Noah Zivitz

Managing Editor, BNN Bloomberg

Archive

U.S. President Donald Trump has set Sept. 15 as the deadline for a deal to keep TikTok in business in the United States, and said any such transaction will come with a catch: the buyer will have to funnel some funds to the U.S. administration. “A very substantial portion of that price is going to have to come into the Treasury of the United States because we’re making it possible for this deal to happen,” he told reporters yesterday, when asked about his weekend conversation with Satya Nadella, the CEO of Microsoft, which is viewed as the frontrunner to buy TikTok’s U.S. operations. Despite the political noise, Microsoft shares jumped 5.6 per cent yesterday as the Nasdaq reached a record high.

BP SLASHES DIVIDEND, DIGS IN ON GOING GREEN

British Petroleum today vowed to clean up its output, saying its oil and gas production will fall 40 per cent by 2030, while investment in low-carbon energy will reach US$5 billion per year over the same period. “Energy markets are fundamentally changing, shifting towards low carbon, driven by societal expectations, technology and changes in consumer preferences,” chairman Helge Lund said in a release. To help free up funds for that pivot, BP chopped its dividend in half today while swinging to a second-quarter loss that wasn’t quite as large as analysts expected.

COUCHE-TARD MISSES OUT ON DEAL

We’ll watch shares of Alimentation Couche-Tard after the deal-hungry convenience store operator was left out from a big prize Sunday when Marathon Petroleum announced the sale of its 3,900-store Speedway business to 7-Eleven’s parent company for US$21 billion in cash.

OTHER NOTABLE STORIES

-Calfrac Well Services’ top shareholder, Wilks Brothers, has unveiled what it calls a “superior alternative transaction” to rival a recapitalization plan that was announced earlier this month. Wilks Brothers says its plan isn’t subject to any financing or due diligence conditions.

-Ford Motor Company announced CEO Jim Hackett is on his way out, a little more than three years after he was appointed to the job. He’ll be replaced by long-time executive Jim Farley later this year and will remain an advisor until March of next year.

-CI Financial is accelerating its growth in the U.S., announcing today it’s buying Illinois-based wealth management firm Balasa Dinverno Foltz, which has US$4.5 billion in assets. 

-We’ll watch shares of Twitter today after the company disclosed in a regulatory filing that it could face up to a US$250-million penalty for allegedly violating an agreement with the Federal Trade Commission.

-Often seen as a potential barometer of what to expect from its much larger rivals, HSBC Bank Canada yesterday reported a near-quintupling of set-asides in the second quarter for loans that could go bad.  

-Lord & Taylor filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection over the weekend, becoming COVID-19’s latest retail casualty. The filing came just shy of a year since HBC sold the rights to Lord & Taylor to Le Tote while hanging onto its real estate obligations.  

-McDonald’s is aiming to woo Canadians today by announcing its loyalty program is expanding beyond coffee with purchases of fries now becoming eligible for rewards points.

NOTABLE RELEASES/EVENTS

-Notable data: U.S. factory orders, U.S. durable goods orders

-Notable earnings: Great-West Lifeco, Gibson Energy, Dream Industrial REIT, CT REIT, Finning International, BP, Cinemark Holdings, Beyond Meat, The Walt Disney Co., Activision Blizzard, Planet Fitness

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.