The new trading week began on Monday, November 5^th with the major north American markets coming off their first positive week since the beginning of October.

To which technical analysts David Tippin & Ron Meisels commented – “The October sell-off created a dramatically oversold condition…. The markets have started a necessary stabilization process.” (For a complete copy of this report please contact Rod.Blake@canaccord.com.)

Home improvement retailer Lowe’s Companies ‘LOW-N’ announced it was closing 31 of its Lowe’s and Rona stores and facilities in Canada and 20 Lowe’s stores in the United States in an effort to streamline operations and concentrate on more profitable locations.

The Second Cup ‘SCU-T’ announced it was conducting a strategic review to better evolve the coffee chain.

The price of Crew Energy ‘CR-T’ rose by almost 16^% to $1.47 after the petroleum producer impressed the street with it 3^rd-quarter financials.

Tuesday, November 6^th had Nutrien Ltd. ‘NTR-T’ announce it was taking a US$1.8-billion write-off and permanently suspending potash operations is Sussex, New Brunswick.

The price of Great Canadian Gaming ‘GC-T’ stock surged up by over 17^% to $49.86 after the company reported better than expected 3^rd-quarter earnings.

Katanga Mining ‘KAT-T’ shares’ plunged by 24^% to $0.485 after the company announced it was suspending cobalt sales from its Kamoto Project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo due to the presence of uranium in the cobalt produced at the mine.

Bloomberg reported there are now 144 marijuana related companies worth about $57-billion trading on Canadian exchanges and 136 cannabis related companies worth about US$16-billion trading on U.S. OTC markets.

The American public did what was expected in their mid-term elections by leaving the Republicans in control of the Senate and turning control of the House over to the Democrats.

The markets in general and posted a relief rally on Wednesday, November 7^th following the outcome of the American mid-term elections.

And marijuana stocks rose in tandem following the U.S mid-term elections that saw the marihuana friendly Democrats take control of the House and Michigan, Missouri and Utah approved the medical or recreational use of cannabis.

Home Capital ‘HCG-T’ shares’ soared up by 24^% to $17.46 after the alternative mortgage lender handily beat analysts’ expectations with its 3^rd-quarter financials.

The price of Jameson Wellness ‘JWEL-T’ stock dropped by over 11^% to 19.61 after the vitamin company’s 3^rd quarter financials failed to meet the streets’ expectations.

Thursday, November 8^th had the U.S. Fed do as expected and leave their benchmark interest rate unchanged at 2.00 – 2.25^%.

Bombardier Inc. ‘BBD.B-T’ shares’ plunged by over 24^% to $2.41 after the Quebec based transportation company announced an austerity program that included selling the Dash-8 turboprop division and laying off of some 5,000 employees.

Conversely, the price of Canadian Tire ‘CTC.A-T’ stock rose by almost 11^% to $166.10 after Canada’s largest retailer reported a better than expected 3^rd-quarter financials and better yet – raised it divided by 15^%.

And the price of Manulife Financial ‘MFC-T’ shares’ rose by over 4% to $22.33 after the insurer reported better than expected 3^rd-quarter financials.

Friday, November 9^th began with the Energy Information Administration or EIA reporting that U.S. crude oil production has reached a record 11.6-million-barrels-a-day.

To which petroleum industry consultant Baker Hughes ‘BHGE-N’ reported that the number of active American drilling rigs rose by 14-rigs last week to 1,081 active rigs. Across the line – the number of active Canadian drilling rigs dropped by 2-rigs to 196 active drilling rigs.

And TransCanada Corp.’s ”TRP-T’  $10-billion on again – off again Keystone XL pipeline was off again after a U.S. federal judge ordered a halt to work until further environmental and social impact studies are done.

GMP Capital ‘GMP-T’ stock gained 10^% to $1.99 after the financial firm reported a much improved 3^rd-quarter report and better yet – issued a special dividend and re-instated its quarterly dividend.

The markets generally traded lower going into the Canadian Remembrance Day and American Veteran’s Day long weekend.

Lest we forget…

During the Week – the price of crude oil fell to a 9-month low of US$59.87/bbl while natural gas rose to a near 2-year high of US$3.72/btu.

Absolute Software ‘ABT-T’ at $8.44, Cameco Corp. ‘CCO-T’ at $16.39 and MTY Food Group ‘MTY-T’ at $73.19 all rose to new TSX 52-week trading highs while Argonaut Gold ‘AR-T’ at $1.34, Garibaldi Resources ‘GGI-T at $1.14 and Morguard REIT ‘MRT.U-T’ at $11.27 all fell to new 52-week trading lows.

For the Week – the Dow Industrials gained 2.84^% to 25,989, as the S&P 500 rose by 2.13^% to 2,781 and the NASDAQ rose by 0.68^% to 7,407. The TSX Composite improved by 0.69^% to 15,274 while the TSX Venture was unchanged at 651.

With Commodities – gold bullion lost 1.87^% to US$1,210, as copper dropped by 4.63^% to US$2.68, while crude oil fell by 5.18^% to US$59.87 and natural gas rose by 12.39^% to US$3.72. Overall, the CRB Spot Commodities Index

The Canadian dollar fell by 0.69^% against its southern counterpart to finish the week at US$0.7574.

And the closely watched CBOE Volatility index or VIX dropped by 2.17-points to end the week at a little calmer level of 17.34.

And Finally – the average American’s wealth continues to grow as the U.S. Federal Reserve recently reported that – helped by rising stock market and home prices – total American household wealth rose by 2.1^% in the 2^nd-quarter to a record US$106.9-trillion.

And Finally-Finally – The Week is taking a week away. If all goes to plan this publication will reappear once again on or about Monday, November 26^th.