Ideas
Northern Star leverages high gold prices
Northern Star, Australia's biggest gold miner, is cashing in on high gold prices and investing A$300m-A$400m a year to move material and access more than six million ounces at the Kalgoorlie Super Pit. Tonkin says the project is important for the business and shareholders and that repairing investor trust after past sector failures has been a priority.
Evolution Mining benefits from gold expansion
Evolution Mining's plant expansion and new mining center are being commissioned into a US$5,000-US$5,200/oz gold price, which Conway calls a perfect time. Adjusted gross profit has grown from about US$270m in 2019 to around US$1bn and is expected to approach US$2bn, while diesel is only about 4% of costs and labor 50%, so high gold prices should flow through.
Australian gold miners show better discipline
McCutcheon says this cycle looks more disciplined than 2000-2012, when the top 10 gold stocks in Citi's coverage universe burnt about US$10bn in free cash through value-destructive M&A. Now dividends, buybacks, and capital management are more common, which should help sustain investor trust and returns.
Gold rises on fiscal debasement fears
Brooks sees gold's post-Jackson Hole rally as a manifestation of debt-sustainability fears and a fiscal crisis: deficits are out of control in non-crisis times, and markets fear governments will print money and inflate away debt. Central-bank buying is steady and not the explanation; retail animal spirits and inflation-protection demand are driving it. With fiscal discipline unlikely and geopolitical stability deteriorating, the debasement phenomenon is only beginning, so gold and other precious metals should remain elevated or go higher.
Treasury yields can move higher
Brooks says Treasury yields are still low and there is good reason to think they can go higher, even though the U.S. looks relatively better than many worse-off fiscal countries. Fiscal worries, midterm-election stimulus, stronger growth, and a pickup in inflation could all push long-term yields up.
China shock threatens European manufacturing
Autor warns that China has moved far up the value chain and is now a world-class auto supplier and the best EV producer, so Chinese exports threaten to displace European manufacturing, most visibly in autos and especially in Germany. The risk is rapid hollowing out of these sectors, and it may be harder for Europe than the first China shock because China now competes in high-tech and heavy industry as well as low-value manufacturing.
German defense spending offsets manufacturing weakness
Flanders says the one major offset to structural pressure on German manufacturing is that Germany is dramatically increasing defense spending and getting a fiscal impulse from it, unlike many other countries. That makes European defense a supported theme to monitor even as autos and machinery face Chinese competition.
Top-quality art holds, emerging art weak
Heriot says the art market has corrected from an overheated period, and the correction has hit emerging artists and lesser examples hardest. Top-quality pieces, even older works, should hold or grow in value because quality equates to long-term value, while lesser examples should be sold sooner rather than later.
Top-quality art holds, emerging art weak
Heriot says the art market has corrected from an overheated period, and the correction has hit emerging artists and lesser examples hardest. Top-quality pieces, even older works, should hold or grow in value because quality equates to long-term value, while lesser examples should be sold sooner rather than later.
This Bloomberg Markets video, published February 07, 2026,
features Stuart Tonkin, Lawrie Conway, Kate McCutcheon, Robin Brooks, David Autor, Stephanie Flanders, Anita Heriot
discussing NST.AX, EVN.AX, Australian gold miners, GLD, GLTR, US Treasury yields, European Automotive Sector, German manufacturing, European Defense, High-quality art, Emerging artists.
9 trade ideas extracted by AI with direction and confidence scoring.
Speakers:
Stuart Tonkin,
Lawrie Conway,
Kate McCutcheon,
Robin Brooks,
David Autor,
Stephanie Flanders,
Anita Heriot
· Tickers:
NST.AX,
EVN.AX,
Australian gold miners,
GLD,
GLTR,
US Treasury yields,
European Automotive Sector,
German manufacturing,
European Defense,
High-quality art,
Emerging artists
