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Good Life Networks $GOOD.ca – Top 5 Trends Ad Intelligence to Look Forward in 2019 $TTD $RUBI $AT.ca $TRMR $FUEL

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 11:32 AM on Monday, January 21st, 2019
SPONSOR: Good Life Networks (GOOD:TSX-V) Video advertising is the future! Company’s A.I. makes 80,000 calculations / second, targeting 750 million users to deliver higher prices and volume. Revenue was $10,000,650 for the nine months ended September 30th, 2018, a 142% increase from $4,133,231 reported for the six months ended September 30th, 2017.  Click here for more information.
GOOD: TSX-V

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Top 5 Trends Ad Intelligence to Look Forward in 2019

Programmatic Advertising Trend:

Is 2019 the year that could change the face of digital advertising? YES!! If we believe eMarketers, programmatic trading makes up 80 per cent of all digital display advertising and it has been predicted to increase to up to 95 per cent by 2020. It has and continues to, completely transformed the digital display advertising space with continuous inventions in advanced technology, which projected to represent over â…”rd of all digital ad spend worldwide in 2019.Throughout 2018, few trends such as blockchain, influence marketing, native advertising, and user-generated content trends were as widely talked about – and lift up – as ML and AI. In the realm of Ad Intelligence growth, we expect that to continue to be the case throughout 2019.

Sumit Ghosh, Contributor Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

You’re reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.

In terms of improving the overall effectiveness of targeted advertising, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) holds a lot of promise. Earlier this year, we have already seen the effectiveness and popularity of machine learning systems and AI-based chatbots and how social media giants like Facebook, Instagram uses Intelligence algorithm to improve the results of ad campaigns. But what’s next? How can Intelligence further boost the success for business in 2019? We believe, it’ll become even bigger trends with mobile in-app advertiser campaigns in 2019.

In 2019, here are 5 trends Ad Intelligence, which will help maximize lift and improve ad performance across the sector.

Mobile In-App ad Creative Trend:

What can advertisers do to make sure their Ad spends return real values? Is there a better way?

In 2019, AI and ML can go a long way to make in-app ad creatives better for any targeted audience. By applying extensive historical performance data and advanced computer vision algorithms brands can determine more precise ad creatives that worked well in the past and predicts what kinds of creatives will perform better in near future.

It can also help brands to get a better sense of how their target audience reacts to different Ad-creatives under different scenarios. As an example, it’s possible that advertisements that feature celebrities perform better or particular fonts, colours, and imagery can boost the overall ad campaign results.

In addition, using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Language (ML) algorithms in conjunction with location data can help brands improve the creativeness and effectiveness of local campaigns.

In accordance with eMarketers, brands and their marketing partners are expected to spend more than $77 billion in the U.S. alone in 2019. However, ensuring potential benefits of using advanced AI and ML application in advertising can be sure to provide better creative results which are optimized for success and deploy quality results for the business.

Ad-Supported OTT Trend:

Over the past couple of months, the business of digital advertising has been changed. Marketers are trying to increase the mobile audience of their content, lift their monetization game and better leverage the opportunity that newest trend brings.

In 2019, we expect brands and advertising partners could see that critical mass of viewers will watch Ad Supported OTT (Over The Top) video. And Brands that don’t participate in Ad supported OTT will surely miss out the unforeseen heights of viewers for their Ad campaigns.

As per the reports, 73per cent of viewers who regularly streamed videos have more focus to watch ad-supported OTT, and out of them, 45per cent of viewers watched Ad supported OTT the most. Over the 52per cent of OTT, viewers are cord shavers or cord cutters. In continuation, why ad-supported OTT viewers cut or shave the cord, 38per cent better content on streaming services,42per cent cite “flexibility/convenience” and 77per cent point to cost.

Here a Few Key Potential Benefits offered by Ad Supported OTT to the Brands and Their Advertising Partners –

  • Improved ability to reach a large and distinct audience across geographies and ages who have been a struggle to reach via traditional routes like radio or television advertising.
  • Increased number of audience to follow social media influencers with Ad supported OTT.
  • The largest amount of viewers are 18 to 34 age groups with incomes exceeding $75,000 a year.
  • A key opportunity to monetize valuable insight into the audience, such as viewing habits and behaviours.
  • Another key opportunity for brands and their advertising partners is combining influencer marketing with OTT video ad campaigns as ASV OTT viewers are more likely to follow digital media influencers.
  • Viewers on Ad supported OTT complete 98per cent of ads, this is 12per cent higher than ad completion on smartphones and 14per cent higher than ad completion on the desktop.

Mobile Data Monetization Trend:

In 2019, all possible business models will hinge on the increasing revenue opportunity given by all data types, especially the case in advertising, with brands. And if they don’t take a smarter approach to data management and data usage, then Ad campaigns will be going to fall flat in 2019. Considering a lot of business can reduce cost and grow revenue if companies monetize their data and use in day-to-day operations.

Why Mobile Data Monetization Trend is Prevalent in Marketing and Advertising?

Monetizing the data to greater degrees in prevalent for every possible business venture today, but YES, it’s especially prevalent in marketing and advertising.

In near time, brands gain insights on where the targeted audiences are located, density and flow of targeted audiences, how they spend their time, what they’re interested in, click-stream insights about ad campaigns. These insights can be used to direct activities as varied as customer segmentation, pricing optimization, demand and churn prediction, cost management and, retention marketing — and they can also command even bigger margins when sold externally.

Digital Advertising Transparency Trend:

Over the last few years, programmatic advertising has seen much growth, but there are few issues which have been lying dormant for years now. One of the biggest issues is in regards to Digital Advertising Transparency. In 2019, we expect they will be put into bed.

In 2019, we expect everyone in the digital advertising ecosystem to focus more on accountability, digital advertising transparency and openness throughout the entire blockchain. So what could be the solutions that can solve these issues in this arena?

First of all, advanced technologies designed to increase transparency will come in the front. The recent introduction of Ads.txt for mobile in-app environments and the Open Measurement SDK are only a glimpse of a larger problem here. It would not be surprising to see ad tech-focused blockchain app – which have been long on hype, however short on results so far – really make genuine progress in 2019.

Moreover, media supply chain partnerships will keep on driving these activities forward. While these sorts of transparency-focused arrangements were beginning to make genuine progress in 2018, siloed approaches and walled gardens still governed the roost in 2018. In 2019, expect cross-organizational transparency and openness to be the standard.

Furthermore, last yet surely not least, all digital advertisers will progressively put their money where their mouth is as far as prioritizing trust and transparency. For a really long time, the industry has paid lip service to these issues while still enabling issues to go crazy. That will end in the new year.

Do you think the biggest issues cited by brand and their advertisers throughout both 2017 and 2018 will be put into a bed in 2019 or they will still pay lip service?

Programmatic Advertising Trend:

Is 2019 the year that could change the face of digital advertising? YES!! If we believe eMarketers, programmatic trading makes up 80 per cent of all digital display advertising and it has been predicted to increase to up to 95 per cent by 2020. It has and continues to, completely transformed the digital display advertising space with continuous inventions in advanced technology, which projected to represent over â…”rd of all digital ad spend worldwide in 2019.Throughout 2018, few trends such as blockchain, influence marketing, native advertising, and user-generated content trends were as widely talked about – and lift up – as ML and AI. In the realm of Ad Intelligence growth, we expect that to continue to be the case throughout 2019.

Source: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/326640

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Enthusiast Gaming $EGLX.ca – Esports Disrupt How Brands and Events Engage With Their Communities $ATVI $TTWO $GAME $EPY.ca $TCEHF

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 9:36 AM on Monday, January 21st, 2019

SPONSOR: Enthusiast Gaming Holdings Inc. (TSX-V: EGLX) Uniting gaming communities with 80 owned and affiliated websites, currently reaching over 75 million monthly visitors. The company has year to date revenue of $7.4 million representing a 625% increase over the same period in 2017.

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EGLX: TSX-V
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Esports Disrupt How Brands and Events Engage With Their Communities

  • How organizations and events build communities is shifting with new digital networks and the evolution of how people interact online.
  • The culture and growth of esports represents a window into how these changes will affect associations, businesses, and the event sector at large.  

Andrew Sheivachman, Skift  

How organizations and events build communities is shifting with new digital networks and the evolution of how people interact online. The culture and growth of esports represents a window into how these changes will affect associations, businesses, and the event sector at large.  

No matter how boring and trite you may find the concept of esports competition and culture, the hobby is on the forefront of a major shift in the habits of how we consume media and interact in online communities.

The event industry needs to adapt to the reality of how a new generation of attendees demand engagement through a variety of online platforms.

Fortnite, a video game wherein cartoon characters blast each other with weapons and dance around, captured the imagination and dollars of the world in 2018. For the extremely online millennial and Gen Z generations, the game’s free online battle royal mode represents something more than just a colorful time-waster. Since everyone is online all the time, the game acts as a platform for engagement on multiple levels. Interested in more stories like this? Subscribe to Skift’s Meetings Innovation Report to stay up-to-date on the future of business events.

Friends play and chat over the internet with each other each night, earn almost random rewards that incentivize them to keep playing, closely track the news regarding updates and exploits on websites and message boards. They do this while watching tournaments and streams populated by players who routinely dedicate 10 hours a day to mastery of the game’s competitive systems. Kids may be dancing the stupid dances from the game, but plenty of adults have embraced this style of engagement with Fortnite as a platform.

It’s no surprise that the multifaceted elements of the online gaming ecosystem are starting to bleed into the world of big business; Fortnite publisher Epic Games routinely holds online tournaments with a million dollar prize, and fans flock to real-life stadium events featuring the best in the world at other games.

As Skift has reflected consistently over the years, shifts in the behavior of travelers and consumers begin in their personal lives; their expectations shift as their habits do, leaving organizations to often play catch up as old paradigms become ineffective.

Building Community

Social networking has undergone a reckoning as of late.

Facebook has become a cesspool of racism and misleading clickbait, while LinkedIn is rapidly becoming Facebook for people who wear suits. Twitter is chaotic and dense, making it hard to identify and join communities. Instagram is style over substance, rewarding a motif that everyone is trying to ape for increased engagement at the cost of true value to users.

As the battle over online privacy has heated up, new players have slowly entered the social networking arena.

Slack, a messaging app for the workplace, has picked up casual social users for communities based on certain topics while Discord, an online voice and text chat service, has slowly risen to prominence as a successor to old-school IRC (Internet Real Chat) of yore. As Instagram expands the ability of organizations to sell tickets to events, also expect the platform to introduce group and community interaction capabilities and management tools for organizers.

The truth is that the explosion in online communities spurred by esports has serious ramifications for the traditional events sector, particularly business events and conventions. Keeping association members engaged and educated is a complex issue, particularly in the always-on digital world. How do you keep members engaged and satisfied in a world defined by digital distraction?

Engagement is going to be limited even if you offer an app for your association, group, or event; people want to be reached where they spend most of their time, which will increasingly be in apps like Slack that provide the ability for hundreds of contributors to chat, send files, and more. The conversation is persistent and doesn’t disappear after an event ends. Chatting with organizers and direct messaging between attendees has been common for event apps for a few years, but lacks the ability to facilitate communication, education, and bonding over the full event lifecycle.

Dedicated message boards or LinkedIn or Facebook groups lack the immediacy of live chat, particularly for those looking for timely information or advice. Why wait until your chapter meeting to pose a question? There is no replacement for real-life meetings and the face-to-face connections they create, but digital platforms can help enhance the overall event experience the rest of the time.

So often, organizers encourage attendees to post on Twitter or Facebook from an event.  Sure, it looks good for the organization’s marketers that people are tweeting, but does it provide any lasting value to attendees or the organization’s health?

Building an engaged community is more valuable than things like Twitter chat or webinars, even if it can’t be seen by the outside world as a visible marketing success. In particular, it offers increased value to those who may not be able to attend a real-life event for whatever reason, and those new to a group or sector who may lack the connections to feel comfortable at an event.

Live chat that persists beyond the timeline of a physical event is more valuable, a living and searchable testament to the strength and power of an association or community. With digital communication and content more effectively threaded throughout a physical experience, so too will the overall event experience become more cohesive and powerful for attendees. If stronger digital personalization really ever comes to meetings, digital platforms will be intermediating the experience anyway.

This will help thread the offline event experience with a persistent, always-on digital community that younger professionals operate within. It’s not enough to be relevant once or four times a year; groups need to provide constant value and brain food to members, wherever they are.

Source: https://skift.com/2019/01/21/esports-disrupt-how-brands-and-events-engage-with-their-communities/

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North Bud Farms Inc. $NBUD.ca – Marijuana Edibles and Infused Beverages Should Go On Sale in Canada by October $ACB $WEED.ca $HIP.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 9:11 AM on Monday, January 21st, 2019

SPONSOR: North Bud Farms Inc. (NBUD:CSE) Sustainable low cost, high quality cannabinoid production and procurement focusing on both bio-pharmaceutical development and Cannabinoid Infused Products. Click Here For More Information

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Higher-margin consumption options are on the way — and so are added regulations from Health Canada.

Sean Williams – Jan 20, 2019 at 9:06AM

The marijuana industry blossomed before our eyes in 2018, with the cannabis movement taking steps toward legitimacy like never before.

In the United States, Food and Drug Administration approved its very first cannabis-derived drug, and President Trump signed the Farm Bill into law, legalizing hemp and hemp-based cannabidiol products. But of all events, none offered more validity to the long-term cannabis business model than the legalization of recreational marijuana in Canada this past October. Although this legalization will generate billions of dollars in added annual sales, it’s the legitimacy of weed now being legal that’s worth even more.

Image source: Getty Images.

The wait for alternative cannabis options lingers on in Canada

However, Canada’s legalization wasn’t as broad-based as you might think. Although dried cannabis flower, sublingual sprays, and cannabis oils were legalized, other popular forms of consumption were not. This included edibles, cannabis-infused beverages, extracts/concentrates, topicals, and vapes. This was likely done to expedite the approval of the Cannabis Act through Parliament, as well as allow the industry to get its bearings.

One of the bigger questions has been when the Canadian government would address alternative consumption options. Since dried cannabis flower has been commoditized in a handful of recreationally legal U.S. states, the expectation is that Canada will follow suit in the years to come. This puts alternative marijuana products into the spotlight, since they’re expected to have higher price points, higher margins, and be far less susceptible to pricing pressure, than dried flower.

New consumption options are coming, but there are caveats

Recently, Health Canada helped put some of those questions to rest by laying out its plan of action on alternative consumption options. According to a rough outline provided by the Canadian regulatory agency, and detailed by the National Post, edibles, infused beverages, topicals, and extracts should be legal by this fall, no later than Oct. 17, 2019. That’s exactly one year after adult-use pot became legal for sale in Canada. Of course, there are plenty of caveats to this product expansion.

For example, the draft provided by Health Canada calls for strict caps on the amount of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) that these products can contain. THC is the psychoactive cannabinoid responsible for getting a user high. The agency suggests that no package of edibles would be permitted more than 10 milligrams of THC, with topicals and extracts limited to 1,000 milligrams of THC.

Image source: Getty Images.

Just as we’ve witnessed in the U.S., there would also be strict packaging regulations on edibles to make them less appealing to children. Packaging that resembled candy or other foods familiar with children wouldn’t be allowed, and neither would ingredient labeling that would attract kids, such as sweeteners. The packaging itself must also be tamper- and child-resistant, plain, and carry the standard health warning.

Edible, topical, and extract producers would also be barred from making any health benefit or nutrition claims on their packaging.

Interestingly, the one item left off the list is cannabis-infused alcoholic beverages. Although nonalcoholic infused beverages should be legal within the next nine months, those containing alcohol will have to wait a bit longer. 

These companies are champing at the bit for the green flag to wave

With few exceptions, this draft from Health Canada was music to the ears of cannabis producers and ancillary players. Now they’re simply champing at the bit for these products to be legalized.

Last August, Molson Coors Brewing Co. (NYSE:TAP) announced a 57.5%-42.5% joint venture with Quebec-based HEXO that’ll see the duo work on developing and retailing a line of cannabis-infused beverages in Canada. Molson Coors has seen its beer market share decline in Canada over the past decade, and is hoping that the marijuana industry can reignite top-line growth with a line of non-alcoholic infused beverages. With Molson Coors’ expertise in marketing new products, and HEXO’s intricate knowledge of the cannabis industry, this duo is eager to diversify their portfolio of products.

Read More: https://www.fool.com/investing/2019/01/20/marijuana-edibles-and-infused-beverages-should-go.aspx

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ThreeD Capital Inc. $IDK.ca – Why is $1 Billion Bitcoin Giant Bitfury Building a Blockchain Music Service? $HIVE.ca $BLOC.ca $CODE.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 8:54 AM on Monday, January 21st, 2019

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.

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  • An early bitcoin mining firm turned global blockchain company based out of London, has announced that it will launch an entertainment division tasked with developing an open-source music platform that runs on blockchain technology.

By CCN.com: The Bitfury Group, an early bitcoin mining firm turned global blockchain company based out of London, has announced that it will launch an entertainment division tasked with developing an open-source music platform that runs on blockchain technology.

From Mining Bitcoin to Tracking Music IP on a Blockchain

Tech companies trying to make waves in the music industry is nothing new. Bitfury is a significant player in the blockchain industry, however, which makes this foray particularly interesting. The aim of decentralizing the music industry has long been a pipedream but could now be closer to reality.

The open-source platform, labeled SurroundTM, will purportedly simplify the safe transferal of copyright assets. At the very core of the project is the creation of an environment that allows musicians to manage their affairs far more efficiently. This includes monitoring their output, being able to see what works, and — most importantly — what doesn’t. According to Bitfury, SurroundTM will lead the way in promoting innovation within the music industry.

Bitfury wants to be more than just a bitcoin mining company. | Source: Shutterstock

Speaking to Reuters, Bitfury Surround CEO Stefan Schulz commented:

There is a very strong momentum for an open entertainment-related blockchain where market participants themselves would be participating in the market venue, not only from a transactional point of view.

The platform itself will look to provide a digital system for both monetizing and sharing intellectual property. Based out of Europe with a presence in Amsterdam and Berlin, offices in Tokyo, LA, Moscow, and Seoul are set to follow. Schulz, a veteran of the entertainment and music industry, said that although “the actual platform is being put together and developed as we speak,” it wouldn’t be near completion for quite a while.

Bitfury isn’t the only major firm to eye blockchain as a solution to copyright management. Via a licensing agreement, Kodak‘s blockchain platform also offers photographers the ability to register their images and secure their intellectual property.

Bitfury Becomes Bitcoin Mining’s Latest Unicorn

Recently valued at $1 billion, The Bitfury Group raised $80 million from investors late last year, including Mike Novogratz-led merchant bank Galaxy Digital. The former Fortress Investment Group hedge fund manager’s contribution helped push Bitfury’s valuation into the “blockchain unicorn” category inhabited by firms such as Bitmain, Coinbase, and Circle.

Source: https://www.ccn.com/why-is-1-billion-bitcoin-giant-bitfury-building-a-blockchain-music-service/

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CLIENT FEATURE: North Bud Farms $NBUD.ca sustainable low cost, high quality cannabinoid production and procurement $ACB $WEED.ca $HIP.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 3:35 PM on Friday, January 18th, 2019

WHY NORTHBUD FARMS?

  • Canadian regulatory door for CIP (Cannabinoid Infused Products) is opening this year
    As shown in other legal jurisdictions (Colorado, Washington, Nevada, California)
  • Infused products sector has become the highest margin segment of the industry
  • Positioned to be a raw input producer for this space
  • Currently working with multiple food, beverage and science companies to provide safe standardized cannabinoid infused raw inputs for large scale GMP manufacturing of products
  • Announced Creation of “1017” Distribution and Signing of a LOI to Acquire Janey’s Cannabis Line

THE OPPORTUNITY

  • Acquired late stage ACMPR applicant GrowPros MMP from Tetra Bio-Pharma (TSXV: TBP)
  • GrowPros MMP application was submitted in November 2014 and is currently in the ‘Confirmation of Readiness’ stage.
  • Announced the amendment of its licence application to add 500K SQ. FT. of outdoor cultivation area
  • Phase 1 is located on 95 acres of agricultural farmland in Low, Québec.
  • Option exists to acquire more land if needed
  • Facility will focus on GMP (higher production grade) pharma-grade cultivation and food-grade extracted inputs

CHECK OUT OUR RECENT INTERVIEW

FULL DISCLOSURE: North Bud Farms is an advertising client of AGORA Internet Relations Corp.

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Enthusiast Gaming $EGLX.ca – This week in esports: #Shell, #Puma, #Mercedes-Benz, #Panini $ATVI $TTWO $GAME $EPY.ca $TCEHF

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 2:28 PM on Friday, January 18th, 2019

SPONSOR: Enthusiast Gaming Holdings Inc. (TSX-V: EGLX) Uniting gaming communities with 80 owned and affiliated websites, currently reaching over 75 million monthly visitors. The company has year to date revenue of $7.4 million representing a 625% increase over the same period in 2017.

Images
EGLX: TSX-V

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This week in esports: Shell, Puma, Mercedes-Benz, Panini

  • This week in esports has proven that the industry still has pulling power when it comes to bringing in major non-endemic companies.
  • Energy company Shell, athletic brand Puma, and collectibles company Panini have all entered esports in the last few days!

By: Adam Fitch

This week in esports has proven that the industry still has pulling power when it comes to bringing in major non-endemic companies. Energy company Shell, athletic brand Puma, and collectibles company Panini have all entered esports in the last few days!

We have a twice-weekly newsletter that informs you of every significant happening in the business and industry side of esports, feel free to subscribe here.

LEC enters partnership with energy company Shell

Riot Games has brought in energy giant Shell as a partner of its newly-franchised European competition, LEC.

Shell will power the Baron Power Play segment of the LEC broadcast and it will offer XP incentives for German fans. The British-Dutch oil and gas company will also act as the main partner of the 2019 DACH Premier Tour.

Read the full article here.

Cloud9’s LCS team finds apparel partner in Puma

North American organisation Cloud9 has partnered with Puma, marking the German athletic apparel company’s first venture into esports.

The deal specifically involves Cloud9’s LCS team and is expected to last the duration of the Spring Split. Puma will provide trousers and trainers on match days, as well as occupying a spot on the team’s jersey.

Read the full article here.

Mercedes-Benz and FC Köln purchase stake in SK Gaming

ESforce has agreed to sell 67% of its stake in German organisation SK Gaming to FC Köln and Daimler AG (Mercedes-Benz).

Mercedes-Benz will appear on the front of the organisation’s jersey, while the German football club will have its #effzeh branding located on the sleeves.

Read the full article here.

Panini enters esports through compLexity Gaming partnership

Sticker and trading card company Panini has entered esports through a partnership with North American organisation compLexity Gaming.

The one-year deal is partially seen as compLexity helping Panini enter esports in an efficient and natural way – it’ll also result in trading cards and posters being made for the organisation.

Read the full article here.

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New Age Metals Inc. $NAM.ca – Gold Slips While Palladium Maintains High Levels $WG.ca $XTM.ca $WM.ca $PDL.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 10:49 AM on Friday, January 18th, 2019

SPONSOR: New Age Metals Inc. (TSX-V: NAM) The company’s new Lithium Division has already made significant acquisitions in Canada and the USA. The company also owns one of North America’s largest primary platinum group metals deposit in Sudbury, Canada. Learn More.

NAM: TSX-V
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  • Palladium held above $1,400 U.S. an ounce on Friday after surging to record levels in the previous session, amid tight supplies and robust demand, while gold slipped as risk sentiment got a boost from hopes of progress in U.S.-China trade talks.

Glenn Wilkins – Friday, January 18, 2019

Palladium held above $1,400 U.S. an ounce on Friday after surging to record levels in the previous session, amid tight supplies and robust demand, while gold slipped as risk sentiment got a boost from hopes of progress in U.S.-China trade talks.

Spot gold was down 0.1% at $1,290.51 U.S. per ounce, while U.S. gold futures were down 0.2% at $1,290 per ounce. One official said the market is currently unable to gauge the extent of economic slowdown, and that uncertainty is supporting gold.

Meanwhile, spot palladium climbed 1.1% to $1,411 U.S. per ounce Friday, having hit an all-time high of $1,434.50 U.S. on Thursday. The metal is on track to rise for a fourth week in its strongest weekly gain since the week ended Sept. 21. It has risen around 12% so far this month.

The price of palladium, used mainly in emissions-reducing catalysts for vehicles, is up nearly 70% since a low marked in mid-August. Prices for the metal overtook gold for the first time in 16 years early in December.

However, spot gold was set for its fifth straight weekly gain, supported by expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve may not raise interest rates this year on worries about economy and uncertainties around Brexit.

Gold watchers say spot gold is due for a sharp move, as its consolidation within a neutral range of $1,285-$1,299 U.S. per ounce is ending.

In other metals, platinum rose 0.5% to $809 U.S. an ounce, while silver gained 0.1% to $15.53 U.S.

Source: https://www.baystreet.ca/commodities/2803/Gold-Slips-While-Palladium-Maintains-High-Levels

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Esports Entertainment Group $GMBL – LOOT.BET publishes Esports betting trends in 2018 $ATVI $TTWO $GAME $EPY.ca $TCEHF

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 1:58 PM on Thursday, January 17th, 2019

LOOT.BET publishes Esports betting trends in 2018

  • Report reveals that Russian eSports bettors were the luckiest. The highest win rate belongs to the Russian users coupled with a winning combo-bet with the record-breaking—over 665—odd multiplier belonging to a Ukrainian punter, who won big on the final matches of the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive ESL Pro League; by placing only €20, he got about €13,300.

LOOT.BET has published the stats and major trend reports on esports betting in 2018.

The report reveals that Russian eSports bettors were the luckiest. The highest win rate belongs to the Russian users coupled with a winning combo-bet with the record-breaking—over 665—odd multiplier belonging to a Ukrainian punter, who won big on the final matches of the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive ESL Pro League; by placing only €20, he got about €13,300.

Top-three countries with the most risk-taking bettors are Georgia, Spain, and Ukraine, while the most cautious users came from Sweden and Denmark.

Choice of esports disciplines was also connected with the geographic location of the bettor. CS:GO was the world’s most popular game to place bets on, while Russian and Ukrainian audience also tended to bet on Dota 2 eagerly whilst users from Western Europe and Asia—on League of Legends and Overwatch as well.

The most significant trend of the last year on LOOT.BET was the rapid rise of the interest to live bets and broadcasts. More than half of the wagers placed on the service in 2018 belong to the live markets and continue to gain momentum. The vast majority—over 80 per cent—of the clients in the process of live betting watched the matches directly on the website instead of switching to streaming platforms, such as Twitch and YouTube. As a comparison, in 2016, during the first months of LOOT.BET service, the amount was approximately 30 per cent and at the end of 2017—50 per cent.

In 2018, LOOT.BET users were the most active to bet on the following teams: Astralis, Team Liquid, and Na’Vi. And the team on whom bets did not work in most cases were not the meme-stars Na’Vi but rather Virtus.pro.

Source: https://europeangaming.eu/portal/latest-news/2019/01/09/35945/loot-bet-publishes-esports-betting-trends-in-2018/

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North Bud Farms Inc. $NBUD.ca – Canadian cannabis industry execs warn weed shortage could last three years $ACB $WEED.ca $HIP.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 11:35 AM on Thursday, January 17th, 2019

SPONSOR: North Bud Farms Inc. (NBUD:CSE) Sustainable low cost, high quality cannabinoid production and procurement focusing on both bio-pharmaceutical development and Cannabinoid Infused Products. Click Here For More Information

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  • Canadian cannabis industry executives are warning that product shortages in the country could take as long as three years to alleviate. Some insiders believe that cannabis production estimates are too optimistic, according to a report from Bloomberg.

By A.J. Herrington

Canadian cannabis industry executives are warning that product shortages in the country could take as long as three years to alleviate. Some insiders believe that cannabis production estimates are too optimistic, according to a report from Bloomberg.

Since the sale and use of recreational marijuana were legalized in October, product shortages have led some cannabis retailers to reduce hours or limit purchases. In Alberta, regulators originally estimated that up to 250 cannabis stores could be operating in the province by the end of this year. But product shortages caused the province to place a moratorium on issuing licenses in November. As a result, Alberta has only 65 cannabis retailers, with 20 of those located in the city of Calgary.

Chuck Rifici, chief executive officer of Auxly Cannabis Group Inc. in Toronto, said that the challenges of expanding cannabis production have made it difficult to meet the demands of the newly legal recreational cannabis market.

“There’s a lot of execution risk, people are expanding by 10, 20 times,” Rifici said. “Personally, I think we’re at least three years out from hitting real equilibrium.”

“Ultimately any manufacturing facility growing 20 times is likely to face delays,” he added.

Greg Engel, CEO of Organigram Holdings believes that it will take “a couple years” for supply to catch up with demand. And Everett Knight, the executive vice president for strategy and investments at Valens Groworks, said it could be two to three years. He said that some cultivators do not accurately predict production losses due to issues such as mold.

“It’s harder to grow cannabis than most people think,” Knight said.

However, Raj Grover, the CEO of cannabis retailer High Tide, said that supply problems are improving“on a monthly and weekly basis.”

“Our stores in Alberta are fully stocked. They’re generating great revenue,” Grover said. “I think Ontario’s decision to just open 25 stores is too much of an overstatement, they’re overthinking this a little bit.”

Government predicts ‘sufficient supply’

Tammy Jarbeau, a spokeswoman for Health Canada said in a statement in November that some product shortages could be expected.

“As with any new industry where there is considerable consumer demand, we expect there may be periods where inventories of some products run low or, in some cases, run out,” said Jarbeau. “Health Canada remains confident that there is sufficient supply of cannabis overall to meet market demand now and into the future.”

But she added that shortages were not expected to be prolonged or widespread.

“As the overall supply chain gains experience in the Canadian marketplace, it is expected that such localized and product-specific shortages will become far fewer in number,” Jarbeau said.

Source: https://www.straight.com/cannabis/1188366/canadian-cannabis-industry-execs-warn-weed-shortage-could-last-three-years#

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ThreeD Capital Inc. $IDK.ca – #UPS Unveils Equity Investment and Partnership With #Blockchain B2B Firm #Inxeption $HIVE.ca $BLOC.ca $CODE.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 10:13 AM on Thursday, January 17th, 2019

William Suberg

The investment arm of logistics giant UPS has made an undisclosed equity investment in United States enterprise blockchain company Inxeption, the firm confirmed in a press release Jan 16.

Inxeption, which began operations in 2017, aims to use blockchain technology to improve various processes for businesses, including product design, manufacturing and supply chain management.

Neither party has revealed the scope of the deal, which will reportedly see Inxeption and the UPS Strategic Enterprise Fund work in tandem in future to develop new features for Inxeption’s platform.

“Business customers need secure platforms that protect their customer data and proprietary information, while making it easy for them to interact and even collaborate more effectively with their customers,” Inxeption CEO and co-founder Farzad Dibachi commented in the press release.

Describing its product as an e-commerce platform for the B2B market, Inxeption joins a steadily increasing pool of blockchain initiatives focused on using distributed technology to make complex corporate systems more transparent.

UPS CMO Kevin Warren stated in the press release that “Inxeption’s technology is attractive to UPS because it helps unlock new efficiencies for customers using B2B e-commerce platforms.”

Supply chains have proved a particular area of interest amongst firms developing blockchain solutions in 2019. Several blockchain-based supply chain projects have been announced in the past week alone, as diverse as cobalt supplies and food for the upcoming World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos.

The Inxeption partnership reveals UPS’ belief in blockchain’s potential, despite cautionary words from a senior executive last month that forecast little impact from the technology in 2019.

“We have a small team looking at blockchain, but we are still searching for the killer use case,” the company’s executive vice president of technology and chief digital officer Linda Jojo told mainstream media in December.

Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/ups-unveils-equity-investment-and-partnership-with-blockchain-b2b-firm-inxeption

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