Slate Office Real Estate Investment Trust (DOG)
SOT-UN - TSX
Working from home has its benefits. You can watch TV, grab a cold drink from the fridge, walk the dog, pick up the kids from school, and maybe even squeeze in a few minutes of work before you call it a day. Unfortunately, working from home also has its drawbacks. Just ask investors in Slate Office REIT. Slammed by falling occupancy levels and rising interest rates, the owner of office properties in Canada, the U.S. and Ireland defaulted on $158-million of debt, sending the units deeper into penny-stock status and prompting analysts to downgrade their ratings. Another thing you can do from home is buy and sell investments, but in the case of Slate Office REIT unitholders it’s primarily the latter.
Nike Inc. (DOG)
NKE - NYSE
Forget “Just Do It.” Nike’s new mantra is “Just Blew It.” The shares plunged to their lowest level since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic after the athletic footwear and apparel giant said revenue slipped 2 per cent in its fiscal fourth quarter ended May 31, missing Wall Street’s estimates for a small gain. Worse, with consumers tightening their belts and competition growing from rival Adidas and upstart brands such as On and Hoka, Nike warned that it expects revenue to fall by mid-single-digits on percentage basis in the current fiscal year as it struggles to reignite demand with new styles. With the stock down about 30 per cent this year, investing in Nike has been hard on the psyche.
Victoria Gold Corp. (DOG)
VGCX - TSX
The good news is that nobody was hurt in the rock collapse at Victoria Gold Corp.’s Eagle mine in the Yukon. The bad news is that the stock suffered catastrophic injuries. Shares of the Whitehorse-based company tumbled by more than 80 per cent after the mine’s heap leach pad – essentially a massive pile of mined ore that is treated with cyanide to extract the gold – experienced a failure. With the company now trying to contain the environmental damage while it faces the potential loss of an estimated $176-million of gold that was in the leach pad, investors’ portfolios are buried in rubble.
Enovix Corp. (STAR)
ENVX - Nasdaq
Hands up if you think virtual-reality goggles look ridiculous and will never catch on. Well, Enovix Corp. investors beg to differ. Shares of the battery maker surged after it announced an agreement with an unnamed “leading California-based technology company” – thought to be either Apple Inc. or Meta Platforms Inc. – to provide silicon batteries for a mixed-reality headset. “Devices in this market need to be light, fashionable, and safe while also supporting ‘always-on’ immersive experiences that leverage AI. Our high energy density batteries are uniquely suited to this task,” said Enovix senior vice-president Samira Naraghi. Fashionable? Ha ha. Good one.
Suzano SA (STAR)
SUZ - NYSE
Oh, Suzano, don’t you cry for me. Shareholders of Suzano SA were doing anything but crying after the Brazilian company dropped its attempt to acquire U.S.-based International Paper Co., sending Suzano’s shares to their biggest gain in four years. Suzano, the world’s biggest pulp producer, said it had been hoping to reach a deal to acquire the U.S. paper giant on amicable terms, but “as it was not possible to proceed in this manner, Suzano has decided to terminate the negotiations.” Now, the only people crying are investors in International Paper, whose shares tanked by more than 7 per cent on Thursday after Suzano ended its pursuit. Pass the box of tissues.
John Heinzl