Noah Zivitz

Managing Editor, BNN Bloomberg

Archive

The S&P/TSX Composite Index’s winning streak will be put to the test today as commodity prices come under the pressure in the wake of fresh evidence of China’s economic slowdown. Industrial production, retail sales, and fixed-asset investment all cooled more than expected last month, while the contraction in property investment in that country deepened. Even though the People’s Bank of China cut some interest rates overnight, the data have been enough to heap pressure on commodities, including West Texas Intermediate crude — which has been down almost five per cent this morning, falling to the lowest level since January.

MYSTERY SUITOR CIRCLES HOME CAPITAL GROUP

The alternative mortgage lender this morning announced it received (and is rejecting) “an unsolicited, non-binding and conditional expression of interest” from an unidentified third-party that wants to buy the company. Home Capital said it roped in advisors at TD, BMO, and Torys to assess the situation, and cautioned that it’s not sure what the suitor’s next moves might be.

LACAVERA STILL HOPING TO BUY FREEDOM MOBILE

Globalive founder and chairman Anthony Lacavera joins us today at 10:30 a.m. ET to explain why, despite being turned away time and time again, he’s refusing to throw in the towel on buying Freedom Mobile. He told us via email Friday, just a few hours after Rogers and Shaw firmed up the plan to sell Freedom to Quebecor, that his $3.75-billion offer is still on the table, and he’s prepared to take it to Quebecor. He also expressed doubts about that Montreal-based telco’s desire to own Freedom for the long haul, despite Pierre Karl Péladeau’s insistence that he wants to build a fourth national carrier. (For the record, Quebecor didn’t respond to our request for comment about Lacavera’s statements).

OTHER NOTABLE STORIES

• Turquoise Hill Resources has rebuffed Rio Tinto’s $34-per-share buyout proposal, saying that figure doesn’t “fully and fairly reflect” the value of its majority stake in the Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold mine in Mongolia. Rio Tinto responded by stating it will “remain financially disciplined as it considers its options.”
• BRP said it’s restarting production at four of its production facilities, with others expected to start ramping up over the next week, after activity was suspended last week due to a cyberattack. The maker of Ski-Doos and other recreational vehicles said the breach was caused by malware via a service provider, and it’s not believed that any personal information about clients was obtained.
• Chartwell Retirement Residences will be on our radar after it announced late Friday that it is selling two long-term care facilities in British Columbia for $56.8 million in net proceeds.
• The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan reported a 1.2 per cent return for the first half of the year. The $242.5-billion fund said its public equity portfolio accounted for nine per cent of all assets as of June 30, as compared to 11 per cent at Dec. 31, 2021.

NOTABLE RELEASES/EVENTS

• Notable data: Canadian existing home sales, manufacturing sales and wholesale trade; China industrial production, retail sales, and fixed-asset investment
• Notable earnings: Enthusiast Gaming
• 1030: Bank of Canada releases Senior Loan Officer Survey
• 1100: Quebec Finance Minister Eric Girard presents pre-election report on state of provincial finances
• 1100: International Trade Minister Mary Ng and Innovation, Science, and Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne meet hold high level economic dialogue virtual event with Mexico Economy Minister Tatiana Clouthier
• 13F filing deadline for institutional investors
• Dawn Farrell's first day as Trans Mountain Corp. CEO
• Canada Jetlines' target launch date