Weekly Weigh In: Dutch Gold Move, Russia Deals, Central Asia Building, Peru
Going Dutch [With Gold]
The Netherlands just moved 86 tonnes of gold out of the US and Canada, worth around $12.1 billion USD. Amazingly, this is a sizable amount of about 12% of their current reserves of the yellow metal in current reserves.
The reason given by the Dutch central bank was related to increasing geopolitical unrest, better crisis preparedness and making its reserves easier to access when needed. The reserves have been transferred to London.
This has come after tariff talks between Canada & tensions between Europe and the US have risen since the start of the US war on Iran in February this year, with Trump vocally calling out many European countries and taunting them with penalties.
Up until now, Zeist (Holland) held 30.8 percent of the Netherlands’ gold reserves; London held 18.1 percent; New York, 31.3 percent; and Ottawa, 19.7 percent. Now, New York and Ottawa amounts will be reduced in favor of London which will now hold: London, 32.1 percent; New York, 18.5 percent; and Ottawa, 18.5 percent (so the reserves are not emptied of US and Canada, just yet).
Russia Deals
Massive bilateral projects are underway between Russia and Turkey, one of them is the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant
‘Rosatom is working in Turkey right now, and the goal is to launch the nuclear power plant this year’ & ‘I’m confident this will happen’ -Vladimir Putin
President Putin has also agreed to a 3-day ceasefire of Kyiv where Kushner and Whitkoff are visiting. Putin says Ukraine wanted a broader ceasefire along the whole front, but Russia only agreed to a limited ceasefire.
Companies Getting Kicked Out of the Party
S&P Dow Jones Indices is removing Nike from the S&P 100 effective September 21, 2026, replacing it with Sandisk after the stock closed at $38.40—down from highs above $170. Nike joined the index in December 2008 and will remain in the broader S&P 500, while Dell Technologies, Palo Alto Networks, and Arista Networks fill other spots vacated by Honeywell Aerospace, Simon Property Group, and Colgate-Palmolive.
In the case of Nike in particular, the last two years revenue fell -9.7%, operating margins down 2.8%, and EPS down 43.7%. This wasn’t a function of Nike selling less shoes but rather each dollar of revenue also produced considerably less profit and cash for shareholders, which explains the shrinking margins. Economically, Nike operates in a monopolistic competition where product differentiation is key and they’ve fallen shown. From FY21 to FY26, Nike competitors added 5.3x Nikes incremental revenue, including On adding $3.1B, HOKA adding $1.9B, and New balance adding $5.1B. Nike has failed to innovate, pushed political campaigns, while weakening the wholesale distribution network that gave it a competitive edge.
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Kazakhstan Powerplant
The Kazakh Government has approved an investment agreement with GRES Kurchatov LLP to build a 700 MW condensing power plant in Kurchatov, Abai region
The 881 billion tenge ($1.94B USD) project will feature two 350 MW power units, which are expected to be commissioned in stages by 2032. Once fully operational, the plant will generate up to 5 billion kWh of electricity annually.
Another Threat to Mining + Peru Post
Jhonsson Smit Cruz Torres, alias “Jhonsson Pulpo,” the alleged leader of the Peruvian criminal group the Pulpos, was arrested in Bolivia on September 1. Jhonsson Pulpo was wanted for crimes including robbery resulting in death, aggravated homicide, contract killing, organized crime, and kidnapping.
From Insight Crime: Los Pulpos have become the most visible face of Peru’s extortion crisis. The country recorded a record number of extortion complaints in 2025, reaching nearly 27,000. Extortion-related homicides have also surged. Thousands of small businesses have been forced to close because of insecurity, and extortionists are now targeting unusual sectors, according to a local association of convenience stores.
However this criminal organization also have an international presence throughout the continent–and Smit Cruz while high in the pecking order, is not likely to drastically disrupt operations for Peru and beyond. It is suggested that extortion is the hot industry in town for Peru and that Smit Cruz serves as an excellent scapegoat and distraction for other groups from their own criminal enterprises.
