Noah Zivitz

Managing Editor, BNN Bloomberg

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Canadians have handed Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party another minority mandate in a House of Commons that’ll look almost identical to the one that was dissolved last month and will leave the prime minister with the option of leaning on the Bloc or NDP to push through his agenda items. There will be plenty of questions today about whether the $610-million tab for the election was worth it, not to mention the resolve of Canadians who faced hours in line at some polling stations. For BNN Bloomberg, however, the focus is on what the next four years could mean for the economy and our money – particularly with no plan to balance the books. As for Canada’s place on the world stage, I’ll point out here that the OECD today shaved almost a full percentage point off this country’s GDP outlook for this year.

In terms of market reaction, the most immediate takeaway appears to be relief, as the Canadian dollar climbed in overnight trading. Stay tuned for an early appearance by Forge First Asset Management CEO Andrew McCreath around 8:20 a.m., plus more market insight from the likes of David Rosenberg and Macquarie’s David Doyle in The Open. Our coverage starts an hour earlier than usual today, with an extended edition of The Street beginning at 7 a.m.

BAY STREET IMPACT

Have to wonder what the chief executives of Canada’s largest banks and insurers are thinking this morning as their institutions brace for the surtax that the Liberals pledged during the campaign. One can only imagine those corporate titans and their teams will evaluate ways to steer clear, or at least minimize the impact, of that levy. We’ve got John Aiken from Barclays lined up for analysis shortly after 8 a.m. And we’ll promote here that former Royal Bank of Canada CEO Gord Nixon (who now chairs the board at BCE, which owns BNN Bloomberg) joins us at 1 p.m.

HOUSING OUTLOOK

The Liberals campaigned on dozens of measures that are designed to improve housing affordability in this country, including new and enhanced supports for buyers; a crackdown on blind bidding, flipping and foreign buyers; and tighter rules for real estate investment trusts. We’ll dedicate some attention today to assessing whether the plan can achieve its goal, including with Mattamy Homes Founder Peter Gilgan at 4:30 p.m.

STOCKS BOUNCE

The S&P/TSX Composite Index is coming off its biggest single-day drop since January, while the S&P 500 fell yesterday by the most since May. Even so, both bounced off their lowest levels of the day and futures are pointing to gains at the start of trading today despite lingering uncertainty about the ripple effect from China Evergrande Group’s debt albatross.                                                                                           

OTHER NOTABLE STORIES

• Teck Resources has trimmed its full-year zinc production forecast as a result of shutdowns last month that were caused by the B.C. wildfires. The company also warned of higher costs at its Elk Valley steelmaking operations, in part because of staff absenteeism due to COVID protocols, which compelled the company to eat overtime charges.
• Shares of Uber Technologies have rallied in pre-market trading after the ride-hailing company said in a regulatory filing that it might post an adjusted profit in the third quarter.
• Some consolidation announced this morning in the U.S. regional banking sector: U.S. Bancorp is buying Mitsubishi’s MUFG Union Bank for US$8 billion in cash and stock.
• Vivendi is a notable mover overseas, as its shares have surged as much as 25 per cent in Europe after the company executed the spinoff of Universal Music Group.
• Royal Dutch Shell announced after yesterday’s closing bell that it’s selling its Permian assets to ConocoPhillips for US$9.5 billion.

NOTABLE RELEASES/EVENTS

• Notable data: Canadian job vacancies, U.S. building permits and housing starts 
• Notable earnings: FedEx
• Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development releases interim economic outlook (05:00)
• 10:00: Brookfield Infrastructure Partners investor day presentation
• 11:00: Brookfield Renewable Partners investor day presentation (includes presentation by Vice-Chair Mark Carney)
• 13:00: Teck Resources investor day presentation

Editor’s note: Gord Nixon is the former chief executive of Royal Bank of Canada. An earlier version of today’s Daily Chase implied he’s the current CEO. We regret the error.