Oct 13, 2021
The Daily Chase: U.S. easing land border rules; IEA warns on volatility
By Noah Zivitz
First Look With Surveillance: Inflation, Earnings Watch
Word came late last night via New York lawmakers that the Biden administration will finally allow some non-essential travel via its land borders with Canada and Mexico as of next month. Plenty of details remain to be seen, but for now you have to imagine this is music to the ears of retailers and the hospitality industry after more than a year and a half of dealing with a thicker border. We’ll chase reaction.
ENERGY WATCHDOG WARNS AHEAD OF COP26
The International Energy Agency is out with its monster annual World Energy Outlook report; this year’s edition serves as a tablesetter and call to action for global leaders ahead of the COP26 meeting in Glasgow next month. “The world’s hugely encouraging clean energy momentum is running up against the stubborn incumbency of fossil fuels in our energy systems,” said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol, while warning that pledges to date would only deliver 1/5 of the emission reductions by 2030 that are needed to achieve net-zero by 2050. The report also cautions that investment in the clean-energy transition is falling short and could amplify the energy shocks that we’ve been reporting on for several weeks. Will point out here that Russian President Vladimir Putin today said he’s prepared to supply as much gas as Europe needs.
IS THIS TRANSITORY?
U.S. inflation rose to 5.4 year-over-year last month. That matches the level set in June and July, and takes inflation back to its highest level since 2008. Excluding food and energy, the consumer price index rose 4.0 per cent compared to a year earlier.
BIDEN TACKLING SUPPLY CHAIN BOTTLENECK
The American president is convening a meeting at the White House this afternoon to discuss supply chain bottlenecks (which is causing plenty of headaches for Apple, according to Bloomberg’s reporting late yesterday); ahead of the meeting, his administration announced the Port of Los Angeles is moving to 24/7 service. The announcement also included commitments by Walmart, UPS, and FedEx (among others) to expand service.
BANK EARNINGS UNDERWAY
JPMorgan Chase & Co. set the bar this morning with adjusted revenue and profit that narrowly beat expectations. Investment bankers were the stars in the quarter (revenue up 45 per cent year-over-year). There were pockets of weakness: like the closely-watched FICC trading operations posting a 20 per cent plunge in revenue. And the core retail banking operations saw a dip in lending activity.
OTHER NOTABLE STORIES
- Gran Tierra Energy (which Scotiabank recently highlighted as being the top beneficiary of surging oil prices) said this morning its third-quarter production reached almost 29,000 barrels per day (from 23,000 in the second quarter) thanks to the end of blockades in Colombia. The company is also making progress paying down debt, with its credit facility balance sitting at $140 million compared to $175 million at the end of the second quarter.
- The long anticipated initial public offering of D2L is happening. The education company filed late yesterday.
- We’ll watch shares of Intact Financial after the insurer said it’s facing $365 million in catastrophe losses in the third quarter, with 60 per cent of that hit coming from its domestic market, as a result of severe weather.
- West Fraser Timber announced another step in its U.S. expansion after yesterday’s closing bell: it’s buying a “turn-key” lumber mill in Texas for US$300 million.
- It’s a jargon-cloaked announcement, but BlackBerry today revealed the launch of some new auto technology that it tag-teamed with Google and Qualcomm.
NOTABLE RELEASES/EVENTS
- Notable data: U.S. CPI
- Notable earnings: Aritzia, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Delta Air Lines, BlackRock
- 10:00: Ontario Superior Court resumes hearing Cineworld-Cineplex case
- 10:00: Ontario Securities Commission holds roundtable on diversity in capital markets
- Approx 10:00: Blue Origin New Shepard mission (with William Shatner on board)
- 10:15: Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland addresses media in Washington, D.C.
- 13:45: U.S. President Joe Biden meets with senior officials and stakeholders re. supply chain bottlenecks
- 14:00: U.S. Federal Reserve releases minutes from last meeting
- 14:20: Biden delivers remarks at the White House re. supply chain
- 20:00: U.S. Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman delivers speech "Monetary Policy Making and the Economic Outlook"
- G20 finance ministers and central bankers meet in Washington, D.C.
- NAFTA nations hold small and medium-sized enterprises two-day dialogue in San Antonio
- BlackBerry hosts annual security summit