Noah Zivitz

Managing Editor, BNN Bloomberg

Archive

Much will be said today about the 26,771 vaccines administered at Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena Sunday in what’s believed to be a record-breaking event. Layer on this week’s reopening milestones in Alberta and Ontario (among others), and Canada’s not looking bad. That is, until you check out a ranking of COVID resilience assembled by our partners at Bloomberg News that puts this country in the middle of the pack: #24 of 53 nations amid still (relatively) severe lockdowns and limited flight capacity. We’ll chase down reaction from business leaders, and will consider all the risks that remain. To wit: Hong Kong just announced it’s banning passenger flights from the United Kingdom as of July 1

MARKET CATALYSTS AHEAD

After the S&P 500 closed at a record high on Friday, and the S&P/TSX Composite Index came just shy of doing the same, futures are little changed this morning ahead of this week’s big events. Working backward, U.S. non-farm payrolls for June will be released on Friday (economists expecting to see a gain of 700,000), and OPEC+ will meet on Thursday.

BRACING FOR A GUSHER OF PAYOUTS

U.S. banks are likely to steal the show after today’s closing bell when they’ll be free to announce their buyback and dividend plans after sailing through the U.S. Federal Reserve’s latest stress tests. Our Bloomberg partners have crunched numbers pointing to more than US$140 billion being returned to investors as a result. Meanwhile, still no indication of when Canadian banks will be unshackled by the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions.     

OTHER NOTABLE STORIES

• The Reddit frenzy has propelled GameStop into the upper echelon for index investors as it was added to the FTSE Russell 1000 on Friday. I see though that an analyst at Baird has thrown in the towel on GME for the time being, with Bloomberg noting that shop has suspended coverage due to the wild trading activity.
• The Canadian Press is reporting Infrastructure Minister Catherine McKenna will announce today that she’s not going to seek re-election. The same report suggests her exit “could become a launching pad” for ex-Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney to enter federal politics.
• Amazon.com Inc. is trumpeting the opportunity for Albertans to work alongside robots with news this morning that a robotics fulfillment centre will open in Parkland County, Alta. next year. Amazon says it will create more than 1,000 jobs in the process.
• The secondary market for tickets to the Stanley Cup Finals is off the charts in Montreal. The cheapest pair for game three at the Bell Centre (as of 6am ET this morning) will set you back more than US$11,000. Meanwhile, a pair can be had for tonight’s opener in Tampa for less than US$640.
• The cruise industry is getting back to business in the United States as Royal Caribbean’s Celebrity Edge set sail on Saturday, putting an end to the COVID-era suspension of service. We’re expecting to check in with a Bloomberg reporter who’s on board the ship around 1030am ET.
• CI Financial took another step today in its aggressive expansion into the United States, with the purchase of Pennsylvania-based Radnor Financial Advisors, adding another US$2.6-billion in assets.

NOTABLE RELEASES/EVENTS

• 16:30: U.S. banks expected to start announcing post-stress test dividend and buyback plans 
• Deadline for comments on CN's proposed voting trust to be filed with U.S. Surface Transportation Board