Noah Zivitz

Managing Editor, BNN Bloomberg

Archive

G20 leaders are arriving in Osaka, where China President Xi Jinping holds a key to the summit’s success. From trade talks with the United States, to increasingly tense bilateral relations with Canada, today we’ll discuss the stakes for this country’s economy and the markets.  

AIR CANADA CLINCHES TRANSAT DEAL

After closing out an exclusive window of negotiations yesterday, this morning we got word that Air Canada has reached a deal to buy Transat for $13 per share, the same offer price as what was previously disclosed when the talks started.

SCOTIA GETTING OUT OF PUERTO RICO

Canada’s most international bank is a little less international with Bank of Nova Scotia’s agreement to sell assets in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands to OFG Bancorp at a loss. Scotia is touting the deal as an opportunity to bolster credit quality and nudge up a key capital ratio, and says the pruning of its international footprint is now “substantially complete.”

ANOTHER 737 MAX SETBACK

Shares of Boeing are falling in pre-market trading in the wake of yet another setback for its troubled jet program. The company says the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration flagged an issue with the Max that is separate from the software fix that’s already underway. Great take by Bloomberg Opinion’s David Fickling: “Lightning strikes Boeing’s Max once too often” – something WestJet shareholders are now aware of, after news recently surfaced that the Max was a negative factor in takeover negotiations with Onex.  

OTHER NOTABLE STORIES

- Empire Company is ratcheting up expectations for its multi-year cost-cutting project, saying Project Sunrise is on pace to hit $550 million in total savings by the end of this fiscal year. Sobeys' parent is also bumping up its dividend after reporting big gains in fourth-quarter profit and revenue.

- Pieridae Energy is buying Shell’s assets in the Alberta Foothills for $190 million in cash and stock as it works toward advancing the east coast Goldboro LNG project.  

- Lots of frustrated travellers at Porter Airlines after a network outage in the U.S. triggered delays, cancellations and problems with the reservation system. Porter has apologized and said this morning the problem is resolved.

- Ford says it’s aiming to cut 12,000 jobs across Europe in a dramatic overhaul of its operations in the continent.

- Vancouver-based Pure Multi-Family REIT says it received an unsolicited takeover proposal from American Landmark.

NOTABLE RELEASES/EVENTS

- Notable earnings: Empire Co., Shaw Communications, Walgreens Boots Alliance, Nike

- Notable data: U.S. GDP

- 3:45 p.m. ET: CN CEO Jean-Jacques Ruest addresses Vancouver Board of Trade

- 4:30 p.m. ET: U.S. Federal Reserve releases Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review

- Western premiers meeting in Edmonton (Premier Kenney delivers opening remarks at 11 a.m. ET, closing news conference at 6 p.m. ET)