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Lithium hits a three month high

Lithium prices are making significant gains today after a sustained plateau year-to-date. Battery grade lithium carbonate surged to CNY 98,000, a high not seen since December 2023. Similarly, industrial grade lithium carbonate rose to CNY 91,750, gaining strides from the recent three-month plateau.

On the back of the lithium price surge, prices of leading industry names have also gained traction, such as Lithium Americas (TSX: LAC) (up 4%), Sigma Lithium (TSXV: SGML) (up 5%), and Ganfeng Lithium (up 5%).

You can read more on the matter here.

What’s going on?

• Elon Musk Reportedly Blocking Starlink From US In Taiwan (theDeepDive)

• Trump Asks Court to Put $355 Million Penalty on Hold (WSJ)

• FAA gives Boeing 90 days to come up with quality control plan after 737 Max accident (CNBC)

• Is The Online Harms Act Trudeau’s Version Of Germany’s Enabling Act Of 1933? (theDeepDive)

• Michigan's 100,000 'uncommitted' votes show Israel impact on Biden (Reuters)

• Canada's 'student trafficking' industry is backfiring on Trudeau (BNN)

• House To Vote On Nuclear Energy Package This Week (theDeepDive)

• US Home-Buying Demand Nears Worst Since 1995 With Rates Above 7% (Bloomberg)

• Is Canada’s Oil Sector Set For A Revival With The Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion? (theDeepDive)

• Australia home prices likely to rise 5.0% this year and next (Reuters)

• BMO Reports 22.8% Of Residential Mortgage Book Is In Negative Amortization (theDeepDive)

• U.S. Crude Oil Stocks Rose by 4.2 Million Barrels Last Week (WSJ)

What’s the latest?

• Wendy’s Axes Surge Pricing: Wendy's Co. has clarified that it does not plan to implement surge pricing on items like cheeseburgers and Frostys despite exploring dynamic pricing as part of a $20 million investment in digital menu boards for its U.S. stores by 2025. The response follows social media backlash that compared the potential pricing strategy to Uber's demand-based fare adjustments.

• RBC Earnings: Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) reported an increase in its first-quarter profit to $3.58 billion, up from $3.13 billion the previous year, with a rise in provisions for bad loans. Earnings per diluted share increased to $2.50 from $2.23, while revenue saw a slight uptick to $13.49 billion from $13.36 billion. Provisions for credit losses however jumped to $813 million from $532 million a year ago.

• Bitcoin Surge: Bitcoin surpassed the $60,000 mark for the first time in over two years, fueled by significant capital inflows into new U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded products, leading to a 42% price surge in February. This marks its biggest monthly gain since December 2020. The cryptocurrency's price, last recorded at $60,131, reached its highest since November 2021, nearing its record high of just below $70,000.

• Rate Cuts?: Jeffrey Kleintop, Chief Global Investment Strategist at Charles Schwab, predicts the Bank of Canada may cut interest rates more aggressively than market expectations, potentially as early as April. Citing a 50-50 chance for a rate cut in contrast to the market's 30% expectation, Kleintop points to the trajectory of inflation possibly falling below the central bank's 2% target amid a "relatively lacklustre economic backdrop."

• Trans Mountain Costing: The Trans Mountain oil pipeline expansion in Canada, now government-owned, faces a $3.1 billion increase over its last projected cost in May, raising the total expense to about $34 billion. This figure is significantly higher than the original $5.4 billion estimate made in 2013.

Early stages of a uranium bull market

The stock market and stuff

• Scotiabank Reports Q1 2024 Financials: Jump In Earnings Offset By Jump In Credit Loss Provision (theDeepDive)

• UnitedHealth shares tumble after report of antitrust investigation (Reuters)

• Google CEO Calls AI Chatbot Responses Biased and Unacceptable (WSJ)

• Disney, Reliance Sign $8.5 Billion Deal to Merge India Media Operations (Bloomberg)

In the juniors

• DiagnaMed Begins Test Launch of CERVAI (theDeepDive)

• Hercules Silver Hits 1,660 g/t Silver Over 11.3 Metres (theDeepDive)

• ATHA Energy Sees Latitude Uranium Shareholders Approve Merger (theDeepDive)

FULL DISCLOSURE: VERSES Ai is a client of Canacom Group, the parent company of The Deep Dive. Canacom Group is currently long the equity of Verses Ai. The author has been compensated to cover VERSES Ai on The Deep Dive, with The Deep Dive having full editorial control. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security.