Dec 12, 2018
The Daily Chase: Trump threatens to intervene in Huawei case; TSX closes at lowest since Nov. 2016
By Noah Zivitz
U.S. President Donald Trump is threatening to intervene in the case against Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou if it could help secure a lasting trade agreement with China. “If I think it’s good for the country, if I think it’s good for what will be certainly the largest trade deal ever made, which is a very important thing – what’s good for national security – I would certainly intervene, if I thought it was necessary,” he told Reuters in an interview on the same day Meng was granted bail pending an extradition hearing. A whole lot for us to dissect in Trump’s remarks, perhaps most importantly, the implications for U.S.-China, China-Canada, and Canada-U.S. relations.
TSX AT LOWEST SINCE NOVEMBER 2016
Yesterday’s 60-point decline dragged the TSX to its lowest close since Nov. 14, 2016. Watch for perspective on where the composite index goes from here when Guardian Capital Managing Director Michele Robitaille joins Paul Bagnell as his guest co-host on The Street.
THE CASE FOR A REFINERY
Alberta Premier Rachel Notley is digging deeper into her toolkit in a hunt for solutions to her province’s oil woes. Yesterday she announced she wants to see business cases for a new refinery via a formal request for expressions of interest. It’s not clear how much Notley is prepared to chip in, but it’s another sign she’s prepared to pull out all the stops to bring some relief to the oil patch (and government coffers). We’ll gather insight on the economics of refining and what existing refinery owners have to say about this.
MAY FACES CONFIDENCE VOTE
The fiasco surrounding Brexit faces even more drama today, with Prime Minister Theresa May’s Conservative Party poised to hold a confidence vote that could determine her fate as the steward of breaking the U.K. away from the European Union. The vote is expected to take place early this afternoon (eastern time), and it will take 158 no-confidence votes to trigger a leadership race. Against that backdrop, you won’t want to miss Amanda Lang’s interview this afternoon with Barclays Plc Chairman John McFarlane.
OTHER NOTABLE STORIES
-Macquarie Capital Markets Canada has downgraded BMO to Neutral (citing “challenging” margins in U.S. unit) and upgraded Royal Bank of Canada to Outperform (citing its capacity to manage “rising macro risks”)
-Aphria is making more inroads in Latin America, announcing today it has a letter of intent for a medical cannabis supply and distribution agreement with Insumos Medicos in Paraguay.
-Shares of Lululemon are climbing in pre-market trading in New York after Citigroup upgraded the stock to Buy, citing "improving fundamentals and stand-out growth prospects".
-Hemp is one step closer to legalization in the U.S. after the Senate approved the sweeping US$867-billion farm bill yesterday. All that’s left now is a vote in the House of Representatives, and then it’s over to Trump to sign it into law.
-GMP Capital said late yesterday it has agreed to sell its U.S. fixed income trading division. Terms weren’t disclosed.
NOTABLE RELEASES/EVENTS
-Notable data: Canadian industrial capacity utilization, U.S. CPI
-Four-day Toronto Global Forum continues (including Finance Minister Bill Morneau remarks at 0830 and avail at 0910. And watch for our interview with him today on Bloomberg Markets)
-9:30 a.m. ET: Transport Minister Marc Garneau holds news conference in Ottawa re. flight crew fatigue regulations
-2:00 p.m. ET: Canada Post holds annual meeting in Ottawa
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.
