Check back later this morning for today’s Morning Musings.
1. Fed Chair Janet Yellen, in prepared comments prior to appearing before Congress this morning, made her strongest case to date in favor of near-term policy tightening, saying a rate increase could be “appropriate relatively soon”….the head of the U.S. central bank also cited the dangers of waiting too long, which could result in the Fed having to move too quickly in the future…the Fed is now widely expected to hike rates for only the 2nd time in more than a decade at its December 13–14 meeting, particularly after the results of last week’s U.S. elections…meanwhile, U.S. consumer prices recorded their biggest increase in 6 months in October on rising gasoline costs and rents, suggesting a pickup in inflation…
2. The global Silver market is expected to post its 4th consecutive supply deficit in 2016, this time to the tune of 52.2 million ounces, according to the GFMS team of Thomson Reuters in its Interim Silver Market Review released at last night’s annual Silver industry dinner hosted in New York by the Silver Institute. “While such deficits do not necessarily influence prices in the near term, multiple years of annual deficits can begin to apply upward pressure to prices in subsequent periods,” GFMS said…
3. Gold and Silver are essentially flat as of 7:00 am Pacific, Copper is up 3 cents while the U.S. Dollar Index is up another one-fifth of a point at 100.40 as Yellen testifies before Congress…North American equity markets, including the Venture, are in the green…
4. What may have been a short-term top in the cannabis sector occurred yesterday as volume and prices spiked in numerous plays (also triggering circuit breakers on multiple occasions) including Canopy Growth (CGC, TSX) and Aphria (APH, TSX-V)…however, the stocks are pushing higher again in early trading today…
5. Cannabix Technologies (BLO, CSE) jumped as much as 39% yesterday, hitting a new all-time high of $1.10 before closing up 12 cents at 91 cents…at the end of last week, the company released images and new details on its Beta 2.0 Cannabix marijuana breathalyzer that’s now at an advanced testing stage prior to submissions for approval as a court-approved device by the Minister of Justice in Canada and the National Highway and Safety Authority in the United States…BLO is up 7 cents at 98 cents as of 7:00 am Pacific…
6. Canadian Zeolite (CNZ, TSX-V) has only 24 million shares outstanding but has traded an average of nearly 1 million shares in each of the last 7 trading sessions with the stock hitting new highs…the company is enjoying success expanding its potential market for Zeolite being quarried from its turnkey operation in southern British Columbia…CNZ is off slightly at 91 cents as of 7:00 am Pacific…
7. Cub Energy (KUB, TSX-V) is the Venture’s early volume leader after 30 minutes of trading with more than 7 million shares having changed hands…after yesterday’s close the company reported a Q3 net profit of $2.19 million (U.S.)…working capital of $800,000 and cash of $3.6-million at September 30 put the company in its best financial position in over 2 years…KUB is up 1.5 cents at 3.5 cents as of 7:00 am Pacific…it has 311 million shares outstanding…
World bond markets continue to see their yields rise in the wake of last week’s Trumpquake which has raised concerns about rising inflationary price pressures…St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said in London today that he favors a rate hike at the central bank’s upcoming meeting December 13–14…that’s consistent with his earlier thinking…traders have assigned about a 94% probability, the highest level this year, to a Fed rate boost next month according to futures contracts…
