December 10, 2018
7 @ 7:00
Visit the BMR comments section throughout the day for updates and helpful information, and check back for an additional post later today!
1. Gold has traded between $1,243 and $1,251 so far today…as of 7:00 am Pacific, bullion has retreated $2 an ounce to $1,246 after a $26 gain last week…a strong band of resistance stretches from about $1,250 to $1,270 on various charts…however, it’s likely only a matter of when, not if, bullion conquers that wall given its bullish new primary trend following important lows over the summer…Silver has slipped 4 cents to $14.54…Copper is unchanged at $2.79…China’s monthly Copper imports dropped 3% in November from a year ago but were up 8.6% from October…in addition, China’s Caixin/Markit Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) for November ticked up to 50.2 from 50.1 in October…Nickel is down 4 cents at $4.86 while Zinc is flat at $1.22…Cobalt remains steady at $25.06…WTI has pulled back $1.06 a barrel to $51.55…Oil prices have posted back-to-back weekly gains after OPEC and some non-OPEC producers including heavyweight Russia on Friday said they would cut Oil supply by 1.2 million bpd…Morgan Stanley said the cut was “likely sufficient to balance the market in 1H19 and prevent inventories from building”…however, “The surge in U.S. supply in recent months should be a reason for caution,” Bank of America Merrill Lynch warned in a note this morning...Western Canadian Select continues to strengthen, hitting $38 a barrel Friday (vs. $14 last month) after Alberta Premier Rachel Notley announced production cuts to take effect in January…the U.S. Dollar Index is up modestly at 96.84…something to watch closely – India’s environmental court today said it will issue its judgment in 1 week on whether to allow Vedanta to re-open its Copper smelter which was closed earlier this year after 13 people died when police fired on protesters…last month, a panel of experts set up by India’s National Green Tribunal, informally known as the environmental court, said authorities in Tamil Nadu state failed to comply with procedures before shutting down the smelter…a judgment on the smelter will be uploaded on the court’s website in a week’s time and there will be no further hearings on the case…
2. The detention of a top Huawei executive in Canada has derailed British Columbia’s trade mission to China…the delegation led by B.C. Forestry Minister Doug Donaldson will no longer be stopping in China, and will instead end its trip after a visit to Japan…the province says in a statement the decision was made because of the ongoing judicial process involving Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou who was arrested December 1 while changing flights in Vancouver…the U.S. is seeking to have her extradited on allegations that she tried to evade American trade sanctions on Iran…Meng spent the weekend in jail and her bail hearing continues today…once in the U.S. and facing the possibility of many years in jail, while her 16 year-old son continues to go to school in Boston, the Huawei CFO may start to “sing like a Flynn” when it comes to Chinese espionage which the American are most interested in…the Chinese government, of course, has warned Canada that if Meng is not released, the country will face “grave consequences”…the arrest is seen by many as a potential deterrent to the U.S. and China reaching a permanent deal on trade but it could also work the other way – if Meng is extradited to the U.S., she could be used as effective leverage against China…
3. More pipeline problems in B.C. – TransCanada’s Coastal GasLink is seeking a court order this week to dismantle a blockade backed by a group of hereditary indigenous leaders who are trying to halt construction of the $6.2 billion pipeline project…members of the Unist’ot’en group, also known as the Dark House, have blocked access to a crucial bridge, Coastal GasLink said in its injunction application in B.C. Supreme Court…a court hearing is scheduled for Thursday in Prince George…“The blockaders have stopped or turned back Coastal GasLink employees and contractors travelling by vehicle and on foot on the Morice River bridge, blocking access,” according to the application…all 20 elected bands along the Natural Gas pipeline route have approved Coastal GasLink, and TransCanada has conditionally awarded $620 million in contracts to indigenous businesses in British Columbia…however, a group of Wet’suwet’en Nation hereditary chiefs who back the Unist’ot’en protest camp argue that their anti-pipeline views outweigh those of elected band officials who support Coastal GasLink…the 670-km pipeline is designed to transport Natural Gas from the Montney gas-producing region near Dawson Creek to the LNG Canada facility in Kitimat…the project received its Environmental Assessment Certificate in 2014 after submitting an extensive 7,200-page application to the B.C. Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) and participating in a thorough public comment period culminating in a robust 2-year environmental and technical review to obtain the permits…necessary regulatory permits from the B.C. Oil and Gas Commission (OGC) followed shortly afterward, providing Coastal GasLink with all the necessary regulatory permits to proceed with construction…
4. The Dow, coming off its worst week since March, is off another 215 points through the first 30 minutes of trading…this extends the Dow’s losses since last Tuesday to 1,652 points or 6.4%…however, RSI(2) is now at extreme levels, indicating a rebound is imminent as the Index hovers a couple of hundred points above strong support (even if it’s violated temporarily) at 24,000…Elon Musk says he might purchase soon-to-be-shuttered General Motors’ factories and start assembling Tesla’s inside them…Musk made the remark in an interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes” yesterday, saying he might be interested in purchasing some of the 5 facilities GM plans to stop using by the end of 2019…the TSX is off 50 points through the first 30 minutes of trading…Kirkland Lake Gold (KL, TSX) is enjoying its 9th straight winning session…KL should easily conquer measured Fib. resistance at $30.52 on its long-term weekly chart this month which clears the way for significantly higher prices in 2019…the Venture, aiming for its 3rd straight gain, is off 2 points at 570…Pure Gold Mining (PGM, TSX-V) has hit a 4-month high of 63 cents…results of a Feasibility Study on the company’s Madsen Gold Project are expected in January…
5. White Gold (WGO, TSX-V) announced this morning that it has discovered additional high-grade Gold mineralization outside of the previously drilled area on the Vertigo target at its JP Ross property in the Yukon, stepping out as much as 300 m in multiple directions…additional surface samples have also identified new zones of high-grade Gold mineralization in the areas surrounding the Vertigo target, further expanding the footprint of the high-grade mineralized system to 2,200 m x 650 m, as well as on other targets along the structural trend which has now been identified to extend 18 km on the JP Ross Property…these results significantly increase the size and scale of the company’s recent discovery at JP Ross, aided by its systematic and data driven regional exploration program backed by partners Agnico Eagle (AEM, TSX) and and Kinross Gold (K, TSX)…drill hole 16 returned 9.2 g/t Au over 9.1 m from 54.9 m depth, including 17.2 g/t over 4.6 m from 54.9 m depth, and 31 g/t over 1.5 m from 56.4 m depth, ending in mineralization…these results identified a new parallel structure approximately 300 m north of previous drilling with no other drill holes in the surrounding area…“The structural zones that host high-grade mineralization on the Vertigo are showing strong continuity in both strike extent and mineral tenor, and highlight the potential for expansion of the known mineralization and additional new discoveries in the area,” stated Jodie Gibson, VP Exploration…WGO is up 8 cents at $1.36 as of 7:00 am Pacific…
6. Canada First: New Gold (NGD, TSX) CEO Renaud Adams continues his strategy to reposition the company for long-term success, eliminating 5 senior management positions to better align the corporate structure with a smaller asset base focused exclusively on Canada (Rainey River, New Afton and Blackwater)…meanwhile, to strengthen the depth of technical and operational experience at the senior corporate level, the company will be appointing a Vice President, Technical Services in the near future…reporting directly Adams, this position will assume the responsibilities of creating organic growth, including projects and exploration, as well as providing technical and operational oversight to the organization…New Gold’s long-term monthly chart shows a stock with exceptional support at $1 and emerging out of deeply oversold conditions after losing more than 90% of its value since 2016…NGD is up 3 cents at $1.19 as of 7:00 am Pacific…
7. Preparing for the future: While Canopy Growth (WEED, TSX) is officially avoiding investments in the United States, the company and its affiliates have been quietly securing U.S. exposure through a series of legal manoeuvres that stay onside of TSX rules but position it for a rapid move into the U.S. market when the time is right…since October, 2017, TMX Group has not let TSX-listed pot firms operate in the U.S., where marijuana remains federally illegal…that has forced companies to think creatively, spinning off subsidiaries, swapping shares and lining up conditional warrants, which allow them to acquire future positions in U.S. companies…one of Canopy’s moves became clear at the end of November when Slang Worldwide, a company run by long-time Canopy allies, filed a preliminary prospectus to list on the Canadian Securities Exchange…Toronto-based Slang is in the process of acquiring a handful of U.S. assets, including Denver-based Organa Brands, owner of several popular vaporizer, edibles and concentrate brands…Canopy owns conditional warrants in Slang, giving it the ability to acquire 20% of the company if and when the U.S. changes its federal weed laws…
Most Popular Recent BMR Posts
Video: How This Innovative Junior Is Winning The “Battery Arms Race” In Northern Ontario
“The Enemies Of Progress, The Radical Environmentalists, Are Ramping Up For A War In The Woods”
Why Are These People Smiling? – Their Stock Has Tanked 80%!
The Template For The Next 10% Stake In Garibaldi Resources
The Nickel Mountain Magma Highway
Two Big Plays Emerge in B.C., Setting The Stage For A Summer To Remember
How To Bring A Junior Resource Market To Life!
Northern Ontario Cobalt Junior Attracts Interest From Metal Trading Companies
The Most Important Venture Development Since The New Bull Market Began
December 9, 2018
BMR Evening Alert!
The Gold Market In 3D!
December 8, 2018
December 7, 2018
7 @ 7:00
Check back later today for Daniel’s Den and Visit the BMR comments section throughout the day for updates and helpful information!
1. Gold has traded between $1,237 and $1,246 so far today…as of 7:00 am Pacific, bullion is up $5 an ounce at $1,242 after U.S. non-farm payrolls for November rose less than expected…Silver is 6 cents higher at $14.50…Copper has rebounded 3 pennies to $2.80 while Nickel and Zinc are up slightly at $4.94 and $1.24, respectively…Cobalt remains steady at $25.06…Oil prices are pushing higher on reports that OPEC has just reached a tentative agreement to cut output…the meeting is still continuing…OPEC producers have apparently agreed to cut production by 800,000 barrels per day (bpd) beginning in January…non-OPEC producers are expected to cut 400,000 bpd…the combined reduction of 1.2 million bpd is roughly in line with expectations entering the meeting in Vienna…WTI is up $2.29 a barrel at $53.78 while the U.S. Dollar Index is flat at 96.81…U.S. job growth slowed in November with non-farm payrolls increasing by a much less than expected 155,000 for the month while the unemployment rate held steady at 3.7%, the lowest since 1969…a separate gauge that includes discouraged workers and those holding part-time jobs for economic reasons, sometimes called the real unemployment rate, rose from 7.4% to 7.6%….average hourly earnings, a closely watched sign of whether inflation pressures are building (which they’re not), again rose at a 3.1% pace from the same period a year ago…
2. Canadian cannabis producer Cronos Group (CRON, TSX, NASDAQ) will receive a $2.4 billion equity investment from Altria Group (MO, NYSE), one of the biggest tobacco companies in the world, under a friendly agreement announced this morning…Virginia-based Altria, parent of tobacco company Philip Morris USA which makes Marlboro cigarettes, will acquire a 45% ownership stake in Toronto-based Cronos at $16.25 per share (CDN) under the initial investment…Altria can also invest up to a further $1.4 billion within 4 years, increasing its ownership stake in Cronos to 55%, under the arrangement…“Investing in Cronos Group as our exclusive partner in the emerging global cannabis category represents an exciting new growth opportunity for Altria,” stated Howard Willard, Altria’s Chairman and CEO…“We believe that Cronos Group’s excellent management team has built capabilities necessary to compete globally, and we look forward to helping Cronos Group realize its significant growth potential”…Altria, which will have 4 out of 7 seats on an expanded Cronos board, said the cannabis industry “is poised for rapid growth over the next decade” and called cannabis “an adjacent category” for its tobacco operations…Cronos of course has responded well to the news with the stock up $3.22 a share at $17.20 through the first 30 minutes of trading…
3. Pan Pacific Copper (PPC), Japan’s top Copper smelter, expects the price of the metal to jump to about $3.30 a pound next year due to firm global demand and tighter supply…China’s new smelting capacity will help bolster global output, but troubles or maintenance at existing smelters to meet stricter environmental rules worldwide are expected to weigh on production…meanwhile, the closure earlier this of Vedanta Resources‘ 400,000-tonne per year Tuticorin plant in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu has flipped India from being a net exporter of refined Copper to a net importer, drastically reshaping physical copper flows…in May, an Indian state ordered the permanent closure of a Copper smelter controlled by London-listed Vedanta Resources after 13 people were killed during violent protests against the smelter on environmental concerns…the smelter had operated for 22 years…
4. Miners from across the globe view the possibility of losing their “license to operate” as the biggest risk for 2019-2020, according to the Ernst & Young (EY) annual survey of Top 10 business risks facing miners and metals…this should come as little surprise given events around the world in 2018 and how the mining sector has come under attack in so many jurisdictions, even in so-called “safe” jurisdictions like Canada…this year’s survey, which polled 250 mining executives, showed that “digital effectiveness” was moved into 2nd place and “maximizing portfolio returns” to 3rd place…EY explained that miners will need to work harder to keep their “license to operate” which naturally expands their responsibilities…“We have seen ‘license to operate’ rocket to first position, with over half of our respondents nominating it as the No. 1 risk [for 2019–2020],” EY said in its report…“License to operate has evolved beyond the narrow focus on social and environmental issues. There are now increasing expectations…any misstep can impact the ability to access capital or even result in a total loss of license…license to operate needs to quickly become part of a mining company’s DNA in the same way as safety is”…
5. Shares of Aphria (APHA, TSX) roared back yesterday, jumping 50% to snap a 5-day sell-off – and they’re up again in early trading today – after the company appointed a special committee to review a recent deal criticized by short sellers…investors had endured a beating – the stock tumbled from a high of $11.36 November 28 to an intra-day low of $4.76 Wednesday after a widely circulated report raised questions about one of the company’s recent deals…Aphria said its board had appointed a special committee of 3 independent directors to review the company’s acquisition of assets in Jamaica, Argentina and Colombia…the committee was struck to “confirm the company’s belief that it conformed with all company policies and generally accepted corporate governance practices”…the short sellers said that Aphria paid nearly $300 million in stock to buy assets in Jamaica, Argentina and Colombia that are practically worthless…the report also pointed out the assets had been bought just a few weeks earlier by another company for $202 million less, and before that were owned by firms with apparent ties to an early investor in Aphria…meanwhile short seller Nate Anderson of Hindenburg Research made it clear yesterday that he’s not about to let up on his pressure on Aphria…
6. The Dow, on a roller coaster ride lately, is up 53 points as of 7:00 am Pacific…“You’ve gone from a period of zero sensitivity to headlines to a period of hypersensitivity,” stated James Athey, senior investment manager at Aberdeen Standard Investments, in a CNBC interview this morning…“We’re now in a world where no one knows which way is up and which way is down”…the marijuana and Gold sectors have given Canadian stocks a lift…the TSX is up 101 points through the first 30 minutes of trading…Kirkland Lake Gold (KL, TSX) is enjoying its 8th straight winning session thanks to higher Gold prices and fresh upward guidance from the company regarding 2018 production…KL this month should easily conquer measured Fib. resistance at $30.52 on its long-term weekly chart which clears the way for significantly higher prices in 2019…the Venture has climbed 5 points to 571 after testing support yesterday at 560…the Venture’s bottoming pattern has been consistent with previous Decembers, setting the stage for a potentially very significant move beginning later this month and extending into Q1…December, January and February are by far the Venture’s best 3 months on the calendar which makes this a highly favorable time to be accumulating high quality plays on any weakness…
7. Tesla (TSLA, NASDAQ) is up for the 6th straight session this morning following an upgrade by a Jefferies analyst who cited the company’s strengthening balance sheet, strong growth relative to the rest of the auto industry and improving productivity witnessed at a recent visit to the car maker’s Fremont factory…“Tesla should continue to stand out with broader price points, battery security of supply, product edge and a brand that transcends the volume/premium divide,” wrote Philippe Houchois in a note to clients this morning…“In short, in the year ahead we think only Tesla will avoid a volume zero-sum-game or negative margin trade-off in EVs”…Jefferies upgraded Tesla to buy from hold and raised its price target all the way to $450 from $360…Tesla shares have jumped 37% this quarter, frustrating short sellers, while the S&P 500 has lost 7%…GM shares are up 6% over the same period and Ford is down 2%…
Most Popular Recent BMR Posts
Video: How This Innovative Junior Is Winning The “Battery Arms Race” In Northern Ontario
“The Enemies Of Progress, The Radical Environmentalists, Are Ramping Up For A War In The Woods”
Why Are These People Smiling? – Their Stock Has Tanked 80%!
The Template For The Next 10% Stake In Garibaldi Resources
The Nickel Mountain Magma Highway
Two Big Plays Emerge in B.C., Setting The Stage For A Summer To Remember
How To Bring A Junior Resource Market To Life!
Northern Ontario Cobalt Junior Attracts Interest From Metal Trading Companies
The Most Important Venture Development Since The New Bull Market Began
-
-
-
-
Press "Reload" for fresh quote