Trump Inherits Mess, Canadian Woes, Lucky Friday 13 for AI stock Jackpot
Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen is getting the boot and Trump is putting in Scott Bessent a veteran hedge fund manger and Wow!!!! is he inheriting a disaster.
This week at a WSJ event she said she spoke to Bessent.“I am concerned about fiscal sustainability and I am sorry that we haven’t made more progress,” Yellen said adding that “I believe that the deficit needs to be brought down especially now that we’re in an environment of higher interest rates.”. However, she added $8.4 trillion to the debt as Biden's Treasury Secretary and now she is heading out the door and harps about what should be done, while she did the opposite. It is too sad to even be called a joke.
I don't see how the Trump administration will fix this, certainly not in the first two years and I believe this deficit problem will be a major issue for 2025. The markets are finally starting to show concerns. The spending is way out of control in the U.S. and Canada. It erodes confidence in the country and it's currency. Is it any wonder Central Banks keep buying gold.
Government paid $1.13 trillion in interest expense in fiscal 2023. It was the first time interest expense has ever eclipsed $1 trillion.
The U.S. 10 year treasury yield started to come down a little and is headed right back up this week on the deficit news. The Fed may cut 25 points next week but they will just be pushing on a string.
And as the Fed is lowering rates they continue to actually tighten by reducing their balance sheet. Roughly coming down form $9 trillion to $7 trillion.
The Fed was reducing $60 billion per month and slowed it down t0 $25 billion per month this past June. The fed says they will probably stop reducing the balance sheet when they get more in line with bank reserves. However bank reserves have been falling too.
Above are bank reserves and markets ran into trouble in September 2019 when reserves got down to around $1.4 trillion. Below is the overnight REPO market and it shows quite a decrease. Given how markets have grown, reserves down to $2 to $2.5 trillion may be too low. Something to watch for in 2025
Billionaires Warren Buffett, Stanley Druckenmiller, George Soros, and David Tepper have all sold off massive U.S. stock positions, including shares of Nvidia, Apple, and Bank of America. Buffet has sold 1/2 his Apple share position. Billionaire Ray Dalio, who runs one of the world's most successful hedge funds, says, "Things are going to get worse for our economy."
What are these billionaires so worried about?
They did not become billionaires by being stupid. Now is a time to reduce market exposure and keep good cash levels.
Canada Health Care Declines Further
Canadians typically wait 30 weeks to see a specialist, says a study by the Fraser Institute.
Current wait times are the longest ever recorded, and since those are medians, equal numbers of Canadians are waiting shorter and longer times. Prince Edward Island residents have a median wait time of 77.4 weeks.
Atlantic Canada had the longest wait times in the country last year, with Nova Scotia being the only Maritime province with wait times under 40 weeks. Nova Scotia averaged 39.1 weeks followed by Newfoundland at 43.2. New Brunswick’s median wait was 69.4 weeks. On the other end of the spectrum was Ontario, with the shortest median wait time in the country at 23.6 weeks.
As I have commented a number of times, it will only spell disaster when you bring in huge numbers of refugees and immigrants and don't build anymore hospitals or schools. Same with housing, there has to be a big increase.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford says Dec 12, his government is introducing legislation to reduce public drug use and crack down on encampments.
“Enough is enough,” he said. “This has to stop, and it will stop. Families deserve to play in and enjoy their parks and playgrounds without fearing for the safety of their kids.” The proposed legislation comes as the province grapples with at least 1,400 homeless encampments set up in cities and towns across Ontario in 2023, according to the Municipalities of Ontario.
We use to see some homeless people downtown of bigger cites. Now we have whole tent cities of them every where. The parks are no longer for children and playing.
Jackpot Digital - - - TSXV:JJ - - - - Recent Price - $0.07
This week Jackpot has signed a letter of intent to install two of the company's Jackpot Blitz dealerless poker machines at Boomtown Casino & Hotel New Orleans, located in the historic french quarter in New Orleans, La. The installation is subject to Jackpot obtaining the customary regulatory and licensing approvals.
It is Friday the 13th but lucky for Jackpot. Today it was announced, The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) has approved Jackpot Digital Inc. to be licensed as a registered gaming-related supplier under the Gaming Control Act in the Province of Ontario.
This significant achievement allows Jackpot Digital to enter one of the most dynamic and rapidly growing regulated gaming markets in North America. The supplier licence authorizes Jackpot Digital to supply its electronic table games to Ontario's gaming venues, including casinos and other regulated gaming facilities.
"Receiving AGCO's approval is a major milestone," said Jake Kalpakian, the chief executive officer of Jackpot Digital. "This approval provides us with the opportunity to offer our top-tier electronic gaming systems to operators throughout all of Ontario, positioning us for further growth in one of the world's most robust gaming markets. We are excited to bring our innovative products to Ontario's gaming community and continue our commitment to providing exciting, technology-driven entertainment experiences."
It does not cease to amaze me that Jackpot keeps installing more and more of these state of the art gaming tables and the stock just continues to churn at 7 cents. Maybe the market just has to see it in the financial statements?
Last statements at Sept 30th, show $2.6 million in cash and 9 month revenues at $1.94 million compared to $1.56 million in 2023. The company is around break even with earnings of one cent per share in the last quarter.
I label Jackpot the top AI stock in the gaming industry. Everyone should own some before the market figures this out.
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