Statistics Canada released its August retail data this week, as well as September’s consumer price index.
Gas, food, and housing prices continue to rise, and sales have followed suit; retail sales were up 2.1 per cent in August to $57.2 billion as food prices rose 3.9 per cent in September.
As the price of gas has spiked by 32.8 per cent since last year, gasoline sales are also higher than last year, up 3.8 per cent in August.
The consumer price index, released on Wednesday by Statistics Canada, is up 4.4 per cent year-over-year. This marks the ninth consecutive month of CPI growth and the highest CPI rate since February of 2003.
Jennifer Lee, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets, said in an interview with Bloomberg that rising prices are “just something consumers have to resign themselves to right now.”
The good news for Canadian consumers is that the Loonie is also up, rising to US$0.81/C$1.00 this week, the highest it’s been since June when rates reached US$0.83/C$1.00.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index also hit an all-time high this week, reaching 21,257.68 on Friday. The Index is up 1.41 per cent over the last 5 days, sitting at 21,200.13 as of 2:17 pm ET.
This week, readers of The Market Herald Canada were focused on stories across several fields, including mining, consumer, technology, and agriculture.
Let’s take a look at the stories that captured our investor audience’s attention this week.
Cerrado Gold (TSXV:CERT) announces record Q3 results from its Minera Don Nicolás mine
On Monday, Cerrado Gold released its third-quarter production results from the Minera Don Nicolás mine in Argentina, reporting 10,549 ounces of gold equivalent produced.
Q3 gold production represents a record for Minera Don Nicolas since its start-up.
Mark Brennan, CEO and Co-Chairman of Cerrado Gold sat down with The Market Herald’s Dave Jackson to discuss the results.
Shares in Cerrado Gold Inc. are up 5.96 per cent, trading at $1.60 per share as of 12:45 pm ET on Friday, October 22, 2021.
Feel Foods (CSE:FEEL) signs national brokerage for “Black Sheep Vegan Cheeze”
Feel Foods announced on Tuesday that it has expanded its Canadian distribution network by retaining national broker Tony Waters Agencies Inc. (TWA).
TWA will provide sales representation to the Canadian natural foods market which includes full-service sales, administration, and marketing support.
Feel Foods Director and CEO, David Greenway, remarked, “We are on a mission to transform plant-based food, with no compromises on taste or quality while reducing global environmental impact.”
Black Sheep products are currently offered in over 40 grocery stores and approximately 30 food services locations throughout British Columbia.
Shares in Feel Foods Ltd. are up 2.04 per cent, trading at $0.25 per share as of 1:59 pm ET.
Bluesky Digital Assets (CSE:BTC) acquires $1.2 million in mining hardware
In crypto news, Bluesky Digital Assets finalized a new order on Tuesday for C$1,183,576 in custom GPU mining rigs.
Bluesky reported that it expects its new assets to arrive in 2-3 weeks and to be in full production within 45 days.
Ben Gelfand, Bluesky’s CEO, stated,
“We continue to demonstrate our ability to execute rapidly against our plans and announced strategies. Leveraging strategic relationships in the hardware space with key vendors and industry leading players ensures that we can acquire the right hardware, at the right price points, and in a timely fashion so we can put our shareholders’ investments to work.”
Shares in Bluesky Digital Assets are down 5.88 per cent, trading at $0.40 per share as of 1:28 pm ET.
Datametrex (TSXV:DM) launches smartphone health app
On Wednesday, Datametrex announced a closed beta test launch for its Medi-Call health app.
The Medi-Call app is a subscription service that connects patients with doctors via chat and video calls.
The closed beta test will be previewed in a webinar on October 28 and selected beta testers will be able to download the app on their mobile devices.
Marshall Gunter, CEO of Datametrex, commented,
“Medi-Call app is leveraging advanced technology to help bring accessible, affordable healthcare services to patients with doctors supporting Canadians to take greater ownership of their health and wellness outcomes outside of doctor offices and emergency rooms leading to improved health.”
Shares in Datametrex AI Ltd. are steady, trading at $0.165 per share as of 2:26 pm ET.
Sprout AI Inc. (CSE:SPRT) addresses short selling market activity
The final Top 5 story comes as Sprout AI assured investors on Thursday that recent trading volatility is not a reflection of the company’s financial health or future business activities.
On October 20, shares of Sprout opened at $0.90 per share and hit a low of $0.40.
Sprout’s major shareholder, TheraCann International, continues to support the company’s activities, including a private placement for $456,000 that was completed on October 9.
Chris Bolton, CEO of Sprout, commented,
“Growth opportunities for Sprout AI continue to grow as communities continue to secure their food supply chain utilizing indoor cultivation technologies.”
Shares in Sprout AI Inc. are up 3.45 per cent, trading at $0.45 per share as of 2:30 pm ET.
