The new trading week began on Monday, October 29^th with those investors who hadn’t sold in the past 2-weeks doing so start the week and drive equity prices ever lower again.

Red Hat Inc. ‘RHT-Q’ shares’ surged up by over 45^% to US$169.83 after industry icon International Business Machines ‘IBM-N’ surprised the market by announcing a US$ 33-billion purchase of the cloud computing giant.

The airline industry is one of the most sensitive to petroleum prices and to that end – WestJet Airlines ‘WJA-T’ sighted higher fuel prices for a 66^% fall in 3^rd-quarter profits.

Tuesday, October 30^th had General Electric ‘GE-N’ shares’ plunge by almost 9^% to US$10.18 after the giant conglomerate reported a larger than expected 3^rd-quarter loss and worse yet – cut its quarterly dividend to just one-cent-a-share.

And the stock price of Guyana Goldfields ‘GUY-T’ sank by 47^% to just $1.62 after the emerging gold miner not only underperformed with its 3^rd-quarter report but worse yet – lowered its production forecast for the rest of 2018.

Wednesday, October 31^st saw Statistics Canada report that the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) rose by another 0.1% in August – the 7^th-consectutive month of growth.

The price of General Motors Co. ‘GM-N’ stock gained 9^% to US$36.59 after America’s largest auto company 3^rd-quarter financials beat analysts’ expectations.

First Quantum Minerals ‘FM-T’ shares’ rose by over 5.5^% to $11.73 after the multi-mineral miner impressed the street with its 3^rd-quarter financials.

Maxar Technologies ‘MAXR-T’ shares’ plunged by over 44^% to $19.55 after the aeronautical giant reported an unexpected 3^rd-quarter loss and lower guidance for the rest of the year.

Overall – the markets opened lower and then rallied to close higher – a key signal that the current correction might have run its course.

Encana Corp. ‘ECA-T’ shares’ fell by over 12^% to $11.80 on Thursday, November 1^st

after the petroleum giant announced it was purchasing Houston based Newfield Exploration ‘NFX-N’ in an all-stock deal of some US$2.2-billion. Newfield’s stock rose by 15.5^% on the announcement to US$23.33.

Wesdome Gold Mines ‘WDO-T’ stock rose by 6% to $4.02 after the mineral developer reported more encouraging drill-hole gold assays from its Kiena Deep project near Val D’Or, Quebec.

Friday, November 2^nd had Statistics Canada report that the economy added 11,200 new jobs in October and the nation’s unemployment rate fell by 0.1^% to 5.8^%

A little south – the U.S. Labor Department reported their country added a better than expected 250,00 new jobs in October and their unemployment rate stayed at a 50-year low of 3.75^%. The American economy has now added jobs for a record 97-consectutive months.

Petroleum industry analyst Baker Hughes ‘BHGE-N’ reported that the number of active American drilling rigs eased lower by 1-rig last week to 1,067 active drilling rigs. The number of Canadian active drilling rigs fell by 2-rigs to 198 active drilling rigs.

Apple Inc. ‘AAPL-Q’ shares’ fell by 6.6^% to US$207.28 after the i-giant’s 4^th-quarter forecasts disappointed investors’ expectations.

The price of Dorel Industries ‘DII.B-T’ plunged by over 8% to $20.36 after the baby products, bicycle and home furnishing manufacturer warned that an ongoing U.S./China trade war would negatively affect the company’s performance forecasts.

During the Week – the price of natural gas rose to a new 1-year high of US$3.31/mmmcf.

Dow industrials fell to a new 3-month low of 24,443, with the S&P 500 and NASDAQ dropping to respective new 5-month lows of 2,641 and 7,050, while the TSX sank to a new 8-month low of 14,722 and the TSX venture plunged to a new 2½ -year low of 627.

Nevsun Resources ‘NSU-T’ at $5.85, Star Diamond ‘DIAM-T’ at $0.38 and WestHaven Ventures ‘WHN-T’ at $0.84 all rose to new TSX 52-week trading highs while BlackBerry Ltd. ‘BB-T’ at $11.55, IAMGOLD Corp. ‘IMG-T’ at $4.52 and Sleep Country Canada ‘ZZZ-T’ at $23.84 all fell to new 52-week trading lows.

For the Week – the Dow Industrials rose by 2.36^% to 25,271, with the S&P 500 up by 2.41^% to 2,723 and the NASDAQ ahead by 2.66^% to 7,357. Up north – the TSX Composite gained 1.55^% to 15,119 and the TSX Venture improved by 1.09^% to 651.

With Commodities – gold bullion dropped by 0.24^% to uS$1,233, while copper gained 4.01^% to US$2.81 as crude oil lost 6.58^% to US$63.14 and natural gas rose by 11.82^% to US$3.31. Overall – the CRB Spot Commodity Index was unchanged over the week at 417.

The Canadian dollar eased 0.01^% lower against its American counterpart to end the week at US$0.7627.

And the closely watched CBOE Volatility Index or VIX fell by 4.65-points to finish the week at a much calmer level of 19.51.

And Finally – With figures that would seem to confirm that homeowners are using their largest asset as a piggy bank – a recent study by GfK found that almost 1/3^rd of homeowners who earn less than US$30,000 feel it is OK to use their home equity to cover everyday bills.

And Finally-Finally – The Week is taking a week away. If all goes according to plan this publication will once again appear sometime around Monday, November 26^th.