11:15 am Pacific

(Exclusive to BMR subscribers – Not for Distribution or Posting on any Board).

Macro Happenings

• Bitcoin is within shouting distance of the psychologically important $100,000 level as investors continue to price in a 2nd Donald Trump Presidency. Bitcoin has been regularly hitting fresh records this month on hopes that the Trump administration will usher in a golden age of crypto, which would include more supportive regulation for the industry and a potential national strategic Bitcoin reserve or stockpile. This latest move in Bitcoin has also triggered a wave of short liquidations – more than $88 million in the past 24 hours, according to CoinGlass – adding fresh fuel to the fire. Bitcoin is 4.7% higher at $98,866 as of 11:15 am Pacific;
• Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler , who has presided over a hyperactive period in SEC rule making, will step down as Wall Street’s top regulator at the very end of the Biden administration, he just announced. Gensler has been coy about when he planned to leave the SEC but was expected to depart before President-elect Donald Trump is sworn into office. He will serve through noon on January 20, when Trump is set to become the 47th President.  Gensler’s decision to remain until the very end of the Biden administration disappoints many Republicans who wanted to see him leave sooner. It means he could try to push through some additional measures since Democrats will retain a majority on the 5-member SEC as long as he stays;
• The Philadelphia Federal Reserve this morning reported weaker-than-expected manufacturing activity in its region. The regional central bank said its manufacturing business outlook for November dropped to minus 5.5, compared to October’s reading of 10.3. The data was disappointing as economists were looking for a reading of 7.4. Gold firmed on the news, currently up $22 an ounce at $2,671, while the U.S. Dollar Index has eased off slightly to 106.58;
• Gold has rebounded about $100 an ounce this week, bolstered by recent statements from Russian President Vladimir Putin who has modified Russia’s nuclear doctrine in response to actions by the Biden administration (authorizing Ukraine to deploy long-range American-made missiles);
• Justin Trudeau has managed to become even more repulsive to a vast swath of Canadians, not to mention the incoming Trump administration. The most incompetent Prime Minister in Canadian history hopped on a plane to fly 8,280 km to take the stage at the Global Citizen Now Event at the just-completed G20 Leaders’ Summit Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to lecture the audience and Canadians about our country’s role in “saving” the entire planet. “It’s really, really easy when you’re in a short-term survive, I gotta be able to pay the rent this month, I’ve gotta be able to buy groceries for my kids, to say, OK, let’s put climate change as a slightly lower priority,” Trudeau stated. “There’s a sense that affordability is in direct contrast with our moral responsibility to protect the planet. And that is something that unfortunately people have been amplified and used propaganda, misinformation, disinformation, and flat out lies to scare people into saying, oh, no, no, no. We’ve gotta take care of our household budget and bottom line first and environment second”;
• Years too late with tax relief – the federal Liberals are hoping to give Canadians a cheaper Christmas with a GST holiday. Trudeau announced this morning that his government will be temporarily cutting the GST on all grocery items, restaurant meals, some alcoholic beverages, children’s clothing and toys, print newspapers and Christmas trees as of December 14;
• The Canada Post strike is in its 6th day – has anyone even noticed?;
• Former Prime Minister Stephen Harper has been appointed chair of Alberta’s $169 billion pension and endowment fund manager (Alberta Investment Management Corp.), a move that has been widely anticipated since the province fired AIMCo’s board of directors and relieved CEO Evan Siddall of his duties less than 2 weeks ago. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said Harper will be instrumental in the province’s plans to increase the size of its $25 billion Heritage Savings Trust Fund, which is managed by AIMCo, to more than $250 billion over the next 25 years (buy some crypto and you can get much better returns than that);
• The U.S. Justice Department yesterday said Google should have to sell off its popular Chrome browser as part of a court-ordered fix to its monopolization of the online search market. The request follows the government’s victory this year in an antitrust case against Google and is likely to kick off a heightened legal fight with wide-reaching implications for the tech giant’s core business. Government lawyers said competition can only be restored if Google separates its search engine from products it has built to access the Internet, such as Chrome and its Android mobile operating system. Chrome controls about two-thirds of the global browser market, according to the website Statcounter. Searches in the Chrome address bar go through Google unless a user changes the settings;
• Artemis Gold (ARTG, TSX-V) updated investors this morning on progress at its Blackwater mine in British Columbia’s southern interior. The company has is now in the final stages of construction and commissioning and expects to feed first ore to the ball mill in the next few weeks, targeting the initial Gold pour before year-end. ARTG has been 1 of the top-performing Gold stocks this year, more than doubling in value. ARTG is up 15 cents at $13.27 as of 11:15 am Pacific.

Spirit Blockchain Capital (SPIR, CSE)

Spirit Blockchain Capital (SPIR, CSE), a proxy on Dogecoin, is a top priority go-to play for us in the crypto sector, with the company pushing up the price of its recently announced PP to 16.5 cents and increasing the amount of that financing to $5 million.

DOGE is up a penny at 39 cents (U.S.) as of 11:15 am Pacific.

The accumulation in SPIR has been impressive to say the least and suggests the broader move is still in its early stages. With $5 million being poured into the company’s coffers, the stock should have the wind at its back – especially during this hot period in the crypto cycle.

SPIR climbed as high as 33.5 cents this morning and is unchanged at 29.5 cents as of 11:15 am Pacific.

Note: Jon holds a share position in SPIR.