Morning Chatter 11 July 2023
Mining Discovery
Mining Discovery is a digital community for the mining industry that connects the world’s largest mining brands.
Canada PRE-OPEN
Canadian markets are looking to a higher open?mirroring gains in?Wall Street?and?European stocks, ahead of U.S. inflation data, as market hoped it could support a quicker end to Federal Reserve rate hikes. In Asian equity markets,?Hong Kong?and?China stocks?rose, supported by gains in automobile sector, while the?Nikkei?surrendered earlier gains to end slightly higher as investors locked in profits.?Gold?strengthened, drawing support from a weaker?U.S. dollar.?Oil?prices were higher as traders weighed supply cuts by the world's biggest oil exporters.
The Canada Energy Regulator issued an "Inspection Office Order" to Trans Mountain for not adhering to an approved plan to monitor the impact of the Trans Mountain Expansion Project on local communities during construction.
?Arras Minerals Corp. (TSXV: ARK)?announce the results of 135 grab samples taken from Soviet-era exploration trenches at the Karagandy-Ozek project (“Karagandy-Ozek” or the “Project”) located within the Company’s Elemes exploration licence (“Elemes” or the “Licence”) in northeastern Kazakhstan.
Highlights include:
Tim Barry, CEO, commented,?“We are very pleased with our first pass sampling program of the Elemes licence. Our mapping and sampling program suggests we have a fully intact, and largely unexplored epithermal and porphyry system. It should be noted that the mineralization identified in the Elemes licence is a completely different mineralizing system to the Beskauga deposit, which sits 85 kilometers to the east. We believe we are just scratching the surface of the potential of the Bozshakol-Chingiz metallogenic arc and our team is methodically advancing towards establishing drill targets at some of these new areas.”
The Karagandy Ozek Project:?is located within the 425 square kilometer “Elemes” mineral exploration license, which was acquired in 2022. Elemes benefits from excellent modern infrastructure and ease of accessibility, being located only 20 kilometers (“km”) from Arras’ operational base in the city of Ekibastuz, northeastern Kazakhstan. A paved highway runs through the license, and within 1 km of the Karagandy Ozek project. 1,100 KVA power lines, heavy rail, and the Irtysh–Karaganda irrigation canal all lie within a 20 km radius of the project. The past producing high-grade Au-Ag epithermal Aimandai mine is nearby.
The gold-silver-tellurium mineralization at Karagandy-Ozek is hosted in zone of quartz veining (individual veins between 0.5 to 1 m width), that display typical low sulphidation textures including crustiform banding, euhedral crystal infill of vein voids, and bladed textures (quartz after calcite). A zone of strong silicification and argillic (kaolinite-illite-quartz) alteration surrounds the quartz veins.
The mineralization is interpreted as a low-sulfidation epithermal gold-silver deposit that forms part of a far larger porphyry-epithermal system within the Elemes license. Nearby is the past-producing Aimandai mine, a high-grade epithermal Au-Ag deposit which according to historical Soviet reports has an average resource grade of 24.6 g/t Au and 34.7 g/t Ag with minor copper, lead and zinc.
A high-resolution airborne magnetic survey over the Elemes and 3D inversion of the resulting data demonstrates that Karagandy-Ozek and the aforementioned associated prospects are all located within a 9km x 3.5 km aeromagnetic low feature interpreted to represent magnetite destruction associated with hydrothermal alteration. The airborne survey has significantly improved the Company’s understanding of the structural controls of the mineralization and provided several new drill targets within the Elemes license.
The Elemes license is located within the Bozshakol-Chingiz metallogenic belt that also hosts the Company’s flagship Beskauga porphyry copper-gold-silver project approximately 80 km to the east, and KAZ Minerals’ Bozshakol porphyry copper-gold mine (one of the largest copper resources in Kazakhstan) approximately 60 km to the northwest.
Further information can be found on the Company’s website?https://www.arrasminerals.com?or follow us on LinkedIn:?https://www.dhirubhai.net/company/arrasminerals?or on Twitter:?https://twitter.com/arrasminerals
?Visionary Gold Corp. (TSXV: VIZ)?announced it has changed its name to Visionary Metals Corp. and its common shares will trade under its new name effective at market open on July 12, 2023. There will be no change to the trading symbol of the Company as a result of the name change. Visionary's new CUSIP number is 92838G109 and its new ISIN is CA92838G1090.
"We are excited to announce our Company's new name, Visionary Metals, which better reflects our renewed objective of exploring for a broader spectrum of electric metals," stated Visionary CEO Wes Adams. "Through our grass roots exploration in Wyoming, we have recently made an exciting nickel sulfide discovery (see our March 6, 2023 press release), the first ever in Wyoming and the first in the western United States in quite some time. This discovery has further reinforced our commitment to a holistic approach to exploration. Our new name represents our vision to become a leading explorer of electric metals and we are excited about our next phase of drilling to follow up on our recent discovery, scheduled to take place in August. An update on exploration progress and details regarding the 2023 drill program is forthcoming."
Effective the date of this release following the close of market, the Company's new website will be?www.visionarymetalscorp.com.
The share capital of the Company remains unchanged. No action will be required by existing shareholders with respect to the name change. Certificates representing common shares of Visionary Gold Corp. will not be affected by the name change and will not need to be exchanged. There is no consolidation of capital. The Company encourages any shareholder concerns in this regard to be directed to such person's broker or agent.
The Company also announces that, subject to regulatory approval, it has engaged Independent Trading Group (ITG), Inc. ("ITG") to provide market-making services to the Company in accordance with the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSXV"). ITG will trade shares of the company on the TSXV and all other trading venues with the objective of maintaining a reasonable market and improving the liquidity of the Company's common shares (the "Shares").
The market-making services agreement between the Company and ITG (the "Agreement") will run on an ongoing month-to-month basis at the cost of $5,000 per month, payable monthly in advance. The Agreement will renew automatically unless terminated by one of the parties pursuant to the terms of the Agreement. The services under the Agreement include, among others, assisting in establishing a fair and orderly market for the Shares, enhancing market depth and augmenting liquidity for the Shares, adding stability and efficiency to the market for the Shares and increasing the efficiency of the price discovery mechanism. There are no performance factors contained in the agreement and ITG will not receive Shares or options as compensation. ITG and the Company are unrelated and unaffiliated entities and at the time of the agreement, neither ITG nor its principals have any interest, directly or indirectly, in the Shares or other securities of the Company. The appointment of ITG is subject to the approval of the TSXV.
Visionary Gold Corp.Corporate Presentation?
Attachments
Disclaimer
Visionary Gold Corp.?published this content on?10 July 2023?and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on?10 July 2023 18:03:41 UTC
?Canada Silver Cobalt Works Inc. (TSXV: CCW) (OTC: CCWOF) (Frankfurt: 4T9B),?which is developing several precious metal and battery metals properties in Ontario and Quebec, is pleased to announce the expansion of its airborne geophysical survey program to also include the St. Denis and Sangster Lithium Project located in the Cochrane District in northern Ontario.?
The Company completed a helicopter Multi-Parameter Airborne Survey System (M-PASS) at the silver-cobalt Castle Property in the week of June 25, 2023 (see?news release June 28, 2023) and then proceeded to also complete the survey at the prospective lithium Sangster Block. The St. Denis Block is on hold for now due to forest fires and will be flown as soon as it is safe to return to the site.?
“We’re excited to have the airborne survey completed at Castle and Sangster since it will provide important geophysical data that we need for the ALS GoldSpot’s AI and machine learning drill targeting aimed at unlocking the extensive mineralization potential of these properties,” stated Matt Halliday, P.Geo., President and COO.?“We’re also looking forward to completing the airborne survey at St. Denis as soon as conditions allow. The pegmatite-rich properties are in a region that has typically been underexplored and represent attractive greenfield projects with significant lithium-cesium-tantalum (LCT) exploration potential.”
More information at?www.canadasilvercobaltworks.com.
?Churchill Resources Inc. (TSXV: CRI)?is pleased to announce that it has exercised an existing option (the “Option”) to acquire a 100% interest in certain mineral properties with prospective nickel, copper and cobalt targets located approximately 150-180km north of the town of Happy Valley-Goose Bay in east-central Labrador (the "Properties"). On July 22, 2021, the Company entered into an option agreement (the “Option Agreement") with Altius Resources Inc. (“Altius”) to acquire a 100% interest in the Properties, subject to a new 1.6% gross sales royalty on the Properties in favour of Altius.
The Florence Lake project consists of four map-staked licenses totalling 416 claims (104 km2) in east-central Labrador. Three of the licenses constitute the Altius Florence Lake property, to which Churchill added a license in 2022 to create a contiguous land package. Churchill is very pleased to now own 100% of the project, as an important conclusion to the recent technical reporting work has been the recognition of numerous Al2O3-undepleted ultramafic volcanic areas (i.e. more primitive lavas, associated with nickel mineralization) at Florence Lake. These occur as stacked targets located throughout the upper Eastern Volcanic areas of the greenstone belt, and importantly also within the more basal Western Volcanics. Kambalda-style nickel sulphide deposits are generally at the base of ultramafic volcanic sequences. Churchill is currently preparing to commence camp installation, soil sampling, prospecting and geological mapping in the next few weeks.
Paul Sobie, CEO of Churchill stated “We are very pleased to execute this option at Florence Lake and to have Altius as our largest shareholder. We’re looking forward to this field season and to continuing the partnership with Altius both here, and at the magmatic nickel project at Taylor Brook.”
?Direct Communication Solutions, Inc.?(OTCQX: DCSX) (CSE: DCSI) (FSE: 7QU0), a leading provider of information technology solutions for the Internet of Things (IoT) market, is pleased to announce its successful collaboration between Epson America Inc. ("Epson"), a multinational company that specializes in the manufacture of various electronic products, including printers, projectors, scanners, and other imaging equipment, and the Company's MiFleet solution in the fight against cargo theft.
The cargo theft problem in the United States, resulting in the loss of at least $224 million in goods annually1, has posed significant challenges for companies like Epson. Due to their high value and demand, electronics have been a prime target for thieves, and Epson has experienced its fair share over the last few years.
Epson partnered with DCS to combat these challenges and utilized their fleet management cloud-based software solution, MiFleet, to protect their valuable shipments. MiFleet provided:
Real-time monitoring and analysis of Epson's business processes
Offering features such as location tracking
Fuel consumption monitoring
Engine diagnostics
Idle time management
During the move of Epson's warehouse from Carson, California, to Huntington Beach, MiFleet ensured the safety and security of over 400 tractor-trailer loads. By utilizing ruggedized tracking devices with extended battery life mounted inside the trailers and implementing geofencing solutions, Epson received immediate notifications if any trucks deviated from their expected routes or idled unexpectedly.
The partnership yielded positive results, as Epson did not experience any losses or incidents throughout the month-long move. Additionally, Epson realized unexpected benefits from the MiFleet solution, streamlining their operations by accurately predicting arrival times and optimizing loading and unloading processes. Epson's warehouse managers were able to direct drivers to specific docks, significantly reducing turnaround time to 15 minutes or less.
?Goldshore Resources Inc.?(TSXV: GSHR) (OTCQB: GSHRF) (FSE: 8X00)?announces a change in its financial year-end from March 31 to December 31. The change in financial year-end has been made to align the timing of the Company's financial reporting obligations with its internal budgeting and forecasting process and with its peers. The next financial year-end of the Company for its transition year will occur on December 31, 2023.
Further details regarding the change in financial year-end is available in the Company's notice of change in year-end prepared in accordance with Section 4.8 of National Instrument 51-102?Continuous Disclosure Obligationsand filed under the Company's SEDAR profile at?www.sedar.com.
Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
?Green Impact Partners Inc. (TSXV: GIP)?- Investor Presentation – July 2023
The information contained in this presentation has been prepared by Green Impact Partners Inc. (the "Company") and contains confidential information pertaining to the business, operations, assets and subsidiaries of the Company. The information contained in this document (a) is provided as at the date hereof and is subject to change without?notice, (b) does not purport to contain all the information that may be necessary or desirable to fully and accurately evaluate an investment in the Company and, (c) is not to be considered as a recommendation by the Company that any person make an investment in the Company. This document is confidential and is being provided to you solely for your information and may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, in any form or forwarded or further distributed to any other person. Any forwarding, distribution or reproduction of this presentation in whole or in part is unauthorized. By accepting and reviewing this presentation, you acknowledge and agree (i) to maintain the confidentiality of this presentation and the information contained herein, (ii) to protect such information in the same manner you protect your own confidential information, which shall be at least a reasonable standard of care and, (iii) to not utilize any of the information contained herein except to assist with your evaluation of a potential investment in the Company. The information presented herein was prepared or obtained by the Company. Nothing contained herein is, or should be relied on as a promise or representation as to the future performance of the Company. Unless otherwise noted, all information contained herein is provided as of the date hereof and is subject to change without notice.
Attachments
Disclaimer
Green Impact Partners Inc.?published this content on?10 July 2023?and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on?10 July 2023 20:16:01 UTC
?i-80 GOLD CORP.?(TSX: IAU) (NYSE: IAUX)?announce that significant progress has been realized in the Company's advanced-exploration, development and production initiatives at its Granite Creek, McCoy-Cove, Ruby Hill, and Lone Tree Properties.?
Granite Creek –?The Company is advancing underground development, surface and underground drilling, increasing mining rates, and progressing updated resource work for economic studies.
McCoy-Cove –?The Phase 1 underground development program is nearing completion, and the underground drill program is realizing substantial success.
Ruby Hill?– Gold is being produced from the residual leaching program while drilling continues to define and expand mineralization in multiple zones. A Preliminary Economic Assessment is near completion while metallurgical work and associated permitting is being advanced for underground development and processing planning. The Company also received approval to drill test the Hilltop Corridor.
Lone Tree -?Gold production continues from the residual leach program and detailed engineering is being completed for the restart of the autoclave facility.
"We have realized numerous successes in the first half of 2023 in what is expected to be a catalyst-rich year with exploration, development, and mining underway at our three primary projects.", stated?Ewan Downie, CEO of i-80. "As a company, and where possible, we intend to implement "proof of concept" mining to ensure that proper mining methods are employed, and continuity of mineralization is established, prior to full mine development. By completing more detailed initial work, we aim to have a more fluid transition from explorer to miner than often seen in new start-ups.”
View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/i-80-gold-provides-comprehensive-operations-update-301873878.html
?Kiboko Gold Inc. (TSXV: KIB)?today reported results from the remaining 25 holes (4,846 metres (“m”)) of its systematic 70-hole (11,269 m) Phase 1 verification exploration program at its Harricana Gold Project, located 55 kilometres (“km”) north of Val-d’Or, Québec. These 25 holes were drilled at the Hooper-Bunkhouse (“HB”) and Lot 14 zones located west of the drilling at the Marcotte and Claverny zones within the Fontana area that were reported previously.
Jeremy Link, President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "Our drilling at Harricana continues to intersect significant intervals of mineralization, including visible gold. Drilling at Marcotte, Claverny, and Lot 14 has substantially verified historical results and we’re confident they can be relied upon for resource estimation. Although our drilling in the structurally complex Hooper-Bunkhouse zone intersected significant gold mineralization, including visible gold, it did not always replicate the historical intervals. This was not unexpected given the exploratory nature of our program and the anastomosing nature of the veins, veinlets, and shear zones. While the work is still underway, we expect to be able to rely upon much of the historical Hooper-Bunkhouse zone drilling for mineral resource estimation. With the maiden mineral resource targeted for this summer, our team continues to be excited about the potential of the Harricana Gold Project.”?
Harricana Gold Project – Fontana Area?
Kiboko’s interpretation is that the Harricana Gold Project is a collection of parallel sub-vertical shear-hosted mineralized zones contained within a Riedel-type system.?
At the Fontana area of the property, the mineralized zones are predominately located along major NW-SE (N135°) shears (the “Fontana Trend”) and along conjugate shears with limited thickness and extension. Accordingly, a planned drilling azimuth of N045° was utilized for the exploration program. This direction was expected to be perpendicular to the primary Fontana Trend (N135°) but also sufficiently oblique to other second and third-order mineralization for deposit evaluation.
Kiboko’s exploration drilling across the Fontana area encountered silicification, ankerite, or carbonate-alteration and chloritization, and variable amounts of disseminated sulphides, which?are favourable indicators for gold mineralization. Kiboko’s drilling has also demonstrated that the alteration has a wider extension than the gold-bearing, shear-hosted quartz-carbonate veins.
?Rugby Resources Ltd.?(TSXV: RUG)?is pleased to report that a follow-up exploration program has commenced at the Cobrasco East porphyry discovery.
The field team has already located an in-situ outcrop of mineralised rock in one of several west draining creeks.?
Yale Simpson, Rugby’s Chairman commented:?“These spectacular rocks come from an area located approximately 2.3 kilometres (“km”) east of our discovery holes. At this stage we know very little about this new eastern area having only visited it once before in a previously announced reconnaissance program completed in May.?
“Exploration at?Cobrasco?began last year in May and it has primarily focused on the area surrounding our first two drill holes (CobrascoCentral). Clearly this was a good decision as we made a significant copper discovery in these first two holes:
*CDH001: 82m at 0.90% Cu and 199 ppm Mo within 808m of 0.42% Cu and 79 ppm Mo from 184m and;
*CDH002: 172m of 0.78%?CuEq?within an interval of 754m of 0.50%?CuEq?from 152m. A near surface mineralised zone?of 70m of 0.32%?CuEq?was intersected from 18m.
*?See News Releases dated October 31, 2022 and January 17, 2023.
“This new area could be a whole new porphyry target zone separate from our existing copper discovery at?CobrascoCentral. The?CobrascoEast?area falls well outside of our existing auger soil sampling grid and this program has only scratched the surface on this extensive?Cobrasco?system!”
The mineralised unit is a fine grained tonalite that outcrops along a 10 metre (“m”) section of creek bank and in what appears to be further float and subcrop exposures over an area of 1,000m x 700m. The tonalite occupies the centre of a “magnetic low” feature.
The mineralisation appears to be related to bornite-chalcopyrite mineralisation in a structurally controlled fault zone as hydrothermal (sulphide) veining, brecciation and fracture-fill with abundant copper oxide (malachite) dispersion halos central to the veining.
Francisco Montes, Rugby’s Cobrasco Project Manager stated: “Our geologic field team’s latest reconnaissance program has yielded early success with the identification of an?in-situ?outcrop of copper mineralisation within a larger field of mineralised float and?subcrop. The location of bornite-chalcopyrite hydrothermal mineralisation this far east on the margins of the Mande Batholith is highly encouraging, lending support to multiple episodes and centres of mineralisation in the greater?Cobrasco?area. We anticipate ongoing work will define further outcrops and delineate the extension of copper mineralisation by conventional sampling techniques.I look forward to assay results from the new sampling.”
The field team completed stream sediment sampling (-80# fraction) from all creeks draining the eastern catchment. This will aid in the follow-up work program. The crew also collected rock chip samples of mineralised material and character samples of all lithologies for low-level multi-element analysis. Grid-based soil auger sampling and detailed prospecting are planned for the next phase of work in the Cobrasco East area.
?Thermal Energy International Inc. (TSXV:?TMG) (OTCQB:?TMGEF)?a provider of innovative energy efficiency and carbon emission reduction solutions to major corporations around the world, is pleased to announce record order intake?for its fiscal year ended May 31, 2023. The Company received orders totalling $27.3 million during the twelve-month period, which was up 133% year-over-year.
"The past year has witnessed a remarkable surge in orders for Thermal Energy, reflecting the importance that multinational corporations are placing on reducing their environmental impact," said William Crossland, Thermal Energy CEO. "By choosing our energy efficiency solutions, these forward-thinking companies are not only reducing their carbon emissions but also maximizing profitability through substantial energy cost savings and improving operational efficiency. Our record order intake in fiscal 2023 underscores our customers' confidence in Thermal Energy's expertise and ability to deliver impactful results. And while our custom equipment orders have been steadily on the rise for some time, we are excited to see a significant year-over-year increase in the number and value of signed project development agreements."
The Company received 25 signed project development agreements ("PDA") in fiscal 2023 (including seven in the fourth quarter) compared to ten signed PDAs in the prior fiscal year. The combined value of the signed PDAs received in fiscal 2023 was 365% higher than the combined total of the PDAs received in fiscal 2022. While there is no guarantee that signed PDAs will result in completed turn-key projects, the Company considers PDAs to be a key metric in assessing the strength of its business development pipeline.
Mr. Crossland added: "Improving energy efficiency is the fastest, cheapest, and easiest way to reduce industrial carbon emissions. The business case for what we do has never been better and we are working hard to make Thermal Energy the energy efficiency partner of choice for Fortune 500 and other large multinational companies."
The Company's reported order intake above include the following recent orders:
In May, Thermal Energy was chosen by the TMX Group to present at the TSX Clean Technology Investor Day on May 17, 2023. The Company's slide presentation for the event, which included summary financial results for the first nine months of fiscal 2023, can be found on the Company's website at:?https://investors-thermalenergy.com/tsx-cleantech-investor-day.
?Xtract One Technologies Inc.?(TSX: XTRA)(OTCQX: XTRAF)(FRA:0PL), a leading technology-driven threat detection and security solution that prioritizes the patron access experience by leveraging AI, today announced its?SmartGateway?patron screening solution was selected by?Budweiser Gardens, a 10,200-capacity sports-entertainment venue and home of the London Knights in London, ON, to secure entrances for its sporting events and concerts.
The property is owned by the City of London and is managed by global sports and entertainment company OVG360, a division of?Oak View Group?(OVG) which?announced a strategic partnership with Xtract One in October 2022.
“As the largest sports-entertainment centre in Southwestern Ontario, we are committed to providing the best possible experience for our fans and guests – as their comfort and safety is always our top priority,” said Brian Ohl, General Manager at Budweiser Gardens. “We are thrilled to announce our partnership with Xtract One to implement their industry-leading SmartGateways to further improve safety, and provide a better overall experience for everyone who visits Budweiser Gardens for a London Knights game, or other live event.”
The SmartGateway system replaces intimidating, traditional metal detectors and delivers fast, reliable, and accurate patron screening. This solution unobtrusively scans patrons for guns, knives, and other prohibited items as they enter the facility, using AI-powered sensors to detect threats without invading patrons’ sense of privacy and comfort. The?SmartGateway system?was designed with customization in mind to account for customers’ specific needs as well as security requirements for large, ticketed venues to enable high throughput.
“At Xtract One, we are excited to partner with Budweiser Gardens, OVG360, and the City of London to provide our cutting-edge security solutions and help improve patron safety. We are confident that our innovative technologies will enhance the existing security measures and help create a more secure, fan-centric environment for all patrons,” said Peter Evans, CEO of Xtract One. “We look forward to working with Budweiser Gardens and to continuing our partnership with Oak View Group to deliver advanced, unobtrusive security solutions.”
COMPANIES REPORTING?
Aritzia Inc: Expected Q1 earnings of 9 Canadian cents per share
MTY Food Group Inc: Expected Q2 earnings of 95 Canadian cents per share
领英推荐
CORPORATE DATA (EST)
0830?MTY Food Group Inc: Q2 earnings conference call
1630?Aritzia Inc: Q1 earnings conference call
World Markets
(07:32 EST)
S&P 500 Index Mini Futures: 4,446.50; up 0.05%; 2.25 points
DJIA Mini Futures: 34,151.00; up 0.01%; 5 points
Nikkei: 32,187.96; down 0.01%; 1.77 points
MSCI Asia, Ex-JP: 506.74; up 0.06%; 0.29 point
EUR/USD: $1.1018; up 0.15%; 0.0017 point
GBP/USD: $1.2881; up 0.16%; 0.0020 point
USD/JPY: 140.73 yen; down 0.42%; 0.59 point
Spot Gold: $1,928.89; up 0.20%; $3.90
U.S. Crude: $73.47; up 0.66%; $0.48
Brent Crude: $78.15; up 0.59%; $0.46
10-Yr U.S. Treasury Yield: 3.9870%; down 0.018 point
10-Yr Bund Yield: 2.6270%; flat
Euro STOXX 50 futures?were up 10 points at 4,288,?FTSE futures?lost 5 points to 7,264, and?German DAX futures?gained 49 points at 15,810, by 0430 GMT.
Asian shares?bounced and the safe-haven?dollar?edged lower as investors hoped this week's U.S. inflation data supports an imminent end to rate hikes and cheered the prospect China will deliver economic stimulus to prop up stalling growth.
Oil?prices edged higher, recouping some of the losses from the previous session, as traders focused on supply cuts by the world's biggest oil exporters Saudi Arabia and Russia and a weaker dollar.
US
PRE-OPEN
World markets are generally higher?ahead of U.S. inflation data, as market hoped it could support a quicker end to Federal Reserve rate hikes. In Asian equity markets,
Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings Inc?&?L3Harris Technologies' Inc:?U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat and frequent merger critic, joined three other lawmakers to urge the Defense Department to thoroughly review defense contractor’s $4.7 billion deal for Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings. The Defense Department is influential with the antitrust agencies on decisions about approving deals that touch on military issues, and often take too soft an approach, Warren and the other lawmakers wrote. "Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, and Boeing are all dependent on products that only Aerojet is able to produce, and their operations could be hamstrung by its acquisition," they wrote.
Amazon.com?Inc: The company hopes to tempt U.S. shoppers to open inflation-thinned wallets by offering deeper discounts on a wide range of goods and services during this year's "Prime Day" 48-hour shopping event, including its first-ever travel discounts. CFRA Research analyst Arun Sundaram said Amazon's U.S. Prime Day discounts this year are mostly deeper than in previous years. The online retailer is marking 60% off Gap clothing, 50% off on Sony headphones and 40% off Peloton exercise bikes, according to Bank of America. Michael Ashley Schulman, chief investment officer at Running Point Capital Advisors, said Amazon Prime sales growth will be slower this year, as many American consumers still have post-pandemic shopping fatigue and are cautious about "abusing their wallets."
Apple Inc: Tencent's WeChat said that the iPhone maker had opened a store on its social media platform, marking an expansion of the U.S. firm's retail channels in the world's second largest economy. The announcement by WeChat, China's dominant messaging app which also provides e-commerce, livestreaming and payment services, said users would be able to buy Apple products including iPhones, iPads and Macs from the store. The move by Apple comes as Chinese consumers increasingly turn to social media platforms such as WeChat and ByteDance's Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, to shop.
Bank of America Corp,?Citigroup Inc,?Goldman Sachs Group Inc,?JPMorgan Chase & Co,Morgan Stanley & Wells Fargo & Co:?Wall Street banks are expected to report higher profits for the second quarter as rising interest payments offset a downturn in dealmaking. For universal banks such as JPMorgan and Wells Fargo that serve retail consumers as well as corporations, earnings per share (EPS) are expected to jump more than 40%, according to analyst estimates as of late Monday. Bank of America's EPS will likely climb more than 7%. Citigroup is expected to lag its peers with a 43% drop in EPS. Results for investment banking behemoths will also weaken, with EPS forecast to drop almost 59% at Goldman Sachs Morgan Stanley's EPS is anticipated to drop 9%, although revenue from wealth management will likely cushion the blow from lackluster dealmaking. Sluggish deal markets will continue to be a sore spot for Wall Street after global investment banking activity plunged to $15.7 billion in the second quarter, the lowest since 2012, according to Dealogic data.
Berkshire Hathaway Inc?and?Dominion Energy Inc: The energy firm agreed to sell its 50% stake in the Cove Point liquefied natural gas facility in Maryland's Chesapeake Bay to a unit of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway for $3.3 billion in cash, the companies said on Monday. Berkshire Hathaway Energy already operates the facility, and would upon closing have a 75% ownership stake. A unit of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners owns the remaining 25%. Robert Blue, Dominion's chief executive, in a statement said Dominion considers Cove Point a "non-core" business, and selling it would free the Richmond, Virginia-based company to focus on state-regulated utility operations. Dominion also expects to receive about $200 million from the termination of interest-rate derivatives. It plans to use sale proceeds to repay debt.
Blackstone Inc:?An Australian court signed off on a A$450 million fine for company-owned casino operator Crown Resorts for breaking anti-money laundering laws, ending the darkest chapter in its history. The company, dominated by billionaire founder James Packer before he agreed to sell last year, agreed to the payment in May after allegations over wide-ranging governance problems sparked inquiries in all the states in which it operated, plus an investigation by the financial crime watchdog.?
Cheniere Energy Inc: The LNG exporter is shunning the Panama Canal to transport liquefied natural gas to Asia because the market is not supporting use of the waterway, said Chief Operating Officer Corey Grindal on Monday. "We use the canal when it is economical to do so, right now it is not. Right now the market in the Far East is not supporting it, and the waiting time, with us not being a priority customer, is just not worth us using it right now," Grindal said in a media briefing at an LNG conference. Cheniere continues to be buoyed by the possibility of a growing Asian market and expects there will be increased demand from countries in South and Southeast Asia, said Chief Commercial Officer Anatol Feygin.
Equitrans Midstream Corp: The pipeline operator Equitrans said it is evaluating all legal options after a federal appellate court halted construction for the Mountain Valley Pipeline project. The $6.6 billion Mountain Valley project is one of several U.S. oil and gas pipelines delayed by regulatory and legal fights with environmental and local groups that found problems with federal permits issued by the Trump administration. "Unless this decision is promptly reversed, it would jeopardize Mountain Valley's ability to complete construction by year-end 2023," the company said in a statement.
ForgeRock Inc: The U.S. Department of Justice is nearing a decision on whether to challenge private equity firm Thoma Bravo's $2.3 billion buyout deal for the company, Politico reported on Monday, citing four people with direct knowledge of the matter. The development comes months after ForgeRock said it had received notice from the DOJ demanding more information related to the go-private deal. "We look forward to completing the review process with the Department of Justice and partnering with Thoma Bravo," ForgeRock told Reuters on Monday.
Johnson & Johnson: Lawyers for a California man who says he developed a rare cancer from exposure to asbestos in the company’s talc-based baby powder on Monday urged a jury to order the company to pay heavy punitive damages, calling its conduct negligent and "despicable." "A reasonably careful corporation would not sell a product that allowed carcinogens to be applied to babies," Joseph Satterley, a lawyer for Emory Hernandez Valadez, said in a closing argument at the end of a six-week trial in Alameda County Superior Court in California. J&J has consistently denied that its now-discontinued talc baby powder contains asbestos or causes cancer.
Meta Platforms Inc: The company’s Instagram is planning to bring its branded content tools to Threads, Axios reported, citing a source familiar with the matter. Such tools will help marketers collaborate with influencers on paid partnerships on the social media platform while advertising is unavailable. The news comes on the heels of Threads, widely considered a rival to Elon Musk's Twitter, hitting 100 million users in a record five days. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said the company would only think about monetizing Threads once there was a clear path to a billion users. Separately, the social media giant plans to label government-affiliated accounts on its new Twitter-like platform Threads, an executive told an Australian inquiry on foreign interference.
Novo Nordisk A/S: Only about one-third of patients prescribed a popular weight-loss drug like Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy were still taking it a year later, while total healthcare costs for the group rose sharply, according to an analysis of U.S. pharmacy claims shared with Reuters. The annual cost of overall care for patients prior to taking Wegovy or a similar drug was $12,371, on average, according to the analysis. The full-year cost after starting the medication jumped by 59% to $19,657, on average. The costs for a similar control group of patients not taking the drugs decreased by 4% over the same period. The mean age of patients included in the analysis was 47 and 81% were female.
Uber Technologies Inc:?The company’s Chief Financial Officer Nelson Chai is planning to leave the ride-hailing company, Bloomberg News reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter. Chai informed Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi of his intentions to move on, though a decision on the timing of his departure hasn't been made, according to the report. Chai was brought in at Uber as finance chief in 2018 and he shepherded the company through its IPO a year later.
Europe, Asia, India
NATO leaders?gather for a summit in Vilnius seeking to overcome divisions on?Ukraine's membership bid after a deal to lift?Turkey's block on?Sweden?joining the military alliance.
Russia?launched an overnight air strike on?Kyiv?in early hours, Ukraine's military said, just hours before the start of the NATO summit in Lithuania that is to tackle security threats from Moscow.
The?Federal Reserve?will likely need to raise?interest rates?further to bring down?inflation?that is still too high, but the end to its current monetary policy tightening cycle is getting close, several U.S. central bank officials said on Monday.
The European Medicines Agency is investigating?Novo Nordisk's diabetes drug?Ozempic?and weight-loss treatment?Saxenda?after Iceland's health regulator flagged three cases of patients thinking about suicide or self-harm.
Europe's?Airbus?inaugurated a new assembly line for its A321neo jetliner in southwest France on Monday, granting a new lease of life to the deserted home of the defunct A380 superjumbo as it basks in record demand for smaller jets.
Daimler Truck?has raised its profit and revenue guidance due to an easing of supply chain constraints, stronger demand in its core markets and the after-sales business, the company said on Monday.?
Taiwan's Foxconn has withdrawn from a $19.5 billion semiconductor joint venture with Indian metals-to-oil conglomerate Vedanta, it said on Monday, in a setback to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's chipmaking plans for India.
Godrej Aerospace is in talks to build aircraft parts for suppliers to Airbus and Boeing as airlines place record jet orders, a top executive at the Indian company said.
An Indian tribunal on Monday dismissed an appeal by former Zee Group Chairman Subhash Chandra and Zee Entertainment CEO Punit Goenka to lift the markets regulator's ban on the duo holding board positions in publicly listed companies.
SEBI has told the Supreme Court its 2019 change in rules on how offshore funds report their ownership did not make it tougher to identify their beneficiaries, its legal filing shows.
India's gas consumption is rising as global prices have eased, the chief executive of the country's top gas importer said on Monday.
ECONOMIC DATA (GMT)0600?Germany CPI final mm?for June: Expected 0.3%; Prior 0.3%?
0600?Germany CPI final yy?for June: Expected 6.4%; Prior 6.4%
0600?Germany HICP final mm?for June: Expected 0.4%; Prior 0.4%
0600?Germany HICP final yy?for June: Expected 6.8%; Prior 6.8%
0600?Germany CPI final NSA?for June: Prior 116.5
0600?United Kingdom Claimant Count unemployment change?for June: Prior -13,600
0600?United Kingdom ILO unemployment rate?for May: Expected 3.8%; Prior 3.8%
0600?United Kingdom employment change?for May: Expected 125,000; Prior 250,000
0600?United Kingdom average weekly earnings 3M yy?for May: Expected 6.8%; Prior 6.5%
0600?United Kingdom average earnings (Ex-Bonus) for May: Expected 7.1%; Prior 7.2%
0600?United Kingdom HMRC payrolls change?for June: Prior 23,000
0800?Italy industrial output mm SA?for May: Expected 0.7%; Prior -1.9%
0800?Italy industrial output yy WDA?for May: Expected -4.5%; Prior -7.2%
0900?Euro Zone ZEW Survey expectations?for July: Prior -10.0
0900?Germany ZEW economic sentiment?for July: Expected -10.5; Prior -8.5
0900?Germany ZEW current conditions?for July: Expected -60.0; Prior -56.5
2301?United Kingdom BRC retail sales yy?for June: Prior 3.7%
Source (but not limited too) Reuters, CNBC, Financial Post, Financial Times, Globe & Mail, InvestorIntel, Kitco, Refinitiv