Sponsored by Plurilock Security

Romania Cancels Presidential Election

A foreign influence campaign targeting Romania’s presidential election has forced an extraordinary intervention by the country’s highest court, which on Friday invalidated the entire electoral process and mandated fresh polls.

The ruling upends Romania’s political landscape just two days before voters were set to choose between surprise frontrunner Calin Georgescu, representing the far-right, and centrist challenger Elena Lasconi in a decisive run-off vote.

Intelligence officials flagged widespread manipulation on social media platform TikTok, where networks of paid influencers promoted Georgescu’s campaign leading up to his unexpected first-round victory on November 24. A declassified security report detailed massive cyber operations, including over 85,000 attacks on electoral infrastructure and breached election website credentials.

You can read more on the matter here.

What’s going on?

• Priorities Questioned As Trudeau Doubles Down on Gun Control (theDeepDive)

• Canada's 6.8% jobless rate boosts bets for 50-point interest rate cut (Reuters)

• Never Go Full Banana: Canada’s Economic Missteps with Thomas George of Grizzle (theDeepDive)

• South Korean President Could Declare Martial Law Again, Says Ruling Party Leader (WSJ)

• Trudeau government adds hundreds more assault-style weapons to its gun ban (TS)

• Iraq Will Not Be ‘Mere Spectator’ to Syria Crisis, PM Says (theDeepDive)

• Purolator, UPS pause shipments from couriers amid Canada Post strike (CTV)

• Crypto Trading Hits Record $10 Trillion in November on Regulatory Optimism (theDeepDive)

• U.S. federal appeals court upholds TikTok law forcing its sale (Globe)

• World’s Biggest Uranium Mine Now Just 3.5 Years Away? | Leigh Curyer – NexGen Energy (theDeepDive)

• US economy added 227,000 jobs in November (FT)

• Mali Targets To Arrest Barrick Gold CEO – Reports (theDeepDive)

• EU in Talks With US to Mitigate Effect of Russian Bank Sanctions (Bloomberg)

What’s the latest?

• Unemployment Rate: Canada's unemployment rate rose to 6.8% in November, the highest since January 2017 (excluding COVID-19), up from 6.5% in October, as labour force participation increased by 0.3 percentage points. Despite the rise in unemployment, the economy added 51,000 jobs, mainly full-time positions. Average hourly wages grew 4.1% year-over-year, showing slower growth than October.

• CEO Security Concerns: Meta spent $24.4 million on personal security for Mark Zuckerberg in 2023, highlighting rising corporate concerns about executive safety. UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson's fatal shooting in New York has intensified scrutiny of corporate security measures. Among Fortune 500 firms, median spending on CEO protection has doubled to $98,000 over three years, with tech giants like Apple allocating $820,000 for security. In 2022, workplace assaults resulted in 525 U.S. fatalities, underlining the broader risks executives face.

• Laurentian Bank: Laurentian Bank of Canada reported a Q4 profit of $40.7 million ($0.88 per diluted share), up from $30.6 million ($0.67 per diluted share) a year ago. Revenue increased slightly to $250.8 million from $247.4 million, while provisions for credit losses dropped to $10.4 million from $16.7 million. Adjusted earnings per share were $0.89, exceeding the analyst estimate of $0.87 but down from $1.00 last year.

• Economy: The U.S. added 227,000 jobs in November, rebounding from October’s low gain of 36,000, with strikes and hurricanes accounting for some prior weakness. The unemployment rate rose slightly to 4.2%, while hourly wages increased 0.4% month-over-month and 4% year-over-year, exceeding forecasts. Job growth was concentrated in healthcare, leisure, and government, with 70% of new jobs in these sectors, while retail lost 28,000 positions.

• ByteDance: A U.S. federal appeals court upheld a law requiring ByteDance to sell TikTok by January 19, 2025, or face an effective ban in the United States. The court rejected claims that the law violates the First and Fifth Amendments, stating it is narrowly tailored to protect national security and addresses alleged ties between TikTok and the Chinese government. If TikTok fails to comply, app stores and hosting providers must stop supporting the app. ByteDance plans to petition the Supreme Court for a review while seeking an injunction.

CIBC Q4 2024 earnings

The stock market and stuff

• Newmont Sells Cripple Creek Mine To SSR Mining For $275 Million (theDeepDive)

• Walmart, Amazon holiday spending rise as Target, Best Buy stumble, data shows (Reuters)

• $HAWK Token Makes $500M Disappear Faster Than “Hawk Tuah” (theDeepDive)

• Insurers Scrub Executive Photos After UnitedHealthcare CEO Killing (theDeepDive)

In the juniors

• Allied Gold Secures US$175 Million Streaming Package From Wheaton For Kurmuk project (theDeepDive)

• Laurentian Bank reports $40.7M Q4 profit, up from $30.6M a year ago (BNN)

• Gold Play: How to Structure a No-Dilution Mining Deal with Majors | Chad Peters – Ridgeline Minerals (theDeepDive)

FULL DISCLOSURE: Plurilock Security is a client of Canacom Group, the parent company of The Deep Dive. Canacom Group is currently long the equity of Plurilock Security. The author has been compensated to cover Plurilock Security on The Deep Dive, with The Deep Dive having full editorial control. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. We may buy or sell securities in the company at any time. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security.