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March 16, 2025

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Five Below, Inc. (FIVE) has had a rough year, to say the least. The stock is trading near its 52-week lows and 65% below its 52-week highs. The company’s CEO resigned last July and, since then, shares have struggled to rebound.

The discount retailer that caters to low-income shoppers rallied 10% after last quarter’s results and quickly gave back all those gains. It’s hoping to follow in the footsteps of its peer, Dollar General (DG), which guided higher than expectations and rallied last week.

Technically, shares are in a long-term downtrend that has accelerated headed into this week’s numbers. Every rally has been an opportunity to sell, as shares have consistently trended below its downward-sloping 200-day simple moving average (SMA).

Shares are oversold based on their relative strength index (RSI), but the stock has remained oversold for weeks. It appears closer to a tradable near-term bottom, where there is support for a bigger sell-off to around $65.

As a result of this, risk/reward favors the bulls. Look for shares to rally back into the downtrend channel on a near-term rally. That would take shares into the $78 to $85 area. Sadly, each rally has been a great opportunity to sell. There is much resistance to get through any upswing to signal that this is a good long-term buy, but, for the swing trader, a rally may be in order.

Nike, Inc. (NKE) shares have been mired in a two-year slump. Shares have fallen after the last five quarterly reports with an average loss of -9%. They have traded lower after seven of the last 8 releases. Shareholders are hoping that the second full quarter under CEO Elliot Hill’s leadership will start the much-needed turnaround for investors.

The sneaker giant expects slower sales and a decline in numbers thanks to markdowns to clear out unpopular inventory. However, hope springs eternal. Have new shoe models grown in popularity? Has Mr. Hill started to stem the tide of weaker growth? We shall find out when they report after the close on Thursday.

Technically, since breaking below the 200-day moving average in December 2023, shares have consistently stayed below this key moving average. There was hope that a recent announcement with Kim Kardashian’s Skims could lead to the breakout. It did lift for a couple of days, but couldn’t sustain upward momentum, so the bears won out again. 

There is a small silver lining in the chart above, though. When shares hit a recent low, the RSI reading had a bullish divergence. This means price made a new low, but the momentum indicator made a higher low. This could be a change demonstrating that the worst may be over.

To the upside, expect a test with that pesky 200-day moving average again. Look for a break above there and a run to recent highs at $82.62. If it fails at that level, you want to see old resistance in the 200-day act as support. Then the bulls may be able to take control. To the downside, you do not want to see any new lows, Look for support at the $68 to $70 level. The risk/reward set-up favors the bulls taking a shot here and keeping sell stops nearby if it fails. 

Micron Technology, Inc. (MU) has experienced some rather large moves after reporting earnings over the last four quarters. Last Q, it dropped -16.2%; before that, it gained +14.7%, lost -7.1%, and rallied +14.1%. So it’s not surprising to see that a move of +/-10.4% is expected when it reports after the close on Thursday.

Investors will focus on a few fundamental stories. Projected gross margins might decline according to their guidance. That could be a headwind. Data center revenue has been a strength; let’s see if it continues. Then, of course, there’s the all-important guidance—will they mention demand metrics and address potential tariff concerns?

Technically, shares continue to be mired in a neutral, yet very tradable, range. Going back to its August lows, shares have found a solid level of support around $85. Shares have tested that level multiple times and held. On the first three occasions, shares rallied back to $110. Recently, they have struggled to get that high, and the downward sloping 200-day now acts as resistance.

If shares were to gap higher, watch two strong levels of resistance. The first is the 200-day at $105.20, while the second, and most important, is just above $110 to $114. It may take a miraculous guide to break and stay above these key resistance levels.

As to the downside, we have seen $85 stand the test of time again and again. The more often it is tested, the more likely it is to fail. So there are clear lines in the sand of this rectangular formation. The measured move from this pattern is for a move of +/- $25. That would give upside and downside targets of $135 and $60, respectively. Clearly, it’s a coin flip at the moment from a risk/reward perspective. We will need more information to see how this resolves. For now, keep trading the channel.


Disclaimer: This blog is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice. The ideas and strategies should never be used without first assessing your own personal and financial situation, or without consulting a financial professional.

In this exclusive video, legendary trader Larry Williams breaks down why the stock market is primed for a rally, using technical analysis, fundamental signals, and seasonal trends. He explains how tariffs, crude oil, and cyclical patterns could fuel the next big market surge, plus stocks to watch during this potential upswing. Don’t miss these key insights from a market expert!

This video originally premiered on March 14, 2025. Watch on StockCharts’ dedicated Larry Williams page!

Previously recorded videos from Larry are available at this link.

This week, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics released key inflation data, including its consumer and producer price index data on Wednesday (March 12) and Thursday (March 13). The reports show all items inflation was up 2.8 percent year-over-year in February, while core inflation — all items minus food and energy — was up 3.1 percent over that period. Both rose by 0.2 percent compared to January.

The numbers show that inflation has largely become stuck and is still far from the 2 percent target rate set by the US Federal Reserve. The data provides further insight into the health of the overall economy ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting next week. The consensus among analysts is the Fed will choose to maintain its benchmark rate at 4.25 to 5 percent.

Trade tensions between the US and Canada also continued to rise during the week as the US escalated its trade threats against its key trading partners in North America and Europe.

On Tuesday (March 11), temperatures came close to boiling over as Ontario Premier Doug Ford applied a 25 percent surcharge to electricity exports destined for the US and US President Donald Trump threatened to raise incoming 25 percent tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to 50 percent on Canada in response.

However, Ford agreed to suspend the surcharges after US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick invited Ford and federal officials to a face-to-face meeting in Washington, DC, on Thursday to discuss the trade situation.

According to Ford, the Thursday meeting was productive and has helped lower some of the tension between Canada and the United States. The two groups are scheduled to meet again next week. Both sides hope that the temperature will be dialed back and trade can begin to normalize between the long-time trade allies.

On Wednesday, US President Trump maintained his decision to apply a blanket 25 percent tariff on all incoming steel and aluminum imports, but did not raise Canada’s to 50 percent. The move will still broadly affect the Canadian industrial sector, which remains the largest exporter of steel and aluminum products to the United States.

Canada responded to the move with tariffs on US$20 billion worth of goods, while the European Union hit back with tariffs on US$28 billion worth of goods.

On Thursday, the president also issued a fresh round of tariff threats aimed at Europe, including a 200 percent tax on alcohol. Trump’s comments came after the EU applied a 50 percent charge on incoming alcohol from the US.

In addition to tariff news, the Trump administration announced plans to roll back 31 environmental policies on Wednesday. The changes by the Environmental Protection Agency include broad loosening or elimination of pollution-related regulations, such as emissions rules for power plants and automobiles that require them to use cleaner forms of energy, and regulations on soot, mercury and coal ash pollution.

The agency is also considering striking down key findings about climate pollution, effectively ending the EPA’s ability to manage climate change.

Markets and commodities react

In Canada, markets were mixed but more positive than those in the US. The S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index (INDEXTSI:JX) gained 1.56 percent during the week to close at 621.08 on Friday (March 14), the S&P/TSX Composite Index (INDEXTSI:OSPTX) lost 0.16 percent to 24,556.38 and the CSE Composite Index (CSE:CSECOMP) dropped 1.55 percent to 123.76.

US equity markets were broadly down again this week. The S&P 500 (INDEXSP:INX) lost 1.16 percent to close the week at 5,638.93 and the Nasdaq 100 (INDEXNASDAQ:NDX) fell 0.59 percent to 19,715.71. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) fell the most, slipping another 2.4 percent to 41,488.18.

Gold broke the US$3,000 mark for the first time in early morning trading Friday, briefly going to US$3,004 before pulling back. Silver also moved above the US$34 mark early Friday for the first time since October 2024. Overall, the gold price gained 2.48 percent over the week to US$2,983.09 per ounce at 4:00 p.m. EST Friday. The silver price rose even more, adding 3.52 percent during the period to US$33.66.

In base metals, the copper price was up 3.61 percent on the week, closing out Friday at US$4.88 per pound on the COMEX. Meanwhile, the S&P GSCI (INDEXSP:SPGSCI) was flat, gaining just 0.06 percent to close at 551.68.

Top Canadian mining stocks this week

So how did mining stocks perform against this backdrop?

We break down this week’s five best-performing Canadian mining stocks below.

Data for this article was retrieved at 4:00 p.m. EST on Friday using TradingView’s stock screener. Only companies trading on the TSX, TSXV and CSE with market capitalizations greater than C$10 million are included. Companies within the non-energy minerals and energy minerals sectors were considered.

1. Noble Mineral Exploration (TSXV:NOB)

Company Profile

Weekly gain: 114.29 percent
Market cap: C$16.61 million
Share price: C$0.075

Noble Mineral Exploration is an exploration and development company that uses a project generator model to build a portfolio of base and precious metals projects, royalties and partnerships.

Noble owns a 20 percent stake in the Mann nickel-cobalt project in Ontario, Canada, a joint venture with Canada Nickel (TSXV:CNC,OTCQX:CNIKF). The property is located near Timmins and hosts four primary targets: Mann North, West, Central and South. In addition to nickel and cobalt, the site also hosts some platinum, chromium and iron mineralization.

On February 24, the company announced that it had finalized an agreement with Canada Nickel to spin off the Mann project into a new subsidiary under Canada Nickel named East Timmins Nickel, which also holds Canada Nickel’s projects in the region. The subsidiary will be a 20/80 joint venture between Noble and Canada Nickel. Noble said that consolidating the properties into a separate company would maximize its value without significant dilution to Noble

Under the deal, Noble also transferred its interest in its Project 81 properties in Northern Ontario to Canada Nickel, retaining a royalty.

Most recently, Noble and Canada Nickel reported successful exploration results from the Mann property on Thursday, including the highest grades yet from the Mann West target. A highlighted assay from the deposit returned 0.27 percent nickel over 452 meters, which included intersections with 0.4 percent over 18 meters and 0.63 percent over 4.5 meters.

Canada Nickel CEO Mark Selby said the targets at Mann “each have a footprint larger than the company’s flagship Crawford Nickel Sulphide Project, underscoring the large-scale potential of the Timmins Nickel District.”

2. Homeland Nickel (TSXV:SHL)

Weekly gain: 100 percent
Market cap: C$11.15 million
Share price: C$0.05

Homeland Nickel is an exploration company working to advance projects in the US and Canada.

The company owns four nickel projects in Oregon: Cleopatra, Red Flat, Eight Dollar Mountain and Shamrock. The projects are in the early exploration stage, with the company being guided by historic work at each property.

Homeland is also working on the Spruce Ridge project in Newfoundland and Labrador, a 30/70 joint venture with Benton Resources (TSXV:BEX,OTC Pink:BNTRF), which earned its stake in the property through an earn-in agreement with Homeland in July 2024.

While the company did not release any news, its shares gained this week following Noble Mineral Exploration and Canada Nickel’s announcement on Thursday of positive assay results from their joint venture Mann nickel project in Ontario. Homeland owns 2.95 million shares in Canada Nickel and 9.96 million shares of Noble.

3. Brunswick Exploration (TSXV:BRW)

Company Profile

Weekly gain: 74.07 percent
Market cap: C$49.07 million
Share price: C$0.235

Brunswick Exploration is a lithium-focused grassroots exploration company working to advance its assets in Canada and Greenland.

The company owns the Mirage lithium project in the Eeyou Istchee James Bay region of Québec, Canada, as well as several exploration licenses in Greenland, with hundreds of staked and untested targets across the island.

The company announced on Thursday that it has identified new high-potential lithium targets and applied for a mineral license to cover them. Named Hinksland, the license covers a five-block claim located near the country’s northeast coast. The company has mapped 50 interpreted outcrops at Hinksland, nine of which are between 500 and 10,000 feet of strike.

Brunswick said it intends to visit the region in 2025. In the release, the company also said it expects first results from its ongoing drill program at Mirage will be released in the next few weeks.

4. Bayhorse Silver (TSXV:BHS)

Company Profile

Weekly gain: 50 percent
Market cap: C$18.4 million
Share price: C$0.06

Bayhorse Silver is a silver-focused company currently working to bring the Bayhorse silver, copper and antimony mine in Oregon, US, back online.

The mine was originally in operation until late 1984 and closed when the price of silver dropped to under US$6 per ounce. Historic sampling during the 1980s identified grades of 2,146 grams per metric ton (g/t) silver, and a bulk sampling program conducted by Bayhorse in 2014 found bonanza grades of 150,370 g/t silver.

The company has continued to explore the property and, in October 2018, produced a maiden resource estimate that showed the property hosts inferred resources of 6.33 million ounces of silver from 292,300 US tons of ore with an average grade of 21.65 ounces per US ton.

The most recent update came on March 4, when Bayhorse announced it had received assay results from the first 115 meters of the silicified breccia zone encountered in a drill hole used to test an anomaly at the mine. The company said that the 115 meter intersection showed continuous copper up to 125 parts per million (ppm), zinc up to 695 ppm and intermittent gold up to 0.023 ppm.

The company also shared preliminary IP survey results from the project.

Bayhorse CEO Graeme O’Neill commented that he was encouraged by the results and they may indicate the presence of massive sulfides and copper porphyry. The company said it is waiting on results from a further 112 meters of samples from the brecciation zone.

5. Pacific Booker Minerals (TSXV:BKM)

Company Profile

Weekly gain: 43.86 percent
Market cap: C$12.11 million
Share price: C$0.82

Pacific Booker Minerals is an exploration and development company focused on its Morrison property, located in Central British Columbia, Canada. The site is in the advanced stages of development and hosts copper, gold and molybdenum mineralization. The company has been working on development plans since 2004, and completed a feasibility study in 2009. However, work hasn’t been able to proceed as it needs approval from the nearby Lake Babine Nation.

In May 2024, Pacific Booker announced it would be seeking legal recourse after communications between itself and Lake Babine Nation broke down. The company indicated it had received a memorandum of understanding from Lake Babine Nation in 2012, but legal counsel for the nation has refuted that the understanding was in existence and an environmental assessment certificate for Morrison was refused in 2012.

Shares of Pacific Booker saw gains this week, but the company has not released further news.

FAQs for Canadian mining stocks

What is the difference between the TSX and TSXV?

The TSX, or Toronto Stock Exchange, is used by senior companies with larger market caps, and the TSXV, or TSX Venture Exchange, is used by smaller-cap companies. Companies listed on the TSXV can graduate to the senior exchange.

How many companies are listed on the TSXV?

As of June 2024, there were 1,630 companies listed on the TSXV, 925 of which were mining companies. Comparatively, the TSX was home to 1,806 companies, with 188 of those being mining companies.

Together the TSX and TSXV host around 40 percent of the world’s public mining companies.

How much does it cost to list on the TSXV?

There are a variety of different fees that companies must pay to list on the TSXV, and according to the exchange, they can vary based on the transaction’s nature and complexity. The listing fee alone will most likely cost between C$10,000 to C$70,000. Accounting and auditing fees could rack up between C$25,000 and C$100,000, while legal fees are expected to be over C$75,000 and an underwriters’ commission may hit up to 12 percent.

The exchange lists a handful of other fees and expenses companies can expect, including but not limited to security commission and transfer agency fees, investor relations costs and director and officer liability insurance.

These are all just for the initial listing, of course. There are ongoing expenses once companies are trading, such as sustaining fees and additional listing fees, plus the costs associated with filing regular reports.

How do you trade on the TSXV?

Investors can trade on the TSXV the way they would trade stocks on any exchange. This means they can use a stock broker or an individual investment account to buy and sell shares of TSXV-listed companies during the exchange’s trading hours.

Article by Dean Belder; FAQs by Lauren Kelly.

Securities Disclosure: I, Dean Belder, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

Securities Disclosure: I, Lauren Kelly, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

This post appeared first on investingnews.com

Here’s a quick recap of the crypto landscape for Friday (March 15) as of 9:00 p.m. UTC.

Bitcoin and Ethereum price update

Bitcoin (BTC) is currently trading at US$84,601.01, reflecting a 5.5 percent increase over the past 24 hours. The day’s trading range has seen a high of US$85,139.55 and a low of US$82,705.87.

Bitcoin’s price performance has been influenced by macroeconomic factors, regulatory developments and market sentiment. US-China tariffs, US Federal Reserve policies and Trump’s crypto-friendly stance have also been key drivers.

On Friday, Bitcoin breached a rising support trend line against gold that had been intact for over 12 years.

Bitcoin performance, March 14, 2025.

Chart via TradingView.

Ethereum (ETH) is priced at US$1,935.01, marking a 4.8 percent increase over the same period. The cryptocurrency reached an intraday high of US$1,941.99 and a low of US$1,893.58.

Altcoin price update

  • Solana (SOL) is currently valued at US$134.17, up 10.6 percent over the past 24 hours. SOL experienced a high of US$134.61 and a low of US$126.41 during Friday’s trading session.
  • XRP is trading at US$2.36, reflecting a 5.3 percent increase over the past 24 hours. The cryptocurrency recorded an intraday high of US$2.39 and a low of US$2.31.
  • Sui (SUI) is priced at US$2.35, showing a 10.5 percent increase over the past 24 hours. It achieved a daily high of US$2.38 and a low of US$2.24.
  • Cardano (ADA) is trading at US$0.7364, reflecting a 5.3 percent increase over the past 24 hours. Its highest price on Friday was US$0.7484, with a low of US$0.7188.

Crypto news to know

Senate Banking Committee passes GENIUS Act

On Thursday, the Senate Banking Committee passed Republican Senator Bill Hagerty’s (R-TN) GENIUS Act with an 18-6 vote, sending it to the full chamber for debate.

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), along with many Democrats, have opposed the bill, arguing it lacked sufficient protections for users in the event of a stablecoin failure and would enable tech billionaires to accrue even more power by launching their own dollar-backed tokens. During her remarks, Warren referenced the Washington Post’s report on possible talks between the Trump family and Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, who has been pushing for the Trump administration to grant him a pardon after serving four months in prison on charges related to money laundering. “We should be standing up to this naked corruption,” she said. Both Zhao and Trump deny the allegations.

The newest iteration of the bill, shared by FOX Business reporter Eleanor Terrett, holds foreign stablecoin issuers to “extra high standards” in areas such as reserve and liquidity requirements, money laundering checks and sanctions checks.

BNY Mellon deepens ties with Circle for stablecoin services

Financial giant BNY Mellon is expanding its services to include digital assets by partnering with stablecoin giant Circle. This collaboration will allow select BNY Mellon clients to send and receive funds to and from Circle, and to buy and sell Circle’s USDC stablecoins. This move signifies the increasing acceptance of stablecoins in traditional finance and demonstrates BNY Mellon’s dedication to innovation and adapting to client needs.

BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF sees significant inflows

According to Arkham Intelligence, BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, received a transfer of 268 Bitcoin valued at over US$22 million to its iShares Bitcoin ETF wallet from a Coinbase Prime wallet on Friday.

The recent transaction brings BlackRock’s total Bitcoin holdings to more than 567,000 Bitcoin valued at over US$47.8 billion, making BlackRock one of the largest Bitcoin holders in the world.

Securities Disclosure: I, Giann Liguid, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

Securities Disclosure: I, Meagen Seatter, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

This post appeared first on investingnews.com

This week brought a rollercoaster ride for the stock market

A dramatic Monday (March 10) selloff hit mega-cap tech stocks hard, and was followed by a correction in the S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) on Tuesday (March 11). Friday (March 14) witnessed a partial recovery fueled by a week of positive economic data; however, lingering uncertainties about global conflicts and potential tariffs kept overall gains in check.

The latest University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey, released on Friday, reveals a 10.5 percent decrease in consumer confidence in March, reflecting a broader 27.1 percent decrease for the year.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) led the retreat on Monday with a significant 12.25 percent drop by the closing bell. The decline came as CEO Elon Musk continued to cause controversy over his actions at the Department of Government Efficiency.

Protests this week included calls for a boycott of the company’s electric vehicles. After news hit that Tesla plans to make a lower-cost version of its Model Y in Shanghai, shares rose 3.9 percent to end the week at US$249.98.

Here’s a look at other key events that made tech headlines this week.

1. CoreWeave continues expansion with OpenAI deal

Insider told Reuters on Monday that AI startup CoreWeave has signed a five year contract worth US$11.9 billion with OpenAI to provide cloud computing services in exchange for a stake in CoreWeave worth approximately US$350 million.

CoreWeave will issue the shares through a private placement at the time of its initial public offering (IPO), which is expected to take place sometime in March. Investor interest in CoreWeave has grown since the company filed for an IPO on March 3. Investment research platform Sacra reveals a 730 percent increase in revenue between 2023 and 2024, and the company is projecting further revenue growth of over 320 percent to US$8 billion in 2025.

Multiple outlets have reported that the company is seeking to raise US$4 billion, targeting a valuation of US$35 billion. CoreWeave has also recently acquired the machine learning platform Weights & Biases.

However, the filing also revealed substantial debt and losses, and analysts have warned that CoreWeave’s multibillion-dollar partnership with its primary customer, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), and, to a lesser extent, its reliance on chips from NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA), represent concentration risks. Analysts for Fitch Solutions believe that the agreement with OpenAI will alleviate some of those concerns.

2. Oracle stumbles after earnings report

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) delivered its latest quarterly results on Monday, showing a mixed financial performance.

The company’s cloud infrastructure saw healthy growth thanks to demand for computing power, surging by 49 percent to US$2.7 billion. Meanwhile, its cloud services revenue reached US$11.01 billion, a 10 percent increase from the previous year; this segment accounted for 78 percent of Oracle’s total sales.

“We are on schedule to double our data center capacity this calendar year,” said Chair Larry Ellison.

Oracle’s total revenue and net income both saw substantial growth, reaching US$14.1 billion and US$2.9 billion, with annual increases of 6 percent and 22 percent, respectively.

However, the results did not quite meet investor forecasts, which anticipated US$14.39 billion in revenue. Earnings per share (EPS) also came up short at US$1.47 versus the expected US$1.49.

According to CNBC, Oracle CEO Safra Catz said during an earnings call that the US$48 billion in new contracts from this period has brought the company’s remaining performance obligations to over US$130 billion, a 62 percent increase from last year. Notably, this figure doesn’t include contracts related to the Stargate venture announced earlier this year with SoftBank Group (TSE:9984) and OpenAI.

Looking ahead, Oracle expects EPS to be between US$1.61 and US$1.65, a notable difference from the forecast US$1.79. Catz also said that Oracle expects to double its capital expenditure to US$16 billion this year.

Despite these shortfalls, Oracle’s board of directors announced a 25 percent increase in the company’s quarterly cash dividend to US$0.50 per share. The Information reported this week that the company is also the leading contender for helping run TikTok operations in the US.

3. Intel names new CEO

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) (NYSE:TSM) approached NVIDIA, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) (NASDAQ:AMD) and Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) to propose a joint venture to operate Intel’s (NASDAQ:INTC) factories, according to a report from Reuters on Wednesday (March 12).

Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) was also approached in a separate discussion.

According to insiders familiar with the matter, the proposal would involve TSMC running operations at Intel’s chip-making (foundry) division while holding a stake of less than 50 percent.

The news sent shares of Intel 7 percent higher on Wednesday from its previous closing price.

The company has faced scrutiny from shareholders over its lagging chip business, and its share price has lost over 43 percent of its value compared to a year ago. Intel gained another 10 percent after hours on Wednesday, when the company named Lip-Bu Tan, a former board member, as its new CEO. In a letter to shareholders, Tan signaled that he intends to improve Intel’s chip foundry and did not address the report regarding TSMC.

After a rough several months, Intel ended the week up 18.82 percent.

4. Google powers humanoid robot

Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) expanded its artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities by announcing two new Gemini Robotics models on Wednesday, along with an update to its large language model, Gemma 3.

Google’s AI research subsidiary, DeepMind, integrated its AI model, Gemini 2.0, with humanoid robots developed by Texas-based robotics company Apptronik. The two enterprises formed a partnership agreement to accelerate advancement in AI-powered humanoid robots in December 2024.

Apptronik was founded in 2016 and has developed 15 robotic systems, including NASA’s Valkyrie, which was built to help astronauts explore the Moon or Mars. The company’s flagship robot, Apollo, was designed as a general-purpose robotic assistant for a range of sectors, including aerospace and logistics, as well as retail and hospitality.

The robot made its debut in 2023. In March 2024, it partnered with Mercedes-Benz Group (OTC Pink:MBGAF,ETR:MBG) on a pilot program to test the robot in Mercedes’ manufacturing facilities.

Earlier this year, Apptronik secured US$350 million in a Series A funding round co-led by B Capital and Capital Factory, with Google also participating in the round.

On Thursday (March 13), Google launched an experimental capability to its chatbot, Gemini, giving users the option to connect Gemini to their search history and other apps for more personalized responses. Powered by Google’s Gemini 2.0 Flash Thinking model, the new feature is simply called Gemini with personalization.

“Early testers have found Gemini with personalization helpful for brainstorming and getting personalized recommendations,” said Dave Citron, senior director of product management for Gemini.

5. Cohere launches efficient, low-cost LLM

Canadian AI company Cohere revealed its newest large language model (LLM), Command A, a tool designed to help businesses handle complex tasks like coding by efficiently processing large data sets

“Command A is on par or better than GPT-4o and DeepSeek-V3 across agentic enterprise tasks — tasks where the LLM can act somewhat independently to complete a business goal — with significantly greater efficiency,’ the firm said.

What’s more, Cohere said it spent less than US$30 million to build the model, which can run on just two graphics processing units (GPUs). This is a stark contrast to the tens of thousands of GPUs used by other LLMs, demonstrating Cohere’s ability to achieve high performance with significantly optimized resource utilization.

In an interview with the Globe and Mail, Cohere co-founder Nick Frosst said the company achieved such amazing efficiency by focusing on fulfilling the needs of its customer base rather than pursuing the development of artificial general intelligence (AGI), AI systems that surpass human intelligence.

“We’re training it to be good at the things that our customers want,” he explained. “By being focused on that, we’ve been able to be significantly more efficient than the other players.

“The people who are saying AI is getting bigger and bigger are the people constantly saying they’re around the corner from AGI. That’s not our focus, nor is that my scientific belief.”

Cohere has attracted investment from a range of well-known venture capital firms, including Radical Ventures, SalesForce Ventures and Cisco Investments. It is also backed by prominent players in the AI sector, including Oracle, NVIDIA, AMD and SAP (NYSE:SAP), indicating strong confidence in its potential.

Securities Disclosure: I, Meagen Seatter, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

This post appeared first on investingnews.com

Pope Francis has approved a new three-year reform process for the Catholic Church, sending a strong signal he plans to continue in the post despite spending more than a month in hospital battling pneumonia.

The Vatican announced on Saturday that the 88-year-old pope had signed off on the reform plans from Rome’s Gemelli hospital on earlier in the wee. Francis has been hospitalized since 14 February, his longest since his election as pope.

Reforms on the table include how to give greater roles to women in the Catholic Church, including ordaining them as deacons, and the greater inclusion of laity in governance and decision making.

The reforms have been examined through a structure called the Synod of Bishops, which has been the primary vehicle through which the pope has implemented his pastoral agenda during his papacy. In recent years he’s sought to involve Catholics from across the globe in the renewal process.

In October 2023 and 2024 two Vatican assemblies – which for the first time included female voting members – each met for almost a month of discussions and deliberation with a final document agreed by the pope.

That document left open the question of ordaining women deacons, who carry out all the functions of a priest bar celebrating Mass and hearing confessions. It also insisted that women be given all the opportunities that church law provides to act as leaders.

Francis’ latest decision extends the process by another three years and will culminate in an “ecclesial assembly” in the Vatican in October 2028. Unlike a synod of bishops assembly in the Vatican – which occurred in October 2023 and 2024 – this will be a unique gathering of bishops, clergy, monks, friars, nuns and lay men and women.

By that stage Francis would be 91, so his move could mean that a conclave takes place while this reform initiative is ongoing. In that scenario, whoever is chosen as the next pope would be tasked with continuing the reform process Francis has started.

Meanwhile, the pope’s decision is also a response to those bishops and other senior leaders who have been quietly resisting the Argentine pontiff’s reform plans.

Cardinal Mario Grech, who leads the Holy See’s synod office, said the latest plans, which will include churches at the local level, “offer dioceses that have invested less in the synodal path an opportunity to recover the steps not yet taken and to form their own synodal teams.”

Since his hospitalization, the pope has signalled he’s still governing the Catholic Church, signing documents from the Gemelli hospital, meeting two of his most senior aides and appointing bishops.

Nevertheless, Francis’ extended period hospital has been a time of high anxiety for the Vatican. At 30 days, it is longest hospitalization, although is still behind John Paul II’s 55 days at the Gemelli.

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Mark Carney has never been a politician.

Yet now he’s sworn in as Canada’s new Prime Minister on Friday, he will face two of the most complex political challenges of any rookie world leader in years.

First, he must win a general election that he’s expected to call almost immediately to try to capitalize on his Liberal Party’s revival after months in predecessor Justin Trudeau-inflicted doldrums.

If he wins, his prize will be a dubious one — dealing with US President Donald Trump. Just ask Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was mauled in the Oval Office bear-pit, just how much fun that can be.

Carney’s elevation is a classic confluence of a man and a moment.

But for Trump’s election victory and unprecedented threats to make Canada the 51st state, Carney would probably still be a private citizen and the Liberals would be heading for oblivion. But Trudeau’s resignation and a wave of patriotism swept up by Trump’s attacks left Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre, who was cruising towards the prime minister’s office himself, flailing.

Carney looks like a banker because he is one. He ran the central Banks of Canada and England, and he’s billing himself as a pro who can manage the worst crisis in Canada-US relations for at least 40 years. He’s an old school antidote to Poilievre, a talented young ideologue whose alliterative soundbites are a good fit for the social media age. But the Conservative leader has one glaring liability — he’s a little too Trumpy — a factor that suddenly threatens to down his rising star. Populism was his route to power. Until it suddenly wasn’t.

A backlash against backlash politics

Poilievre’s problems and Carney’s arrival hint at a nascent trend 50 days into the new US administration. Trump’s return was widely seen as a harbinger of a second populist wave that would oust establishment figures all over the west. But a backlash against “America First” mayhem has lifted leaders seeking to operate in the political middle — that once looked like fallow political ground.

In Britain, Prime Minister Keir Starmer found fresh definition in the transatlantic tumult whipped up by Trump after a moribund start to his term that belied his landslide election win last year. His moving embrace of Zelensky after his disastrous visit to Washington was a show of independence from Trump and spoke for millions of Europeans. Starmer’s leadership holds out the possibility of a new era of UK-EU relations following the bitterness of Brexit. Beleaguered French President Emmanuel Macron — whose government keeps collapsing – is reborn as a Gaullist visionary, vowing to rebuild Europe’s military strength. And the rise of Germany’s likely next chancellor Friedrich Merz put the country on a stunning course out of America’s 80-year post-war tutelage moments after his general election victory last month.

As leaders respond, far-right movements have been stalling. The anti-immigrant AfD did better than ever in Germany — but strong support from the Trump administration might have alienated some voters. The pro-Trump Reform party in the UK has been forced to distance itself from some Trump policies and the wild rhetoric of Elon Musk. French right-winger Marine Le Pen must be wondering whether antipathy to Trump could frustrate her National Rally’s hopes for a long-awaited breakthrough in the next French presidential election in 2027.

So what can Carney learn from all this?

Macron and Starmer have evolved the classic how-to-deal-with Trump playbook. To self-demeaning flattery, they’ve added personal steel. By correcting the president’s falsehoods while in the Oval Office. Zelensky came a cropper when trying the same thing — but his stock soared back home at a time when Trump seems to be trying to oust him. And with the help of European leaders, he called Russia’s bluff by agreeing to Trump’s Ukraine ceasefire plan.

But Carney has bigger problems. After all, Trump is not openly attacking British or French sovereignty. The new PM can’t afford to ignore Canadians’ fury. A cynic might argue that if he calls a snap election, it suits him for cross border tensions to last until voters go the polls.

Carney must also recognize reality. If a full-bore trade war rages between the US and Canada, there will be only one winner. Or more accurately, given the damage wrought by tariffs — one biggest loser – since both nations will be hurt by an estrangement in one of the world’s most lucrative trading relationships. To find a way out, Carney must ensure his campaign trail rhetoric doesn’t close off an eventual settlement with Trump.

The answers do not lie in Britain or France. They might be found in a speech by 91-year-old Jean Chrétien, the former Canadian PM who stole the show at the Liberal convention in Ottawa last weekend.

The old master waxed lyrical about his own confrontations with the US in a stirring defense of Canadian identify and patriotism. He peered into a camera and upbraided Trump: “I can say this from one old guy to another old guy: ‘Stop this nonsense. Canada will never join the United States.’”

But amid fierce anti-Americanism, Chrétien also kept alive the prospect of an eventual, and necessary rapprochement. “We have worked with and collaborated with the United States in the past, and I’m telling you, we will do so in the future.”

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The shopfronts are decked out in white, blue and red, with Chinese and Russian flags hanging side by side from the ceiling. Waist-high Russian dolls greet customers at the entrance. Inside, shelves are stocked with an array of Russian goods – from chocolates and cookies to honey and vodka.

In China, pop-up stores specializing in Russian-made products have become an increasingly common sight. Their proliferation has left some residents puzzled, with many on Chinese social media questioning why these stores seem to have sprung up overnight.

Thousands of such stores have opened across the country in recent years, tapping into the Chinese public’s affinity for Russia and deepening trade ties between Beijing and Moscow since Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022.

China has become a critical economic lifeline for sanctions-hit Russia, with bilateral trade reaching record highs year after year. While cheap Russian oil, gas, and coal dominate China’s imports, Russian food products – such as ice cream, sweet biscuits and milk powder – have also risen sharply in popularity.

Chinese businesses have rushed to capitalize on the booming demand.

More than 2,500 new companies involved in the trade of Russian goods have been registered since 2022, according to China’s business records, with nearly half registered in the past year alone. Around 80% of the new firms that rushed to cash in on the craze remained in operation as of this month, business registration records show.

Most of these companies are based in Heilongjiang, the northeastern province bordering Russia, though in the past two years they’ve spread in other provinces.

More than aquatic and agricultural products, which make up the bulk of China’s food imports from Russia, it is Russian-branded chocolates, biscuits and milk powder that have captured the attention of Chinese consumers, appealing directly to the “Made in Russia” brand promoted by Moscow.

The stores’ explosive growth – dubbed “crazy” by a Chinese state media report – has also sparked scrutiny over the authenticity of their products. Investigations by media outlets and influencers alike have revealed that some Russian branded items were actually made in China, prompting authorities to crack down on misleading labeling and advertising.

‘Better fit’

At a Russian goods store in downtown Beijing in February, a shop assistant arranged rows of neatly packaged candies, biscuits, and milk powder – some of the store’s most popular items.

“The best seller is Russian honey – it’s a big hit. And this chocolate is pure. They’re all very good,” she said, gesturing toward a wide selection of chocolates.

In the background, a loudspeaker played a looping message, welcoming customers to the “Russian Goods Pavilion” and hailing Russian products for their “healthiness, natural ingredients, and high quality.”

“This is not only a platform for selling Russian products but also a window showcasing Russian culture and charm,” it declared.

Liang Jinghao, a tourist from the northern Shanxi province, said he had seen many similar Russian goods stores back home. “Russia is a very good country, with a vast land area and rich resources, and its people are also very friendly,” he said.

Su, 20, has opened three Russian goods stores in Pingliang, a small city in the northwestern province of Gansu, since September last year.

“China and Russia have maintained pretty good relations in recent years, and personally, I have a fairly positive view of Russia as a country,” she said.

Su’s stores also sell products from Sri Lanka and Australia, but they were far less popular, she said. “I think Russian products are a better fit for the local taste,” she said.

Official support

As Putin wages his grinding war on Ukraine, China and Russia have grown closer than ever, accelerating a trend driven by their shared animosity toward the US and common goal of pushing back at a Washington-led global order.

Russia and its autocratic leader also enjoy wide popularity among the Chinese public.

In a poll released last year by the Center for International Security and Strategy at Beijing’s Tsinghua University, 66% of respondents expressed “very favorable” or “somewhat favorable” views toward Russia. By contrast, about 76% expressed “unfavorable views” toward the United States.

The made-in-Russia craze can be traced back to early 2022, according to Chinese state media.

Just days after Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine, the “Russian State Pavilion” – an e-commerce store endorsed by the Russian embassy in China – went viral on Chinese social media. Shoppers rushed to snap up everything from candies to tea sachets, spending nearly 6 million yuan ($826,000) on Russian goods within three days, according to Chinese media reports at the time.

In a short video posted on the online store, a Russian business representative toasted “the friendship of old Chinese friends under this complicated and constantly changing international situation.”

By April 2023, more than 300 Moscow-based companies had joined Chinese e-commerce platforms, including Taobao and JD, according to Russian state news agency Sputnik, citing the Moscow Export Center.

The following year, the first “Made in Russia Festival and Fair” debuted in Shenyang and Dalian, the two biggest cities in Liaoning province in northeast China. The event was organised by the Russian Export Centre – a state-owned development institute – with support from Moscow and the provincial government.

More than 150 Russian companies participated in the week-long event, selling $2.3 million of Russian goods to Chinese consumers online and offline, Sputnik reported, citing the Russian Export Center. Three more such fairs have since been held, including in the southwestern metropolis of Chengdu.

The Russian Export Center has authorized eight official retail stores in China under the “Russian State Pavilion” brand. However, these outlets are vastly outnumbered by thousands of unofficial stores capitalizing on the surging demand for Russian products.

Scrutiny and backlash

As their popularity grows, the unofficial stores have also come under greater scrutiny from Chinese consumers and media, especially over the quality and authenticity of the goods sold there.

Late last year, Chinese shoppers took to social media to complain that some products labeled as Russian for sale at the stores were in fact made in China and other countries, including Malaysia.

A report by state-affiliated Jiemian News found a significant portion of food products sold at Russian goods stores – such as bread, sausage and milk powder – were produced in factories in northeastern China.

On Douyin, China’s version of TikTok, Russian influencers based in China rushed to expose what they called “fake Russian goods.”

“I’ve never seen these candies in Russia. The packaging is all fake,” a Russian Douyin user said.

“There’s absolutely nothing like this in Russia,” said another, holding a sausage at a store in Shanghai, while a shopkeeper could be heard in the background asking her to stop filming.

The Russian embassy in China also weighed in, warning Chinese customers against “counterfeits” disguised as Russian goods. “These products often do not meet quality requirements and are different from similar products produced in Russia, but Russian words are used on the packaging to imitate the Russian origin,” it said in a statement.

Following the outcry, market regulators in Shanghai launched two rounds of inspections on 47 Russian goods stores in the city. Seven of them were accused of falsely advertising themselves as “state pavilions,” misleading customers into believing they have official backing; others created “highly misleading impressions” about the origins of their products, the regulators said in a statement in January.

Some stores were ordered to close, while others were fined and required to label domestically produced goods more clearly. Other cities soon followed suit with similar inspections.

Despite the controversy, the popularity of Russian goods is driving more stores to open in China, including official ones.

The Russian Export Center said in February it plans to set up as many as 300 Russian goods stores with Chinese partners across the country before the end of the year.

At this year’s “Made in Russia Festival and Fair” in Shenyang, Veronika Nikishina, director general of the Russian Export Center, offered a tip for distinguishing authentic Russian products from counterfeits.

Genuine goods carry a dove-shaped “Made in Russia” label on their packaging, with Russia clearly marked as the country of origin, she explained.

“We sincerely hope that all Chinese consumers can purchase authentic, high-quality Russian-made products,” Nikishina said.

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A Peruvian fisherman has been found alive in the Pacific Ocean after spending 95 days lost at sea, Peru’s state news agency Andina reported Saturday.

Máximo Napa Castro, 61, set off on his fishing boat on December 7 from Marcona, a coastal town in the south of the country, but bad weather caused him to stray from his course and lose direction, according to Andina.

He was found on March 11 by an Ecuadorian fishing boat in waters off the coast of northern Peru, heavily dehydrated and in critical condition, the agency said.

After his rescue, Napa Castro told local media in a tearful interview that he managed to survive by drinking rainwater he collected on the boat and eating insects, birds and a turtle.

He spent the last 15 days without eating, Reuters reported.

Napa Castro told local media he kept thinking about his family to “hold on” to life.

“I said I didn’t want to die for my mother. I had a granddaughter who is a few months old, I held on to her. Every day I thought of my mother,” he said.

The fisherman’s daughter Inés Napa Torres thanked the Ecuadorian fishermen for saving her dad’s life.

“Thank you, Ecuadorian brothers, for rescuing my dad Gatón, God bless you,” she said in a Facebook post.

Napa Castro’s family and groups of fishermen had been searching for him for three months. “Every day is anguish for the whole family and I understand my grandmother’s pain because as a mother I understand her (…) We never thought we would go through this situation, I wouldn’t wish it on anyone, we will not lose hope, Dad, of finding you,” his daughter wrote on March 3 on Facebook.

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It’s a new day in Europe.

Gone are the halcyon years of unshakeable American commitment to Europe’s defense against Russia.

Here to stay – at least while Donald Trump is in the White House is something more transactional. And the stakes couldn’t be higher.

Europe must “step up in a big way to provide for its own defense,” US Vice President JD Vance told decision-makers in Munich in February.

Europe’s answer so far has been to pledge to boost spending at home and for Ukraine, with an eye to buying European-made armaments. But a more radical solution has also been floated: a European “nuclear umbrella.”

If the United States has always been Europe’s big brother, France and the United Kingdom are longstanding nuclear powers too — and some European leaders are wondering whether the ultimate deterrence to Moscow could come from closer to home.

While the bulk of the world’s nuclear weapons are US or Russian-owned, France has some 290 nuclear warheads, the UK 225 of the US-designed Trident missiles.

Recent weeks saw a flurry of comments from European leaders looking to bolster their common defense under a British or French nuclear umbrella, as Washington’s reliability appears to waver.

French President Emmanuel Macron earlier this month promised to “open the strategic debate on the protection by our deterrence of our allies on the European continent.”

His comments came after Germany’s presumed next Chancellor Friedrich Merz called for talks with France and the UK on extending their nuclear protection.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that the French proposal was “not new” and had come up several times in conversations, throwing his support behind the idea.

Other leaders from countries historically averse to nuclear weapons, like Sweden and Denmark, also welcomed France’s overtures towards European allies.

Since General Charles de Gaulle established France’s nuclear force in the late 1950s, in part to keep Paris at the heart of global decision-making, France’s program has been proudly sovereign — “French from end to end,” as Macron described it.

The UK hasn’t made any public offer to further share or alter its nuclear protection. But its warheads remain pledged to the US-dominated NATO command, thus already offering a strategic protection to European allies.

Some leaders are still hoping for reinforced US support though.

On Thursday, Polish President Andrzej Duda called on Trump to deploy US nuclear weapons in Poland, likening the move to Russia’s decision to base some of its own nuclear missiles in Belarus in 2023.

“I think it’s not only that the time has come, but that it would be safer if those weapons were already here,” Duda told the Financial Times.

Pound for pound

Aside from its huge power, the American arsenal’s size and diversity gives it another key advantage in nuclear war: the potential to minimize any thermonuclear exchange. The US, “can use what we call a graduated response,” Pincé said, to perhaps even deliver a single strike, instead of unleashing its entire arsenal.

In contrast, the French nuclear armory – with missile-laden submarines and nuclear-armed bombers – was historically intended as a last resort if Cold-War Russian forces threatened the French homeland, likely unleashing a barrage on key sites in territories of the Soviet sphere to force an enemy withdrawal.

It is differences such as these that pose a key challenge to any European-centered nuclear umbrella.

“One thing that the Europeans don’t have is nuclear culture. They don’t understand it because they’ve always presumed that the Americans would do it,” Yakovleff said. “I suspect that Macron is thinking of, if I dare say, educating whoever wants it, on nuclear dialogue.”

Macron has proposed having allies participate in the country’s secretive nuclear exercises, to see firsthand France’s capabilities and decision-making.

But he’s also been clear that he’s not yielding his “nuclear button” to allies or even to Brussels. The decision to launch a nuclear strike “has always remained and will remain” in his hands, he told France in a national address.

The UK military has been “very active in terms of increasing what it’s called the nuclear deterrence IQ at NATO,” said Lukasz Kulesa, director of UK-based think tank RUSI’s proliferation and nuclear policy program, thereby “making sure that all the allies are aware and understand the grammar of nuclear deterrence.”

Crucially though, the US hasn’t said it’s pulling out of its commitment to protect NATO allies, she stressed.

This week, a nuclear-capable US bomber flew over central Stockholm to mark the one-year anniversary of Sweden’s accession to NATO – a highly symbolic choice.

Such a move might signal how seriously Washington views the rising temperatures in Europe.

Warding off Moscow

Megaton for megaton, Europe’s arsenal bears no comparison with that of Moscow.

Boosting Europe’s nuclear arsenal would be a “question of years, if not decades,” of investment and development, according to RUSI’s Kulesa.

But deterrence isn’t just a question of the number of missiles; demonstrating the operational credibility of Europe’s nuclear forces is also essential.

More cohesive cooperation with allies around nuclear forces would be a strong boost to deterrence, Kulesa said. That could entail air-to-air refuelling from allies in support of French bombers or anti-submarine warfare capabilities to protect British or French nuclear sub maneuvers.

Given decades of shrinking investment in the British military, questions have been raised over the deterrence that Britain’s conventional and nuclear weapons offer, particularly given its reliance on a US supply chain.

In the last eight years, the UK has publicly acknowledged two failed nuclear missile tests, one of them in the waters off Florida, when dummy missiles didn’t fire as intended.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer last month promised what the government described as “the biggest investment in defense spending since the Cold War” in an increasingly dangerous world.

Other non-nuclear European allies are boosting their spending on conventional weapons – and this also counts, analysts say.

Fundamentally, “nuclear weapons are not a magic instrument,” said Kulesa.

Any true deterrence to Russia will need conventional and nuclear forces, he said, and under Trump, “the question is whether you can count on the American commitment and involvement.”

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