Author: train2invest Admins

• Tech investor and podcaster David Sacks will join the Trump administration as the “White House A.I. & Crypto Czar.”
• “David will focus on making America the clear global leader in both areas,” Trump wrote in social media post on Thursday.

Venture investor and podcaster David Sacks will join the Trump administration as the “White House A.I. & Crypto Czar,” President-elect Donald Trump announced on Truth Social on Thursday.

Sacks will guide the administration’s policies for artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency, Trump wrote. Some of that work includes creating a legal framework for crypto, as well as leading a presidential council of advisors on science and technology.

“David will focus on making America the clear global leader in both areas,” Trump wrote. “He will safeguard Free Speech online, and steer us away from Big Tech bias and censorship.”

The appointment signals that the second Trump administration is rewarding Silicon Valley figures who supported his campaign. It also indicates that the administration will push for policies that cryptocurrency entrepreneurs generally support.

Sacks became a major Trump booster earlier this year, hosting a fundraiser for the then-Republican nominee at his San Francisco mansion. Tickets sold for $50,000 a head, with a $300,000 tier that included perks like a photo with Trump.

It was a stark change of tone for Sacks, who was sharply critical of Trump after the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. Sacks said on an episode of his All-In podcast soon after that Trump was “clearly” responsible for the events of Jan. 6, and that he had “disqualified himself from being a candidate at a national level.”

In July, Sacks spoke at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.

Sacks is a venture capitalist and entrepreneur who sold Yammer, to Microsoft for $1.2 billion in 2012. He’s also affiliated with the “PayPal mafia,” an unofficial club of prominent technology figures and investors, including Elon Musk and Peter Thiel, who worked at PayPal in the 1990s.

In recent years, Sacks has been best known for hosting the All-In podcast alongside fellow investors Chamath Palihapitiya, Jason Calacanis, and David Friedberg. In his post, Trump called it the “top podcast in Tech, where he and his friends discuss economic, political and social issues.”

BMO Financial Group raised its quarterly dividend as it reported a fourth-quarter profit of $2.30 billion, boosted by the reversal of a 2022 jury verdict against the bank in a lawsuit related to a Ponzi scheme in the United States.

The bank says it will now pay a quarterly dividend of $1.59 per share, up from $1.55 per share.

The increase came as BMO says it earned $2.94 per diluted share for the quarter ended Oct. 31, up from a profit of $1.71 billion or $2.19 per diluted share a year earlier.

Revenue totalled $8.96 billion, up from $8.32 billion in the same quarter last year, while its provision for credit losses rose to $1.52 billion compared with $446 million a year earlier.

On an adjusted basis, BMO says it earned $1.90 per diluted share in its latest quarter, down from an adjusted profit of $2.93 per diluted share a year ago.

The average analyst estimate had been for an adjusted profit of $2.41 per share, according to data provided by LSEG Data & Analytics.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 5, 2024.

TD Bank Group reported a fourth-quarter profit of $3.64 billion, up from $2.87 billion in the same quarter last year, boosted by the sale of part of its stake in the Charles Schwab Corp.

The bank says its profit amounted to $1.97 per diluted share for the quarter ended Oct. 31, up from $1.48 per diluted share a year earlier.

TD said it sold 40.5 million Schwab shares in August when it also announced it would take a provision related to U.S. investigations into its anti-money laundering program. The bank agreed in October to pay fines totalling more than $4.23 billion after pleading guilty to multiple charges related to its failings.

On an adjusted basis, TD says it earned $1.72 per diluted share in its latest quarter, down from an adjusted profit of $1.82 per diluted share a year earlier.

Analysts on average had expected an adjusted profit of $1.82 per share, , according to data provided by LSEG Data & Analytics.

Revenue for the quarter totalled $15.51 billion, up from $13.18 billion in the same quarter last year, while TD’s provision for credit losses for the quarter totalled $1.11 billion, up from $878 million in its fourth quarter last year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 5, 2024.

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce raised its quarterly dividend as it reported a fourth-quarter profit of $1.88 billion, up from $1.49 billion in the same quarter last year.

CIBC says it will now pay a quarterly dividend of 97 cents per share, up from 90 cents.

The increase in the payment came as the bank says it earned $1.90 per diluted share for the quarter ended Oct. 31, up from a profit of $1.53 per diluted share a year ago.

Revenue for the quarter totalled $6.62 billion, up from $5.85 billion in the same quarter last year, while CIBC’s provision for credit losses amounted to $419 million, down from $541 million a year earlier.

On an adjusted basis, CIBC says it earned $1.91 per diluted share in its latest quarter, up from an adjusted profit of $1.57 per diluted share a year ago.

The average analyst estimate had been for an adjusted profit of $1.79 per share, according to data provided by LSEG Data & Analytics.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 5, 2024.

Dollarama Inc.DOL-T -5.65%decrease plans to build even more stores in Canada, hiking its long-term growth target to reach 2,200 locations by 2034.

The Montreal-based discount retailer, which currently operates 1,601 stores across the country, had previously set a goal of having 2,000 locations by 2031. The new plan, announced on Wednesday, followed “an updated evaluation of the market potential for Dollarama stores across Canada,” according to a press release.

In recent years, Dollarama has typically opened 60 to 70 new locations per year. And sales have been growing, particularly in recent years as consumers feeling the sting of inflation have flocked to discount retailers.

Dollarama also reported on Wednesday that its third-quarter sales grew by 5.7 per cent compared to the same period the previous year, to nearly $1.6-billion. Sixty new stores in the previous 12 months drove revenue growth, as did rising sales at existing stores.

To support its expanded operations, the company is also planning to build a new warehouse and distribution centre in Calgary, an approximately $500-million investment. Dollarama currently has a centralized distribution centre that is based in the Montreal area; the new facility will handle logistics closer to its stores in Western Canada. The company has agreed to purchase a parcel of land for $46.7-million, and expects to commission the new facility by the end of 2027. Construction is expected to cost roughly $450-million.

Cautious consumers are shopping at Dollarama stores more often, although they are buying slightly less on average during each visit: on Wednesday the company reported a 5.1-per-cent increase in transactions during the third quarter ended Oct. 27, and a 1.7-per-cent decrease in the average size of those purchases.

Comparable sales – an important industry metric that tracks sales growth not tied to new store openings – rose by 3.3 per cent. That was compared to a quarter in the prior year when comparable sales rose by 11.1 per cent.

Sales grew despite the fact that people splurged less than usual in preparation for Hallowe’en this year. Sales of seasonal products were down, according to the company, while shoppers continue to buy more “consumable” items such as food and household products.

Consumables come with tighter profit margins than other merchandise. Combined with higher logistics costs, that led to a slight decrease in the company’s gross profit margin, which fell to 44.7 per cent of sales in the quarter, compared to 45.4 per cent in the same period last year.

Dollarama’s net earnings grew to $275.8-million or 98 cents per share in the quarter, up 5.6 per cent compared to $261.1-million or 92 cents per share in the same period the prior year.

Royal Bank of Canada raised its dividend as it reported a fourth-quarter profit of $4.22 billion, up from $3.94 billion in the same quarter last year.

The bank says it will now pay a quarterly dividend of $1.48 per share, up from $1.42 per share.

The increased payment to shareholders came as RBC says it earned $2.91 per diluted share for the quarter ended Oct. 31, up from a profit of $2.76 per diluted share in the same quarter last year.

Revenue totalled $15.07 billion, up from $12.69 billion a year ago, while its provision for credit losses amounted to $840 million, up from $720 million in the same quarter last year.

On an adjusted basis, RBC says it earned $3.07 per diluted share in its latest quarter, up from an adjusted profit of $2.65 per diluted share a year earlier.

The average analyst estimate had been for an adjusted profit of $3.01 per share, according to data provided by LSEG Data & Analytics.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 4, 2024.

National Bank of Canada raised its dividend as it reported its fourth-quarter profit rose compared with a year ago.

The Montreal-based bank says it will now pay a quarterly dividend of $1.14 per share, up from $1.10 per share.

National Bank says it earned $955 million or $2.66 per diluted share for the quarter ended Oct. 31, up from a profit of $751 million or $2.09 per diluted share in the same quarter last year.

Revenue for the quarter totalled $2.94 billion, up from $2.56 billion a year earlier, while the bank’s provision for credit losses amounted to $162 million, up from $115 million a year ago.

On an adjusted basis, National Bank says it earned $2.58 per diluted share in its latest quarter, up from an adjusted profit of $2.39 per diluted share in the same quarter last year.

The average analyst estimate had been for an adjusted profit of $2.57 per share, according to data provided by LSEG Data & Analytics.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 4, 2024.

Scotiabank reported a fourth-quarter profit of $1.69 billion, up from $1.35 billion in the same period last year, as it set aside a smaller amount for bad loans compared with a year ago.

The bank says the profit amounted to $1.22 per diluted share for the quarter ended Oct. 31, up from 99 cents in the same quarter a year ago.

Revenue for the quarter totalled $8.53 billion, up from $8.27 billion in the bank’s fourth quarter last year.

The bank’s provisions for credit losses amounted to $1.03 billion in its fourth quarter, down from $1.26 billion a year ago.

On an adjusted basis, Scotiabank says it earned $1.57 per diluted share in its latest quarter, up from an adjusted profit of $1.23 per diluted share a year ago.

The average analyst estimate had been for an adjusted profit of $1.60 per share, according to data provided by LSEG Data & Analytics.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 3, 2024.

Enbridge Inc. ENB-T +0.71%increase raised its quarterly dividend for next year as it released its financial guidance for 2025.

The pipeline company says it will pay a quarterly dividend of 94.25 cents per share, up from 91.5 cents per share, effective March 1.

The increased payment to shareholders amounts to an annualized dividend of $3.77 per share to give it an annual yield of about 6.2 per cent based on the company’s share price Monday.

In its outlook, Enbridge says it expects adjusted earnings before interest, income taxes and depreciation between $19.4-billion and $20.0-billion for 2025, a nine per cent increase from the midpoint of its 2024 guidance.

Distributable cash flow per share is expected to be $5.50 to $5.90 next year.

The company says the guidance is based on expected strong utilization across its businesses and contributions from acquisitions and growth projects that entered service in 2024 as well as partial-year earnings from projects that are expected to begin service in 2025.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law on Tuesday, accusing the opposition of “anti-state” activity.

In an unannounced address broadcast live late at night on YTN, Yoon said he had no choice but to take drastic measures to protect South Korean freedoms and the constitutional order. He asserted opposition parties have taken the parliamentary process hostage and thrown the country into crisis.

“I declare martial law to protect the free Republic of Korea from the threat of North Korean communist forces, to eradicate the despicable pro-North Korean anti-state forces that are plundering the freedom and happiness of our people, and to protect the free constitutional order,” Yoon said.

The White House did not immediately condemn the action by Yoon.

“The Administration is in contact with the Republic of Korea government and is monitoring the situation closely,” a National Security Council spokesperson told Fox News Digital.

Yoon did not say in the address what specific measures would be taken. Yonha news agency reported that the entrance to the parliament building was being blocked, according to Reuters.

“Tanks, armored personnel carriers, and soldiers with guns and knives will rule the country,” opposition leader Lee Jae-myung said in a livestream online. “The economy of the Republic of Korea will collapse irretrievably. My fellow citizens, please come to the National Assembly.”

The liberal Democratic Party has controlled South Korea’s single-chamber National Assembly since Yoon, a former top prosecutor, took office in 2022. Those in the opposition have repeatedly thwarted Yoon’s agenda and the president has had low approval ratings.

In his address, Yoon cited actions by the Democratic Party as justification for martial law, including an effort this week to impeach some of the country’s top prosecutors and the national assembly’s rejection of Yoon’s proposed budget. 

Democratic lawmakers had moved to slash more than 4 trillion won from the Yoon administration’s budget proposal. Yoon said the budget cuts would undermine the essential functioning of government administration. 

Yoon was handed a blistering political defeat earlier this year when South Korean voters expanded the Democratic Party’s majority in the assembly. One South Korean political analyst told the Associated Press the election results rendered Yoon “a dead duck,” with even control over his own party at risk following the losses. 

The South Korean president has also been beset by scandal involving his wife, first lady Kim Keon Hee. She was allegedly involved in a stock price manipulation scheme and the release of spy camera footage showed her accepting a luxury bag from a Korean American pastor, the AP reported.