More than CAD 100 million in free cash flow in the quarter - a new record for the Canadian oil and gas producer Saturn Oil & Gas Inc. While geopolitical conflicts rage, the Company excels in meeting expected oil production targets while developing new properties. This is no mean feat in a political environment that aims to gradually reduce dependence on fossil fuels. However, the Canadians remain undeterred because what ultimately counts in times of crisis is a consistent and reliable supply. We take a look at the past quarter.
Fighting cancer poses major challenges for today's biotechnology. Canadian company Defence Therapeutics (DTC) has been showing great innovation and breaking new ground in recent years with its ACCUM® platform technology. Efforts are directed towards therapies in the fight against globally prevalent cancers such as lung cancer, breast cancer, and pancreatic cancer. With numerous patents and a new delivery technology, the Canadians are succeeding one hopeful step at a time. The global market for cancer therapies is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 8.4% from 2022 to 2030. Defence Therapeutics might already have a "silver bullet" in its barrel. However, various clinical phases still need to prove the encouraging results from animal trials in humans.
Accum™ enhances mRNA vaccines. To support this claim, Defence Therapeutics conducted a comparative study and reported promising results in late September: In the study, Accum™ doubled the number of antibodies compared to an mRNA vaccine without Accum™. This is a strong indication that the flexible technology, which is expected to move into two Phase I trials as a cancer vaccine and chemotherapeutic in the coming months, may also greatly benefit mRNA vaccines in the future. We look at what matters in the coming weeks and months and why Defence Therapeutics has long been in the sights of potential buyers.
Good things come to those who wait! After obstacles and delays with regard to the launch of SMARTBROKER+, interested parties were given access to the completely newly developed trading platform and thus also to the long-awaited app for the first time at the end of August as part of an Early Access phase. The capitalists put all their energy into a state-of-the-art frontend for iOS, Android and web, as well as an excellent user journey. The unbeatable price-performance ratio, however, remains the same. SMARTBROKER+ is the only provider in Germany to combine the extensive product range of traditional brokers with the extremely favorable conditions of Neobrokers.
Already last year, the investment company Altech Advanced Materials positioned itself as a company for novel battery technology. Thanks to the investments in the project companies SILUMINA ANODES and CERENERGY, it has succeeded in gaining a foothold in the growth markets for e-mobility and stationary battery storage with novel materials and groundbreaking technologies. In this context, the further goals are clearly defined. Together with the Group's partners, the Heidelberg-based company wants to make a positive contribution to the energy transition and thus participate in the rapidly growing market for battery systems. Three milestones expected before the end of this year could push the share into higher territory.
The recent economic data from China has once again disappointed. In July, industrial production in the world's second-largest economy did not increase as much as expected; the central bank even reacted with an interest rate cut. There have been several instances of weak economic data from China recently, fueling expectations of reduced demand for crude oil. The price of WTI crude oil fell slightly from USD 82.50 to USD 80.50 within days. For the Canadian oil producer Saturn Oil & Gas, however, this is not a disaster because they were able to generate lush cash flows even in the challenging second quarter, despite the quarterly average for the WTI price declining to about USD 75. The Q2 figures were surprisingly good, with a new record cash flow and further increases in production.
The start of testing under real road conditions for the Canadian hydrogen innovator's hydrogen fuel cell-powered light commercial vehicles got off to a furious start and clearly demonstrated the advantages over both battery-electric vans and internal combustion engines. Admittedly, the "Light Commercial Vehicles" have only been tested by two of the sixteen major fleet operators participating in the British "Aggregated Hydrogen Freight Consortium". However, the impressive results already suggest that the internal target of selling between 10,000 and 20,000 units in 2025/2026 is no utopia. In the best case, the sales volume would amount to EUR 1 billion. Currently, the market value of the First Hydrogen share stands at EUR 90.84 million.
Cardiovascular diseases have been in the spotlight, especially since the Corona pandemic. After receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, athletic and often young individuals experienced heart inflammation. When the heart muscle becomes inflamed, it is referred to as myocarditis. If the inflammation affects the heart's outer lining, known as the pericardium, it is called pericarditis. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), most cases of myocarditis and pericarditis in male adolescents and young adults occurred within one week of the second dose of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine. Cardiol Therapeutics is a life sciences company with a portfolio focused on combating heart diseases such as pericarditis, myocarditis and heart failure. The Company is in the clinical discovery and development stage of anti-inflammatory and antifibrotic therapies. Antifibrotic means that no scarring occurs during the healing process of human tissue. The experienced team is focusing on an active ingredient that occurs naturally in nature, cannabidiol.
The countdown is on! Despite many imponderables and detours, the latest generation broker, Smartbroker+, is about to be launched. As of today, users can explore the future brand world. In the process, the already successfully running Smartbroker was expanded with new functions and optimized according to the latest customer experience requirements, which should attract new, especially younger target groups in the future. On the other hand, the unique selling proposition of the Next Generation Broker will be retained. Like its predecessor, Smartbroker+ combines the extensive product range of traditional brokers with the favorable conditions of a new broker.
After a bitterly cold crypto winter last year with price losses of up to 78% for Bitcoin alone, the asset class has become one of the best performers on the market, with a gain of 90% since the beginning of 2023. Companies from this segment, such as MicroStrategy, Coinbase, Hut 8 Mining and Bit Digital, were able to more than double in this period. In contrast, the German Bitcoin Group, which operates the trading platform for digital currencies, bitcoin.de, with its subsidiary, has some catching up to do. However, the holding company has significantly more substance than comparable competitors.