Noah Zivitz

Managing Editor, BNN Bloomberg

Archive

Doug Ford is reportedly getting set to rip up his predecessor’s plan for recreational cannabis retail in Ontario. Multiple reports indicate the Progressive Conservative government will switch to a private model, rather than keep storefront pot sales in the hands of the province. There’s been ample criticism that the Ontario Cannabis Store rollout was happening too slowly, prompting fear the province won’t be ready on Oct. 17 to meet demand and pull sales out of the black market. Now, we could be on the cusp of a gold rush in the province. We’ll round up industry reaction throughout the day.

AIR CANADA PASSING ALONG FUEL INFLATION

The country's largest airline posted record second-quarter revenue and beat the average profit estimate by a wide margin. But passengers are going to feel the burn from higher fuel costs, which pushed Air Canada's total operating expenses to $4.1 billion in the second quarter. CEO Calin Rovinescu says his airline will attempt to mitigate 75 per cent of the fuel inflation this year via "fare increases, other commercial initiatives and our cost transformation program." Even so, Air Canada has trimmed its full-year EBITDAR forecast.

AGT PRIVATIZATION MEETS RESISTANCE

AGT Food and Ingredients’ top shareholder is speaking out against the management-led privatization proposal that was disclosed yesterday. Letko Brosseau & Associates, which has control over 18.6 per cent of the pulse maker’s shares, said it’s going to vote against the $18 per share buyout, and it’s calling on the company’s board “to consider the interests of all shareholders”. Some big personalities involved in this storyline. We’ll size up the prospect of a clash between Murad Al-Katib, the so-called Lentil King CEO of AGT, Prem Watsa and Letko Brosseau.

TRUMP TEES UP GDP

The U.S. President is talking up unreleased economic data, again. “You’re going to have very big numbers announced [Friday],” Donald Trump said yesterday. “I don’t know what they are, but a lot of big predictions … I think they’re going to be terrific.” Recall Trump caught heat in June for tweeting ahead of the monthly jobs report. Economists, on average, are expecting to see 4.2 per cebt annualized growth when second-quarter U.S. GDP numbers are released this morning.

ANOTHER AMAZON BLOWOUT

Count on Jeff Bezos to rekindle some FANG optimism. Amazon.com shares are up four per cent in pre-market trading after the e-commerce/cloud/food retail/virtual assistant/entertainment behemoth sailed past second-quarter profit estimates. Revenue surged 39 per cent to US$52.9 billion, which somehow was still below the average analyst estimate -- which pretty much tells us all we need to know about how lofty Wall Street’s expectations are.

OTHER NOTABLE STORIES

-Twitter shares are sinking in pre-market trading, last seen down 17 per cent, after reporting average monthly active users slipped to 335 million in the second quarter amid recent changes designed "to prioritize the health of the platform." It's also warning average MAUs will slip further in the third quarter.

-Aecon Group CEO John Beck says there’s an “unprecedented market opportunity in Canada today” and touting a record $6.4-billion backlog. Quite a change in tune from the days of the CCCI takeover, when Aecon argued it needed a deep-pocketed backer to compete for contracts.

-BHP has found a buyer for its U.S. shale holdings, announcing BP will pay US$10.8 billion in cash for Petrohawk assets BHP picked up in 2011 for US$12.1 billion.

NOTABLE RELEASES/EVENTS

-Notable earnings: Air Canada, Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Twitter, Merck

-Notable data: U.S. GDP, University of Michigan consumer sentiment index

-8:15 a.m. ET: Toronto Mayor John Tory speaks to reporters at city hall

-9:00 a.m. ET: Ontario premier makes announcement, speaks to media at Queen’s Park

-12:30 p.m. ET: Alberta premier Rachel Notley, Natural Resources Minister Amarjeet Sohi, Kinder Morgan Canada President Ian Anderson join Enoch Cree Nation for Trans Mountain site blessing

Every morning BNN'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.