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Bitcoin to online petwear: ‘Papa Musk’ lures investors

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By Tom Wilson and Thyagaraju Adinarayan

LONDON (Reuters) – A “#bitcoin” tag on Elon Musk’s Twitter profile page led to a 14% jump in the cryptocurrency on Friday, the latest in a series of market moves triggered by comments on his social media account.

The Twitter handle of the world’s richest person has joined the growing list of things to watch for those trading stocks for personal or professional purposes, and comes amid the rising prominence of the’WallStreetBets’ Reddit chat room that drove skyrocketing gains for GameStop shares.

That forum grabbed Musk’s attention too when he tweeted “Gamestonk!!” on Tuesday, along with a link to the Reddit stock trading discussion group behind the year-to-date 2,500%-plus rally in the video game retailer.

“Stonks” is a tongue-in-cheek term for stocks widely used on social media. His supporters in the Reddit forum affectionately refer to him as “Papa Musk.”

Justifiably, his tweets led to surges in other stocks too.

Shares of fast-growing Polish game developer CD Projekt soared 16% on Thursday after Musk tweeted: “The esthetics of Cyberpunk are incredible btw….”. Cyberpunk is the company’s flagship game.

Similarly, online retailing platform Etsy’s stock jumped 9% on Tuesday right after Musk tweeted: “I kinda love Etsy”. He said he bought a “hand knit wool Marvin the Martian helm” for his dog.

Shares of his own firm Tesla dipped 1.2% this week after a rally of nearly 700% over the last year.

BITCOIN RALLY

Bitcoin, meanwhile, riding on Musk’s tag, was up 10.2% to $36,901 by 1505 GMT on Friday.

The cryptocurrency jumped over 300% last year, as bigger U.S. investors and corporations sought exposure to it, and touched an all-time high of $42,000 last month.

In December, Musk asked about the possibility of converting “large transactions” of Tesla’s balance sheet into bitcoin, in a Twitter exchange with a well-known advocate for the digital currency.

“That would be a very big deal,” said Christopher Bendiksen of digital asset manager CoinShares on Friday.

Traders also cited positive comments on bitcoin by hedge fund manager Ray Dalio as supporting sentiment.

The Bridgewater Associates founder wrote on Thursday that the cryptocurrency was “one hell of an invention,” adding that he viewed it as a “gold-like alternative asset.”

Smaller cryptocurrencies including ethereum and XRP that tend to move in tandem with bitcoin also jumped, as much as 5% and 8% respectively.

 

(Graphic: Bitcoin’s blistering 2020 rally https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/buzz/yxmvjyxmkpr/Pasted%20image%201611933299668.png)

 

(Reporting by Tom Wilson and Thyagaraju Adinarayan. Editing by Rachel Armstrong, Mark Potter, Kirsten Donovan)

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RCMP arrest second suspect in deadly shooting east of Calgary

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EDMONTON – RCMP say a second suspect has been arrested in the killing of an Alberta county worker.

Mounties say 28-year-old Elijah Strawberry was taken into custody Friday at a house on O’Chiese First Nation.

Colin Hough, a worker with Rocky View County, was shot and killed while on the job on a rural road east of Calgary on Aug. 6.

Another man who worked for Fortis Alberta was shot and wounded, and RCMP said the suspects fled in a Rocky View County work truck.

Police later arrested Arthur Wayne Penner, 35, and charged him with first-degree murder and attempted murder, and a warrant was issued for Strawberry’s arrest.

RCMP also said there was a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Strawberry, describing him as armed and dangerous.

Chief Supt. Roberta McKale, told a news conference in Edmonton that officers had received tips and information over the last few weeks.

“I don’t know of many members that when were stopped, fuelling up our vehicles, we weren’t keeping an eye out, looking for him,” she said.

But officers had been investigating other cases when they found Strawberry.

“Our investigators were in O’Chiese First Nation at a residence on another matter and the major crimes unit was there working another file and ended up locating him hiding in the residence,” McKale said.

While an investigation is still underway, RCMP say they’re confident both suspects in the case are in police custody.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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26-year-old son is accused of his father’s murder on B.C.’s Sunshine Coast

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RICHMOND, B.C. – The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says the 26-year-old son of a man found dead on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast has been charged with his murder.

Police say 58-year-old Henry Doyle was found badly injured on a forest service road in Egmont last September and died of his injuries.

The homicide team took over when the BC Coroners Service said the man’s death was suspicious.

It says in a statement that the BC Prosecution Service has approved one count of first-degree murder against the man’s son, Jackson Doyle.

Police say the accused will remain in custody until at least his next court appearance.

The homicide team says investigators remained committed to solving the case with the help of the community of Egmont, the RCMP on the Sunshine Coast and in Richmond, and the Vancouver Police Department.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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Metro Vancouver’s HandyDART strike continues after talks break with no deal

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VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, have broken off without an agreement following 15 hours of talks.

Joe McCann, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they stayed at the bargaining table with help from a mediator until 2 a.m. Friday and made “some progress.”

However, he says the union negotiators didn’t get an offer that they could recommend to the membership.

McCann says that in some ways they are close to an agreement, but in other areas they are “miles apart.”

About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people who can’t navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last week, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.

McCann asks HandyDART users to be “patient,” since they are trying to get not only a fair contract for workers but also a better service for customers.

He says it’s unclear when the talks will resume, but he hopes next week at the latest.

The employer, Transdev, didn’t reply to an interview request before publication.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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