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Statistics Canada released its May Labour Force Survey on Friday (June 6). The data showed that nearly 9,000 new jobs were added to the workforce during the month. The news surprised analysts who were expecting losses of 12,500 as the effects of US trade tariffs began to be felt in the Canadian economy.

The biggest contributors to the gains were 43,000 new workers added in wholesale and retail trade; 19,000 new jobs in the information, culture and recreation category; and 12,000 new employees within the real estate and finance sector.

While these additions were significant, they were offset by the loss of 32,000 jobs in the public administration sector, as well as a decline of 16,000 workers in both the accommodation and food services sector and the transportation and warehousing sector. Additionally, 15,000 jobs were lost in the business, building and support services sector.

Despite the net job gains, unemployment registered a 0.1 percent gain to 7 percent, while the employment rate was stable at 60.8 percent.

Also this week, StatsCan released the Annual Mineral Production Survey for 2023 on Wednesday (June 4). The report showed that total revenues for metal ore mining and non-metallic mineral mining and quarrying industry groups in 2023 decreased by 9.3 percent to C$59.7 billion year-over-year. Meanwhile, expenses rose by 8.6 percent to C$43.2 billion during the same period.

South of the border, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics released May’s Employment Situation Summary on Friday. The report showed that the US labor market remained stable for the month, adding 139,000 nonfarm workers. The report also indicated that unemployment remained unchanged at 4.2 percent, while the participation rate decreased by 0.2 percent to 62.4 percent.

The largest gains were felt in the healthcare sector, which accounted for roughly half of the new jobs at 62,000, while the hospitality sector came in second with 48,000 new jobs. However, the economy was impacted by the loss of an additional 22,000 federal government employees, bringing the total number of federal job losses for the year to 59,000.

Human resources company ADP (NASDAQ:ADP) reported that US private sector employers added 37,000 new jobs in May, the lowest level since March 2023. This growth was wholly concentrated in mid-sized companies, with small and large establishments losing jobs. The natural resources and mining industry lost 5,000 jobs over the period.

Additionally, platinum prices have been on the rise over the last two weeks, highlighted by a nearly 10 percent surge during the past five days to US$1,160.79 per ounce on Friday. The gains may be related to the cancellation of EV tax credits proposed in the US tax bill working its way through Congress, as well as infighting between Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk and US President Donald Trump following Musk’s departure from the Trump administration.

The threat has sent ripples through the automotive sector and may cause increased demand on an already stressed platinum market.

Markets and commodities react

In Canada, major indexes were mixed at the end of the week.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index (INDEXTSI:OSPTX) climbed 0.93 percent during the week to close at 26,429.13 on Friday. The S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index (INDEXTSI:JX) had a larger gain of 3.06 percent to 721.60 and the CSE Composite Index (CSE:CSECOMP) rose 1.7 percent to 117.55.

US equities were in positive territory this week, with the S&P 500 (INDEXSP:INX) gaining 1.76 percent to close at 6,000.37, the Nasdaq-100 (INDEXNASDAQ:NDX) rising 2.31 percent to 21,761.79 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) adding 1.33 percent to 42,762.88.

The gold price was up this week, gaining 1.02 percent, to close Friday at US$3,322.73. The silver price saw more significant gains, surging 8.92 percent during the period to US$35.91, their highest since 2012.

In base metals, the COMEX copper price rose 4.78 percent over the week to US$4.86 per pound. Meanwhile, the S&P GSCI (INDEXSP:SPGSCI) posted a gain of 3.87 percent to close at 545.00.

Top Canadian mining stocks this week

How did mining stocks perform against this backdrop?

Take a look at this week’s five best-performing Canadian mining stocks below.

Stock data for this article was retrieved at 4 p.m. EDT 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. Africa Energy (TSXV:AFE)

Weekly gain: 275 percent
Market cap: C$71.87
Share price: C$0.15

Africa Energy is a South Africa-focused oil and gas exploration and development company.

Its flagship asset is Block 11B/12B located approximately 175 kilometers off the south coast of South Africa. The block covers an area of 18,734 square kilometers and depths between 200 meters and 1,800 meters.

Africa Energy previously held a 4.9 percent stake in the project through its 49/51 joint venture with Arostyle Investments named Main Street 1549, which owned 10 percent of the asset. The remaining partners were project operator TotalEnergies (NYSE:TTE) at 45 percent, Qatar Petroleum at 25 percent and CNR International (TSX:CNQ,NYSE:CNQ) at 20 percent.

Main Street 1549’s three partners announced plans to withdraw from the Block 11B/12B joint venture in July 2024, and discussions on restructuring the ownership had been underway since.

Shares in Africa Energy began surging May 29 after Africa Energy announced a definitive agreement for the new ownership structure of the Block 11B/12B asset.

Under the terms of the definitive agreement between Africa Energy and Arostyle Investments, Africa Energy will increase its ownership of Main Street from a 49 percent to 100 percent stake. Additionally, the withdrawing parties assigned 65 percent of their participating interest in Block 11B/12B to Main Street and 25 percent to Arostyle.

The result will see Africa Energy increase its stake in the asset from 4.9 percent to 75 percent.

2. Allegiant Gold (TSXV:AUAU)

Weekly gain: 95 percent
Market cap: C$17.24
Share price: C$0.39

Allegiant Gold is a gold exploration company working to advance several projects in Nevada, United States.

Its flagship project is Eastside, located in Esmeralda County, consists of 973 unpatented lode mining claims covering 8,289 hectares. Nearly 70,000 meters of drilling has been carried out at the property since 2011.

A July 2021 mineral resource estimate showed inferred quantities at the site of 1.09 million ounces of gold with an average grade of 0.55 g/t and 8.7 million ounces of silver with an average grade of 4.4 g/t from 61.73 million tons of ore.

The most recent news from the company was announced on May 29, when it stated that its previously announced one-for-two share consolidation would take effect on Monday, June 2.

3. LaFleur Minerals (CSE:LFLR)

Weekly gain: 89.66 percent
Market cap: C$37.46
Share price: C$0.275

LaFleur Minerals is an exploration and development company working to advance a pair of projects in Quebec, Canada.

Its Swanson Gold project consists of a 15,290 hectare land package in the southern portion of Quebec’s Abitibi gold belt. Historic drilling at the site has uncovered 958 holes, revealing broad mineralization with widths of up to 40 meters. Additionally, the site has also had underground workings to a vertical depth of 80 meters to carry out bulk sampling.

A September 2024 mineral resource estimate suggested total indicated resources of 123,400 ounces of gold from 2.11 million metric tons of ore with an average grade of 1.8 grams per metric ton (g/t) along with additional inferred quantities of 64,500 g/t from 872,000 metric tons with an average grade of 2.3 g/t.

The company’s other property, the Beacon Mill and Mine, is a past-producing mine, also located in the Abitibi gold belt. LaFleur acquired the mine in September 2024 as part of a receivership sale. Monarch Mining previously owned the mine, which has been on care and maintenance since 2022.

Most recently, the mine underwent a C$20 million refurbishment in 2022 and is capable of processing 750 metric tons of ore per day.

Shares in LaFleur gained this week after it announced updates for both properties on Wednesday.

At Swanson, it stated that it was planning a 5,000-meter drilling program, set to begin in June, with more than 50 targets having been identified. Additionally, the company announced that it is targeting early 2026 for the restart.

4. Eastern Platinum (TSX:ELR)

Weekly gain: 84.85 percent
Market cap: C$37.46
Share price: C$0.305

Eastern Platinum, also known as Eastplats, is a platinum group metal (PGM) and chrome mining, development and exploration company working to advance assets in South Africa.

Its most advanced asset is the Crocodile River mine, located northwest of Johannesburg. The mine began operating in 1987, but production was suspended in the early 1990s due to falling PGM prices. Since then, the mine saw some limited production in the early 2000s before once again being suspended.

After significant rehabilitation, chrome and PGM production from site tailings was restarted at the site in 2018 and 2020 respectively, and underground operations at the Zandfontein mine restarted in October 2023. In October of last year, Eastplats began commissioning a PGM processing plant that will process ore from Zandfontein.

A technical report from May 2022 demonstrated a proven and probable resource of 1.72 million ounces of platinum, palladium, rhodium and gold, with an average grade of 3.68 g/t from 14.58 million metric tons of ore.

Although the company did not release news this week, shares in Eastplats gained alongside a surging platinum price.

5. TNR Gold (TSXV:TNR)

Weekly gain: 58.33 percent
Market cap: C$15.06
Share price: C$0.095

TNR Gold is an exploration and royalty company with a focus on the acquisition of green energy and gold assets.

The company owns the Shotgun Gold project in Alaska’s Kuskokwim Gold Belt. The property consists of 108 claims covering an area of 6,993 hectares. A 2013 technical report showed inferred quantities of 705,960 ounces of gold from 20.73 million metric tons of gold with an average grade of 1.06 g/t with a cutoff of 0.5 g/t.

Its royalty investments include a 1.5 percent net smelter royalty from Ganfeng Lithium’s (OTC Pink:GNENF) Marina Lithium project in Argentina. It also holds a 0.4 percent net smelter royalty in McEwen Mining’s (NYSE:MUX,TSX:MUX) Los Azules Copper, Gold and Silver Project, also in Argentina.

The latest news from TNR came on May 14 when it released a corporate update. In the release the company highlighted its success from the royalty portion of its business, and provided updates from its key investments.

It also said it was looking to attract a partnership with a major gold mining company to help advance its Alaskan Shotgun project.

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 mining companies are listed on the TSX and TSXV?

As of February 2025, there were 1,572 companies listed on the TSXV, 905 of which were mining companies. Comparatively, the TSX was home to 1,859 companies, with 181 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 some of the most impactful resource sector news items for the week.

The period saw the Ontario government back the Marathon copper-palladium project, while Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO,NYSE:RIO,LSE:RIO) opened up a US$2 billion iron ore mine. Elsewhere, Indonesia suspended nickel mining in a protected region, and Chile debuted a solar-powered model to cut water-pumping energy use in mining.

Marathon project gets shovel-ready nod from Ontario

Ontario has designated Generation Mining’s (TSX:GENM,OTCQB:GENMF) Marathon project as a shovel-ready strategic minerals project, urging the federal government to invest in its development.

The project, located in Northwestern Ontario, is fully permitted for construction and is expected to produce significant quantities of copper, palladium, platinum, gold and silver over its anticipated 13 year mine life.

The announcement comes after the release of an open letter to Tim Hodgson, Canada’s minister of energy and natural resources. It identifies priority projects for Ontario and was penned by provincial ministers Stephen Lecce, Mike Harris and Greg Rickford, as well as associate ministers Kevin Holland and Sam Oosterhoff.

“Building on the investments in the Ring of Fire and the critical minerals supply chain we urge the federal government to invest in shovel-ready strategic mineral projects that are critical to building a secure, domestic supply chain including…Generation Mining’s Marathon project,” the Thursday (June 5) letter reads.

The Ontario government is facing mounting backlash over the recent passage of Bill 5, the Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act. It grants the province authority to bypass certain provincial and municipal laws for projects deemed economically significant, aiming to expedite developments like mining operations.

However, Indigenous leaders and environmental groups have criticized the bill, arguing that it undermines treaty rights and environmental protections.

Rio Tinto and Baowu open US$2 billion iron ore mine

Rio Tinto and China Baowu Steel Group have opened the Western Range iron ore mine in Western Australia’s Pilbara region, marking a significant milestone in both resource development and Indigenous collaboration.

The US$2 billion joint venture, owned 54 percent by Rio Tinto and 46 percent by Baowu, is projected to produce up to 25 million metric tons of iron ore annually, sustaining the Paraburdoo mining hub for approximately 20 years.

Western Range is the first Rio Tinto project to implement a co-designed social, cultural and heritage management plan (SCHMP) with the Yinhawangka Traditional Owners.

Established in 2022, the SCHMP aims to protect significant cultural and heritage values in the area.

Robyn Hayden, Yinhawangka Aboriginal Corporation board chairwoman, emphasized the importance of this collaboration. “The opening of the Western Range mine represents a shift in how our heritage is being recognised and respected,” she is quoted as saying in Rio Tinto’s Friday (June 6) press release.

Alongside the Western Range opening, Rio Tinto announced that development is moving forward at its Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold mine in Mongolia under an alternative mine plan.

While ramp up remains on track, with output from Panel 0 and Panel 2 expected in 2025 and 2026, the company has paused development in the Entrée Resources (TSX:ETG,OTCQB:ERLFF) joint venture area.

The pause will remain in place until the Mongolian government completes a necessary license transfer. Rio Tinto is instead accelerating work in Panel 2 South, which lies outside the Entrée joint venture zone. Copper guidance for 2025 remains unchanged at 780,000 to 850,000 metric tons.

Indonesia reviews nickel mining in biodiversity hotspot

Indonesia’s government has initiated a review of nickel-mining activities in the Raja Ampat archipelago, a region renowned for its rich biodiversity and often referred to as the ‘last paradise.’

The decision follows public outcry and Greenpeace Indonesia’s release of videos highlighting environmental degradation caused by nickel-mining operations on the islands of Gag, Kawe and Manuran

Greenpeace’s analysis indicates that over 500 hectares of forest and native vegetation have been cleared for nickel mining in these areas, leading to soil runoff and sedimentation that threaten coral reefs and marine ecosystems. These islands are classified as small islands under Indonesian law, which prohibits mining activities in such regions.

Hanif Faisol Nurofiq, Indonesia’s environment minister, announced plans to visit the affected areas and stated that the government will take legal action against mining firms operating there after conducting thorough studies.

The energy ministry also suspended operations at Gag Nikel’s operations in Raja Ampat pending an inspection.

The nation is the world’s top producer of nickel, outputting 2.2 million metric tons in 2024. Indonesia’s nickel sector has undergone major shifts in 2025, with the government slashing mining quotas in response to falling prices and pledging to implement stricter ESG standards across its resource industries.

Nickel prices have been turbulent this year, opening the 12 month period at US$15,010 per metric ton and rising to a year-to-date high of US$16,440 in mid-March. Supply saturation weighed on the market through to April, when values sank to a year-to-date low of US$13,805. Prices have since rebounded and are sitting at the US$15,285 level.

Chile unveils model to reduce energy footprint for seawater use in mining

According to a recently published study, Chilean researchers at the Department of Electrical Engineering at the University of Concepción have developed a real-time energy management model that uses predictive economic control to optimize power use in large-scale water-pumping stations.

The model was tested on a system supplying a reverse osmosis plant in Northern Chile, and integrates solar photovoltaic energy and battery storage to reduce costs and improve efficiency.

The site features seven 1,343 kilowatt pumps that transport water 120 kilometers uphill over a 1,000 meter elevation gain. Simulations compared conventional operation with hybrid setups using solar and Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Megapack batteries, showing the potential for more sustainable and cost-effective water transport.

‘The study was motivated by the sustained increase in electricity consumption associated with pumping seawater for mineral concentration processes, an increasingly common practice in areas with water scarcity,” said Daniel Sbarbaro, a researcher at SERC Chile and author of the paper.

This development is significant for lithium miners in Chile’s Atacama Desert, where freshwater resources are scarce and the mining industry increasingly relies on seawater desalination for operations.

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

This post appeared first on investingnews.com

Israel is arming local militias in Gaza in an effort to counter Hamas in the besieged enclave, officials say, as opposition politicians warned that the move endangers national security.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended the covert enterprise on Thursday, calling it “a good thing.” In a video posted on social media, Netanyahu said Israel had “activated clans in Gaza which oppose Hamas,” and that it was done “under the advice of security elements.”

Former defense minister and Netanyahu rival Avigdor Liberman divulged the move on Israel’s Ch. 12 News on Wednesday, saying that Israel was distributing rifles to extremist groups in Gaza and describing the operation as “complete madness.”

“We’re talking about the equivalent of ISIS in Gaza,” Liberman said one day later on Israel’s Army Radio, adding that Israel is providing weapons to “crime families in Gaza on Netanyahu’s orders.”

Meanwhile, Hamas said the plan revealed “a grave and undeniable truth.” In a statement, the militant group said: “The Israeli occupation army is arming criminal gangs in the Gaza Strip with the aim of creating a state of insecurity and social chaos.”

One group that has received weapons from Israel is the militia led by Yasser Abu Shabab, officials said. Abu Shabab heads an armed group that controls some territory in eastern Rafah and he has posted photos of himself holding an AK-47 rifle with UN vehicles behind him. Though Abu Shabab has denied receiving weapons from Israel, Hamas has accused him of being a “traitor.”

“We pledge before God to continue confronting the dens of that criminal and his gang, no matter the cost of the sacrifices we make,” Hamas said on Thursday.

Opposition politicians ripped Netanyahu for the plan to arm militias and the secrecy around it, lambasting it as a continuation of the Israeli leader’s decision to allow millions of dollars in cash to travel from Qatar to Gaza beginning in late 2018. They accused him of strengthening Hamas in the past as an alternative to the rival Palestinian Fatah faction, and now arming gangs as an alternative to Hamas.

“After Netanyahu finished handing over millions of dollars to Hamas, he moved on to supplying weapons to groups in Gaza affiliated with ISIS – all improvised, with no strategic planning, and all leading to more disasters,” opposition leader Yair Lapid said on social media.

Netanyahu has not laid out a plan for who will govern Gaza in the future and has hardly made clear any of his post-war intentions for the coastal enclave. Part of Israel’s war goals include the complete disarmament of Hamas and the end of its ability to govern in the territory.

The arming of militias in Gaza appears to be the closest that Netanyahu has come to empowering any form of alternate rule.

Despite nearly 20 months of war, Israel has not been able to dislodge Hamas completely from large swaths of Gaza, and the militant group – classified as a terrorist organization in Israel, the United States, and the European Union – has clung to power.

Yair Golan, head of the left-wing Democrats party, said in a post on social media: “Instead of bringing about a deal, making arrangements with the moderate Sunni axis, and returning the hostages and security to Israeli citizens, he is creating a new ticking bomb in Gaza.”

This post appeared first on cnn.com

Ukraine’s shock drone strike on Russia’s strategic bomber fleet this week has generals and analysts taking a new look at threats to high-value United States aircraft at bases in the homeland and abroad – and the situation is worrisome.

“It’s an eyebrow-raising moment,” Gen. David Allvin, the US Air Force chief of staff, said at a defense conference in Washington on Tuesday, adding that the US is vulnerable to similar attacks.

By “unhardened,” Shugart means there aren’t enough shelters in which US warplanes can be parked that are tough enough to protect them from airstrikes, be it from drones or missiles.

Ukrainian military officials said 41 Russian aircraft were hit in last Sunday’s attacks, including strategic bombers and surveillance planes, with some destroyed and others damaged.

Later analysis shows at least 12 planes destroyed or damaged, and reviews of satellite imagery were continuing.

The Ukrainian operation used drones smuggled into Russian territory, hidden in wooden mobile houses atop trucks and driven close to four Russian air bases, according to Ukrainian sources.

Once near the bases, the roofs of the mobile houses were remotely opened, and the drones deployed to launch their strikes.

The Russian planes were sitting uncovered on the tarmac at the bases, much as US warplanes are at facilities at home and abroad.

“We’ve got a lot of high-value assets that are extraordinarily expensive,” McChrystal said.

The Ukrainians said their attacks destroyed $7 billion worth of Russian aircraft. By comparison, a single US Air Force B-2 bomber costs $2 billion. And the US has only 20 of them.

Shugart co-authored a report for the Hudson Institute in January highlighting the threat to US military installations from China in the event of any conflict between the superpowers.

“People’s Liberation Army (PLA) strike forces of aircraft, ground-based missile launchers, surface and subsurface vessels, and special forces can attack US aircraft and their supporting systems at airfields globally, including in the continental United States,” Shugart and fellow author Timothy Walton wrote.

War game simulations and analyses show “the overwhelming majority of US aircraft losses would likely occur on the ground at airfields (and that the losses could be ruinous),” Shugart and Walton wrote.

A report from Air and Space Forces magazine last year pointed out that Anderson Air Force Base on the Pacific island of Guam – perhaps the US’ most important air facility in the Pacific – which has hosted rotations of those $2 billion B-2 bombers, as well as B-1 and B-52 bombers, has no hardened shelters.

Allvin, the USAF chief of staff, admitted the problem on Tuesday.

“Right now, I don’t think it’s where we need to be,” Allvin told a conference of the CNAS.

McChrystal said the US must look at how to protect its bases and the aircraft on them but also how it monitors the areas around those facilities.

“It widens the spectrum of the threats you’ve got to deal with,” McChrystal said.

The cost of ‘playing defense’

But all that costs money, and Allvin said that presents the US with a budget dilemma.

Does it spend defense dollars on hardened shelters and ways to stop drones and missiles from attacking US bases, or does it use more resources on offensive weapons that take the fight to the enemy?

“If all we are doing is playing defense and can’t shoot back, then that’s not a good use of our money,” Allvin told the CNAS conference.

“We’ve always known that hardening our bases is something we needed to do,” Allvin said, but other items have been given budget priority.

Hardened aircraft shelters aren’t flashy and are unlikely to generate the headlines of other defense projects, including planes like the new B-21 bombers, each of which is expected to cost around $700 million.

And US President Donald Trump said recently the Air Force will build a new stealth fighter, the F-47, with an initial cost of $300 million per aircraft.

“The F-47 is an amazing aircraft, but it’s going to die on the ground if we don’t protect it,” Allvin said.

Meanwhile, a hardened shelter costs around $30 million, according to Shugart and Walton.

Last month Trump revealed another form of air defense for the US mainland, the Golden Dome missile shield, expected to cost at least $175 billion.

Despite the huge price tag, it’s designed to counter long-range threats, like intercontinental ballistic missiles fired from a different hemisphere.

Vastness as a weakness

In Russia’s case, the vastness of its territory was seen as a strength in its war with Ukraine. One of the air bases hit in Ukraine’s Operation “Spiderweb” was closer to Tokyo than Kyiv.

But now Russia’s size is a weakness, writes David Kirichenko on the Ukraine Watch blog of the Atlantic Council.

Every border crossing may be an infiltration point; every cargo container on every highway or rail line must be treated with suspicion.

“This is a logistical nightmare,” Kirichenko said.

And there is a direct analogy to the United States.

US Air Force bomber bases are usually well inland, but accessible to vehicles large and small.

For instance, all 20 B-2 bombers are stationed at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri. It’s about 600 miles from the nearest coastline, the Gulf of Mexico, but only about 25 miles south of Interstate 70, one of the main east-west traffic arteries in the US, with thousands of commercial vehicles passing by daily.

Dyess Air Force Base in Texas, one of the homes of US B-1 bombers, sits just south of another major east-west commercial artery, Interstate 20.

“Think of all the containers and illegal entrants inside our borders,” said Carl Schuster, a former director of operations at the US Pacific Command’s Joint Intelligence Center.

“That connection will trigger alarm in some US circles,” he said.

Meanwhile, in the Pacific, even better US offensive firepower, like Gen. Allvin would like to have, might not be enough in the event of a conflict with China.

That’s because the PLA has made a concerted effort to protect its aircraft during its massive military buildup under leader Xi Jinping, according to the Hudson Institute report.

China has more than 650 hardened aircraft shelters at airfields within 1,150 miles of the Taiwan Strait, the report says.

But Shugart and Walton argue the best move Washington could make would be to make Beijing build more – by improving US strike capabilities in Asia.

“In response the… PLA would likely continue to spend funds on additional costly passive and active defense measures and in turn would have less to devote to alternative investments, including strike and other power projection capabilities,” they said.

This post appeared first on cnn.com

Mexican prosecutors are investigating a widely shared surveillance video of the former boss of murdered woman carrying a suspicious bundle up a flight of stairs.

Lorena Jacqueline Morales, who lived in the city of León in the central state of Guanajuato and worked at a food store, was reported missing by her family on May 23, according to authorities.

The 28-year-old’s body was found on Tuesday, June 3, inside a suitcase, according to prosecutors. Her murder has shocked the country and has underscored violence against women in Mexico.

Prosecutors arrested the alleged perpetrator, her former boss, that same day.

The surveillance video showed Morales’ former boss going into an apartment building and climbing a flight of stairs with a covered-up object. Later, the man is seen next to a car struggling to load a heavy suitcase into the trunk.

The timestamp in the upper left corner of the video suggests it was filmed on May 22. It’s unclear what happened before and after the footage was recorded.

Guanajuato Gov. Libia Dennise García Muñoz said the case should be investigated as a femicide.

Mexico has long struggled with high levels of both homicide and violence against women.

While not all homicides involving women are femicides, many are. In 2020, a quarter of female killings in Mexico were investigated as femicides, with cases reported in each one of Mexico’s 32 states, according to Amnesty International.

Last year, there were 847 reported cases of femicide nationwide – and 162 in the first three months of this year, according to Mexican government figures.

This post appeared first on cnn.com

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Friday invited Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the G7 summit in Alberta later this month, an invitation Modi accepted despite strained ties between the countries.

The countries expelled each other’s top diplomats last year over the killing of a Sikh Canadian activist in Canada and allegations of other crimes.

The invitation prompted anger from the World Sikh Organization of Canada, which wrote to Carney in May asking him not to invite Modi. Tensions remain high between Canada and India over accusations about Indian government agents being involved in the murder of a Canadian activist for Sikh separatism in British Columbia in 2023.

Carney extended the invitation to Modi in a phone call between the two leaders on Friday. The summit runs from June 15 to 17.

Carney noted Canada is in the role of G7 chair and said there are important discussions that India should be a part of.

“India is the fifth-largest economy in the world, the most populous country in the world and central to supply chains,” Carney told reporters, adding that there has been some progress on law enforcement dialogue between the two countries.

“I extended the invitation to Prime Minister Modi and, in that context, he has accepted,” Carney said.

Carney said there is a legal process underway in the killing of the Canadian Sikh activist and said he would not comment on the case, when asked by a reporter if he thought Modi was involved.

The tit-for-tat expulsions came after Canada told India that its top diplomat in the country is a person of interest in the 2023 assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, and that police have uncovered evidence of an intensifying campaign against Canadian citizens by agents of the Indian government.

Modi said he was glad to receive a call from Carney and congratulated him on his recent election victory.

“As vibrant democracies bound by deep people-to-people ties, India and Canada will work together with renewed vigour, guided by mutual respect and shared interests. Look forward to our meeting at the summit,” Modi said in a social media statement.

Nijjar, 45, was fatally shot in his pickup truck after he left the Sikh temple he led in Surrey, British Columbia. An Indian-born citizen of Canada, he owned a plumbing business and was a leader in what remains of a once-strong movement to create an independent Sikh homeland.

Four Indian nationals living in Canada were charged with Nijjar’s murder.

Balpreet Singh, legal counsel and spokesperson for the World Sikh Organization of Canada, called Carney’s invitation to Modi a “betrayal of Canadian values.”

“The summit to which Mr. Modi is being invited falls on the anniversary of the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar two years ago,” he said. “So for us, this is unacceptable, it’s shocking and it’s a complete reversal of the principled stand that Prime Minister (Justin) Trudeau had taken.”

Canada is not the only country that has accused Indian officials of plotting an assassination on foreign soil.

In 2023 US prosecutors said an Indian government official directed a failed plot to assassinate another Sikh separatist leader in New York.

This post appeared first on cnn.com

Russia bombarded Ukraine’s second-largest city with massive strikes in the early hours of Saturday, its mayor said, one night after Moscow carried out one of the war’s largest aerial assaults on Ukraine.

Russia has conducted extensive attacks on Ukraine in recent days, in what is being viewed as retaliation for an audacious drone operation by Kyiv that debilitated more than a third of Moscow’s strategic cruise missile carriers.

The northeastern city of Kharkiv – which sits about 30 kilometers (19 miles) from the Russian border – was shaken by “at least 40 explosions” on Saturday, killing at least two people and wounding more than a dozen, according to a Telegram post by Mayor Igor Terekhov.

“Kharkiv is currently experiencing the most powerful attack since the start of the full-scale war,” Terekhov said. “The enemy is striking simultaneously with missiles, (drones) and guided aerial bombs. This is outright terror against peaceful Kharkiv.”

Video released by emergency services showed a large fire burning in a multi-story apartment block in the Osnovyanskyi district in the city’s southwest, where Terekhov said two people had died.

One person was also killed in a strike that hit a house in the Kyivskyi district to the north, he said.

A day earlier, in the apparent retaliation to Ukraine’s drone swarm, Russia launched a barrage of drones and ballistic missiles across broad swaths of Ukraine, killing at least six people and injuring dozens of others.

“They gave Putin a reason to go in and bomb the hell out of them last night,” US President Donald Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One late on Friday.

Trump had earlier warned Russian retaliation was imminent, after speaking with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Wednesday.

It was not immediately clear if Putin intends to further escalate Moscow’s retaliation.

Trump is eager to bring an end to the three-year war, but has been reluctant to impose new sanctions on Russia while the US pushes the warring nations to strike a ceasefire deal.

On Friday, he said he will use further sanctions against Russia “if necessary.”

“If I think Russia will not be making a deal or stopping the bloodshed… I’ll use it if it’s necessary,” he told reporters.

Officials from Russia and Ukraine met in Istanbul on Monday for a second round of peace talks, but the meeting lasted barely over an hour and the only real outcome was an agreement to work towards another prisoner swap.

This post appeared first on cnn.com

Recently, the S&P 500 ($SPX) has been racking up a good number of wins.

Since late April, the index has logged its third winning streak of at least five: a nine-day streak from April 22–May 2 and a six-day streak from May 12–May 19. That makes for a cluster of long winning streaks, which is something that also showed up in late 2023 and mid-2024.

To put it simply, these bunches of buying usually show up in uptrends. Note how there were no five-day winning streaks during the three corrections pictured on the chart below (in August–October 2023, July–August 2024, and February–April 2025). Most of the clusters happened as the S&P 500 was in the middle of a consistent upswing; the only time we saw a long winning streak occur right before a big downturn was in late July 2024. That came after a strong three-month run from the April lows, with the S&P 500 gaining 14% in three months.

CHART 1. WINNING STREAKS IN THE S&P 500. Since late April, the S&P 500 has logged a nine-day streak from April 22 to May 2 and a six-day streak from May 12 to May 19.

Currently, the SPX is up 23% in just under two months. It wouldn’t be surprising to see a break in the action at some point soon.

The key difference between now and July is that back in July, the S&P 500 was making new highs for two straight months. That’s not the case now, as the index is still below the February 2025 highs. So it’s not apples to apples, but, at some point, the market will have to deal with more than a minor pullback once again.

Sentiment Check

After the close on Wednesday, I ran an X poll asking if the 0.01% move was bullish or bearish. The result: 61% said bullish.

This tells us that most people saw Wednesday’s pause as a sign that the bears are unable to push the market higher, which could be true. But it also suggests complacency. The onus still is squarely on the bears to do something with this, with the only true sign of weakness in the last six weeks coming on May 21, when the S&P 500 plummeted 1.6%. That ended up being an aberration… for now.

UBER Stock: One to Watch

Sometimes, a specific stock can provide clues about the broader market’s next step. Right now, we think that the stock is UBER.

Technically speaking, UBER is at a critical spot, and it’s also an important stock given that it was one of the first growth names to break out to new all-time highs. The stock remains in a long-term uptrend, which, of course, is bullish, but it has quietly pulled back 13% from its May 20 high of $93 and was just down nine out of 10 trading sessions (see the weekly chart of UBER stock). We can see that the stock has fully retraced the price action from the pattern breakout near $82.

CHART 2. WEEKLY CHART OF UBER STOCK. The stock is in a long-term uptrend, although it has retraced. Here’s where things get really interesting. UBER has now formed a potential bearish head-and-shoulders pattern, seen on the daily chart. If the stock breaks below $82, it will target the 71-zone.

CHART 3. DAILY CHART OF UBER STOCK. Will UBER’s stock price hold support or break below it? This chart is one to monitor.

So, here are three outcomes to watch for. UBER’s stock price could:

  1. Hold support (bullish).
  2. Break below $82, but then reverse higher, which would be a bear trap (bullish).
  3. Break below $82 and continue lower and hit the downside target (bearish).

If #3 occurs, the odds are UBER won’t be declining by itself; it’ll likely drag the broader market down with it. This shows the significance of UBER stock, which certainly makes it one to keep an eye on.


I’m a huge fan of using platforms like StockCharts to help make my investment process more efficient and more effective.  The StockCharts scan engine helps me identify stocks that are demonstrating constructive technical configuration based on the shape and relationship of multiple moving averages.

Today I’ll share with you one of my favorite scans, called “Moving Averages in Correct Order”, and walk through three charts that highlight the benefits of identifying charts in primary uptrend phases.

Primary Uptrends Can Be Defined By Moving Averages

This scan, which StockCharts members can access in the Sample Scan Library, basically looks for three criteria to be met for any chart:

  1. 20-day EMA > 50-day SMA
  2. 50-day SMA > 100-day SMA
  3. 100-day SMA > 200-day SMA

The general approach here is to find charts where the short-term moving averages are above their longer-term counterparts.  By making multiple comparisons, we can ensure a more consistent uptrend phase based on the recent price action.  

Let’s review two charts that I feel are representative of the stocks that will tend to come up using this scanning approach.

You’ll Probably Find Two Types of Charts in the Results

The most common result will be a chart that is in a long-term primary uptrend, making consistently higher highs and higher lows.  Netflix (NFLX) is a great example of this sort of “long and strong” price action.

The four moving averages have remained in the proper order as described above for most of the last 12 months.  After NFLX pulled back to its April low, a bounce back above the March swing high moved the 21-day exponential moving average back above the 50-day simple moving average.  From that breakout point, the stock has continued to push to new all-time highs into early June.

One thing I love about this scan is it helps me confirm which stocks are in persistent uptrends, because those are the types of charts that I generally want to be following as they trend higher.  But sometimes, a pullback chart will come up in the scan as well.  Here’s TJX, which has recently pulled back after achieving a new all-time high in May.

We can see that the moving averages returned to the proper order in early April after rotating higher off a major low in mid-March.  From that point, TJX had a false breakout in mid-April before finally completing the move to a new high in early May.  TJX subsequently gapped lower after an earnings miss, and the stock has now pulled back to an ascending 50-day moving average.

The TJX chart reminds me of three benefits of following moving averages over time.  First, we can look at the slope of an individual moving average to evaluate the shape of the trend on a specific time frame.  Second, we can compare multiple moving averages to validate the trend on multiple time frames.  Finally, we can use moving averages as potential support and resistance levels in the event of a pullback.

With TJX testing an ascending 50-day moving average this week, I’m inclined to treat this chart as “innocent until proven guilty” as long as it remains above this key trend barometer.  But if and when the 50-day moving average is violated, and if the moving averages are no longer in the proper order, then I would need to reevaluate a long position.

Why the Transition to Proper Order is So Important

This final example shows how the transition between moving average configurations can prove so valuable in understanding trend transitions.  Here’s a daily chart of VeriSign (VRSN) showing how the relationship between the moving averages can help us better label the different trend phases.

On the left third of the chart, we can see the moving averages mostly in a bearish order, confirming a distribution phase for the stock.  Then in June 2024, the moving averages change to where there’s no real clean definition of the trend.  This represents a consolidation phase, where buyers and sellers are essentially in agreement.

Finally, we can see that when the moving averages finally achieve a bullish configuration, VRSN is now in an accumulation phase of higher highs and higher lows.  And as long as those moving averages remain in the proper order, the uptrend phase is confirmed.

The goal with this moving average scan is to help us identify charts that are just rotating into the accumulation phase.  It’s also designed to encourage us to stick with winning trends as long as the price action confirms the uptrend.  And if and when the moving average configuration changes, then our approach should probably change as well!

RR#6,

Dave

PS- Ready to upgrade your investment process?  Check out my free behavioral investing course!

David Keller, CMT

President and Chief Strategist

Sierra Alpha Research LLC

marketmisbehavior.com

https://www.youtube.com/c/MarketMisbehavior

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.  

The author does not have a position in mentioned securities at the time of publication.    Any opinions expressed herein are solely those of the author and do not in any way represent the views or opinions of any other person or entity.