Author: Consultant

Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government rolled out a plan to address food security and affordability as the high cost of groceries continues to be a major pain point for Canadian consumers.

The strategy released Thursday earmarks $3.2 billion over 10 years to increase competition in the grocery sector, process more food domestically and grow the country’s capacity to produce fruits and vegetables year-round. The plan includes new spending as well as redirected funds.

It also marks another example of Carney’s ongoing effort to concentrate essential supply chains in Canada rather than having them cross the southern border, insulating Canadian consumers from the whims of the Trump administration and its tariff policies.

“A country that can’t feed itself or fuel itself or defend itself isn’t truly sovereign. It’s vulnerable to global shocks. It’s vulnerable to supply chain disruptions. It’s vulnerable to tariffs,” Carney said in a news conference on Thursday. “So to protect our sovereignty and truly take control of our future, we have to take control of our food system.”

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has hammered the Liberal governments of both Justin Trudeau and Carney over rising food prices, while the left-leaning New Democratic Party has been calling for public grocery stores and a crackdown on surveillance pricing.

Grocery prices in April were up 3.8 per cent from a year ago and 31 per cent higher than in April 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic first began.

Read MoreCarney’s strategy includes a $1 billion agri-food project finance fund to help small and medium-sized food processors expand, in an effort to process more food closer to where it’s grown in Canada.

“We grow things here, sell them to other countries who process them, then buy them back as final products,” the government said in its strategy outline. “This means higher prices for Canadians while creating jobs elsewhere.”

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It also earmarks $1 billion for food infrastructure, including food terminals and hubs, which the government says it will help independent grocers compete and give consumers the opportunity to buy directly from wholesalers and farmers.

The government says it also wants to reduce the country’s dependence on imported crops, setting aside $750 million for controlled environment agriculture to increase year-round production of fruits and vegetables in Canada.

Building on its recent pledge to tackle surveillance pricing, the Carney government says it will modernize the law to ensure Canadians’ personal information is used “responsibly and transparently.”

The government has set out key performance indicators for its plan, including beginning the construction of two new food terminals by the end of 2028 and increasing the proportion of local food sales by small and mid-sized producers by 25 per cent by 2030.

It also wants the country’s competition watchdog — which will see it funding grow — to increase the number of investigations it opens per year by 10 per cent, “resulting in close to $450 million per year in consumer savings,” the government said in the document.

— With assistance from Mario Baker Ramirez.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/video/2026/06/12/pm-mark-carney-arrives-in-paris-ahead-of-g7-summit-heres-what-to-expect-from-his-trip

Billionaire hedge fund CEO and owner Ken Griffin is making good on his promise to “double down” on Miami after publicly feuding with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani over New York’s new tax on expensive second homes.

Griffin, who runs hedge fund Citadel, plans to add a 300-unit apartment building and a 1,400+ space parking garage to the site of Citadel’s future headquarters in Miami’s financial district Brickell, recent filings show.

Citadel also acquired every unit in a 22-story condominium tower across the street from the Brickell building with plans to demolish it to expand the Miami campus.

“We are focusing this part of our development at 1201 Brickell solely on commercial office space. Miami is open for business, and the unparalleled quality of our development will drive the tenancy of leading global firms, including Citadel and Citadel Securities,” a Citadel spokesperson told FOX Business.

The Miami push follows a protracted feud between Griffin and Mamdani, stemming from a video Mamdani made specifically targeting Griffin’s Park Avenue penthouse in an explainer for his new city tax on expensive second homes. 

“When I ran for mayor, I said I was going to tax the rich. Well, today we’re taxing the rich… This is an annual fee on luxury properties worth more than $5 million whose owners do not live full-time in the city — like this penthouse, which hedge fund CEO Ken Griffin bought for $238 million,” Mamdani said in his April 15 video while standing in front of Griffin’s penthouse. 

Griffin responded, calling the personal attack “creepy and weird,” worrying that it put him in harm’s way and demonstrated “a profound lack of judgment,” on Mamdani’s part. 

Griffin’s Citadel executives then suggested that a new Citadel office space in Midtown could become a casualty of Mamdani’s not-so-business-friendly policies.

“We are about to commence the redevelopment of 350 Park Avenue, creating 6,000 highly paid construction jobs and supporting the creation of more than 15,000 permanent jobs in Midtown New York,” Citadel COO Gerald Beeson wrote in an April 23 memo to employees. 

“The project – if we move forward – will entail more than $6 billion dollars of spending,” he also wrote.

Mamdani eventually softened his rhetoric, thanking Griffin for his contributions to the city.

Citadel already moved its headquarters from Chicago to Miami in 2022, and the Brickell acquisitions further grow the hedge fund’s South Florida footprint.

Budget-conscious Canadian shoppers pushed sales and profits higher for Dollarama Inc. DOL-T -1.04%decrease in its first quarter – but signs that consumers are struggling amid an affordability crisis are keeping executives cautious.

“Following years of inflation, consumers continue to face more inflation and rising costs, including on fuel and everyday goods,” Dollarama chief financial officer Patrick Bui told analysts on Thursday, during a conference call to discuss the results. “While this reinforces the importance of affordability and value in purchasing decisions, overall consumer confidence appears to be weakening.”

Despite the cautious commentary, Canada’s largest discount retailer has experienced continued strength in its home market, benefiting from consumers who continue to monitor their budgets closely and choose discount stores for everyday purchases.

Dollarama reported on Thursday that its same-store sales – an important metric for retailers that tracks sales growth excluding the boost from new store openings – grew by 5.6 per cent in the first quarter, which ended May 3. That blew past analysts’ expectations of 3.6-per-cent growth, according to average estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ.

Dollarama’s stock price rose by nearly 9 per cent as of midday Thursday after the results were shared.

“Looking ahead, we expect our strong value positioning to continue resonating with consumers as they remain mindful of their spending,” president and chief executive officer Neil Rossy said on Thursday’s call.

The Montreal-based retailer is keeping its previous forecasts for sales growth this fiscal year unchanged. Dollarama expects same-store sales growth to slow slightly, increasing between 3 and 4 per cent compared with last year.

The first-quarter results also beat analysts’ expectations on a number of metrics, including total sales, net earnings and gross profit margins.

Dollarama’s sales jumped to $1.85-billion in the first quarter, a 21.4-per-cent increase compared with the same period last year.

As shoppers have been turning to off-price stores for everything from cleaning products to pet supplies and toys, Dollarama has also been expanding its store network in Canada – contributing to the revenue increase.

The company opened 28 net new locations in Canada during the quarter, reaching a total of 1,719 stores as of May 3. (The net figure accounts for both store openings and closings during the period.)

And the discount business is thriving not only in Canada. Latin America-based retailer Dollarcity, in which Dollarama holds a majority stake, reported a 30-per-cent jump in sales in the first quarter. The Canadian company’s share of Dollarcity’s net earnings was $51.2-million, even as the latter’s expansion in Mexico weighed on profits slightly.

Overall, Dollarama’s net earnings grew to $302.3-million or $1.11 in diluted earnings per share in the quarter, compared with $273.8-million or 98 cents per share in the same period last year.

SpaceX jumped over 20% in its Nasdaq debut on Friday, lifting its valuation to more than US$2 trillion as ​investors piled into the world’s largest IPO and bet on Elon Musk’s ‌sprawling empire spanning rockets to AI.

The stock opened for trading at US$150, compared with the IPO price of US$135 per share. It was last trading at US$164, making it the sixth largest U.S. company by market value.

The deal was being closely scrutinized because of the stakes for the IPO market, which some bankers said could face ⁠difficulties if SpaceX ​shares closed below Thursday’s pricing level.

The company’s market debut is widely viewed as a dress rehearsal for a new generation of mega-listings, with market participants watching for signals on investor appetite ahead of forthcoming IPOs for AI heavyweights Anthropic and OpenAI.

The stock’s performance will be a test for the so-called “Musk premium,” which has been the force behind Tesla’s $1 trillion-plus valuation, despite coming under pressure during Musk’s active role in President ​Donald Trump’s administration.

The landmark listing cemented Musk’s status as the first trillionaire ever and propelled ‌SpaceX into the ranks of the world’s most valuable companies – even though the firm posted a loss of nearly $5 billion last year and generated only a fraction of the revenue brought in by similarly valued tech giants.

“I gave SpaceX a 10% chance of succeeding at all,” Musk said in Texas, shortly before the opening bell.

SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell and Chief Financial Officer Bret Johnsen rang the Nasdaq opening bell at 9:30 a.m. ET (1330 GMT).

The record IPO is a culmination of ‌Musk’s long-held ambitions ​in space and technology, and has stood out ‌for rewriting Wall Street’s IPO playbook and drawing legions of retail investors into the market.

At $75 billion, the deal’s proceeds were more than double those ​of Saudi Aramco’s record-setting 2019 IPO.

The valuation could rise further should underwriters exercise their ⁠right to sell additional shares, a decision typically made within 30 days after the offering.

Although SpaceX may have to wait ⁠for entry into the S&P 500, its expected fast-track inclusion in the Nasdaq 100 will soon make it a major holding for passive funds and ETFs that track the index, ​creating a fresh source of demand for its shares.

“We have to go back 100 years to get comparable entrepreneurs. He’s a visionary unlike others, and he executes extremely well,” said Joel Shulman, CEO of ERShares, which manages an ETF that has an exposure to SpaceX.

It will take about a month before it gets added to that index under Nasdaq’s new fast-entry rules, as opposed to a typical wait of as much as a year.

Some analysts expect SpaceX’s debut to trigger a reshuffling of ⁠investor portfolios, creating selling pressure on other technology heavyweights as funds rotate into the stock.

For all the excitement surrounding the IPO, determining what SpaceX is actually worth remains a difficult valuation exercise.

SpaceX said its market opportunity spans $28.5 trillion, a figure it called the largest in human history. With its leading position in space – the firm says its operation is responsible for more than four-fifths of the mass launched into orbit over the past three years – and revenues from Starlink, some investors said it has a strong foundation upon which to build.

John Belton, portfolio manager ⁠at Gabelli Funds, said the best comparable to SpaceX is Musk’s electric vehicle company Tesla, ​as each has an established business and “a moonshot opportunity on the other side.”

“For Tesla, that’s things like humanoid robotics and other future applications. For SpaceX, it’s ⁠the AI business,” he said.

The hurdles at its enormous valuation include efforts by rivals such as Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin to accelerate the commercialization of space and pursue government contracts in a ‌bid to unlock new markets beyond Earth.

With revenue of US$18.7 billion in 2025, the company’s market cap puts its price-to-revenue ratio at a lofty 94. Some analysts ​have already issued positive ratings on the company. Morningstar analysts earlier this month said it is more fairly valued at around $780 billion.

“This is not a name you’re buying based on fundamentals. For me, the analogy is Amazon. This was a company that changed the way we live,” said Nancy Tengler, CEO and CIO of Laffer Tengler Investments. “If the stock drops to $100, that’s not ideal, but it wouldn’t ​change our long-term view. We want to participate.”

FirstService Corporation (TSX and NASDAQ: FSV) (“FirstService”) today announced that its subsidiary, Roofing Corp of America (“RCA”), has acquired Schefers Roofing (“Schefers”). The existing management team has retained a minority equity interest and will continue to oversee the day-to-day operations of the business. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri and founded in 1995, Schefers is a full-service commercial roofing contractor providing installation, restoration, preventative maintenance and leak repair services. The Company serves customers throughout Missouri, Northern Arkansas and the surrounding regions.

“The addition of Schefers expands RCA’s geographic footprint into the Kansas City market and further strengthens our presence in the Midwest U.S. region,” said Randy Korach, CEO of RCA. “We are pleased to add a highly respected market leader to our growing commercial roofing platform and welcome the entire Schefers team to our organization.

ABOUT FIRSTSERVICE CORPORATION

FirstService Corporation is a North American leader in the property services sector, serving its customers through two industry-leading service platforms: FirstService Residential, North America’s largest manager of residential communities; and FirstService Brands, one of North America’s largest providers of essential property services delivered through individually branded company-owned operations and franchise systems.

FirstService generates more than $5.5 billion in annual revenues and has approximately 30,000 employees across North America. With significant insider ownership and an experienced management team, FirstService has a long-term track record of creating value and superior returns for shareholders. The Common Shares of FirstService trade on the NASDAQ and the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol “FSV”, and are included in the S&P/TSX 60 Index. More information is available at www.firstservice.com.

• Oil prices initially jumped on Thursday after the U.S. launched a fresh round of military strikes against targets in Iran.
• Kuwait closed its airspace and Israel warned of launches from Lebanon.

Oil prices rose slightly Thursday after President Donald Trump threatend to take Iran’s Kharg Island and assume total control of the country’s oil and gas markets.

U.S. crude oil futures rose 0.72% to $90.68 per barrel by 8:32 a.m. ET. Brent futures, the international benchmark, were up 0.48% to $93.56.

Trump said the U.S. would hit Iran very hard Thursday night after completing a round of airstrikes Wednesday against its surveillance capabilities, communication systems and air defense sites.

The president threatened to take Iran’s Kharg Island, the country’s main oil export terminal, “at some point in the not too distant future.” The U.S. will seize “total control” of Iran’s oil and gas markets like Washington did in Venezuela, Trump said in a Truth Social post.

Trump has escalated military pressure on Iran this week as he has grown frustrated with Tehran for not agreeing to a deal to open the Strait of Hormuz and abandon its nuclear program. He accused the Islamic Republic of shooting down an Apache helicopter in Hormuz earlier this week.

Oil prices jumped earlier Thursday as U.S. launched its latest round of strikes against Iran. Prices then briefly turned negative after U.S. Central Command said it had completed the strikes, raising hopes among investors that the situation might not escalate further.

Iran’s state-run Tasnim news agency said Tehran had struck several U.S. military facilities in Kuwait and Bahrain, including Ali Salem and Ahmad al-Jaber air bases in Kuwait and Sheikh Issa air base in Bahrain. Bahraini authorities said their air defense systems had intercepted and destroyed Iranian aerial threats.

Iranian state media said Tehran had carried out missile and drone attacks against U.S. vessels operating in the Strait of Hormuz. Kuwait shut its airspace and intercepted projectiles on Thursday, while Israel warned of launches from Lebanon toward communities in the country’s north.

Despite a fresh escalation in the U.S.-Iran conflict, Rystad Energy said Thursday that the oil market was better-positioned to absorb disruptions than in past crises, citing record U.S. crude exports, softer Chinese demand and alternative export routes that reduce reliance on the Strait of Hormuz. 

The consultancy’s senior vice president Jorge Leon, however, warned that the chances of a near-term diplomatic breakthrough have diminished, leaving oil prices vulnerable to sharp swings as investors assess whether the latest hostilities will remain contained or evolve into a more prolonged conflict.

• The producer price index increased a seasonally adjusted 1.1% in May, putting the 12-month wholesale inflation rate at 6.5%, the highest since November 2022.
• Excluding food and energy, the so-called core PPI accelerated 0.4%, compared with the consensus view of 0.5%, indicating that rising fuel prices are causing much of the inflationary burden.

Wholesale prices rose more than expected in May, indicating that pipeline inflationary pressures are percolating higher, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Thursday.

The producer price index, a measure of final demand costs, increased a seasonally adjusted 1.1% on the month, putting the 12-month wholesale inflation rate at 6.5%. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for a monthly move of 0.7%.

The annual headline inflation rate was the highest since November 2022. The monthly gain matched the April increase.

However, excluding food and energy, the so-called core PPI accelerated 0.4%, compared with the consensus view of 0.5%, indicating that rising fuel prices are causing much of the inflationary burden.

Taking out food, energy and trade services, the PPI accelerated 0.8%, the biggest one-month move since March 2022. On a 12-month basis, the core excluding trade services rose 5.1%, the most since October 2022.

Most of the acceleration in the PPI — nearly 80% — came from a 2.8% surge in final demand goods prices, the biggest increase ever in a data series going back to December 2009. In turn, 80% of that rise came from a 10.7% jump in energy. Gasoline prices rose 23.4% at the wholesale level, the BLS said.

Another significant contributor, on the services side, came from portfolio management fees, which increased 4.8% during a strong May for the stock market.

The report comes a day after the BLS reported that headline consumer price inflation surged to 4.2% in May, boosted largely by a surge in energy prices due to the Iran war. However, monthly readings indicated a less severe shock, with core prices rising just 0.2%, putting the 12-month reading at 2.9%.

Still, the current state of inflation is likely to keep the Federal Reserve on the sidelines for the foreseeable future. The central bank’s Federal Open Market Committee releases its next interest rate decision Wednesday, and market pricing is indicating a near 100% probability of a hold.

Beyond that, traders are pricing in no chance of a cut through the year and a better than 60% probability that the next move will be a hike, likely coming in December.

Earlier in the day, the European Central Bank voted to raise benchmark rates by a quarter percentage point in an effort to head off the inflation surge. Few if any Fed officials have expressed an interest in similar tightening, instead advocating a patient approach to see whether the energy supply shock wears off and inflation heads back to the U.S. central bank’s 2% target.

• 
  Gold hit its lowest level of 2026 and is down 6.3% this week alone.
• Expectations that the Federal Reserve will keep rates higher for longer are weighing on bullion.
• Investors are pulling back from the “debasement trade” in gold and bitcoin, JPMorgan says.

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/06/11/gold-slumps-to-6-month-low-even-as-inflation-fears-rise-heres-why-bullion-is-out-of-favor.html