Nov 21, 2017
BNN's Daily Chase: TransCanada vows review of KXL; RBC deemed too big to fail
By Noah Zivitz
The ball is in TransCanada’s court after a Nebraska panel voted 3-2 to green-light the company’s mainline alternative route for Keystone XL. “We will conduct a careful review of the Public Service Commission’s ruling while assessing how the decision would impact the cost and schedule of the project,” CEO Russ Girling said in a statement yesterday afternoon. Jameson will have details on the factors TransCanada will weigh before committing to build the project, and look deeper into the company’s $24-billion portfolio of near-term spending plans. We’ll also get insight from former TransCanada CEO Hal Kvisle at 8:20 a.m. ET, and lead KXL opponent Jane Kleeb joins us at 10:40 a.m. ET.
TOO BIG TO FAIL
Royal Bank of Canada has been added to the Financial Stability Board’s list of global systemically important banks (G-SIBs). While it’s being lumped into the basket of lenders requiring the lowest additional capital buffer (1.0 per cent), it’s a symbolic moment for Canada’s biggest bank. RBC said in a statement the “designation reflects the size and scale of [its] global operations”, and that it already meets the surplus capital requirement. We’ll chase reaction.
BUSINESS HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2018
The Canadian Business Hall of Fame has announced its next round of inductees: BCE CEO George Cope, Porter Airlines CEO Robert Deluce, Investissement Quebec Chair Monique Leroux, and Goldcorp Chairman Ian Telfer. We’ll speak with all four members today. Watch for those interviews to be rolled out starting this afternoon.
A CALL TO REFORM EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
The Institute for Governance of Private and Public Organizations is calling on Canadian boards of directors to rethink the way they set executive compensation. Among the recommendations, the think tank says comp shouldn't be determined basis on a peer analysis and options shouldn't be granted. It also wants institutional investment funds to become more "active" in this process. We'll speak with Yvan Allaire from the Institute for Governance at 10:30 a.m. ET.
U.S. TRIES TO BLOCK AT&T-TIME WARNER TAKEOVER
The U.S. Justice Department announced a lawsuit late yesterday to block AT&T’s US$85-billion takeover of Time Warner, warning the deal would hurt competition and drive up prices. “This merger would greatly harm American consumers,” Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim said in a press release. Interesting. BNN spoke with Delrahim before he was appointed to his current Justice gig. This is what he told us on Oct. 24, 2016: “I don’t see this as a major antitrust problem.” See that interview here.
OTHER NOTABLE STORIES:
-Zachary George's FrontFour Capital disclosed in a regulatory filing it has a 5.4 per cent stake in Obsidian Energy, and that it believes the stock is undervalued -- while leaving the door open to talks with management and other shareholders.
-It was back to business in the House of Commons yesterday, and Finance Minister Bill Morneau couldn’t shake the conflict allegations over his ties to Bill C-27. We’ve got Kevin Gallagher’s report for CTV News on how the issue was flagged for Ethics Commissioner Mary Dawson months before she launched an examination.
-Concordia International says the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority has filed a formal Statement of Objections over the pricing of liothyronine from late 2007 to mid-2017 (which, in part, predates Concordia’s ownership of the thyroid drug). Concordia also said it’s still talking with creditors about “realigning its capital structure.”
-A new CIBC poll shows 79 per cent of Canadians aged 35-54 worry they won’t have enough savings to retire when they want to call it quits.
NOTABLE RELEASES/EVENTS
-Notable earnings: George Weston, Lowe's, HP
-Notable data: Canadian wholesale trade, U.S. existing home sales
-10:00 a.m. ET: Parliamentary Budget Officer releases report on Fall economic statement
-~1000 a.m. ET: Auditor General tables fall report (plus news conference at 11:00 a.m. ET)
-12:00 p.m. ET: Rachel Notley delivers speech at Economic Club in Ottawa
-12:00 p.m. ET: Cabinet members scrum in House foyer
-3:30 p.m. ET: Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor and Parliamentary Secretary Bill Blair make announcement in House Foyer regarding the regulation of cannabis (plus media avail, and technical briefing at 4:15 p.m. ET)
-6:00 p.m. ET: U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen in conversation with former Bank of England Governor Mervyn King in New York
-Fifth round of NAFTA renegotiations end in Mexico City
Every morning BNN's Managing Editor Noah Zivitz writes a ‘chase note’ to BNN's editorial staff listing the stories and events that will be in the spotlight that day. Have it delivered to your inbox before the trading day begins by heading to www.bnn.ca/subscribe.
