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Intact Financial Corporation reports Q4-2024 results

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• The CPI accelerated a seasonally adjusted 0.5% for the month, putting the annual inflation rate at 3%, both higher than expected. The core CPI ran at 0.4% and 3.3% respectively, also above forecast.
• Shelter costs continued to be a problem for inflation, rising 0.4% on the month. Food prices jumped 0.4% and energy prices climbed 1.1% as gasoline prices increased 1.8%.
• Markets largely expect the Fed to stay on hold for an extended time and pushed the next rate cut probability out to September following the CPI report.

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/02/12/cpi-january-2025.html

 Barrick Gold Corp. (GOLD) on Wednesday reported fourth-quarter earnings of $996 million.

The Toronto-based company said it had profit of 57 cents per share. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring gains, came to 46 cents per share.

The results exceeded Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of five analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 41 cents per share.

The gold and copper mining company posted revenue of $3.65 billion in the period.

For the year, the company reported profit of $2.14 billion, or $1.22 per share. Revenue was reported as $12.92 billion.

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This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on GOLD at https://www.zacks.com/ap/GOLD

Restaurant Brands International Inc. (“RBI”) (NYSE: QSR) (TSX: QSR) (TSX: QSP) today reported financial results for the full year and fourth quarter ended December 31, 2024. Josh Kobza, Chief Executive Officer of RBI commented, “I am proud of our performance this year, reflecting the strong foundations we’re building across our businesses and the dedication of our teams and franchisees who are executing the fundamentals of quality, service, and convenience with excellence. As we look ahead, we remain focused on thoughtful marketing, operational improvements, and modern image to enhance the guest experience, drive franchisee profitability, and deliver long-term growth for our brands and shareholders.” 

https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/restaurant-brands-international-inc-reports-full-year-and-fourth-quarter-2024-results-802289940.html

Shopify Inc. (SHOP) on Tuesday reported fourth-quarter earnings of $1.29 billion.

The Ottawa, Ontario-based company said it had net income of 99 cents per share. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring gains, came to 44 cents per share.

The results met Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of 16 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was also for earnings of 44 cents per share.

The cloud-based commerce company posted revenue of $2.81 billion in the period, topping Street forecasts. Sixteen analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $2.72 billion.

For the year, the company reported profit of $2.02 billion, or $1.55 per share. Revenue was reported as $8.88 billion.

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This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on SHOP at https://www.zacks.com/ap/SHOP

Toronto-Dominion Bank TD-T +0.83%increase is selling its stake in U.S.-based investment dealer Charles Schwab Corp. SCHW-N for about US$14-billion as the lender remediates its anti-money-laundering failings and rejigs its balance sheet to comply with restrictions set by U.S. regulators and the Department of Justice.

The sale is a major step in an extensive overhaul of TD’s U.S. business aimed at navigating an asset cap imposed by authorities last fall – a significant hurdle to the bank’s ambitions in its largest growth market. Newly minted TD chief executive officer Raymond Chun has been conducting a strategic review to turn around the bank as it invests in extensive remediation requirements to fix gaps in its compliance and risk procedures.

“As part of our strategic review, we have been evaluating capital allocation and have made the decision to exit our Schwab investment. We are very pleased with the strong return we are generating on the Schwab shares we acquired in 2020,” Mr. Chun said in a statement Monday. “We are confident in TD’s growth opportunities and long-term potential.”

In October, TD pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering after a lengthy investigation by U.S. authorities. Officials imposed several rare penalties, including a US$434-billion asset cap on the bank’s U.S. retail arm, limiting TD’s ability to grow that business. TD has been paring back its U.S. balance sheet to ensure it does not exceed the cap.

Mr. Chun previously told investors at a conference in January that the bank was considering several options, including selling its stake in Schwab. The Canadian bank already sold 40.5 million shares in Schwab last August to raise funds to cover fines connected to the U.S. anti-money-laundering investigation, lowering its previous 12.3-per-cent stake in the firm.

The CEO has said that “everything is on the table,” including selling portions of its jumbo mortgage and auto loan portfolios in the U.S. to shore up cash. Earlier this month, U.S.-based Bank of America Corp. agreed to buy a US$9-billion portfolio of residential mortgage loans from TD, according to a report by Bloomberg that cited confidential sources familiar with the matter.

TD is liquidating its entire equity investment in Schwab by selling 184.7 million shares of the company’s common stock, TD’s entire remaining 10.1-per-cent stake.

The sale is a step toward “rebuilding shareholder confidence,” according to CIBC analyst Paul Holden.

“Our conversations with investors made it clear that a sale of (Schwab) stock was a desirable outcome.” Mr. Holden said in a note to clients. “The fact that Raymond Chun is executing on the (Schwab) sale shortly after becoming CEO is a positive signal, in our view, that TD will be more shareholder-friendly than it was under the prior CEO.”

TD plans to use $8-billion of the proceeds to buy back its own stock and invest the remainder in its businesses to “drive performance and accelerate organic growth,” the bank said in a news release.

The lender intends to repurchase 100 million of its common shares, or about 5.7 per cent of its issued and outstanding common shares.

“In just under five years, this investment has generated a very strong return, and we believe this is the right time to reallocate the capital. We expect to generate considerable proceeds for TD – roughly US$14-billion or C$20-billion,” Mr. Chun said in an internal memo seen by The Globe and Mail.

“The actions and investments we announced today, along with our ongoing efforts to strengthen infrastructure and prioritize AML program enhancements, reflect our confidence in TD’s long-term potential.”

TD and Schwab will continue their previous deposit agreement, which allows the Canadian bank to manage cash and collect fees on some deposits.

Schwab has agreed to repurchase US$1.5-billion of its shares. TD Securities and Goldman Sachs are acting as joint book-running managers on the offering.

In a note to investors Sunday before TD announced its sale of its Schwab stake, National Bank analyst Gabriel Dechaine said while the move seems like a “no-brainer,” the deal would mean “disposing of an investment that has created tremendous value over the years” – and one that is expected to continue to grow its earnings contributions.

Monday February 10

China CPI, PPI, aggregate yuan financing and new yuan loans

Japan bank lending

(10:30 a.m. ET) Bank of Canada’s Market Participants Survey for Q4.

Earnings include: CT REIT; Lowes Corp.; McDonald’s Corp.; PrairieSky Royalty Ltd.

Tuesday February 11

Japanese markets closed

(6 a.m. ET) U.S. NFIB Small Business Economic Trends Survey for January.

(8:30 a.m. ET) Canada’s building permits for December. Estimate is a month-over-month rise of 2.0 per cent.

(10 a.m. ET) U.S. Fed chair Jerome Powell testifies before Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs.

Earnings include: Coca-Cola Co.; First Capital Realty Inc.; First Quantum Minerals Ltd.; Gilead Sciences Inc.; Intact Financial Corp.; International Petroleum Corp.; Marriott International Inc.; Shopify Inc.; S&P Global Inc.; Toromont Industries Ltd.

Wednesday February 12

Japan machine tool orders

(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. CPI (and revisions) for January. The Street is projecting a rise of 0.3 per cent from December and up 2.9 per cent year-over-year.

(10 a.m. ET) U.S. Fed chair Jerome Powell testifies to the House Financial Services Committee.

(1:30 p.m. ET) Bank of Canada’s summary of deliberations for the Jan. 29 decision.

(2 p.m. ET) U.S. budget balance for January.

Earnings include: Alibaba ADR; Barrick Gold Corp.; Cenovus Energy Inc.; Choice Properties REIT; Cisco Systems Inc.; H&R REIT; IA Financial Corp. Inc.; Kinross Gold Corp.; Restaurant Brands International Inc.; Robinhood Markets Inc.; Russel Metals Inc.; SmartCentres REIT; Sun Life Financial Inc.; Waste Connections Inc.; West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd.

Thursday February 13

ECB economic bulletin is released

Euro zone industrial production

Germany CPI

U.K. GDP, industrial production and trade deficit

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

(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. initial jobless claims for week of Feb. 8. Estimate is 216,000, down 3,000 from the previous week.

(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. PPI final demand (and revisions) for January. The Street is projecting a rise of 0.2 per cent from December and 3.0 per cent year-over-year.

Earnings include: Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd.; Airbnb Inc.; Applied Materials Inc.; Brookfield Corp.; CAP REIT; Canadian Tire Corp. Ltd.; Coinbase Global Inc.; Deere & Co.; Definity Financial Corp.; Dundee Precious Metals Inc.; Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd.; Goeasy Ltd.; Keyera Corp.; Telus Corp.

Friday February 14

Euro zone real GDP

(8:30 a.m. ET) Canada’s manufacturing sales and new orders for December. The Street is projecting month-over-month increases of 1.0 per cent and 1.1 per cent, respectively.

(8:30 a.m. ET) Canadian wholesale trade for December. Estimate is a month-over-month rise of 0.5 per cent.

(8:30 a.m. ET) Canadian new motor vehicle sales for December. Estimate is a year-over-year increase of 6.5 per cent.

(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. retail sales for January. The Street expects a flat reading month-over-month.

(8:30 a.m. ET) U.S. import prices for January. Consensus is a rise of 0.4 per cent from December an up 1.9 per cent year-over-year.

(9:15 a.m. ET) U.S. industrial production and capacity utilization for January.

(10 a.m. ET) U.S. business inventories for December. Consensus is a month-over-month gain of 0.1 per cent.

(10:30 a.m. ET) Bank of Canaa Senior Loan Officer Survey for Q4.

Earnings include: Air Canada; Enbridge Inc.; Fortis Inc.; Magna International Inc.; TC Energy Corp.

Oil prices rose on Friday after new sanctions were imposed on Iran’s crude exports but were on track for a third straight week of decline, hurt by U.S. President Donald Trump’s renewed trade war on China and threats of tariffs on other countries.

Brent crude futures were up 66 cents, or 0.89%, at $74.95 a barrel, but were poised to fall more than 2% this week. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 72 cents, or 1.02%, to $71.33 a barrel, down more than 1% on a weekly basis.

The U.S. Treasury said on Thursday it was imposing new sanctions on a few individuals and tankers helping to ship millions of barrels of Iranian crude oil per year to China, in an incremental move to increase pressure on Tehran.

“Trump has talked about maximum pressure (on Iran). The market takes that quite seriously,” said Michael Haigh, global head of commodities research at Societe Generale. The French bank projects that Iranian oil exports are set to halve.

“The imposition of tariffs and the pauses should be bullish for the oil market because it adds uncertainty. But you haven’t seen this response because of demand concerns. Tariffs and tit for tat responses from nations, it hurts global GDP … and oil demand,” Haigh added.

Trump had announced a 10% tariff on Chinese imports as part of a broad plan to improve the U.S. trade balance, but suspended plans to impose steep tariffs on Mexico and Canada.

“Downside pressure has stemmed from the news flow around tariffs, with concerns over a potential trade war fueling fears of weakening oil demand,” analysts at BMI said in a note on Friday.

Oil prices settled lower on Thursday after Trump repeated a pledge to raise U.S. oil production, unnerving traders a day after the country reported a much bigger-than-anticipated jump in crude stockpiles.

The benchmarks were also under pressure from swelling U.S. crude inventories, which rose sharply last week as demand softened on ongoing refinery maintenance.

Health care was a bright spot once again for the U.S. economy in January, even as overall job growth showed signs of slowing.

Data on job growth in different areas of the economy from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed health care and social assistance as the leading category, adding 66,000 jobs. Retail trade and government were also strong, adding more than 30,000 jobs apiece.

The gains in health care were broadly in line with the growth rates from 2024. The jump in retail jobs was more surprising, as that sector showed “little net change” last year, according to the bureau.

There were some pockets of weakness, with professional and business services losing 11,000 jobs. Employment in leisure and hospitality, one of the biggest areas of job growth after the Covid pandemic, also shrank slightly.

Overall, the net job growth of 143,000 was well below the upwardly revised growth of 307,000 in December. However, the unemployment rate fell and wage growth was strong, pointing to a solid and steady job market despite the lower headline number.

Looking at January, “what we see is a labor market that’s basically operating at full employment. And so I think the real question going forward is: Can we sustain full employment?” University of Michigan professor and former Department of Labor chief economist Betsey Stevenson said Friday