Enbridge Declares Quarterly Dividends
Enbridge Inc. (TSX:ENB.TO) (NYSE:ENB) (Enbridge or the Company) announced that its Board of Directors has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.860 per common share, payable on September 1, 2022 to shareholders of record on August 15, 2022. The amount of the dividend is consistent with the June 1, 2022 dividend.
Xi is expected to face major economic challenges when he enters an unprecedented third term
President Xi Jinping will need to confront China’s several major economic challenges after he secures a widely expected unprecedented third term in office, according to veteran investor David Roche.
Roche said Xi will very likely “sail through” his confirmation as China’s top party chief in the upcoming National Congress meeting, which sets the stage for him to secure another five-year term as the country’s leader.
There won’t be any “real resistance to him at senior levels of the communist party,,” he added at the Congress party meeting due to be held later this year.
“He faces a lot of challenges. Not only the external challenges of Taiwan, which is certainly not getting any closer to China, but he faces the economic challenges,” Roche, president and global strategist at Independent Strategy, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia” on Thursday.
China’s economy is slowing down with growth likely to settle around 3% to 4%, he said, adding it’s ″partly conditioned by the legacy problems of debt and bad assets and partly conditioned by demography and very poor productivity.”
China economy grew a weak 0.4% in the second quarter compared to a year ago, which brought growth for the first half of the year to 2.5% — making it difficult to reach the official full-year target of around 5.5%, according to analysts.
On Tuesday, the International Monetary Fund slashed its growth forecast for China. The fund expects the world’s second-largest economy to grow 3.3% in 2022 — its lowest clip in four decades, barring the initial fallout from the Covid-19 crisis in 2020.
Goldman Sachs has also cut its forecast for the MSCI China index due to a worsening slump in China’s property market. The investment bank slashed its earnings outlook for the index to zero growth for the year, down from 4% previously.
Roche said China’s economy is struggling with “enormous real estate problem and banking problems.”
If [Xi Jinping] is going to complete his term in office, he has to make real progress on … social peace. And I think it’s a big, big challenge.
David Roche
INDEPENDENT STRATEGY
“You’ve seen it in people trying to get their deposit back. You see it in people refusing to pay their mortgages, which is hitting at the very concept of common prosperity, which is [Xi’s] main ticket,” he added.
Xi initiated the concept of “common prosperity” last year, which is generally understood as moderate wealth for all, rather than just a few. But it remains a vague, frequently used slogan.
On Wednesday, China’s state broadcaster CCTV reported Xi made comments in a special two-day meeting in Beijing, in which he laid out his vision for “the next five years.”
Xi reportedly said the Communist Party of China’s congress meeting will offer “two-stage strategic plan for China’s drive to build a great modern socialist country in all respects, and will in particular lay out plans for the strategic missions and major measures in the next five years.”
“Xi called for efforts to focus on tackling unbalanced and inadequate development, and work on new ideas and measures to address problems,” the broadcaster said.
There is no doubt Xi will get confirmed, said Roche, “but if he is going to complete his term in office, he has to make real progress on … social peace. And I think it’s a big, big challenge.”
Oil prices rise on tight supply as attention turns to OPEC+ meeting
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/29/oil-prices-supply-opec-covid-russia-production.html
CANADIAN UTILITIES REPORTS SECOND QUARTER 2022 EARNINGS
CALGARY, AB, July 28, 2022 /CNW/ – Canadian Utilities Limited (TSX:CU.TO) (TSX:CU-X.TO)
Canadian Utilities Limited (Canadian Utilities or the Company) today announced second quarter 2022 adjusted earnings of $136 million ($0.51 per share), $21 million ($0.08 per share) higher compared to $115 million ($0.43 per share) in the second quarter of 2021.
ATCO REPORTS SECOND QUARTER 2022 EARNINGS
CALGARY, AB, July 28, 2022 /CNW/ – ATCO Ltd. (TSX:ACO-X.TO) (TSX:ACO-Y.TO)
ATCO Ltd. (ATCO or the Company) today announced second quarter 2022 adjusted earnings of $92 million ($0.81 per share), $12 million ($0.11 per share) higher compared to $80 million ($0.70 per share) in the second quarter of 2021.
ALTAGAS ANNOUNCES SECOND QUARTER 2022 RESULTS
Newswire.ca – Thu Jul 28, 5:00AM CDT
AltaGas Delivers Solid Second Quarter Results; Strategic Initiatives and Continued Execution of its Long-term Plan Drive Shareholder Value Creation
CALGARY, AB, July 28, 2022 /CNW/ – AltaGas Ltd. (“AltaGas” or the “Company”) (TSX:ALA.TO) today reported second quarter 2022 financial results and provided an update on the Company’s operations
TC Energy Second-Quarter Profit Down As It Reaches Milestone With Coastal GasLink LP
TC Energy Corp. posted a lower quarterly profit as its Coastal GasLink project reaches a “significant milestone.”
The Calgary-based energy producer says its net income attributable to shareholders was $889 million or 90 cents per diluted share in the second quarter, down from $975 million or $1 per share a year earlier.
The pipeline operator’s comparable earnings were $979 million or $1 per common share, down from $1.04 billion or $1.06 per share in the same period of 2021.
Revenue for the three months ended June 30 increased to $3.64 billion from $3.18 billion during the same quarter last year.
TC Energy’s president and CEO François Poirier says the pipeline company has reached a significant milestone with Coastal GasLink LP, signing revised agreements with LNG Canada that will allow the safe and timely execution of its largest LNG-linked project.
He says the 670-kilometre project is about 70 per cent complete, with mechanical in-service expected by the end of 2023.
“Together with LNG Canada, this project will provide the first direct path for Canadian natural gas to reach global LNG markets,” Poirier says.
“By leveraging our competitive strengths, we continue to develop solutions to move, generate and store the energy North America relies on in a secure and increasingly sustainable way.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 28, 2022.
Intact Financial Corporation Reports Q2-2022 Results
TORONTO, July 28, 2022 /CNW/ – (TSX:IFC.TO)
Highlights
Charles Brindamour, Chief Executive Officer, said:
“We delivered strong results in Q2-2022 with contribution from all segments. In the one year since the close of the RSA acquisition, we have achieved $175M in run-rate synergies and greatly strengthened our Canadian and specialty lines platforms. We remain optimistic about the growth opportunities across our business and particularly in specialty lines. We expect that our disciplined underwriting and deep claims expertise will continue to be assets in navigating inflation pressures, climate change and evolving driving patterns.”Read more at newswire.ca
Cenovus Posts Massive Upswing In Profit As Second-Quarter Net Earnings Reach $2.4B
Cenovus Energy Inc. recorded a massive upswing in profit in its latest quarter amid increased commodity prices and higher margins.
The Calgary-based oil producer had net earnings of $2.4 billion in the second quarter, or $1.23 per basic share, compared with $224 million or 11 cents per share a year earlier.
Revenue for the three months ended June 30 was $19.2 billion, up from $10.58 billion in the second quarter of 2021.
Total production reached 761,500 barrels of oil equivalent per day, down from 765,900 boe/d in the prior year period.
Alex Pourbaix, Cenovus president and CEO, says the company executed on its commitment of returning 50 per cent of excess free funds flow to shareholders in the quarter.
He says the oil producer also maintained strong operational and financial performance during a period of significant planned turnarounds and maintenance.
“We’re well positioned for even better performance in the second half of the year as our assets return to operating at normal rates across the portfolio,” Pourbaix said in a statement Thursday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 28, 2022.