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1. Gold has traded between $1,413 and $1,426 so far today…as of 7:00 am Pacific, bullion is up $7 an ounce at $1,421…central bank Gold buying in the 1st half of 2019 likely rose more than 50% from the same period a year ago, according to an analysis by Standard Chartered…“The key reasons cited for holding greater total reserves were as a buffer against balance-of-payments crises, as a consequence of exchange rate policy, and for monetary policy considerations,” Standard Chartered stated…Silver has added 4 pennies to $16.42…flows into Silver-backed ETFs this month have been unprecedented…Nickel is off slightly at $6.39 while Copper and Zinc are steady at $2.71 and $1.10, respectively…Crude Oil has gained 13 cents a barrel to $56.15 while the U.S. Dollar Index has strengthened to 97.94 ahead of an expected rate cut next week by the Fed…the dollar is benefiting from even looser monetary policy elsewhere around the globe…armed men stole $40 million of Gold and other precious metals yesterday from a Sao Paulo cargo terminal at South America’s busiest airport…the thieves left with about 750 kg (1,650 lbs) of Gold and other precious metals…they remain at large…did a drama teacher get outnegotiated by a businessman?…the C.D. Howe Institute reports that the U.S. will be the biggest beneficiary of the revamped tripartite North American trade deal, with both Canada and Mexico expected to lose revenue, exports and investments and economic welfare of citizens…Canada’s economy could shrink by 0.4% and economic welfare will decline by more than $10 billion under the trade deal that still needs to be ratified by the Canadian and U.S. governments…
2. The U.S. economy grew at a healthy clip in the 2nd quarter as higher consumer spending offset a decline in business investment, keeping the decade long expansion on track despite trade tensions and cooling global activity…GDP rose at a 2.1% annual rate in Q2, adjusted for seasonality and inflation, the Commerce Department reported this morning…that was slightly higher than the consensus estimate of 2.0%…the 2nd quarter pace marked a pullback from 3.1% in the 1st quarter, which had been partly driven by a jump in inventories and exports and fewer imports – factors which reversed in the April-June period…businesses investment declined in the 2nd quarter for the first time since early 2016; however, shoppers picked up the slack…consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of the economy, rose at an inflation-adjusted, annualized rate of 4.3% in Q2, accelerating from the 1st quarter when it rose 1.1% and marking the strongest pace of growth since late 2017…Americans boosted spending on big-ticket items like cars as well as everyday goods like food and clothing…government expenditures also boosted growth, rising at a 5.0% annual rate in the 2nd quarter…
3. CannTrust Holdings (TRST, TSX) is rebounding in early trading after the company late yesterday pushed out its 2 most senior officials amid a scandal that has intensified this week…the beleaguered cannabis producer announced it has terminated CEO Peter Aceto with cause, and “demanded” chairman and co-founder Eric Paul resign…Robert Marcovitch, who was leading the Board of Directors’ special committee that’s investigating the scandal surrounding unlicensed production, has been named interim CEO…he will also step down from the special committee, while director Mark Dawber will take over as its chair…“Our first priority is to complete the remaining items of our investigation and bring the company’s operations into full regulatory compliance. Implementing the necessary changes is essential to the interests of our medical patients, customers, shareholders and employees,” Marcovitch said in a release…Paul declined to comment while Aceto was not immediately available when contacted by BNN Bloomberg…the management overhaul comes in the wake of evidence showing Aceto and Paul were made aware of the illegal activity at one of CannTrust’s facilities last year…BNN Bloomberg obtained documents this week showing Aceto told staff to “continue as planned” with unlicensed planting in November…meanwhile, the Globe and Mail reported on an email from around the same time that allegedly was forwarded to Paul and that acknowledged Health Canada had missed cultivation in an unlicensed room…CannTrust said it has made a voluntary disclosure to Health Canada as a result of information that came to light during the committee’s investigation, and vowed to cooperate with the regulator…
4. Sign of the times?…Beyond Meat’s (BYND, NASDAQ) is beyond belief…shares of the fake meat maker have soared nearly 800% since its initial public offering on May 2, putting Beyond Meat’s market capitalization at a whopping $13.85 billion…that valuation is higher than that of roughly 25% of the companies in the S&P 500 index, including multiple decades-old industry stalwarts…at its price this morning, around $230, Beyond Meat is trading at approximately 100 x sales and 300 x cash…for context, Microsoft (MSFT, NASDAQ) – the most valuable company in the market at over $1 trillion – trades at 8 x sales and 8 x cash…Amazon (AMZN, NASDAQ), a $970 billion company, trades at about 4 x sales and 20 x cash…Beyond Meat will report Q2 financial results Monday…millennials in particular love the deal, however, and they’ve bought into Beyond Meat’s blue sky potential…
5. The Dow has gained 36 points through the first 30 minutes of trading…strong earnings from big tech companies such as Alphabet (GOOGL, NASDAQ) – biggest single-day share price gain in 4 years – and Intel (INTC, NASDAQ) are giving U.S. markets a boost this morning…in Toronto, the TSX is 47 points higher while the Venture has added 3 points to 595…GoGold (GGD, TSX) Resources, one of our favorite Silver plays, has eased off half a penny to 49 cents after touching a new 52-week high yesterday of 50 cents following the release of fresh drill results…Daniel will have more on GGD over the weekend…exploration updates are due from several companies in the Eskay Camp which could help push the Venture through the 600 level by month-end…TA tip of the day – there has been an important breakout in Canada Cobalt (CCW, TSX-V), suggesting some potential fireworks going into August…the stock has overcome a bullish down wedge that formed in Q1, combined with a volume surge, a bullish “W” in the RSI(14), increased buy pressure (CMF) and a bullish +DI/-DI cross…fundamentally, the company is strategically positioned to benefit from a new bull market in Silver…Bonterra Resources (BTR, TSX-V) announced this morning that it’s raising $27 million through a best efforts private placement with Sprott Capital Partners acting as lead agent…Triumph Gold (TIG, TSX-V) has closed a $5.1 million financing…
5. Precision Drilling’s (PD, TSX) top executive lashed out at political leaders in Ottawa, British Columbia and Quebec yesterday during a conference call…a Canadian Press dispatch to The Globe and Mail quotes Kevin Neveu charging that the “zero” level of investment interest from capital markets in the Canadian energy sector is clearly linked to government policies…“I’m very disappointed with the weak energy investment environment in Canada. I believe this is a direct result of the lack of federal government leadership and uncooperative political self-interest evident in British Columbia and Quebec,” he said on the call with financial analysts…“Like most energy firms operating in the Canadian region, we are deeply frustrated by the Canadian federal government’s failure to support the Canadian Oil and gas industry’s globally recognized leadership for social, environmentally responsible energy development”…Ottawa’s recent passage of Bill C-69 to revamp the way projects are approved and C-48 to ban Oil tanker traffic on B.C.’s North Coast are “clearly intended to undermine the domestic energy industry,” Neveu said…
6. Another project for the Trudeau government to kill, if it’s re-elected in October: A federal-provincial panel says a proposed northeastern Alberta Oil sands mine would be in the public interest, even though the panel claims the project would likely significantly “harm the environment and Indigenous people”…Teck Resources (TCK.B, TSX) aims to build the $20.6 billion Frontier mine near Wood Buffalo National Park in 2 phases…its total capacity would be 260,000 barrels of Oil a day and Teck has said it aims to start producing Oil in 2026…the panel’s report includes several dozen recommended conditions for Teck and the federal and provincial governments…they include mitigating harm to wildlife, monitoring pollutants and taking feedback from nearby First Nations into account…the federal cabinet has until the end of February to make a decision…“While the panel has concluded that the project is in the public interest, project and cumulative effects to key environmental parameters and on the asserted rights, use of lands and resources for traditional purposes, and culture of Indigenous communities have weighed heavily in the panel’s assessment,” the report stated, adding that the project would likely result in significant adverse effects to wetlands, old-growth forests and biodiversity, as well as to Indigenous people in the area…“The proposed mitigation measures have not been proven to be effective or to fully mitigate project effects on the environment or on Indigenous rights, use of lands and resources, and culture”…the panel also concluded that over the project’s projected lifespan of 41 years, the federal government could expect to reap $12 billion in taxes and Alberta could rake in $55 billion, with another $3.5 billion in municipal property taxes…
7. Companies ramping up for the highly anticipated cannabis edibles market will find some products nixed by government regulations, with Quebec banning cannabis chocolates, jujubes and other sweets…less than 5 months before edibles are expected to hit store shelves, Quebec said yesterday that it would ban cannabis products that could appeal to minors, such as cannabis candies, confections and desserts, including chocolate…the move could keep some food and beverage companies from selling their products in the province…Cannabis companies eyeing the edibles market, which Deloitte values at about $2.7 billion a year, have already started preparing to stock shelves with desserts and candies…Canopy Growth (WEED, TSX; CGC, NYSE) partnered with Hummingbird Chocolate to produce cannabis-infused chocolate…the federal government said last month it would not allow the sale of food and beverages that could appeal to young people but would assess products on a case-by-case basis…Ottawa will legalize edible products on October 17, but it will take at least another 60 days for products to hit the shelves…
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CCW chart has done a 180…hopefully 2018 2.0
Comment by flyinthruu — July 26, 2019 @ 10:48 am
flyinthruu… that’s what I am hoping for
Comment by Danny — July 26, 2019 @ 11:29 am
Hi Jon, are you still planning a visit to CCW?
Comment by Jean — July 28, 2019 @ 6:39 am
Yes, Jean, August and September are going to be very busy there…
Comment by Jon - BMR — July 28, 2019 @ 8:25 am