Copper's strong performance, a correspondent's visit to a Hamas tunnel, and India's digital transformation including cashless payments and the Varanasi smart city project
Read more
AI Summary
Highlights
AI Chapters
Episode notes
auto_awesome
Podcast summary created with Snipd AI
Quick takeaways
Copper has defied overall metal trends and experienced a surge in price due to disruptions in production, leading to a supply squeeze.
The extensive and complex network of tunnels in Gaza poses strategic challenges for Israel's defense against Hamas, rendering air power and most technologies useless.
Deep dives
Copper Surges as Top Performing Industrial Metal in 2023
Copper has experienced a surge in price and is on track to finish the year as the top performing industrial metal, despite the overall challenging year for metals. The supply of copper was affected by disruptions in production, such as mining issues in Latin America, leading to reduced production forecasts. Additionally, high interest rates and a stronger dollar have negatively impacted other metals. However, copper has defied these trends and benefitted from a supply squeeze, contributing to its significant price increase.
Hamas Tunnels: A Strategic Challenge for Israel
The underground network of tunnels in Gaza presents a major challenge for Israel's defense. These tunnels, comparable in size to the London Underground, provide Hamas fighters with protection from Israeli aerial attacks. Despite efforts by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) to locate and neutralize the tunnels, their extensive size and complexity make them difficult to eradicate. These tunnels are Hamas's response to Israel's superior technological capabilities, as they render air power and most technologies ineffective. The presence of these tunnels raises significant strategic considerations for the ongoing military conflict between the IDF and Hamas.
India's Technological Development and Challenges
Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has witnessed rapid technological progress, with IT becoming one of the country's most successful exports. Over a billion people in India, a significant adult population, are connected to the internet. The government's digital backbone initiative, known as the India Stack, leverages biometrics and digital identification to support various technological advancements. However, critics argue that despite the country's technological growth, India still faces significant challenges with widespread poverty and a lack of basic services. Infrastructure, clean water, education, and public health remain pressing concerns that need attention alongside technological development.
Copper is set to finish the year as the top-performing industrial metal, and the FT’s John Paul Rathbone recently visited a Hamas tunnel and talks about his experience. Plus, in the first part of a three-part series, the FT’s John Reed goes to Varanasi to show how India’s digital transformation is going.
The FT News Briefing is produced by Fiona Symon, Sonja Hutson, Kasia Broussalian and Marc Filippino. Additional help by Sam Giovinco, Peter Barber, Michael Lello, David da Silva and Gavin Kallmann. Our engineer is Monica Lopez. Topher Forhecz is the FT’s executive producer. The FT’s global head of audio is Cheryl Brumley. The show’s theme song is by Metaphor Music.