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NEW EPISODE: Gold and silver have been rocked in recent weeks, so what should investors do now? According to Jonathan Wellum gold isn’t just a trade — it’s insurance. The President & CEO of ROCKLINC Investment Partners and former money manager to Canadian billionaire Michael Lee-Chin, joins In the Money with Amber Kanwar to lay out why he says gold’s rally is only in the 3rd or 4th inning. Jonathan explains why this cycle still feels early despite the recent sell-off and why sharp volatility hasn’t shaken his long-term thesis.
Forgive my tardiness this morning. My son spent the morning chasing me around weaponizing his cold saying he would cough on me if he didn’t get an extra vitamin gummy. Tell me you are a third born without telling me you are a third born.
Here are five things to know:
Bully: US futures are steady this morning after a read of US retail sales came in below expectations for December. There was no growth in sales after a surge in November suggesting consumers stalled out. Eight of the 13 categories saw declines including clothing and furniture. Investors are likely waiting for tomorrow’s jobs data to determine how they feel about the US economy. On the trade front, US President Donald Trump is threatening to derail the opening of the Gordie Howe bridge which connects Windsor and Detroit until the US is “fully compensated” for everything they have given Canada. Whatever that means. Canada foot the bill for the project but ownership will be shared with the state of Michigan. Those facts don’t appear to be relevant to the post which also warned against cozying up to China lest we lose our precious Stanley Cups. You can’t make this stuff up! “At this point, we know the drill: this is ‘only’ a threat, and we’ll have to wait to see if (and for how long) the President follows through,” wrote BMO’s Shelly Kaushik.
Wrapped: Spotify shares are surging 10% in the pre-market after showing a record monthly active users for the fourth quarter. Monthly active users grew 11% to 751 million helping to revive the stock which is trading around a 14-month low. Importantly for investors, margins also came in above expectations and set a company record. “(The results) should help offset margin concerns weighing on the stock and, with catalysts through the year, valuation should find some support vs the free fall recently,” wrote Barclays analyst Kannan Venkateshwar. Spotify’s forecast for user growth was also ahead of expectations.
Flat: Coca-Cola is fizzling in the pre-market down about 4% after its growth outlook disappointed investors. Coke said organic revenue will increase 4-5% this year, which is slightly less than what they did in 2025 and below the 5.1% expected by analysts. The outlook is overshadowing strong quarterly results in which price increases of 4% seemed well absorbed by customers. However, Pepsi announced that they would start cutting prices in order to boost demand so we could be entering an environment where future price increases are more limited. Shares of Coca-Cola have also benefited from the rotation out of tech and into other areas of the market like consumer staples. The shares recently hit a record high so today’s disappointment around the forecast is an easy excuse to sell.
Havana oh-na-na-na: Transat has become the latest Canadian airline to suspend travel to Cuba. The Caribbean island warned that it doesn’t have enough fuel to refuel planes for return flights. Air Canada made a similar announcement yesterday and the stock fell 4%. Cuba is an important travel destination for Canadian airlines, notes TD Cowen’s Tim James. “Cuba is one of the three largest sun destinations for Transat at approximately 10-15% of winter (H1) capacity,” wrote James, “We believe the suspension could result in Transat and competitors allocating excess capacity to other routes which could pressure yields in certain markets.”
Notable calls: Shopify is catching two upgrades ahead of quarterly results tomorrow morning. ATB Cormark and MoffettNathanson are both upgrading to buy. “The broader SaaS landscape is struggling with slowing growth and rising AI risks. The M7 face margin compression from massive AI infrastructure spend,” wrote ATB’s Martin Toner, “We believe Shopify is sitting in attractive territory and is well positioned to be a capital light beneficiary from AI.” Shopify benefitting from AI is also key to MoffettNathanson’s upgrade and they also add that the recent weakness in the stock has created “an unusually attractive entry point.” Thomson Reuters has been upgraded at RBC following an AI-related software sell-off. The upgrade doesn’t go so far as to say Thomson Reuters is going to come out a winner or that it is immune to AI eating into its business, but rather is more about the potential upside vs. downside after the pullback (shares are down 53% in the last year). “We believe disconnecting from the broader AI disruption narrative remains the key catalyst for the stock,” wrote RBC’s Drew McReynolds, who says there are multiple ways for Thomson Reuters to show this including re-acceleration of organic growth. Under Armour is falling 7% in the pre-market as Citi cut the stock to sell. The downgrade comes after solid quarterly results last week that led to a 20% stock surge. “There are several reasons we are cautious on the NAM brand turnaround: (1) UAA plays in a highly competitive environment where stronger brands like Nike/Adidas/On/Hoka/Salomon will likely be prioritized by UAA’s key retail partners over UAA; (2) DTC traffic remains weak; and (3) UAA will likely need to invest more in marketing/brand building,” wrote Citi’s Paul Lejuez in the downgrade.
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