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Noah Zivitz

Managing Editor, BNN Bloomberg

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Jerome Powell took investors on a wild ride yesterday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average swinging 894.7 points from peak to trough after the U.S. Federal Reserve announced it was raising interest rates and indicated two more moves are in store next year. During his news conference, Chairman Powell gave no indication that recent market turbulence, nor U.S. President Donald Trump's onslaught of criticism, will alter the Fed's course. We’ll continue gathering reaction and await Trump’s response to yesterday’s decision. Some of Powell’s choice quotes from his session with reporters:

-On Trump: "We at the Fed are absolutely committed to [the mission that Congress has given us] and nothing will deter us from doing what we think is the right thing to do."

-On markets and the Fed’s balance sheet: "I think that the runoff of the balance sheet has been smooth and has served its purpose. And I don't see us changing that."

-On trade: "There's been a sense of concern among business people and market people about global growth and that may be partly about trade tensions, it may be partly about a variety of things. If you just mechanically drop into a model of the U.S. economy "tariffs," you don't see very large effects. The large effects would have to come from financial market changes or from losses in business confidence and those are things that are very difficult to model."

-On the economy and inflation: “2018 has been the strongest year since the financial crisis. During that period we've had low unemployment and strong growth, and inflation has still remained just a touch below two per cent. So I do think that gives the committee the ability to be patient in moving forward. As I mentioned, there's significant uncertainty about both the path and the ultimate destination of any further rate increases."

TILRAY PARTNERS WITH AB INBEV

Anheuser-Busch InBev announced late yesterday it will partner with Tilray on a research project in Canada to explore the development of THC and CBD-infused non-alcoholic beverages. Unlike the Constellation-Canopy deal, the Budweiser producer isn’t taking a multi-billion-dollar stake in its pot partner. Instead, each company will contribute up to US$50 million to the research. We’ll explore how pot can fit in the brewer’s portfolio, and whether this will incentivize more of its rivals to find a dance partner.

BOMBARDIER’S NEW CROWN JEWEL

Bombardier will show off its new crown jewel today at an entry-into-service ceremony for the Global 7500 in Dorval, Quebec. Boasting a 7,700 nautical range that can sweep the world's elite from New York to Hong Kong, this is Bombardier's next big thing after its last big thing, the CSeries, was handed to Airbus. We'll try to get a handle on how important the new business jet is for Bombardier shareholders.

OTHER NOTABLE STORIES

-Husky Energy set its budget for next year at $3.4 billion — $300 million below its previous forecast. Also said it’s talking to the Alberta government about what it calls “inequities, costs and other unintended consequences of production curtailment.”

-BlackBerry’s third-quarter profit and revenue exceeded estimates.

-Bank of England left its main rate unchanged in a unanimous decision that includes several nods to Brexit-related uncertainty.

-Altria finally announced the long-speculated investment in controversial vape-maker Juul Labs, paying US$12.8 billion for a 35 per cent stake.

-Clearly undeterred by already being in the spotlight due to recent short reports, Aphria announced this morning it has signed a letter of intent to expand its presence in Argentina.

-Impressive sight yesterday in Nisku, Alberta, where a massive convoy of truckers rallied in a show of support for pipelines. We have a recap report from one of our CTV News colleagues.

-A short-term spending plan to avoid a partial U.S. government shutdown passed in the Senate late yesterday. The bill — which doesn’t allocate funding for Trump’s border wall — now makes its way to the House of Representatives.

NOTABLE RELEASES/EVENTS

-Notable earnings: BlackBerry, Walgreens Boots Alliance, Nike

-Notable data: Canadian wholesale trade

-7:00 a.m. ET: Bank of England releases interest rate decision

-10:00 a.m. ET: Environment and Climate Change Minister Catherine McKenna holds news conference in Ottawa about Canada’s climate plan

-2:00 p.m. ET: Unifor National President Jerry Dias scrums in Windsor after meeting with GM

-2:30 p.m. ET: U.S. President Donald Trump holds signing ceremony for Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018

-5:00 p.m. ET: Bombardier holds ceremony in Quebec for Global 7500 jet entry into service

Every morning BNN Bloomberg'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