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South Korean President Faces Impeachment After Failed Martial Law

South Korean opposition parties have submitted a motion to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol following his short-lived declaration of martial law, marking a dramatic escalation in the country’s political crisis.

The motion, backed by six opposition parties including the majority-holding Democratic Party, could be put to a vote as early as Friday.

The crisis began when Yoon declared martial law on Tuesday night, citing threats from North Korea and “anti-state forces.” The declaration, which came four decades after the last, sent shockwaves through the nation and caught international allies off guard.

You can read more on the matter here.

What’s going on?

• Tesla Halts Cybertruck Production Line for Three Days (theDeepDive)

• Canada Post strike weighs heavy in northern communities, where some residents worry ‘Christmas is cancelled’ (Globe)

• Toronto’s Development Charges Are Skyrocketing, Slowing Housing Construction (theDeepDive)

• Mexico president says Canada has a 'very serious' fentanyl problem (CTV)

• Tesla Ordered to Scrap Musk’s $55 Billion-Dollar Pay Package (theDeepDive)

• US Services Activity Expands at Slowest Pace in Three Months (Bloomberg)

• Trump Suggests Canada Join US During Mar-a-Lago Meeting with Trudeau (theDeepDive)

• Russia uses civilians as ‘target practice’ for killer drones (FT)

• Beijing Strikes Back, Cuts U.S. Off from Critical High-Tech Metals Export (theDeepDive)

• Trump picks Musk ally Jared Isaacman to head NASA (Reuters)

What’s the latest?

• GM: General Motors will incur over $5 billion in noncash charges and write-downs for restructuring its Chinese joint venture with SAIC, including $2.6–$2.9 billion in asset write-downs and $2.7 billion for plant closures and portfolio changes. GM’s market share in China has fallen from 15% in 2015 to 8.6% in 2023, with equity income down 78.5% since 2014.

• Prime Delivery Disparity: Washington, D.C.’s AG Brian Schwalb sued Amazon for allegedly excluding two predominantly Black ZIP codes (20019, 20020) from Prime’s expedited delivery service while charging the full $139 membership fee. Delivery rates in these areas dropped from 72% to as low as 24%, compared to 74% citywide. Amazon cites driver safety concerns but did not disclose the exclusions to affected customers, prompting accusations of deceptive practices and consumer protection violations.

• Mortgage: The average interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages dropped to 6.69% from 6.86%, the lowest in over a month. Mortgage applications rose 2.8% last week, with home purchase applications jumping 6%, the highest since January, while refinance applications fell 1% and were 7% lower than last year. Lower rates and increased housing inventory supported homebuyer demand, though refinancing remains subdued due to borrowers holding loans with lower rates.

• NBC: National Bank of Canada increased its quarterly dividend to $1.14 per share (up from $1.10) after reporting a Q4 profit of $955 million ($2.66 per diluted share), a rise from $751 million ($2.09) in the same period last year. Revenue grew to $2.94 billion from $2.56 billion, with credit loss provisions rising to $162 million from $115 million. Adjusted earnings reached $2.58 per share, slightly beating analyst expectations of $2.57, driven by growth across personal banking, wealth management, and financial markets.

• RBC: Royal Bank of Canada reported a Q4 profit of $4.22 billion ($2.91 per diluted share), up from $3.94 billion ($2.76) a year earlier, and raised its quarterly dividend to $1.48 per share (from $1.42). Revenue rose to $15.07 billion from $12.69 billion, while credit loss provisions increased to $840 million from $720 million. Adjusted earnings reached $3.07 per share, exceeding analyst expectations of $3.01.

World’s biggest uranium mine now just 3.5 years away?

The stock market and stuff

• NexGen Contracts Out First 5 Million Pounds Of Uranium From Rook I (theDeepDive)

• Fraud to Fashion: Enron Is Selling Hoodies In A “Comeback” Nobody Asked For (theDeepDive)

• UK uncovers vast crypto laundering scheme for gangsters and Russian spies (FT)

• Super Micro Computer Passes Investigation by One-Person Special Committee (theDeepDive)

In the juniors

• First Phosphate Publishes PEA Outlining After-Tax NPV Of $1.6 Billion For Begin-Lamarche (theDeepDive)

• Omai Gold Hits 3.16 g/t Gold Over 68.7 Metres In Guyana (theDeepDive)

• Snowline Gold Hits 1.08 g/t Gold Over 386.0 Metres At Valley (theDeepDive)

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