CHF WEEKLY ROUND-UP: October 7-12, 2024

October continues to surprise to the upside. This week, the S&P 500, DJIA, NASDAQ, and TSX all made new record highs. The U.S. dollar appears to have bottomed and has steadily moved up for two weeks and is now up 1.44% this year despite being down 1.75% YTD 2 weeks ago. What with hurricanes, a very uncertain US election, growing international risks, threat of wars, and struggling global economies, anything could happen.

The Bank of Canada (BOC) will likely continue cutting its key policy rate at the October 23, 2024, rate announcement. BOC has successfully slowed the economy and Canadian Inflation is now in their target range. A greater emphasis is now needed on stimulating more growth and preventing a damaging recession. Economic growth is still expected to pick up next year but probably requires that the BOC cut its key interest rate more aggressively to below three percent sooner than later.

The U.S. inflation rate surprised to the upside Thursday morning, with the headline rate hitting 2.4 percent, down from the previous month’s pace but higher than the 2.3 percent that analysts expected. Weekly claims for unemployment insurance surged. While the numbers are mixed, the slightly stronger than expected inflation result suggests that the Fed will cut by a more restrained 25 basis points on November 7, 2024.

Gold and silver prices were steady in early trading Thursday, following the U.S. inflation report that was deemed non-problematic despite being just a bit warmer than expected, and an unexpected rise in weekly U.S. jobless claims. Gold prices moved up to USD$2,645/oz Thursday and look to open at USD$2,649 today. The long-term fundamentals remain strong, influenced by factors such as global economic uncertainty, inflation concerns, and geopolitical tensions, yet some gold bears are appearing and calling for a crash gold price and in mining shares.

Silver remains above USD$31/oz despite global production having not grown since 2010. Rising demand and strategic importance in the green economy from key industries like electronics and renewable energy face current supply limitations that may be mean that the metal, and silver miners are an opportunity. Coeur Mining successfully acquired Mexican producer Silvercrest Metals in a deal valued at $1.7 billion. M&A action across the precious metal sector remains strong.

Despite a decade of growth in metals supply, copper and lithium, could face supply deficits as early as this year. BHP projects that global copper consumption will increase by an additional 1 million tonnes annually due to the adoption of copper-intensive technologies. Strength in the U.S. dollar Is hampering metal prices, and the perceived lack of demand due to the slowing of China’s economy is an issue. This week Copper is building a base above USD$4.40/lb, Nickel reaching for USD$8.00/lb. Lithium at USD$10.81/kg is potentially on the rebound, causing Rio Tinto to acquire producer Arcadium Lithium in a USD$6.7 billion deal.

Stay invested in Commodities. Canada will be a major contributor down the road.

It has been a productive week for our clients, and we are pleased to present to you our round-up of their news released between October 7-11, 2024.

Fintech

On October 9, 2024, Tenet Fintech Group Inc. (CSE: PKK) (OTC Pink: PKKFF) announced that it has released beta versions of the networking and advertising modules of its Cubeler Business Hub to a select group of the platform's existing clients.

The beta release of the new modules constitutes what the Company deems to be a "soft launch" of the features to allow some existing members to test the new functionalities and provide their feedback and comments to the Company before a planned Canada-wide release following the beta phase. Those taking part in the soft launch will receive 1,000 Cubeler Points, which they will be able to redeem to download market intelligence reports, unlock additional platform features or run advertising campaigns on the Business Hub to promote their products or services.

"Although the release of the Hub's new features to the general Canadian SME public is expected later this month, today's announcement still marks a very important step forward for Tenet," declared Tenet CEO Johnson Joseph. "I truly believe that giving our members the ability to communicate with each other to explore business opportunities and providing them with a platform to promote their products and services to be the elements that will bring the Business Hub to life and set the groundworks for its expansion globally. So, the feedback we will be gathering with this soft launch will be extremely valuable and we are very grateful to all those taking part in it."

Technology

On October 9, 2024 – Visionstate Corp. (TSXV: VIS) announced several key developments that position the Company for growth and further innovation. These updates reflect Visionstate's commitment to expanding its market presence, enhancing its product offerings, and maintaining its leadership in the facility management sector. From increasing U.S. market penetration to significant advancements in product functionality, the Company is excited to share its progress in the following areas.

Visionstate IoT Inc. is ramping up its marketing efforts in the United States to introduce the WANDA™ task management software to U.S.-based companies. Visionstate IoT has already established a foothold in the U.S. market with several large customers and aims to leverage this success to further penetrate the market. As part of this initiative, Visionstate will be participating as an exhibitor at the annual ISSA Cleaning Show, held in Las Vegas from November 19-21, 2024. To maximize the effectiveness of this presence, the Company has launched an aggressive lead generation campaign in collaboration with U.S. partners. The goal is to arrange meetings during the show to demonstrate how WANDA™ can enhance operational efficiency and help prevent the spread of diseases.

Additionally, the Company has begun the process of seeking a listing on the OTC markets to expand its investor base in the U.S.

On October 10, 2024, Visionstate Corp. (TSXV: VIS) announced that its portfolio company, Sol Spaces Inc., an innovator in sustainable greenhouse technology, has entered a partnership with Enoch Cree Nation, a First Nations community located in Treaty No. 6 territory just west of and adjacent to the City of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Together, they are embarking on a transformative mission that goes beyond business—a shared vision to ensure access to a vital resource: food.