In Canadian economy news, concerns persist over shipping and supply shortages leading up to the busiest time of the year for retail businesses.
Supply shortages are affecting more than retail, however. The Bank of Canada listed challenges with supply and demand as one of the risks associated with continued high inflation rates. With CPI inflation currently at 4.7 per cent, well above its 2 per cent target, the Bank of Canada announced yesterday that it has decided to maintain a 0.25 per cent policy interest rate until the 2 per cent inflation target is reached.
Other risks associated with high inflation include concerns around COVID-19 and the Omicron variant, which has now been identified by the WHO as a variant of concern, and recovery efforts due to extreme weather on both sides of the country.
In a statement regarding the BoC’s policy interest rate announcement, Deputy Governor Toni Gravelle assured Canadians that the bank is working to lower inflation; however, he said, the process will be complex and take some time.
“Rest assured that the Bank of Canada remains resolute in its commitment to keep inflation under control,” said Mr. Gravelle.
In international investment news, Canada’s net foreign asset position reached $1,367.8 billion in the third quarter of 2021 according to Statistics Canada, up $55.3 billion compared to the second quarter.
The Canadian dollar depreciated over the course of the quarter against most major currencies: it lost 2.7 per cent against the US dollar, 0.7 per cent against the Euro, and 1.9 per cent against the Japanese yen.
Currently, the Canadian dollar is worth just below US$0.79. The loonie has been below US$0.80 since mid-November after reaching US$0.81 in October.
The TSX Composite Index, on its part, is up 172.17 points (0.83 per cent) over the last five days to 20,841.65. The index reached a weekly high of 21,216.03 on Tuesday, a significant improvement over last week’s low.
Technology companies were trending on The Market Herald Canada this week, with Swarmio Media, NowVertical Group, and NexTech AR Solutions making headlines in this week’s top 5 ranking. Let’s take a look at these and other stories that captured our reader’s attention.
On Monday, Baselode Energy confirmed the presence of high-grade uranium on the Hook project in the Athabasca Basin of northern Saskatchewan.
James Sykes, CEO, President and Director of Baselode, sat down to speak with TMH’s Caroline Egan about the results.
Drilling encountered multiple uranium intersections, including 1.29 wt per cent U3O8 over 0.5 m at 138.8 m and 0.66 wt per cent U3O8 over 0.5 m at 142.3 m.
Shares in Baselode Energy Corp. are currently down 6.42 per cent, trading at $1.02 per share as of 2:01 pm EST.
Shares of Swarmio Media (CSE:SWRM) are now trading on the CSE
In technology news, Swarmio Media’s founder and CEO spoke with Dave Jackson on Tuesday about the company’s recent listing.
“Swarmio is entering a key growth phase,” he said, “and we believe that strategically now is the right time to take the company public to better position us to capitalize on the major global opportunity in the gaming and esports market.”
On November 5, 2021, the company successfully completed its acquisition of Swarmio Inc., a gaming and esports technology company.
Common shares of Swarmio Media Holdings are now trading on the Canadian Securities Exchange under the symbol SWRM.
Shares in Swarmio Media Holdings Inc. are steady, trading at $0.39 per share as of 11:06 am EST.
NowVertical Group Inc. (TSXV:NOW) announces upsize of overnight marketed public offering
Also on Tuesday, NowVertical Group announced that it had amended the terms of its public offering, now intending to issue the units at $0.95 per unit for minimum gross proceeds of $5,000,000 and maximum gross proceeds of $9,000,015.
Should the over-allotment option be exercised in full, the aggregate gross proceeds of the offering will be $10,350,017.
The offering will be conducted by Echelon Wealth Partners Inc. as sole agent and bookrunner.
Shares in NowVertical Group Inc. are currently down 5.94 per cent, trading at $0.95 per share as of 2:31 pm EST.
Noram Lithium Corp (TSXV:NRM) shares PEA results from its Zeus Lithium Project
Highlights from Noram Lithium’s preliminary economic assessment include a net present value (NPV) of US$1.299 billion and gross revenue of $303.4 million per year.
The Zeus Lithium Project is located less than one mile from the only lithium production facility in the United States.
Peter Ball, President of Noram Lithium sat down with Dave Jackson to discuss the news.
Shares Noram Lithium Corp. are down 3.16 per cent, trading at $0.92 per share as of 2:27 pm EST.
NexTech AR Solutions (CSE:NTAR) (OTCQB:NEXCF) to present at “The Metaverse & Augmented Reality Labs” event
Nextech AR Solutions presented at “The Metaverse & Augmented Reality Labs: The Future of Learning” event on Thursday.
The event covered:
- How higher education is benefiting from augmented reality in science education
- Microsoft’s view on education as it relates to augmented reality and the Metaverse
- Nextech’s Augmented Lab Builder for the Metaverse
- Use case: Walk through the Metaverse on the campus of Ryerson University and in one of its augmented labs
CEO Evan Gappelberg sat down with Caroline Egan to discuss the news.
Shares in Nextech AR Solutions are down 0.70 per cent, trading at $1.42 per share as of 11:58 am EST.
