Here are five things you need to know this morning
Sam Altman strikes back: We’ll be watching for more drama in the long simmering feud between OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Elon Musk, after a group of investors led by Musk offered to buy the company Altman runs for more than US$97 billion. Altman rejected the offer outright, suggesting it wasn’t a serious offer and simply designed to be a distraction, but the story seems far from over. After initially being among the founding members of OpenAI, the two men have gotten acrimonious over the years, and it certainly seems to be getting personal. Stay tuned on this one.
Gold hits new all time high above $2,900: The price of gold has hit a new all time high above US$2,900 an ounce this morning, as Donald Trump’s moves to disrupt global trade are prompting a run toward safe haven assets. Gold has rallied almost 45 per cent in the past year and is up by almost 10 per cent just since January.
Shopify shares under pressure: We’ll be watching shares in Shopify this morning after the e-commerce giant posted quarterly results before the bell. The company beat expectations with a 30 per cent surge in revenue to more than US$2.8 billion. But the company warned that its free cash flow margin will be in the mid-teens this coming quarter, and the market – as it always does – looks forward, not back, so the shares are under pressure. The New York-listed shares were off by about eight per cent premarket.
Cineplex beats as more people go to the movies: We will also keep an eye on shares in Cineplex, after the movie chain announced it swung to a profit of 5 cents per share in the three months up until the end of December. Revenues rose by 15 per cent to just over $362 million, as 11.1 million people took in a movie at one of the company’s multiplexes at the end of 2024. We’ll have an exclusive broadcast interview with CEO Ellis Jacob at 1:30 EST this afternoon.
Ontario court releases Simpson Oil from Parkland governance pact: An interesting court development to watch today is a ruling from the Ontario Court of Justice releasing Simpson Oil from a governance agreement that tied its hands with regards to Parkland Corp., where it is a major shareholder. The court ruled Simpson Oil is no longer bound by the standstill restrictions both companies agreed to in 2019. After years as a silent partner and bigger shareholder in Parkland, Simpson went somewhat activist on the company last year, suggesting a lack of faith in the company’s direction.
