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Noah Zivitz

Managing Editor, BNN Bloomberg

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It’s Nancy Pelosi’s deadline day to come to terms with the White House on a U.S. stimulus package that has any hope of being approved prior to the Nov. 3 elections. One of Pelosi’s aides is quoted as saying the Democrats and Trump administration have “continued to narrow their differences”, but with electability on everyone’s mind in D.C., there are plenty of considerations for lawmakers. Our Bloomberg News partners will speak with the U.S. House speaker this afternoon; we’ll keep tabs on it for any hint of how this story will unfold. For now, it’s looking like déjà vu in the market, with futures pointing to gains at the start of trading; but we were in the same boat yesterday before pessimism/realism kicked in.

MAGNA SUCCESSION

The Canadian autoparts maker announced this morning CEO Don Walker will retire at the end of this year after a 15-year run, and will be succeeded by Magna President Swamy Kotagiri. During Walker’s time at the helm, Magna shares more than tripled in value as he steered the company through the financial crisis, international trade tension, a technological revolution, and – most recently – a pandemic. We’ll explore what Kotagiri’s appointment and his tech-heavy background tells us about where the industry is heading. And stay tuned for our conversation with Walker at 1pm.                                      

A PIPELINE GO-AHEAD

Granted, it’s another expansion project rather than a whole new pipeline system, but surely this will be welcome news to an industry that isn’t getting much of that these days: the federal government late yesterday gave the green light to TC Energy’s proposed NOVA Gas Transmission expansion. In its release, the feds referred to the $2.3-billion project as being of “significant importance in Alberta”, and stapled 35 conditions to its blessing.

OTHER NOTABLE STORIES

-Shares of Alphabet were little changed in pre-market trading despite breaking news that the U.S. Department of Justice formally launched an anti-trust case against Google over alleged abuse of market power.

-For the first time, a woman will lead one of Canada’s top banks. Laurentian Bank of Canada announced this morning that Rania Llewellyn is being appointed president and chief executive as of Oct. 30. She’s making the move from Scotia, where she’s been working for 26 years, including most recently as executive vice-president of global business payments.

-Canadian Pacific Railway posted an 11 per cent drop in third-quarter adjusted profit as revenue slid six per cent year-over-year. CP also fine-tuned its forecasts for the year, now calling for "at least" mid-single-digit growth in adjusted profit per share, compared to its previous call for unspecified growth.

-Bloomberg News is reporting the EU is considering shutting the door to travelers from Canada due to concerns surrounding the pandemic.

-Tourmaline Oil spinoff Topaz Energy priced its initial public offering and secondary offering at $13 apiece (the low end of a target range), resulting in $217.5 million in proceeds to the company and $13 million for Tourmaline.

-IBM shares have been down close to three per cent in pre-market trading on the back of third-quarter results that, at the headline level, were on par with the preliminary figures released earlier this month. Our Bloomberg News partners are pointing to the lack of forecasts as the catalyst for today’s selling pressure

NOTABLE RELEASES/EVENTS

-Notable data: Teranet/National Bank home price index, U.S. building permits and housing starts

-Notable earnings: Canadian National Railway, Canadian Pacific Railway, Netflix, Procter & Gamble, Texas Instruments, Snap

-8:00 a.m. ET: Magna International holds media call

-11:30 a.m. ET: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau holds media avail alongside Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, Small Business Minister Mary Ng, Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam, and Deputy Chief Public Health Officer Howard Njoo

-12:00 p.m. ET: Aviation workers hold rally on Parliament Hill

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.