Gold, Call options, Trudeau swindles $100M
Struthers Report V29 # 13.4
It is great to see gold break resistance to a higher high. I am very bullish on gold for 2024 and it may even move higher this year. However I am concerned about year end weakness and a short term correction given the recent run. The commodity channel index is high and so is RSI. We have some gold stock options that expire this December and January 2024 and we should lock in profits. I did this chart on Friday.
The market appears unwilling to finance all the US government debt and the Fed has started to buy the debt again, yes, it looks like QE 5 or is it 6? is starting. Under the new Basel III accords, gold became a tier one asset In January this year. This means it is equal to US treasuries on a banks balance sheet. I have no doubt that banks will buy more gold and less US$ or Euros. I will do a more in depth update on gold, but for now, the Call Options and Sunday trading.
Boy oh boy have things changed. It has been notorious that the gold price would be taken down on thin trading, usually on Sundays. For the first time in many many years, I cannot remember the last time, but this past Sunday, gold spiked higher by about $80. This is a 5 day chart and gold started moving higher Friday, up over $20, but the big spike you see up to $2150 occurred Sunday at 5 PM.
I expect gold will correct some after hitting the physiological barrier. We need to see a solid close above $2150.
That said I am now very confident that my Oct 10, 2023 call of a bottom in gold was correct. And Oct . 13th that managed money was wrong being short and would have to cover. Then finally on November 14th when gold just hit $1940, I predicted it could drop a bit more to $1920 and then a big spike higher. It did not drop any further but spiked - Bingo!
For 2024, I am predicting gold between $2,500 and $3,000 and for gold stocks that are way behind and very cheap, they will start going crazy at $2,200 gold and then the junior explorers will take off after the producers.
For the gold stock call options to sell or sold at on Friday. I will use Friday's prices. They might go a bit higher today, short term is hard to say
The Kinross January US$4 Call at $1.96, bought at $0.60 +227%
On TSX, the Kinross Dec. C$6 call at $2.05, bought at $1.45 +41%
On TSX, the Equinox Dec. C$6 call at $1.50, bought at $1.05 +43%
The B2Gold, First Majestic, Centerra Gold and SSR Mining are under water but we still have time on these to December 15th, January 2024 and March 2024. I expect we can still make some good profits, especially the January and March 2024 expiration dates.
Canadian Business Collapsing
The Canadian Banks have recently reported their quarterly results and as expected they reported big loan loss provisions increase YoY: Scotiabank +137%, RBC +89%, and TD +42%. Oh but they increased their bonuses almost +10% to $21 billion.
U.S Q3 GDP grew +5.2%, more than the prior estimate (+4.9%) and the fastest in 2 years, but Canada’s economy shrank -1.1% in Q3. Forever Canada pretty much followed lock step with the U.S. on the economic front because they are such a large trading partner. However, the Trudeau government has totally destroyed business and confidence in this country.
After a brief up tic in Capital flows into Canada in 2021, it has been plunging downward, $$ leaving the country since Q2 2022 again, as it has been all throughout the Trudeau government's reign.
The Small Business 3 Month Confidence Index is headed back to the 2020 lows with Ontario the 2nd lowest at a mere 37.8, just above Newfoundland/Labrador at 36.4. Typical pre covid readings were in the 60s and 70s.
Canada, Business Outlook Survey for Q3 2023 has the lowest reading in over 10 years (since around 2008/09) at -3.51, only out done by one quarter in Q2 2020 at -6.14 (lock downs) that rebounded to -0.54 in Q3 2020.
November 29th - Small businesses lost more than $38 billion in revenue opportunities last year because of labour shortages, according to estimates from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.
What is so sad, is things will only get worse until Trudeau goes. In my Heelo (private company I am involved with) update I highlighted the corruption with the ArriveCAN app. Heelo submitted a proposal to use a tweaked version of the Heelo app to the government to track Covid-19 carriers, exposures and manage them etc. We got zero feedback from governments (federal and provincial), not even a call to acknowledge receipt of our proposal. We expected all along they were corrupt with their Covid handouts and now we have the proof. Our proposal was only $1 million plus some usage fees when used. This is from a Globe and Mail article on the government scandal for the ArriveCAN app.
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Actions within the federal government were complicit in corruption, extortion, and "ghost contracting" during the development of Canada’s ArriveCAN app, two tech entrepreneurs testified during a government committee meeting.
"An act of misconduct rarely happens in isolation. It is almost always symptomatic of a larger existence and tolerance of misconduct,” Amir Morv, co-founder of software company Botler AI, told MPs in his opening remarks on Oct. 26. “Individuals engaged in such conduct are also prime targets of exploitation and extortion.”
The Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates (OGGO) is examining how GC Strategies, Dalian, and Coaradix received millions of taxpayer dollars to develop the ArriveCAN app, which was used by Ottawa to track the COVID-19 vaccination status of travellers visiting Canada. The RCMP is also investigating the three companies behind the app, which critics have said could have been developed for a fraction of its $54 million cost.
Quebec-based Botler, which was acting as a subcontractor for the Canada Border Service Agency (CBSA), raised concerns about the development of ArriveCAN after witnessing shady subcontracting deals that lacked transparency about where federal dollars went.
According to the Globe and Mail, the CBSA gave the three companies behind the app more than $17 million in 2022, after it had received allegations of contracting misconduct on the ArriveCAN app.
'Openly Engaged in Various Criminal Activities'
Mr. Morv and Botler co-founder Ritika Dutt told the committee private conversations they had with Kristian Firth, managing partner of the two-person company GC Strategies, after the CBSA encouraged them to work with him on a pilot project.
Mr. Morv told MPs on the committee that vulnerabilities in the federal government's procurement regime have been systematically exploited to funnel tax dollars into private entities that "lie outside of public purview." He said the contractors are "openly engaged in various criminal activities" and "openly commit fraud on the government by promising influence and requesting material benefit” in exchange.
Mr. Morv alleged that Mr. Firth, one of two employees at GC Strategies, routinely boasted that he and his friends, who were senior government officials with contracting authorities, “had ‘dirt’ on each other, essentially guaranteeing silence through mutually assured destruction.”
This next paragraph, I did bold highlight
He added that contractor misconduct would not be possible without "backing from factions within the government." He said a part of the Canadian government "mobilized to bury Botler's reports and protect this corruption" after it sent two reports to the CBSA.
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I wonder who in the Canadian government got kickbacks from the $54 million. Probably just another Trudeau scandal not found out yet. See his net worth below.
Just out Nov., 15th - There have been dozens of instances of unethical federal contracting cited by whistleblowers in the past year, according to Procurement Ombudsman Alexander Jeglic's annual report. “This year, stakeholders contacted my office 30 times with concerns about the behaviour of federal officials being inconsistent with the Values And Ethics Code For The Public Sector.”
Mr. Jeglic also highlighted that the percentage of competitive solicitations resulting in only one bid had dropped from 52 percent to 36 percent, and hovered around 34 percent from 2022-23, according to Blacklock's Reporter. "This number remains much too high and must be addressed. The benefits of competition are greatly reduced when no competitive tension exists," the report said.
James Heckman is a Nobel prize winner in Economic Sciences and is out of the University of Chicago. He has written numerous analysis on different world leaders wealth. On November 10th he did one on Justin Trudeau who he describes as 'one of the wealthiest politicians in the world'.
Trudeau is worth C$128 million. - How much is your money?
There are numerous suspicious findings!!!!!!!!!!!!
For 20 years, Trudeau's stock portfolio grew +47% each year compared to the average +12%. I have been investing a long time and know that is impossible without very shady practices.
Suspicious gifts like $3 million in yachts he paid $150k for and a $25 million private jet given to him by some secret family.
He owns 4 mansions and a golf course.
He owns a whack of vintage and modern luxury cars, including two Rolls Royce, three Mercedes, one Lincoln, two Range Rovers, two McLarens and on Buggati.
He has $5 million in watches and most telling is that his wealth did not start to grow until he became Prime Minister. In 2010, he was worth US$11 million and by 2018 (two years in) was up to US$53 million.
Trudeau is one of the biggest crooks in Canadian history, let along Canadian politics. He is an expert at scandals and their cover ups.
There is a petition circulating, started by parliamentary MPs to have him step down. I signed it, at least getting some minuscule satisfaction if you are a Canadian. Here is the link. A vote of non confidence to oust him is Canada's only hope! This probably won’t work, he will be more grudging to go than Trump!
https://www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-4701
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