Noah Zivitz

Managing Editor, BNN Bloomberg

Archive

Optimism has swung to skepticism as market participants take stock of Russia’s negotiations with Ukraine. European markets are broadly lower this morning, and U.S. futures are suggesting it will be a weak open at 9:30am. West Texas Intermediate crude, however, is back in positive territory after shedding as much as seven per cent yesterday amid the fleeting prospect/hope for a de-escalation. We’ll point out that despite oil’s weakness yesterday, the S&P/TSX Composite Index closed at a new record as every subgroup other than materials and energy rallied.

‘FULL-SCALE ATTACK ON CANADIAN HOME PRICES’

Those are the words of BMO Capital Markets Senior Economic Robert Kavcic in a note to clients. He pointed to the Ontario government, which made good late yesterday on an earlier threat to hike and expand its non-resident speculation tax (and, based on this tweet last night from a BNN Bloomberg regular, it looks like there was a race to beat the higher tax before it took effect today). Kavcic also noted Nova Scotia’s new tax on foreign buyers, as well the recent spike in mortgage rates, and uncertainty about what Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland could have up her sleeve for the budget next week.

IN CONVERSATION WITH IAN ANDERSON

This one promotes itself. Tara has an exit interview this afternoon with Ian Anderson as he prepares to leave his post as president and chief executive of Trans Mountain Corporation on Thursday. So much to talk about, from the project’s ballooning costs and uncertainty about future ownership, to the broader issue of how politics, activism, and the green transition have shaken the industry. Watch for that interview late this afternoon and online.

TRACKING THE MORE ACT

The legalization of recreational cannabis in the United States is continuing to weave its way through Congress, with a vote expected in the full House of Representatives later this week. As Dave has pointed out, the current bill could be doomed in the Senate, but that’s not failing to stoke some excitement as big names in the space have recently gone into rally mode (albeit off a low base). One of those stocks that’s been on the upswing is Canopy Growth; we’re speaking its chief executive at 9:40am.

OTHER NOTABLE STORIES

• Lululemon shares are rising in pre-market trading after the apparel and footwear maker’s forecasts for this quarter and the full fiscal year cruised past expectations. It also announced a US$1-billion share buyback program, and reported revenue and same-store sales gains of 23 and 22 per cent, respectively, which fell a bit short of the average estimates. As for supply chains, CEO Calvin McDonald said on a call that Lulu is “leaning more heavily into airfreight” since ocean-based shipping is still beset by delays.
• Kinross Gold announced after markets closed yesterday that it’s in exclusive talks to sell its Russian assets. The miner noted that as part of the pact with the prospective buyer, its subsidiaries in Russia are still operating. Earlier this month, Kinross said it was suspending all operations in Russia.
• Thinkific, a Canadian cloud-based software platform, is slashing its workforce by almost one-fifth. Co-founder and Chief Executive Greg Smith announced the workforce reduction of 100 positions late yesterday. It’s a sharp reversal in staffing, after staff levels rose to 499 from 270 in the first quarter of last year. The company’s shares, which were priced at $13.00 in an initial public offering early last year, have been in a tailspin since peaking in June. And I see an analyst at National Bank cut his price target in half to $6.00 per share after yesterday’s news.
• BioNTech this morning announced a special dividend of €2.00 per share and said it plans to repurchase up to $1.5 billion of its American Depository Shares. Those moves come on the back of a 16-fold surge in fourth-quarter revenue, largely thanks to demand for the COVID-19 vaccine that BioNTech developed with Pfizer.

NOTABLE RELEASES/EVENTS

• Notable data: U.S. GDP (Q4, third reading)
• Notable earnings: Dollarama, AGF Management
• 900: Air Canada investor day presentation
• 1000: U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai addresses U.S. House Ways and Means Committee hearing
• 1140: Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson delivers remarks at Globe 2022 in Vancouver
• 1215: Transportation Safety Board releases report on investigation into February 2019 derailment near Field, B.C.

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