Canada’s economy slowed sharply in October as the second wave of COVID and measures to curb its spread took a heavy toll. GDP rose 0.4 per cent in the month, precisely half of September’s growth rate – and the weakest output since the early days of the pandemic. No surprise to see the accommodation and food services sector was hardest hit, with activity shrinking almost four per cent. And in an early look at how GDP fared in November, StatsCan is estimating another 0.4 per cent for last month. We'll have perspective including perspective from top business leaders Monique Leroux and Mullen Group CEO Murray Mullen. We cap it off at 4:30 p.m. ET with Stephen Brown from Capital Economics, who will discuss his 10 potential surprises for Canada’s economy next year. Through it all, we’ll consider how today’s news that Health Canada has authorized Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine will factor into the economic outlook.

U.S. COVID RELIEF IN JEOPARDY

President Donald Trump is demanding changes to the US$900-billion COVID aid package that’s awaiting his signature. In a video released on Twitter he called for the individual stimulus payments to be jacked up to $2,000 from $600 and urged lawmakers to “get rid of the wasteful and unnecessary items from the legislation”. U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi pounced on the possibility of richer stimulus cheques; a vote on delivering that sweetener is possible tomorrow.   

IN CONVERSATION WITH DAVID ROSENBERG

No shortage of potential talking points for Amanda Lang’s conversation with David Rosenberg in Bloomberg Markets at 1 p.m. ET. In addition to everything above, maybe we’ll also get to his view on Bitcoin, which forced him to fend off the masses on Twitter earlier this week.   

OTHER NOTABLE STORIES

-Pfizer and BioNTech announced today they’ll deliver 200 million doses of their COVID-19 vaccine to the U.S. by July 31. This falls under the parameters of a deal originally announced in the summer, when the U.S. placed an initial order for 100 million doses, with a clause that allowed the country to add up to 500 million doses to its purchase.

-Cineplex has bought itself some financial breathing room, with the announcement late yesterday that it will sell (and lease back) its Toronto head office for $57 million.

-Magna International is forming a joint venture with LG Electronics to build parts for electric vehicles. Incoming Magna CEO Swamy Kotagiri said in a release the partners “expect to gain investment efficiency and speed to market with synergies to achieve more, all while continuing to capitalize on the acceleration of the electrified powertrain market.” LG shares have been up as much as 29.6 per cent on the news.  

NOTABLE RELEASES/EVENTS

-Notable data: Canadian GDP (October), Canadian manufacturing flash estimate (November), U.S. durable goods orders, U.S. initial jobless claims, U.S. personal income and spending, U.S. new home sales

-1:00 p.m. ET: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau addresses Canadians from outside Rideau Cottage

-2:00 p.m. ET: Great Canadian Gaming virtual shareholder meeting for vote on takeover by Apollo Global Management

-2:00 p.m. ET: Government officials hold technical briefing in Ottawa on COVID-19 vaccine roll out and logistics

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.