Noah Zivitz

Managing Editor, BNN Bloomberg

Archive

OPEC+ announced a production cut yesterday, and the rally lasted all of a few hours. West Texas Intermediate crude turned south this morning, and Brent crude gave up some of the gains that saw it jump as much as 4.3 per cent yesterday after the cartel of oil-producing nations and its allies announced they would cut their official oil output target by 100,000 barrels per day in October. The symbolic move by OPEC+ might be getting overshadowed by China’s ongoing COVID Zero policy, which is now locking down part of Guiyang, which has about 6.1 million residents. We’ll see how this will play out for energy stocks on the TSX today, which snapped a five-session losing streak Friday.

CANADIANS GETTING SQUEEZED

On the eve of a rate decision by the Bank of Canada, we’ve got more evidence today that Canadians are piling on debt as the cost of living soars. Equifax says total consumer debt rose eight per cent year-over-year to $2.32 trillion in the second quarter. Notably, credit card balances (with their notoriously high interest rates) rose to the highest since 2019. The cost of living is expected to be an agenda item at the federal cabinet retreat that starts today in Vancouver, and will no doubt be part of our conversation with pollster Nik Nanos around 1:10 p.m. EDT.

U.K., EU SCRAMBLE EMERGENCY ENERGY MEASURES

While the Dutch benchmark natural gas futures contract is easing off a bit this morning after surging as much as 35 per cent yesterday, the cost of the energy crisis across Europe is becoming clearer. Bloomberg News is reporting incoming U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss is drafting a plan to freeze energy bills that could cost about £130 billion ($197 billion). Over the weekend, German chancellor Olaf Scholz outlined a €65-billion ($85 billion) package of relief measures. And EU energy ministers will meet later this week to build consensus as Nord Stream 1 remains offline. All the while, Canada’s abundant natural resources are essentially on the outside looking in. We’ll speak with the CEO of the First Nations LNG Alliance at 11:20 a.m. EDT about the outlook for liquefied natural gas exports. The Alliance recently bemoaned the lost east-coast opportunity for Canada.                                                          

OTHER NOTABLE STORIES

• S&P Dow Jones Indices announced changes to the composition of the S&P/TSX Composite Index after markets closed Friday. Algoma Steel, Uni-Select, and Bellus Health are being added. Aurora Cannabis, Aecon, Dream Office REIT, and New Gold are being dropped. The changes take effect Sept. 19.
• National Bank of Canada Financial Markets’ monthly ETF tracker shows almost $1.1 billion poured into equity exchange-traded funds in Canada last month. Meanwhile, the crypto class of ETFs lagged, as $217 million in redemptions were logged. The second- and third-most popular ETFs last month were high-interest savings funds.
• Rio Tinto announced this morning it is now in a definitive agreement to take full control of Turquoise Hill Resources for $43 per share, firming up the agreement in principle that was announced last week. Rio now says it will provide up to US$1.1 billion in funding for Turquoise, which will have to be repaid if the deal doesn’t go through.
• Bed Bath & Beyond shares are tumbling in pre-market trading as the death of its chief financial officer leaves a leadership gap just a few days after the company unveiled a sweeping restructuring plan.
• Heather Reisman has stepped aside as chief executive of Indigo Books & Music, clearing the way for Peter Ruis (the retailer’s current president) to become CEO. But she’s not stepping away from the company she founded. Indigo said Reisman is now its executive chair. 

NOTABLE RELEASES/EVENTS

• Notable data: ISM U.S. services index
• 1330: Prime minister Justin Trudeau makes housing announcement in Vancouver (plus avail)