Weekly Brief #67
Canada-U.S. tensions are high... Plus, Figure AI in-talks for $40 billion valuation, Celsius acquires Alani for $1.8 billion, Amazon gains creative rights to Bond, Microsoft’s quantum chip, and more.
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Good morning investor 👋,
Welcome back to the 67th Weekly Brief.
This week’s performance:
S&P 500: +0.94% | Nasdaq: +1.35% | Dow Jones: -0.56% | TSX: -0.25% | Gold: +0.96% | Bitcoin: +1.85% | The Quality Fund: +0.65%.
Political tensions between the True North Strong and Free and the Land of the Free (Canada and the U.S.) have been high recently—breaking-the-sound-barrier kind of high. The continual mockery of Canadian sovereignty by U.S. officials and the threat of detrimental tariffs from America have sparked a rise in Canadian patriotism. This politicization has managed to trickle down to sports, and I’d like to talk about it all. Plus, many influential stories surrounding tech today, with AI robotics and quantum computing making moves.
Let’s get into it. (10 min read)
In this issue:
🌎 Canada-U.S. tensions are high
🎬 Amazon gains creative rights to Bond
🇦🇷 Argentina’s crypto rug pull
FEATURED STORY
🌎 Canada-U.S. tensions are high
Hockey. Politics. Trade economics.
You wouldn’t normally think these four words belong together. But with recent events, they haven’t just been understood together—they’ve merged. It won’t be a long post today, but to start things off, I’d like to share a post I made on Blossom last week about the first USA-Canada Four Nations hockey game and what it means for the markets, the Canadian economy, and how tense things are between the two historically close nations.
If you haven’t been keeping up with U.S.-Canada politics (or hockey matches lately), you may need to read my past posts on those topics before diving into today’s featured story. Those will be linked at the end of this section.
The tensions are high 🇨🇦🇺🇸🏒
Post on Blossom, February 15, 2025:
This game tonight clearly explained Canadian sentiment toward America right now. Fueled by economic tariff threats and annexation threats, leading to a massive rise in nationalism in Canada.
Tonight:
Three fistfights within the first minute of gameplay.
Booing of the U.S. national anthem again (not as extreme as last time, but apparent).
Extremely loud Canadian crowds.
Both Trudeau and Poilievre were there, apparently.
I have never in my life seen such tension between our two countries. Really odd to see. Not just in the hockey world, but across the board:
A sizeable increase in sales of Canadian-manufactured products as opposed to the American counterpart in Canada (polls say; take that as you will).
A large increase in national pride—more flag flying, more people wearing Canadian pins, more “disgust” toward America.
I’ve seen it with most of my close family, the change in business marketing in Canada, and even some friends; people are feeling Canadian in a way I’ve never seen.
My thoughts have been clear in past posts and write-ups on my newsletter on this topic (linked below), but what I’m very interested in monitoring over the coming weeks or potentially years is a lasting change in business culture in Canada.
Many folks (like Bradley Talks Money—find him on Blossom and YouTube) were talking about how Canadian Tire will benefit greatly from this, as much of what the company sells is sourced from Canada, for Canada. The company itself is as Canadian as a Canadian company can get. We’ve seen an increase in Canadian companies with patriotic slogans and advertising, such as Loblaws, Tim’s, Rogers, CT, and more, and it will be very interesting to see this evolve. I agree that these companies will thrive.
Not just on the business level, but also on the cultural level as a result. And, as we’ve seen heavily, on the political level—provincial and federal. All of this is putting heavy pressure on Canadian sentiment toward America. I think Canada and America work best together rather than apart and that we should collaborate more to benefit each other, but I can understand this shift in culture.
No hate for my American friends. Love your guys’ pristine businesses I can invest in. Sad we didn’t win tonight, though. Poor defence by Canada. (Actual post: here)
Some thoughts
Although this was written after the first game, with the second game and the Four Nations Championship now ended, the same applies. With the first game held in Montreal, where Canadians booed the American national anthem, tensions were clear. In response, Americans in Boston (where the second game was held) booed the Canadian anthem. Right before the second game, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and U.S. Vice President JD Vance both made comments on Canada (that, I must say, did not age well):
Karoline Leavitt:
“[President Trump] is watching for the United States to win tonight. I know he talked to the USA hockey team this morning… I believe they're going to put out a video of that call, so he looks forward to watching the game tonight, and we look forward to the United States beating our soon-to-be 51st state, Canada.”
U.S. Vice President JD Vance:
“We’d like to kick their asses again because you don’t boo in the United States of America. And to Canada, if you guys don’t win, the tariffs are even higher… No, I’m kidding!”
That’s the U.S. Vice President making jokes about essentially destroying Canada’s economy. First, as we all know, these booings of hockey anthems aren’t directed at America and Americans. We as Canadians aren’t that low. We’re simply booing the government of America, which seems to be going haywire with claims over Canada. A long list of claims that I’ve covered before—tariffs, calling a trade deficit a subsidy, making jokes about our prime minister (although an unpopular prime minister) being a governor, and Canada becoming an American state.
This is complete arrogance (with a splash of ignorance) and as many of you know, I’m not the biggest fan of arrogance in any case. The comments above, and what’s happening with this new American administration—I just find it incredibly backwards. Baffling, I should say. Of course, this applies to Canada, but also to most of Europe. Not sure about this. It’s very, very backwards. But as it refers to my investments, I don’t see much problem. So that’s a bonus.
I won’t extend this section any further, as I’ve written on this topic too many times in the past. Hopefully this is the last time I need to write about tariffs or hockey politics. But I have a strong feeling this won’t be the last. Note: I appreciate both my American and Canadian subscribers and followers equally. I wish all subscribers an amazing weekend. Happy investing.
FINANCE
a. 🤖 Figure AI in-talks for $40 billion valuation
Figure AI is in talks to raise $1.5 billion in a Series C round led by Parkway Venture Capital, valuing the company at $39.5 billion. Major tech players such as Nvidia, Meta, and Tesla are racing to develop humanoid robots as AI advances automation, and Figure AI is among them.
Companies see humanoids as solutions for labour shortages and repetitive jobs (and I agree). Figure AI previously raised $675 million from investors like OpenAI, Microsoft, and Jeff Bezos. The company recently announced it had ended its partnership with OpenAI following “an AI breakthrough.” As of now, Meta is forming a division to develop robots, while Tesla’s “Optimus” robot is expected to be ready by late 2025 (but we’ll see).
Related articles:
b. 🥤 Celsius acquires Alani for $1.8 billion
Celsius Holdings is set to acquire health and wellness brand Alani Nutrition for $1.8 billion in cash and stock to expand its energy drink portfolio, as reported by The Wall Street Journal this Thursday. Alani was founded in 2018 and is part of the fast-growing, female-focused nutrition market. (Celsius’s consumer base is also mainly female-oriented.)
The deal totals a net purchase price of $1.65 billion, adjusted for $150 million in tax benefits. Celsius expects the merged company to generate over $2 billion in annual sales, up from its $1.36 billion in revenue alone in 2024. Alani Nutrition will operate within Celsius as its own business.
BUSINESS
c. 🎬 Amazon gains creative rights to Bond
Amazon’s MGM Studios has officially gained creative control of the James Bond franchise after striking a new deal with longtime producers Michael Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, who inherited the rights from their father, Albert Broccoli. The partnership is a joint venture for the rights, and both Broccoli and Wilson will remain co-owners. The franchise is over 60 years old and remains one of the most lucrative in film history.
Amazon acquired MGM in 2022 for $8.45 billion, which included Bond’s distribution rights. Creative control remained with the Broccoli family until now. The last James Bond film, No Time to Die (2021), ended Daniel Craig’s era and grossed just shy of $800 million on a $250 million budget. No new Bond has been announced. Bullish Amazon—if they don’t screw this up.
Related articles:
d. 💽 Microsoft’s quantum chip, Majorana
First Google, now Microsoft: Microsoft unveiled their own quantum chip this week—Majorana 1—setting more quantum records as the first quantum chip powered by a Topological Core (to help with the development of topological quantum computing). This technology, paired with AI, allows engineers and scientists to discover new drugs, develop new technologies, and much more—with unparalleled precision and speed. It’s incredible.
(Awesome video explaining quantum computing below.)
Just as semiconductors revolutionized modern electronics, topoconductors pave the way for quantum systems with millions of qubits, solving complex problems in literally, no time. Microsoft claims the chip is less error-prone than its rivals, and if successful Microsoft aims to bring industrial-scale quantum computing within years, not decades.
Related articles:
POLITICS
e. 🇦🇷 Argentina’s crypto rug pull
Argentine President Javier Milei found himself in controversy this week after his official account on X (Twitter) posted a message promoting a newly launched cryptocurrency called $LIBRA. Soon after, the coin collapsed, the post was deleted, and Milei has since denied any wrongdoing. He says that “posting a direct link to the coin does not mean he promoted it.” Eight crypto wallets withdrew close to $100 million worth of funds during this fiasco.
A judge is now deciding whether Milei should face fraud charges. Milei also faces impeachment, but that seems unlikely to happen.
In an interview with Todo Noticias, the president responded, saying:
“If you go to a casino and lose money, what’s there to complain about?”
Quick side note: If you see anyone sharing a link to a scam meme cryptocurrency coin, just avoid it. You’re not going to make money. Just buy quality companies (or an ETF) and live your life. If you still buy these coins after this reminder, you very much deserve to lose your money.
📚 Book of the Week
For every book purchased using the links below, 100% of affiliate commissions are donated to charity. (Amount donated so far: $36.42.)
My full bookshelf: Here.
Evicted - Matthew Desmond
Book Description:
“In Evicted, Princeton sociologist and MacArthur “Genius” Matthew Desmond follows eight families in Milwaukee as they each struggle to keep a roof over their heads. Hailed as “wrenching and revelatory” (The Nation), “vivid and unsettling” (New York Review of Books), Evicted transforms our understanding of poverty and economic exploitation while providing fresh ideas for solving one of twenty-first-century America’s most devastating problems.
Its unforgettable scenes of hope and loss remind us of the centrality of home, without which nothing else is possible.”
Thanks for reading. Feel free to reply to this email or comment on the web if you need anything—I always reply. If you enjoyed today’s issue, feel free to share it with friends and family.
All the best,
Jacob
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Really sad to see Milei losing all the respect he earned with his amazing achievements in Argentina's economy turnaround. It's hard to think that such an intelligent person wouldn't know what was really going on with this scam.