Author: Consultant

CGI Inc.GIB-A-T +0.13%increase is appointing Julie Godin as the company’s new executive chairperson, confirming the board believes the businesswoman is now ready to steer the Canadian IT and business consulting giant after a 15-year tenure.

Ms. Godin takes over from her father, CGI founder Serge Godin, who will stay on the board as co-chair and focus on large-scale acquisitions and engagements with customers, the Montreal-based company said in a statement Wednesday. The leadership change is set to take effect after CGI’s annual shareholders meeting Wednesday morning.

“Over the years, Julie has mastered every dimension of our business and industry as the portfolio of her responsibilities incrementally expanded across our operations,” Mr. Godin said in a statement. He said the nomination is the result of a rigorous and measured succession approach designed over the course of nearly two decades.

Mr. Godin, CGI’s controlling shareholder, was executive chairman for 19 years after he stepped aside as chief executive in 2006. The company’s daily operation is now led by CEO François Boulanger.

Julie Godin started at CGI in July 2009 as vice-president of human resources and organizational development, taking on increasingly senior leadership roles over the years. Her most recent role was executive vice-president of strategic planning and corporate development.

CGI has grown through acquisitions and announced another transaction Wednesday. The company struck a deal to buy BJSS, a U.K.-based technology and engineering consultancy.

No financial details were disclosed but CGI said more than 2,400 BJSS employees will join its ranks. Desjardins Capital Markets analyst Jerome Dubreuil said the deal is CGI’s largest takeover since mid-2022, and estimates it will contribute about 3 per cent to CGI’s revenue.

“After the recent introduction of the dividend, the acceleration of M&A addresses another key pushback from investors,” Mr. Dubreuil said in a research note. “We are encouraged by this trend given CGI’s strong balance sheet position and potential for accelerated growth.”

The news developments came as CGI reported first-quarter earnings of $438.6-million, up from $389.8-million a year ago. On a diluted per share basis, the profit was $1.92, up from $1.67 in the same period the year before. Revenue climbed to $3.8-billion.

Adjusted earnings before interest and taxes was $612-million, slightly short of analyst estimates. Margins were strongest in the operating regions of Asia Pacific, Canada, and U.K. and Australia, the company said.

CGI booked $4.2-billion worth of new business during the quarter, according to the earnings report. Its backlog at the end of December stood at $29.8-billion at the end of the quarter.

The Bank of Canada cut its benchmark interest rate by a quarter-percentage-point on Wednesday and warned that the resilience of Canada’s economy “would be tested” if a trade war breaks out with the United States.

As widely expected, the central bank lowered its policy rate to 3 per cent from 3.25 per cent, its sixth consecutive cut. It also announced the end of quantitative tightening (QT) – a years-long push to shrink the size of its balance sheet after its early pandemic bond-buying spree.

With inflation largely under control, the bank has been easing borrowing costs since last summer, and policy makers had been expecting economic growth to pick-up steam. The threat of U.S. tariffs, however, has thrown a major curveball at the Canadian economy and the central bank.

“A long-lasting and broad-based trade conflict would badly hurt economic activity in Canada. At the same time, the higher cost of imported goods will put direct upward pressure on inflation,” Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem said, according to the prepared text of his press conference opening remarks.

U.S. president Donald Trump has threatened to put a 25-per-cent tariff on all Canadian imports, perhaps as early as this Saturday, Feb. 1. He has also tasked his administration with developing a series of trade measures aimed at shrinking the U.S. trade deficit with Canada and other countries by April 1.

“Unfortunately, tariffs mean economies simply work less efficiently – we produce and earn less than without tariffs. Monetary policy cannot offset this. What we can do is help the economy adjust,” Mr. Macklem said.

Given the uncertainty around Mr. Trump’s threats, the Bank of Canada did not incorporate tariffs into the central forecast in its quarterly Monetary Policy Report, published Wednesday. It did, however, model the potential impact of a major trade war.

If the United States imposes a 25 per cent tariff on all imports and its trading partners retaliate in kind, that would have a significant negative impact on Canadian gross domestic product while also increasing inflation.

In the bank’s “benchmark” tariff scenario, Canadian GDP would be 2.4 percentage points lower than with no tariffs in the first year, and 1.5 percentage points lower in the second year. Inflation would be 0.1 percentage points higher in the first year and 0.5 percentage points higher in the second year.

The bank also published alternative tariff scenarios, based on different assumptions about how households and businesses might respond to the shock, where GDP growth could be as much as 3 percentage points lower in the first year, and inflation could be as much as 0.8 percentage points higher.

The scenarios are not forecasts. But they highlight the challenging trade-offs tariffs pose for monetary policy.

“With a single instrument – our policy interest rate – we can’t lean against weaker output and higher inflation at the same time,” Mr. Macklem said in his opening statement. “As we consider our monetary policy response, we will need to carefully assess the downward pressure on inflation from the weakness of the economy, and weigh that against the upward pressure on inflation from higher input prices and supply chain disruptions.”

Leaving aside the threat of tariffs, the bank’s latest forecast shows inflation remaining close to the bank’s 2-per-cent target over the next two years.

Meanwhile, its forecast for GDP growth was downgraded slightly. It now sees 1.8 per cent GDP growth in 2025 and 1.8 per cent in 2026, down from 2.1 per cent and 2.3 per cent in its October forecast.

The GDP growth downgrade was largely driven by lower population growth estimates, following the federal government’s recent immigration caps. After growing 2.3 per cent in the second half of 2024, the bank now expects annual population growth to decline to 0.5 per cent by the second quarter of 2025 and remain at that level over the next two years.

The bank’s intention to end QT was signalled in a speech earlier this month, although the timeline the bank outlined on Wednesday is faster than many market participants expected. The bank has been shrinking the size of its balance sheet over the past two years by letting the billions of dollars worth of bonds it purchased during the COVID-19 pandemic mature without replacing them.

The bank will now start purchasing financial assets again starting in early March, with the goal of stabilizing the size of its balance sheet and letting it grow “modestly” in line with the economy.

On Wednesday afternoon, the U.S. Federal Reserve will deliver its latest interest rate decision. The U.S. central bank is widely expected to hold its benchmark rate steady at a range of 4.25 per cent to 4.5 per cent, marking a pause after several rate cuts last year.

That would put more distance between Canadian and American interest rates, which could put downward pressure on the already weak Canadian dollar, which has been trading near a four-year low of just under 70 U.S. cents.

In its MPR, the Bank of Canada cast some doubt on how much its divergence with the Fed is responsible for the depreciation of the loonie in recent months. It said that most of the weakness is tied to the “foreign exchange rate risk premium” which has risen due to the threat of U.S. tariffs.

Mr. Macklem and Senior Deputy Governor Carolyn Rogers will hold a press conference at 10:30 am, ET.

Metro Inc. MRU-T -3.59%decrease reported a 4-per-cent increase in profits in the first quarter, and boosted the dividend paid to shareholders, as the grocery retailer emerges from a “transition year” and says it plans to return to growth.

On Tuesday, the Montreal-based grocer reported adjusted net earnings of $245.4-million or $1.10 per share, compared to $235-million or $1.02 per share in the same period the prior year. The numbers were adjusted to account for the favourable resolution of a tax position in prior years, which negatively affected this year’s earnings, as well as other items. On an unadjusted basis, net earnings grew to $259.5-million in the quarter ended Dec. 21, 2024, compared to $228.5-million in the prior year.

Metro executives had said fiscal 2024 would be an unusual year, as the company invested more than usual in upgrades to its supply chain, weighing on profits. The spending included transitions to new distribution centres with greater automation in both Quebec and Ontario last year. According to Metro, this has resulted in greater efficiency in its operations and improved service to its stores.

Executives have previously said that they expected earnings growth to resume in fiscal 2025. On Tuesday, the company provided an outlook saying that profit growth should “gradually resume” this year, and reiterated a previously disclosed target for the medium and long term, of 8 to 10 per cent growth in adjusted net earnings per share annually.

On Tuesday, Metro announced it had increased its dividend by 10.4 per cent, to 37 cents per share.

First-quarter revenue grew by 2.9 per cent compared to the same quarter the prior year, to $5.1-billion.

Same-store sales – an important industry metric, which tracks sales growth not tied to new store openings – rose by 1 per cent at the company’s grocery stores, and 5.1 per cent at its pharmacies, including the Jean Coutu drugstore chain. Pharmacy sales included a 7.3-per-cent increase in prescription drugs and a 0.5-per-cent increase in sales in the front of the store.

The sales results were affected by a shift in the calendar, as Metro’s first quarter the previous year ended on Dec. 23 rather than the 21st. That meant this quarter’s results included two fewer days of the busy pre-Christmas shopping period compared to the year before. Adjusting for this shift, same-store sales grew by 2.4 per cent at the grocery stores, and pharmacy front-store sales were up 1.9 per cent, the company reported.

Online grocery sales grew by 18.6 per cent compared to the previous year.

METRO REPORTS 2025 FIRST QUARTER RESULTS

Monday January 27

China industrial profits and PMI

Germany business sentiment

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

(10 a.m. ET) U.S. new home sales for December. The Street expects an annualized rate rise of 0.9 per cent.

Earnings include: AT&T Inc.; Nucor Corp.

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Tuesday January 28

China’s markets closed (through Friday)

Japan machine tool orders

(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. durable and core orders for December. The consensus estimates are month-over-month increases of 0.8 per cent and 0.2 per cent, respectively.

(9 a.m. ET) U.S. S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Index (20 city) for November. Consensus is a rise of 0.3 per cent from October and 4.3 per cent year-over-year.

(9 a.m. ET) U.S. FHFA House Price Index for November. The Street expects an increase of 0.3 per cent from October an up 4.2 per cent year-over-year.

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

Earnings include: Boeing Co.; General Motors Co.; Metro Inc.; Royal Caribbean Cruise Ltd.; Starbucks Corp.; Stryker Corp.

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Wednesday January 29

Japan consumer confidence

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

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

(9:45 a.m. ET) Bank of Canada policy announcement and monetary policy report with press conference to follow at 10:30 a.m.

(2 p.m. ET) U.S. Fed announcement with chair Jerome Powell’s press briefing to follow.

Earnings include: ADP; Alibaba ADR; ASML ADR; Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd.; Caterpillar Inc.; CGI Inc.; IBM; Meta Platforms Inc.; Methanex Corp.; Microsoft Corp.; Norfolk Southern Corp.; Qualcomm Inc.; Tesla Inc.

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Thursday January 30

Euro zone GDP, economic and consumer confidence and jobless rate

ECB monetary policy meeting

(8:30 a.m. ET) Canada’s payroll survey for November.

(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. real GDP and GDP price index for Q4. The Street is expecting annualized rate increases of 2.6 per cent and 2.5 per cent, respectively.

(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. initial jobless claims for week of Jan. 25. Estimate is 218,000, down, 5,000 from the previous week.

(10 a.m. ET) U.S. pending home sales for December. Consensus is a month-over-month decline of 1.0 per cent.

Earnings include: Altria Group; Amazon; Apple Inc.; Blackstone Inc.; Brookfield Infrastructure Partners LP; Canada Goose Holdings Inc.; Canadian National Railway Co.; Champion Iron Ltd.; Comcast Corp.; Mastercard Inc.; Rogers Communications Inc.; Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.; United Parcel Service Inc.; Visa Inc.

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Friday January 31

Japan jobless rate, retail sales and industrial production

ECB’s three-year CPI expectations

Germany retail sales, CPI and unemployment

(8:30 a.m. ET) Canada’s monthly real GDP for November. Consensus is a drop of 0.1 per cent from October.

(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. personal spending and income for January. The Street is projecting month-over-month increases of 0.5 per cent and 0.4 per cent, respectively.

(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. core PCE price index for December. Consensus is a rise of 0.2 per cent from November and up 2.8 per cent year-over-year.

(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. employment cost index for Q4. The Street is estimating an increase of 1.0 per cent from Q3 and up 4.0 per cent year-over-year.

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

Also: Ottawa’s budget balance for November.

Earnings include: AbbVie Inc.; Brookfield Business Partners LP; Brookfield Renewable Partners LP; Chevron Corp.; Colgate-Palmolive Co.; Exxon Mobil Corp.; Imperial Oil Ltd.;

Baystreet.ca – Mon Jan 20

One top Canadian dividend stock that has been picking up steam of late is pipeline giant Enbridge (TSX:ENB)(NYSE:ENB). Known for its high-yielding payout and overall consistency, investors have become more bullish on it of late in the hopes that a new Republican government in the U.S. could result in friendlier relations between Canada and the U.S. with respect to oil and gas.

The stock currently yields around 6%, and that’s down from where it was months earlier. In six months, shares of Enbridge have risen by 30%, pushing it to a new 52-week high last week. Despite the risk of tariffs in the U.S., investors remain bullish on the business. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has met with Donald Trump in a face-to-face meeting as there remains some hope that tariffs may be avoided. However, it remains a risk for many Canadian stocks as the new U.S. president takes over.

Enbridge has generally been a fairly stable company to invest in due to its long-term contracts and the important role its pipelines play in the oil and gas industry. And that can be why many investors aren’t overly concerned for now as a Republican government typically enacts favorable oil and gas policies.

But given the uncertainty ahead, investors may want to hold off on investing in Enbridge for the time being given its hot rally of late and the stock trading at a new high. Although Enbridge is a good long-term investment and can be a great income stock to hold on to, its price may drop lower as its valuation is a bit elevated right now and bad news relating to tariffs could lead to a selloff, at least in the short term.

The U.S. Federal Reserve said Friday that it is leaving an international grouping of central banks that focused on how regulation of the financial system could help combat climate change. The Fed’s membership has been criticized by Republicans in Congress.

In a short statement, the Fed said it had “appreciated” working with the Network of Central Banks and Supervisors for Greening the Financial System. But it added that the organization “has increasingly broadened in scope, covering a wider range of issues that are outside of the Board’s statutory mandate.”

The move is another example of the central bank, which is intended to be independent of politics, taking steps that could insulate it from criticism from the incoming Trump administration. Earlier this month, Michael Barr, who headed up the Fed’s financial regulatory efforts and was fiercely opposed by large banks, said he would step down at the end of this month as vice chair for financial supervision. He remains on the Fed’s governing board.

Stephen Miran, whom President-elect Donald Trump has named as a top White House economic adviser, co-authored a paper last year at the Manhattan Institute that criticized the Fed’s consideration of climate change in bank regulation as “mission creep.”

The Fed said it would join the NGFS in December 2020, after President Joe Biden was elected, and was one of the last major central banks to do so. Over 140 central banks and financial regulatory agencies around the world are members.

Participating in the network “is the least that the Fed can do to address climate-related financial risk, and now it’s not even doing that,” said Jeremy Kress, a professor at the University of Michigan’s Ross business school that focuses on bank regulation. “Backing away from that is concerning.”

Five of the Fed’s seven governors voted in favor of leaving the network, including Chair Jerome Powell. Governors Michael Barr and Adriana Kugler abstained.

Four of Canada’s big banks have quit a global alliance of financial institutions set up to meet climate goals, joining a rush of lenders to do so.

Bank of Montreal, National Bank of Canada, Toronto-Dominion Bank and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce have left the Net-Zero Banking Alliance, following the largest U.S. banks, which bailed on the organization in recent weeks against a backdrop of legal and antitrust worries.

The NZBA members aim for financed emissions reduction targets for 2030, using scenarios that adhere to a long-term global temperature rise of 1.5 degrees above preindustrial levels.

In a statement on Friday, BMO spokesman Jeff Roman said that despite its exit from the NZBA, the bank is still committed to meeting its climate targets and helping clients with their decarbonization goals. But he didn’t give a reason for its departure from the group.

“We have robust internal capabilities to implement relevant international standards, supporting our climate strategy and meeting regulatory requirements,” Mr. Roman said.

National Bank said it decided to streamline how it reports on plans and progress in light of its mandatory disclosure requirements. The bank will still work with companies “including large emitters and renewable energy providers, to promote impactful decarbonization strategies,” Debby Cordeiro, senior vice-president, communication, public affairs and ESG, said in a statement.

CIBC noted the alliance was set up at a time when the banking industry was scaling up its climate efforts. “As this space has evolved and matured, and having made significant progress alongside our clients in these areas, we are now well-positioned to further this work outside of the formal structure of the NZBA,” spokesman Tom Wallis said.

TD said it will advance its strategy and advise its clients “as they adapt their businesses and seize new opportunities.”

The exodus raises questions about the alliance’s future as an organization designed to marshal massive funds needed for the shift to low-carbon economies. On Monday, its sister organization, the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative, suspended operations after the departure of its largest member, BlackRock Inc. That group said it would assess if it “remains fit for purpose in the new global context.”

That includes pushback against environmental, social and governance programs that has intensified with the political shift to the right. With Donald Trump returning to the White House on Monday, companies fear the risks of emphasizing sustainability as Republicans leaders at the state level have sought to ban such measures. Many have cancelled such programs in recent months.

As of Friday, Royal Bank of Canada and Bank of Nova Scotia were still listed as NZBA members.

At a conference last week, BMO chief executive officer Darryl White and RBC CEO Dave McKay questioned whether membership in the global alliance was still the best way for institutions to undertake climate-related action. “If our countries have an objective to get to a certain point, we will be part of that, and therefore pulling out of NZBA hypothetically doesn’t lead to non-commitment to net-zero climate change,” Mr. McKay told the audience.

RBC had no further comment on Friday. The other Canadian institutions were not immediately available to comment on their commitments to the alliance.

U.S. banks JP Morgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc., Wells Fargo & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. have quit the NZBA since early December. Each hassaid its decision did not mean it was abandoning its net-zero goals or efforts to help clients meet their emission-reduction targets.

The sector-specific alliances exist under an umbrella called Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero, which was unveiled with fanfare at the United Nations climate summit in 2021 amid excitement over the potential for the might of the finance industry being brought to bear on climate action.

Former Bank of Canada and Bank of England governor – and now federal Liberal leadership hopeful – Mark Carney, and Michael Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg L.P. and former mayor of New York were co-chairs. Mr. Carney resigned that post this week as he announced his bid to become prime minister.

The Canadian automaking industry warns incoming U.S. president Donald Trump’s plan to impose tariffs of 25 per cent on all imports from Canada threatens to devastate the sector across the continent and drive up costs for car buyers.

Makers of cars and auto parts in Canada are bracing for Monday’s inauguration of Mr. Trump, who has vowed to slap tariffs on Canada and Mexico unless they shore up border security to stop the flow of migrants and illegal drugs. Canadian leaders have said they are planning retaliatory tariffs against Mr. Trump’s move, which could cost thousands of jobs and send the country into an economic recession.

Brian Kingston, president of the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association (CVMA), which represents the three Detroit-based car makers, calls the threat of U.S. tariffs “extremely problematic.”

For decades, governments in Canada, the United States and Mexico have crafted free-trade agreements that allowed the auto industry to become fully integrated across borders. This means car components can cross the border several times – tariff free – before an automobile rolls off the assembly line to be taken to a dealer’s lot anywhere in North America, also tariff free.

“It’s so integrated that there is no such thing as an American-built vehicle. There’s no such thing as a Canadian-built vehicle. There’s no such thing as a Mexican-built vehicle,” Mr. Kingston said. “We build vehicles together.”

Vehicles are Canada’s second-most valuable export, worth $51-billion in 2023. About 93 per cent are sent to the United States, the CVMA says. Canadian plants made 1.5 million passenger vehicles in 2023, and employed 128,000 people manufacturing autos and parts.

The Trump tariffs would drive up car prices for U.S. consumers, reducing demand and North American auto production and the ability to compete with China, which is “flooding” global markets with electric vehicles, Mr. Kingston said.

“This tariff is a tax. It’s a tax on consumers. It’s a tax on business. It is so significant that it makes it very challenging to be competitive in North America,” he said. “These tariffs are so high that it would make it very hard to operate not just in Canada and Mexico, but in the United States because you simply don’t have a U.S.-based supply chain for all of these inputs.”

Flavio Volpe, head of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association, agrees there are no alternative sources in the U.S. for many made-in-Canada auto parts, at least in the short term.

This will mean Stellantis’s Jeep factory in Ohio, which gets about 40 per cent of its parts from Canada, will quickly see input costs balloon with the new tariff, he said. Similarly, the Chrysler minivans made at Stellantis’s plant in Windsor and the Chevrolet pickup trucks made in Oshawa, Ont., will suddenly cost U.S. buyers 25 per cent more.

“It’s really hard to justify any long-term run of making those cars,” Mr. Volpe said. This is bad news for the constellation of parts makers that surround every auto assembly plant in Ontario and the U.S.

“It’s all hand in glove,” he said. “If I’m not making a car or if I’m making fewer cars, then I’m buying fewer seats or I’m buying no seats. And if you’re buying the seats from a factory in London, Ont., you do not have another seat factory ready to go in Kentucky.”

As the industry waits to see if Mr. Trump will follow through on his tariff threat, Canadian officials have been planning a list of U.S. goods on which to apply retaliatory tariffs.

This is a worry for Nova Bus, a Volvo Group-owned transit bus maker that employs 1,400 people near Montreal. The company’s plants are focused on Canada, says Christos Kritsidimas, vice-president of legal and public affairs, but rely on a global supply chain of parts to produce diesel, electric and hybrid buses. If these parts are hit by Canada’s retaliatory tariffs, the business will face higher costs.

“I can’t tell you how we would get impacted, but what we do know is that trade wars don’t benefit anyone,” Mr. Kritsidimas said.

Monday January 20

U.S. markets closed (Martin Luther King Jr. Day)

World Economic Forum in Davos (through Friday)

Japan core machine orders and industrial production

(8:30 a.m. ET) Canada’s construction investment for November.

(10:30 a.m. ET) Bank of Canada’s Business Outlook Survey and Survey of Consumer Expectations for Q4.

Also: U.S. presidential inauguration.

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Tuesday January 21

Germany ZEW Survey

U.K. employment

(8:30 a.m. ET) Canadian CPI for December. The Street expects a decline of 0.4 per cent from November but a rise of 1.8 per cent year-over-year.

Earnings include: Capital One Financial Corp.; Charles Schwab Corp.; Interactive Brokers Group Inc.; Netflix Inc.; Prologis Inc.; United Airlines Holdings Inc.; 3M Co.

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Wednesday January 22

(8:30 a.m. ET) Canada’s industrial product and raw materials price indexes for December. Estimates are month-over-month increases of 0.7 per cent and 0.5 per cent, respectively.

(10:00 a.m. ET) U.S. leading indicator for December.

(10:15 a.m. ET) ECB President Christine Lagarde participates in a panel on “Unlocking Europe’s Potential” in Davos.

Earnings include: Abbott Laboratories; AGF Management Ltd.; Halliburton Co.; Johnson & Johnson; Kinder Morgan Inc.; Procter & Gamble Co.; Progressive Corp.; ServiceNow Inc.

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Thursday January 23

Japan trade balance

Bank of Japan monetary meeting and outlook report (through Friday).

Euro zone consumer confidence

(8:30 a.m. ET) Canadian retail sales for November. The Street expects a rise of 0.4 per cent from November and 0.1 per cent year-over-year.

(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. initial jobless claims for week of Jan. 18. Estimate is 212,000, down 5,000 from the previous week.

Earnings include: American Airlines Group Inc.; CSX Corp.; GE Aerospace; Intuitive Surgical Inc.; NovaGold Resources Inc.; Texas Instruments Inc.; Union Pacific Corp.

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Friday January 24

Japan CPI and PMI

Euro zone PMI

(8:30 a.m. ET) Canadian labour force survey and revisions (1987-2024)

(8:30 a.m. ET) Canada’s manufacturing sales for December.

(8:30 a.m. ET) Canada’s new housing price index for December. Estimate is flat from November and up 0.2 per cent year-over-year.

(9:45 a.m. ET) U.S. S&P Global PMIs for January.

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

(10 a.m. ET) U.S. existing home sales for December.

Earnings include: American Express Co.; NextEra Energy Inc.; Verizon Communications Inc.