Author: Consultant

• President Donald Trump told Fox News that the U.S. will hit Iran hard in retaliation for an attempted surprise attack on American forces.
• Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched ballistic missiles at U.S. forces, Central Command said. The missiles were successfully intercepted, Centcom said.
• The escalating tensions come after a brief pause in fighting that sent oil prices lower on hopes that the ceasefire would resume.

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/29/oil-prices-today-brent-wti-iran-us-hormuz.html

Cenovus Energy Inc. raised its production forecast for the year as it reported a second-quarter profit of $2.87 billion, up from $851 million a year ago.

That amounted to $1.53 per diluted share, up from 45 cents per diluted share in the same quarter last year.

Revenue totalled $17.4 billion, up from $12.3 billion a year earlier.

Total upstream production was 970,400 barrels of oil equivalent per day, up from 765,900 boepd in the second quarter of 2025.

Cenovus says it now expects upstream production in the range of 970,000 to 1,010,000 boepd for 2026, an increase of 25,000 boepd, reflecting a strong performance in the oilsands and optimization of turnaround activity at Foster Creek and Christina Lake.

Downstream crude throughput was 451,500 barrels per day, down from 665,800 a year earlier.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 29, 2026.

Waste Connections Inc. (WCN) on Wednesday reported second-quarter earnings of $296.4 million.

The Ontario, Ontario-based company said it had profit of $1.17 per share. Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, were $1.50 per share.

The results topped Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of nine analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $1.35 per share.

The solid waste services provider posted revenue of $2.56 billion in the period, also surpassing Street forecasts. Eight analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $2.53 billion.

Waste Connections expects full-year revenue in the range of $10.02 billion to $10.05 billion.

Highlights:

• Generated second quarter cash from operating activities of $1.6 billion, Non-GAAP Cash Flow of approximately $1.3 billion and Non-GAAP Free Cash Flow of $682 million after capital expenditures of $574 million
• Produced average second quarter volumes of 615 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day (“MBOE/d”), including oil and condensate volumes of 206 thousand barrels per day (“Mbbls/d”), above the high end of company guidance, along with 82 Mbbls/d of other NGLs (C2 to C4) and 1,959 million cubic feet per day (“MMcf/d”) of natural gas
• Closed the sale of the Company’s Anadarko assets for total cash proceeds of approximately $2.82 billion after preliminary closing adjustments and transaction costs
• Net Debt of $2.995 billion as of June 30, 2026, Net Debt to Adjusted EBITDA of 0.6x
• Returned approximately 63% of second quarter Non-GAAP Free Cash Flow to shareholders via share repurchases of approximately $345 million (6.1 million shares) and dividend payments of $84 million
• Full year 2026 shareholder returns expected to exceed 60% of Non-GAAP Free Cash Flow, up from 45% year-to-date
• Revised full year 2026 guidance to reflect higher expected oil and condensate production for the same capital investment; representing 4% production per share growth

 FirstService Corp. (FSV) on Thursday reported second-quarter earnings of $45.3 million.

The Toronto-based company said it had net income of $1 per share. Earnings, adjusted for amortization costs and stock option expense, came to $1.75 per share.

The results surpassed Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of four analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $1.71 per share.

The property services provider posted revenue of $1.45 billion in the period, which did not meet Street forecasts. Four analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $1.49 billion.

Canadian National Railway Co. reported that its second-quarter profit and revenue both rose compared with a year ago, and it raised its guidance for the full year.

The railway says it earned $1.25 billion or $2.06 per diluted share for the quarter that ended June 30, up from $1.17 billion or $1.87 per diluted share a year earlier.

Revenue totalled $4.75 billion, up from $4.27 billion in the same quarter last year.

On an adjusted basis, CN says it earned $2.08 per diluted share in its latest quarter, up from an adjusted profit of $1.87 per diluted share a year ago.

In raising its guidance, CN says it now expects to deliver low single-digit growth in revenue ton miles (RTM) in 2026 compared with expectations in January for “flattish growth.”

The company also says it now expects adjusted diluted earnings per share growth in the mid-to-high single-digit range compared with earlier guidance for growth slightly exceeding its RTM growth.

Celestica Inc. (CLS) on Monday reported second-quarter earnings of $368.8 million.

On a per-share basis, the Toronto-based company said it had profit of $3.17. Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, came to $2.54 per share.

The results surpassed Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of four analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $2.29 per share.

The electronics manufacturing services company posted revenue of $4.7 billion in the period, which also beat Street forecasts. Three analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $4.35 billion.

For the current quarter ending in September, Celestica expects its per-share earnings to range from $2.88 to $3.08.

The company said it expects revenue in the range of $5.25 billion to $5.55 billion for the fiscal third quarter.

Celestica expects full-year earnings to be $11.30 per share, with revenue expected to be $20.5 billion.

South Korean shares tumbled nearly 11 per cent on Tuesday in their worst session in about five months, as a global selloff in ⁠chipmakers hammered ​SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics, and CXMT’s stellar market debut deepened worries about competition from China.

The benchmark KOSPI closed down 732.09 points, or 10.84 per cent, at 6,023.66, posting its biggest daily loss since March 4, when the index posted a record fall ​on the breakout of the Iran war.

It fell as ‌much as 11.3 per cent earlier in the day, triggering a circuit breaker for the eighth time this year and 14th in history. It also traded below the 6,000 level for the first time since April 14.

The KOSPI has declined 29 per cent so far this month, exceeding its record monthly ‌fall of ​27 per cent in October 1997. It ‌is down 34 per cent from the June peak of 9,114.55 but still up 43 per cent ​year-to-date.

Memory-chip maker SK Hynix sank 14.7 per cent after its American depositary ⁠receipts (ADRs) fell to a record low in New York and dropped ⁠below their initial U.S. offering price. Samsung Electronics, another major index constituent, fell 14.4 per cent in its biggest daily ​loss since October 2008.

The two chipmakers account for more than half of the KOSPI’s weighting, amplifying the impact of the sector-wide selloff on the broader market. SK Hynix and Samsung are scheduled to report their second-quarter earnings later this week.

Market sentiment was further dampened by developments in China, including the ⁠blockbuster market debut of ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) and reports that a Chinese state-backed firm has begun producing immersion DUV lithography equipment.

“The market’s concern lies less in CXMT’s current earnings and more in its potential for accelerated capacity expansion to rival Korean companies and technology development following its IPO,” said Kim Seok-hwan, a Seoul-based market analyst at Mirae Asset ⁠Securities.

South Korea’s top financial regulator said authorities would consider a ​cap on single-stock leveraged exchange-traded fund (ETF) investments, which have been raising market volatility since ⁠first introduced in May, for retail investors if needed, according to reports.

Foreigners were net sellers of shares worth 5 ‌trillion won ($3.42 billion), while retail investors bought 4 trillion won.

Of the total 917 traded ​issues, only 36 shares advanced, while 878 declined.

The won was quoted 0.2 per cent higher at 1,462.5 per dollar on the onshore settlement platform, erasing early losses of 0.5 per cent to 1,472.1. Traders attributed the gains to dollar selling by SK Hynix ​related to its U.S. share sale.

Oil prices hovered around a one-week low on Monday after the U.S. and Iran paused strikes ​over the weekend following two weeks of attacks, raising ‌hopes of a diplomatic solution that would de-escalate the conflict and allow shipping to resume in the Strait of Hormuz.

Brent crude futures fell US$5.85, or around 6 per cent, to US$90.93 a barrel by 9:09 a.m. ET. They fell as low as ⁠9.5 per cent earlier ​in the session to US$87.55 a barrel.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at US$84.33 a barrel, down US$4.98, or around 5.6 per cent and going as low as 8 per cent earlier in the day to US$82.12 a barrel.

Both contracts were trading at their lowest levels since July 20 earlier in the session.

Brent had reached US$100 per barrel ​as the conflict, which reduced oil shipments via the Strait of ‌Hormuz, spilled over to the Red Sea, hindering exports from the world’s top exporter, Saudi Arabia, via the Bab el-Mandeb strait to Asia.

The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, told “Fox News Sunday” and other U.S. media that President Donald Trump had decided to pause U.S. attacks to allow more time for diplomacy.

“The market seems to ‌be forever ​seeking good news from an arena ‌that really is not providing any,” said PVM analyst John Evans.

“A stay of military strikes might ​seem an improvement, but it does not come with any ⁠guarantees that oil will soon flow from the area… prices will only continue lower if ⁠high prices once again dent demand, not questionable mini-ceasefires.”

Prices pared losses throughout the day after Saudi Arabia’s air defences intercepted ​and destroyed drones launched from Iraq that attempted to target oil facilities in the kingdom’s Eastern Province and Riyadh and the country’s foreign ministry said they held a right to respond to the sources of “the aggression.”

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis also said they targeted a number of sensitive crude oil supply and transport sites linking eastern Saudi Arabia to the Red ⁠Sea city of Yanbu.

“There’s no signed framework, no verification mechanism and no agreed timeline, as far as what we can see is it looks like the two sides have stopped shooting since Friday,” said Ole Hvalbye, market analyst at SEB Research.

Fewer than 10 commodity vessels passed through the Strait of Hormuz daily during the weekend, shipping data from Kpler showed.

“Flows fell to something ⁠like 15 per cent of pre-war levels, against a normal run rate ​of roughly 20 million barrels a day of crude, condensate and products. A political pause doesn’t put a ⁠single extra barrel on the water right here and now,” Hvalbye added.

In addition, ship traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb strait fell on Sunday ‌after Yemeni Houthis attacked Saudi oil installations along the Red Sea coast, although a third Chinese supertanker exited ​via the Bab el-Mandeb strait.

Elsewhere, Kazakhstan, among the world’s 10 biggest oil producers, has more than halved its daily oil output following the closure of the main exporting terminal in Russia’s Black Sea over drone attacks, an industry source said on Monday.

The energy ministry later said the ​Caspian Pipeline Consortium’s Black Sea terminal had resumed oil loadings.