Noah Zivitz

Managing Editor, BNN Bloomberg

Archive

We’re a day away from the start of a bank earnings season that will demonstrate how Canada’s largest lenders fared as COVID-19 lockdown measures started being eased across the country. After colossal growth in provisions for loan loss provisions the last time the banks reported, those set-asides for bad loans are once again the main attraction heading into the fiscal third-quarter numbers. Credit Suisse’s Mike Rizvanovic is among the most recent analysts to publish a table-setter for the quarter, and he’s calling for a 38 per cent quarter-over-quarter drop in PCLs – with Scotia standing out at the lone bank seen reporting higher provisions.  

O'TOOLE ELECTED CPC LEADER

It took longer than expected, but Erin O'Toole has been elected leader of the Conservative Party of Canada. We'll dive into the platform that he campaigned on -- and which could serve as the basis for his message to all Canadians if the Liberals' minority government falls on the confidence vote that looms after the Sept. 23 speech from the throne. Among other notable pledges, O'Toole vowed to establish a plan to balance the budget "on a prudent timeline", end the Bills C-69 and C-48 that caused so much consternation for the energy industry, ban Huawei from Canada's 5G networks, and remove interprovincial trade barriers.

CEWS ADJUSTMENT

The finance department is extending the current treatment of furloughed employees under the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy for another four weeks. The result is that eligible employers whose revenue has been hammered by the pandemic will be able to claim up to $847 per week until Sept. 26 to keep affected employees on their payroll.
(EDITOR’S NOTE:  An earlier version of today’s Daily Chase incorrectly described the CEWS extension. We regret the error.)

LUMBER ON A TEAR

We’ll continue to keep an eye on lumber prices, which have posted 16 (!) straight days of gains on the CME en route to a 43 per cent rally since the end of July. Last week alone, we saw shares of Canfor and Interfor rise more than 10 per cent on the TSX. We’ll gather insight on how much higher the DIY home reno trend can carry the commodity.

OTHER NOTABLE STORIES

-Statistics Canada estimates manufacturing sales rose 8.7 per cent in July, which would mark a sharp deceleration from the 20.7 per cent growth logged in June.

-Northern Dynasty Minerals shares tumbled at the start of trading after Politico reported the Trump administration is “planning to block “ the company’s Pebble Mine in Alaska. In response, Northern Dynasty said it believes that report was “clearly in error, likely made by a rush to publish rather than doing the necessary diligence to track down the full story.” And in a clear sign of the regulatory unease surrounding the Pebble Mine molybdenum project, the Army Corp of Engineers today warned of “unavoidable adverse impacts to aquatic resources”.

-Unifor workers at 11 Dominion grocery stores in Newfoundland went on strike Saturday. The union pointed to Dominion parent Loblaw’s decision to claw back so-called hero pay as factoring into the decision to walk out.

NOTABLE RELEASES/EVENTS

-Notable data: StatsCan flash estimate for July manufacturing sales

-Notable earnings: Just Energy

-Four-day Republican National Convention begins

Every morning BNN Bloomberg's Managing Editor Noah Zivitz writes a ‘chase note’ to BNN Bloomberg's editorial staff listing the stories and events that will be in the spotlight that day. Have it delivered to your inbox before the trading day begins by heading to www.bnnbloomberg.ca/subscribe.