The TSX raised just a little today, increasing by 18.44 points.
The Securities and Exchange Commission will allow the trading of exchange-traded funds that hold bitcoin, starting Thursday. This will allow investors to buy bitcoin like it is a common stock without having to use crypto exchanges. BlackRock, Fidelity Investments, ARK Investment Management, Invesco, Wisdom Tree, Bitwise Asset Management and Valkyrie have already applied to list these ETFs. Bitcoin is up $804 (U.S.), at time of writing, to $46,543 (U.S.) per bitcoin.
In show business news: The Wall Street Journal reports that Skydance Media is in talks to make an all-cash bid for National Amusements, the parent company of Paramount Global. If Skydance is successful, the company plans to merge Paramount with Skydance. The WSJ also reports that Amazon is laying off hundreds of workers at Prime Video, MGM Studios and Twitch. Amazon is up today to $153.73 (U.S.). It has approximately 10.33 billion shares outstanding.
SAP will pay over $220-million (U.S.) to settle bribery probes brought on by U.S. and South African authorities. The company paid bribes to foreign officials in South Africa and Indonesia. These bribes include cash, political contributions and luxury goods. SAP used third-party intermediaries and consultants to pay the bribes. These bribes were meant to win the favour of various entities, including the city of Johannesburg, a South African water company, Eskom Holdings, Indonesia’s fisheries ministry and an Indonesian telecommunications agency. In 2016, SAP surrendered $3.7-million (U.S.) in profits to settle a separate SEC bribery case.
After planning to list on December 29, only to be halted at open, Dryden Gold Corp. finally began trading on the TSX-V and the stock increased 100% to $0.30. The company has hired Outside the Box Capital Inc. for marketing and distribution, which began on September 11, 2023. Dryden is an exploration company, which holds an interest in Northwest Ontario. It has approximately 82 million shares issued. Its CEO is Trey Wasser and its president is Maura Kolb.
Sintana Energy Inc. rose 33% to $0.42 on news that it hit oil in Namibia. Well, to be clearer, a company that it owns a 49% interest in, which in itself owns a 10% interest in a well that is operated by a subsidiary of Galp Energia, hit oil. Sintana has approximately 276 million shares issued.
Aritzia Inc. earned $43-million on revenue of $653.52-million in fiscal Q3 2024, compared with earning $70.72-million on revenue of $624.61-million in fiscal Q3 2023. The company set its outlook for fiscal Q4 to revenue in the range of $670-million to $690-million. Aritzia is also arranging an NCIB to buy back up to 5% of its public float. The company has approximately 90 million shares issued and is trading at $26.46 per share.
The TSX added three new issuers in December: 2028 Investment Grade Bond Trust (IGBT.UN), Curaleaf Holdings Inc. (CURA) and Prime Mining Corp. (PRYM). The TSX-V added four issuers in the month: Cubicfarm Systems Corp. (CUB), Dryden Gold Corp. (DRY), Premier American Uranium Inc. (PUR) and Rockmount Capital Corp. (RSC.P). TMX Group Ltd., which operates the exchanges, has approximately 276 million shares issued and trades at $31.95 per share.
Fox Squirrel, the largest solar complex in Ohio, has begun phase 1 operations. Phase 1 generates 150 megawatts of alternating current solar energy. Enbridge Inc. and EDF Renewables North America own the solar complex. Enbridge has approximately 2.12 billion shares issued and trades at $49.35 per share.