No Signs of Moderation on Home Price Increases

Posted on June 29, 2022 by Admin



Image: PhotoMIX Company

What Will It Take to End Rampant Home-Price Inflation?

Real wages are falling, inflation is at a forty-year high, and the Atlanta Fed predicts we’ll find GDP (gross domestic product) growth at zero for the second quarter. Meanwhile, both the yield curve and money supply growth point to recession.

But when it comes to the latest data on home prices, there’s still no sign of any deflation or even moderation. For example, the latest Case-Shiller home price data shows home prices surged above 20 percent year over year in April, marking yet another month of historic highs in-home price growth. It’s now abundantly clear that a decade of easy money, followed by two years of covid-induced helicopter money, has pushed home price growth to levels that dwarf even the pre-2008 housing bubble. This continues to make housing less affordable for potential first-time home buyers and for renters. Unfortunately, the options for “doing something” are limited, and probably require a recession.

But in the meantime, those who are already lucky enough to be property owners continue to see some big gains. According to the latest Case-Shiller home price report, released Tuesday (June 28):

Source: Case Schiller Home Report

According to the index, year-over-year changes have exceeded 18 percent for each month since June 2021, a rate well in excess of the growth rates experienced during the housing bubble leading up to the financial crisis of 2008. This growth is also reflected in month-over-month growth, which has not fallen below 1 percent in twenty-one months. In other words, as of April, there was still no sign at all that price inflation and declining real wages were doing much to dampen demand for home purchases.

Image: Case Schiller

The reader may remember that price inflation began to surge well above the Fed’s target 2 percent rate as early as April 2021. Price inflation hit forty-year highs of more than 8 percent during early 2022. Moreover, April of this year was the thirteenth month in a row in which price inflation outpaced growth in average earnings.

Housing Is Less Affordable, But There Are Plenty of Buyers

People are getting poorer in real terms, so it’s not surprising that April data also shows historic imbalances between disposable income and home prices. As of April 2022, the Census Bureau’s estimate for the average sale price of new houses sold reached 10.3 times the size of disposable personal income per capita. The average home sale price has been more than nine times disposable income for the past six months of available data. In recent decades, home prices have only been this unaffordable in periods leading up to recessions and financial crises—i.e., 1980, 1991, and 2007. April’s home-price-to-income ratio is higher than in any other period in more than forty-five years.

Image: Case Schiller

One reason the April data showed no sign of declining home prices is that employment data—a lagging economic indicator—still showed a relatively strong job market. Although total nonfarm employment remained below 2019 precovid levels, job growth was strong enough to combine with monetary inflation and fuel big growth in prices—an ongoing trend. Moreover, as of April, mortgage rates had not yet climbed out of very-low-rate territory. The average thirty-year fixed rate did not even reach 5 percent until mid-April. This, combined with continued job growth, helped keep demand high. (As of mid-June, however, the average thirty-year fixed rate is 5.8 percent, a thirteen-year high.)

So What Will it Take Before We Begin to See Any Real Reductions in Home Prices?

Unfortunately, the only real way out is probably a recession. This is thanks to a mixture of the regime’s fiscal and monetary policies. After so many months of reckless monetary inflation fueling out-of-control demand, all that newly created money continues to chase relatively stagnant supply. Supply has been hobbled by lockdown-induced logistical bottlenecks, US sanctions on Russia, and rising energy prices due to the regime’s war on fossil fuels. Thus, consumers can’t benefit from the sort of supply-driven disinflationary forces that helped keep price inflation at manageable levels during many periods in the past. Now, we’re just left with surging demand fueled by new money, without the market freedom necessary to provide breathing room through supply growth.

Will the Fed Tighten Enough?

Fed chairman Jerome Powell denied at this month’s Federal Open Market Committee meeting that the Fed is trying to bring about a recession to rein in price growth. But whether or not that is the intent, even the Fed’s very mild tightening has already accelerated the US economy’s slide toward recession—or at least toward job losses. For instance, there is growing evidence of sporadic mass layoff events. JP Morgan announced last week “that it was laying off hundreds of employees due to rising mortgage rates amid a troubling housing market plagued by inflation.” Redfin last week announced layoffs for 470 workers. Hiring freezes and mass layoffs are a growing concern in Silicon Valley.

If the US is indeed headed toward job losses and recession, the danger now is of the Fed not backing off monetary inflation long enough and hard enough to actually allow the economy to clean out the malinvestments and bubbles created by the monetary inflation of the past decade. The danger of too-weak tightening has been evident before. For example, the Fed moderately reined in monetary inflation from 1972 to 1974. But these measures proved to be too little to really end the inflationary boom. Thus, malinvestment and price inflation piled up until the early 1980s, when more tightening finally brought inflation under control.

So the question now is this: Will the Fed pull its foot off the easy-money accelerator only long enough to get a few flat months in price inflation and then return to the same old inflationary stimulus policies? That could win a brief reprieve for first-time home buyers and renters in terms of housing prices. But more than a brief reprieve is greatly needed. Of course, what the Fed should do is completely sell off its portfolio and stop manipulating interest rates altogether. But failing that, it needs to at least allow interest rates to rise enough—and shrink its portfolio enough—to allow for some real modicum of “normalization” in the financial sector.

In any case, real deflation—both monetary inflation and price inflation—is necessary, and that can only be accomplished if the Fed can resist the temptation to keep doing what it’s been doing since 2008 with “nontraditional monetary policy” including quantitative easing, financial repression, and bubble creation.

About the Author:

Ryan McMaken (@ryanmcmaken) is a senior editor at the Mises Institute. Ryan has a bachelor’s degree in economics and a master’s degree in public policy and international relations from the University of Colorado. He was a housing economist for the State of Colorado. He is the author of Commie
Cowboys: The Bourgeoisie and the Nation-State in the Western Genre.

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Release – Element79 Gold Completes Acquisition of High-Grade Peruvian Gold Portfolio

Posted on June 29, 2022 by Admin

Element79 Gold Completes Acquisition of High-Grade Peruvian Gold Portfolio

Historic production averaging up to 19 g/t Au Equivalent, Recent
sampling returned up to 116 g/t Au Equivalent, Includes one of the
highest-grade underground mines in Peru’s history

VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / June 29, 2022 / Element79
Gold Corp. (CSE:ELEM)(OTC PINK:ELMGF)(FSE:7YS) (“Element79
Gold”, the “Company“) announces that pursuant to the definitive share purchase agreement dated June 19, 2022 (the “Agreement“), it has closed the acquisition of all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Calipuy Resources Inc. (“Calipuy”) from the shareholders of Calipuy (the “Calipuy Shareholders“). Calipuy, through its subsidiaries, holds 100% interest in two past producing gold-silver mines: the Lucero mine (“Lucero”), one of the highest-grade underground mines in Peru’s history⁽¹⁾ at grades averaging 19.0 g/t Au Equivalent (“Au Eq”) (14.0 g/t gold and 373 g/t silver),^(1,2) as well as the Machacala Project (“Machacala”
and, together with Lucero, the “Properties“) which averaged production grades of 10.5 g/t Au Eq (6.0 g/t gold and 340 g/t silver).
⁽³⁾ Operations were suspended in 2005 at Lucero and 1991 at Machacala due to the persistence of low gold and silver prices at the time. Element79 Gold has previously disclosed the terms of the Agreement (see news release dated June 20, 2022, available on SEDAR).

Highlights of the High-Grade Peruvian Gold Portfolio :

Recent samples at Lucero returned up to 116.8 g/t Au Eq (78.7g/t Au and 2,856 g/t Ag)⁽⁹⁾; Consistent with historic high grade production of 19.0 g/t Au Eq (14.0 g/t Au and 373 g/t Ag) between 1998 and 2004⁽²⁾; Recent historic prospecting indicates potential for additional bulk-tonnage high-sulphidation gold-silver deposit
Most recent drilling at Machacala returned up to 15.7 g/t Au Eq (13.55 g/t AU and 164 g/t Ag) over 3.15m in the drill hole Ma-04 on the Fragua vein⁽¹⁰⁾; 230,000 tonnes of historical production averaging 10.5 g/t Au Eq (6.0 g/t Au and 340 g/t Ag) from 1979 to 1991⁽³⁾;

“The closing of the Calipuy transaction delivers high-grade assets, potentially capable of operating in the near-term, to Element79 Gold’s growing portfolio, offering an expedited route toward cash-flow generation through these significant production-stage properties,” commented James Tworek, President and CEO of the Company. “With the on-site team being assembled and planning is underway for both sites, Element79 Gold’s focus is to accelerate the timeline to operations at these properties by expanding on current datasets and exploration at each asset.”

Peru has a mining-friendly legislation that allows up to 350 tpd production while larger scale production permitting is underway. Element79 Gold has previously stated that it intends to pursue the opportunities aggressively (see news releases dated March 10, 2022, March 17, 2022, and June 20, 2022, available on SEDAR).

Lucero Project

Formerly operated as the Shila mine from 1989 to 2005, Lucero consists of 10,805 hectares located in the Shila range of southern Peru, which contains several historic high grade gold-silver mines.⁽¹⁾ Lucero consistently delivered high grades during 16 years of operations, and between 1998 and 2004 reported production averaging approximately 18,800 ounces of gold and 435,000 ounces of silver per year at grades of 19.0 g/t Au Eq (14.0 g/t Au and 373 g/t Ag),
⁽²⁾ with recoveries at the ore processing facility averaging 94.5% for gold and 85.5% for silver.⁽¹⁾

A recent NI 43-101 technical report on Lucero has been prepared for Calipuy by Mining Plus. Samples collected by the technical report’s Qualified Person (the “QP“) returned up to 116.8 g/t Au Eq (78.7g/t Au and 2,856 g/t Ag)⁽⁹⁾. Due to a lack of historical data, the project does not host any resources. However, access to the historic workings is available, and the QP states Lucero is underexplored and has significant exploration potential for extension of known veins, and to discover additional veins.⁽⁹⁾

Lucero is one of many low-sulphidation epithermal Au-Ag deposits hosted in tertiary volcanics of the Central Andes Cordillera of southern Peru. The project hosts 74 recognized epithermal veins, 14 of which have been partially exploited. High grade ‘bonanza-style’ direct shipping ore was mined in the past from low-to-intermediate-sulphidation quartz-carbonate massive sulphide veins. Prospecting by previous operator Condor Resources Inc. from 2012 to 2020 identified the high-sulphidation epithermal alteration zone with structures that returned peak sample values of 80.1 g/t Au Eq (33.4 g/t Au and 3,500 g/t Ag)⁽¹¹⁾. This alteration zone, measuring approximately 1,300 metres by 1,400 metres, exhibited no evidence of prior sampling or drilling and is believed to host potential for a bulk tonnage disseminated gold-silver deposit.⁽¹⁾

“Lucero offers a rare opportunity to explore for not only an underground high-grade low sulphidation system but potentially an open pit-able high sulphidation system as well,” stated Neil Pettigrew, M.Sc., P.Geo, Director of Element79 Gold “This project has never experienced modern exploration techniques and I am very confident that significant gold-silver resources are to be found.”

A 0.5% Net Smelter Returns royalty is retained by Sandstorm Gold Ltd., one of the largest gold royalty companies in the world.⁽²⁾

Machacala Project

Machacala consists of over 4,000 hectares located in the District of Carabamba, Province of Julcan, Department of La Libertad. In 2004, Gold Hawk Resources, Inc. (”
Gold Hawk“) estimated a total inferred resource of 420,000 Au Eq ounces hosted within 1,560,000 tonnes, which equates to a gold equivalent grade of 8.4g/t, however individual gold and silver grades were not reported.⁽⁴⁾This historic estimate is the most recent historic resource estimate relevant to Machacala. In additional Machacala also includes approximately 200,000 tonnes of tailings, which have historically been estimated in 2004 to grade 1.26 g/t gold and 74 g/t silver(6). This historical tailings estimate is historic in nature, and non-43-101 compliant. Historical metallurgical studies by Gold Hawk show 87% recoveries of gold and 50%+ recovery of silver in 24 hours of leaching un-milled tailings, with re-milling able to increase recoveries to 90% of gold and 73% of silver in 24 hours of leaching.(7). A qualified person has not
conducted sufficient work on either the historical Gold Hawk or Tailings
estimates required to categorize these resources to the CIM definition of a
current mineral resources, which may include the preparation of a new NI 43-101
Technical Report. Element79 Gold is not treating these historic estimates as
current mineral resources and a qualified person has not reviewed the work to
define the quality of work associated with this historic estimate.
While these historical estimates are considered to be relevant to
future exploration of the Machacala property they should not be relied upon and
there can be no assurance that any of the historical resources, in whole or in
part, will ever become economically viable.

Machacala was first commercially mined in the 1950s before being acquired and operated by Minera Santa Isabel, S.A. from 1979 to 1991 which mined 230,000 metric tonnes averaging 10.5 g/t Au Eq (6.0 g/t Au and 340 g/t Ag) representing 78,000 Au Eq ounces.
⁽⁴⁾ Operations were suspended in 1991 due to the persistence of a low gold ($360/oz) and silver ($3.81/oz) price. Neighboring concessions include those owned by Fortescue Metals Group (ASX Listed) and by Fresnillo Peru S.A.C., a subsidiary of Fresnillo plc (LSE Listed).^(3,5)

The project was most recently explored by Gold Hawk and Meridian Gold between 1997 and 2004, with a total of 8,500m in 45 core and RC drill holes completed. Highlights of this drilling include 11.6 g/t Au Eq (11.32 g/t Au and 23.6 g/t Ag) over 3.7m in the Casa Fuerza vein, and 15.7 g/t Au Eq over 3.15 m (13.55 g/t Au and 164 g/t Ag) in the Fragua vein¹⁰⁾. Machacala hosts multiple low-sulphidation epithermal Au-Ag veins, of which only four have been only modestly exploited.⁽⁵⁾

A 1.5% Net Smelter Returns royalty is retained by previous owners of the property.

“Machacala possesses significant historical data, as well as 8,500 meters of recent drilling, which we hope will assist in the definition of NI 43-101 compliant resources,” commented Neil Pettigrew, M.Sc., P.Geo, Director of Element79 Gold. “The project is also at a low elevation and has excellent infrastructure which will facilitate returning the project to production.”

Terms of the Acquisition

Pursuant to the Agreement, the Company acquired all of the issued and outstanding securities of Calipuy from the Calipuy Shareholders (the “Acquisition“). As consideration for the Acquisition, the Company paid USD$15 million by the issuance, on a pro rata basis to the Calipuy Shareholders, of (i) an aggregate of 19,165,484 common shares of the Company at deemed issue price of CAD$1.00 per share (the “Consideration Shares“) and (ii) performance bonus warrants to acquire an aggregate of 3,833,085 common shares of the Company (the “PerformanceBonus Warrants“).

Each Performance Bonus Warrant is exercisable into one common share of the Company at an exercise price of CAD$2.00 per share for a period of three years from Exercise Eligibility Date (as defined herein), subject to achievement of the Bonus Performance Target (as defined herein), the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange (the “Exchange“) and the terms of warrant certificates to be issued to the Calipuy Shareholders in respect thereof. The Company may accelerate expiry of the Performance Bonus Warrants if the common shares of the Company have a closing price greater than CAD$3.50 per share for a period of ten consecutive trading days on the Exchange at any time after the closing of the Acquisition (the “Closing“). The holders of the Performance Bonus Warrants will not have the right to exercise the Performance Bonus Warrants until projects carried out on the Properties have cumulatively reached a minimum production target of 9,000 tons of ore yielding a minimum of 1,500 oz Au within a 30-day production period (the ”
Bonus PerformanceTarget“) and the Company provides notice of achievement of the Bonus Performance Target via news release (the “Exercise EligibilityDate“).

All issuances of Consideration Shares were paid in CAD denominated shares at the agreed exchange rate of CAD$1.2777 to USD$1.00. An aggregate of 12,971,503 Consideration Shares and 2,594,298 Performance Bonus Warrants are subject to a lock-up agreement, whereby 50% will be released from lock-up 6 months from Closing and the remaining 50% will be released 12 months from Closing. The balance of the Consideration Shares and Performance Bonus Warrants, other than those held by U.S. persons, are not subject to any resale restrictions under applicable securities laws.

The Acquisition is a related party transaction pursuant to Multilateral Instrument 61-101 Protection of Minority Shareholders in Special Transactions (“MI
61-101“). Antonios Maragakis, who is the CEO and a director of Calipuy, is also a director and the COO of the Company. Shane Williams, who was a director of Calipuy immediately prior to the Closing, was recently elected as a director of the Company at its Annual General Meeting on June 22, 2022 (together, the “Related Parties“). Each of the Related Parties have disclosed their interest in the Acquisition to the board of directors of each of the Company and Calipuy, and abstained from voting on approval of the Agreement, the Acquisition and the Closing. Prior to Closing, neither of the Related Parties held any common shares of the Company, and following Closing their beneficial direct and indirect shareholdings increased to 97,688 common shares and 292,509 common shares, respectively. The Acquisition, the Agreement and the Closing were reviewed and considered by the disinterested members of the board of directors of the Company with each of the Related Parties recusing themselves from discussions relating to the same, and the disinterested members of the board unanimously approved entry into the Agreement and completion of the Acquisition on the terms of the Agreement. The Company believes that the Acquisition provides an opportunity to advance the Properties and deliver value to Element79 shareholders. A special committee was not formed for the purpose of reviewing the Acquisition and an independent valuation was not obtained in connection with the Acquisition. On Closing, each of the Related Parties terminated any and all compensation agreements they had with Calipuy and waived any entitlement to severance or change of control payments by Calipuy that would have otherwise been triggered as a result of the Acquisition. In connection with the Acquisition, the Company relied on (i) the exemption at paragraph 5.5(b) of MI 61-101 from the valuation requirements since the Company is not listed on any of the markets specified therein; and (ii) the exemption at paragraph 5.7(a) of MI 61-101 from the minority approval requirements as the fair market value of the 97,688 Consideration Shares and 19,537 Performance Bonus Warrants issued to Mr. Maragakis, and the 292,509 Consideration Shares and 58,501 Performance Bonus Warrants issued to a company controlled by Mr. Williams, on Closing is less than 25% of the market capitalization of the Company.

All Au Equivalent calculations were performed using $1,650/oz gold, and $22/oz silver in line with the Company’s Maverick Springs 43-101 resource estimate (see news release January 31st, 2022, available on SEDAR).

Qualified Person

The technical information in this release has been reviewed and verified by Neil Pettigrew, M.Sc., P. Geo., Director of Element79 Gold and a “qualified person” as defined by National Instrument 43-101.

About Element79 Gold

Element79 Gold is a mineral exploration company focused on the acquisition, exploration and development of mining properties for gold and associated metals. Element79 Gold has acquired its flagship Maverick Springs Project located in the well-known gold mining district of northeastern Nevada, USA, between the Elko and White Pine Counties, where it has recently completed a technical report, pit-constrained mineral resource estimate reflecting an Inferred resource of 3.71 million ounces of gold equivalent* “AuEq” at a grade of 0.92 g/t AuEq (0.34 g/t Au and 43.4 g/t Ag)) with an effective date of Feb. 4, 2022. The acquisition of the Maverick Springs Project also included a portfolio of 15 properties along the Battle Mountain trend in Nevada, which the Company is analyzing for further merit of exploration, along with the potential for sale or spin-out. In British Columbia, Element79 Gold has executed a Letter of Intent to acquire a private company which holds the option to 100% interest of the Snowbird High-Grade Gold Project, which consists of 10 mineral claims located in Central British Columbia, approximately 20km west of Fort St. James. In Peru, Element79 Gold holds 100% interest in the past producing Lucero Mine, one of the highest-grade underground mines to be commercially mined in Peru’s history, as well as the past producing Machacala Mine, subject to the royalties and encumbrances detailed in the Agreement. The Company also has an option to acquire 100% interest in the Dale Property which consists of 90 unpatented mining claims located approximately 100 km southwest of Timmins, Ontario, Canada in the Timmins Mining Division, Dale Township. For more information about the Company, please visit www.element79.gold or www.element79gold.com

Contact Information

For corporate matters, please contact:

James C. Tworek, Chief Executive Officer
E-mail: jt@element79gold.com

For investor relations inquiries, please contact:

Investor Relations Department
Phone: +1 (604) 200-3608
E-mail: investors@element79gold.com

Robinhood, Bear Markets, and Acquirers

Posted on June 28, 2022 by Admin




Image Credit: Toby Bradbury (Flickr)

Is Robinhood a Prime Target for Acquisition During Weak Markets?

Whether or not Robinhood ($HOOD) is acquired by FTX, (the crypto exchange owned by billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried), or it attracts another suitor or remains a publicly-traded company, there are some things investors should know. Yesterday, a Bloomberg article suggested FTX is exploring whether it might be able to acquire Robinhood Markets, Inc. (June 27); they already own 7.6% of the company. Sam Bankman-Fried denied having interest. But, there is still some surprising data that investors in the company and users of the brokerage app should be aware of, as it could impact future price moves.

The investing app paved the way for free online trading, it then became a public company almost a year ago. At the time, there was still a strong wave of new investors eager to profit from the bull market in stocks and cryptocurrencies. The share price for the initial public offering came out at $38. By year-end, HOOD sank to about $18 per share. It is now trading near half the level it was at the beginning of 2022.

The company went public with a market value of $32 billion; it now has a total market cap of $7.8 billion.

Source: Koyfin

Robinhood Markets’ decline in price has been dramatic. The brand is well recognized, and the userbase, though shrinking, is more loyal than others. If it has lost customers, they were primarily the recreational investors and lower value users. Regardless, client trading is down; revenue for the most recent quarter was $299 million, or near half of what it was when Robinhood went public. Stimulus checks that in many cases were used to initially fund retail trading accounts are no longer being sent by the government; in fact inflation, in part caused by stimulus programs, may be the reason many are closing their accounts to reallocate the funds to necessities.

Many of the employees that found motivation in their own equity stake after the public offering have seen their valuations plummet. They might welcome a buyout. Using Morgan Stanley’s (MS) 2020 purchase of E*Trade Financial as a rule of thumb, Robinhood could be worth five times revenue, or $8 billion. One key employee that may wish to cash out as earnings have been trending down is Robinhood’s founder Vlad Tenev. His incentive package is tied to the price per share. To reach his maximum payout of $4.7 billion, HOOD shares would have to go from the current $9 range to $300 per share. As this seems unlikely, the founder may wish to cash out as high as possible and move on.

Other companies, if they served Robinhood’s customers, may be able to capitalize on synergies. According to Bloomberg’s story on FTX, a cryptocurrency exchange founded by Sam Bankman-Fried is considering how to make a bid. Today, an email by SamBankman-Fried, says he is not. But this does not mean the app isn’t attractive to suitors. Two other firms that could make good use of Robinhood’s retail traders (according to Reuter’s) are Goldman Sachs (GS) and JPMorgan (JPM), to complement and distribute their various savings and wealth products.

A buyer would still need optimism and confidence. Robinhood’s revenue mostly comes from paid-order
flow. The Securities and Exchange Commission suggested this source of revenue has potential conflicts of interest. Still, only 12% of the company’s top line comes from selling trade orders. Another activity that has recently slowed is trading in cryptocurrency. When added, it was expected to be a source of growth.

Take Away

Robinhood benefited from the upward momentum of the markets and went public at a great time to capture a very good price for the company. The markets have weakened, and the value of the company may have reached a point where a stronger company with enough synergies may target it to make the acquisition worthwhile. Despite the denial by FTX, acquiring companies is a cat-and-mouse game, don’t count anyone out.

Paul Hoffman

Managing Editor, Channelchek

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Sources

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-06-27/bankman-fried-s-ftx-said-to-be-seeking-path-for-robinhood-deal#xj4y7vzkg

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1783879/000162828021013318/robinhoods-1.htm

https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/bankman-frieds-ftx-seeking-path-buy-robinhood-bloomberg-news-2022-06-27/

https://www.reuters.com/breakingviews/robinhood-0-would-start-look-cheap-2022-06-27/

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Release – Seanergy Announces Additional Share Buybacks and Open-Market Stock Purchase Plan by the CEO

Posted on June 28, 2022 by Admin

June 28, 2022 – Glyfada, Greece – Seanergy Maritime Holdings Corp. (the “Company” or “Seanergy”) (NASDAQ: SHIP) announced today that the Board of Directors has authorized an additional share repurchase plan (the “Plan”), under which the Company may repurchase up to $5 million of its outstanding common shares, convertible notes or warrants. Moreover, the Company’s CEO, Mr. Stamatis Tsantanis, intends to purchase an additional aggregate of up to 500,000 common shares of the Company in the open market. Within the last 7 months, the Company has already completed two repurchase plans totalling $26.7 million that were utilised for buybacks of its common shares, convertible notes and warrants.

Stamatis Tsantanis, the Company’s Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, stated: “Our management and board of directors believe that our current share price is significantly undervalued. Considering this, we feel that authorizing a share buyback is now a well-timed capital allocation decision. “In addition, I intend to buy an additional 500,000 of Seanergy’s common shares in the open market on top of my previous open-market purchases, which reflects my strong confidence in the Company, its fundamentals and the Capesize market. “Over the last 18 months, we have concluded a series of significant transactions, resulting in a great fleet of high-quality Capesize vessels and a solid balance sheet position. The Company is optimally positioned to capitalise on the strong outlook of our sector.”

The Plan The Company may repurchase common shares in open-market transactions pursuant to Rule 10b18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or pursuant to a trading plan adopted in accordance with Rule 10b5?1 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Any repurchases pursuant to the Plan will be made at management’s discretion at prices considered to be attractive and in the best interests of both the Company and its shareholders, subject to the availability of stock, general market conditions, the trading price of the stock, alternative uses for capital, applicable securities laws and the Company’s financial performance. The Plan may be suspended, terminated, or modified at any time for any reason, including market conditions, the cost of repurchasing shares, the availability of alternative investment opportunities, liquidity, and other factors deemed appropriate. These factors may also affect the timing and amount of share repurchases. The Plan does not obligate the Company to purchase any of its shares, and the Company may repurchase other outstanding securities of the Company, including its outstanding convertible notes or warrants, under the Plan. The Board of Directors’ authorization of the Plan is effective immediately and expires on December 31, 2023.

About Seanergy Maritime Holdings Corp. Seanergy Maritime Holdings Corp. is the only pure-play Capesize ship-owner publicly listed in the US. Seanergy provides marine dry bulk transportation services through a modern fleet of Capesize vessels. Upon completion of the previously-announced spin-off and vessel acquisition, the Company’s operating fleet will consist of 17 Capesize vessels with an average age of approximately 12 years and aggregate cargo carrying capacity of approximately 3,020,012 dwt. The Company is incorporated in the Marshall Islands and has executive offices in Glyfada, Greece. The Company’s common shares trade on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “SHIP”. Please visit our company website at: www.seanergymaritime.com.

For further information please contact: Seanergy Investor Relations Tel: +30 213 0181 522 E-mail: ir@seanergy.gr

Capital Link, Inc. Paul Lampoutis 230 Park Avenue Suite 1540 New York, NY 10169 Tel: (212) 661-7566 E-mail: seanergy@capitallink.com

Cathie Wood Talks About Being Wrong

Posted on June 28, 2022 by Admin




Image: CNBC Squawk Box

Inflation Will Give Way to Deflation But it Will Take Some Time Says Cathie Wood

Cathie Wood thinks we’re in a recession and said she admittedly underestimated the severity of inflation. The hedge fund manager, known for her optimism and bullishness on innovative and disruptive technologies, spoke on CNBC’s Squawk Box this morning (June 28) and backed off her usual balls-to-the-walls approach to investing in tomorrow’s technology. In fact, it was shocking to see her usual style of pushing through adversity and unrelenting advice that “truth will win out,” succumb to relent.

Instead, The Founder, CEO, and CIO of ARK Invest, which has seen portfolios under management shrink this year by as much as 66%, backed off. She even outdid the current mainstream pessimism saying the U.S. is already in an economic downturn. And while she had recently pinpointed deflation as the greatest risk to economic growth, she told the CNBC host she underestimated the severity and persistence of inflationary pressures.

“We think we are in a recession,” Wood said. “We think a big problem out there is inventories… the increase of which I’ve never seen this large in my career. I’ve been around for 45 years,” were some of the comments from the Wall Street veteran who will be 67 in November. Wood blamed the hot and dogged inflation on supply problems and the geopolitical crisis. “We were wrong on one thing, and that was inflation being as sustained as it has been,” Wood said. “Supply chain … Can’t believe it’s taking more than two years and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, of course, we couldn’t have seen that. Inflation has been a bigger problem, but it has set us up for deflation.”

Wood said consumers are feeling the rapid price increases. She pointed to the University of Michigan’s Survey of Consumers, which showed a reading of 50 in June, the lowest level ever.

The traditional definition of a recession is two consecutive quarters of negative GDP. The U.S. experienced a negative quarter during Q1, so a second-quarter would officially define the current period as “in a recession.”

Gross Domestic Product, 2nd Quarter 2022 (Advance Estimate) will be released on July 28 at 8:30 AM. This first look at second-quarter growth will be the morning after the end of the two-day FOMC meeting and the accompanying announcement on monetary policy.

Cathie Wood, who is widely followed, especially by technology investors, remarked that her clients are mostly sticking with her, and money flow is positive into her funds. She attributes some of it to investors seeking diversification in a down market. ARKK had more than $180 million in inflows in June. “We are dedicated completely to disruptive innovation. “Innovation solves problems,” Wood said. “I think the inflows are happening because our clients have been diversifying away from broad-based benchmarks like the Nasdaq 100.”

Cathie Wood was early to put bitcoin in her funds and held high-flying names like Tesla and Zoom before they were on the radar of others. Lately, she has been accused of being out of touch. Most of her funds are well defined, leaving the discretion for the CIO to names, not broader sectors. The ARK Invest CIO may have found her hands tied by prospectuses and may continue to be challenged with this. But her economic calls are all her own, and she has backed way off what up to this point could have been seen as cheerleading economic releases and keeping her fingers crossed.

Paul Hoffman

Managing Editor, Channelchek

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Sources

https://www.cnbc.com/video/2022/06/28/ark-invest-ceo-cathie-wood-says-u-s-is-already-in-a-recession.html?jwsource=cl

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/28/ark-invests-cathie-wood-says-the-us-is-already-in-a-recession.html

https://www.bea.gov/news/schedule

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/cathie-wood-warns-u-s-is-already-in-a-recession-11656424710

https://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/fomccalendars.htm

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E.W. Scripps (SSP) – Likely To Grow Faster Than Its Peers

Posted on June 28, 2022 by Admin

Tuesday, June 28, 2022

E.W. Scripps (SSP)
Likely To Grow Faster Than Its Peers

The E.W. Scripps Company (NASDAQ: SSP) is a diversified media company focused on creating a better-informed world. As one of the nation’s largest local TV broadcasters, Scripps serves communities with quality, objective local journalism and operates a portfolio of 61 stations in 41 markets. The Scripps Networks reach nearly every American through the national news outlets Court TV and Newsy and popular entertainment brands ION, Bounce, Defy TV, Grit, ION Mystery, Laff and TrueReal. Scripps is the nation’s largest holder of broadcast spectrum. Scripps runs an award-winning investigative reporting newsroom in Washington, D.C., and is the longtime steward of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Founded in 1878, Scripps has held for decades to the motto, “Give light and the people will find their own way.”

Michael Kupinski, Director of Research, Noble Capital Markets, Inc.

Patrick McCann, Research Associate, Noble Capital Markets, Inc.

Refer to the full report for the price target, fundamental analysis, and rating.

Highlights from NDR. This report provides highlights from a recent Non Deal Road Show with investors in St. Louis last week. Jason Combs, the CFO, provided a compelling growth outlook for the company given its anticipated strong Political advertising outlook, strong Retransmission revenue growth in 2023 and favorable trends for its National Networks.

Retransmission contract renewals. Management expects a significant revenue boost in 2023 from retransmission contract renewals. The revenue opportunity will result from roughly 75% of the company’s cable contracts being set for renewal in the first half of 2023 along with rising retransmission rates.

…

This Research is provided by Noble Capital Markets, Inc., a FINRA and S.E.C. registered broker-dealer (B/D).

*Analyst certification and important disclosures included in the full report. NOTE: investment decisions should not be based upon the content of this research summary. Proper due diligence is required before making any investment decision.

Release – Engine Gaming & Media Confirms Receipt of Nasdaq Notification Regarding Minimum Bid Price Deficiency

Posted on June 28, 2022 by Admin

Engine Gaming & Media Confirms Receipt of Nasdaq Notification Regarding Minimum Bid Price Deficiency

Research, News, and Market Data on Engine Gaming & Media

NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / June 28, 2022 / Engine Gaming and Media, Inc. (“Engine” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ:GAME)(TSXV:GAME), a data-driven, gaming, media and social influencer marketing solutions company, announced today that on June 23, 2022, it received a written notice (the “Notice”) from The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”) indicating that the Company is not in compliance with the minimum bid price requirement for continued listing, which requires listed securities to maintain a minimum bid price of US$1.00 per share (“Minimum Bid Requirement”). Based on the closing bid price of the Company’s common shares for the last 30 consecutive business days, the Company has failed to meet the Minimum Bid Requirement set forth in Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2) during that period. The Notice is only a notification of deficiency, it is not a notice of imminent delisting, and it has no current immediate effect on the listing or trading of the Company’s common shares on The Nasdaq Capital Market.

Under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5810(c)(3)(A), the Company has been granted a period of 180 calendar days from the date of the Notice, or December 20, 2022, to regain compliance with the Minimum Bid Requirement, during which time the common shares will continue to trade on The Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “GAME.” If at any time before December 20, 2022, the bid price of the common shares closes at or above US$1.00 per share for a minimum of 10 consecutive business days, the Company will regain compliance with the Minimum Bid Requirement. If the Company does not regain compliance with the Minimum Bid Requirement after the initial 180-day period, the Company may be eligible for an additional period of 180 calendar days to regain compliance, if it meets the continued listing requirement for market value of publicly held shares and all other initial listing standards for The Nasdaq Capital Market, with the exception of the minimum bid price requirement. In this case, the Company will need to provide written notice of its intention to cure the deficiency during the second compliance period.

One potential solution for the Company to meet the Minimum Bid Requirement is for the Company to conduct a reverse stock split. If the Company cannot demonstrate compliance by the allotted compliance period(s), Nasdaq’s staff will notify the Company that its common shares are subject to delisting. The Company’s common shares are also listed on the TSXV Exchange and the Notice does not affect the Company’s compliance status with such listing.

About
Engine Gaming and Media, Inc.

Engine Gaming and Media, Inc. (NASDAQ:GAME) (TSX-V:GAME) provides premium social sports and esports gaming experiences, as well as unparalleled data analytics, marketing, advertising, and intellectual property to support its owned and operated direct-to-consumer properties, while also providing these services to enable its clients and partners. The company’s subsidiaries include Stream Hatchet, the global leader in gaming video distribution analytics; Sideqik, a social influencer marketing discovery, analytics, and activation platform; WinView Games, a social predictive play-along gaming platform for viewers to play while watching live events; and Frankly Media, a digital publishing platform used to create, distribute and monetize content across all digital channels. Engine Media generates revenue through a combination of direct-to-consumer fees, streaming technology and data SaaS-based offerings, and programmatic advertising. For more information, please visit www.enginegaming.com.

Cautionary
Statement on Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Engine to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as “plans”, “expects” or “does not expect”, “is expected”, “estimates”, “intends”, “anticipates” or “does not anticipate”, or “believes”, or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “would”, “might” or “will” be taken, occur or be achieved. In respect of the forward-looking information contained herein, Engine has provided such statements and information in reliance on certain assumptions that management believed to be reasonable at the time. Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements stated herein to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors and risks. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information contained in this news release.

The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this release and, accordingly, are subject to change after such date. Engine does not assume any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time by us or on our behalf, except as required by applicable law.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Investor
Relations Contact:
Shannon Devine
MZ North America
Main: 203-741-8811
GAME@mzgroup.us

SOURCE: Engine Gaming & Media Holdings, Inc.

C-Suite Interview with Alovpetro Energy (ALVOF)(ALV.V) President & CEO Corey Ruttan

Posted on June 28, 2022 by Admin

Noble Capital Markets Senior Research Analyst Michael Heim sits down with Alovpetro Energy President & CEO Corey Ruttan

Research, News, and Advanced Market Data on ALVOF

View all C-Suite Interviews

The 2022 C-Suite Interview series is now available on major podcast platforms

Alvopetro Energy Ltd.’s vision is to become a leading independent upstream and midstream operator in Brazil. Our strategy is to unlock the on-shore natural gas potential in the state of Bahia in Brazil, building off the development of our Caburé natural gas field and our strategic midstream infrastructure.

Aurania Resources (AUIAF) – Technical Report Planned for Core Concessions Renewed in Peru

Posted on June 28, 2022 by Admin

Monday, June 27, 2022

Aurania Resources (AUIAF)
Technical Report Planned for Core Concessions Renewed in Peru

Mark Reichman, Senior Research Analyst, Natural Resources, Noble Capital Markets, Inc.

Refer to the full report for the price target, fundamental analysis, and rating.

Renewal of concessions in Peru. In aggregate, 130 concessions were renewed covering an area of 128,700 hectares. Thirty of these concessions did not require payment in 2022 and the total cost for the other 100 concessions was US$296,000. The concessions renewed represent a majority of those that had been previously granted to Aurania and are those identified with the most significant geological potential.

Initial technical report. Management contemplates a modest amount of field work in the coming months to prepare an initial technical report to support further work and/or a possible corporate transaction. A technical report would be required in advance of any potential corporate transaction….

This Company Sponsored Research is provided by Noble Capital Markets, Inc., a FINRA and S.E.C. registered broker-dealer (B/D).

What Users of Artificial Intelligence Language Need to Keep in Mind

Posted on June 27, 2022 by Admin



Image Credit: Alex Knight (Pexels)

Google’s Powerful AI Spotlights a Human Cognitive Glitch: Mistaking Fluent Speech for Fluent Thought

When you read a sentence like this one, your past experience tells you that it’s written by a thinking, feeling human. And, in this case, there is indeed a human typing these words: [Hi, there!] But these days, some sentences that appear remarkably humanlike are actually generated by artificial intelligence systems trained on massive amounts of human text.

People are so accustomed to assuming that fluent language comes from a thinking, feeling human that evidence to the contrary can be difficult to wrap your head around. How are people likely to navigate this relatively uncharted territory? Because of a persistent tendency to associate fluent expression with fluent thought, it is natural – but potentially misleading – to think that if an AI model can express itself fluently, that means it thinks and feels just like humans do.

Thus, it is perhaps unsurprising that a former Google engineer recently claimed that Google’s AI system LaMDA has a sense of self because it can eloquently generate text about its purported feelings. This event and the subsequent media coverage led to a number of rightly skeptical articles and posts about the claim that computational models of human language are sentient, meaning capable of thinking and feeling and experiencing.

This article was republished with permission from The Conversation, a news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. It was written by and represents the research-based opinions of Kyle Mahowald, Assistant Professor of Linguistics, The University of Texas at Austin College of Liberal Arts and Anna A. Ivanova, PhD Candidate in Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)..

The question of what it would mean for an AI model to be sentient is complicated (see, for instance, our colleague’s take), and our goal here is not to settle it. But as language researchers, we can use our work in cognitive science and linguistics to explain why it is all too easy for humans to fall into the cognitive trap of thinking that an entity that can use language fluently is sentient, conscious or intelligent.

Using AI to Generate Humanlike Language

Text generated by models like Google’s LaMDA can be hard to distinguish from text written by humans. This impressive achievement is a result of a decades long program to build models that generate grammatical, meaningful language.

Image: The first computer system to engage people in dialogue was psychotherapy software called Eliza, built more than half a century ago. Rosenfeld Media (Flickr)

Early versions dating back to at least the 1950s, known as n-gram models, simply counted up occurrences of specific phrases and used them to guess what words were likely to occur in particular contexts. For instance, it’s easy to know that “peanut butter and jelly” is a more likely phrase than “peanut butter and pineapples.” If you have enough English text, you will see the phrase “peanut butter and jelly” again and again but might never see the phrase “peanut butter and pineapples.”

Today’s models, sets of data and rules that approximate human language, differ from these early attempts in several important ways. First, they are trained on essentially the entire internet. Second, they can learn relationships between words that are far apart, not just words that are neighbors. Third, they are tuned by a huge number of internal “knobs” – so many that it is hard for even the engineers who design them to understand why they generate one sequence of words rather than another.

The models’ task, however, remains the same as in the 1950s: determine which word is likely to come next. Today, they are so good at this task that almost all sentences they generate seem fluid and grammatical.

Peanut Butter and Pineapples?

We asked a large language model, GPT-3, to complete the sentence “Peanut butter and pineapples___”. It said: “Peanut butter and pineapples are a great combination. The sweet and savory flavors of peanut butter and pineapple complement each other perfectly.” If a person said this, one might infer that they had tried peanut butter and pineapple together, formed an opinion and shared it with the reader.

But how did GPT-3 come up with this paragraph? By generating a word that fit the context we provided. And then another one. And then another one. The model never saw, touched or tasted pineapples – it just processed all the texts on the internet that mention them. And yet reading this paragraph can lead the human mind – even that of a Google engineer – to imagine GPT-3 as an intelligent being that can reason about peanut butter and pineapple dishes.

The human brain is hardwired to infer intentions behind words. Every time you engage in conversation, your mind automatically constructs a mental model of your conversation partner. You then use the words they say to fill in the model with that person’s goals, feelings and beliefs.

The process of jumping from words to the mental model is seamless, getting triggered every time you receive a fully-fledged sentence. This cognitive process saves you a lot of time and effort in everyday life, greatly facilitating your social interactions.

However, in the case of AI systems, it misfires – building a mental model out of thin air.

A little more probing can reveal the severity of this misfire. Consider the following prompt: “Peanut butter and feathers taste great together because___”. GPT-3 continued: “Peanut butter and feathers taste great together because they both have a nutty flavor. Peanut butter is also smooth and creamy, which helps to offset the feather’s texture.”

The text in this case is as fluent as our example with pineapples, but this time the model is saying something decidedly less sensible. One begins to suspect that GPT-3 has never actually tried peanut butter and feathers.

Ascribing Intelligence to Machines, Denying it to Humans

A sad irony is that the same cognitive bias that makes people ascribe humanity to GPT-3 can cause them to treat actual humans in inhumane ways. Sociocultural linguistics – the study of language in its social and cultural context – shows that assuming an overly tight link between fluent expression and fluent thinking can lead to bias against people who speak differently.

For instance, people with a foreign accent are often perceived as less intelligent and are less likely to get the jobs they are qualified for. Similar biases exist against speakers of dialects that are not considered prestigious, such as Southern English in the U.S., against deaf people using sign languages and against people with speech impediments such as stuttering.

These biases are deeply harmful, often lead to racist and sexist assumptions, and have been shown again and again to be unfounded.

Fluent Language Alone Does Not Imply Humanity

Will AI ever become sentient? This question requires deep consideration, and indeed philosophers have pondered it for decades. What researchers have determined, however, is that you cannot simply trust a language model when it tells you how it feels. Words can be misleading, and it is all too easy to mistake fluent speech for fluent thought.

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Release – Seanergy Maritime Announces Approval of Listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market and Ex-Distribution Date of June 27, 2022 for Spin-Off of United Maritime Corporation

Posted on June 27, 2022 by Admin

Seanergy Maritime Announces Approval of Listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market and Ex-Distribution Date of June 27, 2022 for Spin-Off of United Maritime Corporation June 27, 2022 – Glyfada, Greece – Seanergy Maritime Holdings Corp. (the “Company” or “Seanergy”) (NASDAQ: SHIP) announced today that the application of United Maritime Corporation (“United”) to list its common shares on the Nasdaq Capital Market has been approved. In addition, the registration statement on Form 20-F filed by United in connection with its spin-off from Seanergy has been declared effective by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”).

Through United, Seanergy intends to effect a spin-off of the Company’s oldest Capesize vessel, the M/V Gloriuship. United is expected to adopt a diversified business model, with investments across various maritime sectors.

Seanergy shareholders do not need to take any action to receive United shares to which they are entitled, and do not need to pay any consideration or surrender or exchange Seanergy common shares. Seanergy common shareholders will receive one United common share for every 118 Seanergy common shares held at the close of business on June 28, 2022, the record date for the distribution which coincides with the previously-announced record date for Seanergy’s cash dividend of $0.025 per share for the first quarter of 2022. The distribution of United common shares is expected to be made on or around July 5, 2022. United common shares are expected to commence trading on a standalone basis on the Nasdaq Capital Market on the first trading day after the date of distribution, under the ticker “USEA”.

Nasdaq has established an ex-distribution date for the distribution of United common shares of June 27, 2022. Beginning on that date, Seanergy shares will trade without an entitlement by the purchaser of such shares to United common shares distributed in connection with the spin-off. A “when-issued” trading market in United common shares will not be established, and United common shares will not begin trading on a standalone basis until the trading day following the date of distribution.

Fractional common shares of United will not be distributed. Instead, the distribution agent will aggregate fractional common shares into whole shares, sell such whole shares in the open market at prevailing rates promptly after United’s common shares commence trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market, and distribute the net cash proceeds from the sales pro rata to each holder who would otherwise have been entitled to receive fractional common shares in the distribution.

United has filed a registration statement on Form 20-F pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 with the SEC, which includes a more detailed description of the terms of the spin-off. A copy of the registration statement on Form 20-F is available at www.sec.gov.

The Company is incorporated in the Marshall Islands and has executive offices in Glyfada, Greece. The Company’s common shares trade on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “SHIP”.

Please visit our company website at: www.seanergymaritime.com.

Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements (as defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended) concerning future events, including statements regarding the anticipated spin-off of United, includinecurities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended) concerning future events, including statements regarding the anticipated spin-off of United, including transaction timing and certainty, the planned record and distribution dates, our and United’s anticipated competitive positioning and positioning for future success following the spin-off, and our intention to acquire an additional Capesize vessel. Words such as “may”, “should”, “expects”, “intends”, “plans”, “believes”, “anticipates”, “hopes”, “estimates” and variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements involve known and unknown risks and are based upon a number of assumptions and estimates, which are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, but are not limited to, the impact of regulatory requirements or other factors on the Company’s ability to consummate the proposed spin-off; the Company’s operating or financial results; the Company’s liquidity, including its ability to service its indebtedness; competitive factors in the market in which the Company og transaction timing and certainty, the planned record and distribution dates, our and United’s anticipated competitive positioning and positioning for future success following the spin-off, and our intention to acquire an additional Capesize vessel. Words such as “may”, “should”, “expects”, “intends”, “plans”, “believes”, “anticipates”, “hopes”, “estimates” and variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements involve known and unknown risks and are based upon a number of assumptions and estimates, which are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, but are not limited to, the impact of regulatory requirements or other factors on the Company’s ability to consummate the proposed spin-off; the Company’s operating or financial results; the Company’s liquidity, including its ability to service its indebtedness; competitive factors in the market in which the Company operates; shipping industry trends, including charter rates, vessel values and factors affecting vessel supply and demand; future, pending or recent acquisitions and dispositions, including the consummation of the Capesize vessel identified for acquisition; business strategy, areas of possible expansion or contraction, and expected capital spending or operating expenses; risks associated with operations outside the United States; broader market impacts arising from war (or threatened war) or international hostilities, such as between Russia and Ukraine; risks associated with the length and severity of the ongoing novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, including its effects on demand for dry bulk products and the transportation thereof; and other factors listed from time to time in the Company’s filings with the SEC, including its most recent annual report on Form 20-F. The Company’s filings can be obtained free of charge on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Except to the extent required by law, the Company expressly disclaims any obligations or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in the Company’s expectations with respect thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any statement is based. For further information please contact: Seanergy Investor Relations Tel: +30 213 0181 522 E-mail: ir@seanergy.gr Capital Link, Inc. Paul Lampoutis 230 Park Avenue Suite 1540 New York, NY 10169 Tel: (212) 661-7566 E-mail: seanergy@capitallink.com

Release – Information Services Group Named to the Russell 2000® Index

Posted on June 27, 2022 by Admin

6/27/2022

Strong business momentum earns firm a place on leading U.S. small-cap benchmark

STAMFORD, Conn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Information Services Group (ISG) (Nasdaq: III), a leading global technology research and advisory firm, said today it has been named to the Russell 2000® Index, the leading U.S. barometer of small-cap stocks, on the strength of its business momentum and resulting increase in its market capitalization.

ISG officially was added to Russell 2000 Index as part of the annual reconstitution of the entire family of Russell indexes that took place after the close of trading on Friday, June 24.

“ISG is a business with strong momentum,” said Michael P. Connors, chairman and CEO. “Our record first-quarter revenues and profits are the latest in a string of increasingly strong operating results our firm has produced over the last two years. Clients continue to seek our advice and support to digitally transform their businesses for operational excellence and faster growth.”

Connors called the firm’s addition to the Russell 2000 “a significant milestone.”

“We are delighted the market has recognized our performance and has valued us among the top small-cap stocks in America,” he said. “As part of the Russell 2000, our shares will enjoy a higher profile and we will have further opportunities to expand our shareholder base with institutional and index investors.”

Connors said ISG is committed to long-term value creation for its clients, employees and shareholders. “We continue to focus on sustainable, long-term growth, margin expansion, and free cash flow generation as a means of delivering attractive returns to our shareholders.”

On May 9, ISG announced a 33 percent increase in its quarterly dividend, to $0.04 per common share, part of a capital allocation strategy that also includes share repurchases, debt repayment and strategic acquisitions.

Russell indexes are widely used by investment managers and institutional investors for index funds and as benchmarks for active investment strategies. Approximately $12 trillion in assets are benchmarked against Russell’s U.S. indexes. Russell indexes are part of FTSE Russell, a leading global index provider wholly owned by London Stock Exchange Group.

About ISG

ISG (Information Services Group) (Nasdaq: III) is a leading global technology research and advisory firm. A trusted business partner to more than 800 clients, including 75 of the world’s top 100 enterprises, ISG is committed to helping corporations, public sector organizations, and service and technology providers achieve operational excellence and faster growth. The firm specializes in digital transformation services, including automation, cloud and data analytics; sourcing advisory; managed governance and risk services; network carrier services; strategy and operations design; change management; market intelligence and technology research and analysis. Founded in 2006, and based in Stamford, Conn., ISG employs more than 1,300 digital-ready professionals operating in more than 20 countries—a global team known for its innovative thinking, market influence, deep industry and technology expertise, and world-class research and analytical capabilities based on the industry’s most comprehensive marketplace data. For more information, visit www.isg-one.com.

Source: Information Services Group, Inc.

Third Fed Mandate Would Increase Level of Monetary Policy Difficulty

Posted on June 27, 2022 by Admin




Image: FOMC participants gather for a two-day meeting held on June 14-15, 2022. (Fed Reserve)

Will a Third Mandate be Added to the Fed’s Challenges?

The House of Representatives just passed a bill that would add to the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy mandates. Currently, the Fed’s dual mandate is to seek maximum employment and maintain stable prices. If H.R. 2543 passes the Senate, the Fed mandate would also include “exercise all duties and functions in a manner that fosters the elimination of disparities across racial and ethnic groups with respect to employment, income, wealth, and access to affordable credit.”

With the current mandates, the central bank is thought to be able to act independently to achieve stable prices and maximum employment. However, the Federal Reserve is always accountable to Congress. As we saw in late June, The Fed Chair testifies and reports to Congress on how the Federal Reserve is managing policy. They can be quite critical at these hearings, and there is often significant disagreement about how the economy should be handled.

The House bill passed last week 215-207 with little media notice. But it deserves attention because it may add a new layer of difficulty in implementing monetary policy.

Among those in the House that voted the amendment down is Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy of Florida. In her statement, she wrote, “The Federal Reserve’s dual mandate for monetary policy is to pursue price stability and maximum employment. At a time when Americans are facing the highest rate of inflation in four decades, the Federal Reserve’s priority should be to combat inflation without causing undue harm to economic growth and employment. By giving the Fed a new mandate, the bill could divert the Fed from its main mission and therefore cause harm to the very people it seeks to help. Those who stand to benefit the most from successful Federal Reserve action—and to lose the most from unsuccessful Fed action—are working families, including communities of color, struggling to afford gas, groceries, and other necessities.”

Supporters of the effort look at the broader implications beyond monetary policy, “I was proud to support the Financial Services Committee’s legislation today and thank Chairwoman Waters for her leadership. As we address inflation and work to bring costs down for American families and small businesses, Congress must ensure that Americans aren’t losing money as a result of discrimination in lending, ” said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer.

The White House, which does not always comment on legislation, has thrown its support behind the bill. “The Administration strongly supports efforts to promote equity for underserved communities and increase access to safe and affordable financial services, wealth, and economic opportunity for all

Americans.” Earlier this month the President met with the Fed Chairman Powell, promising not to interfere with Fed policy and leaving the Federal
reserve responsible for Fed policy and outcomes. The rare meeting between a Fed Open Market Committee (FOMC) chairman and a sitting President seemed to highlight the autonomy under which the Fed works to achieve its mandates. Biden openly told Powell prior to the closed-door meeting that addressing inflation was his “top priority” and added that his plan “starts with a simple proposition: respect the Fed.”

If passed by the Senate and signed into law H.R. 2543, would raise some challenges for the Federal Reserve. An example of the challenges could be that by stimulating to promote employment, asset prices rise, which makes them less affordable; by not stimulating, employment can be lackluster.

We can see how the Fed is in a box now. If they fight inflation, they could weaken an economy to the point of causing a recession. If they don’t, inflation may continue to be a problem. If a third mandate is introduced, they would find themselves even further constrained by competing priorities. The Bill is now moving to the Senate. Sign up for Channelchek emails to stay updated on this and other important market-related information.

Paul Hoffman

Managing Editor, Channelchek

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