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Big upsets are rare in women’s March Madness. Does that change this year?

March Madness is known for bracket-busters and Cinderella runs, but upsets are rare in the women’s NCAA Tournament, and surprises have been few and far between.

In fact, the lowest seed to ever win a national championship in the women’s NCAA basketball tournament’s 42-year history has been a No. 3 seed and it has only happened three times, most recently the LSU Tigers in 2023. Entering Friday, No. 14 through No. 16 seeds have a combined 1-360 record in the women’s tournament since the field expanded to 64 teams in 1994. The lone win from a lower seed came in 1998 when No. 16 seed Harvard upset No. 1 seed Stanford in the first round.

That could change this year. The 2025 women’s NCAA Tournament field is wide open, highlighting the parity in women’s basketball as popularity surrounding the game continues to surge.

‘Women’s basketball has gotten to the point where parity is real,’ Kentucky head coach Kenny Brooks said Thursday. ‘We’re a 4 seed and Liberty is a 13 seed. They’re not. They’re a good basketball team. You’re not a 13 seed if you’ve (won) 26 games, whatever it is. They’re a good basketball team, and they can come in here and they can beat you.’

That almost happened. The No. 4 Wildcats held off the No. 13 Liberty Flames to win 79-78 on Friday. No. 10 seed Oregon took out No. 7 seed Vanderbilt 77-73 in overtime. No. 6 seed Michigan completed a comeback to stave off an upset bid by No. 11 seed Iowa State.

‘There’s much greater chances of upsets in the first two or three rounds than there ever was before. That is where the fun is in the NCAA Tournament,’ UConn head coach Geno Auriemma said on Friday.

Gone are the days where perennial powerhouses — like UConn and Tennessee, who have the most national championships in NCAA history with 11 and 8 titles, respectively — dominate women’s college basketball. Five different schools have won titles in the past six tournaments, with South Carolina being the only team to repeat in that span (2022, 2024). This year, there are nearly a dozen top contenders, but there’s no clear-cut favorite.

“Going forward, every single team is good,” Kentucky star Georgia Amoore said Thursday. “Coach (Kenny) Brooks said it yesterday, a good day can send you home. We have to have great days. We have to stack great days.’

WOMEN’S MARCH MADNESS: AI picks every women’s NCAA Tournament game winner

Parity is growing in women’s basketball. ‘Any team can beat you’

The rise in women’s sports dates back to the landmark 1972 Title IX Act that requires equitable treatment of female athletes. With more resources being poured into women’s sports, more talent has been bred nationwide. And unlike the past, when the best recruits went to only a handful of schools, there are many desirable destinations to choose from as universities continue to invest in their programs, facilities and coaching.

‘It’s not going to be where you tip it off and it’s a cake walk,’ LSU head coach Kim Mulkey said. ‘Everybody can play now. There’s so much parity in the women’s game. … People are going to give you their best shot. You got a lot of good coaches in this tournament and that’s good for us. It’s good for women’s basketball.’

The transfer portal has also allowed teams to turn into contenders somewhat overnight. The TCU Horned Frogs, for example, went from hosting open tryouts and forfeiting games due to player shortages and injuries last season to earning a No. 2 seed in March Madness this year following additions like Hailey Van Lith. It marks TCU’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2010 and the team’s highest seeding in program history.

‘The million dollar question in college athletics is who can assemble a roster. The first step is collect the talent and get the pieces that fit your style of play. That’s really hard to get right. The portal is speed dating,’ TCU head coach Mark Campbell said. ‘Once you get them here, you have to put your puzzle together.

‘I think we’ve done as good as anybody in the portal era. We’ve signed 12 portal kids in two years, not a high school kid. We’ve done it and broken into the elite level of women’s basketball.’

Viewership, visibility surges: ‘It’s exploded’

We can’t forget about viewership and visibility. Popularity in women’s basketball reached a fever pitch last year, thanks to big names like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, and superstars like Paige Bueckers and Juju Watkins have carried the torch.

The 2024 women’s NCAA Tournament national championship game (18.7 million viewers) between Iowa and South Carolina had higher viewership than the men’s national championship game (14.8 million viewers) for the first time ever and marked the most-watched women’s basketball game ever across ESPN and ABC.

ABC will broadcast the title game for the third consecutive year.

‘It’s just exploded,’ NC State head coach Wes Moore said. ‘A lot of it has to do with the players. They’re athletic. They’re talented. They’re skilled. They’ve worked really hard at their trade, and because of that, it’s a great product. So it’s an exciting time to be a part of it.

‘I’m happy for our student-athletes, for the young ladies to get recognized and to get the attention I feel like they deserve. It’s pretty awesome.’

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Almonty Industries Joins Forces with ADI, Seeks to Supply Tungsten and Molybdenum to US

Almonty Industries (TSX:AII,ASX:AII,OTCQX:ALMTF) has entered into a strategic partnership agreement with government relations and business development firm American Defense International (ADI).

Toronto-based Almonty is currently strengthening its positioning within the critical metals sector, aiming to support the US government and the American defense and technology industries.

On February 27, Almonty announced that its shareholders had approved its proposed continuance from Canada to Delaware, US, signifying the start of its redomiciling to the US.

Speaking about the company’s new partnership with ADI, President and CEO Lewis Black explained that it will help position Almonty as a supplier of tungsten and molybdenum for the US.

“As we move to finalize our redomiciling to the United States, ADI’s expertise and relationships, forged through working with industry-leaders such as SpaceX, will position us to strengthen relationships with key stakeholders in a rapidly evolving global landscape,’ he said in a Tuesday (March 18) press release.

Last month, Almonty signed a molybdenum offtake deal with SpaceX Korean contractor SeAH M&S, wherein SeAH will purchase 100 percent of the material produced from Almonty’s Sangdong molybdenum project in Korea.

Through the partnership with ADI, Almonty hopes to enhance its engagement in the US market by reinforcing its alignment and support of government policies and industry priorities.

The US domestication is still subject to court and other regulatory approvals.

Almonty currently holds tungsten projects in Portugal, Spain and Korea. While it does not have projects in the US, the country is becoming more important in the company’s strategic positioning.

Black said in Tuesday’s release that it expects redomiciling to enhance the company’s competitiveness in light of geopolitical tensions and policies and the recent shift to domestic sourcing of critical minerals.

The company’s move to redomicile also comes amid heightened tariff concerns.

US President Donald Trump has imposed widespread tariffs, including an additional 10 percent tariff on Chinese imports; China has responded with export controls on US goods, including tungsten.

Securities Disclosure: I, Gabrielle de la Cruz, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

This post appeared first on investingnews.com

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Highlights from NVIDIA’s GTC 2025 Keynote

At NVIDIA’s (NASDAQ:NVDA) GTC 2025, CEO Jensen Huang delivered on his promise to detail the company’s latest advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and hardware.

Key announcements included the Blackwell Ultra AI chip, the next-generation Vera Rubin platform and a glimpse into future product roadmaps.

The keynote emphasized the “tipping point of accelerated computing,” marked by a shift from retrieval to generative AI and driven by a combination of agentic and physical AI.

NVIDIA’s AI-powered future

Huang’s speech, delivered without a script, highlighted NVIDIA’s focus on the transformative power of AI, particularly in robotics and generative computing, while also touching on NVIDIA’s advancements in quantum computing with CUDA-Q, a platform for hybrid quantum-classical computing.

For self-driving cars, he showed how NVIDIA’s technology is used to train and simulate autonomous vehicles, explaining how the company will provide the complete system from the data center to the car itself.

Speaking of data centers, Huang addressed the critical role they will play in supporting the next stage of AI advancements. The company is focusing on optimizing data centers to handle the massive computational demands of AI, particularly for AI inference.

This involves a balance between speed and accuracy in token generation, crucial for cost-effectiveness. To support these needs, NVIDIA will deploy powerful configurations of its Blackwell GPUs. Each rack—an enclosure designed to hold multiple electronic equipment modules—is equipped with 8 Blackwell GPUs. This dense configuration will allow for a high concentration of processing power within a compact footprint in modern data centers.

NVIDIA also introduced the Dynamo operating system, designed to manage and optimize large-scale AI infrastructure like data centers and “AI factories”, which are designed to produce AI models and capabilities at scale with intensive computation, data processing and model training. Huang mentioned NVIDIA’s collaboration with Perplexity, one of his “favorite, favorite partners”, on this project, but didn’t provide specific details.

The Omniverse and Cosmos software, which together will create simulated environments for training robots on synthetic data, is intended to leverage the Dynamo operating system for efficient deployment and execution within these AI factories.

The unveiling of NVIDIA Groot N1 – a dual-system architecture for humanoid robots – and its open-sourcing, were significant highlights. Groot N1 allows robots to perform complex tasks, like handling objects and following multi-step instructions, addressing anticipated labor shortages by 2030.

In terms of graphics, Huang demonstrated improvements in real-time ray tracing, a technique for creating more realistic images. He also hinted at future GeForce graphics cards, suggesting that they will be smaller, use less power and perform better than current models.

Blackwell and Vera Rubin: NVIDIA’s next-generation hardware platforms

Hardware advancements were also central, with updates on the production of the Blackwell system highly anticipated. Huang stated that the Blackwell system is now in full production with architectural improvements, including increased transistor density and optimized data pathways for AI workloads to deliver 1 exaflop of FP4 performance, a 25x increase over the previous Hopper architecture.

NVIDIA also unveiled Blackwell Ultra, a higher-performance variant of the Blackwell GPU designed for demanding AI workloads, slated for release in H2 2025. Later, Huang detailed the Vera Rubin platform, NVIDIA’s next-generation platform that will succeed Blackwell in H2 2026. The Vera Rubin platform features the Rubin GPU, which will utilize HBM4 memory, and the Vera CPU. An enhanced version of the Rubin GPU, Rubin Ultra, utilizing HBM4e memory, is also planned for 2027.

Forging strategic partnerships for future technologies

Partnerships were another key theme, with announcements including:

    • A partnership with the telecom industry to develop “AI-native” wireless network hardware for upcoming 6G networks.
    • Collaborations with DeepMind and Disney Research on the Newton physics engine, aimed at improving AI training through real-time simulation.

    How did NVIDIA’s share price perform?

    NVIDIA’s share price has fluctuated following a record-shattering run in 2024 that saw the company briefly surpass Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Apple (NASDAQ:APPL) as the world’s most valuable on more than one occasion.

    NVIDIA’s record high of US$149.43, recorded on January 6, has been in decline since due to macroeconomic factors combined with speculation that the company could be past its peak. Its customers have turned to competitors like Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) or are working to develop chips of their own. The company also faced setbacks rolling out its Blackwell product line and is challenged by export restrictions to China, a large customer base.

    Despite this, NVIDIA reported strong financial results for the fourth quarter of 2025, exceeding analyst expectations with significant revenue growth driven by high demand for its AI solutions. Following those results and Huang’s optimistic remarks about the demand for the Blackwell architecture, NVIDIA’s share price saw a 3.67 percent increase.

    However, NVIDIA’s share price dropped over 3 percent in early trading on Tuesday, hours before Huang was set to take the stage, following a report from The Information on Amazon’s lowered cost of its AI chips.

    As the keynote progressed, NVIDIA’s share price saw a slight uptick but declined by 3.35 percent to close at US$115.43, followed by an additional decrease in after-hours trading.

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

    This post appeared first on investingnews.com

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    Syntheia Announces 10,000 Subscriptions

    Syntheia Corp. (‘Syntheia’ or the ‘Company’) (Syntheia.ai), CSE SYAI, a leading provider of conversational AI solutions for inbound telephone call management, proudly announces 10,000 subscribers for its AssistantNLP platform ahead of Management’s expectations by nine months.

    Originally, management had set a milestone of obtaining 10,000 subscribers for the year 2025. Management is pleased to report that it achieved 100% its internal forecast within less than two months from commencement of going live. This milestone is significantly ahead of schedule and forecast by nine months. Management has revised its original internal subscriber forecast of 10,000 subscribers for 2025 and now aims to achieve approximately 100,000 subscribers by end of 2025.

    Uniquely uncovered and not anticipated is that the businesses subscribing to our platform often require translation assistance as English is their second language. So in addition to business efficiencies offered by Syntheia, our subscribers are also benefiting from Syntheia as their automated AI receptionist by eliminating the language barrier that challenges many small and medium businesses today in North America.

    ‘ We achieved a very significant milestone in record time and now have adjusted our yearly subscription outlook significantly by a factor of 10 to 100,000 subscriptions by the end of the year. In 2025, we look to aggressively build our community, introduce new offering and ultimately monetize on the community that we have built,’ commented Tony Di Benedetto, Chief Executive Officer of Syntheia.

    About Syntheia

    Syntheia is an artificial intelligence technology company which is developing and commercializing proprietary algorithms to deliver human-like conversations. Our SaaS platform offers conversational AI solutions for both enterprise and small-medium business customers globally.

    Cautionary Statement

    Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

    This news release contains certain ‘forward-looking information’ within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward-looking information is frequently characterized by words such as ‘plan’, ‘expect’, ‘project’, ‘intend’, ‘believe’, ‘anticipate’, ‘estimate’, ‘may’, ‘will’, ‘would’, ‘potential’, ‘proposed’ and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions ‘may’ or ‘will’ occur. These statements are only predictions. Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the information is provided and is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to the Company’s mission and business objectives and the Company’s efforts to grow its subscriber base, brand awareness, customer base and sales. Readers are cautioned that forward‐looking information is not based on historical facts but instead reflects the Company’s management’s expectations, estimates or projections concerning the business of the Company’s future results or events based on the opinions, assumptions and estimates of management considered reasonable at the date the statements are made.

    Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward‐looking information are reasonable, such information involves risks and uncertainties, and undue reliance should not be placed on such information, as unknown or unpredictable factors could have material adverse effects on future results, performance or achievements. Please refer to the Company’s listing statement available on SEDAR+ for a list of risks and key factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the forward‐looking information. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward‐looking information prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, estimated or expected.

    Although the Company has attempted to identify important risks, uncertainties and factors which could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be others that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information if circumstances or management’s estimates or opinions should change unless required by law. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information.

    The securities of the Company have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirement. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of the securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

    View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250321135594/en/

    For further information, please contact:

    Tony Di Benedetto
    Chief Executive Officer
    Tel: (844) 796-8434

    News Provided by Business Wire via QuoteMedia

    This post appeared first on investingnews.com

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    Copper Prices Surpass US$10,000 as US Tariff Fears Shake Global Markets

    Copper prices surged past US$10,000 per metric ton on Thursday (March 20), hitting a five month high as traders scrambled to secure supply ahead of potential US tariffs on the base metal.

    London Metal Exchange (LME) copper futures climbed sharply in early trading, reflecting a combination of supply constraints, rising demand and uncertainty surrounding trade policy.

    US President Donald Trump has ordered a probe into the national security implications of copper imports, raising concerns that a 25 percent tariff could be imposed, similar to levies already placed on aluminum and steel.

    The potential for such tariffs has triggered a wave of preemptive buying, particularly in the US, where traders are paying record premiums to acquire copper before any duties take effect. The spread between New York Comex futures and the LME price widened to more than US$1,254 this week, exceeding February’s high of US$1,149.

    Tariff threat complicating copper trade

    If the US imposes a 25 percent tariff on copper imports, analysts say the price gap between Comex and LME copper could widen even further, potentially surpassing US$2,000.

    StoneX analyst Natalie Scott-Gray told the Financial Times that this would further distort global copper trade, creating strong incentives for suppliers to shift even more metal to the US market.

    Wei Lai, deputy trading head at Zijin Mining Investment Shanghai, told Bloomberg that “a round of cross-regional repricing triggered by potential US tariffs’ is unfolding. The rush to divert supply to the US is leaving other regions short of the metal, while also boosting investor confidence in copper as a lucrative commodity.

    Beyond tariffs, the copper market is facing broader supply-side challenges. Processing fees for copper smelters have reached historic lows, raising concerns about the long-term viability of some refining operations. An oversupply of smelting capacity — particularly in China — has made it difficult for copper smelters to maintain profitability.

    Commodities trading giant Glencore (LSE:GLEN,OTC Pink:GLCNF) recently announced it would halt operations at its Philippine copper smelter, citing “increasingly challenging market conditions” as processing fees collapsed.

    More smelters could shut down if the situation persists, further tightening copper supply and boosting prices.

    While trade policy is a key factor driving copper’s price surge, broader macroeconomic trends are also playing a role. Expectations of rising demand from Germany’s major infrastructure and military spending initiatives, as well as stimulus measures in China, are supporting bullish sentiment for the metal. Furthermore, some investors are diversifying away from US tech stocks, shifting funds into gold and industrial metals as a hedge against economic volatility.

    During the recent Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada convention, Adrian Day, president of Adrian Day Asset Management, explained why US tariffs on copper imports would be a bad idea.

    ‘Logically, if you’re worried that we need a lot of copper in the US and we’re not producing enough, the last thing you want to do is put tariffs on shipments from abroad,’ Day explained. ‘I suspect, that the people making a recommendation will recommend no tariffs, and they’ll recommend encouraging domestic production, and so on.’

    Rising copper prices boost China’s Zijin

    The positive impact of higher copper prices is already being felt across the mining sector.

    Zijin Mining Group (OTC Pink:ZIJMF,SHA:601899), China’s largest metals producer, reported a 52 percent jump in profit last year, driven by increased output and soaring prices for copper and gold. The company posted net income of 32.1 billion yuan (US$4.4 billion), with revenue climbing 3.5 percent to 303.6 billion yuan.

    Despite these gains, Zijin recently lowered its copper output target for 2025 by about 6 percent to 1.15 million metric tons, citing regulatory hurdles and geopolitical challenges that have slowed its overseas expansion. Resistance to Chinese acquisitions in western markets has also played a role in the company’s revised projections.

    Market waits for copper probe results

    For now, the outlook for copper is uncertain as traders await the results of the US tariff investigation.

    While final recommendations are unlikely to come until later this year, major investment banks, including Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) and Citigroup (NYSE:C), expect 25 percent import duties on copper by the end of 2025.

    In the meantime, copper prices are likely to remain volatile.

    As of midday Thursday (March 19), LME copper was trading just below US$10,000, with other base metals showing mixed performance. Aluminum remained slightly higher, while nickel remained steady.

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

    This post appeared first on investingnews.com

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    Top 5 Canadian Mining Stocks This Week: BCM Resources Surges 136 Percent

    The big news of the week came on Wednesday (March 19) when the US Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) convened for its March decision on whether to adjust its benchmark Federal Funds rate.

    Given the economic uncertainty surrounding US President Donald Trump’s economic and trade policies, it has been widely expected that the FOMC would maintain the rate at 4.25 to 4.5 percent, which is what they did.

    In his press statements, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said inflationary numbers were somewhat stuck, citing tariffs raising consumer prices as a reason for the stagnant figures. However, he also indicated that the committee believed the effect would be largely transitory and that data showed the economy was strong and job markets were balanced. Because of this, he expects that the FOMC will still make two rate cuts in 2025 as previously planned.

    Sticky inflation isn’t limited to the United States. North of the border, Statistics Canada reported on Tuesday (March 18) that the consumer price index ticked up to 2.6 percent in February, versus a more modest 1.9 percent increase in January.

    The agency cited the end of the tax holiday implemented by the federal government in December as the primary source of the rise, as tax is included in CPI data. It also indicated the rise was moderated by slower price increases in gasoline.

    Newly sworn-in Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who replaced former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, is expected to dissolve parliament this Sunday (March 23) and announce an election for April 28 or May 5. The election would occur amid a growing trade war between the US and Canada and shortly after a new round of global tariffs from the US is set to take effect on April 2.

    For his part, Carney met with the premiers on Friday (March 21) to discuss opening up trade between the provinces and working to create a more unified Canadian economy. Currently, trade between provinces faces restrictions on many goods, from natural resources to alcohol and dairy products.

    Markets and commodities react

    In Canada, markets were largely positive this week. The S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index (INDEXTSI:JX) gained 2.57 percent during the week to close at 637.79 on Friday (March 14), the S&P/TSX Composite Index (INDEXTSI:OSPTX) was up 1.7 percent to 24,968.49 and the CSE Composite Index (CSE:CSECOMP) dropped 0.4 percent to 123.20.

    After seeing sharp declines in recent weeks, US equity markets were up slightly this week. The S&P 500 (INDEXSP:INX) gained 0.6 percent to close the week at 5,667.57 and the Nasdaq 100 (INDEXNASDAQ:NDX) rose 0.42 percent to 19,753.97. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) saw the largest gains adding 1.27 percent to 41,985.36.

    Gold held above the US$3,000 mark this week and set a new all time high at US$3,053 following the Fed’s rate announcement. Overall, the gold price gained 1.23 percent over the week to US$3,021.85 per ounce at 4:00 p.m. EDT Friday. The silver price went the opposite direction, losing 2.35 percent during the period to US$33.03.

    In base metals, the copper price broke through US$5 per pound this week, gaining 4.69 percent to close out Friday at US$5.12 per pound on the COMEX. Meanwhile, the S&P GSCI (INDEXSP:SPGSCI) was up 1.18 percent to close at 558.21.

    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. 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. BCM Resources (TSXV:B)

    Company Profile

    Weekly gain: 136.36 percent
    Market cap: C$12.99 million
    Share price: C$0.13

    BCM Resources is an exploration company working to advance its flagship Thompson Knolls project in Utah, United States.

    The greenfield copper, molybdenum, gold, and silver project in Utah’s Great Basin consists of 225 federal unpatented lode mining claims and two state section leases covering an area of 2,242 hectares.

    Exploration of the project area began in the 1970s, when a US Geological Survey aerial survey identified a prominent magnetic anomaly. In the 1990s, follow-up work was conducted at the target.

    BCM carried out its last drill program at the property in 2023. At the time, the company announced that one drill hole encountered a significant mineral intercept of 0.66 percent copper, 0.12 grams per metric ton (g/t) gold and 7.4 g/t silver over 155.4 meters starting at a depth of 621.8 meters. The sample also contained eight intervals with greater than 1 percent copper over 24.3 meters.

    The company received approval from the Bureau of Land Management for a plan of operation to continue drilling at the project. In a July 2024 update, the company released data from an analysis of the project’s porphyry-skarn system by the Colorado School of Mines, which it plans to use to prepare for the drilling at the site.

    Although the company did not release news this week, shares were up alongside a surging copper price.

    2. KWG Resources (CSE:CACR)

    Company Profile

    Weekly gain: 100 percent
    Market cap: C$31.99 million
    Share price: C$0.03

    KWG Resources is a chromite and base metals exploration company focused on moving forward at its Ring of Fire assets in Northern Ontario, Canada. It does business as the Canadian Chrome Company.

    The firm’s properties consist of the Fancamp and Big Daddy claims, along with the Mcfaulds Lake, Koper Lake and Fishtrap Lake projects. All are located within a 40 kilometer radius, and according to the company are home to feeder magma chambers containing chromite, nickel and copper deposits.

    KWG is currently working with local First Nations to improve transportation to the region through the development of road and rail links. The company announced on November 7 that it had signed a memorandum of agreement with AtkinsRealis Canada in its capacity as a contractor representing the Marten Falls and Webequie First Nations.

    The agreement will allow AtkinsRealis temporary access rights over some mineral exploration claims in support of work permits for an environmental assessment for the design, construction and operation of a multi-use, all-season road between the proposed Marten Falls community access road and the proposed Webequie supply road.

    Once completed, the link will provide improved access to communities and mining companies in the region.

    KWG released a pair of news releases this week. On Tuesday, the company announced the closing of the second tranche of a private placement; the company raised gross aggregate proceeds of C$422,614.32 between the two rounds. It followed the news on Friday with the announcement of a proposed private placement for proceeds of up to C$5 million.

    3. Sterling Metals (TSXV:SAG)

    Company Profile

    Weekly gain: 60 percent
    Market cap: C$33.97 million
    Share price: C$0.08

    Sterling Metals is an exploration company working to advance a trio of projects in Canada.

    Over the past year, its primary focus has been on exploration at its brownfield Copper Road project in Ontario. The 25,000 hectare property has hosted two past-producing copper mines and has the potential for larger intrusion-related copper mineralization.

    On January 15, Sterling announced results from a 3D induced polarization and resistivity survey that covered an area of 5 kilometers by 3 kilometers and revealed multiple high-priority drill-ready targets.

    The company intends to use the survey results, along with historical exploration, to inform a drill program at the site.

    The company’s other two projects consist of Adeline, a 297 square kilometer district-scale property with sediment-hosted copper and silver mineralization along 44 kilometers of the strike, and Sail Pond, a silver, copper, lead and zinc project that hosts a 16 kilometer long linear soil anomaly and has seen 16,000 meters of drilling. Both properties are located in Newfoundland and Labrador.

    The most recent news came on Monday (March 17), when Sterling announced it had upsized its private placement for the second time. The expanded round will see gross proceeds of up to C$1.6 million.

    4. Star Diamond (TSXV:DIAM)

    Company Profile

    Weekly gain: 60 percent
    Market cap: C$33.97 million
    Share price: C$0.08

    Star Diamond is an exploration and development company working to advance its flagship Fort à la Corne diamond district in Saskatchewan, Canada.

    The property is located 60 kilometers east of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. Previously a joint venture with Rio Tinto, Star Diamond acquired Rio Tinto’s stake in the project in March 2024 in exchange for 119.32 million shares in Star Diamond, resulting in Rio Tinto holding a 19.9 percent ownership position in the diamond junior.

    Fort à la Corne has seen extensive exploration of kimberlite deposits, including geophysical surveys, large-diameter drilling and micro- and macro-diamond analyses.

    The Star-Orion South diamond project, the most advanced project area in Star Diamonds’ portfolio, is located within the district.

    In 2018, the company released a PEA for Star-Orion South, which reported a resource of 27.15 million carats of diamonds from 200.16 million metric tons with an average grade of 14 carats per 100 metric tons. The inferred resource is 5.18 million carats from 72.08 million metric tons, with an average grade of 7 carats per 100 metric tons.

    At the time, the company estimated a post-tax NPV of C$2 billion, an IRR of 19 percent and a payback period of 3 years and 5 months.

    On January 9, Star Diamond announced that a 70.7 million share block held by a former project partner had been sold, with 61.12 million shares purchased by an international investor interested in diamonds.

    The company’s most recent news came on February 27, when it announced that it had closed the second tranche of its private placement for gross proceeds of C$230,000, adding to the C$335,000 from the first tranche it closed on February 18. The funds will be used as working capital. According to the announcement, Star Diamond is discussing funding for a pre-feasibility study with potential investors.

    5. Cordoba Minerals (TSXV:CDB)

    Company Profile

    Weekly gain: 58.62 percent
    Market cap: C$35.01 million
    Share price: C$0.46

    Cordoba Minerals is an exploration company working to advance its flagship Alacran project in Colombia.

    The 20,000 hectare property hosts copper, gold and silver mineralization across five deposits: Alacran, Alacran North, Montiel East, Montiel West and Costa Azul. The project is a 50/50 joint venture with JCHX Mining Management (SHA:603979).

    A feasibility study for the project released in February 2024 demonstrated an after-tax net present value of US$360 million with an internal rate of return of 23.8 percent and a payback period of three years.

    The mineral resource estimate for the Alacran deposit and historical tailings reported an indicated resource of 99.46 million metric tons of ore with an average grade of 0.41 percent copper, 0.24 g/t gold and 2.65 g/t silver. Contained metal totals 904.53 million pounds of copper, 765,400 ounces of gold and 8.47 million ounces of silver.

    The company’s most recent news came on January 10, when it reported that it had closed a US$10 million bridge financing deal with JCHX.

    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

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    Nvidia’s CEO did a Q&A with analysts. What he said and what Wall Street thinks about it.

    Investors have closely watched Nvidia’s week-long GPU Technology Conference (GTC) for news and updates from the dominant maker of chips that power artificial intelligence applications.

    The event comes at a pivotal time for Nvidia shares. After two years of monster gains, the stock is down 15% over the past month and 22% below the January all-time high.

    As part of the event, CEO Jensen Huang took questions from analysts on topics ranging from demand for its advanced Blackwell chips to the impact of Trump administration tariffs. Here’s a breakdown of how Huang responded — and what analysts homed in on — during some of the most important questions:

    Huang said he “underrepresented” demand in a slide that showed 3.6 million in estimated Blackwell shipments to the top four cloud service providers this year. While Huang acknowledged speculation regarding shrinking demand, he said the amount of computation needed for AI has “exploded” and that the four biggest cloud service clients remain “fully invested.”

    Morgan Stanley analyst Joseph Moore noted that Huang’s commentary on Blackwell demand in data centers was the first-ever such disclosure.

    “It was clear that the reason the company made the decision to give that data was to refocus the narrative on the strength of the demand profile, as they continue to field questions related to Open AI related spending shifting from 1 of the 4 to another of the 4, or the pressure of ASICs, which come from these 4 customers,” Moore wrote to clients, referring to application-specific integrated circuits.

    Piper Sandler analyst Harsh Kumar said the slide was “only scratching the surface” on demand. Beyond the four largest customers, he said others are also likely “all in line looking to get their hands on as much compute as their budgets allow.”

    Another takeaway for Moore was the growth in physical AI, which refers to the use of the technology to power machines’ actions in the real world as opposed to within software.

    At previous GTCs, Moore said physical AI “felt a little bit like speculative fiction.” But this year, “we are now hearing developers wrestling with tangible problems in the physical realm.”

    Truist analyst William Stein, meanwhile, described physical AI as something that’s “starting to materialize.” The next wave for physical AI centers around robotics, he said, and presents a potential $50 trillion market for Nvidia.

    Stein highliughted Jensen’s demonstration of Isaac GR00T N1, a customizable foundation model for humanoid robots.

    Several analysts highlighted Huang’s explanation of what tariffs mean for Nvidia’s business.

    “Management noted they have been preparing for such scenarios and are beginning to manufacture more onshore,” D.A. Davidson analyst Gil Luria said. “It was mentioned that Nvidia is already utilizing [Taiwan Semiconductor’s’] Arizona fab where it is manufacturing production silicon.”

    Bernstein analyst Stacy Rasgon said Huang’s answer made it seem like Nvidia’s push to relocate some manufacturing to the U.S. would limit the effect of higher tariffs.

    Rasgon also noted that Huang brushed off concerns of a recession hurting customer spending. Huang argued that companies would first cut spending in the areas of their business that aren’t growing, Rasgon said.

    This post appeared first on NBC NEWS

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    4 Mins Read

    Nvidia CEO says he was wrong about timeline for quantum, surprised his comments hurt stocks

    Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang on Thursday walked back comments he made in January, when he cast doubt on whether useful quantum computers would hit the market in the next 15 years.

    At Nvidia’s “Quantum Day” event, part of the company’s annual GTC Conference, Huang admitted that his comments came out wrong.

    “This is the first event in history where a company CEO invites all of the guests to explain why he was wrong,” Huang said.

    In January, Huang sent quantum computing stocks reeling when he said 15 years was “on the early side” in considering how long it would be before the technology would be useful. He said at the time that 20 years was a timeframe that “a whole bunch of us would believe.”

    In his opening comments on Thursday, Huang drew comparisons between pre-revenue quantum companies and Nvidia’s early days. He said it took over 20 years for Nvidia to build out its software and hardware business.

    He also expressed surprise that his comments were able to move markets, and joked he didn’t know that certain quantum computing companies were publicly traded.

    “How could a quantum computer company be public?” Huang said.

    The event included panels with representatives from 12 quantum companies and startups. It represents a truce of sorts between Nvidia, which makes more traditional computers, and the quantum computing industry. Several quantum execs fired back at Nvidia after Huang’s earlier comments.

    A third panel included representatives from Microsoft and Amazon Web Services, which are also investing in quantum technology and are among Nvidia’s most important customers.

    Nvidia has another reason to embrace quantum. As quantum computers are being built, much of the research on them is done through simulators on powerful computers, like those that Nvidia sells.

    It’s also possible that a quantum computer would require a traditional computer to operate it. Nvidia is working to provide the technology and software to integrate graphics processing units (GPUs) and quantum chips.

    “Of course, quantum computing has the potential and all of our hopes that it will deliver extraordinary impact,” Huang said on Thursday. “But the technology is insanely complicated.”

    Nvidia said this week that it will build a research center in Boston to allow quantum companies to collaborate with researchers at Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The center will include several racks of the company’s Blackwell AI servers.

    Quantum computing has been a dream of physicists and mathematicians since the 1980s, when California Institute of Technology professor Richard Feynman first proposed the idea behind a quantum computer.

    While classical computers use bits that are either 0 or 1, the bits inside a quantum computer — qubits — end up being on or off based on probability. Experts predict that the technology will be able to solve problems with massive amounts of possible solutions, such as deciphering codes, routing deliveries or simulating chemistry or weather.

    No quantum computer has yet beat a computer at solving a real, useful problem. But Google claimed late last year that it discovered a way to do error correction.

    One question at the panel centered around whether quantum computing might one day threaten companies like Nvidia that make computers based on transistors.

    “A long time ago, somebody asked me, ‘So what’s accelerated computing good for?’” Huang said at the panel. Accelerated computing is a phrase he uses to refer to the kind of GPU computers that Nvidia makes.

    “I said, a long time ago, because I was wrong, this is going to replace computers,” he said. “This is going to be the way computing is done, and and everything, everything is going to be better. And it turned out I was wrong.”

    This post appeared first on NBC NEWS

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    The Ultimate Guide to Building a Sector-Diversified Stock Portfolio

    You already know about diversification. You’ve set your investment goals, picked a benchmark, and decided on the weighting of your allocations. Now, it’s come down to selecting the assets—stocks or ETFs—to build your portfolio.

    As a long-term investor with moderate risk tolerance, how might you build a portfolio to withstand market drawdowns and weather the business cycle?

    There are many ways to do this. Here are a few ideas to consider.

    S&P Sectors: How Are They Performing and Where Are They Going?

    FIGURE 1. RRG CHARTS OF S&P SECTOR ETFS RELATIVE TO THE S&P 500. This image shows you the one-year progression of each sector, indicating the stage of leadership they might be headed.

    If you’re looking to diversify by sector, it helps to know where each one has been, performance-wise, and toward what state of leadership they might be entering. Which stocks are Improving, Leading, Weakening, and Lagging?

    This is where RRG Charts (specifically RRG S&P 500 Sector ETFs) come in handy. By giving you a dynamic view of sector movement over time, RRGs can help you time your entries to match your strategy—whether you want to buy strength or take a more contrarian approach and buy weakness.

    You might also want to view sectors in terms of relative performance. PerfCharts are a useful way to see how each sector is performing against other sectors.

    FIGURE 2. PERFCHARTS OF 11 S&P SECTORS. Sectors are sorted from outperforming (left) to underperforming (right).

    PerfCharts show that over the past year, Utilities, Financials, and Communications Services have led the market, while Materials, Technology, and Health Care have lagged. If you were looking to shift your portfolio toward greater sector diversification, this chart would prompt a few questions:

    • Should you be overweight, underweight, or equal weight in your exposure to certain sectors?
    • Do you think the outperforming sectors will retain their leadership levels over the coming quarters, or are they overvalued?
    • Are the laggards undervalued, or might there be further downside in the long-term?

    Combining RRG and PerfCharts can provide plenty of context for evaluating whether to enter, exit, or rebalance your positions.

    From Sector to Industry to Individual Stocks

    One question that’ll likely be on your mind is whether you should invest in individual stocks within a given sector or in a sector index ETF.

    If you click the sector names in the Sector Summary tool, you can zoom in on the industries. Select the industry and you’ll get a list of all the stocks within that industry. The charts above tell you how the sectors are performing relative to one another.

    If you decide to buy stocks for your sector allocation instead of sector ETFs, then you might want to know how a given stock is performing relative to its a) sector, b) industry, and c) a broader market benchmark like the S&P 500.

    Here’s an example. Suppose you decide you want to invest in a stock in the Consumer Staples sector. You decide on Sprouts Farmers Market (SFM) which has a high StockChartsTechnicalRank (SCTR) score. Take a look at this daily chart.

    FIGURE 3. DAILY CHART OF SFM. You want to see how SFM is performing against its sector, industry, along with the broader market.

    Here are a few key points to note. Based on a one-year view…

    • The Consumer Staples sector (XLP) is underperforming its peers and the S&P 500 by around 4% (as shown in the PerfCharts example above).
    • However, SFM is outperforming its sector (XLP) by over 118%, its industry Food Retailers & Wholesalers ($DJUSFD) by over 104%, and the S&P 500 ($SPX) by over 107%.

    If you’re seeking Consumer Staples exposure, should you invest in XLP for a potential turnaround or in SFM, a sector leader with strong momentum?

    This is an example of only one way to employ a diversification strategy. You can diversify among stocks vs. bonds, growth vs. value stocks, or emerging vs. developed markets, and many more.

    What About Rebalancing?

    Market shifts can misalign your portfolio with your strategy, making periodic rebalancing essential for maintaining diversification.

    Remember that diversification isn’t about managing and not eliminating risk. You might consider hedging strategies like options or alternative asset exposure like gold, commodities, or crypto during longer downturns. How often should you rebalance? It depends—some do it on a set schedule (every six months or a year), others adjust when allocations drift too far, or after major market events shake things up.

    At the Close

    Building a diversified portfolio takes a lot of planning, but it doesn’t have to be overly complicated. StockCharts gives you several tools to analyze, select, and build your portfolio. Use the tools to your advantage, and remember to stay flexible, as market conditions perpetually change, prompting you to rebalance from time to time.

    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.

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    Will QQQ Retest All-Time Highs By End of April?

    After reaching an all-time around $540 in mid-February, the Nasdaq 100 ETF (QQQ) dropped almost 14% to make a new swing low around $467. With the S&P 500 and Nasdaq bouncing nicely this week, investors are struggling to differentiate between a bearish dead-cat bounce and a bullish full recovery.

    There was no question that valuations had become incredibly rich going into the end of 2024, so some sort of corrective move was widely anticipated in Q1 2025. But was the February to March drawdown enough to appease the valuation trolls and empower investors to buy weakness to drive prices to further all-time highs? Today, we’ll lay out four potential outcomes for the Nasdaq 100 ETF (QQQ).

    As I share each of these four future paths, I’ll describe the market conditions that would likely be involved, and I’ll also share my estimated probability for each scenario. The goal of this example of “probabilistic analysis” is to expand our thinking of what’s possible, to break down our preconceived market biases, and to open our minds to alternative points of view.

    Before we do so, though, I’d love to revisit the last time we conducted this exercise on the Nasdaq 100 back in December 2024.

    Going into early January, it appeared that Scenario 4, the Super Bearish scenario, was matching very closely with market action. But a very choppy month of January kept prices fairly stable, and by the end of January the Nasdaq 100 was very close to the end of our Scenario 3.

    Back to the current market environment, we’re thinking a Very Bullish Scenario would mean the QQQ continues the current uptrend, which eventually becomes a full recovery to retest the February 2025 high. On the other hand, if this week is really more of a dead cat bounce, then the Super Bearish Scenario could take us all the way down to retest the August 2024 lows.

    And remember, the point of this exercise is threefold:

    1. Consider all four potential future paths for the index, think about what would cause each scenario to unfold in terms of the macro drivers, and review what signals/patterns/indicators would confirm the scenario.
    2. Decide which scenario you feel is most likely, and why you think that’s the case. Don’t forget to drop me a comment and let me know your vote!
    3. Think about how each of the four scenarios would impact your current portfolio. How would you manage risk in each case? How and when would you take action to adapt to this new reality?

    Let’s start with the most optimistic scenario, involving the QQQ continuing this week’s rally to retest the recent all-time high.

    Scenario 1: The Very Bullish Scenario

    I’ve heard plenty of calls that last week’s low was actually “the” low and the bottom is now in. But for the Nasdaq 100 to get all the way back up to $540, we would need to see a dramatic recovery in the Mag 7 names. Without a rally from the mega-cap growth trade, I don’t think it’s even possible for this sort of bull phase to play out.  Given the continued weakness in charts like META, I’d say this is a low probability.

    Dave’s Vote: 5%

    Scenario 2: The Mildly Bullish Scenario

    What if we do see a recovery in most sectors and themes outside the Mag 7 stocks? Scenario 2 would mean the QQQ can only get up to around $200, because without the biggest growth names participating the uptrend has limited momentum. Breadth conditions would definitely improve in this scenario, as stocks thrive on a decent Q1 earnings season.

    Dave’s vote: 20%

    Scenario 3: The Mildly Bearish Scenario

    The two bearish scenarios would mean that the recent upswing starts to turn lower as renewed fears of inflation, geopolitical risk, and a weak earnings season all weigh on risk assets. A mildly bearish scenario means perhaps that we see some signs of optimism as investors begin to feel more familiar with the flurry of policy decisions from Washington. And even though we haven’t gained much ground by the end of April, it definitely feels as if the bear phase is limited.

    Dave’s vote: 30%

    Scenario 4: The Super Bearish Scenario

    What if the flurry of policy decisions we’ve seen is just an appetizer, and the main course arrives in April? Given the global instability and economic concerns, it’s not hard to envision a scenario where the February to March drop was the first in a multi-wave decline that takes the QQQ back down to the August 2024 lows. This scenario seems like the most likely outcome based on the breadth and momentum deteriorations we’ve been tracking for months on our daily market recap show.

    Dave’s vote: 45%

    What probabilities would you assign to each of these four scenarios?  Check out the video below, and then drop a comment with which scenario you select and why!

    RR#6,

    Dave

    P.S. Ready to upgrade your investment process? Check out my free behavioral investing course!

    David Keller, CMT

    President and Chief Strategist

    Sierra Alpha Research LLC

    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.

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