Noah Zivitz

Managing Editor, BNN Bloomberg

Archive

Canadian National Railway has elbowed Canadian Pacific out of the way with a sweetened takeover proposal that Kansas City Southern said it’s prepared to accept. CN won the day with a more generous exchange ratio and by dangling $700 million to cover KCS’s break fee for walking away for CP. But it’s still not a done deal. Canadian Pacific has at least five days to win back Kansas City’s favour; though in a release last night it reiterated that it will not “enter into a bidding war.” We’ll chase insight on what might happen next and the regulatory hurdles ahead.

STOCKS RISING INTO THE WEEKEND

U.S. futures are pointing to gains at the start of trading, building on yesterday’s rally after three days of losses to begin the week. The coast isn’t completely clear from another inflation scare today: the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index comes with some readings on inflation expectations. We’ve got plenty of market voices on the station, including former Vanguard Chairman and CEO Jack Brennan at 10:30 a.m. for some unique perspective on the investing landscape.

IN CONVERSATION WITH AIRLINE INDUSTRY VETERAN

Don Carty joined The Open bright and early to discuss the outlook for airlines as they struggle through COVID-19 and brace for an anticipated surge in activity as restrictions gradually loosen up. He comes to the table with major clout as chairman of Porter Airlines and as the former chief executive of American Airlines. Carty told us he’s been on four flights in the last week that were all full. But he acknowledged the diverge in policy that’s put the U.S. airlines miles ahead of Canadian carriers. If you missed it live, check it out later at BNNBloomberg.ca.

OTHER NOTABLE STORIES

• Aurora Cannabis called out the impact of "COVID-19 related challenges" in this country late yesterday while reporting an 18 per cent sequential plunge in revenue in its latest quarter. Some other odds and ends from the release: Aurora said it's eyeing up to $80 million in additional cost cuts, announced plans to shift its U.S. listing to the Nasdaq, and signaled its intent to raise US$300 million in an at-the-market financing. CEO Miguel Martin joins us at 1:30 p.m.
• Canadian Apartment Properties Real Estate Investment Trust also has its eyes on a financing. It filed a base shelf prospectus to raise up to $2 billion; no indication in the release yesterday on how proceeds would be deployed. We’ll discuss this and CAPREIT’s latest quarter with CEO Mark Kenney at 3:20 p.m.
• The Walt Disney Company's adjusted fiscal second-quarter profit surged 32 per cent even as COVID batters its amusement parks business. Streaming remained a bright spot. Just not bright enough as the Disney+ subscriber base of 103.6 million at quarter end fell short of the average estimate. Shares have been down more than 3 per cent pre-market. 
• In the crypto space: Bitcoin has steadied after being shaken by Elon Musk, and Coinbase reported first-quarter results that are pretty much bang in line with its recent forecasts. In a letter to shareholders, the company acknowledged the threat of increased competition and in a subsequent earnings call, management said it intends to add Dogecoin to the Coinbase platform in the next couple of months.

NOTABLE RELEASES/VENTS

• Notable data: Canadian manufacturing sales, Canadian wholesale trade, Canadian existing home sales, U.S. retail sales, University of Michigan U.S. consumer sentiment index  
• Notable earnings: SNC-Lavalin, Onex
• 9 a.m.: Natural Resources Minister Seamus O’Regan and Infrastructure Minister Catherine McKenna make announcement “for greener cities” (flagging just to be aware in case O’Regan talks Line 5 in avail)
• 2 p.m.: Ontario Superior Court to hear Ontario Securities Commission application to extend PricewaterhouseCoopers' appointment as Bridging Finance's receiver