NZX50 gains lag Asia as BHP reclaims top spot on ASX. 

Detected Manipulations & Suggested Changes

Appeal to emotion / Mild sensational framing

Using figurative or emotionally colored language that slightly dramatizes otherwise neutral financial information.

1) "The rise of precious metals didn’t take the sheen off Michael Hill International’s upgraded earnings..." 2) "...junior miner Santana Minerals clawed back some of Monday’s losses amid fears over its consenting process." 3) "...including the problematic New Zealand home market."

3 suggestions

Replace "didn’t take the sheen off" with a neutral description such as "did not offset" or "did not reduce the positive impact of" to avoid metaphorical, emotive phrasing.

Change "clawed back some of Monday’s losses" to a neutral phrase like "recovered some of Monday’s losses" to remove the slightly dramatic connotation.

Clarify "problematic New Zealand home market" with specific, factual detail (e.g., "including the New Zealand home market, where sales have previously been weak/volatile") or attribute the characterization to a source (e.g., "which the company has previously described as challenging").

Oversimplification / Mild speculative causation

Suggesting a causal explanation in a simplified way without fully clarifying its tentative nature or the complexity of factors involved.

"The gold rally has been going on for a while now, with geopolitical tensions or just the fact that Trump’s in power and there may have been potentially Treasuries that were sold and put into gold as well,” said Peter McIntyre..."

3 suggestions

Emphasize that this is an opinion by keeping it clearly attributed and possibly adding a qualifier from the reporter, such as "McIntyre suggested" or "McIntyre speculated" to signal that this is not an established causal fact.

Add brief context that multiple factors typically drive gold prices (e.g., interest rates, currency moves, inflation expectations) to avoid implying a single or overly simple cause.

If available, balance the quote with another expert view or data point on drivers of the gold rally to reduce the risk of readers over-attributing causation to one explanation.

Framing effect

Presenting information in a way that subtly influences perception through word choice, even when the underlying facts are neutral.

1) "...amid fears over its consenting process." (re: Santana Minerals) 2) "...including the problematic New Zealand home market." (re: Michael Hill International) These phrases frame the situations in a negative light without detailing the underlying issues in this article.

3 suggestions

For "amid fears over its consenting process," specify whose fears and on what basis (e.g., "amid investor concerns about delays in its consenting process"), and briefly outline the factual basis if space allows.

For "problematic New Zealand home market," either provide concrete metrics (e.g., "where same-store sales have declined for X consecutive quarters") or attribute the label (e.g., "which the company has previously described as challenging").

Where possible, balance negatively framed descriptions with relevant positive or neutral context (e.g., regulatory steps taken, recent improvements) to keep the framing proportional to the facts.