Here are five things you need to know this morning
Oil keeps rising, stocks keep falling: Stocks are trading lower across the world as oil prices keep rising amid widening disruptions to crude transport operations in the Middle East. S&P 500 futures and European equities moved modestly lower. An index of Asian shares was 1.2 per cent lower. Brent crude briefly jumped back above $100 a barrel as Iraq suspended oil terminal activity following an attack on two tankers. Oman temporarily evacuated a key export hub, while Iran escalated attacks on Dubai.
Ottawa asks energy companies to release reserves: Ottawa has asked Canadian energy companies to release some of their reserves to support the International Energy Agency’s plan to inject 400 million barrels of oil into the market. The federal government is also in talks with oil sands producers to explore near‑term opportunities to boost output.
U.S. starts new process to replace tariffs: The U.S. government has opened a new trade investigation into manufacturing in foreign countries, as it seeks new methods to legally apply tariffs. The Trump administration has made it clear that they’re seeking to replace the hundreds of billions of dollars in lost revenues after the Supreme Court’s February ruling by using different laws to establish new tariffs. In this case, the administration is starting investigations under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which could eventually lead to new import taxes.
Algoma takes $364.7M Q4 loss: Shares of Algoma Steel traded down in the pre‑market after the company missed revenue estimates and reported a wider loss in the fourth quarter. The Sault St. Marie Ontario steelmaker says tariffs weighed heavily on results, noting it paid more than 60 million dollars in direct tariff costs during the quarter. Tariffs have been pressuring the company since they were first announced, with Algoma saying in December that it would eliminate roughly 1,000 jobs.
Writedown sends Empire to quarterly loss: Canadian grocery company, Empire, posted a loss of more than 380 million dollars in its latest quarter. The loss was driven by a one‑time expense tied to shutting down its voilà delivery facilities in Alberta, and pausing online expansion in Vancouver. Despite the writedown, the company still managed to slightly beat third‑quarter sales estimates.
