Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 1:24 PM on Thursday, January 9th, 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.
New tool uses AI to flag fake news for media fact-checkers
A new artificial intelligence (AI) tool could help social media networks and news organizations weed out false stories.
The tool uses deep-learning AI algorithms to determine if claims
made in posts or stories are supported by other posts and stories on the
same subject.
By: University of Waterloo
A new artificial intelligence (AI) tool could help social media networks and news organizations weed out false stories.
The tool, developed by researchers at the University of Waterloo,
uses deep-learning AI algorithms to determine if claims made in posts or
stories are supported by other posts and stories on the same subject.
“If they are, great, it’s probably a real story,” said Alexander
Wong, a professor of systems design engineering at Waterloo. “But if
most of the other material isn’t supportive, it’s a strong indication
you’re dealing with fake news.”
Researchers were motivated to develop the tool by the proliferation
of online posts and news stories that are fabricated to deceive or
mislead readers, typically for political or economic gain.
Their system advances ongoing efforts to develop fully automated
technology capable of detecting fake news by achieving 90 per cent
accuracy in a key area of research known as stance detection.
Given a claim in one post or story and other posts and stories on the
same subject that have been collected for comparison, the system can
correctly determine if they support it or not nine out of 10 times.
That is a new benchmark for accuracy by researchers using a large
dataset created for a 2017 scientific competition called the Fake News
Challenge.
While scientists around the world continue to work towards a fully
automated system, the Waterloo technology could be used as a screening
tool by human fact-checkers at social media and news organizations.
“It augments their capabilities and flags information that doesn’t
look quite right for verification,” said Wong, a founding member of the
Waterloo Artificial Intelligence Institute. “It isn’t designed to
replace people, but to help them fact-check faster and more reliably.”
AI algorithms at the heart of the system were shown tens of thousands
of claims paired with stories that either supported or didn’t support
them. Over time, the system learned to determine support or non-support
itself when shown new claim-story pairs.
“We need to empower journalists to uncover truth and keep us
informed,” said Chris Dulhanty, a graduate student who led the project.
“This represents one effort in a larger body of work to mitigate the
spread of disinformation.”
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 11:00 AM on Thursday, January 9th, 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.
When CBD met chocolate
The health-conscious, environmentally-aware consumer has encouraged
new trends in the chocolate sector that affect flavour, texture and
harvesting. Greater Goods has gone one step further, infusing the
beloved food of the gods with CBD. Bethan Grylls hears from its
co-founder about why this combination works.
Indulgent, premium and good-for-you: these words will be familiar to
the modern-day confectioner as they look to address current trends1 and
differentiate themselves in a competitive market. Be it a new sensory
experience across taste, texture or colour; the lure of single-origin
sourcing; or a guilt-free treat, the realms of chocolate innovation and
buyer demands have stretched well beyond the days of penny sweets.
Some brands have taken things one step further, combining trends like
organic, fair trade and non-GMO confectionery, with the demand for CBD –
a term that was Googled 6. 4 million times during April 2019.2
Greater Goods, based in
Oregon, US, is one example, offering its customers a selection of
cannabinoid-infused ‘goodies’. Despite being a modest husband and wife
venture, the team says they are looking to compete against the larger
companies through hand-crafted, fun and unusually-flavoured products.
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 9:56 AM on Thursday, January 9th, 2020
GEMS™ Mobile and the HeartCheck™ CardiBeat to be integrated with the CareOS smart mirror
Entered into a partnership agreement with CareOS SAS , a subsidiary of Baracoda Group (“CareOS“), to provide consumer ECG monitoring technologies through the CareOS Poseidon smart mirror health and beauty hub.
TORONTO, ONTARIO /January 8, 2020 / CardioComm Solutions, Inc. (TSXV:EKG)(OTCPINK:EKGGF)(“CardioComm” or the “Company“), a global provider of consumer heart monitoring and electrocardiogram (“ECG“) device and software solutions, is pleased to confirm it has entered into a partnership agreement with CareOS SAS (France), a subsidiary of Baracoda Group (“CareOS“), to provide consumer ECG monitoring technologies through the CareOS Poseidon smart mirror health and beauty hub.
The partnership will see CardioComm’s FDA and Health Canada cleared
GEMS™ ECG management software and Smart Monitoring ECG reading service
integrated into the touch and gesture controlled smart mirror. The
GEMSTM software will be capable of recognizing ECG devices made by
multiple device manufacturers which will permit CareOS customers more
options in choosing a device of their preference. The HeartCheck™
CardiBeat will be a CareOS recommended device given its availability in
Canada, the US and Europe. When taking an ECG, the user will activate
the smart mirror’s display to connect to a selected ECG device. The
Smart mirror will also display the ECG trace in real-time during the
recording. Once recorded the ECG can be replayed and there will be no
limit to the number of ECG reports the user can generate. Users will
also have the option to send any of the recorded ECGs to CardioComm’s
SMART Monitoring ECG reading service to have the ECG reviewed and a
triage ECG report provided.
CareOS’ interest to integrate CardioComm’s easy-to-use ECG monitoring
technologies into the Poseidon smart mirror compliments both companies’
objectives to produce a credible, privacy-first, intuitive personal
care platform that improves wellbeing and long term health. The
innovative Poseidon smart mirror was also awarded the Consumer
Electronics Show (“CES“) Innovation Award in the Smart Home category for a second consecutive year.
CardioComm was the first company to enter the personalized ECG
monitoring market and it did so to address an unmet availability of
medically credible heart monitoring solutions to the consumer market.
The Company is motivated to develop partnerships with innovative
organizations like CareOS, to assist in bringing new “firsts” to market
that can leverage medically credentialed technologies that physicians
are already familiar with and that will enhance the consumer’s health
monitoring experience.
CardioComm is listed as a partner on the CareOS website and the Company will also be present at CES.
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.
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).
About CareOS
CareOS, digital center of self care, is a privacy-first, intuitive,
open platform for personal intelligence that works naturally into an
individual’s hygiene, beauty, wellness and preventative care rituals. It
makes the best possible use of time we spend in front of a mirror to
improve our health and appearance by organizing and enhancing
information from connected devices, digital services and CareOS’s own
AI, powered by Tensorflow Lite. CareOS is a Baracoda Group company, led
by experts with decades of experience in connected devices and wellness,
specifically to provide support to consumers in their bathrooms,
salons, spas and retail stores. To learn more about CareOS, please visit
the Company’s website at https://care-os.com/.
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.
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
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 globalmHelath 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.
Tags: EKG, mhealth, small cap stocks, stocks, tsx, tsx-v Posted in CardioComm Solutions | Comments Off on #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 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.
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%).
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,
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 5:00 PM on Tuesday, January 7th, 2020
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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.
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
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.
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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.
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.
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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.
