Noah Zivitz

Managing Editor, BNN Bloomberg

Archive

Canadian employers more than doubled hiring expectations last month. Statistics Canada says 54,700 jobs were created in December; the median estimate was for a gain of 25,000. And on the surface, the quality of job creation looks great, as 122,500 full-time positions were added, while the economy shed 67,700 part-time jobs. There was one clear disappointment within the high-level headlines, as hourly wages rose 2.7 per cent year-over-year, trailing expectations by half of a percentage point. Meanwhile, there was a significant disappointment on the other side of the border, where non-farm payrolls rose by 199,000. Economists were expecting 450,000.

MARKET WATCH

For a second straight day, we’ve seen West Texas Intermediate crude trade above US$80 per barrel this morning. And as Tara has been pointing out, North American natural gas prices are also enjoying a healthy rally this week amid some extreme cold in pockets of the continent. That bodes well for the S&P/TSX Composite Index, which was powered to a higher close yesterday thanks to the energy group – including Cenovus Energy, which contributed almost six points to the index and, as our Bloomberg News partner Geoff Morgan astutely pointed out, finally (and briefly) retraced all the lost ground that investors have suffered through since the 2017 deal with ConocoPhillips.

NEW YEAR, SAME OLD POT WOES

We ended last week by reporting on what was a truly awful year for investors holding shares in the major licensed cannabis producers. It’s more of the same in the early days of 2022, with all three of the big names under water so far this year. And so we’ve got David George-Cosh hard at work on a lookahead to what’s in store and the opportunity/risk for those who are prepared to bet on a recovery. 

ANOTHER INDUSTRIAL CASUALTY OF KAZAKH TURMOIL

We’ve largely been focused on the perceived risk to uranium supply this week when looking to the protests in Kazakhstan. BNN Bloomberg Producer Ian Vandaelle reminded a few of us this morning of another side to the story that’s much more than perception: Bitcoin mining. Kazakhstan is a major hub of crypto activity, accounting for 18 per cent of the global hashrate, according to the most recent data from the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index. And earlier this week, internet service was shut off in the country. Nevertheless, Bitcoin is now into a third straight day of selling pressure that’s pushed it to the lowest level since September.

OTHER NOTABLE STORIES

• What’s not to like when a Reddit-favourite meme stock reportedly stakes out ground not just in cryptocurrencies, but also non-fungible tokens? Apparently nothing, with GameStop shares surging in pre-market trading after The Wall Street Journal reported on the video game retailer’s plans to enter the admittedly “much-hyped areas.”
• A standout quick quip from BMO’s Robert Kavcic in a quick blast to clients on the latest Toronto housing data that we reported on yesterday: “This market needs tighter monetary policy to break the psychology. It needed it a year ago, or 30 per cent ago,” he wrote, referring to the benchmark price growth.
• Lululemon announced it is poaching an executive from Amazon’s Twitch business to run its Mirror virtual fitness unit. Michael Aragon will assume his new responsibilities in 10 days.

NOTABLE RELEASES/EVENTS

• Notable data: Canadian labour force survey, U.S. non-farm payrolls
• 1045: U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the jobs report at the White House
• 1100: Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos, Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc, and government officials deliver update on COVID-19