Traders get back to business
The chase by Greg Bonnell:
This is the week we get back to business. Trading volumes will start to pick up as traders get back to work and take in some big events. There's a meeting of the European Central Bank, Alcoa releases its latest numbers on Thursday (still the unofficial kick-off to earnings season? Debate amongst yourselves). Then on Friday, the all-important jobs reports here and in the U.S.
But I get ahead of myself; we have Monday and the wicked weather it brings to contend with. Don't you wish you could live in a virtual world, free of cold and snow, where the currency you invested in has once again jumped in value? Bitcoin has broken above $1,000 US again (it's been there before), this time on news that online gaming company Zynga will accept the cryptocurrency. If I had made a fortune in the run-up of Bitcoin last year (which I did not), I'm not sure I'd be spending it on virtual cows and sheep in Farmville, but to each his own.
The annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES 2014) kicks off in Vegas today, and BNN's very own Michael Hainsworth will be reporting from the scene on the latest and greatest in all that excites you about the tech world. Nobody knows tech like Michael, and I'm anxious to see what he uncovers down there. We're probably breaking a cardinal rule, but what happens in Vegas over the next three days will not stay in Vegas, it's coming to you on BNN. For live coverage, click here http://www.bnn.ca/Special-
The Dow and S&P 500 futures are pointing to a modest opening in the green today. The first two days of trading in 2014 were a bit lackluster, but two days does not a trend make. In the early trade, we're looking at China's services purchasing-managers' index. It declined to 50.9 in December from 52.5 in November, and the Shanghai Composite Index closed at its lowest level since August.
We're also casting our gaze on Washington, where a Senate vote to confirm Janet Yellen as the next chairman of the Fed is expected; and the expectation is that Yellen will breeze on through. Ben Bernanke exits the role on Jan. 31 after overseeing unprecedented stimulus in the form of bond buying in the wake of the financial crisis.
Shares of Kirkland Lake Gold (KGI-T) are on our radar after the mining company announced a strategic review, including a possible sale of the company and the resignation of it deputy chairman. KGI's shares are down more than 50% in the past 12 months.
T-Mobile (TMUS-N) is buying some prime spectrum from Verizon Wireless, with a pricetag of about $2.4 billion US. The deal is seen as giving both companies coverage capabilities in regions where they're lacking, as it also amounts to a spectrum swap. And perhaps it makes T-Mobile a more attractive acquisition target as well.
T-Mobile is buying 700 MHz spectrum, the same type up for grabs in Canada at next week's auction. This country's big three telecom companies have said the rules around the auction - which limit the amount of that prime spectrum they can bid on - provides an unfair advantage to new entrants. On Friday, we learned that Telus lost a court battle in which it challenged those rules.
That's all that's in my head at the moment, so best keep it on BNN all day to see what comes next.
Cheers,
Greg
Posts
