Author: Consultant

Enghouse Systems Limited (TSX: ENGH) today announced its first quarter unaudited financial results for the period ended January 31, 2023.  All the financial information is in Canadian dollars unless otherwise indicated.

Financial and operational highlights for the three months ended January 31, 2023 compared to the three months ended January 31, 2022 are as follows:

• Revenue achieved was $106.4 million compared to revenue of $111.1 million;
• Results from operating activities was $29.9 million compared to $35.7 million;
• Net income was $17.0 million compared to $21.6 million;
• Adjusted EBITDA was $32.3 million compared to $38.6 million;
• Cash flows from operating activities excluding changes in working capital were $32.6 million compared to $38.7 million

https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/enghouse-releases-first-quarter-results-899150406.html

Canada’s banking regulator took control of Silicon Valley Bank’s domestic operations on Sunday, as governments, along with tech sector CEOs, spent the weekend scrambling to limit the impact of a leading global technology financer’s sudden collapse.

The latest chapter of California-based Silicon Valley Bank (SVB)’s stunning fall saw Superintendent of Financial Institutions Peter Routledge take over the Canadian arm of a business that was the go-to lender for tech companies, and announce plans to wind it down.

“By taking temporary control of the Canadian branch of Silicon Valley Bank, we are acting to protect the rights and interests of the branch’s creditors,” Mr. Routledge said in a release. “I want to be clear: the Silicon Valley Bank branch in Canada does not take deposits from Canadians, and this situation is the result of circumstances particular to Silicon Valley Bank in the United States.”

U.S. regulators shut down SVB on Friday, freezing US$175-billion in deposits, after customers withdrew billions last week on solvency concerns at a 40-year-old lender that dominates the innovation economy. The largest U.S. bank failure since the 2008 global financial crisis left clients scrambling for the money needed to pay employees this week, while U.S. regulators attempted to contain the damage.

“We want to make sure that the troubles that exist at one bank don’t create contagion to others that are sound,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Sunday in an interview on television program Face The Nation. The U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is currently running SVB.

U.S. regulators spent the weekend working with SVB executives, customers and rival banks on a rescue package. “We’re very aware of the problems that depositors will have, many of them are small businesses that employ people across the country,” Ms. Yellen said.

In Canada, OSFI officials said they have been closely monitoring SVB since the bank first reported significant losses last week, and announced plans to raise US$2-billion in new capital. News of financing triggered a run on the bank that led to its failure.

In Canada, where SVB opened an office four years ago, officials at the federal Department of Finance and the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Industry worked with the bank’s executives, rival lenders and industry groups on the weekend to help businesses navigate the failure.

“We are monitoring the situation and are closely in touch with leaders in the start up and venture communities,” Laurie Bouchard, spokesperson for Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne, said Sunday.

At the finance department’s request, the Council of Canadian Innovators (CCI) went to its 150 members over the weekend to gauge the fallout from SVB’s failure. The finance department “wants to know the size and scope of companies that are impacted,” said CCI president Ben Bergen.

Based on member responses, he said the U.S. bank’s closure “does not seem to be a systemic issue for our companies.

In the technology sector, some still fear SVB’s collapse could trigger a broader banking crisis, with other banks forced to cut lending as customers pull deposits.

“We might be moving from specific company exposure risk to systemic risk,” John Ruffalo, vice chair of the CCI and founder of Maverix Private Equity, said “We hope there is not systemic risk because then the dominoes fall.”

OSFI held a series of calls with major Canadian banks throughout Saturday and Sunday, according to two sources with knowledge of the discussions. The calls, most of which were held with individual banks, focused on two key issues.

OSFI sought assurances that the country’s banks were isolated from the fallout from SVB’s collapse and have no significant risks to their portfolios. The regulator also explored issues relating to the wind-up process that it initiated on Sunday, including soliciting bids for portfolios of SVB’s assets, though banks are wary of the potential risks in acquiring them. The Globe and Mail is not identifying the sources because they are not authorized to discuss confidential discussions with the regulator.

Analysts said SBV’s business model, which is narrowly focused on technology companies, means regulators should be able to contain fallout from its failure.

“We believe the failure of Silicon Valley Bank to be idiosyncratic and unlikely to cause contagion to the broader financial system,” said analyst Darko Mihelic at RBC Capital Markets in a report on Sunday. “All the same, shorter term, we will be watching credit spreads, regulatory actions, economic data (especially from California), and numerous other indicators for signs of financial stress,” he said.

In venture capital and private equity circles, SVB was dominant player, serving as bank to more than 2,500 VC fund managers. Executives in the industry spent the weekend lobbying other lenders to step up and fill the void left by SVB.

“The community is pushing that it’s important that other banks extend balance sheet, and don’t retreat,” said Adam Felesky, co-founder and chief executive of Montreal-based Portage Ventures. “The overtures thus far have been quite good from banks in Canada and elsewhere,” he said.

One option for regulators is selling all or part of SVB to a rival bank. In England, tech-focused Bank of London announced on Sunday it had teamed up with private equity funds to make a formal offer for SVB’s UK operations.

In the U.S., the two largest banks – JPMorgan Chase and Co. and Bank of America Corp. – are considered the most likely bidders, due to their strong balance sheets.

“This asset is such an incredible brand, they’ve been a supporter of the best entrepreneurs in the world for over 40 years,” said Mr. Felesky. “I can’t imagine that there isn’t a goodwill value that a large bank in the US or elsewhere wouldn’t step in and acquire.”

SVB is a relatively small lender in Canada. Four years after opening its doors, the bank had US$692-million in assets and US$349-million in outstanding loans as of December, according to filings with OSFI. That’s a fraction of the tech loan portfolios at major Canadian banks. However, SVB is a major provider of U.S. bank services to the American operations of Canadian tech companies, and to U.S. business that have investments from Canadian fund managers.

Published: 3/9/2023 2:08 PM ET

Gold futures settled higher on Thursday, regaining ground after posting losses in the previous two sessions, as the dollar turned weak.

The dollar, which surged higher following hawkish remarks from Fed Chair Jerome Powell who said in his testimony before the congress that the central bank will likely raise interest rates to continue the fight against inflation, turned easy today.

During a second day of congressional testimony, Powell once again acknowledged that the U.S. central bank was wrong in initially thinking inflation was only the result of “transitory” factors.

The dollar index dropped to 105.15, losing about 0.5%.

Gold futures for April ended higher by $16.00 or about 0.9% at $1,834.60 an ounce.

Silver futures for May ended up $0.014 at $20.165 an ounce, while Copper futures for May settled at $4.0390 per pound, gaining $0.0120.

Data from the Labor Department showed initial jobless claims climbed to 211,000 in the week ended March 4th, an increase of 21,000 from the previous week’s unrevised level of 190,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 195,000.

With the bigger than expected increase, jobless claims reached their highest level since hitting 223,000 in the week ended December 24th.

The data helped ease concerns about labor market tightness, which the Federal Reserve has pointed to as a reason for stubbornly elevated inflation.

Traders now look ahead to the release of the Labor Department’s more closely watched monthly jobs report on Friday.

Economists currently expect employment to jump by 203,000 jobs in February after surging by 517,000 jobs in January, while the unemployment rate is expected to hold at 3.4 percent.

“Fed Chair Powell seems to have signaled they will accelerate the tightening pace to a half-point rate rise if we get both a hot NFP and inflation reports,” said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA.

He added, “Some traders are thinking that if tomorrow delivers a not-so-hot jobs report, that we could see Fed fund futures lean towards a quarter-point rate rise for the March 22nd FOMC meeting.”

When Saudi Arabia and Iran buried the hatchet in Beijing on Friday, it was a game-changing moment both for a Middle East shaped by their decades-old rivalry, and for China’s growing influence in the oil-rich region.

The announcement was surprising yet expected. The two regional powerhouses have been in talks to re-establish diplomatic relations for nearly two years. At times, negotiators seemed to drag their feet, the deep distrust between the two countries appearing immovable.

Iran’s talks with Saudi Arabia were unfolding at the same time as negotiations between Iran and the United States to revive the 2016 nuclear deal were faltering. The outcomes of both sets of Iran talks seemed interlinked – Riyadh and Washington have long walked in lockstep on foreign policy.

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/03/11/middleeast/iran-saudi-arabia-normalization-china-analysis-intl/index.html

CNBC’s “Mad Money” host Jim Cramer is being shredded across social media after footage resurfaced of him urging viewers in February to invest in Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), which collapsed on Friday. 

SVB had been the 16th largest bank in the United States and was connected to a number of Silicon Valley industries and startups. The closure of the bank was announced by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), making it the worst U.S. financial institution failure in nearly 15 years. 

Upon the news of SVB’s collapse, a clip went viral of Cramer in February speaking positively about the bank in a list of “The Biggest Winners of 2023… So Far.”

“The ninth-best performer here today is SVB financial. Don’t yawn,” he told his viewers on Feb. 8. “This company is a merchant bank with a deposit base that Wall Street has been mistakenly concerned about!”

CNBC’s Jim Cramer of “Mad Money” talking about Silicon Valley Bank.

SILICON VALLEY BANK SHUT DOWN BY REGULATORS

He suggested in the same clip that while the stock’s recovery, a 40% rally at the time, from last year may have been lackluster, “It is a good example why these bounce back moves might be far from over. These stocks still have more room to run, especially if you think they were driven down to artificially low levels.” 

Commentators across Twitter blasted Cramer for his ill-fated financial advice. 

One financial account tweeted the video, commenting, “One month ago, Jim Cramer urged investors to buy Silicon Valley Bank stock $SIVB. Today, the bank was closed by California regulators, making it the 2nd largest banking failure in US history.”

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/03/10/economy/february-jobs-report-final/index.html

Winnipeg adviser, 39, earning $410,000, works and plays hard
‘We just bought a cottage – our plan is to rent it out, tear it down and build our retirement property’

Globe & mail March 10, 2023

Name, age: Trevor, 39

Annual income: $410,000

Debt: $200,000 mortgage

Savings: $110,000 in savings; $100,000 in TFSA; $120,000 in RRSP; $300,000 in other investments

What he does: Financial adviser

Where he lives: Winnipeg

Top financial concern: “Our 10-year vision is semi-retirement at age 50, and full retirement at 60. We just bought a cottage – our plan is to rent it out, tear it down and build our retirement property.”

Trevor is living his best life in Winnipeg. A married financial adviser with a 10-year-old daughter, he puts in 70-hour work weeks. When he’s not working, he and his family travel to places such as Hawaii and the Dominican Republic, as well as Vancouver Island and Kenora, Ont. “We go on half a dozen trips at a minimum a year,” he says. “Because we are self-employed, we can control how little and how much we work.”

Thanks to his high income, Trevor still manages to save $152,000 a year, which he divides between his savings account, his TFSA and an RRSP. He also has $300,000 invested in non-registered accounts, banking on a stock market rebound from a recent decline. “I believe in history and the market always eventually recovers,” he says. “And I’m only 39.”

Recently, he and his wife upgraded their home, a bungalow on a third of an acre of land. He estimates the home’s value is now $675,000, up from $425,000 when they bought it 12 years ago. Trevor is also a car aficionado. He owns three luxury cars including a Porsche Macan Twin Turbo GTS, a Shelby GT and a brand new Corvette. “I do a lot of rural travel to see my clients,” he says.

In his spare time, Trevor likes to fish, often chartering a plane out of Kenora, or going ice fishing more locally. Given his busy work hours, he takes advantage of the comforts a high income can provide, employing a lawn-care service, a house cleaner and a tailor who comes to his office for suit fittings.

Trevor’s current plan is to retire early to Lake of the Woods. “Our 10-year vision is semi-retirement at age 50 and full retirement at 60,” he says. “We just bought a cottage – our plan is to rent it out, tear it down and build our retirement property.”

To fund this retirement, Trevor and his wife will sell their home in Winnipeg, as well as his investment practice. “The equity in my business is $3-million,” he says.

“We’re getting the right infrastructure in place,” he says. “We feel that with our savings strategy we can retire sooner than later.”

His typical monthly expenses:
Investment and savings: $12,500

$542 to TFSA. “It’s in a mix of ETFs, stocks, mutual funds and GICs.”

$833 to RRSP. “My RRSP is also in ETFs, stocks and mutual funds.”

$10,000 to non-registered accounts. “These investments are in equities; bank stocks, tech stocks, innovation mutual funds and a greenchip all-cap equity fund.”

$1,125 to life insurance. “I have a lot of policies, valued at $7.5-million.”

Household and transportation: $4,564.84

$700 to mortgage. “My mortgage is $200,000.”

$187.50 to property tax.

$83.33 to property insurance.

$91.67 on lawn care and yard maintenance. “I have someone who cuts the grass.”

$191.67 on house cleaner. “Our house cleaner comes every three weeks.”

$20 for house alarm.

$400 on gasoline. “We live outside the city.”

$417 on car insurance.

$1,700 on car financing.

$167 on car repairs.

$60 on cellphone.

$45 on Internet.

$10 on Netflix. “I watch almost no TV.”

$300 on pets. “I have a saltwater fish tank – it’s an expensive endeavour. I love it. We have someone who comes to clean the tank every two weeks or so.”

$41.67 on child care. “This is for babysitting our daughter.”

$150 for elder care. “This is for long-term care insurance for my parents.”

Food and drink: $875

$292 on groceries. “We primarily shop at the Co-op. We’ve also been known to use HelloFresh. My wife does a lot of the cooking.”

$583 on eating out. “We like the finer establishments. We have a membership to the Manitoba Club. I’m a meatarian, for sure. I like a dry-aged rib-eye.”

$0 on alcohol. “I don’t drink.”

Miscellaneous: $10,221.17

$5,000 on taxes.

$83 on hobbies. “I love fishing. We rent a cabin in Kenora – I’ll charter a guide. I also like ice fishing.”

$83 on courses. “We also like the MasterClass online courses, such as Gordon Ramsay teaching cooking, and Mindvalley – it’s meditation and untapping your true potential.”

$25 on dental.

$333 on clothing. “I wear a suit every day. A person from Harry Rosen comes to my office every quarter.”

$42 on haircuts and cosmetic procedures. “It’s for haircuts and pedis before trips.”

$125 on gifts.

$833 to charities. “The ones we contribute to primarily are the Dream Factory and Cancer Care Manitoba.”

$2,083 on vacations. “Last year I went to Nashville, Vancouver Island, Hawaii, Ottawa, Saskatchewan and Kenora, and we’re heading to the Dominican at the end of March.”

Total: $28,161

Fri Mar 10, 3:02PM CST

Today, shares of Enghouse Systems Ltd opened at $39.36 and closed at $32.77. It traded at a low of $32.23 to a high of $39.36.

The price dipped -24.72% from the previous day’s close of $43.53.

During the day across North America, the TSX Composite closed -1.28% at 20086.72, the S&P 500 closed -1.85% at 3918.32, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed -1.66% at 32254.86 and the Nasdaq Composite closed -2.05% at 11338.35.

Enghouse Systems Ltd has listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) under the ticker ENGH.

Trading volume was 540,603 on 3,486 total trades, with an average volume of 149,731 over 5 days.

Trading across the entire TSX saw 747 price advancers against 4,571 declines and 81 unchanged.

During the prior 52 weeks, ENGH.TO has traded as high as $44.59 (March 06,2023) and low as $23.96 (June 13,2022). Moreover, in the last 52 weeks, Enghouse Systems Ltd’s shares have shrunken -15.49 percent, while in 2023, they have reduced -7.17%.

It announced a 0.18 dividend on December 15/22, with an February 13/23 ex-date and February 28/23 pay day.

Following today’s trading, Enghouse Systems Ltd has a market capitalization of $2.41 billion on a float of 55,250 shares outstanding. Its annual EPS is $1.70.

Enghouse Systems Ltd is a TSX Software company headquartered in Markham, CAN.

Enghouse Systems Ltd’s average recommendation is “Moderate Buy” based on 3.00 analysts according to Zacks. Currently, there are 2 buy ratings and 1 hold ratings for the stock.

Monday March 13

(8:30 a.m. ET) Canada’s national balance sheet and financial flow accounts for Q4.

Earnings include: Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc.; Cardinal Energy Ltd.; Ivanhoe Mines Ltd.

Tuesday March 14

(8:30 a.m. ET) Canadian manufacturing sales for January. Estimate is a rise of 3.9 per cent with new orders up 4.5 per cent.

(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. CPI for February. The Street expects an increase of 0.4 per cent from January and 6.0 per cent year-over-year. In January, CPI rose 0.5% from the previous month.

Earnings include: Terrascend Corp.

==

Wednesday March 15

China industrial production, retail sales and fixed asset investment

(8:15 a.m. ET) Canadian housing starts for February. Estimate is an annualized rate rise of 2.2 per cent.

(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. PPI for February. Consensus is a rise of 0.3 per cent from January and up 5.4 per cent year-over-year.

(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. retail sales for February. The Street is forecasting a rise of 0.1 per cent from January.

(9 a.m. ET) Canadian existing home sales for February. Estimate is a year-over-year decline of 37.0 per cent with average prices falling 18.5 per cent.

(10 a.m. ET) U.S. NAHB Housing Market Index for March.

Earnings include: Badger Infrastructure Solutions Ltd.; Converge Technology Solutions Corp.; Fortuna Silver Mines Inc.; Franco-Nevada Corp.; Lennar Corp.; Nexus REIT; Savaria Corp.

==

Thursday March 16

Japan trade deficit, core machine orders and industrial production

ECB Monetary Policy meeting

(8:30 a.m. ET) Canadian wholesale trade sales for January. Estimate is an increase of 0.3 per cent from December.

(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. initial jobless claims for week of March. Estimate is 210,000, down 1,000 from the previous week.

(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. housing starts for February. Consensus is an annualized rate rise of 0.1 per cent.

(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. building permits for February. The Street expects an increase of 0.8 per cent on an annualized rate basis.

Earnings include: Adobe Systems Inc.; Centamin PLC; Dollar General Corp.; Canoe EIT Income Fund; Empire Company Ltd.; FedEx Corp.; North West Company Inc.; Power Corp. of Canada; Premium Brands Holdings Corp.

==

Friday March 17

Euro zone CPI

(8:30 a.m. ET) Canadian industrial product and raw materials price indexes for February. Estimates are month-over-month increases of 0.6 per cent and 0.5 per cent, respectively.

(9:15 a.m. ET) U.S. industrial production for February. The Street expects an increase of 0.5 per cent from January with capacity utilization rising 0.2 per cent to 78.5 per cent.

Earnings include: Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp.; Ballard Power Systems Inc.; Filo Mining Corp.; Lithium Americas Corp.; Orla Mining Ltd.

Wall Street’s indexes and Canada’s TSX ended down more than 1% on Friday after investors ran for the exits as they feared for the health of U.S. banks after the failure of a high-profile lender to the technology sector, overshadowing February jobs reports.

California banking regulators said they closed SVB Financial Group to protect deposits in what was the largest bank failure since the financial crisis. A capital crisis at SVB had already put pressure on bank stocks globally.

SVB had tried but failed to shore up its balance sheet through a stock sale proposed late on Wednesday. The same day, crypto-lender Silvergate Capital said it would have to wind down after huge losses from the FTX cryptocurrency exchange collapse.

“There’s concern cracks may be appearing in the financial system as a result of the Federal Reserve’s aggressive rate hikes,” said Carol Schleif, chief investment officer, BMO family office in Minneapolis. “The fear is whether it’s broader than one industry’s bank and one segment of the economy.”

While many investors looked through their bank holdings for signs of risk, Schleif said much of the weakness in regional bank stocks stemmed from a “proverbial shoot first ask questions later situation.”

The KBW regional banking index ended the session down 2.4% while the S&P 500 financials index lost 1.8%.

Schleif and other investors said they hoped regulations added to the U.S. banking system since the 2008 financial crisis would prevent a similar catastrophe.

But still “people are very nervous because they don’t want a repeat,” she said.

In Toronto, the S&P/TSX composite index ended down 311.8 points, or 1.55%, at 19,774.92, its lowest closing level since Jan. 5.

For the week, the index was down 3.9%, its biggest weekly decline since September.

Financials, the most heavily-weighted sector on the TSX, fell 2.2%, including declines for the six major bank stocks.

Information technology lost 2.5%, while energy was down 1.3% even as U.S. crude oil futures settled 1.3% higher at $76.68 a barrel.

All ten major sectors ended lower.

The Canadian economy beat expectations by adding 21,800 jobs in February. But bond yields fell sharply as money markets nearly priced out any further rate hikes by the Bank of Canada this year. The turmoil in the banking sector played into that, as did some disinflationary signs contained in the U.S. jobs report.

By late afternoon, the U.S. 10-year bond was yielding 3.70%, down 22 basis points for the day. The Canada 5-year bond was yielding 3.22%, down 14 basis points and its lowest level in about a month.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 345.22 points, or 1.07%, to 31,909.64, the S&P 500 lost 56.73 points, or 1.45%, to 3,861.59 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 199.47 points, or 1.76%, to 11,138.89.

All 11 S&P 500 industry sectors lost ground. Real estate , down 3.3%, led declines while consumer staples the top performer, fell just 0.5%.

For the week, the S&P lost 4.6% in its biggest weekly percentage decline since September but was clinging to a tiny year-to-date gain of 0.6%. The Dow fell 4.4% for the week and was down more than 3% year-to-date while the Nasdaq declined 4.7% this week but was up more than 6% for 2023.

The Cboe Volatility Index, an options-based indicator that reflects demand for protection against stock market declines, closed at a 3-month high, up 2.19 points at 24.9 after touching a roughly five-month high during the session.

Investors had expected to end the week with most of their focus on economic data rather than banks.

Before the market opened, the closely monitored U.S. non-farm payrolls report showed the U.S. economy added more jobs than expected in February while average hourly earnings rose at a slower 0.2% last month after versus 0.3% in January while unemployment rose to 3.6%.

The data had eased some concerns that the Fed could raise rates by 50 basis points at its March meeting after hawkish remarks from Fed Chair Powell this week.

But investors were more focused on uncertainties around the bank system, said John Praveen, managing director & Co-CIO at Paleo Leon in Princeton, New Jersey.

“Whatever positive vibes came out of the labour market report were upstaged by negative vibes from the SVB situation,” Praveen said.

The S&P 500′s bank subsector closed down 0.5% with a boost from JPMorgan Chase, which closed up 2.5% and Wells Fargo , which closed up 0.6% while the rest of the index lost ground.

The biggest decliners were Silvergate cryto-bank peer Signature Bank, which tumbled 22.9% and regional bank First Republic, which finished down 14.8%.

In individual stocks, Gap Inc lost 6.3% after the apparel retailer posted a bigger-than-expected fourth-quarter loss and forecast full-year sales below Wall Street estimates.

Oracle Corp slid 3% after the software firm missed third-quarter revenue estimates.

In Toronto, shares of Enghouse Systems tumbled 24.7% after the company’s quarterly earnings missed estimates.

Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a 4.75-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 4.31-to-1 ratio favored decliners. The S&P 500 posted no new 52-week highs and 40 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 25 new highs and 493 new lows. On U.S. exchanges 15.17 billion shares changed hands, well above the 11.13 billion average for the last 20 sessions.