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November 23, 2024

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An All-Around Rally: Navigating Stocks, US Dollar, Gold, and Bitcoin Price Action

The last full trading week before the Thanksgiving holiday has ended on a positive note. Following up on yesterday’s blog post, the S&P 500 Equal Weighted Index ($SPXEW) has continued to outperform the S&P 500’s price action and hit a new all-time high. Similarly, the Nasdaq 100 Equal Weighted Index ($NDXE) is close to its all-time high (0.10% away from it according to the Distance to 52-Week High indicator).

The mid and small-cap indexes, $MID and $SML, remained market index leaders on Friday. From the daily chart of the S&P 600 Small Cap Index ($SML) below, note how the index broke out of a sideways trading range, climbed to a high on November 11, and then pulled back and bounced off the previous October high resistance level. It’s now on its way back to its all-time high.

FIGURE 1. DAILY CHART OF S&P 600 SMALL CAP INDEX ($SML). A breakout followed by a pullback and then a bounce of a support level looks promising for small-cap stocks.Chart source: StockCharts.com. For educational purposes.

The percentage of stocks trading above their 50-day moving average is rising, and advances outperform decliners. With market breadth supporting bullish price action, it’s safe to say that investors are piling into small caps.

So, in a nutshell, Friday’s price action was a continuation of Thursday’s action. The S&P 500 ($SPX) and Dow Jones Industrial Average ($INDU) are approaching their all-time highs, but the Nasdaq Composite ($COMPQ) still has to break through 19,080 to make its way to its all-time high.

In addition to equities, precious metals, especially gold, have also been climbing higher. The daily chart of the SPDR Gold Shares ETF (GLD) below shows that after hitting a high on October 30, GLD fell approximately 8.30%. It has now bounced back, rising around 5.80% from the November 14 low. GLD faces resistance that sits slightly above $250 (red horizontal dashed line) and support from its 25-day simple moving average.

FIGURE 2. DAILY CHART OF SPDR GOLD SHARES (GLD). Gold’s rise, pullback, and rebound make it a chart worth adding to your ChartLists.Chart source: StockCharts.com. For educational purposes.

If GLD overcomes that resistance next week, it indicates that investors’ concerns about slower rate cuts and geopolitical tensions remain front and center. 

The Greenback Keeps On Growing 

The US dollar has also been rising, hurting other currencies, especially the euro. The weekly chart of $EURUSD below shows it hitting levels it last saw at the end of 2022.

FIGURE 3. WEEKLY CHART OF $EURUSD. The steep fall in the euro could be due to a weakening European economy and concerns about geopolitical tensions.Chart source: StockCharts.com. For educational purposes.

The rise in the greenback is due to a strong US economy, but the move in the $EURUSD is significant. Europe is experiencing slower economic growth, but geopolitical concerns have also risen. The two may be the reason for the intensity of the fall in the euro.

Usually, a stronger dollar puts pressure on commodities such as precious metals, but that’s not happening right now. Besides potential geopolitical tensions, there’s also the concern that the Fed may have fewer interest rate cuts next year. According to the CME FedWatch Tool, the probability of a 25 basis point in the December FOMC meeting has dropped to 56.20%.

Bitcoin’s Bold Move

You can’t help but notice Bitcoin’s rise this week. The cryptocurrency crossed its psychological $100,000 level, but closed slightly lower at $99,210 (see chart below).

FIGURE 4. DAILY CHART OF BITCOIN. The explosive rally in Bitcoin has caught everyone’s attention. $BTCUSD hit the psychological $10K level but couldn’t hold on to it.Chart source: StockCharts.com. For educational purposes.

After bouncing off its 21-day exponential moving average (EMA) in early November, $BTCUSD rocketed higher, consolidated for about seven days, and then continued its journey higher. The moving average convergence/divergence indicator in the bottom panel shows no signs of slowing down.

Looking Ahead 

There’s been a lot of excitement this week. Next week is a short trading week, but there are some key economic data to watch, the more important ones being the PCE, durable goods orders, and FOMC minutes. This would bring the focus on what the Fed is likely to do when it meets next. If there’s an indication of no rate cuts in the December meeting, we could see more of the same price action spill into next week.

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End-of-Week Wrap-Up

  • S&P 500 up 1.68% for the week, at 5969.34, Dow Jones Industrial Average up 1.96% for the week at 44,296.51; Nasdaq Composite up 1.73% for the week at 19,003.65
  • $VIX down 5.20% for the week, closing at 15.30
  • Best performing sector for the week: Materials
  • Worst performing sector for the week: Health Care
  • Top 5 Large Cap SCTR stocks: Summit Therapeutics (SMMT); Applovin Corp. (APP); MicroStrategy Inc. (MSTR); Texas Pacific Land (TPL); Palantir Technologies (PLTR)

On the Radar Next Week

  • October New Home Sales
  • FOMC Minutes
  • October Durable Goods Orders
  • October PCE Price Index
  • November Chicago PMI

Disclaimer: This blog is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice. The ideas and strategies should never be used without first assessing your own personal and financial situation, or without consulting a financial professional.

2024 is Shaping Up Like 2021, Which Did Not End Particularly Well

I’ve always found technical analysis to be a fantastic history lesson for the markets. If you want to consider how the current conditions relate to previous market cycles, just compare the charts; you’ll usually have a pretty good starting point for the discussion.

As we near the end of an incredibly bullish year for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, I’m seeing plenty of signals that suggest the strength of 2024 may lead to a much weaker following year. Today we’ll compare 2024 to 2021, talk about the many conditions which are highly similar, and also review an initial signal from one of the most bearish indicators in our arsenal, the Hindenburg Omen.

Market Trend Model Shows Striking Similarities

2024 has been a strong market year by any standard, from the continuous upward slope of moving averages, to the relatively low volatility compared to previous years, to the minimal drawdowns along the way. My Market Trend Model is what I often use to make an initial comparison between two historical periods, and it certainly backs up this particular conjecture.

Note our long-term model (purple histogram) has been bullish for all of 2024, exactly as we logged in 2021. We can see the same pattern of consistent bullishness from the medium-term mode (green histogram) for both years. Even the short-term model appears to identify pullbacks of a similar timeframe and depth for both years.

2021 Finished Strong, But 2022 Brought a Whole New Trend

2021 ended in a position of strength, with the S&P 500 making a new high going into year-end. However, the moment the calendar was flipped to 2022, everything quickly changed to a bearish phase. The short-term model turned almost immediately, and instead of quickly turning back higher, it remained bearish for weeks at a time.

The medium-term model, which I consider my main risk on/risk off indicator, turned bearish in mid-January and remains so until the end of Q1. So what differentiated early 2022 from the garden variety and very buyable pullbacks of 2021 was that the medium-term model behaved quite differently.

As we head into year-end 2024, this is perhaps the most important chart in my Market Misbehavior LIVE ChartList, as it would help confirm whether an impending selloff is different from the relatively painless and short-lived pullbacks in 2024.

The Hindenburg Omen Suggests a Potential Topping Pattern

Strategist Jim Miekka created the Hindenburg Omen by reviewing a series of previous major market tops and looking for similarities. He honed in on three particular factors:

  1. The market is in a confirmed uptrend as measured by the 50-day ROC of the NYSE Composite Index ($NYA).
  2. At least 2.5% of the NYSE stocks make a new 52-week high AND a new 52-week low on the same day.
  3. The McClellan Oscillator breaks below zero, confirming negative breadth conditions.

One final signal Miekka included was that there should be two independent signals within one month.  

In the bottom panel, I’m showing a composite indicator on StockCharts that tracks the three conditions listed above. You may notice that there have been a number of initial signals so far in 2024, but at no time have we received the confirmation signal within one month of the initial signal!

That’s where we’re at as we look forward to year-end 2024 — weakening breadth conditions and investor indecision. Now it’s all about whether we receive that confirmation by mid-December. If so, that would suggest that early 2025 may look painfully similar to a very bearish early 2022!

RR#6,

Dave

P.S. Ready to upgrade your investment process? Check out my free behavioral investing course!

David Keller, CMT

President and Chief Strategist

Sierra Alpha Research LLC

Disclaimer: This blog is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice. The ideas and strategies should never be used without first assessing your own personal and financial situation, or without consulting a financial professional.

The author does not have a position in mentioned securities at the time of publication. Any opinions expressed herein are solely those of the author and do not in any way represent the views or opinions of any other person or entity.

Top 5 Canadian Mining Stocks This Week: Baru Gold Sparkles with 125 Percent Gain

The S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index (INDEXTSI:JX) increased 1.74 percent on the week to close at 606.17 on Friday (November 8). Meanwhile, the S&P/TSX Composite Index (INDEXTSI:OSPTX) was up 2.16 percent to 25,444.28 and the CSE Composite Index (CSE:CSECOMP) fell 6.17 percent to 138.03.

Statistics Canada released October consumer price index (CPI) numbers on Tuesday (November 19). The data showed that year-on-year inflation came in at 2 percent, up from the 1.6 percent recorded in September and slightly hotter than the 1.9 percent expected by economists.

While prices for goods were up just 0.1 percent, the largest contributing factor was a 6 percent rise in property taxes, the highest yearly increase since 1992.

The data may dull the prospect of a 50-point cut to the Bank of Canada’s benchmark rate some analysts were hoping for when it holds its last policy meeting of the year on December 11.

Across the Atlantic, tensions dramatically increased in the war between Russia and Ukraine on Tuesday after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a change to the country’s nuclear doctrine. Now, a conventional attack on Russia by any country supported by a nuclear power will be considered a joint attack, allowing Russia to respond to either country with nuclear strikes.

Although this isn’t the first time the Russian President has issued nuclear threats, Russia followed the announcement by launching an experimental nuclear-capable intermediate-range ballistic missile on targets in Ukraine on Thursday (November 20).

The moves come after the US and UK authorized Ukraine to use ATACMS and Storm Shadow long-range missiles to strike military targets deeper into Russian territory.

The escalating tensions pushed investors to safe-haven assets, helping gold recover from post-election losses. It surged 5.78 percent this week to US$2,711.35 on Friday at 4:00 p.m. EST, while silver jumped 3.46 percent to US$31.30. Copper was also up, gaining 0.73 percent to US$4.13 per pound on the COMEX. More broadly, the S&P GSCI (INDEXSP:SPGSCI) climbed 3.79 percent to close the week at 547.18.

Equity markets posted gains this week as well. The S&P 500 (INDEXSP:INX) moved up 1.62 percent to end Friday at 5,969.33, the Nasdaq-100 (INDEXNASDAQ:NDX) saw a 1.59 percent boost to 20,776.23 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) increased 1.99 percent to 44,296.52.

Find out how the five best-performing Canadian mining stocks performed against that backdrop.

Data for this article was retrieved at 4:00 p.m. EST on November 22, 2024, using TradingView’s stock screener. Only companies trading on the TSX, TSXV and CSE with market capitalizations greater than C$10 million are included. Companies within the non-energy minerals and energy minerals sectors were considered.

1. Baru Gold (TSXV:BARU)

Weekly gain: 125 percent
Market cap: C$11.35 million
Share price: C$0.045

Baru Gold is a development company working to advance its Sangihe gold project in Indonesia.

The company holds a 70 percent stake in the 42,000 hectare project with the remaining 30 percent interest being held by three Indonesian-based companies.

A mineral resource estimate contained in a 2017 technical report demonstrates an indicated resource of 114,700 ounces of gold and 1.97 million ounces of silver from 3.16 million metric tons of ore with grades of 1.13 grams per metric ton (g/t) gold and 19.4 g/t silver. It also hosts an inferred resource of 105,000 ounces of gold and 1.06 million ounces of silver.

Shares in Baru gained this week following a pair of news releases.

The first came on Tuesday when the company announced it had signed a letter of intent with Indonesian company PT Arsari Tambang, which will become a strategic equity partner and investor with a 10 percent stake in Baru Gold subsidiary PT Tambang Mas Sangihe.

The initial 10 percent stake is being purchased from one of Baru’s private partners, meaning it will not affect Baru’s interest in its Sangihe project. However, PT Arsari will also be granted a five-year option for an additional 15 percent stake in the company; if exercised, Baru’s interest will lower from 70 to 59.5 percent.

The second announcement came on Thursday when Baru Gold announced it had retained the services of a specialist advisory firm to lead fundraising operations. The move comes after Baru received several unsolicited inquiries from investors looking to invest in the Indonesian gold sector, including from companies looking for diversification opportunities.

2. i-80 Gold (TSX:IAU)

Company Profile

Weekly gain: 85.71 percent
Market cap: C$380.5 million
Share price: C$0.91

I-80 Gold is a gold mining company working on expanding its operational footprint in Nevada, US.

The company owns three producing assets, Granite Creek, Ruby Hill and Lone Tree. While Granite Creek is a mining operation, the other two are processing material from heap leach pads. It is also developing its McCoy-Cove project. Construction at Ruby Hill’s Archimedes underground deposit is anticipated in H1 2025.

I-80 has been working to advance exploration and development work at all its properties to expand its production capacity. To this end, the company is refurbishing the autoclave at Lone Tree, which is planned to be the hub of its operations, processing sulfide ore from Granite Creek, Archimedes at Ruby Hill and McCoy-Cove.

In its Q3 report released on November 12, i-80 indicated it sold a lackluster 7,186 ounces of gold from its assets through the first nine months of the year, a steep decline from the 11,263 ounces sold during the same period in 2023. This was in part due to declining recovery from the heap leach pads and increased groundwater in the underground operations at Granite Creek.

However, the company, which changed leadership during the quarter, also outlined an extensive new plan that will focus on the development of assets with the goal of constructing five gold mines by the end of the decade with combined annual production of 400,000 to 500,000 ounces of gold.

While i-80’s share price dropped sharply after the release, it rebounded 85 percent last week.

3. CopperCorp Resources (TSXV:CPER)

Weekly gain: 83.33 percent
Market cap: C$10.46 million
Share price: C$0.165

CopperCorp Resources is an exploration and development company working to advance projects in Western Tasmania.

Its primary work over the past several months has been exploration of the 171 square kilometer Razorback prospect. Razorback hosted a historic mining operation and is home to mineralized deposits of copper, gold and rare earth elements.

The company has identified three high-priority target zones: Jukes, Hyde and Darwin.

The share price of CopperCorp climbed this week following an announcement on Monday (November 18) in which the company reported that it encountered broad zones of visible copper from the Jukes zone.

The company is currently awaiting assay results but said it was encouraged by the results, which include 24.4 meters of visual copper sulphide from 400 meters downhole and 88.7 meters of visual copper sulphide from 463.3 meters downhole. This comes after CopperCorp reported 0.35 percent copper and 0.19 g/t gold over 132 meters from an adjacent hole on October 15.

4. Northcliff Resources (TSX:NCF)

Company Profile

Weekly gain: 60 percent
Market cap: C$21.24 million
Share price: C$0.04

Northcliff Resources is a development and exploration company working to advance its Sisson tungsten and molybdenum project in New Brunswick, Canada.

The 14,140 hectare property has seen extensive exploration dating back to the early 1980s. A 2013 mineral resource estimate demonstrated measured and indicated quantities of 25.7 million metric tons of tungsten oxide and 178 million pounds of molybdenum from 387 million metric tons of ore with average grades of 0.07 percent tungsten oxide and 0.02 percent molybdenum.

The project is currently in the development stage and in 2022 was granted an extension to the construction commencement timeline by New Brunswick’s Department of Environment and Climate Change. Construction is now anticipated to begin in December 2025.

The company has not released news in the past week.

5. Rusoro Mining (TSXV:RML)

Company Profile

Weekly gain: 41.67 percent
Market cap: C$510.91 million
Share price: C$0.87

Rusoro Mining is a gold-mining company that had interests in Venezuela. Up until 2012, the company was operating two mines and two mills in the country, along with two additional projects that were nearing the production stage.

In March 2012, the company announced that the Venezuelan government had nationalized Rusoro’s operations without compensation. Following the appropriation of the company’s operations, Rusoro entered into arbitration proceedings before the World Bank’s International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes; in August 2016, Rusoro was awarded US$967.77 million, plus pre- and post-award interest to total more than US$1.2 billion.

After protracted legal battles to receive payment from the Venezuelan government, Rusoro filed a claim to enforce actions against assets of state-owned Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), and in April 2023, the US District Court for Delaware found in favor of Rusoro. Venezuela’s appeal of the decision was rejected by a three judge appellate panel in July 2023.

Venezuela appealed to the Supreme Court of the US, but on January 8, Rusoro announced that the court refused to hear the appeal, making the July 2023 ruling the final hearing on the case.

In its press release, Rusoro noted that the Delaware court designated Rusoro as an “additional judgment creditor,” meaning the company will be entitled to a share of the sale of PDVSA assets when they go to auction.

The auction was supposed to take place earlier in the year but was pushed back in August after a US court agreed to delay the selection of finalists until October. The auction was then further delayed as Venezuelan bondholders put the auction in jeopardy as they filed a parallel claim for a portion of the assets.

Shares in Rusoro climbed this week after the Delaware judge overseeing the auction proposed major procedural changes and wanted the auction opened up to new bidders.

FAQs for Canadian mining stocks

What is the difference between the TSX and TSXV?

The TSX, or Toronto Stock Exchange, is used by senior companies with larger market caps, and the TSXV, or TSX Venture Exchange, is used by smaller-cap companies. Companies listed on the TSXV can graduate to the senior exchange.

How many companies are listed on the TSXV?

As of June 2024, there were 1,630 companies listed on the TSXV, 925 of which were mining companies. Comparatively, the TSX was home to 1,806 companies, with 188 of those being mining companies.

Together the TSX and TSXV host around 40 percent of the world’s public mining companies.

How much does it cost to list on the TSXV?

There are a variety of different fees that companies must pay to list on the TSXV, and according to the exchange, they can vary based on the transaction’s nature and complexity. The listing fee alone will most likely cost between C$10,000 to C$70,000. Accounting and auditing fees could rack up between C$25,000 and C$100,000, while legal fees are expected to be over C$75,000 and an underwriters’ commission may hit up to 12 percent.

The exchange lists a handful of other fees and expenses companies can expect, including but not limited to security commission and transfer agency fees, investor relations costs and director and officer liability insurance.

These are all just for the initial listing, of course. There are ongoing expenses once companies are trading, such as sustaining fees and additional listing fees, plus the costs associated with filing regular reports.

How do you trade on the TSXV?

Investors can trade on the TSXV the way they would trade stocks on any exchange. This means they can use a stock broker or an individual investment account to buy and sell shares of TSXV-listed companies during the exchange’s trading hours.

Article by Dean Belder; FAQs by Lauren Kelly.

Securities Disclosure: I, Dean Belder, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

Securities Disclosure: I, Lauren Kelly, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

This post appeared first on investingnews.com

Tech 5: Bitcoin’s Price Sets Five New Records, Google Mulls Forced Divestiture

Bitcoin achieved five new all-time high prices this week, boosted by a wave of renewed optimism and growing confidence in the future of the cryptocurrency.

Meanwhile, MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) increased its Bitcoin holdings, sending its stock price to record-high valuations, and a major development in Google’s (NASDAQ:GOOGL) anti-trust trial weighed heavily on investors.

1. Bitcoin nears US$100,000, Solana, XRP soar

This week proved to be another dynamic period in the digital asset market. The industry witnessed multiple new all-time highs and regulatory developments, with the total crypto market cap reaching a record-breaking US$3.025 trillion on Monday. The Crypto Fear and Greed Index also hit its highest level since March, a sign that market sentiment is becoming increasingly bullish.

After the US Federal Reserve dampened expectations last week of further interest rate cuts when it meets in December, Bitcoin’s volatility score reached a high of 3.34 on Monday, according to TradingView data, while its price fluctuated between US$89,000 and US$93,800 at the start of the week.

Tuesday’s debut of BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF (NASDAQ:IBIT) options drove Bitcoin’s value up by over 2 percent as nearly US$2 billion poured into the newly approved funds on their first day. The ratio of call options to put options was 4.4 to 1, indicating more bets on Bitcoin’s price increasing than decreasing.

On Wednesday, Bitcoin broke US$94,000 for the first time in history in pre-market trading, marking the first of five new all-time highs this week.

The rally continued after Bloomberg News reported that Trump’s team was holding discussions with the digital asset industry about whether to create a new White House post solely dedicated to crypto policy. This lead to its next record high of US$97,000 just after midnight EST on Thursday (November 21), followed by an ascent to US$98,310 early on Thursday morning.

It pulled back slightly as trading commenced, then surged to US$99,500 following the news, reported by Reuters around 2:30 p.m. EST on Thursday, that US Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler would be leaving his position on January 20.

Bitcoin’s opening price on Friday was US$97,915 and it notched its final all-time high price of US$99,645 at around 2:30 p.m. EST. It closed the week with a valuation of around US$99,300 following reports that Trump’s social media company filed for a trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office for computer software for use as a digital wallet, payment processing for crypto, fiat and trading in digital assets.

In other crypto news, the biggest gainer was Solana emerged as a significant mover, with its price increasing by 20.2 percent week-over-week to reach US$253.70 on Friday. The cryptocurrency, which outpaced Ethereum in terms of decentralized exchange (DEX) volume this week, hit a record-high valuation of US$262.46 on Thursday.

This substantial change was driven by Bitwise’s registration of a Bitwise Solana ETF on Thursday, indicating the company’s intent to launch a spot Solana ETF. This makes Bitwise the latest institution to file for a Solana spot ETF. Previously, VanEck filed with the SEC for a spot Solana ETF on June 27, 21Shares submitted its Solana ETF application on June 28 and Canary Capital filed on October 30.

By the time the trading day closed Friday, XRP had climbed 33 percent this week to a new all-time high of US$1.48 on Friday morning. Open interest for XRP derivatives also surpassed US$2 billion on Sunday (November 17). Ethereum was also up this week, moving up 8.4 percent for the week to US$3,293.28.

Bitcoin price chart, November 16, 2024, to November 22, 2024.

Chart provided by CoinGecko

2. MicroStrategy scoops up more Bitcoin

MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin buying spree continued this week as the company announced a private offering of US$1.75 billion of convertible senior notes on Monday. In the press release, the company shared its intention to use the proceeds of the sale to purchase more Bitcoin and for general corporate purposes.

On Tuesday, amidst a Bitcoin rally, MicroStrategy’s options open interest exceeded market capitalization, and the stock’s trading volume was comparable to that of Apple and Microsoft. Its share price closed at a record US$430, 24.79 percent above the previous day’s opening price of US$345.15.

On Wednesday, MicroStrategy made the top 100 US publicly traded companies by market capitalization. Boosted by the surging price of Bitcoin, the company increased its offering to US$2.6 billion. Chairman Michael Saylor also said would be presenting a brief pitch to Microsoft’s (NASDAQ:MSFT) board of directors to encourage the company to include Bitcoin in its investment portfolio.

On Thursday MicroStrategy’s share price jumped to US$535.74. However, its week’s gains were reversed after Citron Research said the firm was shorting the software company. “Much respect to @saylor, but even he must know $MSTR is overheated,” the firm tweeted as the markets opened.

Later that day, MicroStrategy announced it had completed its offering, worth US$3 billion, but it wasn’t enough to sway investors. The company’s share price ultimately closed the day at US$397.28, down 25.84 percent from the start of trading, marking its worst single-day loss since April 30.

The company’s share price ultimately ended the week up 22 percent overall after recovering slightly during Friday’s session, which it closed at US$421.88.

3. Judge rules Alphabet must divest its Chrome business

In a court filing released on Thursday morning, antitrust enforcers ordered Google’s parent company, Alphabet, to sell its Chrome browser. According to Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Mandeep Singh, the business could go for as much as US$20 billion.

Alphabet’s share price slid 4.7 percent to a four-week low as markets wrapped on Thursday. It dropped a further 0.38 percent after hours.

This is the latest development in the antitrust lawsuit filed against Alphabet in 2020. In August 2024, following a trial that began in September 2023, a judge ruled that Google’s practice of paying billions of dollars to maintain its position as the default search engine was an illegal monopolization of the search market.

Google will have an opportunity to submit its own views on the matter next month. In a statement, Kent Walker, President of Global Affairs for Google and Alphabet, said, “DOJ’s approach would result in unprecedented government overreach that would harm American consumers, developers, and small businesses — and jeopardize America’s global economic and technological leadership at precisely the moment it’s needed most.”

The Justice Department will also offer additional perspectives in March 2025 before a two-week hearing scheduled for April. However, when President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January, his administration could opt to discard or make changes to the injunction.

In the court filing, the plaintiffs also proposed that Google be prohibited from acquiring, investing in or partnering with any company that influences consumer search behavior, including AI-powered search products.

Sources suggest this provision is aimed at Google’s investment in Anthropic. If the judge accepts the proposal, Google will be forced to unwind a partnership with Anthropic, which was struck in 2022 and made Google Cloud Anthropic’s primary cloud provider.

The two companies are also collaborating to develop AI systems. Google’s investments in Anthropic have been a significant source of funding for Anthropic’s research and development efforts. The deal was subject to regulatory scrutiny in the United Kingdom; however, the Competitions and Markets Authority, the UK’s primary competition regulatory, ultimately decided not to pursue an investigation on Thursday.

Enforcers also recommended the divestiture of the company’s Android operating system in the case that the ‘proposed conduct remedies are not effective in preventing Google from improperly leveraging its control of the Android ecosystem to its advantage, or if Google attempts to circumvent the remedy package.’

Google ended the week with its share price down 4.79 percent for the week at a valuation of US$166.57.

Chart showing Alphabet’s share price performance, November 18, 2024, to November 22, 2024.

Chart via Google Finance.

4. Sky-high expectations dampen Nvidia’s Q3 earnings report

Nvidia’s (NASDAQ:NVDA) share price experienced a turbulent week, starting with a 1.3 percent decline on Monday following a report in the Information alleging that the company’s new Blackwell graphics processing units (GPUs) were overheating servers. Sources claimed that Nvidia had asked suppliers to redesign the server racks due to this issue late in the production process, but did not alert customers of a potential delay.

While the news sparked concerns about the potential impact on Nvidia’s revenue, Business Insider reported the following day that the issues had largely been resolved.

Amidst this backdrop, Nvidia’s Q3 2025 results on Wednesday were eagerly anticipated. Nvidia reported total revenue of US$35.1 billion for Q3, up 17 percent quarter-over-quarter and up 94 percent year-over-year. This was higher than both Nvidia’s own Q3 revenue guidance of US$32.5 billion from its Q2 2025 report and LSEG analysts’ estimates of US$33.1 billion.

Data center revenue came in at US$30.8 billion, up 17 percent from Q2 and up 112 percent from a year ago. GAAP earnings per diluted share were US$0.78, up 16 percent from the previous quarter and 111 percent from a year ago. The consensus estimate for earnings per share was US$0.75.

Despite an objectively positive Q3 performance, Nvidia’s stock price fell in after-hours trading. The company’s Q4 sales forecast of US$37.5 billion, while strong, disappointed investors that projected the first quarter to count sales of its anticipated Blackwell chips to be between US$37.1 billion and US$41 billion.

This lower-than-expected forecast represents the company’s slowest revenue growth projection in seven quarters, even considering Big Tech’s multi-billion dollar spending plans on AI.

Additionally, the company remained silent on whether it anticipates sales of its Hopper chips to increase as Blackwell chips become available. A slowdown in Hopper sales could negatively impact Q4 revenues, particularly if production issues continue.

By Thursday morning it had recovered slightly, opening 2.3 percent above Wednesday’s close and over 7 percent higher than its valuation on Monday. Nvidia ultimately closed the week up 1.84 percent at US$141.95.

5. Super Micro Computer hires new auditor, submits plan of compliance

Shares of Super Micro Computer (NASDAQ:SMCI) jumped on Tuesday after the company revealed it hired a new auditor, BDO USA and submitted a compliance plan to the Nasdaq Exchange (INDEXNASDAQ:.IXIC) with regards to the delayed filing of its reports, Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2024, and Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2024.

Both were delayed due to concerns raised by the company’s former auditor, Ernst & Young, about its financial reporting, governance and internal controls.

Its share price rose to US$27.16 at the opening bell on Tuesday, over 26 percent higher than Monday’s closing price.

Super Micro may be able to extend its deadline for filing the required document until February if the Nasdaq accepts its plan. The company’s listing on the exchange would be maintained during this period until a final decision is reached regarding its compliance. In the event the plan is not approved, Super Micro has the option to appeal the decision.

Its share price was US$33.15 on Friday’s close, up over 65 percent for the week.

Securities Disclosure: I, Meagen Seatter, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

This post appeared first on investingnews.com

CFPB expands oversight of digital payments services including Apple Pay and Cash App

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Thursday issued a finalized version of a rule saying it will soon supervise nonbank firms that offer financial services likes payments and wallet apps.

Tech giants and payments firms that handle at least 50 million transactions annually will fall under the review, which is meant to ensure the newer entrants adhere to the laws that banks and credit unions abide by, the CFPB said in a release.

The CFPB said that seven nonbanks qualify for the new scrutiny. That would include payments services from Apple, Google and Amazon, as well as fintech firms, including PayPal and Block, and the peer-to-peer services Venmo and Zelle.

While the CFPB already had some authority over digital payment companies because of its oversight of electronic fund transfers, the new rule allows it to treat tech companies more like banks. It makes the firms subject to “proactive examinations” to ensure legal compliance, enabling it to demand records and interview employees.

“Digital payments have gone from novelty to necessity and our oversight must reflect this reality,” said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra. “The rule will help to protect consumer privacy, guard against fraud, and prevent illegal account closures.”

A year ago, the CFPB said it wanted to extend its oversight to tech and fintech companies that offer financial services but that have sidestepped more scrutiny by partnering with banks. Americans are increasingly using payment apps as de facto bank accounts, storing cash and making everyday purchases through their mobile phones.

The most popular apps covered by the rule collectively process more than 13 billion consumer payments a year, and have gained “particularly strong adoption” among low- and middle-income users, the CFPB said on Thursday.

“What began as a convenient alternative to cash has evolved into a critical financial tool, processing over a trillion dollars in payments between consumers and their friends, families, and businesses,” the regulator said.

The initial proposal would’ve subjected companies that process at least 5 million transactions annually to some of the same examinations that the CFPB conducts on banks and credit unions. That threshold got raised to 50 million transactions in the final rule, limiting the expanded powers from roughly 17 companies to just seven, the agency said Thursday.

Payment apps that only work at a particular retailer, like Starbucks, are excluded from the rule.

The new CFPB rule is one of the rare instances where the U.S. banking industry publicly supported the regulator’s actions; banks have long felt that tech firms making inroads in financial services ought to be more scrutinized.

The CFPB said the rule will take effect 30 days after its publication in the Federal Register.

It is not known whether the incoming Trump administration will decide to change or kill the new rule, but it is possible that expanded oversight of tech companies aligns with future CFPB leadership.

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SEC Chair Gary Gensler will step down Jan. 20, making way for Trump replacement

Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler will resign on Jan. 20, the agency announced Thursday, paving the way for President-elect Donald Trump to select a replacement immediately.

Gensler took over the SEC in 2021, and under his leadership the commission has taken an ambitious but controversial approach to several regulatory issues, including cryptocurrencies. Trump has not announced his pick to lead the SEC, but the expectation is that the next chair will be friendlier to Wall Street and crypto.

SEC commissioners serve five-year terms, so Gensler could have in theory stayed on until at least 2026. Instead, he is leaving the agency completely, as was widely expected.

“The staff and the Commission are deeply mission-driven, focused on protecting investors, facilitating capital formation, and ensuring that the markets work for investors and issuers alike. The staff comprises true public servants. It has been an honor of a lifetime to serve with them on behalf of everyday Americans and ensure that our capital markets remain the best in the world,” Gensler said in a press release.

Under Gensler, the SEC pushed to require more disclosures from publicly traded companies and financial advisors for investors. The agency also sped-up settlement times for stock trades to just one day, a change spurred in part by the meme-stock trading in early 2021.

Gensler’s SEC has had several high profile disputes with the crypto industry, including a legal fight with Grayscale to block bitcoin ETFs. Grayscale won in court, and billions of dollars have flowed into those new funds since they launched in January. The SEC also sued several large digital asset companies in recent years over how they were handling or selling crypto, including Coinbase, with mixed results.

Trump could have the opportunity to quickly reshape the SEC. In addition to Gensler’s soon-to-be vacant seat, the terms for two of the other four commissioners expire in either 2024 or 2025.

Commissioners can serve up to 18 months beyond the end of their term. Presidential appointments to the SEC are subject to the advice and consent of the Senate.

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