Agoracom Blog Home

Author Archive

#Mhealth Market is Expected to Be the Fastest Growing By 2025 – SPONSOR: CardioComm Solutions $EKG.ca – $ATE.ca $TLT.ca $OGI.ca $ACST.ca $IPA.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 11:15 AM on Wednesday, January 8th, 2020

SPONSOR: CardioComm Solutions (EKG: TSX-V) – The heartbeat of cardiovascular medicine and telemedicine. Patented systems enable medical professionals, patients, and other healthcare professionals, clinics, hospitals and call centres to access and manage patient information in a secure and reliable environment.

mHealth Market is Expected to Be the Fastest Growing By 2025

By [email protected]

  • According to experts from TMR, the global mHelath market stood at US$23.9 bn in 2017.
  • This revenue is expected to gain an impressive value of US$118.4bn by the end of 2025. Experts project this growth to occur with a meteoric CAGR of 22.1% during the forecast period from 2017 to 2025.

The global mHelath market bears a highly fragmented vendor landscape, says Transparency Market Research (TMR) in a recently published report. This is solely because of the existence of large, medium, and small-scale players in the market. Withings, FitBit, Apple Inc., Jawbone, and Dexcom are the dominant players working in the global mHelath market.

Out of the various strategic alliances adopted by players in the global mHelath market to hold a sizeable stakes, capitalizing on the emerging opportunities and acquiring latest technologies and tools has gained maximum popularity. The level of competition among leading vendors is getting escalated with rising use of technologies and smart devices such as wearables. The global mHelath market is expected to grow steadily due to the presence of highly established players who are concentrating on improving their product quality, facilitating product differentiation, and enhancing geographical reach. These companies are also attempting to introduce advanced and new products into the industry on a daily basis.

According to experts from TMR, the global mHelath market stood at US$23.9 bn in 2017. This revenue is expected to gain an impressive value of US$118.4bn by the end of 2025. Experts project this growth to occur with a meteoric CAGR of 22.1% during the forecast period from 2017 to 2025.

Among various products in the global mHelath market, connected medical devices hold substantial share, which is expected to boost the global mHelath market during the forecast period. This is because of rising focus towards fitness and increasing use of heart rate monitors among people.  Region wise, North America is expected to lead the global mHelath market in the coming years. This is attributed to a strong technological infrastructure along with high healthcare expenditure in the region.

Integration of Wireless Technologies to Fuel mHealth Market’s Growth

Health-related technologies and mobile applications are often known as mHealth, which helps in managing patients’ experiences. Such health mobile technologies and apps utilize advanced data analytics to help medical professionals in providing their patients best care at low cost. These health mobile applications facilitate easy and better health management through simple apps such as diet, exercise trackers, and calorie-counting. Such USPs are driving the global mHelath market. Along with this, rising penetration of internet connections and smartphones, and rapid technological advancements in healthcare industry are the factors majorly fueling growth in the global mHelath market.

Furthermore, mHelath ensures continuous communication between medical professionals and patients, thereby allow physicians to monitor, and diagnose patients without seeing them in person. Such benefits are also boosting the global mHelath market. Apart from these, rapid adoption of connected devices for monitoring various chronic diseases, and increasing demand for cost-effective medical services are also propelling expansion in the global mHelath market.

Low Physician Density May Hinder mHealth Market’s Growth

Growing reluctance of physicians to move over conventional methods, lack of regulations, concerns about data security, and low density of skilled professionals are some of the major challenges in the global mHealth market. Nonetheless, persistent demand and rising prevalence of   various lifestyle disorders is believed to help industry players overcome these challenges in the near future.

About Us

Transparency Market Research is a next-generation market intelligence provider, offering fact-based solutions to business leaders, consultants, and strategy professionals.

Our reports are single-point solutions for businesses to grow, evolve, and mature. Our real-time data collection methods along with ability to track more than one million high growth niche products are aligned with your aims. The detailed and proprietary statistical models used by our analysts offer insights for making right decision in the shortest span of time. For organizations that require specific but comprehensive information we offer customized solutions through adhoc reports. These requests are delivered with the perfect combination of right sense of fact-oriented problem solving methodologies and leveraging existing data repositories.

TMR believes that unison of solutions for clients-specific problems with right methodology of research is the key to help enterprises reach right decision.

Source: https://pronewstime.com/2020/01/08/mhealth-market-is-expected-to-be-the-fastest-growing-by-2025/

NORTHBUD $NBUD.ca – Canadians Bought 100 Tonnes Of Legal #Cannabis In First Year $CGC $ACB $APH $CRON.ca $OGI.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 10:45 AM on Wednesday, January 8th, 2020

SPONSOR: NORTHBUD (NBUD:CSE) Sustainable low cost, high quality cannabinoid production and procurement focusing on both bio-pharmaceutical development and Cannabinoid Infused Products. Learn More.

Canadians Bought 100 Tonnes Of Legal Cannabis In First Year

  • Canadians bought nearly 100 tonnes of legal recreational cannabis in its first year of availability, according to new figures released by Health Canada.

Health Canada said 88,676 kilograms of dried flower cannabis was sold in Canada in the first year of legalization, according to its Cannabis Tracking System. Overall sales of legal dried cannabis by weight have nearly tripled since October 2018.

Statistics Canada said Tuesday that Canadian household spending on cannabis totaled $1.27 billion in the third quarter of 2019, with the illicit market accounting for $860 million of that figure and the legal market estimated at $417 million.

While 100 tonnes may sound like a lot, the amount sold through legal channels was far below what analysts projected Canadian demand would be, a sign that the illicit market continues to weigh on legal sales. CIBC World Markets said in mid-2018 that the Canadian market would demand about 400,000 kilograms of legal pot annually, while the Bank of Nova Scotia forecast total cannabis demand in Canada will be 900,000 kilograms this year.

Health Canada also said that the total active cultivation area for cannabis in the country reached 1.78 million square metres at the end of September, a sizable jump from the 452,896 square meters of cultivation that was licensed for legal pot a year earlier. Nearly five million cannabis plants were being grown by producers at the end of the first year of legalization, Health Canada said.

Source: https://menafn.com/1099515194/Canadians-Bought-100-Tonnes-Of-Legal-Cannabis-In-First-Year

ThreeD Capital $IDK.ca – #Crypto Today: #Bitcoin is ready for a massive bull’s run #crypto $HIVE.ca $BLOC.ca $CODE.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 10:10 AM on Wednesday, January 8th, 2020

SPONSOR: ThreeD Capital Inc. (IDK:CSE) Led by legendary financier, Sheldon Inwentash, ThreeD is a Canadian-based venture capital firm that only invests in best of breed small-cap companies which are both defensible and mass scalable. More than just lip service, Inwentash has financed many of Canada’s biggest small-cap exits. Click Here For More Information.

Crypto Today: Bitcoin is ready for a massive bull’s run

Here’s what you need to know on Wednesday

Markets:

  • The BTC/USD is currently trading at $8,347 (+5.8% on a day-to-day basis). The coin has been moving within a strong bullish trend and hit a new 2020 high at $8,464.
  • The ETH/USD pair is currently trading at $144.7 (+1.18% on a day-to-day basis). The Ethereum retreated from the intraday high of $147.96; now, it is moving within a short-term bullish trend amid low volatility. 
  • XRP/USD settled at $0.2145 after a spike to $0.2255 on Tuesday. The coin is down 1.15% in recent 24 hours.
  • Among the 100 most important cryptocurrencies, the best of the day are Quant (QNT) $3.9 (+17.5%), Synthetix Network Token (SNX) $0.9973 (+13.57%) and Horizen (ZEN) $8.43 (+13.16%), The day’s losers are, Decentraland (MANA) $0.0335 (-8.5%), MaidSafeCoin (MAID) $0.0810 (-7.42%) and Komodo (KMD) $0.5434 (-5.92%).

Chart of the day:
BTC/USD, daily chart


Market:
 

  • Bitcoin (BTC) rallied to as high as $8,464 amid the escalation of geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. While the correlation is not clear, many experts believe that Bitcoin is growing due to rising conflict between the United States and Iran as a push towards the recent high occurred amid the news that Iran had attacked US military bases in Iraq. 
  • Tether (USDT) market capitalization increased by $500 million on CoinMarketCap due to the rating adjustments; however, some experts believe that this development might have served as a buy signal for algo bots and set Bitcoin’s bullish ball rolling. BTC/USD started snowballing in a few hours after CoinMarketCap updated its Tether capitalization.
  • Cryptocurrencies may be an exciting concept, but they won’t threaten the dominant position of the US dollar, according to International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief economist, Gita Gopinath. She believes that the technologies have not reduced the costs of moving between the currencies, which is the critical barrier on the way to overtaking USD. 

Industry:

  • Istanbul update implemented on Etheereum network at the end of 2019 increased the scalability of StarkEx protocol for centralized exchanges, StarkWare experts noted.

“StarkEx *measurements* (not approximations, nor estimates) break Ethereum’s scalability record post-Istanbul, with a 2000X improvement over Ethereum Layer-1: 9K trades/sec at 75 gas/trade (or 18K payments/sec) (1/5)”

  • Binance Charity Foundation launched a program aiming to help Australia mitigate the consequences of bushfire. The blockchain-based charity platform created by one of the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchanges invites everyone to participate in the program and donate funds to support Australia. Binance intends to donate $1 million.
  • Berlin-based bitcoin bank Bitwala included ether (ETH) to the list of available services. The bank allows customers buying ETH, the second-largest cryptocurrency asset by market capitalization, right from their current accounts. The company explained the decision by Ethereum’s significant role in decentralized finance (DeFi) movement,

Source: https://www.fxstreet.com/cryptocurrencies/news/crypto-today-bitcoin-is-ready-for-a-massive-bulls-run-202001080639

Spyder #Cannabis $SPDR.ca – More Canadians passing on beer in year one of legalization $CGC $ACB $APH $CRON.ca $OGI.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 5:00 PM on Tuesday, January 7th, 2020

SPONSOR: Spyder Cannabis (SPDR:TSXV) An established chain of high-end vape stores. Aggressive expansion plan is already in place that will focus on Canadian retail and US Hemp derived kiosks in high traffic areas. Click here for more info.

More Canadians passing on beer in year one of legalization

The report cites data from industry advocacy group Beer Canada, which found beer volumes fell by three per cent through November. Declining sales have led to several partnerships between alcohol and cannabis companies, such as Constellation Brands Inc.’s investment in Canopy Growth Corp. in November 2018. The recent decline in volumes is “far worse” than trends seen in the previous four years, when beer industry volumes fell an average of 0.3 per cent, according to Cowen & Co. analyst Vivien Azer.

Source: http://links.mkt2011.com/servlet/MailView?ms=MzA4MjU2MzMS1&r=MjU5OTkyNTIyMjg1S0&j=MTYyMzQzMjQyOAS2&mt=1&rt=0

CLIENT FEATURE: Tartisan Nickel $TN.ca Kenbridge Property Hosts M&I Resource of 7.14 Million Tonnes of 0.62% Nickel + 0.33% Copper $ROX.ca $FF.ca $EDG.ca $AGL.ca $ANZ.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 12:35 PM on Tuesday, January 7th, 2020

Investment Highlights

  • Kenbridge property has a measured and indicated resource of 7.14 million tonnes at 0.62% nickel, 0.33% copper
  • 17.5 (21.8 fully diluted) percent equity stake in Eloro Resources and 2 percent NSR in their La Victoria property

Kenbridge Ni Project (ON, Canada)

  • Advanced  stage  deposit  remains open  in  three  directions,  is  equipped with a 623m  deep  shaft  and  has  never  been  mined
  • Preliminary  Economic Assessment completed and updated returned robust project 
    economics and operating costs including  a  NPV  of  C$253M  and  cash costs of US$3.47/lb of nickel net of  copper credits
  • Plans for Kenbridge include updating PEA, advancing the project through to feasibility and exploring the open mineralization at depth

Click Here to View Kenbridge 43-101 Technical Report

FULL DISCLOSURE: Tartisan Nickel Corp. is an advertising client of AGORA Internet Relations Corp.

The Major #Edtech Trends In 2020, According To VCs In India SPONSOR: BetterU Education Corp. $BTRU.ca $ARCL $CPLA $BPI $FC.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 12:03 PM on Tuesday, January 7th, 2020
SPONSOR:  BetterU Education Corp. aims to provide access to quality education from around the world. The company plans to bridge the prevailing gap in the education and job industry and enhance the lives of its prospective learners by developing an integrated ecosystem. Click here for more information.

The Major Edtech Trends In 2020, According To VCs In India

  • India, being one of the youngest countries in the world and boasting a rapidly-growing startup ecosystem, offers a widely untapped opportunity for many sectors, both locally and globally.
  • Venture capitalists have gravitated to the Indian market in great numbers in the past decade to pour capital into this opportunity, pushing startups towards scalability in every sector.

By: Meha Agarwal

Edtech startups need to take stock of the VC view of the ecosystem and keep pace with the trends they expect in the new year.

Venture capital is about capturing the value between the startup phase and the public company phase. — Fred Wilson, co-founder of Union Square Ventures

India, being one of the youngest countries in the world and boasting a rapidly-growing startup ecosystem, offers a widely untapped opportunity for many sectors, both locally and globally. Venture capitalists have gravitated to the Indian market in great numbers in the past decade to pour capital into this opportunity, pushing startups towards scalability in every sector. Edtech is no different, and in recent years, this sector has become one of the biggest opportunities for tech startups in the Indian context.

As Unitus Ventures’ senior associate Sunitha Viswanathan told Inc42, the large market of close to 250 Mn students in the K-12 segment and over 10 Mn youth graduating every year mean that India is the land of massive potential for edtech disruption.

“Given the huge lopsided teacher: student ratio, this can only be solved by using tech. Hence, there is a necessity more than a choice. And rightly so,” she added.

While we spoke to edtech startups about the trends they expect to observe in 2020, we also wanted to take the VC view and what they expect from the ecosystem in the new year. What will be the factors that make or break edtech startups in 2020.

Factors For Success In Edtech

Indians spend tens of billions on education every year. With disposable incomes continuing to rise, there is a massive prize for the startups that achieve success in this space.  According to Anirudh Damani, managing partner, Artha Venture Fund, the key to success for an edtech startup will be to sell directly, thereby keeping a short feedback loop.

“That will allow them to innovate faster, adapt, and cater to their end-user requirements quicker.  Therefore, in my opinion, selling directly to end-users is the key to creating success in the edtech space,” he added.

Sajith Pai, director, Blume Ventures further said that the increased focus on regional language learning and data analytics will play an important role in the success of edtech startups in 2020, just like it did in 2019.

Related Article: Gaja Capital Bets $25 Mn On Edtech Company Educational Initiatives

Edtech’s Focus On Increasing User Adoption In 2020

Omkar Kulkarni, the head of GMC Calibrator (Gray Matters Capital’s Digital Accelerator Program, suggests four areas that edtech startups in India need to focus on in the near future:

  • Gain engagement by learning insights through user behaviour analytics
  • Highlighting common user patterns to improve product and monetisation at early stage
  • Cut reliance on digital marketing to reach out to users
  • Deliver content through a human-centric design process to increase engagement

Blume’s Pai further added that products that teach with a mix of technology and human intervention will be able to generate faster adoption while keeping costs low and scalability high.

“Also, college admissions and employability are becoming highly competitive and thus big stress points for parents and students. Thus, education platforms that can create FOMO among students (or parents) – either by having a large number of students on board or by having the best students onboard, attract more customer adoption faster,” Pai told Inc42.

Pranjal Kumar, CFO and head of Education Fund at Bertelsmann, believes that being outcome focussed i.e. credentials, test results, job placements etc will deliver a higher chance of success for edtech startups. “High-quality product with high average-order-value and the right balance of online and offline, depending on the target learner and segment of education should be the focus in the near future for edtech startups.”

7 Trends For Indian VCs In Edtech In 2020

Indian edtech startups are currently focussing on all fronts — B2B, B2C, B2B-B2C and C2C. The most prominent sub-sectors have been test preparation, online certification, skill development, online discovery, STEAM kits, and enterprise solution among others.

According to Datalabs by Inc42, in terms of the number of unique edtech businesses funded between January 2014 and September 2019, skill development-focused startups have been the most preferred. However, capital inflows into the test preparation and online certification segments are comparatively higher. Together, these two sub-sectors make up for 91% of the total funding in edtech startups. This shows an imbalance in terms of business models in the Indian edtech ecosystem.

However, according to Bertelsmann’s Kumar, a few more models are expected to see a lot of innovation in the near future. He said bootcamps with or without job assurance, higher education, online programme management models, K-12 tutoring will be huge markets and are currently starved of quality teaching both in curricular as well as co-curricular subject.

Here’s what VCs told us to expect in 2020.

Skilling Startups

The pace of change in technology continues to accelerate. Therefore, education is no longer just the standard 12+4+2 experience.  There’s a need for continuous education that will re-skill or up-skill the workers of today for the challenges of tomorrow. Startups that provide platforms to teach, train, and engage the working population to improve their skills will do very well.

AI Transformation

AI in edtech can help understand better how learning actually happens. If we can understand how one learns the steps in quadratic equations, then this can be used in classrooms by teachers to deliver it more effectively. This will help define pedagogy more tightly

OTT Educators

Even though we hear a lot of buzzwords like artificial intelligence, virtual reality and blockchain, it is the exponential increase in viewership of the likes of TikTok, YouTube and other OTT platforms that will see a trend of content creators delivering educational content on OTT platforms to improve discoverability, reach and scale.

Parents To Invest More

Another challenge for edtech platforms is the cost aspect for families. As far as high school education is concerned, VCs see parents getting more accustomed to spending on tech products for cognitive learning as well as a change in focus of parents from traditional curriculum to 21st-century skills.

Unbundling Of Education

Don’t hope for an edtech superapp. Venture capitalists see startups providing customers (students and teachers) specific standalone services (test prep, counselling, professional and vocational training among others) rather than a combined / bundled product which does it all.

Vernacular Learning

Just over 10% of India’s population can speak English. To build large businesses that can capture greater value, incorporating vernacular learning is key. As seen in the OTT, media and entertainment space, regional language learning will be one of the biggest trends in 2020, according to the VCs that Inc42 spoke to.

Learning for ‘Yearning’

Learning programmes that cater to non-professional interests, or those that work with passion projects and hobbies will see an uptick according to investors. These may or may not lead to employment-related outcomes, but will be about holistic individual skill development, which will be critical for the edtech ecosystem as well as startups at large.

Source: https://inc42.com/features/the-major-edtech-trends-in-2020-according-to-vcs-in-india/

ThreeD Capital $IDK.ca – #Bitcoin 2020: The Bottom is In and Prices are About to Surge, Several Analysts Claim #crypto $HIVE.ca $BLOC.ca $CODE.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 10:47 AM on Tuesday, January 7th, 2020

SPONSOR: ThreeD Capital Inc. (IDK:CSE) Led by legendary financier, Sheldon Inwentash, ThreeD is a Canadian-based venture capital firm that only invests in best of breed small-cap companies which are both defensible and mass scalable. More than just lip service, Inwentash has financed many of Canada’s biggest small-cap exits. Click Here For More Information.

Bitcoin 2020: The Bottom is In and Prices are About to Surge, Several Analysts Claim

  • Bitcoin corrected by over 50% from the 2019 high of $13,880.
  • With the retracement in the last six months, some analysts believe that the bottom is in.
  • The number one crypto is flashing accumulation signals convincing popular traders that the cryptocurrency has turned bullish in 2020.

Bitcoin may have started 2019 strong but ever since it posted a high of $13,880 in June, the top cryptocurrency has been correcting. It dropped to as low as $6,425 in December. At that point, bearish calls for a revisit to $5,000 levels were strong.

One analyst expecting bitcoin to drop to $5,000. | Source: Twitter

Those who have been waiting to buy below $6,000 have been left out. The digital gold is now trading above $7,000 and analysts are expecting bitcoin to leave this price area soon. Many see a base being formed, which can propel the number one cryptocurrency to greater heights early this year.

Analysts Claim Bitcoin Has Bottomed Out

After a weak second half of 2019, it appears that the worst is behind for the most dominant cryptocurrency. A number of widely-followed analysts on Twitter say that bitcoin is carving a bottom.

For instance, Faisal Sohail believes that the cryptocurrency has already tapped the bottom when it dropped to $6,475 in December. He believes that the digital asset will trade between $7,000 and $12,000 before the halving. ” alt=”” aria-hidden=”true” /> Bitcoin to start climbing before the May 2020 halving. | Source: Twitter

User Bitcoin Macro supports Faisal’s view. In an emphatic tweet, Bitcoin Macro exclaims that the bottom is already in. He also tells his followers not to get shaken out.

Majin, Crypto Twitter’s biggest bull, has also turned bullish after months of uncertainty. The liquidity game theorist believes bitcoin will take off and leave $7,000 behind.

Accumulation Pattern to Send Bitcoin Above $11,600

BTC has been range trading between $6,700 and $7,600 since November 20, 2019. That’s a $900 range over 45 days. To many analysts, this is a sign that a new base is being built to prepare bitcoin for the next leg up, hence, the call for a bottom.

Charles Edwards, head of digital investment firm Capriole, sees a potential accumulation pattern forming. More importantly, he believes that the bottom is already in. According to Edwards, his bias would be confirmed once bitcoin trades above $8,000.

Charles Edwards sees a Wyckoff accumulation pattern developing in bitcoin. | Source: Twitter

Edwards is not alone in seeing a pattern indicating that whales and other smart money investors are accumulating the largest cryptocurrency. Trader CryptoWolf also sees an accumulation pattern developing. His bias will be confirmed once the price goes above $8,090. A move above that level would also trigger the breakout from a large falling wedge.

CryptoWolf’s initial target is $9,550 and then $11,600.

Bitcoin needs to take out $8,090 to gain bullish momentum. | Source: Twitter

Traders Starting to Have a Rosy Outlook

With these signals, other traders are expressing their optimism on the prospects of the top cryptocurrency. The popular trader The Crypto Dog tweeted that he’s bullish on bitcoin.

It is not everyday that The Crypto Dog posts bullish tweets on bitcoin | Source: Twitter

The widely-followed Crypto Rand shares The Crypto Dog’s upbeat outlook on the dominant cryptocurrency. The Crypto Rand is also bullish on bitcoin | Source: Twitter

Is it a coincidence that the top analysts are tweeting bullish statements on bitcoin as the top cryptocurrency prints an accumulation pattern? Probably not. It’s very likely that these analysts are also seeing the bottom or base-building signals on the number one coin. If they’re right, then strap in. Bitcoin’s 2020 price action might start off with fireworks.

Source: https://www.ccn.com/bitcoin-2020-bottom-prices-about-to-surge/

#Palladium – The Prospects For A Repeat Performance SPONSOR: New Age Metals $NAM.ca $WG.ca $XTM.ca $WM.ca $PDL.ca $GLEN

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 4:03 PM on Monday, January 6th, 2020

SPONSOR: New Age Metals Inc. The company owns one of North America’s largest primary platinum group metals deposit in Sudbury, Canada. Updated NI 43-101 Mineral Resource Estimate 2,867,000 PdEq Measured and Indicated Ounces, with an additional 1,059,000 PdEq Ounces Inferred. Learn More.

Palladium – The Prospects For A Repeat Performance

  • A fantastic year in 2019.
  • A rally for the ages since 2016.
  • A new decade poses threats to the rally.

Of the four precious metals that trade on the NYMEX and COMEX divisions of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, palladium is the least liquid. As of December 27, the total number of open long and short positions in the gold futures market stood at 765,653 contracts, a record high representing 76.65 million ounces of the yellow metal. Silver’s open interest was at 225,753 contracts that contain a total of over 1.128 billion ounces of silver. A gold future represents 100 ounces of the metal, while a silver contract has 5,000 ounces.

In platinum, 98,042 contracts hold over 4.9 million ounces of platinum metal, as each contract is for 50 ounces. A palladium contract is for 100 ounces of the platinum group metal. As of December 27, 23,735 contracts represented 2,373,500 ounces. Markets with less liquidity when it comes to volume and open interest tend to be more volatile than those with higher degrees of liquidity. Palladium has lived up to that tendency since early 2016 as the price has been explosive on the upside. The Aberdeen Standard Physical Palladium Shares ETF product (PALL) replicates the price action in the palladium market. At the same time, the Aberdeen Standard Physical Precious Metals Basket Shares ETF (GLTR) holds palladium as well as gold, silver, and platinum bullion.

A fantastic year in 2019

Palladium was, by far, the best-performing precious metal that trades on the NYMEX or COMEX exchanges in 2019. Palladium’s price action was impressive considering that as of December 27, gold, silver, and even platinum have posted double-digit percentage gains compared to their closing prices as of December 31, 2018.

Source: CQG

As the weekly chart highlights, palladium moved from $1197.50 on the final day of 2018 to $1875.40 as of December 30, a gain of 56.6%. Palladium climbed to its most recent continuous contract high of $1963 per ounce in December while the March futures contract peaked at $1974.60.

Both price momentum and relative strength indicators were in overbought territory on December 30, but the metrics came down from recent highs given the correction on Friday, December 20. On the weekly charts, palladium put in a bearish reversal during the week of December 16. On a year-on-year basis, the total number of open long and short positions in the NYMEX palladium futures market edged lower in 2019, falling from 26,773 to 23,735 contracts from the end of 2018. Meanwhile, weekly historical volatility at 23.12% was just below the midpoint of the year for the metric.

2019 was such a good year for palladium that it was the best-performing commodity that trades on US exchanges of all during the period.

A rally for the ages since 2016

The bull market in palladium kept going in 2019, but it dates back four years to the beginning of 2016.

Source: CQG

The monthly chart illustrates what has been a parabolic trend in the precious metal since it found a bottom at $451.50 in January 2016. At $1875.40, the price was over four times higher since the 2016 bottom. Over four years, every price correction has been a buying opportunity in the precious and industrial metal. The most recent decline from $1963 to $1808.80 during the week of December 16 was looking like another opportunity to purchase palladium as the price recovered quickly to around the midpoint as of December 30.

A new decade poses threats to the rally

Palladium has been nothing short of a bullish beast since early 2016. The metal that cleanses toxins from the air in gasoline-powered automobile catalytic converters has experienced significant demand growth. With tighter pollution regulations around the world, and specifically in China, the requirements for the metal continue to rise.

The vast majority of palladium output each year comes from South Africa and Russia. According to Johnson Matthey, 2019 was the eighth consecutive year of a deficit between supply and demand in the palladium market, which continues to fuel price gains.

Source: Johnson Matthey

The chart shows that in May 2019, Johnson Matthey projected an 809,000-ounce deficit. The supply shortage was likely even higher as the price of the metal rose from a low of $1256.50 in early May to over $1875 per ounce at the end of 2019. The deficit remains significant as the total annual global output of the metal is around seven million ounces or 218 metric tons, and gross demand was 11.154 million ounces. While recycled metal provided additional supplies of 3.349 million ounces, it was not nearly enough to meet the growing demand.

While fundamentals could be telling us that the $2000 per ounce level will give way in 2020, platinum is a denser metal with higher resistance to heat than palladium.

Source: Johnson Matthey

The chart shows that Johnson Matthey projected that platinum would also move into a deficit in 2019 after a surplus weighed on the price of the precious metal in 2017 and 2018. Platinum rose from under $790 in May to the $958 per ounce level on December 30.

Meanwhile, at an over $900 per ounce discount to palladium, industrial consumers could begin to substitute platinum for palladium in 2020 as the deficit looks set to continue. Any improvement in global economic conditions would likely increase demand for both platinum and palladium in 2020.

The downside risk in the palladium market has increased dramatically, given the four-fold price increase since January 2016. The bearish price action and correction on December 20 could be a sign of things to come as volatility is likely to continue to rise with the price of the metal in 2020. Sudden price spikes to the downside could become the norm, and if the deficit expands, price vacuums to the upside could follow. Trading and investing in highly volatile commodities can be like riding a psychotic horse through a burning barn. The parabolic price action in the palladium market looks set to continue into the new decade. However, the path to higher prices could be a wild ride.

PALL is the palladium ETF product

The most direct route for a risk position or investment in palladium is via the physical market for bars and coins. The deficit and limited supplies can make premiums to the market price very expensive for these products. The NYMEX palladium futures have a delivery mechanism, which guarantees smooth convergence between physical and futures prices during delivery periods.

The Aberdeen Standard Physical Palladium Shares ETF product provides an alternative to physical or futures. The most recent holdings of PALL include:

Source: Yahoo Finance

PALL has net assets of $280.49 million, trades an average of 31,912 shares each day, and charges holders a 0.60% expense ratio. As of December 30, the price of palladium was 56.6% higher in 2019.

Source: Barchart

The chart shows that PALL moved from $119.05 on December 31, 2018, to $179.82 on December 30, 2019, an increase of 51% as it marginally underperformed the price action in the continuous palladium futures contract.

GLTR has some exposure to palladium, but is diversified

For those looking for a more diversified approach to precious metals in 2020, the Aberdeen Standard Physical Precious Metals Basket Shares ETF holds physical palladium as well as gold, silver, and platinum. The most recent top holdings of GLTR include:

Source: Yahoo Finance

GLTR has net assets of $463.08 million, trades an average of 24,328 shares each day, and charges holders a 0.60% expense ratio.

Source: Barchart

GLTR closed at $63.16 at the end of 2018. At $76.13 per share on December 30, the ETF product was a bit over 20.54% higher on the year.

Palladium looks like higher prices could be on the horizon in 2020 as the metal approaches the $2000 per ounce level. However, it could be a very bumpy ride as parabolic markets can suffer brutal setbacks. A 50% rise in 2020 would put palladium over $2800 per ounce. If the price of the metal is heading there, gold, silver, and platinum are likely to experience significant gains.

The Hecht Commodity Report is one of the most comprehensive commodities reports available today from the #2 ranked author in both commodities and precious metals. My weekly report covers the market movements of 20 different commodities and provides bullish, bearish and neutral calls; directional trading recommendations, and actionable ideas for traders. I just reworked the report to make it very actionable!

I am offering a 20% discount for an annual subscription to my service, The Hecht Commodity Report, through December 2019. With the holiday spirit in mind, I am offering a free trial to the service. You can sign up via this link. My seven comprehensive quarterly reports for subscribers will come out starting on the first day of 2020.

Disclosure: I/we have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Additional disclosure: The author always has positions in commodities markets in futures, options, ETF/ETN products, and commodity equities. These long and short positions tend to change on an intraday basis.

Source: https://seekingalpha.com/article/4314566-palladium-prospects-for-repeat-performance

Tartisan #Nickel $TN.ca – Demand for nickel to spike due to growing demand for electric vehicles #EV $ROX.ca $FF.ca $EDG.ca $AGL.ca $ANZ.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 3:53 PM on Monday, January 6th, 2020

SPONSOR: Tartisan Nickel (TN:CSE)  Kenbridge Property has a measured and indicated resource of 7.14 million tonnes at 0.62% nickel, 0.33% copper. Tartisan also has interests in Peru, including a 20 percent equity stake in Eloro Resources and 2 percent NSR in their La Victoria property. Click her for more information

Tc logo in black

Demand for nickel in PH to spike due to growing demand for electric vehicles

By Antonio L. Colina IV

  • The nickel industry in the Philippines can expect a brighter prospect for 2020 as the global demand is expected to increase for the manufacturing of electric vehicles (EVs).

Cha Olea, Philippine Nickel Association (PNIA) executive director, said in an interview on Friday that the association has seen an increasing trend for electric vehicles worldwide, including the Philippines, leading to a possible industry boom as a result of a shift from fossil-run vehicles to more environment friendly electricity-run vehicles to curb carbon emission.

“The primary component of EV battery is nickel because of the batteries,” she said. Aside from nickel, Olea said the batteries also need cobalt and magnesium, but 50 percent of the batteries for EVs are made of nickel.

The executive added that manufacturing plants’ demand for stainless steel, which is also derived from nickel, would increase.

Members of the European Union targets to totally eradicate carbon emission by 2030, while the United States has been slowly replacing fossil-run vehicles with EVs, by offering incentives to owners of electric vehicles.

“Nickel has a very good prospect in the future, especially that Europe’s direction by 2030 is zero carbon emission. They are shifting to electric vehicles,” Olea said.

She said the Philippines is one of the biggest producers of nickel in the world, producing an estimated volume of 30 million metric tons last year. Of which, around 90% had been exported to China while the remaining 10% to Japan, Australia, and EU.

“Globally, they are looking for Philippines. Of course, we have to position ourselves strategically,” she said.

She noted that in the Philippines, some public utility vehicles had been replaced with e-tricycles and e-jeepneys.

Olea said at least 70% of the nickel ore extracted from the Philippines would be used for stainless steel, 3% for other components, 6% for batteries of EVs, 2% for castings, 6% for plating, 9% non-ferrous metals, and 4% for alloy steel.

She said the new opportunities in the global market would benefit the domestic nickel industry. According to her, the mining industry in the Philippines employs some 250,000 workers. (Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)

Source: https://www.mindanews.com/top-stories/2020/01/demand-for-nickel-in-ph-to-spike-due-to-growing-demand-for-electric-vehicles/

Physician Groups Order The Heartcheck(TM) Cardibeat For In-Home Arrhythmia And Atrial Fibrillation Monitoring – CardioComm Solutions $EKG.ca $ATE.ca $TLT.ca $OGI.ca $ACST.ca $IPA.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 2:22 PM on Monday, January 6th, 2020

Patient Self-Monitoring Extends Physicians’ Reach for Proactive Monitoring of Atrial Fibrillation Recurrence and any Arrhythmia.

  • Confirms market traction with orders being placed by physician groups for the newly launched HeartCheck™ CardiBeat Handheld ECG monitor and GEMS™ Mobile Smartphone app for prescribed in-home arrhythmia monitoring
  • Dr. Yaariv Khaykin, Physician Lead at PACE and Chief Medical Information Officer at Southlake Regional Health Centre, stated, “We are very excited at the opportunity to introduce the use of this home-based ECG/arrhythmia monitoring technology to our patients empowering them to take greater charge of their health.”

TORONTO, ONTARIO / January 6, 2020 / CardioComm Solutions, Inc. (TSX VENTURE:EKG) (“CardioComm” or the “Company“), a global provider of consumer heart monitoring and electrocardiogram (“ECG“) device and software solutions, confirms market traction with orders being placed by physician groups for the newly launched HeartCheck™ CardiBeat Handheld ECG monitor and GEMS™ Mobile Smartphone app for prescribed in-home arrhythmia monitoring.

Partners in Advanced Cardiac Evaluation (“PACE“), the largest arrhythmia practice in Ontario (Canada) placed a first order of the HeartCheck™ CardiBeat Handheld ECG monitors and is recommending its patients to use the devices for one year of in-home, self-monitoring with an emphasis on detecting a recurrence of Atrial Fibrillation (“AF“) following cardiac ablation treatment for AF. The Company confirms that additional hospital affiliated physician groups have also purchased the HeartCheck™ CardiBeat ECG devices for evaluation in their respective practices with additional orders expected in early 2020.

AF is a life-threatening arrhythmia that is difficult to treat. Cardiac ablation is a procedure commonly used to correct AF; however, AF recurrence after ablation is common and can be “silent”, occuring without any symptoms, discomfort or warning to the patient (See Note 1). PACE patients will use the GEMS™ Mobile Smartphone app to record ECGs taken by the HeartCheck™ CardiBeat which will then be automatically forwarded by CardioComm’s SMART Monitoring ECG service directly into the patient’s cardiologist’s Electronic Medical Record (“EMR”). Should any submitted ECG recordings show a recurrence of AF or a presence of other cardiac arrhythmias, the patients are contacted by PACE and follow-up visits scheduled. ECG reports generated through GEMS™ Mobile are eligible for medical service reimbursement in both Canada and the US.

Dr. Yaariv Khaykin, Physician Lead at PACE and Chief Medical Information Officer at Southlake Regional Health Centre, stated, “We are very excited at the opportunity to introduce the use of this home-based ECG/arrhythmia monitoring technology to our patients empowering them to take greater charge of their health.”

The GEMS™ Mobile app is available in Android and Apple Smartphone compatible versions as a free downloadable app and allows users to generate unlimited ECG reports to show to their physician. The app also allows users to request their ECG to be reviewed by CardioComm’s SMART Monitoring ECG reading service where the user does not have direct connectivity to their treating physician.

To learn more about CardioComm’s products and for further updates regarding HeartCheck™ ECG device integrations, please visit the Company’s websites at www.cardiocommsolutions.com and www.theheartcheck.com.

Note 1: Heart Rhythm Journal – 2017 HRS/EHRA/ECAS/APHRS/SOLAECE expert consensus statement on catheter and surgical ablation of atrial fibrillation: Executive summary

About CardioComm Solutions

CardioComm Solutions’ patented and proprietary technology is used in products for recording, viewing, analyzing and storing electrocardiograms for diagnosis and management of cardiac patients. Products are sold worldwide through a combination of an external distribution network and a North American-based sales team. CardioComm Solutions has earned the ISO 13485:2016 MDSAP certification, is HIPAA compliant and holds clearances from the European Union (CE Mark), the USA (FDA) and Canada (Health Canada).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

Etienne Grima, Chief Executive Officer

1-877-977-9425 x227

[email protected]

[email protected]

Forward-looking statements

This release may contain certain forward-looking statements and forward-looking information with respect to the financial condition, results of operations and business of CardioComm Solutions and certain of the plans and objectives of CardioComm Solutions with respect to these items. Such statements and information reflect management’s current beliefs and are based on information currently available to management. By their nature, forward-looking statements and forward-looking information involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the future and there are many factors that could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements and forward-looking information.

In evaluating these statements, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and forward-looking information. The Company does not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking statements and forward-looking information contained in this release other than as required by applicable laws, including without limitation, Section 5.8(2) of National Instrument 51-102 (Continuous Disclosure Obligations).

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE: CardioComm Solutions, Inc


View source version on accesswire.com:
https://www.accesswire.com/572152/Physician-Groups-Order-The-HeartcheckTM-Cardibeat-For-In-Home-Arrhythmia-And-Atrial-Fibrillation-Monitoring