4. OPEC and non-OPEC Oil producers look poised to agree at a meeting today to extend output cuts until the end of 2018, according to news reports this morning, as the group seeks to clear a global glut of Crude and avoid another price crash…some last-minute debate was still possible on the language of an expected statement, with non-OPEC Russia pushing for a clear message on how to exit the cuts so the market is prevented from overheating by flipping into a deficit too soon…with WTIC prices approaching $60 a barrel, Russia has expressed concerns that such an extension could prompt a spike in Crude production in the United States, which is not participating in the deal…Russia needs much lower Oil prices to balance its budget than OPEC leader Saudi Arabia which is also preparing a stock market listing for national energy champion Aramco next year and would hence benefit significantly from pricier Crude…
Check the BMR comments section throughout the day for updates and helpful information.
1. Gold has traded between $1,275 and $1,285 so far today…the narrow trading range and low volatility this month suggest a big move in bullion is on the horizon, perhaps associated with the upcoming Fed meeting December 12–13…our charts suggest the move is most likely going to be an upside breakout (through $1,300) by the end of next month…as of 7:00 am Pacific, Gold is off $4 an ounce at $1,280…Copper is up a penny at $3.07 while Nickel has retreated 10 cents to $5.12…Cobalt prices have pushed through $30 a pound…Crude Oil has added 33 cents to $57.63 while the U.S. Dollar Index has fallen one-third of a point to 92.92…
2. The Commerce Department reported this morning that Core Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE), which strips out volatile food and energy prices and is the central bank’s preferred inflation measure, showed an annual increase of 1.4% in October, in line with expectations but well below the Fed target rate of 2%…economists have been paying close attention to inflation as some central bank members have said that interest rate hikes should be put on hold until inflation picks up…U.S. consumer spending slowed in October as the hurricane-related boost to motor vehicle purchases faded…consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, rose 0.3% after a downwardly revised 0.9% jump in September…personal income jumped 0.4% after advancing by the same margin in September…
3. Growth in China’s manufacturing sector picked up in November despite a crackdown on air pollution and a cooling property market, the official Purchasing Managers’ Index showed…the official PMIs came out overnight slightly higher than consensus which markets have taken well…China’s services sector also saw activity pick up, with its PMI reading accelerating to 54.8 in November from the previous month’s 54.3, official data showed…
5. The Dow has broken above 24,000 for the first time as enthusiasm builds over the tax reform package the GOP-controlled Congress is attempting to pass shortly…multiple analysts have raised their price targets for Amazon shares due to growing optimism over the Internet giant’s retail and cloud computing prowess…the Dow is up another 116 points through the first half hour of trading…in Toronto, the TSX has climbed 24 points while the Venture is 4 points higher at 784 after landing yesterday at strong 780 support…Mission Ready Services (MRS, TSX-V) has firmed up after providing a corporate update including news on an initial fulfilled foreign military order…Cobalt stocks are among the top performers this morning…Castle Silver Resources (CSR, TSX-V), in a unique position in northern Ontario with underground access at the past producing Castle mine, has hit a 4-month high…First Cobalt (FCC, TSX-V), which has enjoyed a strong run over the past week, has retraced slightly after announcing that it has commenced borehole geophysical surveys at the past producing Keeley and Frontier mines…holes to be surveyed include those at the Woods Vein Extension north of the Frontier mine where First Cobalt intersected 0.83% Co and 30 g/t Ag over 0.48 m in an area previously believed to be barren…drilling restarts in January…
6. Calyx Bio-Ventures (CYX, TSX-V) has strengthened in early trading after announcing that its wholly owned subsidiary, Vancouver-based Canada Blockchain Hosting, has acquired and successfully completed the installation and setup of its first cryptocurrency mining and blockchain data validation operation in Kamloops…the company says this is the second phase of its objective to integrate a general cryptocurrency mining facility and distributed computing platform into its existing blockchain business model…the additional computing and hash power will allow CBH to immediately generate additional revenues and significantly enhance its ability to support the expansion of its private blockchain ecosystem…this array of units is currently mining BTC, ETH, Decred, Lbry, Zcash, and Pascal, and will expand to cover any other cryptocurrency that may be profitable in the near term…
7. Interesting information has been released regarding the top 10 occupations in Canada last year for men and women, according to the 2016 census…for women, it’s 1) retail salespersons; 2) registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses; 3) cashiers; 4) elementary school and kindergarten teachers; 5) administrative assistants; 6) food counter attendants, kitchen helpers and related support occupations; 7) administrative officers; 8) nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates; 9) general office support workers; and 10) early childhood educators and assistants…for men, it’s 1) transport truck drivers; 2) retail salespersons; 3) retail and wholesale trade managers; 4) janitors, caretakers and building superintendents; 5) construction trades helpers and laborers; 6) automotive service technicians, truck and bus mechanics and mechanical repairs; 7) material handlers; 8) carpenters; 9) food counter attendants, kitchen helpers and related support occupations; 10) cooks…bottom line is, Canada needs more entrepreneurs…
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