Here are five things you need to know this morning
An easing on Chinese tariffs on canola, peas and seafood may be coming
International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu says more relief from Beijing’s tariffs that remain on Canadian canola, peas and seafood will be on the negotiating table when he meets with his Chinese counterpart in the fall.
The meeting will likely take place in November in Shenzhen, GD., the site of this year’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit (APEC) hosted by China. Earlier this year, Prime Minister Mark Carney was able to secure lower tariffs on agriculture and food products, in exchange for slashing Canadian duties on Chinese EVs and allowing an annual quota of 49,000 electric vehicles into the domestic market.
While the EV deal lasts five years with quotas increasing annually reaching 73,000 vehicles by 2030, the reduction of duties on canola products only lasts until the end of 2026. Sidhu says the government wants to “present certainty to our farmers,” and that he will be sitting down with his Chinese counterpart and his deputy minister to discuss the issue. The minister made the remarks during a 15-minute interview with CTV News in Tokyo, where Sidhu is hosting a Team Canada Trade Mission to Japan.
Sidhu was asked if the Chinese wanted more access for their EVs, in exchange for better terms for Canadian canola. “I would say that’s a conversation that I’m not going to probably have through the media,” he said. “But I mean, we’re going to continue to have conversations with the Chinese on what more we can do economically together.”
Micron rising on stellar forecast
Micron Technology Inc., the largest U.S. maker of computer memory chips, surged in premarket trading after its quarterly sales forecast crushed Wall Street estimates, signaling that an AI-fueled growth run remains strong. Revenue will be approximately $50 billion in the fiscal fourth quarter, which runs through August, the company said in a statement Wednesday. Analysts estimated $43.2 billion on average.
Excluding some items, profit will be about $31 a share, compared with a projection of $25.31. Micron also has secured 16 strategic customer agreements, which average three years in length. That suggests the company can mitigate the boom-and-bust cycles that have plagued the memory chip industry, said Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Jake Silverman.
“This should sustain upward pricing revisions through at least 2027, albeit at a decelerating pace,” he said in a note. “The agreements can also reduce pricing volatility as supply catches up to demand by around 2029, we calculate.” Micron shares climbed about 17 per cent in early trading before markets in New York opened Thursday. They had already more than tripled this year, outpacing all other major U.S. chip stocks.
BlackBerry shares were up on the news it lifted its fiscal 2027 outlook on higher first-quarter results, driven by embedded-software growth and expanding opportunities with artificial intelligence.
BlackBerry, whose name was once synonymous with the early smartphone era, sees growing opportunities in its general embedded management platform, which helps run AI-enabled industrial and robotic systems as companies look to bring AI into machinery. Investors have increasingly focused on the technology’s potential as a new growth avenue beyond BlackBerry’s core automotive software business, a trend that has helped drive the stock to more than double since the start of the year.
BlackBerry now sees fiscal 2027 revenue of $594 million to $621 million, higher than its previous forecast of $584 million to $611 million. The increase comes partly from higher QNX revenue targets, now at $295 million to $312 million, up from $290 million to $307 million previously, but still in line with analyst guidance of $301.1 million, according to FactSet. On an adjusted basis, which strips out exceptional items and one-off costs, earnings came to 4 cents a share, ahead of both its own guidance range of 2 cents to 3 cents, and analyst expectations of 3 cents a share, according to FactSet.
Revenue rose 26 per cent to $152.9 million, topping its own guidance range of $132 million to $140 million and analyst expectations of $137.2 million.
Jamieson Wellness may be going private
Jamieson Wellness Inc., the Canadian vitamins and supplements maker, is working with Bank of Montreal and Canaccord Genuity Group Inc. to explore a sale. The Toronto-based company has begun reaching out to prospective bidders, including private equity firms and corporate suitors, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified discussing confidential information.
Jamieson confirmed it has started a process with its bankers by issuing a statement late Wednesday following a Bloomberg News report. The company said it’s received an unsolicited proposal, and there’s no assurance any talks will result in a deal. “If it does not, the Board of Directors remains committed to, and confident in, its current strategic plan.”
Jamieson rose 0.3 per cent to C$36.39 in Toronto trading Wednesday, giving the company a market value of about C$1.5 billion ($1.1 billion). Jamieson sells vitamins, minerals and supplements under its namesake brand as well as youtheory, Progressive and Smart Solutions. The company reported first-quarter revenue growth of more than 16 per cent year over year. Representatives for BMO and Canaccord declined to comment.
Oil prices slipped back to levels seen before the Iran war as tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz picked up and a wave of supply trapped inside the Persian Gulf for months started flowing again. The most actively traded Brent futures contract, which expires in July, fell 1.3 per cent to $72.88 a barrel in midmorning European trading on Thursday, while the U.S. oil gauge West Texas Intermediate was down 1.2 per cent to $69.44 a barrel. Both benchmarks have fallen nearly 30 per cent so far this month.
“The market is likely extrapolating the swift, thus far, recovery of Mideast supply and already pricing expected future surpluses,” analysts at Goldman Sachs said. The reopening of the key waterway and a U.S. waiver on Iranian oil sales following an interim deal between Washington and Tehran marked a significant turning point for Gulf crude markets. Transits of Middle Eastern crude via Hormuz have risen to about 4.9 million barrels a day so far in June, according to data provider Kpler.
That remains well below the 2025 average of roughly 13 million barrels a day, but marks a clear rebound from the depressed levels seen during the war. The pickup in transit reflects both an increase in vessel crossings through the waterway and a greater share of ships turning their tracking signals back on.
