as 4,000 tons a year, said Myers, who’s also the cofounder. The closely held firm has attracted investment from the venture capital arms of BMW AG, Yamaha Motor Co., and Sumitomo Corp., and funding from the US Energy Department, he said. North America is seeing a surge of firms focusing on rare earths as the United States and its allies seek to respond to China’s near-monopoly over the global supply chain of these key materials that underpin modern life. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
GOVERNMENT
Federal judge orders US Labor Department to keep Job Corps running during lawsuit
A federal judge on Wednesday granted a preliminary injunction to stop the US Department of Labor from shutting down Job Corps, a residential program for low-income youth, until a lawsuit against the move is resolved. The injunction bolsters a temporary restraining order US District Judge Andrew Carter issued earlier this month, when he directed the Labor Department to cease removing Job Corps students from housing, terminating jobs, or otherwise suspending the nationwide program without congressional approval. Founded in 1964, Job Corps aims to help teenagers and young adults who struggled to finish traditional high school and find jobs. The program provides tuition-free housing at residential centers, training, meals and health care. “Once Congress has passed legislation stating that a program like the Job Corps must exist, and set aside funding for that program, the DOL is not free to do as it pleases; it is required to enforce the law as intended by Congress,” Carter wrote in the ruling. Department of Labor spokesperson Aaron Britt said the department was working closely with the Department of Justice to evaluate the injunction. “We remain confident that our actions are consistent with the law,” Britt wrote in an email to the Associated Press. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
CELLPHONES
Trump Mobile drops ‘Made in USA’ smartphone claims from website
Trump Mobile, the new cellular service venture introduced by the Trump Organization last week, has scrubbed online references that originally promised its first mobile handset, the T1 Phone, would be produced in the United States. As reported by the Verge on Wednesday, the Trump Mobile website quietly removed language stating that the smartphone — due later this year — is “made in the USA.” Instead, the page now includes less specific wording that says the T1 Phone has been “designed with American values in mind.” According to the description, the T1 Phone is “brought to life right here in the USA” and “with American hands behind every device.” But the website no longer asserts that it will be manufactured domestically. A representative for the Trump Organization didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. In a statement to USA Today, spokesperson Chris Walker rebutted the idea that production plans have changed. “T1 phones are proudly being made in America,” Walker said, adding that “speculation to the contrary is simply inaccurate.” — BLOOMBERG NEWS
ECONOMY
Fed’s Collins says July is likely too early for interest-rate cut
Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Susan Collins said she sees at least one interest-rate cut this year, but indicated July would be too early for such a move. “We’re only going to have really one more month of data before the July meeting,” Collins said Thursday in a phone interview with Bloomberg News. “I expect to want to see more information than that.” Fed officials kept interest rates steady last week, arguing there’s still elevated uncertainty over how the economy will react to a set of policy changes, particularly those around trade. Two Fed governors, Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman, signaled after that decision they might back lowering rates as early as next month. But most policymakers who spoke this week made clear they aren’t seriously considering a move in July. And Collins, who’s a voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee in 2025, joined that group. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
OIL
Shell says it has no intention of making an offer for BP
Shell Plc said it has no intention of making a takeover offer for BP Plc, refuting an earlier report that two of Europe’s biggest companies were in active merger talks. The announcement quells speculation that the UK’s two oil majors would end up combining, following several years of poor performance from BP and rising pressure from activist shareholder Elliot Investment Management. Shell’s statement means it is bound by the UK Takeover Code, largely preventing it from submitting an offer for BP for six months. “In response to recent media speculation, Shell wishes to clarify that it has not been actively considering making an offer for BP,” it said in a statement on Thursday. The company “has not made an approach to, and no talks have taken place with, BP with regards to a possible offer.” — BLOOMBERG NEWS
MEDIA
Trump threatens to sue The Times and CNN over Iran reporting
President Trump on Wednesday threatened to sue The New York Times and CNN for publishing articles about a preliminary intelligence report that said the American attack on Iran had set back the country’s nuclear program by only a few months. In a letter to the Times, a personal lawyer for the president said the newspaper’s article had damaged Trump’s reputation and demanded that the news organization “retract and apologize for” the piece, which the letter described as “false,” “defamatory” and “unpatriotic.” The Times, in a response Thursday, rejected Trump’s demands, noting that Trump administration officials had subsequently confirmed the existence of the report, issued by the Defense Intelligence Agency, and its findings. “No retraction is needed,” the paper’s lawyer, David McCraw, wrote in a letter. “No apology will be forthcoming,” he added. “We told the truth to the best of our ability. We will continue to do so.” A spokesperson for CNN, which was the first outlet to report elements of the preliminary report, confirmed that the network had responded to a similar legal threat from the president’s team. Trump and his allies have sharply criticized the Times and CNN in recent days for publishing articles about the preliminary intelligence report, whose conclusions ran counter to the president’s assertion that the American attack had “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear program. — NEW YORK TIMES
GOVERNMENT
Trump administration to review contracts with consulting firms
The Trump administration is asking consulting firms to justify their federal contracts as part of far-reaching efforts to reduce waste in federal spending, according to a letter obtained by Bloomberg News. The US General Services Administration said in a letter dated Thursday that it is soliciting information from the firms about their contracts to help “critically evaluate which engagements deliver genuine value and demonstrable returns to the American taxpayer, and therefore merit external support, and which should be internalized to ensure we are responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars and avoid unnecessary spending.” The agency sent the letters to firms such as AlixPartners LLP, McKinsey & Co. Inc., Ernst & Young LLP, Alvarez & Marsal Inc., Boston Consulting Group Inc., and FTI Consulting Inc., according to a person familiar with the review. The GSA said in the letter its “baseline presumption is that most, if not all, of these contracted services are not core to agency missions.” The agency asked the firms to provide “a comprehensive overview of your firm’s federal engagements, including spending patterns and pricing structures across all active and historical agreements,” in order to conduct its review. The firms were given a July 11 deadline to submit the information. The Wall Street Journal first reported on the letter. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
