Today’s biggest news concerns a rather small company, newspaper firm Lee Enterprises (NYSE: LEE), which is up double digits on news that Floridian billionaire David Hoffmann is leading a group of investors making a $50 million investment in Lee stock.
Lee’s market capitalization is only $23 million.
In return for the investment, of which Hoffmann will contribute at least $35 million, the billionaire will be named chairman of the board at Lee. The company’s CEO Kevin Mowbray will retire, and the COO Nathan Bekke will take over as interim CEO.
Lee notes that the capital infusion from Hoffmann, et al., will lower the interest rate it must pay on its debt by nearly half, to 5%, “materially improving the Company’s capital structure and cash flow outlook.”
Lee stock is up more than 25% on the news.
Gold, silver, copper — what other commodities might profit investors in 2026? Well, have you considered… salt?
Freedom Capital Markets analyst David Silver has. This morning he raised his price target on salt and potash producer Compass Minerals International (NYSE: CMP) to to $24 with a buy rating.
“CMP’s valuation appears increasingly sensitive to prospects for operating cash flow generation / deleveraging while multiyear upgrades and operating efficiency improvements are implemented at both its crown jewel Goderich salt mine and Great Salt Lake brine-based specialty fertilizer production,” says Silver.
The stock is unprofitable over the last 12 months and costs 48 times projected earnings, but only 7.1x EV/EBITDA based on fiscal 2026 estimates, and Silver thinks that’s cheap.
Continuing the theme of commodity popularity, Argus analyst John Eade this morning upgraded shares of BHP Group (NYSE: BHP) to buy with a $68 price target.
BHP makes most of its money from mining iron ore, but copper is a close second, and the company also mines coal — often at a profit. According to Eade, the prices of all three commodities are “firming as the global economy picks up,” and BHP stock has outperformed the S&P 500 in 2025.
Live coverage has ended. The full story is below.
This article will be updated throughout the day, so check back often for more daily updates.
The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: VOO) started the week with a loss of 0.35% yesterday, and is down again premarket Tuesday, albeit less than 0.1%. Popular AI plays such as Nvidia (Nasdaq: NVDA | NVDA Price Prediction) and Palantir (Nasdaq: PLTR) both lost investors money yesterday.
But the bigger news is in commodities.
Gold and silver prices both slumped on Monday as investors cashed out big gains won earlier in the year. This morning, though, the bargain hunters emerged. According to CNBC data, though, silver is making good essentially all of its losses from yesterday and trading 7% higher premarket at more than $75 an ounce. Gold prices are up more than 1% at $4,395 an ounce. Newmont Corporation (NYSE: NEM), not just a gold and silver miner but an S&P 500 component company, too, is trading 2.3% higher premarket.
The other big commodity news today is copper. Demand for electricity to power artificial intelligence data centers (copper is a great conductor of electricity) has copper on track for about 41% better prices at year-end than at the start of 2025. The metal is trading 1.5% higher this morning at $12,405 per metric ton.
Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE: FCX), one of the world’s biggest copper miners and an S&P 500 component company as well, is up nearly 2% this morning.
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
Joel South covers large-cap stocks, dividend investing, and major market trends, with a focus on earnings analysis, valuation, and turning complex data into actionable insights for investors.
He brings more than 15 years of experience as an investor and financial journalist, including 12 years at The Motley Fool, where he served as an investment analyst, Bureau Chief, and later led the Fool.com investing news desk. He has also co-hosted an investing podcast and appeared across TV and radio discussing market trends.
As the disagreement on the US debt ceiling turns into a debacle, gold posted a new high near $1,635/ounce this morning before pulling back to trade at around $1,624 late in the afternoon. Silver…
At yesterday’s meeting for investors, Rio Tinto plc (NYSE: RIO) offered a subdued forecast for the iron ore and copper markets going forward. There was some upbeat talk about new projects in Mozambique and…
Today’s look at the commodities markets examines a new report from the World Gold Council and reports on another downturn on agricultural products. The World Gold Council has published a new report entitled “Gold:…
Silver prices have risen more than 80% in 2010, far more than either gold, at about 26%, and copper, at around 28%. Aside from speculation, there are a couple of reasons for the enormous…
In what appears to be a counterintuitive move, CME Group (NASDAQ: CME) today raised its margin requirements for copper futures contracts. The requirement rose by 15%, from $6,750 to $7,763 for an initial contract…
ThinkstockThere are a variety of ways to invest in precious metals. Buying gold or silver bars and coins is one. Exchange traded funds (ETFs) are another. A third way is by investing in mining stocks. The…
Today’s commodities watch looks at a silver miner’s and a food producer’s quarterly earnings. And a quick look at how copper is coming back today. Silver and gold miner Coeur d’Alene Mines Corp. (NYSE:…
If a prediction from Moody's Investors Service turns out to be true, gold and silver are going to have a bad year. Moody's reduced its forward views for the average prices of gold and…
While gold has exploded higher in 2023 on worries of a financial sector meltdown, it has backed up some recently, offering investors another chance to grab the glittering bullion. These six gold stocks look…
