Here are five things you need to know this morning
Carney and Smith set to announce carbon price deal: Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith will meet today in Calgary, where they’re expected to reveal a plan for Alberta to raise its emission price to $130 per tonne by 2040. This move comes after Alberta froze its industrial carbon emission price at $95 per tonne last year. This move also works to fulfill a pledge between Alberta and Ottawa in November that included a carbon price plan, in order to build a pipeline to the west coast.
Trump wraps up China visit: U.S. President Donald Trump says a lot of problems with China were settled, and called his relationship with Chinese leader Xi Jinping “a strong one.” The comments come as Trump concludes his trip to China, where he had hoped to get Beijing’s help to convince Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz. Chinese president Xi sought to get the U.S. to agree with China’s stance against Taiwan. Although no concrete deals were etched on either side, the two leaders walked away on stable terms.
Interfor sales drop: Sales in the latest quarter at Interfor missed analyst expectations, as weaker lumber markets continue to pressure the forestry sector. Revenue fell 13 per cent. The Vancouver-based lumber producer also saw a wider quarterly loss. Interfor says they expect continued volatility in North American lumber markets as the economy continues to adjust to changing monetary policies, tariffs, oil price instability and geopolitical uncertainty.
Manufacturing sales rise: Canadian manufacturing sales rose three per cent month over month to $73.6 billion in March, according to Statistics Canada. Excluding autos, sales rose 2.4 per cent. Petroleum and coal products were the biggest contributor to the upside, while the machinery industry was the weakest performer.
The barbell portfolio: How do you build a portfolio that works no matter what kind of mood the market is in? BNN Bloomberg contributor Jon Erlichman spoke to investing veteran Jay Hatfield about a “barbell” approach designed to do exactly that.
