Weekly Market Performances
For the week, Silver was unchanged at $17.51 as it meanders around its still-rising 50-day moving average (SMA). Gold added $1 an ounce to $1,490. Nickel tumbled 56 cents or 7% to $7.48 in a normal and anticipated technical correction. Copper lost a penny to $2.60. Zinc added a penny to $1.12 while Cobalt, trading at multi-month highs, remained unchanged at $16.10. Crude Oil retreated more than $1 a barrel to $53.70 while the U.S. Dollar Index shed 1.19 points to 97.14.
On the equity markets, the Dow lost 47 points for the week after Friday’s 256-point setback. However, the Dow and S&P 500 are only about 1% below their all-time highs and earnings season is off to a very positive start (24% of S&P 500 companies will release quarterly results in the week ahead). The NASDAQ jumped 33 points for the week, the TSX lost 38 points while the Venture rebounded 1 point to 542 to snap a 3-week losing skid in which it shed 8.3%.
Monday’s Canadian Election
Will Canadians come to their senses Monday and oust an Oil-hating, Alberta-hating, big-spending, tax-hiking globalist government obsessed with climate change and gender issues – the most left-wing, incompetent “managers” of our economy in nearly half a century – and replace it with at least a strong Conservative minority, or will they actually make things worse by electing what could turn out to be a Liberal-NDP alliance? The socialist NDP, advocating massive new spending and a slew of new and higher taxes including a 50% hike to capital gains taxes to make the “rich” pay their “fair share”, appeal to the worst big government instincts of the Liberals, so there is much at stake Monday for Canada and our resource sector in particular.
If Trudeau remains in power, the risk is that Canada ultimately plunges into a combined national unity/economic crisis. Perhaps, however, a naive younger generation and the country as a whole have to experience the pain that Alberta and the Oil sector in general have suffered before people wake up and realize that as a nation we must chart a bold new course, far different than the one that career politicians and bureaucrats have inflicted on us.
We must make Canada competitive again. Each and every day we are losing ground.
This uninspiring election campaign has not sufficiently addressed the real issues that Canada must immediately grapple with – how to build a more competitive and productive economy; how to cut regulations rather than adding to them every day; how to attract more investment (capital flows are accelerating to the U.S. and elsewhere); how to lower taxes and keep government spending under control ($30 billion just to pay the annual interest on the debt is not “progressive” – it’s equivalent to the amount the feds give to the provinces annually for health care); how to deal with China; how to deliver social programs more effectively and efficiently; how to get big projects done in a timely fashion; how to improve thorny federal-provincial relations; how to properly manage the First Nations problem; how to take maximum advantage of the rich resources we have been blessed with…the list goes on and on.
Ironically, the Conservatives have shown they know how to govern (the Harper years were a good example of solid management), but since 2015 they’ve mysteriously forgotten how to campaign effectively (Scheer lacks charisma and is weak at selling his ideas); the Liberals since 2015 have shown they know how to campaign, but they are pathetically ineffective at governing.
Notably, none of the 3 main federal leaders comes from a private sector business background – that’s what’s really missing in Ottawa right now, a common sense business approach to government (historically for the Liberals, Paul Martin provided that. Today’s Liberals are a very different breed, not unlike the U.S. Democrats who have tilted far to the left with many embracing socialism).
With less than 48 hours before the polls open, it appears the Liberals may squeeze out a minority government. If you’re not aware of Steven Guilbeault, it’s time to get familiar with him – he is a star Liberal candidate in Montreal who’s well known as a radical environmentalist (Greenpeace background). He’ll easily win his seat and he’s highly likely to assume a major position related to the environment or natural resources in a new Trudeau cabinet. He is anti-Alberta (anti-West) and very much against the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion.
In an interview with the National Post the other day, Greenpeace Guilbeault admitted that changes under the controversial and hideous Bill C-69, which expanded the review process for major resource projects, would likely bar any major new pipelines from being built due to their contribution to higher greenhouse gas emissions (the true Liberal agenda is revealed by a Liberal).
Bill C-69, accurately dubbed the “no more pipelines bill” by pro-industry groups, calls on regulators to consider the upstream emissions of a project in the context of Canada’s plan to meet its 2030 Paris targets. The new Impact Assessment Act (IAA) became law in June. Read it – it’s one of the worst pieces of legislation from a federal government in Canadian history, yet most Canadians seem blissfully unaware of it and the damage it will do to our economy.
Guilbeault summed up his thoughts: “I think that now that we have a real evaluation and impact assessment for projects, we will come to the conclusion that many of these projects are incompatible with the goals we have for 2030.”
In this silly pursuit of supposedly “saving the planet”, and bowing to a globalist agenda on a range of issues, we are at serious risk of losing Canada.
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So lets talk politics… is there anybody out there who think a pipeline emits greenhouse gases?? or at least to the levels that these paper punching idiots believe? is it better and safer to transport oil by rail?
and fossil fuels contribute to our society in many ways in a positive fashion.. I agree it may need to be managed better but to remove them is insane. we are not prepared to deal with that.. and to try and do it by 2030 – another insane idea..
better and more technological management is the answer..
NDP and Green have their collective heads up their ass … hoping the alive brain cells of voters are aware of the cost of their platforms… and I am not just talking money.. imagine banning oil and gas and mining from this country..
get used to paying more tax because the revenue generated from these industries subsidize us…
we need fiscal responsibility and intelligent governance … please vote responsibly … and vote!!!! be informed.. educate your kids…
fack I am really scared that if we get a government who thinks that removing our 2% emissions will save the planet that we will slide off the plate and become a 3rd world country. we are a resource based economy.. take that away and we are facked.
soap box done .. in my mind choosing forward is right off a cliff!
Comment by Jeremy — October 19, 2019 @ 2:52 pm
With respect to the environment , voters are dumb. The Ecosphere of the world is shared by all countries around the globe. North America is only one continent. The trend to electric cars is now unstoppable. Nuclear energy which is being curtailed in N Am. is the cleanest form of energy. The ozone layer is repairing itself as we speak and gaps are mostly over S America and the Poles. Global warming and cooling are centuries old phenomena.it will occur with or without us.
Adding to deficits and adding environment taxes in N Am while other countries burn coal and burn down forests is a waste of time and money. It simply raises our cost of doing business especially in Canada with other countries and further reduces our competitiveness. It plays well with tree huggers but it is scientifically and economically stupid .
If you want to help the environment , do something that is proven scientifically – reduce pollution.
Comment by donald — October 19, 2019 @ 9:48 pm
Donald .. well said:_)
Comment by Jeremy — October 20, 2019 @ 6:49 am
My big fear tomorrow is a minority liberal government with the NDP (or Bloc) holding the balance of power. A scary proposition which would lead to more taxes, more spending and higher deficits. Unfortunately Scheer has been pretty invisible and hasn’t given voters an alternative they can be confident in. As I have said before, I miss Steven Harper.
Comment by Danny — October 20, 2019 @ 8:49 am
This was Scheer’s election to lose. Ironically, he could still win the most seats (though not a majority govt. as he should have), and even the popular vote, but Trudeau will find a way to remain in power as the Liberals believe it is their divine right to govern (though they govern very badly). Funny how Democrats in the U.S. complain about foreign interference in elections, and one of their own (Obama) deliberately weighs in on the Canadian vote with an endorsement of Trudeau. For 8 years as President Obama demonized the Oil sands while American-funded NGO’s smeared the Alberta Oil and gas sector with lies and distortions. Canadians are willing to put up with that?????
Comment by Jon - BMR — October 20, 2019 @ 9:32 am
Jon most Cdn’s are oblivious I feel.. its all about dont cut my entitlements .. cut elsewhere.. but as you know that means nothing gets cut or even reallocated.. that would mean doing things differently .. not going to happen
Comment by Jeremy — October 20, 2019 @ 9:54 am
I’ll agree with everyone, one more thing, Trudeau having to wear a bulletproof vest I think says it all , there is a genuine hatred for him.he is an idiot and a lier. I’m just guessing,but I’ll bet his staff still has that item very close by.
Comment by Laddy — October 20, 2019 @ 11:00 am
Very interesting for lithium in Quebec….
https://www.lenouvelliste.ca/affaires/nemaska-on-va-la-sauver-d3c1a3aee2724a86b3e0b34ef7dcf92c?utm_campaign=lenouvelliste&utm_medium=article_share&utm_source=email.
In English…….
Shawinigan – Minister of Economy and Innovation, Pierre Fitzgibbon, leaves no ambiguity about the interest of his government to answer the call of Nemaska Lithium. Every effort will be made to ensure that this $ 1.5 billion project, which includes the operation of a lithium hydroxide plant in Shawinigan, will be completed as planned.
The mining company has been going through difficult times since the beginning of the year, when it announced cost overruns estimated at $ 375 million to complete its investment. The current negotiations with the British group Pallinghurst were to end in mid-October, but they are extended until 31 December. Nemaska Lithium is also trying to get rid of its $ 350 million bond with trustee Nordic Trustee because it can not meet the deadlines that were attached to the project. Finally, earlier this week, the company announced the layoff of half of its 130 employees.
Speaking to Shawinigan on Friday, Fitzgibbon confirmed that his department is closely linked to the discussions surrounding the continued operation of the mining company.
“It’s clear that Nemaska, we will not let it down,” he announces. “If we look at the strategic sectors I’m working on, lithium, lithium-ion batteries, it’s at the top of the list. Nemaska, we will save her. ”
Fitzgibbon understands that the current economic situation is a bit of a drag on the short-term outlook given the unfavorable price of lithium. On the other hand, the heavy trend of conversion to electric vehicles militates in favor of the development and transformation of this material in Quebec.
“If we know half of the expected growth, we will miss lithium,” he says. “The Nemaska problem is strategic. A project increase of $ 375 million is major and it is not good. Of course we take a step back to look at the whole project. There is funding that has been historically made that will be undone because it is no longer appropriate. I prefer to start again than to make mistakes of course. ”
In May 2018, the Qubec government announced $ 130 million in Nemaska Lithium, a direct investment of $ 80 million in the capital of the company and $ 50 million through Ressources Qubec in bonds. The Minister of the Economy and Innovation is ready to hand it over.
“It’s clear, as a government, that we’re going to put a lot of money in there, because it’s a strategic project,” he says. “I want Quebec to control the supply chain with the right partners. It’s public: Pallinghurst is currently looking at Nemaska, we work well with them, we know them, we talk to them. They asked for a few more months. We told them to take their time, there is no race. ”
The investment in Nemaska Lithium will be part of a global strategy for the exploitation of natural resources, adds the minister.
“I want to do it smartly, not to the room. I want to look at all the mining projects, not just that one. But we have a lot of money available and there are quite a few who will go in there. ”
Mr. Fitzgibbon says he is “sad” of the cuts of 64 jobs announced by Nemaska Lithium Tuesday. “But at the same time, you have to preserve the cash flow,” he says.
Comment by Sylvain — October 20, 2019 @ 11:07 am
Great video to watch before heading out to vote tomorrow.
https://youtu.be/X-ZWaWJZgV4
Comment by Dwight — October 20, 2019 @ 2:07 pm
Thanks for sharing Dwight !
Comment by jasi — October 21, 2019 @ 1:10 am