Noah Zivitz

Managing Editor, BNN Bloomberg

Archive

Stocks are stable this morning after some reassuring signals out of China overnight. The People’s Bank of China fixed the yuan at a stronger level than anticipated (albeit below that key seven-per-U.S.-dollar level) and exports from that country unexpectedly rose in July. So for now, some calm. But as we’ve seen this week, that can be shattered in an instant. We look forward to hearing from Gluskin Sheff Chief Economist David Rosenberg at 1:00 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT. If you missed it yesterday afternoon, check out a different side of Rosenberg in our 5 Questions vignette 

CANADIAN EARNINGS

Another wave of big names overnight and today. Among them:

-Growth in Asia allowed Manulife Financial to match second-quarter core profit estimates.

-TMX Group notched record profit in the second quarter, far outpacing expectations, even as equities trading revenue slipped. We’ll speak with CEO Lou Eccleston at 9:45 a.m. ET.

-Cineplex exceeded profit estimates in the second quarter (even as attendance fell) amid record quarterly revenue -- with a nod to the Raptors as a factor in today’s earnings release. CEO Ellis Jacob joins us at 1:20 p.m. ET.

-Canadian Tire is branching out, announcing today it’s buying Party City’s Canadian unit for $174.4 million (and claiming to cement itself as “Canada’s Fun Store”). The retailer also reported modest same-store sales growth across all of its banners in the second quarter, while adjusted profit jumped almost 14 per cent.

-Magna International has trimmed its sales and adjusted profit margin forecasts for the year. CEO Don Walker says Magna is “taking steps to optimize [its] business” and expects “continued challenging automotive market conditions.” We’re checking if that means job cuts. A spokesperson said there hasn’t been job cuts; instead, Magna has scaled back travel and discretionary spending.  

-Cronos Group delivered a welcome sight for the cannabis sector: a profit. Its Nasdaq listing is up almost 10 per cent in pre-market trading.

OIL CLIMBS

West Texas Intermediate crude has been up as much as 3.4 per cent after suffering sharp declines yesterday. One of the catalysts for the turnaround appears to be our Bloomberg partners’ report that Saudi Arabia is reaching out to other producers to assess options for stabilizing prices. “The kingdom won’t tolerate a continued slide in prices and is considering all options,” according to the story.

OTHER NOTABLE STORIES

-Bank of Nova Scotia today announced it’s trimming its exposure to Thailand, resulting in a $300-million after-tax gain

-Lyft is rallying this morning after beating second-quarter rider and revenue estimates while raising its full-year outlook.  It’s also moving up a post-IPO lockup expiry, which caused some volatile after-hours trading yesterday.

-Fairfax Financial today promoted VP Jennifer Allen to the role of chief financial officer

NOTABLE RELEASES/EVENTS

-Notable earnings: Brookfield Asset Management, Onex, Canadian Tire, Cineplex, Sleep Country Canada, Magna International, Saputo, Cronos Group, Quebecor, WSP Global, Inter Pipeline, Hudbay Minerals, CI Financial, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers, Uber Technologies, Kraft Heinz Co., Lions Gate Entertainment 

-Notable data: Canadian new housing price index

-Statistics Canada releases study "Homeownership, mortgage debt and types of mortgage among Canadian families"

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.