Noah Zivitz

Managing Editor, BNN Bloomberg

Archive

Pressure is building for Rogers Communications Inc. and its duelling boards of directors to resolve the dispute over who’s actually overseeing the company. Bloomberg News obtained a letter sent by Edward Rogers’ lawyers to the company, in which they point to the falling stock price and analyst downgrades (of which there were at least three yesterday) as signs that it’s in the “best interests of RCI that [the dispute] be resolved with all due dispatch.” Meanwhile, The Globe and Mail is reporting that one of Mr. Rogers’ lawyers informed the company that the Ontario Securities Commission has inquired about the standoff.

TSX RECORD-BREAKING WINNING STREAK

The composite index closed higher yesterday for a 14th consecutive session, the longest winning streak in its history. The gains during this stretch have been meager (sub-one per cent in all but a single session), but who’s going to quibble when the TSX is outpacing the S&P 500 with a gain of 22 per cent so far this year? Seems to reinforce Stéfane Marion’s pound-the-table call on Canadian stocks when he was last on with us.

INVESTORS SHAKE OFF FACEBOOK AD SLOWDOWN

Facebook's advertising revenue growth slowed sharply in the third quarter (33 per cent, from 56 per cent in Q2), and Chief Financial Officer David Wehner warned in a release that the company is facing "significant uncertainty" as a result of Apple's iOS changes, as well as other factors. Nonetheless, shares are moving higher in pre-market trading amid a clear profit beat, user growth, and a US$50-billion top-up to the company’s share buyback program. Also garnering some interest: Facebook said it will start breaking out Facebook Reality Labs as its own reporting segment in the ultimate sign of the company's dedication to building a so-called metaverse -- and perhaps to help investors untangle significant costs associated with that ambition.

CABINET WATCH

We know Chrystia Freeland is staying put as deputy prime minister and finance minister; but what about other key portfolios that matter for our purposes, like natural resources and environment and climate change? We’ll see who slots in later this morning.                                                                 

OTHER NOTABLE STORIES

• George Weston is selling the fresh and frozen bakery units of its Weston Foods business to FGF Brands for $1.2 billion after putting the division up for sale earlier this year. The company said it’s still “actively engaged” in selling the remnants of Weston Foods.
• PrairieSky Royalty noted in its third-quarter results yesterday (which showed a 75 per cent year-over-year jump in funds from operations) that it increased a credit facility to $425 million from $225 million and agreed with its lenders to make it a sustainability-linked loan.
• West Fraser Timber announced another U.S. acquisition this morning; this time it’s buying an oriented strand board mill in South Carolina from Georgia Pacific for US$280 million.
• The pandemic-era e-commerce boom continues to be a boon for United Parcel Service, which this morning reported a third-quarter profit that beat expectations amid double-digit growth in average revenue generated from every item it ships. The company also boosted its full-year outlooks for profit margins and capital expenditures.
• General Electric tightened up its full-year industrial free cash flow forecast and raised its profit outlook this morning while reporting improved profit margins and a 50 per cent year-over-year jump in third-quarter adjusted profit per share.
• Mogo shares jumped more than 10 per cent at the opening bell after the Vancouver-based fintech said it’s launching what it calls the first “climate-positive” Bitcoin. What it boils down to, is that Mogo says that for every Bitcoin purchased on its platform, the company will plant trees to offset the emissions caused by mining.

NOTABLE RELEASES/EVENTS

• Notable data: U.S. new home sales and consumer confidence index
• Notable earnings: First National Financial, Allied Properties REIT, Canfor, Trican Well Service, Microsoft, Alphabet, General Electric, United Parcel Service, 3M, Visa, Robinhood Markets, Twitter, Advanced Micro Devices, Texas Instruments
• 10:30: Swearing-in ceremony for new federal cabinet
• 12:00: Canadian Olympic Committee, Lululemon unveil 2022 Athlete Kit
• 12:30: Ontario Premier Doug Ford delivers remarks at opening of Hub350 technology centre in Kanata, Ont. (plus avail)
• 13:30: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau holds media avail at Rideau Hall