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Noah Zivitz

Managing Editor, BNN Bloomberg

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Never a dull moment in rail land these days. Canadian National Railway this morning unveiled its post-Kansas City Southern strategy this morning. It includes a plan to boost earnings per share 20 per cent next year and drive down (ie, improve) its operating ratio. It also put arch rival Canadian Pacific on notice that’ll be watching for “anti-competitive effects” from its planned takeover of KCS. That breaking news certainty adds to the intrigue for our interview at 9 a.m. with CP CEO Keith Creel. And all of this comes against the backdrop of an activist investor’s attempt to overhaul CN’s board of directors.

CAMPAIGN HOME STRETCH

With just three days to go until Election Day, we’ve got another roster of heavyweights lined up to share their views on the parties’ platforms and the outlook for the economy that the next prime minister will inherit. The likes of Alberta Investment Management Corporation Chair Mark Wiseman and former Bank of Canada Deputy Governor William White are lined up for Bloomberg Markets, plus C.D. Howe Institute Chief Executive Bill Robson will discuss the outlook for incentivizing business investment in The Close shortly after 3 p.m. And BNNBloomberg.ca has must-reads for voters and investors, with a comprehensive platform tracker that covers all the topics that are most important to your money and the economy, as well as Jameson Berkow’s look at various market scenarios depending on how election night plays out.

OTPP CLEANING UP PORTFOLIO

One of the country’s largest pension funds announced a climate plan after yesterday’s closing bell with potentially profound implications for its investing strategy. The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan said it will slash the carbon emissions intensity of its portfolio by 45 per cent within the next four years, and will aim for a 67 per cent reduction by 2030 (using 2019 as the baseline). OTPP’s asset base stood at $227.7 billion as of the end of June.

OTHER NOTABLE STORIES

  • Royal Bank of Canada announced this morning that Chief Financial Officer Rod Bolger is planning to leave the bank; he’ll be succeeded in November by Nadine Ahn, RBC’s senior-vice president of RBC Capital Markets Finance.
  • International Energy Agency Executive Director Fatih Birol told our Bloomberg Television partners he’d be surprised if the price of oil hits US$100 per barrel this year. He also warned on persistently high natural gas prices, which have more than doubled this year in New York.
  • Docebo, one of the early movers in a slew of Canadian technology initial public offerings in recent years, could be worth watching today after it announced a secondary offering of one million shares by some of its top investors. The pricing is set at $112 apiece; DCBO closed yesterday on the TSX at $117.10. The stock is up 41.5 per cent this year.

NOTABLE RELEASES/EVENTS

  • Notable data: University of Michigan consumer sentiment index
  • 9:00: Liberal Party Leader Justin Trudeau makes announcement in Windsor, Ont. (plus avail)
  • 9:45: NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh holds media avail in Sherbrooke, Que.
  • 10:00: Ontario Superior Court resumes hearing Cineworld-Cineplex case
  • 12:30: Conservative Party Leader Erin O’Toole makes announcement in London, Ont. (plus avail)
  • 1430: Green Party Leader Annamie Paul holds news conference in Toronto