Tidbits, Politics & Economics, Soybeans, Fuel & Crude Oil 10/11/25
- Wright team
- Oct 11
- 5 min read
Tidbits
Politics and economics: Thursday evening, the U.S. Senate passed its version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2026. It authorizes $913.9 billion in defense spending. The NDAA sets policy and funding priorities for the Department of Defense (or War), including modernization of military capabilities, support for service members, and enhancements to national security technologies. It now heads to the conference committee for reconciliation with the House version, which passed earlier in the year.
Apparently the passage of that military legislation was not what the Chinese wanted to see because China immediately added five more elements to its control list of rare earth minerals, bringing the total to 12 of the 17 rare earth types, which are essential for military and other industrial equipment.
President Trump immediately stated that his planned meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the APEC summit in South Korea later this month “does not seem to make sense anymore" and the markets fell out of bed.
That news was the catalyst to send stock and commodity markets sharply lower. The Dow ended the day 878.8 points lower. Only gold and silver managed to settle higher. Late yesterday, Trump announced he will impose a 100% additional tariff on Chinese goods and export controls on “any and all critical software" starting 1 November.
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