The week in Canadian markets is ending on a high amidst widespread COVID-related protests.
While the TSX is up over 1.5 per cent for the week, and up over 5 per cent over the last 6 months, demonstrations against vaccination mandates continue to disrupt trucking supply chains.
The participants, made up of mostly disaffected truckers, with an increasing presence from anti-establishment movements, have blockaded a total of three U.S.-Canada border crossings.
Toyota, General Motors and Ford have also curtailed shifts or production in Michigan and/or Ontario due to the presence of the trucker convoys.
The group, haphazard in terms of leadership, is calling for the removal of Justin Trudeau and the end of COVID safety measures, though many provinces were already preparing to loosen restrictions over the next two months.
The demonstration in downtown Ottawa, now in its second week, may soon face arrests as per Thursday’s announcement from police. Reinforcements are scheduled to arrive this weekend as hundreds of trucks remain present in the city, many of them housing children, which poses a further difficulty to bringing the ordeal to a swift end.
U.S. law enforcement is monitoring communication channels as rumors swirl about the convoys carrying over into the country as soon as next week, posing a threat to transportation routes and public resources in affected cities.
The protests, despite their faults, are a microcosm of how rising inflation takes the heaviest toll on the lowest wage earners.
While vaccination mandates prevent the opposed from work, oil has touched multi-year highs, forcing everyday citizens to pay more at the pumps, tightening their belts even further after two years of pandemic constraints.
That said, relief may be around the corner as Iran progresses toward renewing a nuclear accord to lift U.S. sanctions on its petroleum exports. This could amount to a surplus of up to 1 million barrels a day in Q3 and Q4.
The price of food and accommodations is also trending up and to the right, with recent wage increases failing to keep up. Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem predicts that consumer prices will drop from December’s 4.8 per cent down to 3 per cent by the end of the year.
The Governor was adamant that business investment will play a key role in determining the pace of rate hikes, as productivity growth and the standard of living are foundational to an economy striving toward full capacity after the pandemic lows.
It is widely anticipated that the Bank of Canada will raise rates at its next meeting on March 2nd to ensure that real GDP, which rose in November just above pre-pandemic levels, continues on a sustainable course as supply chains return to normal operations.
As inflation spikes, our readers showed interest in technology, commodity and health care plays with the potential to capitalize on a reheating economy. Let’s dive in.
Highmark Interactive (TSXV:HMRK) selected to provide remote patient monitoring software
Highmark Interactive has announced the rollout of its EQ Remote Monitoring solution to the U.S. Orthopedic Alliance (USOA).
The USOA delivers health information technologies and practice management resources to orthopedic-specific group practices, ambulatory surgery centers and specialty surgery hospitals.
Highmark’s platform, downloadable to a patient’s smart device, enables physicians to monitor a patient before and after surgery and between clinical visits.
A typical surgeon can expect to generate an additional US$200,000 in annual revenue by adopting the platform.
Highmark CEO Dr. Sanjeev Sharma joined Dave Jackson to comment on the partnership.
Highmark Interactive (HMRK) is up by 11.36 per cent over the past week trading at $0.24 per share as of 12:14 pm EST.
Datametrex AI (TSXV:DM) graduates to Tier 1 status & completes initial stage of EV initiative
Datametrex has graduated to the TSXV’s Tier 1 effective February 8, 2022.
It has also completed initial development of an app that uses AI to optimize the charging of electric vehicles.
Datametrex CEO Marshall Gunter sat down with Dave Jackson to discuss the news.
Datametrex (DM) is down by 2.63 per cent over the past week trading at $0.18 per share as of 12:16 pm EST.
Noram Lithium (TSXV:NRM) announces $14M financing
Noram Lithium has announced a royalty sale and equity investment with Lithium Royalty and the Waratah Electrification and Decarbonization AIE LP.
The agreement concerns the sale of a 1 per cent gross overriding royalty over Noram’s Zeus sedimentary lithium claims in Clayton Valley, Nevada for US$5M, in addition to a concurrent US$9M private placement.
Noram’s President and COO Peter A. Ball sat down with Dave Jackson to discuss the financing.
Noram Lithium (NRM) is up by 3.61 per cent over the past week trading at $0.86 per share as of 12:18 pm EST.
Empower Clinics (CSE:CBDT) launches new testing sites
Empower Clinics subsidiary Kai Medical Laboratory has announced the launch of four new testing locations in Dallas.
The new sites will offer both RT-PCR and rapid antigen tests across Dallas, Denton and Collin counties. They will begin seeing patients on February 14, 2022.
Empower’s CEO Steven McAuley spoke with Dave Jackson about the expansion.
Empower Clinics (CBDT) is down by 1.92 per cent over the past week trading at $0.26 per share as of 12:17 pm EST.
SEB Group (TSXV:SEB) wins $43M in Q1 2022 and over $183M of new business in the past 15 months
Smart Employee Benefits has received an extension of an existing contract with a budget greater than $5M.
This brings contract wins and extensions to over $43M in Q1 2022.
SEB’s RFP sales pipeline includes tens of millions of dollars of contract value, while its “White-Label TPA” sales pipeline includes over $6B of premium, of which approximately $2B is in advanced stages of negotiations.
SEB’s COO Mohamad El Chayah joined Dave Jackson to discuss the company’s recent success.
Smart Employee Benefits (SEB) is unchanged over the past week trading at $0.24 per share as of 12:22 pm EST.
We’ll see you next Friday afternoon for a look back on the week’s trending stories on The Market Herald Canada.
