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#Palladium Surges to Record Despite Slowdown Concerns in China SPONSOR: New Age Metals $NAM.ca $WG.ca $XTM.ca $WM.ca $PDL.ca $GLEN

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 2:23 PM on Wednesday, February 19th, 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 Surges to Record Despite Slowdown Concerns in China

  • Palladium prices have surged on high demand from automakers seeking to meet stricter emission standards as world governments look to combat climate change and growing pollution levels.

By Max Chen

The palladium ETF rallied Tuesday, with palladium prices hitting record highs, even as the coronavirus outbreak threatens to shutdown carmakers and delay industrial plants in China, the world’s biggest consumer of the precious metal.

The Aberdeen Standard Physical Palladium Shares ETF (NYSEArca: PALL), which seeks to reflect the performance of the price of physical palladium, advanced 6.1% Tuesday while the palladium spot price rose 2.9% to $2,593.8 per ounce.

Palladium prices have surged on high demand from automakers seeking to meet stricter emission standards as world governments look to combat climate change and growing pollution levels.

Meanwhile, the coronavirus outbreak has disrupted normal car production in China as factors were forced to stop operations to curtail the spread of the contagion, the Wall Street Journal reports. For example, Germany’s Volkswagen AG postponed production at some of its Chinese-operated plants until next week as the quarantine of nearly 60 million people limits transportation of both parts and workers.

While the work has diminished short-term demand, palladium prices still jumped to record highs on ongoing supply constraints, with miners producing less of the precious metal.

“It’s the most dysfunctional market I’ve ever seen in my life,” Michael Widmer, an analyst at Bank of America, told the WSJ, adding that car manufacturers could be forced to electrify their vehicle fleets faster than previously planned if palladium keeps getting more expensive.

Palladium demand has surged in recent years as the European Union and China implemented stricter car emission standards, amid concerns over the impact of certain pollutants on public health. Consequently, palladium, which applied to catalytic converters that are fitted to gasoline-driven cars, is in high demand as a highly effective way to convert toxic gases like carbon monoxide into substances that are less toxic to inhale.

Almost all gasoline cars manufactured in China this year will be held to the new emissions standards, or up from two-thirds in 2019. Consequently, U.K.’s Johnson Matthey calculated that this will increase the average amount of palladium required in each catalyst and could lift global demand for the precious metal in the auto sector above 10 million ounces.

On the other hand, supply has not been as quick to meet the rise in demand. Palladium is typically produced as a byproduct of palladium, and miners don’t want to inundate the weak platinum market with even more supply.

Consequently, Anglo American Platinum Ltd projected that global demand for palladium will exceed production by 1.9 million ounces in 2020.

Source: https://www.etftrends.com/alternatives-channel/palladium-etf-surges-to-record-despite-slowdown-concerns-in-china/

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North Bud Farms $NBUD.ca Announces Name Change and Provides U.S. Update $CGC $ACB $APH $CRON.ca $OGI.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 9:39 AM on Wednesday, February 19th, 2020
  • Harvested approximately 400 lbs of various grades and strains of cannabis
  • Received a California state processing licence in addition to the existing five cultivation, extraction and distribution licenses it acquired from the Qlora Group in 2019
  • Harvested 40 lbs of high-grade cannabis testing at approximately 20% THC in Reno

TORONTO, Feb. 19, 2020 — North Bud Farms Inc. (CSE: NBUD) (OTCQB: NOBDF) (“NORTHBUD” or the “Company“) is pleased to provide shareholders with an update on our U.S. operations, Bonfire Brands USA (“Bonfire”).

Salinas, California

To date, the Company has harvested approximately 400 lbs of various grades and strains of cannabis. As anticipated, the winter season yields were moderate with large flowers testing at approximately 19% THC. The Company has sold approximately 50% of the harvest in wholesale quantities. The Company expects its next harvest in 60 days and is looking for an incremental increase in quality and yield. The Company will provide revenue updates at the end of the quarter.

Licensing

The Company is pleased to announce it has received a California state processing licence in addition to the existing five cultivation, extraction and distribution licenses it acquired from the Qlora Group in 2019. This new licence will allow the Company to process, package and distribute cannabis and cannabis products acquired from other licensed producers in the state on a pay per use basis.

“Maximizing revenue streams in California where established and highly regulated retail and distribution models exist has required new entrants to operate within all verticals,” said Justin Braune, President, Bonfire Brands USA. “This strategy requires significant capital expenditures and has historically proven very difficult to execute. By leveraging our strategic infrastructure into agreements with established operators, Bonfire expects to increase revenue streams and achieve profitability quicker with lower capital expenditure risks.”

“I am very pleased by the significant progress made by our California team in their short time since we completed the acquisition of the Qlora Group,” said Sean Homuth, CEO of NORTHBUD. “In an industry that has seen companies struggle to manage high infrastructure costs while navigating ever evolving distribution landscapes, the anticipated revenue from this model will be very crucial for the Company as we move towards achieving EBITDA positive operations.”
   
Reno, Nevada

To date, the Company has harvested 40 lbs of high-grade cannabis testing at approximately 20% THC. This product is being sold under the NORTHBUD brand to select retailers in Reno and Las Vegas and represents the first revenue in Nevada for Bonfire Brands.  The Company will update the market further at the end of the quarter.

The Company has begun construction of two additional cultivation and processing rooms which will increase annual revenue capacity by 40%. With recent cost cutting measures implemented post acquisition, the Company believes it is on track to bring the Nevada operation to cash flow positive in the first quarter of 2020.     

The Company has entered into a third-party service agreement with LTH Logistics (“LTH”), a licensed third-party distribution and delivery company. As per the terms of the agreement, LTH will provide these third-party services under the distribution licence of Nevada Botanical Sciences with revenue generated being split 60/40 in favor of Bonfire Brands USA.

“Similar to California, many Nevada licensees have been operating across all verticals,” said Justin Braune, President, Bonfire Brands USA. “Bonfire has chosen to reduce execution risk and minimize capital expenditures by working with established operators who seek to benefit from our strategic infrastructure, which will allow the company will expedite its progression towards EBITDA positive operations.”  

Corporate Name Change

As approved at our recent annual shareholder meeting, the Company will officially change its name to Bonfire Holdings Inc. The Company has reserved and will begin trading under the ticker symbol BURN in the near future. The Company believes this better represents the vision and structure of the Company moving forward.  The Company owns brands such as NORTHBUD, California Bud Co., Live For The Day (LFTD) and Trichomic and manufactures and distributes Happiest Hour beverages in the state of Nevada.  

About North Bud Farms Inc.

North Bud Farms Inc., through its U.S. subsidiary Bonfire Brands USA, has acquired cannabis production facilities in California and in Nevada. The Salinas, California 11-acre farm is actively cultivating cannabis in its 60,000 sq. ft. of licensed greenhouse production space. The Reno, Nevada property is located on 3.2 acres of land which was acquired through the acquisition of Nevada Botanical Science, Inc. a world class cannabis production, research and development facility with 5,000 sq. ft. of indoor cultivation which holds medical and adult use licenses for cultivation, extraction and distribution. Through its wholly owned Canadian subsidiary, GrowPros MMP Inc., the Company is pursuing a licence under The Cannabis Act, to cultivate in its state-of-the-art purpose-built cannabis production facility located on 135 acres of Agricultural Land in Low, Quebec, Canada.

For more information visit: www.northbud.com

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

Forward-looking statements
Certain statements included in this press release constitute forward-looking information or statements (collectively, “forward-looking statements”), including but not limited to those identified by the expressions “anticipate”, “believe”, “plan”, “estimate”, “expect”, “intend”, “may”, “should” and similar expressions to the extent they relate to the Company or its management. Forward-looking statements are not historical facts but reflect current expectations regarding future results or events. This press release contains forward-looking statements that include, but are not limited to, statements relating to the Company’s California, Nevada operations and its corporate name change to Bonfire Holdings Inc. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and various estimates, factors and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors. Such risks and uncertainties include, among others, the risk factors included in the Company’s final long form prospectus dated August 21, 2018, which is available under the Company’s SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. 

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
North Bud Farms Inc.
Edward Miller
VP, IR & Communications
Office: (855) 628-3420 ext. 3
[email protected]

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‘Wake up, Zuck’: Protesters gather outside of Facebook founder’s home, demand regulation of political ads SPONSOR: Datametrex AI Limited $DM.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 5:05 PM on Tuesday, February 18th, 2020

SPONSOR: Datametrex AI Limited (TSX-V: DM) A revenue generating small cap A.I. company that NATO and Canadian Defence are using to fight fake news & social media threats. The company announced three $1M contacts in Q3-2019. Click here for more info.

‘Wake up, Zuck’: Protesters gather outside of Facebook founder’s home, demand regulation of political ads

By Loi Almeron and Julian Mark

On Monday morning around 10 a.m., around 50 protesters gathered outside of Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s home in the Mission District in protest of the social media giant’s use of personal data and refusal to regulate misleading political advertisements.

“We’re sick and tired of waiting for the government to regulate Facebook,” said Tracy Rosenberg, the executive director of Media Alliance and one of the protest’s organizers. “You’re profiting off of us — you’re selling our information.”

The protesters chanted “Wake up Zuck!” and “fake news, real hate” and carried signs that said “Stop the Lies, Protect our democracy” and “break up Facebook.” In colorful chalk on the sidewalk in  front of the house, demonstrators wrote phrases like: “Facebook is a Russian asset”; “don’t sell my private data”; and “history will write your epitaph as the man who broke democracy.”

In November, Twitter outright banned political ads, and Google said it would limit the targeting of political ads on its search engine and on its video streaming platform YouTube. Facebook has resisted such changes in policy in the face of criticism.

Zuckerberg in December told CBS This Morning that, “in a democracy,” people should “make their own judgments” about what politicians say. “I don’t think a private company should be censoring politicians or news,” he said.

But protesters say that very mindset is destroying democracy, rather than upholding its values.

“We like many others and the organizations that put this rally together feel that Facebook is a dramatic threat to our democratic systems around the world,” said Ted Lewis, an activist with Global Exchange, an organization that advocates for human rights and alternatives to capitalism. “Facebook needs to take responsibility for what they’re doing — they need to get the lies off of their platform.”

Lewis said, specifically, Facebook’s hands-off policy around political advertising is especially troubling. “Political advertising could contain the most blatant falsehood and they refuse to do anything about it,” Lewis said.

Zuckerberg is likely not spending his President’s Day holiday inside of his Mission District manse — as he has some 10 places to call “home” and mainly resides in Palo Alto.

Other protesters bemoaned Facebook’s laissez-faire approach to the spread of misinformation, especially as the 2020 presidential election nears. “You can say anything you want,” said Erin Fisher, an activist with Campaign to Regulate and Break Up Big Tech. “Facebook is the most important. They’re monetizing propaganda.”

“This is one of the pillars of the fight in 2020,” Fisher said, referring to the upcoming November election.

By around 11 a.m. protesters largely dispersed and a few police officers supervised the scene.

Photo by Loi Almeron

Tracy Rosenberg (left), the executive director of Media Alliance, holds a bullhorn.

Source: https://missionlocal.org/2020/02/wake-up-zuck-protesters-gather-outside-of-facebook-founders-home-demand-regulation-

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INDUSTRY BULLETIN: David Jensen: As #Palladium Continues To Soar, Is #Platinum Next… SPONSOR: New Age Metals $NAM.ca $WG.ca $XTM.ca $WM.ca $PDL.ca $GLEN

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 4:51 PM on Tuesday, February 18th, 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.

David Jensen: As Palladium Continues To Soar, Is Platinum Next…

Chris Marcus, Arcadia Economics

Most in the Wall Street mainstream have yet to notice that the price of palladium has more than doubled in the past 2 years. As the market continues to show signs of a shortage, with no easy resolution in sight. Which David Jensen of Jensen Strategic has been far ahead of the markets in forecasting.

So I was fortunate to have David join me on the show and explain what’s happening. Explain how the imbalance is going to have to be resolved. And share what he’s now seeing in the platinum market, where the lease rate indicates a similar pattern might soon be underway.

Of course this does have the potential to filter over to the other precious metals markets like gold and silver. So to find out what’s happening from the man who forecast it over a year in advance, click to watch the interview now!

Source: David Jensen: As Palladium Continues To Soar, Is Platinum Next…

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Graphene – Meet The Material of The Future That’s 200 Times Stronger Than Steel SPONSOR – ZEN Graphene Solutions $ZEN.ca $LLG.ca $FMS.ca $NGC.ca $CVE.ca $DNI.ca

Posted by AGORACOM at 6:40 PM on Friday, February 14th, 2020

SPONSOR: ZEN Graphene Solutions: An emerging advanced materials and graphene development company with a focus on new solutions using pure graphene and other two-dimensional materials. Our competitive advantage relies on the unique qualities of our multi-decade supply of precursor materials in the Albany Graphite Deposit. Independent labs in Japan, UK, Israel, USA and Canada confirm this. Click here for more information

Graphene has been dubbed the material of the future for its unbelievable strength and the myriad of potential applications it offers and European researchers have just released the first-ever manual on how to produce it.

The manual was released by the Graphene Flagship consortium composed of universities and companies. Founded in 2013, it is one of the three big EU-funded science projects with a budget of over €1 billion until 2023.

The consortium hopes the manual will boost the uptake of the material which has the potential to revolutionise whole industries.

Graphene is a layer of carbon atoms obtained from graphite, which we can find, for example, in the tip of a pencil.

Arranged in a honeycomb-like pattern, it is 200 times stronger than steel, harder than diamond, and carries both heat and electricity better than any other material including gold or copper. And it’s also a million times smaller than a strand of hair.

Seventy researchers participated in the elaboration of the free, 500-pages manual.

“It’s a big book that encompasses the description of many of the most important methods to produce graphene and other two dimensional materials,” Mar García Hernández, from Graphene Flagship told Euronews.

Researchers from Graphene Flagship have shown that at least 1,800 different layered materials exit but so far, only a few have truly been investigated.

“For any application of graphene or related materials, you need first to be able to make it. For this reason, a book or a paper that gives you precise details on how to make these materials, how to characterise them, how to transfer them from the good substrate to the final substrate is going to be very useful,” Andrea Ferrari, Graphene Flagship’s Science and Technology Officer told Euronews.

The material’s flexibility and resilience mean it can be used in a variety of industries such as aeronautics, space exploration, medicine, energy or electronics.

Last December, Graphene Flagship partnered with some of Europe’s biggest companies including Airbus, Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles, Lufthansa Technik, Siemens and ABB among others to take graphene-enabled prototypes to commercial applications.

One of the projects will develop state-of-the-art vision sensors, which could be critical for the safe functioning of self-driving cars while another will use graphene-based filters to remove contaminants such as pesticides and dangerous pathogens from drinking water.

SOURCE: https://www.euronews.com/2020/02/13/graphene-meet-the-material-of-the-future-that-s-200-times-stronger-than-steel

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Tesla’s Advantage With Its Battery Technology — Low Cost SPONSOR: Lomiko Metals $LMR.ca $CJC.ca $SRG.ca $NGC.ca $LLG.ca $GPH.ca $NOU.ca

Posted by AGORACOM at 3:26 PM on Friday, February 14th, 2020

SPONSOR: Lomiko Metals is focused on the exploration and development of minerals for the new green economy such as lithium and graphite. Lomiko owns 80% of the high-grade La Loutre graphite Property, Lac Des Iles Graphite Property and the 100% owned Quatre Milles Graphite Property. Lomiko is uniquely poised to supply the growing EV battery market. Click Here For More Information

  • Tesla’s cost per kWh for battery packs was approaching $150/kWh last year while others were at a price of $200/kWh

It appears Tesla has an advantage over its rivals, such as GM and Porsche, when it comes to the new battery technology that it is developing. Tesla has long been a leader on EV batteries, for years seeming to have a significantly lower cost (cost per kWh of capacity) for batteries than others. A big part of that is because Tesla in-houses the work. It appears Tesla is making significant progress on this again with new developments.

The managing director of Cairn Energy Research Advisors, Sam Jaffe, recently noted that Tesla’s cost per kWh for battery packs was approaching $150/kWh last year while others were at a price of $200/kWh. Jaffe also tells CNBC that “Tesla has really revolutionized that part of the battery pack and made it much more sophisticated, and it gives them a competitive advantage.” Indeed. We definitely have a lot to look forward to on Tesla’s Battery Day.

Ten or so years ago, the idea of owning an EV seemed rather absurd. EVs were known to be super expensive due to the battery costs, and since they were new, everyday Americans weren’t willing to spend the money to beta test them.

Fast forward ten years. Tesla has advanced the auto industry tremendously with EVs, and a big part of that was through a core component of EVs — the battery. By taking on the most challenging problems and creating solutions for them, Tesla is doing what it does so well — moving the world forward.

In 2019, Elon Musk spoke of a “1 million-mile battery pack” and that it would be in production “next year.” He’s also announced that Battery Day will be in April, and has said that Tesla’s April company talk would be at the Gigafactory in Buffalo, where Tesla makes Solarglass Roofs. Perhaps this is where Battery Day will be held as well? There is much anticipation regarding Tesla battery developments following relatively recent acquisitions and promoted specs of coming models. What exactly is coming on the battery front from Tesla?

SOURCE: https://cleantechnica.com/2020/02/12/teslas-advantage-with-its-battery-technology-low-cost/

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Why Silver Prices Are Poised to Rise Even More This Year SPONSOR: Affinity Metals $AAF.ca $SII.ca $TUD.ca $GTT.ca $AMK.ca $OSK.ca $RKR.ca

Posted by AGORACOM at 3:17 PM on Friday, February 14th, 2020
This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Affinity_Metals_Corp_Logo.png

Sponsor: Affinity Metals (TSX-V: AFF) a Canadian mineral exploration company building a strong portfolio of mineral projects in North America. The Corporation’s flagship property is the Drill ready Regal Property near Revelstoke, BC. Recent sampling encountered bonanza grade silver, zinc, and lead with many samples reaching assay over-limits. Click Here for More Info

Silver has fared better than some of its metal peers against the backdrop of a disease-threatened global economy, in part because of its dual role as both a precious and industrial metal.

“The monetary value of silver underpins the vast majority of its price, and if the metal had only industrial demand working for it, the price would be under $5 an ounce,” says Gold Newsletter editor Brien Lundin. “Silver’s precious side means it will outperform industrial metals in the months ahead.”

Futures prices for silver, which settled at $17.497 an ounce on Feb. 12, have fallen by more than 2% this year. Silver hasn’t done as well as gold, which has seen futures prices rise by roughly 3% over the same period.

Gold has “risen on the back of monetary concerns, but that trend has been obscured by two geopolitical events,” Lundin says: the U.S. “dustup” with Iran following the U.S. airstrike that killed Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, and the coronavirus outbreak. Gold rallied on these geopolitical concerns, then fell as fears subsided. “Unfortunately for silver, that rising trend has not been clear enough to prompt speculators to bet on silver along with gold,” he says.

Still, silver has been spared the steeper declines experienced by other industrial metals, such as copper, which has fallen 7% this year.

China is the world’s second-largest consumer of silver after the U.S., and “the enhanced uncertainty in China surrounding the coronavirus fears is taking a toll on silver prices,” says Matthew Miller, an equity analyst at CFRA Research.

“While weaker industrial demand is likely to remain a headwind, CFRA predicts continued appreciation in safe havens in 2020, and we see a high probability that silver will outperform gold,” he adds.

This year, the market is likely to see continued growth in physical silver investment and in the commodity’s use as an industrial metal, according to The Silver Institute’s recently released views on the 2020 global silver market. “There will be times when silver will have to contend with issues, such as the current health crisis in China, which could hit that country’s economy hard,” the institute says.

However, silver’s use as an industrial metal accounted for just over half of total global demand in 2019, and growth in the metal’s “industrial offtake” is expected to resume this year, following two years of marginal losses, the institute says. It sees a 3% rise in silver industrial demand in 2020, with the electrical and electronics sector accounting for the bulk of the gains.

Meanwhile, investment in physical silver, in the form of silver bullion coins and bars, is set to climb for a third consecutive year, the institute adds.

“The international silver market is poised to experience higher silver prices in 2020, even coming off the 4% increase in 2019,” says Michael DiRienzo, executive director of the Silver Institute, which pegged the 2019 average at $16.21, based on the London Bullion Market Association silver price. Last year, a marked shift toward looser monetary policies—as the U.S.-China trade war fed concerns about the global economic outlook—underpinned silver, the institute says.

The institute projects this year’s average silver price at $18.40, which would mark a 13% rise from 2019 to a six-year high. “We base this on current global economic health and geopolitical uncertainties throughout important economies,” DiRienzo says. “Buttressing this forecast…is a return to silver industrial demand growth, coupled with a robust increase of 7% in silver physical investment.”

SOURCE: https://www.barrons.com/articles/why-silver-prices-are-poised-to-rise-even-more-this-year-51581678001

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Don’t expect a U-turn in #palladium’s epic rally – SPONSOR: New Age Metals $NAM.ca $WG.ca $XTM.ca $WM.ca $PDL.ca $GLEN

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 12:18 PM on Friday, February 14th, 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.

Don’t expect a U-turn in palladium’s epic rally

  • The silver-white metal, used to remove toxic emissions from the exhaust fumes of petrol and hybrid cars, has surged more than 200 per cent over the past five years and last month hit a record of more than $2,500 an ounce

Neil Hume, Natural Resources Editor

Correlation may not be proof of causation but it is difficult to see any other explanation for London’s catalytic-converter crime wave than the record-breaking rally in palladium prices. The silver-white metal, used to remove toxic emissions from the exhaust fumes of petrol and hybrid cars, has surged more than 200 per cent over the past five years and last month hit a record of more than $2,500 an ounce. At the same time, thefts of catalytic converters in the UK capital jumped — from 867 in 2015 to 8,248 in 2019, according to the Metropolitan Police.

The force has urged car owners to be vigilant and consider buying protective sleeves for their catalytic converters. After nearly a decade of undersupply, the world is now critically short of palladium and its sister metal rhodium. In part, this reflects sluggish supply. Production of these metals is constrained because they are mined as a byproduct of platinum and nickel — commodities where new projects have been few and far between.

At the same time, demand is booming. Tougher emissions legislation and stricter vehicle-testing regimes in the wake of Germany’s “Dieselgate” scandal saw the automotive industry buy a record 9.7m ounces of palladium last year, according to Johnson Matthey, a producer of catalysts. That is why industry executives say talk of a palladium bubble is misplaced. “I don’t want to mention a name but there has been a senior car company that has experienced a real shortage in rhodium,” Neal Froneman, chief executive of producer Sibanye-Stillwater, told the Financial Times last week. “You can’t run deficits and consume surface stockpiles and inventories for ever and a day.

At some point that turns into a real shortage. And that’s what happened in rhodium and I dare say it could happen in palladium.” Johnson Matthey reckons demand outstripped supply by 1m ounces last year and says a further rise in automotive demand will push the 11.5m ounce-a-year palladium market deeper into deficit. While a coronavirus-induced slowdown in the Chinese car sector could reduce the size of the shortfall, most analysts expect the market to remain undersupplied. Standard Chartered estimates China’s car production would have to plummet 28 per cent before the market deficit is eroded by declining demand. Assuming that does not happen, prices look set to push higher unless there is a sudden mobilisation of stockpiles. These include a stash of the metal owned by Russian miner Norilsk Nickel.

It was purchased from the country’s central bank many years ago and Johnson Matthey reckons 1m ounces there might be available, but no one is really sure. For nervous car owners, a protective device for their catalytic converters still looks like a sound investment.

Source: https://www.ft.com/content/557a69f4-4e4c-11ea-95a0-43d18ec715f5

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INTERVIEW: Empower $CBDT.ca Signs Exclusive Content Deal To Further Convert Its’ Database Of 165,000 Patients $WEED.ca $CGC $ACB $APH $CRON.ca $HEXO.ca $OGI.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 5:57 PM on Thursday, February 13th, 2020

With 165,000 patients, Empower Clinics (CBDT:CSE) (EPWCF:OTCQB) has a database that almost every medical cannabis and CBD company would kill for.  Add in the fact patient visits increased 351% in Q4 and it becomes the kind of company small cap investors have been dying to find as they watch pretender companies melt away.

But it doesn’t end there.

CBD extraction has been a key element of the company’s vertical integration. Producing its’ own hemp-derived CBD products for its own massive patient list just makes sense. However, thanks to an LOI (moving towards definitive agreement) to JV with extraction experts Heritage Cannabis, the Company’s 5,000 sq ft facility in Oregon is also planning to serve big brand 3rd party partners in the USA .  Empower brings the infrastructure, Heritage brings the expertise and balance sheet.  The result is a match made in shareholder heaven with initial annual capacity of 6,000 Kg at ~ $US 5,000 per Kg, which adds up to $US 30,000,000 in potential revenue.

But It Doesn’t End There

The Company’s CEO, Steven McAuley is Six Sigma certified under the quality initiative of legendary GE chairman Jack Welch. We’ve never seen a Six Sigma certified CEO in the Canadian small cap markets. Never …. which also explains how McAuley has brought Empower so far in just 11 months.

If anyone understands digital, it’s McAuley. So it should come as no surprise the Company just signed an exclusive multi-year, multi-national licensing deal with EuroLife to license its “Cannvas.me” cloud based online education platform for the US and Mexico.  Amongst other things, Empower plans to integrate the education platform into its clinics across the United States to help further convert their 165,000 patient database to CBD and medical cannabis through proper education.  

The site also contains premium content for physicians who need to educate themselves and comes with millions of page views already, as well as, 15,000 opted in subscribers, which explains the $460,000 in licensing over 3 years – but $210,000 of that is Empower stock priced at $0.10 (125% above current market prices, which gives you an idea of the confidence EuroLife principals have in the future of Empower.

P.S.  The interview takes place from the floor of the Arizona Cannabis Expo, where Empower has multiple booths and an actual pop-up clinic to acquire new customers in real-time.  That’s what happens when you have a company run by a Six Sigma Certified CEO.

Grab your favourite beverage and settle in to watch what may be your next great small cap investment.

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Gold Projected to Beat the Market in 2020 SPONSOR: Labrador Gold $LAB.ca $RIO.ca $WHM.ca $SIC.ca $NXS.ca

Posted by AGORACOM at 3:47 PM on Thursday, February 13th, 2020

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  • Gold will outperform the S&P 500 Index in 2020. That’s one of several projections made by CLSA in its just-released “Global Surprises 2020” report.
  • The Hong Kong investment firm has an impressive track record when it comes to making market predictions—last year it had a 70 percent hit rate—so it may be prudent to take this one seriously.

CLSA’s head of research Shaun Cochran: “If investors are concerned about the role of liquidity in recent equity market strength… gold provides a hedge that could perform across multiple scenarios.”

Indeed, gold is one of the most liquid assets in the world with an average daily trading volume of more than $112 billion, according to the World Gold Council (WGC). That far exceeds the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s daily volume of approximately $23 billion.

The yellow metal, Cochran adds, can be particularly useful in an era of perpetually loose monetary policy: “[I]n the event that growth disappoints the market’s expectations, gold is positively leveraged to the inevitable policy response of lower rates and larger central bank balance sheets.”

As I’ve pointed out many times before, gold has traded inversely with government bond yields. The recent gold rally has largely been driven by the growing pool of negative-yielding government debt around the world, now standing at $13 trillion. Here in the U.S., the nominal yield on the 10-year Treasury has remained positive, but when adjusted for inflation, it’s recently turned negative, despite a strengthening economy. What’s more, the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet has begun to increase again. It now holds about 30 percent of outstanding Treasury debt, up from about 10 percent prior to the financial crisis.

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I can’t say whether gold will beat the S&P this year or next, but what I do know is that the yellow metal has been a wise long-term investment. For the 20-year period through the end of 2019, gold crushed the market two-to-one, returning 451.8 percent compared to the S&P’s 223.6 percent. That comes out to a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.78 percent for gold, 4.03 percent for the S&P.

Manufacturing Turnaround Has Begun

U.S. manufacturers started 2020 on stronger footing, a welcome turnaround after contracting for five straight months. January’s ISM manufacturing purchasing manager’s index (PMI) clocked in at 50.9, indicating slight growth. Up from 47.2 in December, this represents the biggest month-over-month jump since August 2013, when the PMI increased to 55.4 from 50.9 in July.

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This may also mark the end of the recent manufacturing bear market, prompted by the trade war between the U.S. and China. Although relations between the world’s two biggest superpowers remain strained, to say the least, we’ve seen improvements lately that hint at better days. Both sides signed a “Phase One” agreement in mid-January, and last week, China announced it would be cutting tariffs in half on as much as $75 billion of U.S.-imported products.

The coronavirus is a new development that has disrupted global trade, but there’s reason to be optimistic, as the PMI makes clear.

To read my full comments on the coronavirus, and its impact on Chinese and Hong Kong stocks, click here!

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is a price-weighted average of 30 blue chip stocks that are generally leaders in their industry. The S&P 500 Stock Index is a widely recognized capitalization-weighted index of 500 common stock prices in U.S. companies. The Purchasing Manager’s Index is an indicator of the economic health of the manufacturing sector. The PMI index is based on five major indicators: new orders, inventory levels, production, supplier deliveries and the employment environment. Compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is a business and investing specific term for the geometric progression ratio that provides a constant rate of return over the time period.

All opinions expressed and data provided are subject to change without notice. Some of these opinions may not be appropriate to every investor. Some links above may be directed to third-party websites. U.S. Global Investors does not endorse all information supplied by these websites and is not responsible for their content.

U.S. Global Investors, Inc. is an investment adviser registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). This does not mean that we are sponsored, recommended, or approved by the SEC, or that our abilities or qualifications in any respect have been passed upon by the SEC or any officer of the SEC. This commentary should not be considered a solicitation or offering of any investment product. Certain materials in this commentary may contain dated information. The information provided was current at the time of publication.

SOURCE: By: Frank E. Holmes, Chairman/CEO/CIO of U.S. Global Investors, Inc.,

http://news.goldseek.com/USFunds/1581529365.php

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