5-year CRA investigation into B.C. ‘shadow broker' doomed by ‘technicality'
The CBC has obtained documents that shed new light onto an alleged half-billion-dollar mortgage fraud case involving a so-called "shadow" mortgage broker. The case has resulted in fines, license cancellations and suspensions, but there have never been any charges. CBC's Jason Proctor explains why.
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Globe and Mail
27 minutes ago
- Globe and Mail
Is Cameco Stock a Buy Now?
Shares of Cameco (NYSE: CCJ) have been on a rocket ride over the past three months or so, gaining a massive 50%-plus in a very short period of time. Is that a warning sign that Wall Street is baking in overly optimistic expectations or is the miner set to see a material improvement in its business over the coming years? There's a lot to unpack before you run out and buy Cameco stock right now. What does Cameco do? At its core, Cameco is a miner. Mining is a very capital-intensive business, given the cost of finding good places to build a mine, getting the approval to build a mine, building and operating a mine, and then, ultimately, returning the mine site back to its original state once the mine is closed. Complicating things a great deal is the fact that most miners produce commodity products, so their revenue and earnings are heavily impacted by often volatile commodity prices. Cameco is no different from other miners in this regard. But the uranium it mines does set it apart from the pack in some important ways. For starters, uranium is the fuel that powers nuclear power plants. So Cameco's fortunes are tightly tied to the nuclear power industry's ups and downs. Given the high-profile nature of nuclear plant disasters, that can be a very negative thing at times. And the bad times tend to linger until the fear over the risks of nuclear power disasters subsides. That said, nuclear power happens to produce energy without producing greenhouse gases. In other words, it is a source of clean energy. Nuclear power is also capable of running at full nameplate capacity on an ongoing basis, making it a great complement to intermittent power sources like solar and wind. Given the ongoing shift in the world toward cleaner power options, nuclear power is seeing something of a renaissance. (The fact that the last nuclear power plant meltdown happened in 2011, quite some time ago at this point, is also a big help.) Cameco tries hard to be reliable At the same time, Cameco can't avoid the fact that the price of the commodity it sells has a major impact on the way Wall Street views its business. With nuclear power seen as an increasingly important power source, uranium prices have benefited. And so, too, has Cameco's stock price. The tie between uranium prices and Cameco's stock price will likely never change, so a significant drop in uranium prices would lead to a big drop in Cameco's stock price, too. If you buy Cameco stock today you need to believe that the nuclear power industry is set to expand over the long term. And, thus, demand for uranium will remain strong over the long term and keep uranium prices high. If you don't go in with that belief you could be let down over the short term as commodity prices wax and wane, just like any other commodity, over shorter periods of time. CCJ data by YCharts However, there is something important about Cameco's business model that is worth highlighting. It doesn't sell uranium at the spot price, it signs long-term supply contracts. This helps to soften the blow from uranium price declines, though it can also limit the upside when uranium prices rise. And Cameco recently bought a non-controlling stake in Westinghouse, a service provider to the nuclear power industry. The revenues this business generates should be more consistent over time than uranium prices. In other words, Cameco is doing what it can to ensure its business is resilient to the typical ups and downs of a commodity business. Think carefully before buying Cameco The truth is, Cameco probably won't be a great fit for most investors. You can get indirect exposure to nuclear power via an investment in a reliable dividend-paying utility like Southern that will expose you to much less risk. However, if you think nuclear power is set to grow in the years ahead, Cameco is a solid "pick-and-shovel" play on the sector. Just go in knowing that volatility is the norm, with 50% price increases coming along with the risk of similar price drawdowns. Should you invest $1,000 in Cameco right now? Before you buy stock in Cameco, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Cameco wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $664,089!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $881,731!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor 's total average return is994% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to172%for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 9, 2025
CTV News
29 minutes ago
- CTV News
May home sales barely move as high mortgage rates, prices, weigh on housing market
NEW YORK — Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes edged higher in May, as stubbornly high mortgage rates and rising prices made homebuying less affordable even as the inventory of properties on the market continued to increase. Existing home sales rose 0.8 per cent last month from April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.03 million units, the National Association of Realtors said Monday. Sales fell 0.7 per cent compared with May last year. The latest home sales fell topped the 3.95 million pace economists were expecting, according to FactSet. Home prices increased on an annual basis for the 23rd consecutive month, although the rate of growth continued to slow. The national median sales price rose 1.3 per cent in May from a year earlier to $422,800, an all-time high for the month of May. Home shoppers who can afford to buy at current mortgage rates benefited from a wider selection of properties on the market. There were 1.54 million unsold homes at the end of last month, a 6.2 per cent increase from April, and 20.3 per cent higher than May last year, NAR said. That's still well below the roughly two million homes for sale that was typical before the pandemic, however. May's month-end inventory translates to a 4.6-month supply at the current sales pace, up from a 4.4-month pace at the end of April and 3.8 months in May last year. Traditionally, a five to six month supply is considered a balanced market between buyers and sellers. Alex Veiga, The Associated Press
CTV News
29 minutes ago
- CTV News
Man on Canada-wide driving prohibition facing charges after numerous hit-and-runs
Gary Walker, 39, is shown in this handout photo. Walker is facing numerous charges in connection with a hit-and-run investigation. A 39-year-old man who was subject to a Canada-wide driving prohibition is facing a long list of charges after he was allegedly involved in a string of hit-and-run collisions in Mississauga while impaired by drugs. Police say that several people called 911 to report a pickup truck driving erratically near Dixie Road and the Queen Elizabeth Way on June 12. Officers responded to the area and immediately spotted the truck travelling northbound in the southbound lanes of Dixie Road, police say. At that point the officers attempted to stop the truck but police say the driver fled the area at a high rate of speed. 'The driver was seen driving on the sidewalk and collided with several other vehicles and, at times, traveling more than twice the posted speed limit,' police said in a news release. Police say that officers opted to pursue the suspect due to the 'significant risk' posed to the public. The suspect ultimately struck a pole a short time later, rendering his vehicle inoperable. Police say that he exited the vehicle and attempted to carjack another motorist but was immediately apprehended by officers. Police say that investigators later discovered that the truck he was operating was stolen and equipped with counterfeit plates. Gary Walker, of no fixed address, has been charged with nine offences in connection with the incidents, including operation while impaired by drugs, robbery and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle. Police say that at the time of his arrest Walker was the subject of nine separate provincial driving prohibitions dating back to 2003. 'He has been convicted on numerous occasions for driving while impaired and driving while suspended. He is currently subject to Canada-wide driving prohibition which has been in place since 2012,' the news release notes. 'Bail was denied and he remains in custody.' Police say that they believe there may be additional victims and they are urging anyone with dashcam footage from the area to come forward.
