Today on BNN, we’re zeroing in on the B.C. election result and its implications for plans to develop a liquefied natural gas export sector and enlarge the Kinder Morgan pipeline. Green leader Andrew Weaver now apparently holds the balance of power if Premier Christy Clark's Liberal government wants to stay in office. He has attacked the government’s pursuit of LNG and is opposed to the Kinder Morgan project.
However, the configuration could change. The NDP won one riding by only a sliver so Clark could end up with an ultra-thin majority.
At 10 a.m. ET, we get reaction to the vote from Scotiabank senior economist Mary Webb.
U.S. RENEWS THREAT TO TEAR UP NAFTA
The B.C. election was also an issue in the increasingly tense trade relations between Canada and the U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross lashed out at Christy Clark yesterday over her threats to ban U.S. coal exports from provincial ports in retaliation for the recent imposition of trade levies on softwood lumber exports.
Ross renewed his threat to withdraw from the North American Free Trade Agreement if the U.S. was not satisfied with the speed and progress of upcoming trade talks between Canada, the U.S. and Mexico.
TORONTO, VICTORIA AMONG “HOTTEST” LUXURY HOUSING MARKETS IN THE WORLD
Toronto and Victoria, B.C. have been named among the hottest luxury real estate markets in the world. Canada’s reputation as a safe haven for investment amidst the uncertainty of Brexit and other political turbulence are adding fuel to an already hot housing market in the cities, according to a new report from Christie’s International Real Estate using data from over 100 brokerages across the globe.
Hong Kong is now the top luxury residential real estate market, beating London for the first time in five years. Sales of homes $1 million or more grew by one per cent worldwide, with Toronto remaining the hottest million-dollar-plus market. We speak with Dan Conn, CEO of Christie’s International Real Estate today at 10:40AM.
HOME CAPITAL’S CAPITAL
A further $12 million fled Home Capital Group's (HCG.TO) high interest savings accounts over the course of the last day. The embattled mortgage lender says it has $134 million on the books to start today, and says total liquid assets have declined to $1.01 billion. The share price had a huge day on Tuesday, though, recouping as much as 28 per cent to close at $8.86.
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We also have roster of intriguing CEOs on the channel today.
AGT FOOD
AGT Food & Ingredients (AGT.TO) CEO Murad Al-Katib, who joins us on Commodities at 11:20 a.m. ET, is trying to win back investors after a 20-per-cent slide in the lentil-export giant’s stock over the past week.
Q1 results were dragged down by lower crop quality and order cancellations. “We continue to see potential for more downside to AGT shares,” Scotia warned yesterday, sticking with its Sector perform rating. “We believe a more stable pulse pricing environment is at least 12 months away. As such, we continue to have limited visibility on the company's financial performance (and its ability to deleverage its balance sheet) over the next 12 months.”
FALCO RESOURCES
At 11:35 a.m. ET, we hear from Luc Lessard, CEO of Falco Resources (FPC.V), which plans to rejuvenate the Horne mine in Rouyn-Noranda and turn it into a giant underground gold operation. The stock has risen 52 per cent this year.
Desjardins analyst Michael Parkin calls Falco a Buy but says investors have questioned the scale of the proposed operation, which would see Falco moving 15,000 tonnes of rock per day, “nearly double the scale of the next-largest Canadian underground gold mine."
However, he argues that the high density of the material at Horne means the volume won’t be that much larger. “Another key attribute to note is Falco’s plan to implement a largely automated mining fleet," Parkin says, “which can allow for a far greater number of operating hours per day than a typical labour-intensive Canadian mine.”
SLEEP COUNTRY
At 2:20 p.m. ET, we hear from Sleep Country Canada (ZZZ.TO) CEO Dave Friesema. Raymond James says Q1 same-store sales growth was ”remarkably strong” at 11.9 per cent, suggesting that the retailer is still winning market share.
TMX GROUP
But it sounds as though TMX Group (X.TO) CEO Lou Eccleston, who joins us at 9:40 a.m. ET, could see some pressure on the shares today. Scotia says “first quarter results were a bit disappointing, with core cash EPS coming in [nine per cent] lower than consensus. With the stock's valuation multiple nearing multi-year highs, we believe expectations were high and the miss is likely to curb near-term investor enthusiasm.”
We’ll also ask him about a dearth of new listings. Bryce Tingle of the University of Calgary told us yesterday that for many entrepreneurs, going public has become more trouble than it’s worth.
Every morning Commodities host Andrew Bell writes a ‘chase note’ to BNN'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.bnn.ca/subscribe.