Author: Consultant

Monday April 24

Germany business climate

(8:30 a.m. ET) Canada’s new housing price index for March. Estimate is a decline of 0.2 per cent from February and unchanged year-over-year.

(8:30 a.m. ET) Canadian wholesale trade for March.

(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. Chicago Fed National Activity Index for March.

Earnings include: Canadian National Railway Co.; Choice Properties REIT; Coca-Cola Co.

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Tuesday April 25

Japan department store sales

(9 a.m. ET) U.S. S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Index (20 city) for February. The Street is projecting a decline of 0.4 per cent from January and down 0.2 per cent year-over-year.

(9 a.m. ET) U.S. FHFA House Price Index for February. Consensus is a drop of 0.2 per cent from January and up 3.4 per cent year-over-year.

(10 a.m. ET) U.S. new home sales for March. The Street is forecasting an annualized rate decline of 1.3 per cent.

(10 a.m. ET) U.S. Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index for April.

Earnings include: Aecon Group Inc.; Alphabet Inc.; Danaher Corp.; General Electric Co.; General Motors Co.; Halliburton Co.; McDonald’s Corp.; Microsoft Corp.; PepsiCo Inc.; Texas Instruments Inc.; United Parcel Service Inc.; Verizon Communications Inc.; Visa Inc.; West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd.; Winpak Ltd. 3M Co.

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Wednesday April 26

Germany consumer confidence

(8:30 a.m. ET) Canadian manufacturing sales for March.

(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. goods trade deficit for March.

(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. wholesale and retail inventories for March.

(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. durable and core orders for March. The Street expects month-over-month increases of 0.7 per cent and 0.2 per cent, respectively.

(1:30 p.m. ET) Bank of Canada summary of deliberations for April 12 decision.

Earnings include: Alamos Gold Inc.; Allied Properties REIT; AltaGas Ltd.; Boeing Co.; Canadian Pacific Kansas City; Celestica Inc.; Cenovus Energy Inc.; CGI Inc.; FirstService Corp.; Glencore ADR; Meta Platforms Inc.; Methanex Corp.; New Gold Inc.; Precision Drilling Corp.; Rogers Communications Inc.; Teck Resources Ltd.; Vale ADR; Waste Connections Inc.

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Thursday April 27

Bank of Japan monetary policy meeting (through Friday)

Euro zone economic and consumer confidence

(8:30 a.m. ET) Canada’s Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours for February.

(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. initial jobless claims for week of April 22. Estimate is 250,000, up 5,000 from the previous week.

(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. real GDP for Q1. Consensus is an annualized rate rise of 2.0 per cent.

(10 a.m. ET) U.S. pending home sales for March. The Street predicts an increase of 1.0 per cent from February.

Earnings include: Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd.; Amazon.com Inc.; Atco Ltd.; Bombardier Inc.; Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.; Canadian Utilities Ltd.; Caterpillar Inc.; Eldorado Gold Corp.; Eli Lilly & Co.; GFL Environmental Holdings Inc.; Gilead Sciences Inc.; Intel Corp.; Mastercard Inc.; Merck & Company Inc.; Newcrest Mining Ltd.; Newmont Goldcorp Corp.; Secure Energy Services Inc.; Whitecap Resources Inc.

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Friday April 28

Japan jobless rate, industrial production and retail sales

Euro zone and Germany GDP

(8:30 a.m. ET) Canada’s monthly real GDP. Consensus is an increase of 0.2 per cent from January.

(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. personal spending for March. The Street expects a decline of 0.1 per cent with personal income rising 0.2 per cent.

(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. Core PCE Price Index for March. Consensus is a rise of 0.3 per cent from February and up 4.5 per cent year-over-year.

(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. Employment Cost Index for Q1. The Street is projecting an increase of 1.1 per cent from Q4 and up 4.8 per cent year-over-year.

(9:45 a.m. ET) U.S. Chicago PMI for April.

(10 a.m. ET) U.S. University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment for April.

Earnings include: Advantage Oil & Gas Ltd.; Cameco Corp.; Chevron Corp.; Colgate-Palmolive Co.; Exxon Mobil Corp.; First National Financial Corp.; TC Energy Corp.

TORONTO — Shareholders looking for an update on TD Bank Group’s US$13.4 billion takeover of First Horizon Corp. were left with few answers at the bank’s annual meeting Thursday.

Facing numerous questions about the deal after U.S. banking turmoil has pushed down the value of Tennessee-based First Horizon, chief executive Bharat Masrani stuck to a statement that they are in negotiations about a potential extension of the deal past the May 27 deadline.

It’s the same message he gave in a March earnings call when the bank disclosed that they don’t expect to secure regulatory approval of the deal by the deadline, without providing details on what might be causing the delay.

Since then, the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank have put pressure on the U.S. banking sector and led to calls from some for TD to walk away from the deal that it first announced in February, 2022.

Pressed by shareholders, Masrani said he sees the benefits of the merger, but notably absent in his comments was his March statement that the bank was “fully committed to the transaction.”

Outside of the deal, the meeting saw several shareholder proposals go to a vote related to climate change as well as on executive pay ratios and the financialization of housing.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 20, 2023.

Published: 4/21/2023 3:11 PM ET

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Friday, buoyed by fairly strong data on private sector activity in the U.K. and eurozone.

Concerns about the U.S. economic outlook and interest rate uncertainty limited the uptick in oil prices.

West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended higher by $0.50 or about 0.7% at $77.87 a barrel.

Brent crude futures were up $0.45 or 0.55% at $81.55 a barrel a little while ago.

WTI crude futures and Brent crude futures both shed more than 5.5% in the week.

The U.K. private sector expanded for the third successive month in April to the strongest level in a year, driven by a sharp upturn in the services economy, while manufacturing remained in the contraction zone, flash survey results from S&P Global showed.

The flash Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply composite output index climbed to 53.9 in April from 52.2 in March. The expected score was 52.5.

Eurozone private sector activity expanded at the fastest pace in nearly a year in April, driven by reviving demand in the service sector, and was accompanied by a sharp increase in employment amid a moderation in inflationary pressures and resilient business confidence, the results of the latest purchasing managers’ survey by S&P Global showed Friday.

The seasonally adjusted HCOB flash composite output index rose to 54.4 in April from 53.7 in the previous month. The score was expected to remain steady at 53.7.

The reading rose for the sixth month in a row and remained above the critical 50.0 threshold for the fourth successive month. This suggested the biggest growth in the private sector since May 2022.

According to a report released by Baker Hughes, the total number of active drilling rigs in the U.S. rose by 5 this week.

The total rig count rose to 753 this week, 58 rigs higher than the count this time last year.

While oil rigs increased by 3 this week, gas rigs rose by 2.

Magna International Inc. says it will engineer and build electric off-road vehicles for U.K.-based industrial conglomerate Ineos Group Ltd.

Aurora, Ont.-based Magna says the contract will see it produce the vehicles at its facility in Graz, Austria with a 2026 expected start.

Magna began working with Ineos in 2018 to engineer its first vehicle, a 4×4 fossil-fuel powered vehicle called the Grenadier.

The automotive company already produces several models at the Graz plant, including Jaguar and Fisker electric vehicles, and has drawn speculation as being a potential producer for an Apple Inc. car thought to be in development.

Magna is also working to increase its EV-related production in Canada, announcing in February a $471 million investment across six Ontario locations to expand its EV parts capacity.

Ineos is a chemical company with some $65 billion in annual revenues operating in 29 countries that has branched into consumer goods through its auto division as well as a hygiene and clothing brand.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 17, 2023.

The Canadian market ended modestly higher on Friday, aided by gains in technology and consumer staples sections.

Several stocks from industrials, utilities and consumer discretionary sectors too posted notable gains.

Concerns about interest rates and economic slowdown weighed on sentiment.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended with a modest gain of 62.46 points or 0.3% at 20,693.15. The index gained about 0.55% in the week.

Technology stock Shopify Inc (SHOP.TO) rallied about 2.7%. Sylogist (SYZ.TO), Kinaxis Inc (KXS.TO), CGI Group Inc (GIB.A.TO), Constellation Software (CSU.TO) and Descartes Systems (DSG.TO) gained 1 to 1.7%.

Consumer staples shares Maple Leaf Foods (MFI.TO) and The North West Company (NWC.TO) both ended nearly 2% up. Loblaw (L.TO), Metro Inc (MRU.TO), Alimentation Couche-Tard (ATD.TO), Weston George (WN.TO), Empire Company (EMP.A.TO) and Saputo (SAP.TO) gained 1 to 1.7%.

Fairfax Financial Holdings (FFH.TO), BRP Inc (DOO.TO) and Thomson Reuters Corporation (TRI.TO) gained 2.5%, 1.5% and 1.4%, respectively. Waste Connections (WCN.TO), Restaurant Brands International (QSR.TO) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP.TO) also ended notably higher.

First Quantum Minerals (FM.TO) ended 6% down. Rogers Communications (RCI.A.TO), Nutrien (NTR.TO), Precision Drilling Corporation (PD.TO) and Teck Resources (TECK.A.TO) lost 1.4 to 1.7%.

On the economic front, data from Statistics Canada showed retail sales in Canada increased 4.3% in February over the same month in the previous year.

Retail sales in Canada are expected to have dropped by 1.4% month-over-month in March, according to preliminary estimates.

Canadian consumers are pulling back on spending as rising prices and high interest rates appear to be taking a toll on retail sales.

Retail sales slipped 0.2 per cent to $66.3-billion in February amid a drop in spending at general merchandise stores and gasoline stations and fuel vendors, Statistics Canada said Friday.

The early estimate for March also points to an even steeper decline of 1.4 per cent, though the agency cautioned the figure would be revised.

“We’re starting to see consumers tighten their belts,” retail analyst Bruce Winder said. “Canadian consumers are incredibly cautious right now.”

Economists have warned of a lag between rising prices and high interest rates and the affect on the economy. While the Bank of Canada held its key lending rate at 4.50 per cent at its most recent rate decision, it is up from 0.25 per cent at the start of 2022.

“It is clear that consumer spending behaviour has been impacted by the rapid rise in interest rates even as the economy as a whole has generally outperformed expectations,” Andrew Grantham, senior economist with CIBC Capital Markets, said in a client note.

Still, the pull back in consumer spending could help ease inflation even further, he said.

“This sluggishness in spending should help keep goods price inflation under control (assuming supply chain issues don’t worsen again), allowing the Bank of Canada to stay on hold for the remainder of this year before gradual cuts start early in 2024,” Grantham said.

The annual rate of inflation in Canada dropped to 4.3 per cent in March, but grocery prices climbed 9.7 per cent on a year-over-year basis, Statistics Canada said Tuesday.

For February, retail sales were down in four of the nine subsectors as sales at gasoline stations and fuel vendors fell 5.0 per cent for the month and general merchandise retailers lost 1.6 per cent.

Meanwhile, sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers rose 0.9 per cent in February.

Core retail sales – which exclude gasoline stations and fuel vendors and motor vehicle and parts dealers – increased 0.1 per cent helped by a 4.4 per cent gain in sales at clothing, clothing accessories, shoes, jewelry, luggage and leather goods retailers.

“Consumers are picking are choosing where they cut spending,” Winder said. “More companies are quietly nudging workers back into the office, so that could be helping spending in some areas.”

In volume terms, a measure that adjusts for the impact of inflation, overall retail sales fell 0.7 per cent in February.

Thieves made off with a container holding more than $20-million worth of gold and other valuables from a cargo facility at Toronto Pearson International Airport this week.

The container holding the precious metal arrived by plane Monday evening and was taken shortly after, Peel Regional Police Inspector Stephen Duivesteyn told reporters on Thursday at a news conference near Canada’s busiest airport.

He declined to name or describe the container’s owner nor say when it went missing. “This high-value container was removed by illegal means,” he said.

The box is about the size of an aircraft shipping container, about five-feet wide, he said.

The RCMP could be asked to participate, if needed, but the investigation is in the hands of his best detectives, he said.

“Our goal is to solve this theft,” he said. He did not know the gold’s intended destination before it was stolen. The theft was an “isolated incident” and travellers should not fear using the airport, he said.

Air Canada’s cargo operations were handling the gold when it went missing, according to a person familiar with the situation. The Globe and Mail is not identifying the person because they are not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

Air Canada spokesperson Peter Fitzpatrick declined to comment.

“As this is an active police investigation, we are unable to provide any comments regarding the matter at this time,” said Jenn Bell, a spokeswoman for the Greater Toronto Airports Authority, the operator of Pearson.

The Toronto Sun reported early Thursday that the gold was stolen as it was being shipped through Pearson airport, citing unnamed sources. Police are looking at local organized crime gangs as possible suspects, the Sun reported.

Insp. Duivesteyn refused to speculate whether organized crime gangs were involved. “Our investigators have their eyes open to all avenues so we really don’t want to make an error and focus on one particular area,” he said. “So we’re going to look at all angles. … For me to say it was professional [heist] at this time, I’d be hesitant to say such a thing.”

Nadine Ramadan, a spokeswoman for Transport Minister Omar Alghabra, said Transport Canada is in contact with the airport over the matter, but declined to provide details.

Gold is a tempting item for thieves because relatively small, transportable amounts can be worth a lot of money. Gold thefts have made many headlines over the years.

A series called The Gold that aired on BBC this year focuses on the famous Brink’s-Mat robbery in 1983, when tens of millions of dollars worth of gold bars, diamonds and cash was stolen by armed robbers from a facility near London’s Heathrow Airport.

In 1976, a group blasted through a wall at the British Bank of the Middle East in Beirut, Lebanon, and made off with gold bars and other valuables.

In 2020, armed robbers overtook security guards on the runway at a mine in Mexico owned by Canada’s Alamos Gold Inc. and stole the gold bars the guards were loading on a plane for transport. A small plane landed at the site and whisked away the robbers with the gold minutes later.

Fox News Digital began the year with coverage of everything from developments into the death of Tyre Nichols, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s bid for the gavel, classified documents found at President Biden’s home, the release of bodycam video of the October 2022 attack on Paul Pelosi, the arrest of the man accused of the fatal stabbing of four University of Idaho students, the aftermath of Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin suffering cardiac arrest on the field and ABC News’ made-for-tabloids cheating scandal. 

In February, Fox News Digital continued to help drive the national conversation with coverage of major stories including the Chinese spy balloon saga, the East Palestine train derailment, President Biden’s State of the Union and the U.S. Department of Energy assessing that COVID likely came from a lab leak in Wuhan.  

Last month, Fox News Digital continued its success by putting a spotlight on the Pentagon declaring a former diversity, equity and inclusion chief wouldn’t be punished for a series of divisive statements about White people, all-things artificial intelligence including ChatGPT’s rise in prominence, developments in the death of Buster Murdaugh’s high school classmate Stephen Smith, Rhode Island authorities reexamining the death of Lori Lee Malloy, news that members of the Biden family received more than $1 million in payments from accounts related to Hunter Biden business associate Rob Walker and their Chinese business ventures in 2017, a wild altercation on a Southwest Airlines flight and a stunning exclusive on British tourists who recorded Paul Murdaugh on vacation in the Bahamas in 2017. 

WITH WORLD WAR II AIRMAN’S REMAINS FOUND, RELATIVE FINALLY ‘HAS CLOSURE’ FOR WHOLE FAMILY

Americans continued to flock to Fox News Digital for the latest information and analysis during the first quarter of 2023. (iStock)

Fox News Digital obtained the House Judiciary Committee’s interim report indicating subpoenaed documents showed there was “no legitimate basis” for the Biden administration to use federal law enforcement and counterterrorism resources on school board-related threats. It was also first to report that an agent-turned-whistleblower told the House Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government that the FBI created a threat tag following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade last year, but it later “shifted” to focus on pro-life individuals. 

Fox News Digital reported exclusive details about the heroic actions of Katherine Koonce, the head of The Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee, who was shot and killed while trying to save her students from the mass shooter there. It was also the first outlet to report that the Biden administration acknowledged in an accidentally leaked memo that charging fossil fuel companies less to drill would provide “greater energy security” despite its plans to hike royalty fees, and that former CNN boss Jeff Zucker would not allow his network to chase down the COVID lab-leak theory in 2020. 

Fox News Digital has also had exclusive interviews with key lawmakers such as Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley, and was on top of impactful stories such as devastating tornadoes in Mississippi and the Chicago mayor’s race. Popular opinion pieces included a look at Disney’s “woke” politics, Nicole Parker explaining why she left the FBI, and Dr. Mark Esper on why Lithuania could deliver a major blow to Russia’s war in Ukraine. The site also featured human interest stories such as an interview with a pediatric emergency medicine physician who went viral on TikTok, and a look at the great-nephew of a late U.S. Army Air Corps member who found shocking news about his death.

PENTAGON DIVERSITY CHIEF RECEIVES NO DISCIPLINARY ACTION AFTER PROBE INTO ANTI-WHITE POSTS

March also featured a homepage refresh for Fox News Digital, which finished the first quarter with 101 million monthly multiplatform unique visitors. Fox News Digital saw a 28% increase year-over-year with average unique visitors for the quarter, while CNN and the Times were both down in the category. 

Fox News also finished the quarter with 90.1 million total social interactions to top news brands for the 36th straight quarter with 23.2 million interactions on Facebook, 56.8 million Instagram interactions and 10 million Twitter interactions, according to Emplifi.

Fox News has finished No. 1 on Facebook for 35 straight quarters. It also finished No. 1 among news brands on YouTube in video views, with a staggering 662.6 million, according to Shareablee.

FOX Business had 411 million multiplatform views to beat CNN Business for the fourth consecutive quarter.