These minerals will power tomorrow’s cars

Automakers increasingly rely on lithium and rare-earth elements to make batteries for their electric vehicles (EVs). In 2017, share prices for producers of those minerals jumped on speculation EV sales will eventually lead to shortages (see Supplement, page 10).

Longer term, lithium and rare earth… Read More

Q: Hi Pat: I am a long-time Inner Circle member, and I would like your opinion on two Vanguard consumer ETFs: Vanguard Consumer Discretionary ETF and Vanguard Consumer Staples ETF. Thanks.

A: Vanguard Consumer Discretionary ETF, $142.61, symbol VCR on New York, aims to track the MSCI US Investable Market Consumer Discretionary 25/50 Index. It’s an index that invests in U.S. consumer discretionary companies. These firms are in manufacturing and service industries that tend to be… Read More

Q: Pat: With the increased demand for electric vehicles and the need for lithium batteries, will the price of cobalt spike? Also, what do you think about the upcoming Cobalt 27 IPO? Thank you.

A: The battery industry currently uses 42% of global cobalt production, a critical metal for lithium-ion electric vehicle batteries. The remaining 58% is used in diverse industrial and military applications (super alloys, catalysts, magnets, pigments, and so on) that rely exclusively on the material.
About 97%… Read More

We’re adding Shopify to our picks

SHOPIFY INC. $66.17 (Toronto symbol SHOP; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (613-241-2828; www.shopify.ca; Shares o/s: 88.9 million; Market cap: $5.8 billion; No divds. paid) offers merchants of all sizes Internet-based software to design, set up and manage stores across multiple sales channels. They include both permanent… Read More