Here are five things you need to know this morning
Retail sales rise - but it’s all at gas stations: Canadian retail sales continue to rise, but surging gasoline prices appear to be increasingly eating into household budgets. An advance estimate from Statistics Canada suggests receipts for retailers rose 0.6 per cent in April, following a 0.9 per cent increase the previous month. In March, sales were up in four of nine sectors, led by a 12.4 per cent increase at gasoline stations and fuel vendors. Excluding gas, retail sales dropped 0.2 per cent.
CRTC raises Canadian content rules for streamers: Canada’s media regulator has unveiled new rules requiring streaming platforms to devote a larger share of their Canadian revenues to domestic and indigenous programming. Under the CRTC’s new framework, online streaming services will be required to direct 15 per cent of their Canadian revenue toward supporting Canadian content. Traditional broadcasters will see their minimum spending requirements lowered to 25 per cent. The new framework comes three years after Ottawa passed the Online Streaming Act, requiring the CRTC to impose spending requirements on streamers. However, those requirements are currently under appeal. As well, U.S. trade officials have voiced their opposition to the regulations.
New Fed chair to be sworn in: Kevin Warsh is set to be sworn into office today in a White House ceremony as the 17th chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve. Warsh takes over at a tense moment for the economy and the central bank. Inflation has reaccelerated, driven by the impact of war in the Middle East on energy supplies. The Fed, meanwhile, has been battered by U.S. President Donald Trump for not cutting interest rates quickly enough.
Tim’s ramping up expansion: Tim Hortons is ramping up its Canadian expansion plans, with parent company Restaurant Brands International aiming to open 80 new restaurants and renovate another 400 locations by the end of the year. The company says population growth and expanding suburban communities have created room for additional stores. The company and its franchisees are expected to invest a combined $400 million into the new openings and renovations. The move comes as U.S. chain Dunkin’ prepares to open “hundreds” of locations in Canada.
The AI all-stars: After a historic run for AI stocks, have investors missed the trade? BNN Bloomberg contributor Jon Erlichman spoke with Wedbush’s Dan Ives, one of Wall Street’s loudest AI bulls, about why he thinks we are still in the early innings and the nine-stock lineup he would build to play it.
