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Crypto Market Recap: Saylor’s Strategy Resumes Bitcoin Buying

Here’s a recap of the crypto landscape for Monday (February 10) as of 9:00 p.m. UTC.

Bitcoin and Ethereum price update

Bitcoin is trading at US$97,304, reflecting a 1.1 percent increase over the past 24 hours.

The day’s trading range has reached a high of US$97,896 and a low of US$96,882.

Meanwhile, Ethereum is priced at US$2,679.41, up 1.6 percent over the same period. The cryptocurrency reached an intraday high of US$2,689 and a low of US$2,645.

Altcoin price update

  • Solana (SOL) is currently valued at US$200.82, marking a 0.6 percent increase over the past 24 hours. The cryptocurrency hit a daily high of US$207.25 and a low of US$201.15.
  • XRP is at US$2.43, up 0.8 percent. It reached an intraday high of US$2.45 and a low of US$2.41.
  • Sui (SUI) is trading at US$3.24, up 5.6 percent. It achieved a daily high of US$3.28 and a low of US$3.23.
  • Cardano (ADA) is priced at US$0.7045, reflecting a 3.3 percent increase over 24 hours. Its highest price on Monday was US$0.7104 and its lowest was US$0.6969.

Crypto news to know

Japan-based Bitcoin treasury company Metaplanet (OTCQX:MTPLF,TSE:3350) released its full-year 2024 earnings on Monday, revealing roughly US$36 million in unrealized gains from the purchase of 1,761 Bitcoin.

The company said it acquired the coins for roughly US$137 million.

Metaplanet’s shareholder base grew by 500 percent last year, primarily due to the issuance of new shares to fund its Bitcoin acquisition strategy. This growth was facilitated by both debt and equity financing.

Metaplanet said it will increase its Bitcoin holdings to 10,000 Bitcoin by the end of 2025, and 21,000 Bitcoin by the end of 2026. The company’s shares closed up 17.37 percent on Monday afternoon.

CoinShares data shows Ether exchange-traded product (ETPs) inflows outpaced inflows to Bitcoin ETPs during last week’s market decline. Ether ETPs recorded US$793 million in inflows, 95 percent more than Bitcoin’s recorded inflows of US$407 million. Total year-to-date inflows to digital asset investment products have reached US$7.3 billion.

According to CoinShares’ James Butterfill, last week’s price fall resulted in significant buying on weakness.

Strategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) resumed buying Bitcoin last week, acquiring 7,633 Bitcoin for approximately US$742.4 million in cash at an average price of roughly US$97,255 per coin, as per US Securities and Exchange Commission filings.

Strategy’s Michael Saylor hinted at another impending Bitcoin acquisition on Sunday (February 9) morning, posting a screenshot of the Saylor Tracker, a tool that monitors and tracks Strategy’s Bitcoin holdings.

“Death to the blue lines. Long live the green dots,’ he wrote on X, formerly Twitter. Market watchers have come to recognize these posts as indicators of the company’s upcoming Bitcoin purchases.

Meanwhile, fraud allegations have resulted in a rapid pullback for $CAR, a meme coin launched on Sunday by the Central African Republic. President Faustin-Archange Touadera described the coin as an ‘experiment’ to raise the country’s global profile and showcase how a meme-based token can support national development.

However, shortly after $CAR’s launch, the coin’s X account was suspended, and allegations of fraud soon surfaced, with deepfake checker tool Deepware flagging a video statement from Touadera as suspicious. The news has caused $CAR’s price to pull back over 92 percent, from US$0.79 to US$0.05 as of Monday afternoon.

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

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

This post appeared first on investingnews.com

Panelists: Gold “Essential” to Own as Volatility Rises and Reserves Diminish

Gold has long served as a tool for investors to enhance their portfolios and protect against volatility.

At the Vancouver Resource Investment Conference, CEO Jay Martin engaged with industry experts Frank Giustra, Grant Williams, Alastair Still and David Garofalo to explore trends currently affecting the sector.

The group illustrated a market at a crucial juncture, with changing investor sentiment, geopolitical tensions and impending financial instability converging to potentially create the perfect storm.

Eastern vs. western perspectives on gold

Martin kicked the panel off by reviewing the last several years in the gold market. Looking back at 2019 and 2020, he noted that an influx of western investors helped pushed the metal’s price to phenomenal levels.

However, as the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic drove inflation and interest rates, these investors became sellers, and gold started to sink. Capitalizing on these lower price points, central banks moved into the market and not only stabilized the price, but caused it to surge to all-time highs. By mid-2024, gold was 70 percent above its 2022 low.

Frank Giustra, CEO of the Fiore Group, largely agreed with Martin’s summary of gold’s activity, but added that while he thinks central bank buying will continue, there is more going on than meets the eye.

“What most people don’t understand about gold is that it’s not that the gold price is going up — it’s the fact that the fiat currencies that are measured against it are going down in value for a whole host of reasons,’ he said.

Giustra sees the US fiscal situation as a factor pushing the gold price up, and suggested that the situation is not only beyond repair, but also on the precipice of a crisis. “At some point there will be a US dollar crisis. It’s going to happen in our lifetimes, probably sooner rather than later, and when that happens, gold will go through the roof,’ he noted.

Grant Williams, author at Things That Make You Go Hmmm, expanded on Giustra’s point, outlining a critical difference between the east and west. “In the east, people don’t buy gold to sell it because the price has gone up. They buy gold to own it, and when they do sell it, it’s because they need to raise money for something important,” he said.

Williams also suggested that the west is at the end of a cycle. In his view, investors are attempting to maximize their returns in any way possible, and the system is corrupt and lacks consequences.

“This is going to come to a head. We’re in the middle of that process now, and at the end of that process, when these cycles fall over, the one thing you want to own is gold,’ he explained at the conference.

‘We are moving into the part of this where it’s not just a good idea to own gold anymore — it’s essential to own gold. And I think the price is going to reflect that in the coming 12 to 18 months.’

Tech stocks, Bitcoin distracting investors from gold

The panelists agreed that today’s investors are distracted as tech and Bitcoin dominate headlines.

While technology stocks still follow the typical market ebbs and flows, cryptocurrencies are a different story.

Giustra even compared the crypto space to a Ponzi scheme, pointing to one influential commenter who has suggested that Bitcoin will reach a value of US$13 million and gold will reach zero.

“These are ridiculous statements, but he needs to make those kinds of statements to keep the greed factor going. In any pyramid scheme, you need to have new buyers all the time to keep the game going,” he said.

Giustra also outlined how the cryptocurrency space has influenced the recent US election, spending US$245 million to influence Congress and the incoming president to ease regulations. This comes from a shifting narrative that implies crypto is a store of value. Giustra believes it’s an asset class in search of a purpose.

GoldMining (TSX:GOLD,NYSEAMERICAN:GLDG) CEO Alastair Still backed Giustra, saying that unlike gold, Bitcoins can be created every day, while gold’s limited supply is inherently connected to its store of value.

Still described how resource scarcity has been tested, outlining how geopolitically stable jurisdictions are diminishing. At the same time, mining companies have underinvested in exploration and been slow to find new assets.

“So while I think many investors are a little behind the curve,’ he explained at VRIC.

‘What we have seen is the major operating companies, they’re running deficits in their reserves, so they’re not replacing what they’re mining, and that’s because they’ve been underfunding exploration for years.’

Gold majors dealing with low grades, declining reserves

The systemic underfunding of exploration could be an opportunity for explorers and developers to start acquiring projects that will be sought by majors in the future. As it stands, miners are having to maximize extraction efforts.

“The operators are mining lower grades. That doesn’t necessarily mean they’re making more gold. They might make more profit, but they are actually potentially mining less gold,” Still commented.

David Garofalo, CEO, president, chairman and director at Gold Royalty (NYSEAMERICAN:GROY), agreed that operators are facing a challenge. “They’re facing a squeeze from tiny reserves, and reserves are down 40 percent. That’s demonstrated because the juniors haven’t had access to capital for over a dozen years,” he said.

He went on to explain that the entire industry is facing cost pressures.

All-in-sustaining costs have risen along with the price of gold, leading to a squeeze among producers. Much of this is due to inflation, which has resonated throughout the general economy.

“That’s why when you look at the leaders in our industry, their share prices are lower today than they were 30 years ago, when the gold price was a 10th of what it is today,” Garofalo said.

Rising costs and chronic underfunding are causing a dual squeeze. No new projects are in the pipeline, and he doesn’t expect the situation to reverse any time soon. Instead, he sees sees major companies like Barrick Gold (TSX:ABX,NYSE:GOLD) and Newmont (TSX:NGT,NYSE:NEM) with stagnating reserves and stalled output.

They can grow their share count, but not the gold they have access to, they’re not creating share value.

Which gold stocks to focus on now?

Garofalo suggested that the right space to be in now is the development stage. He thinks the majors are approaching a point where they need to add assets to their portfolios to continue to grow.

“The industry has basically been giving money back to investors for the last dozen years in dividends and share buybacks and whatnot, and not meaningfully back into the grassroots exploration to replace depleting reserves,” he said.

Likewise, Giustra backed the idea that the gold sector needs more consolidation.

“There are far too many companies burning a lot of overhead. The industry needs to consolidate. We need to deliver performance. And so it’s partially the industry’s fault; for a long time, it hasn’t performed. You need to perform economically with your deposits to qualify as an investment sector,” he said.

Williams added that it’s important for investors to understand what they are looking for. He said that gold can be “a get rich quick scheme, a get rich slow scheme and a stay rich scheme,” depending on where you are in the cycle.

“That shouldn’t be your only focus. You shouldn’t only be thinking about, ‘Where can I find the 10 baggers?’ If that’s really your mindset, crypto is the perfect vehicle for that, because there’s a 10 bagger produced every minute if you’re lucky enough to get in and get out. This industry is tangible,’ Williams said.

‘It’s things you pull out of the ground that are valuable.’

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

This post appeared first on investingnews.com

TSMC Sales Growth Slows Amid Global Challenges

TSMC has seen a slowdown in its sales growth this January. The company now faces global challenges that have reduced demand. Many factors play a part in this change, and the shift has caught many by surprise.

First, global economic troubles have affected many buyers. They are cautious and delay purchases. In addition, issues with the supply chain have forced TSMC to make production changes. Moreover, rising costs have put extra pressure on the business.

Second, market conditions have shifted quickly. Many customers now wait before buying new chips. For example, uncertainty in other parts of the world has led to lower orders. As a result, TSMC has seen slower growth than before.

Furthermore, industry experts say that even top companies face hard times. They believe that careful planning and quick action can help. Therefore, TSMC is reviewing its strategies and planning new investments. In turn, these moves may boost future sales.

Additionally, the company plans to invest in newer technology. This step can help lower costs and improve production. Consequently, TSMC may be able to overcome current troubles and return to strong growth.

In conclusion, the slowdown in TSMC sales growth is a sign of wider market problems. However, the company remains strong and capable. With smart decisions and timely investments, TSMC can meet these challenges. Thus, both investors and customers look forward to a rebound.

Overall, TSMC continues to lead in the semiconductor industry. Yet, global problems have slowed its pace for now. By adapting to change and using new strategies, the company is set to regain momentum. Finally, time will show if these efforts bring a quick recovery.

Conclusion

Looking ahead, TSMC must remain agile. The company will work to cut extra costs and boost efficiency. It will also seek new markets and form strong partnerships. These measures will help secure its future. In short, the firm is ready to face upcoming challenges.

The post TSMC Sales Growth Slows Amid Global Challenges appeared first on FinanceBrokerage.

McDonald’s revenue disappoints, as U.S. sales see worst drop since pandemic

McDonald’s on Monday reported disappointing quarterly revenue, dragged down by weaker-than-expected sales at its U.S. restaurants following an E. coli outbreak just weeks into the quarter.

But shares of the company rose more than 4% in morning trading as executives predicted sales would improve in 2025.

Here’s what the company reported compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:

Net sales of $6.39 billion were roughly flat compared with the year-ago period. The company’s overall same-store sales growth of 0.4% outperformed Wall Street’s expectations of same-store sales declines of 1%, according to StreetAccount estimates.

But McDonald’s U.S. business reported a steeper-than-expected drop in its same-store sales. Same-store sales at the company’s domestic restaurants fell 1.4% in the quarter; Wall Street was projecting same-store sales declines of 0.6%.

McDonald’s said traffic was slightly positive, but customers spent less than usual during the quarter. Over the summer, the chain rolled out a $5 combo meal to bring back price-conscious diners and reverse sluggish sales. The strategy worked, helping McDonald’s U.S. same-store sales tick up in the third quarter.

However, analysts have warned that value meals only work if customers also add menu items that aren’t discounted to their orders. McDonald’s executives downplayed those concerns Monday, saying the average check on the $5 meal deal is more than $10.

The biggest hit to McDonald’s U.S. sales came in late October, when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention linked a fatal E. coli outbreak to its Quarter Pounder burgers. McDonald’s switched suppliers for its slivered onions, the ingredient fingered as the likely culprit for the outbreak. In early December, the CDC declared the outbreak officially over.

However, in the days following the news of the outbreak, traffic at McDonald’s U.S. restaurants fell steeply, particularly in the states affected.

U.S. sales hit their nadir in early November, but began rising again after that. In particular, demand for the Quarter Pounder, a popular core menu item with high margins, fell quickly in the wake of the crisis.

McDonald’s expects its U.S. sales to recover by the beginning of the second quarter, executives said.

“I think right now what we’re seeing is that the E. coli impact is now just localized to the areas that had the biggest impact,” CEO Chris Kempczinski said on the company’s conference call. “So think about that as sort of the Rocky Mountain region that was really the epicenter of the issue.”

The company hopes value deals, along with key menu additions, will help to fuel the recovery this year. In 2025, the burger chain plans to bring back its popular snack wraps, which vanished from menus during pandemic lockdowns, and to introduce a new chicken strip menu item.

Outside the U.S., sales were stronger. Both of McDonald’s international divisions reported same-store sales increases, bolstering the company’s overall performance.

The company’s international developmental licensed markets segment, which includes the Middle East and Japan, reported same-store sales growth of 4.1%.

McDonald’s international operated markets division, which includes some of its biggest markets, reported same-store sales growth of 0.1%. The company said most markets reported same-store sales increases, but the United Kingdom and some other markets saw same-store sales shrink in the quarter. One bright spot was France, which saw its same-store sales turn positive during the quarter after months of weak demand.

McDonald’s reported fourth-quarter net income of $2.02 billion, or $2.80 per share, down from $2.04 billion, or $2.80 per share, a year earlier.

Excluding gains tied to the sale of its South Korean business, transaction costs for buying its Israeli franchise and other items, McDonald’s earned $2.83 per share.

Looking to 2025, the first quarter is expected to be the low point for McDonald’s same-store sales, CFO Ian Borden said, citing a weak start to the year in the U.S., among other factors. Winter storms and wildfires in California weighed on restaurant traffic across the industry in January.

For the full year, McDonald’s plans to open roughly 2,200 restaurants. About a quarter of those locations will be in the U.S. and its international operated markets. The rest will be in the company’s international developmental licensed markets, including about 1,000 new restaurants in China.

Including its investments in restaurant openings, McDonald’s plans to spend between $3 billion and $3.2 billion this year on capital expenditures.

The company is also projecting a headwind of 20 cents to 30 cents per share to its full-year earnings due to foreign currency exchange rates.

This post appeared first on NBC NEWS

McDonald’s revenue disappoints as U.S. sales see worst drop since pandemic

McDonald’s on Monday reported disappointing quarterly revenue, dragged down by weaker-than-expected sales at its U.S. restaurants following an E. coli outbreak just weeks into the quarter.

But shares of the company rose more than 4% in morning trading as executives predicted sales would improve in 2025.

Here’s what the company reported compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:

Net sales of $6.39 billion were roughly flat compared with the year-ago period. The company’s overall same-store sales growth of 0.4% outperformed Wall Street’s expectations of same-store sales declines of 1%, according to StreetAccount estimates.

But McDonald’s U.S. business reported a steeper-than-expected drop in its same-store sales. Same-store sales at the company’s domestic restaurants fell 1.4% in the quarter; Wall Street was projecting same-store sales declines of 0.6%.

McDonald’s said traffic was slightly positive, but customers spent less than usual during the quarter. Over the summer, the chain rolled out a $5 combo meal to bring back price-conscious diners and reverse sluggish sales. The strategy worked, helping McDonald’s U.S. same-store sales tick up in the third quarter.

However, analysts have warned that value meals only work if customers also add menu items that aren’t discounted to their orders. McDonald’s executives downplayed those concerns Monday, saying the average check on the $5 meal deal is more than $10.

The biggest hit to McDonald’s U.S. sales came in late October, when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention linked a fatal E. coli outbreak to its Quarter Pounder burgers. McDonald’s switched suppliers for its slivered onions, the ingredient fingered as the likely culprit for the outbreak. In early December, the CDC declared the outbreak officially over.

However, in the days following the news of the outbreak, traffic at McDonald’s U.S. restaurants fell steeply, particularly in the states affected.

U.S. sales hit their nadir in early November, but began rising again after that. In particular, demand for the Quarter Pounder, a popular core menu item with high margins, fell quickly in the wake of the crisis.

McDonald’s expects its U.S. sales to recover by the beginning of the second quarter, executives said.

“I think right now what we’re seeing is that the E. coli impact is now just localized to the areas that had the biggest impact,” CEO Chris Kempczinski said on the company’s conference call. “So think about that as sort of the Rocky Mountain region that was really the epicenter of the issue.”

The company hopes value deals, along with key menu additions, will help to fuel the recovery this year. In 2025, the burger chain plans to bring back its popular snack wraps, which vanished from menus during pandemic lockdowns, and to introduce a new chicken strip menu item.

Outside the U.S., sales were stronger. Both of McDonald’s international divisions reported same-store sales increases, bolstering the company’s overall performance.

The company’s international developmental licensed markets segment, which includes the Middle East and Japan, reported same-store sales growth of 4.1%.

McDonald’s international operated markets division, which includes some of its biggest markets, reported same-store sales growth of 0.1%. The company said most markets reported same-store sales increases, but the United Kingdom and some other markets saw same-store sales shrink in the quarter. One bright spot was France, which saw its same-store sales turn positive during the quarter after months of weak demand.

McDonald’s reported fourth-quarter net income of $2.02 billion, or $2.80 per share, down from $2.04 billion, or $2.80 per share, a year earlier.

Excluding gains tied to the sale of its South Korean business, transaction costs for buying its Israeli franchise and other items, McDonald’s earned $2.83 per share.

Looking to 2025, the first quarter is expected to be the low point for McDonald’s same-store sales, CFO Ian Borden said, citing a weak start to the year in the U.S., among other factors. Winter storms and wildfires in California weighed on restaurant traffic across the industry in January.

For the full year, McDonald’s plans to open roughly 2,200 restaurants. About a quarter of those locations will be in the U.S. and its international operated markets. The rest will be in the company’s international developmental licensed markets, including about 1,000 new restaurants in China.

Including its investments in restaurant openings, McDonald’s plans to spend between $3 billion and $3.2 billion this year on capital expenditures.

The company is also projecting a headwind of 20 cents to 30 cents per share to its full-year earnings due to foreign currency exchange rates.

This post appeared first on NBC NEWS

Week Ahead: NIFTY Stares At Crucial Support; RRG Hints At Defensive & Risk-Off Setups

In what can be called an indecisive week for the markets, the Nifty oscillated back and forth within a given range and ended the week on a flat note. Over the past five sessions, the Nifty largely remained within a defined range. While it continued resisting the crucial levels, it also failed to develop any definite directional bias throughout the week. The Nifty stayed and moved in the 585-point range. The volatility significantly declined. The India VIX came off by 15.77% to 13.69 on a weekly note. While trading below crucial levels, the headline index closed flat with a negligible weekly gain of 51.55 points (+0.22%).

A few important technical points must be noted as we approach the markets over the coming weeks. Both the 50-Day and 50-Week MA are in very close proximity to each other at 23754 and 23767, respectively. The Nifty has resisted to this point, and so long as it stays below this level, it will remain in the secondary corrective trend. For this secondary trend to reverse, the Nifty will have to move past the 23750-24000 zone, one of the critical market resistance areas. Until we trade below this zone, the best technical rebounds will face resistance here, and the markets will remain vulnerable to profit-taking bouts from higher levels. On the lower side, keeping the head above 23500 will be crucial; any breach of this level will make the markets weaker again.

Monday is likely to see a quiet start to the week; the levels of 23700 and 23960 will act as resistance levels. The supports come in at 23350 and 23000 levels.

The weekly RSI stands at 46.20. It remains neutral and does not show any divergence against the price. The weekly MACD is bearish and stays below its signal line. A Spinning Top occurred on the candles, reflecting the market participants’ indecisiveness.

The pattern analysis weekly charts show that after violating the 50-week MA, the Nifty suffered a corrective decline while forming the immediate swing low of 22800. The subsequent rebound has found resistance again at the 50-week MA at 23767, and the Nifty has retraced once again from that level. The zone of 23700-24000 is now the most immediate and major resistance area for the Nifty over the immediate short term.

Unless the Nifty crosses above the 23700-24000 zone, it will remain in a secondary downtrend. On the lower side, keeping head above the 23500 level will be crucial; any violation of this level will take Nifty towards the 23000 mark. The markets may continue to reflect risk-off sentiment overall. Given the current technical setup, remaining highly selective while making fresh purchases would be prudent. All technical rebounds should be used more to protect gains at higher levels. At the same time, staying invested in stocks with strong or at least improving relative strength while keeping overall leveraged exposures at modest levels is important. A cautious and selective approach is advised for the coming week.

Sector Analysis For The Coming Week

In our look at Relative Rotation Graphs®, we compared various sectors against CNX500 (NIFTY 500 Index), which represents over 95% of the free float market cap of all the stocks listed.

Relative Rotation Graphs (RRG) show defensive and risk-off setups building up in the markets. Nifty Bank, Midcap 100, and Realty Indices are inside the leading quadrant. But all these pockets show a sharp loss of relative momentum against the broader markets.

The Nifty Financial Services Index has slipped inside the weakening quadrant. The Nifty Services Sector and IT indices are inside the weakening quadrant. The Pharma Index is also inside this quadrant but is seen as attempting to improve its relative momentum.

The Nifty Media, Energy, and PSE indices are inside the lagging quadrant.

The Nifty FMCG, Consumption, and Commodities groups have rolled inside the improving quadrant, indicating a likely onset of the phase of relative outperformance. The Auto, Infrastructure, Metal, and PSU Bank indices are inside the improving quadrant. Among these groups, the PSU Bank Index is seen rapidly giving up on its relative momentum.

Important Note: RRG charts show the relative strength and momentum of a group of stocks. In the above Chart, they show relative performance against NIFTY500 Index (Broader Markets) and should not be used directly as buy or sell signals.  

Milan Vaishnav, CMT, MSTA

Consulting Technical Analyst

www.EquityResearch.asia | www.ChartWizard.ae

Here’s A Group Ready To Set Sail

Sometimes an industry group looks good technically, sometimes fundamentally, and then other times seasonally. But what happens when they all line up simultaneously? Well, we’re about to find out with the travel & tourism group ($DJUSTT). On Friday, Expedia (EXPE, +17.27%) soared after reporting blowout quarterly results after the bell on Thursday. Revenues easily surpassed consensus estimates, $3.18 billion vs. $3.08 billion and EPS did the same, $2.39 vs. $2.07. Here’s how EXPE looked on its chart after Friday’s surge:

EXPE now has excellent support in the 191-195 zone, in my opinion. 191 was the price resistance prior to Friday’s gap higher and 195 (actually 194.72) was the gap opening on Friday on over 8 million shares, its 3rd largest volume day of the past year. Booking Holdings (BKNG) is set up to potentially do the same – report blowout numbers and soar to all-time highs – when it reports its quarterly results on Thursday, February 20, 2025.

The DJUSTT had been consolidating after an earlier run higher in 2024. This now looks like an uptrend, followed by a potential cup pattern:

In the bottom panel, watch the relative strength line for the DJUSTT vs. the benchmark S&P 500. A breakout here to a multi-month high would bode well for the group.

I certainly don’t want to leave out seasonality. Travel & tourism THRIVES beginning in February and running through . Check this out:

The next 3 months – February through April – averages gaining 10.6% per year for the past two decades! These 3 months also rank the highest for the DJUSTT, in terms of the odds of these months ending higher than they began. February and March have both moved higher roughly 75% of the years since 2005.

This is the TRIFECTA – fundamentals strengthening, technicals lining up, and seasonal tailwinds.

But What About The S&P 500?

Well, that’s another story. Obviously, the DJUSTT would likely do better in a strong overall market environment and we just received another clue on the S&P 500 via the “January Effect”. There’s an old adage on Wall Street that says, “So goes January, so goes the year.” There’s a lot of truth to this statement and it generally depends on how the S&P 500’s January performance ranks vs. all the Januarys past. Exactly where did January 2025 rank and what does it tell us about the balance of 2025?

That’s the subject of our “January Effect” members-only webinar on Monday, February 10th. If you’d like to be part of this webinar, simply CLICK HERE to learn more about the event and take advantage of our FREE 30-day trial!

Happy trading!

Tom

Crypto Market Recap: CFTC to Hold Crypto Industry Forum

Here’s a quick recap of the crypto landscape for Friday (February 7) as of 9:00 p.m. UTC.

Bitcoin and Ethereum price update

Bitcoin is trading at US$96,087, recording a 0.4 percent decrease over 24 hours as of the market’s close on Friday. The day’s trading range saw a high of US$100,097 and a low of US$95,746.

Meanwhile, Ether is priced at US$2,595.45, marking a decline of 3.7 percent over 24 hours. The cryptocurrency reached an intraday high of US$2,794.36 and a low of US$2,590.32.

Altcoin price update

  • SOL is currently valued at US$189.99, 1 percent lower over 24 hours, after hitting a daily high of US$202.86 and a low of US$189.95 as the markets closed for the weekend.
  • XRP rose to US$2.38 at the end of the trading day, marking a 2.2 percent increase. The cryptocurrency reached an intraday high of US$2.53 and a low of US$2.36.
  • SUI is trading at US$2.97, near its lowest valuation of the day and a 6 percent decline. It achieved a daily high of US$3.37 and a low of US$2.96.
  • Finally, ADA is down, priced at US$0.7041, reflecting a 0.6 percent decrease over 24 hours. Its highest price on Friday was US$0.7485 at the opening bell and its lowest was US$0.6994.

Crypto news to know

Acting Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chair Caroline Pham announced a forum where crypto CEOs from companies including Coinbase, Circle and Ripple can provide input on an upcoming digital asset pilot program.

Earlier this week, Pham said the CFTC will be dividing its task force into two main groups and will be “ending regulation by enforcement,” turning its attention to fraud and consumer protections instead.

Elsewhere, a US federal judge has decreed that Coinbase will be required to face allegations brought to it by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in June 2023, rejecting the crypto exchange’s argument that it does not meet the criteria of a statutory seller. According to Reuters, US District Judge Paul Engelmayer said, “customers on Coinbase transact solely with Coinbase itself,” effectively concluding that Coinbase is a seller.

The SEC has also requested more time to reach a final decision regarding an application by Nasdaq’s International Securities Exchange to list options contracts for BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA).

The decision is now due in April of this year.

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

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

This post appeared first on investingnews.com

‘Lighthorse’ Gold Discovery at Pinjin: Thick, High-grade Gold Intercepted at New Greenfields Find

Kalgoorlie Gold Mining (ASX: KAL) (‘KalGold’ or ‘the Company’) announces the discovery of newly identified, extensive gold mineralisation at Pinjin (to be named “Lighthorse”).HIGHLIGHTS

  • Thick, high-grade gold intercepts at Lighthorse include:
    • KGAC24152: 17 m at 4.81 g/t Au from 48 m, including 8 m at 9.21 g/t Au from 52 m (hole ends in mineralisation)
    • KGAC24153: 4 m at 4.72 g/t Au from 52 m (hole ends in mineralisation)
  • Lighthorse is a KalGold-generated, greenfields gold discovery, characterised by:
    • A 200 m wide primary gold target on the discovery section, open down dip.
    • A 600 m strike, parallel to the Laverton Tectonic Zone, open to the northwest and southeast.
    • Crosscutting mineralised structures extending over 800 m, open to the northeast.
  • o A footprint larger than either KalGold’s Kirgella Gift or Providence gold deposits
    • No outcrop, and no effective historic drilling.
  • Extensive, contiguous, widely-spaced intercepts suggest a large primary gold system obscured by transported cover. Further drilling is required to define the system’s full extent.
  • Lighthorse is located in the southeast of the Eastern Goldfields, an area which is becoming a focus for gold discovery and development. It is located:
    • 1 km west of KalGold’s Kirgella Gift and Providence gold deposits,
    • 12 km south of Hawthorn Resources’ (ASX:HAW) Anglo Saxon Gold Mine,
    • 22 km northwest of Ramelius Resources’ (ASX:RMS) Rebecca Gold Project
    • 30 km east of OzAurum Resources’ (ASX:OZM) high-grade gold discovery at Mulgabbie North
  • A priority follow-up RC drill program is being fast-tracked for March 2025, pending rig availability.

For MD and CEO Matt Painter’s thoughts on the Lighthorse gold discovery, please see our video on the KalGold Investor Hub at https://investorhub.kalgoldmining.com.au/link/mepb1P

Commenting on the discovery, KalGold Managing Director Matt Painter said:

“This is what we’ve been chasing at Pinjin. Our systematic approach to exploration has paid off. Thick, high-grade gold mineralisation at Lighthorse is located just 1 km west of our Kirgella Gift deposit, beneath transported cover in an area of zero outcrop. This is a 100% KalGold generated discovery that reinforces the exceptional growth potential at Pinjin. The full extent of the emerging Lighthorse target is unconstrained at this stage, but we have already identified mineralisation over a 600 m northwest-southeast strike length, parallel to the local grain of the Laverton Tectonic Zone, and open along strike and at depth. Additional gold mineralised trends associated with cross-cutting structures are also evident, extending over 800 m and open to the northeast.

Follow up RC drilling is scheduled for March 2025. We also expect to follow up previously reported thick, shallow gold intercepts at Wessex (ASX: KAL 09/10/24), next door to the Anglo Saxon Gold Mine (HAW), in this upcoming RC drill program.

This is an incredibly exciting time at KalGold. Recently announced discoveries by some of our neighbours, together with this new Lighthorse discovery, are cementing this south-eastern part of the Eastern Goldfields as a hot spot for exploration, discovery, and development. KalGold holds an extensive and strategic footprint within this incredible, historically overlooked area.”

High-grade gold intercepts define the Lighthorse discovery at Pinjin

Drilling in December 2024 successfully expanded upon an extensive earlier aircore program at Kirgella West (Figure 1). The new drilling intersected thick, high-grade gold mineralisation beneath transported sediments (Table 1). Four of these five new holes returned significant gold intercepts, with two of the drill holes ending in mineralisation with the rig unable to penetrate the fresh, mineralised rock. Gold mineralisation is open along strike and down dip.

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Nasdaq DROPS on Weak AMZN, TSLA & GOOGL Earnings!

In this video, Mary Ellen reviews the market’s flat momentum as uncertainty reemerges after weak AMZN, TSLA and GOOGL reports – PLUS more tariff talk from Trump. She also highlights the move into defensive sectors as growth stocks continue to struggle. Lastly, she shares the top stocks that are keeping the S&P 500 in an uptrend.

This video originally premiered February 7, 2025. You can watch it on our dedicated page for Mary Ellen’s videos.

New videos from Mary Ellen premiere weekly on Fridays. You can view all previously recorded episodes at this link.

If you’re looking for stocks to invest in, be sure to check out the MEM Edge Report! This report gives you detailed information on the top sectors, industries and stocks so you can make informed investment decisions.