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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 $1,348 and $1,357 so far today…as of 7:00 am Pacific, bullion is up $5 an ounce at $1,352…Silver has added 11 cents to $17.36…on the base metal front, the big story this week has been Nickel which is set for a weekly close above $6 for the first time in 3 years…significantly, Nickel has pushed through a long-term chart downtrend line going back to 2011…it’s up another 14 cents at $6.14 while Copper is off slightly at $3.20…Zinc and Cobalt are steady at $1.59 and $36.29, respectively…Crude Oil is 37 cents higher at $65.88 while the U.S. Dollar Index has fallen another one-third of a point as it hovers around 89…

2. U.S. economic growth unexpectedly slowed in the 4th quarter as the strongest pace of consumer spending in 3 years resulted in a surge in imports…however, a measure of domestic demand jumped at a 4.6% rate, the fastest since the 3rd quarter of 2014, underscoring the economy’s strength…GDP was up 2.6% in Q4, missing expectations after expanding at a 3.2% clip during Q3…meanwhile, durable goods orders in the U.S. rose at a much faster pace than expected in December, climbing 2.9%…

3. President Trump is winning a global currency war with the Dollar Index plunging to a 3-year low…this has also created headaches for Chinese government officials who have seen the yuan surge to its best level against the greenback since its surprise devaluation in August 2015…the yuan is on track for its best monthly performance in more than 3 decades, rising 3% against the dollar so far in January…meanwhile, President Trump today wooed global political and business leaders to funnel more money into the American economy, a speech that contrasted starkly with the “progressive” words delivered earlier this week by Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau…in Trudeau’s leftist world, profit is a dirty word which may partly explain why the TSX is so badly under-performing U.S. equity markets…

4. Of the S&P 500 companies that have reported as of this morning, 77% have reported better than expected earnings while 79% have surpassed sales estimates, according to data from FactSet. “The beat rates and growth rates are as good as we have measured in any earnings season over the past 5 years,” said Nick Raich, CEO of The Earnings Scout.  “Most importantly, 1Q 2018 EPS estimates are rising and that is the first time we have seen aggregate S&P 500 EPS estimates going higher in any earnings season in 7 years.” 

5. The Dow and S&P 500 have both hit new record highs in early trading as a powerful combination of earnings momentum, tax cuts and regulatory reform have created the “Perfect Storm” south of the border…the Dow is up 85 points through the first 30 minutes of trading…Kopin Corp. (KOPN, NASDAQ), an astute pure play on one of the fastest growing segments of technology – wearables – is showing increasing momentum after enjoying one of its best volume sessions in recent years yesterday…it’s up another 9 cents at $3.79 as of 7:00 am Pacific...in Toronto, the TSX has slipped 7 points while the Venture is up 2 points at 888…Hit Technologies (HIT, TSX-V) has more than tripled in value week, trading more than 100 million shares since news on Wednesday…Wolfden Resources (WLF, TSX-V), which drilled into massive sulphides (assays pending) above and below historical intersections its first 2 holes at Pickett Mountain, a high-grade VMS play in Maine, has touched a new multi-year high of 67 cents…Metallis Resources (MTS, TSX-V) has closed an over-subscribed private placement for nearly $2.2 million at $1.15 per unit (includes a half warrant) as the company gears up for its most aggressive exploration program ever at the Kirkham Property contiguous to Garibaldi Resources‘ (GGI, TSX-V) Nickel Mountain in the heart of the Eskay Camp…Eric Sprott invested $2.2 million in MTS at $1.10 last October and continues to consistently add to his very significant position in Garibaldi…

6. Global Blockchain Technologies (BLOC, CSE) announced this morning that it’s doing a 1-for-1 spin-out for shareholders of record March 1 as the company unlocks the value of its mining division by creating Global Blockchain Mining…to that end, BLOC says it has entered into an agreement with a turnkey mining operator to run its 6,666 Antminer S9 bitcoin miners…Shidan Gouran, President of Global Blockchain, stated:  “We are extremely pleased to have been able to find the right partner to operate and monetize our machines and to provide us with the ability to grow into an existing first-rate facility at a large scale of 100 megawatts.”

7. First Cobalt (FCC, TSX-V) has started a research program to identify regional controls for Cobalt-Silver mineralization in the northern Ontario Cobalt Camp…this is the latest of a series of initiatives to bring research and innovation into the 110-year-old district and will be conducted in partnership with the Mineral Exploration Research Centre at Laurentian University.  Trent Mell, President and CEO, commented: “Structural controls on Cobalt-Silver mineralization in the Camp are poorly understood and initiatives like the one announced today allow us to improve our geological models and create shareholder value. Our commitment to research and innovation is underpinned by our conviction that this historic mining district can be revived more quickly by embracing innovation as a core element to our exploration strategy.”

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