Gold hit an all-time high this week, and companies are taking advantage of positive momentum

After a tough 2022 for cannabis stocks, investors will be looking to companies such as Tilray Brands and Organigram Holdings as they report their latest quarterly results to see how the industry is faring in the first three months of 2023.

New York-based Tilray is set to report its 3Q fiscal 2023 results after the market close on April 10, but analysts aren’t too optimistic about the company’s recent performance.

Globex Mining Enterprises Inc announced that Maple Gold Mines Ltd (TSX-V:MGM, OTCQB:MGMLF) has provided results from the final 20% of assays that were received from the previously-completed 14,720 metres (m) of drilling at the Eagle Mine property in Quebec, which is under option from Globex.

The minerals property bank said the results continue to demonstrate continuity of mineralization and the potential significance of the multiple horizons/splays to the northwest of the former Eagle mine.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s brother, Kimbal Musk, exercised options this week to cash out $17 million worth of shares in the company.

Kimbal, the younger brother of Elon, sits on the board of the electric carmaker. That would normally make such a transaction impossible, as insider sales are currently prohibited until Tesla reports its quarterly earnings on April 19.

Delta is on track to return to its pre-COVID performance soon, with the airline due to report its 1Q 2023 results before the opening bell on April 13.

As the travel industry recovers post-pandemic, the airline is expected to post a significant improvement year-over-year on both the top and bottom lines during the period, having achieved an adjusted net loss per share of $1.23 and total revenue of $9.3 billion during 1Q 2022.

Wishpond Technologies Ltd is a stock to watch with a new all-in-one marketing and sales solution on the market and more acquisitions potentially to come, according to analysts at PI Financial.

The Vancouver-based company received a ‘Buy’ rating and C$1.75 price target, up from C$1.50.

A silver exploration and development company is teaming up with a venture capital firm to launch the world’s first silver-backed non-fungible token (NFT), opening a potential new funding vehicle for junior mining and crypto investors.

Earlier this week, Vancouver-based Viscount Mining Corp (TSX-V:VML, OTCQB:VLMGF) and Lux Partners Ltd announced a “one of a kind” silver forward sales agreement to add up to five million ounces of silver to the Lux Exchange platform.

Immunic has caught the attention of market analysts with the release of positive data from the maintenance phase of its Phase 2b CALDOSE-1 trial of lead asset vidofludimus calcium (IMU-838) in patients with moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis (UC).

The company on Wednesday said data from the maintenance phase of CALDOSE-1 showed a dose-linear increase in clinical remission as compared to the placebo at week 50.

Maple Gold Mines Ltd (TSX-V:MGM, OTCQB:MGMLF) has reported promising results from the final 20% of assays that were received from the previously completed 14,720 meters (m) of drilling at its Eagle Mine property in Qu?bec, Canada.

In addition to its 100%-controlled Eagle Mine property, Maple is in a 50:50 joint venture (JV) with Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd (TSX:AEM) to advance the district-scale Douay and Joutel gold projects located in Quebec’s prolific Abitibi Greenstone Gold Belt.

Rising interest rates and tightened credit market conditions in the wake of the Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank collapses in the US have seen Canadian mergers and acquisitions (M&A) fall to a four-year low.

Canadian M&A volumes fell to $34.7 billion in the first quarter, down 52.3% from a year ago, according to a Reuters report.

Ski-Doo snowmobile manufacturer BRP Inc is well positioned to pick up market share, according to analysts at Stifel GMP.

The firm reiterated its ‘Buy’ rating and $150 price target after meeting with the company earlier this week.

International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Kristalina Georgieva said Thursday that the world economy is expected to grow less than 3%, down from 3.4% in 2022.

At a Politico event, Georgieva said that growth is expected to remain around 3% for the next five years, the IMF’s “lowest medium-term growth forecast since 1990, and well below the average of 3.8% from the past two decades.”

Vape technology company Ispire Technology said it has closed its initial public offering (IPO) for gross proceeds of $18.9 million.

The company, which is engaged in the research and development, design, commercialization, sales, marketing and distribution of branded e-cigarettes and cannabis vaping products, said it issued 2.7 million shares of its stock at a price of $7 per share.

Depressed lithium prices have caused Bank of America to downgrade US producer Albemarle to Underperform.

The bank also cut its earnings forecast for Albemarle and lowered its price target to $195 from $262.

Shell’s trading update points to a good operational delivery during the quarter, falling opex and a strong contribution from trading, according to Jefferies.

Lower than expected cash taxes and working capital unchanged at the mid-point of guidance should help Shell keep quarterly buybacks flat at US$4bn according to the broker.

T-Mobile announced Thursday it is the official wireless partner of Major League Baseball (MLB), Minor League Baseball (MiLB) and Little League Baseball and Softball through to 2028.

Under the deal, T-Mobile said it will work with the MLB to test the automated ball-strike system over a T-Mobile 5G Private Mobile Network at select MiLB games this season.

Amazon.com needs to further reduce its headcount to improve its eCommerce margin, according to analysts at Oppenheimer.

“We believe AMZN’s 25% underperformance versus Nasdaq LTM is being driven by share loss to Microsoft (MSFT) and lack of eCommerce profitability,” the analysts wrote in a note to clients.

Lumentum Holdings has warned investors of a weaker March quarter after the cancellation of a major order.

The San Jose-based optical and photonic products maker lowered its fiscal 3Q revenue range to between $380 and $384 million, compared to the company’s previous expectation of $430 to $460 million.

TomCo Energy PLC (AIM:TOM, OTC:TMCGF), the US oil development group, said shares were restored to trading on AIM today following the release of its full-year results for the year to 30 September 2022.

The company said it is continuing to work on securing funding to develop its Greenfield project.

While TikTok is in the crosshairs of US politicians considering banning the app, its Chinese parent company has launched a new app that could draw similar concerns.

The app, called Lemon8, didn’t make waves when ByteDance launched it in the US in February, but as TikTok’s future becomes less certain Lemon8 already has nearly 300,000 US downloads.

Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) shares fell after the big box retailer reported its first monthly decline in same-store sales in nearly three years.

The company said in a statement that its total same-store sales fell 1.1% in the retail month of March, being the five weeks that ended April 2, 2023, down from increases of 3.5% and 5.6% in February and January, respectively.

Arizona Silver Exploration Inc announced that it has released the geological sections from the March 2023 reverse circulation (RC) drill program at the Philadelphia epithermal gold-silver project in Arizona.

The exploration company said drill thicknesses of “visibly mineralized intervals” range from 55-82 metres (m) in the Rising Fawn Zone with an estimated true thickness of 50-60m, while in the Perry Zone, the drill thickness ranges from 30-76m with an estimated true thickness of 30-45m.

Nickel North Exploration Corp (TSX-V:NNX) said it has the conditional approval of the TSX Venture Exchange to sell its 100% stake in the Hawk Ridge Project in northeastern Quebec to 1844 Resources Inc.

The planned sale, originally announced on March 6, was for a series of cash payments, share issuances and funding of exploration expenditures, separated into five phases.

MySize Inc (NASDAQ:MYSZ) said it expects to report strong year-over-year growth with revenue ranging between $4 million and $5 million when it posts its 2022 year-end financials in the upcoming week.

The company said in a statement that it expects to report revenue for 2022 about 30 times higher than that of 2021 when it achieved $131,000 in revenue.

Steppe Gold Ltd (TSX:STGO, OTCQX:STPGF) announced a non-brokered private placement of approximately $9 million through the sale of shares at $1.10 each.

The company said in a statement that the proceeds will be used to accelerate Phase 2 expansion underway at its ATO mine in Mongolia, to fund ongoing exploration, and to support its plans to pursue a dual listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Strong demand for Levi Strauss & Co (NYSE:LEVI)‘s iconic jeans in its fiscal first quarter wasn’t enough to impress investors after its earnings release Thursday morning.

The denim company topped quarterly revenue estimates with $1.7 billion in sales for the quarter ended February 26, 2023, an increase of 6% year-over-year and ahead of analyst estimates of around $1.62 billion.

Iris Energy Limited (NASDAQ:IREN) said in March it mined 173 bitcoin at an average operating hashrate of 1,912 PH/s, up 11% from February, while its mining revenue surged 22% from February $4.3 million.

Releasing its corporate update for March, the company said electricity costs were nearly $2.2 million. The increases in bitcoin mined and electricity costs were mainly due to the installation of additional miners and three additional days in the month. Adjusted electricity costs per Bitcoin were $11,500 in March compared to $10,600 in February, driven by an increase in the difficulty-implied global hashrate during the period.

Burcon NutraScience Corp (TSX:BU) said its bid to acquire the assets of Merit Functional Foods continues as it engages in the due diligence process.

The company said it has been in discussions with the appointed receiver, PricewaterhouseCoopers Inc, LIT, about the sales process since Merit was placed into receivership on March 1, 2023.

Sidus Space has appointed Leonardo Riera to its board of directors.

The company said in a statement that Riera brings over 35 years of experience in investment banking and fund management to Sidus.

Beverage company Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) reported its fiscal fourth quarter 2023 earnings on Thursday showing better-than-expected profit despite weaker revenue.

For the three-month period to end February 22, 2023, Constellation posted comparable earnings per share (EPS) of $1.98, topping analyst estimates of $1.84.

Black Swan Graphene (TSX-V:SWAN) said it closed its previously announced equity agreement and has entered into a supply agreement with Nationwide Engineering Research and Development (NERD), creating a partnership aimed at promoting graphene-enhanced concrete globally.

The company said the partnership is underpinned by several factors, including an equity swap through which each company now owns approximately 5% of the other.

Real Luck Group Ltd (TSX-V:LUCK, OTCQB:LUKEF), and its subsidiary companies doing business as Luckbox, announced another monthly Global Betting Handle record, generating C$5.0 million in March compared with February’s C$2.8 million amid increases in active players, new markets and player revenue.

The award-winning provider of licensed esports betting, sports betting and casino games said it will continue to focus on driving player value from the company’s registered player base, which now stands at 387,000.

CULT Food Science Corp (CSE:CULT, OTCQB:CULTF) said it has entered into a partnership with Umami Meats to supply cultivated red snapper for their newly launched pet food brands.

Under the collaboration, CULT Food Science will include cell-cultivated fish in its cat treat brand, Marina Cat, making it one of the first cell-cultivated fish pet products on the market.

Minto Metals Corp (TSX-V:MNTO) has said it produced 28.9 million pounds of copper in the financial year 2022, 12.6% higher than in the previous year despite record snow levels during the period.

Announcing its financials for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2022, the company said its full-year revenue rose by $14.9 million, driven by higher sales and higher average realized prices for copper, underscored by a strong first quarter in 2022.

Big Tech employees across Europe are being offered elaborate severance packages as part of a widespread redundancy push by the likes of Meta, Amazon and Google parent Alphabet.

Bloomberg reported that the US tech giants, complacent with relatively low employee protections in the US, are coming up against strict labour protections in France and Germany in particular.

Nextech3D.AI (CSE:NTAR, OTCQX:NEXCF) said it has entered into an arrangement agreement with its wholly-owned subsidiary Toggle3D and a special purpose financing company, 1400330 B.C. Ltd (FinanceCo) for the spin-out of Toggle3D to a SpinCo.

The agreement, effective April 5, 2023, sets out the terms on which Nextech will complete a plan of arrangement under the Business Corporations Act (British Columbia) whereby the Toggle3D platform and associated assets will be spun out.

Hedge funds raised billions from taking up short positions against lenders in March, as the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) sent ripples across the global financial sector.

US$1.3bn was raised through short positions against Silicon Valley Bank, according to data firm Ortex, while US$848mln and US$684mln were made through bets against First Republic and Credit Suisse Group AG (NYSE:CS) respectively.

Standard Uranium Ltd (TSX-V:STND, OTCQB:STTDF) has defined multiple drill-ready target areas on the Atlantic, Canary, and Ascent projects situated in the prolific eastern Athabasca Basin.

Announcing the results of geophysical surveys completed on each of the company’s three eastern Athabasca basin projects, the company said strong EM conductors coupled with regional-scale faults and potential alteration signatures outline high-priority target areas on all three projects.

Fadel Partners Inc, which handles automated rights management for Marvel Entertainment and other big brands, has become the fifth float on London’s AIM so far in 2023, raising ?8mln via a share placing and loan.

Headquartered in New York, the company’s initial public offer run by broker finnCap is a slight reversal of what has seemed a one-way flow of UK companies going to list in the USA in the past few years.

Cash App founder Bob Lee was fatally stabbed in an apparently random attack in San Francisco, his father confirmed on Facebook.

The 43-year-old, who was the chief executive of cryptocurrency company MobileCoin, died of injuries at the hospital following the attack.

Copper Fox Metals Inc (TSX-V:CUU, OTCQX:CPFXF), through its wholly-owned subsidiary Desert Fox Copper Inc, has provided an update of recent activities and plans on its 100% owned Van Dyke in-situ copper recovery (ISCR) project located in the Globe-Miami Mining District, Gila County, Arizona.

In a statement, Elmer B Stewart, president and CEO of Copper Fox, commented: “The rehabilitation work completed to date on the selected historical drill holes has been encouraging. If the next phase of the program is successful, then installation of downhole instrumentation to establish water sampling and hydrogeological monitoring stations would follow.

Love Pharma Inc (CSE:LUV) has revealed that it is currently evaluating mining opportunities in the battery component and power metals space as the company aims to build shareholder value and capitalize on the growing demand for these metals globally.

The company said it is currently conducting due diligence on various mining opportunities and will update its shareholders as decisions are made in the coming weeks. Any investment or acquisition is not guaranteed and will be subject to regulatory approval, it added.

Tocvan Ventures Corp. (CSE:TOC) has announced the closing of its previously announced private placement with an institutional investor, Sorbie Bornholm LP, to raise an aggregate amount of C$600,000.

“We are pleased to be receiving continued support from Sorbie who share our long-term vision of discovery and development in Mexico,” said Brodie Sutherland, Tocvan’s CEO in a statement.

HighGold Mining Inc (TSX-V:HIGH, OTCQX:HGGOF) has said that, due to strong investor interest, it is increasing the size of its previously announced non-brokered private placement to gross proceeds of up to C$9 million from gross proceeds of up to C$7 million.

As a result, the maximum number of shares to be issued under the offering has been increased from 10,606,060 common shares to up to 13,700,000 common shares of the company at a price of $0.66 per common share.

Jersey Oil and Gas PLC’s farm-out deal announced earlier on Thursday is worth more than ?4 a share, according to research from finnCap.

Describing the partnership with NEO Energy, one of the North Sea’s big operators, as “exciting news”, the corporate broker then goes on to forensically break down the ultimate value of the transaction.

The coming days could see the much-delayed launch of the giant rocket that Elon Musk plans will someday take astronauts to the moon, Mars and maybe beyond.

SpaceX‘s Super Heavy rocket, known as Starship and measuring 120 metres tall by 9m wide (394ft by 30ft), is currently being prepared for its maiden orbital launch.

Bitcoin (BTC) managed to scrape in a win yesterday by hitting the midnight bell a fraction higher at US$28,170.

Today the BTC/USDT pair has slid back around 0.4%, dipping just below the hard-fought 28k barrier.

Jersey Oil and Gas PLC (AIM:JOG, OTC:JYOGF) said it has partnered with one of the largest North Sea operators to exploit the potential of one of its licences in a deal that analysts say could ultimately be worth US$170mln.

NEO Energy will receive a 50% interest in the Greater Buchan Area (GBA), offshore northern Scotland, under the terms of the ‘farm-out’ agreement.

Brian Hood, the mayor of Hepburn Shire, Australia, is contemplating suing OpenAI for defamation after its ChatGPT service falsely accused him of serving prison time for bribery, according to multiple reports overnight.

If pursued, this would be the first lawsuit of its kind against the AI-driven text service.

Barryroe Offshore Energy PLC (AIM:BEY, OTC:PVDRF) has said it plans to raise EUR20mln through a proposed placing and open offer.

The placing will be for an amount of up to EUR12mln, at a price of EUR0.015 per new ordinary share, the company said in a statement.

Helium One Global Ltd (AIM:HE1, OTCQB:HLOGF) said it and its partner Noble Helium have signed a letter of intent (LoI) with Tunisian contractor, SOFORI, to supply a Drillmec HH102 rig to be used in the next drilling campaign on the Rukwa Project in Tanzania.

Helium One’s Lorna Blaisse said the move was an ‘encouraging first step’ towards spudding the well in the third quarter of this year.