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Noah Zivitz

Managing Editor, BNN Bloomberg

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Canada’s largest banks have gone four-for-four in smashing second-quarter profit expectations. The common denominator is a dramatically improved view of the credit landscape as Royal Bank of Canada and TD Bank Group today unveiled outright reversals of cash that had been set aside for loans they previously feared could go bad. CIBC, meanwhile, provisioned just $32 million. But there’s more to the story than credit; namely, capital levels are ballooning, with TD appearing to be the standout as its key ratio reached 14.2 per cent in Q2. Paul Bagnell is digging into all the details that matter most. Stay tuned for his reporting throughout the day. And we’re looking forward to speaking with TD CEO Bharat Masrani tomorrow afternoon.

TSX INCHING TOWARD 20,000 POINTS

The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed at another record yesterday, and enters today’s session 255 points away from the big, round number of 20,000. Hard to believe that just over a year ago, the TSX was sitting at around 11,000 points.

CRTC WHOLESALE BROADBAND RULING, TAKE TWO

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission will take another stab today at one of its more contentious decisions in recent memory. This afternoon, the regulator will release the outcome of its review into the uproar over a 2019 ruling on wholesale broadband rates that not only slashed the prices that incumbent service providers can charge upstart challengers, but also did so retroactively -- prompting outrage from some of the country's largest telcos (including BCE, which owns BNN Bloomberg through its Bell Media division) who took their fight all the way to the government.

IN CONVERSATION WITH JOE LIEBERMAN

We’re looking forward to speaking with the former U.S. senator, who landed on our radar yesterday when our Bloomberg partners reported on his warnings almost a decade ago about cyber-vulnerabilities facing American infrastructure. Unfortunately, the alarm bells he sounded fell on deaf ears, leaving him to say it was a “lost opportunity” that could have spared Colonial Pipeline from the debilitating hack it suffered this month. Don’t miss him on Bloomberg Markets at 1:30 p.m. 

OTHER NOTABLE STORIES

  • We’ll watch for developments after our Bloomberg News partners reported BHP is in talks with Nutrien about a potential partnership to advance the multi-billion-dollar Jansen potash project in Saskatchewan. What a reversal this would be for Nutrien’s predecessor company Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan, whose former leadership made a habit of questioning the viability of Jansen.
  • Stelco Holdings will be on our radar today after it disclosed that its top shareholder is selling 5.8 million shares in a bought-deal priced at $33 apiece.
  • Best Buy shares rallied in pre-market trading after the electronics retailer reported a 38 per cent surge in first-quarter U.S. same-store sales amid what CEO Corie Barry called "extraordinarily high" demand for technology products.
  • General Motors apparently has found a workaround for the global semiconductor shortage roiling the auto industry, with a spokesperson telling our Bloomberg partners that GM will restart production at a handful of plants (including one in Ontario) that had been idled.

NOTABLE RELEASES/EVENTS

  • Notable data: U.S. GDP (Q1), U.S. durable goods orders, U.S. initial jobless claims
  • Notable earnings: Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Royal Bank of Canada, Toronto-Dominion Bank, Salesforce.com, Costco, Best Buy, Gap
  • 9 a.m. ET: Parliamentary Budget Officer releases report "Impact Assessment of Budget 2021 Measures"
  • 10:45 a.m.: Enbridge CEO Al Monaco addresses Scotiabank conference
  • 11 a.m. (approx.): Brookfield Asset Management Vice-Chair Mark Carney addresses House Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology hearing on the economic recovery from COVID-19
  • 11 a.m.: U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen addresses U.S. House Appropriations Committee
  • 12 P.M.: U.S. House Financial Services Committee holds hearing "Holding Megabanks Accountable: An Update on Banking Practices, Programs and Policies"
  • 12:45 p.m.: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Natural Resources Minister Seamus O’Regan hold media avail
  • 2:20 p.m.: U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the economy in Cleveland
  • 4 p.m.: Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission releases decision on review of wholesale high-speed broadband access rates
  • 4 p.m.: Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland addresses Senate Standing Committee on National Finance