Noah Zivitz

Managing Editor, BNN Bloomberg

Archive

David Dodge has some strong opinions on the soundbyte that went viral on the campaign trail this week. “He’s wrong,” the former Bank of Canada governor declared in an interview with us when asked about Liberal Party of Canada Leader Justin Trudeau’s dismissive tone on monetary policy as an economic priority earlier this week. Read all about Dodge’s reaction at BNNBloomberg.ca. It seems fitting in a week dominated by discussion about the cost of living that we’re wrapping it up with an update from StatsCan on retail sales in this country. And it's not pretty, with the agency providing a flash estimate that sales fell 1.7 per cent last month. That comes on the heels of a 4.2 per cent rise in June.  Be sure to check out Pattie Lovett-Reid’s perspective at BNNBloomberg.ca on how the pandemic has altered spending habits.

OIL IN A FUNK

West Texas Intermediate crude is trading modestly lower today, extending a streak that’s seen the North American oil benchmark close lower in six consecutive sessions – leaving it 15 per cent below the US$74.69 peak just over a month ago.

BANK EARNINGS AHEAD

Four more sleeps until Scotia and BMO launch bank earnings season in this country. Naturally, Paul Bagnell has prepped a primer on what to expect: chiefly, the risk that COVID-19’s delta variant could disrupt a streak of estimate-crushing performances by the Big Six. Watch for it at BNNBloomberg.ca. On the topic of delta and the banks, this is a good place to point out that RBC has informed staff that they’ll have to be vaccinated by Oct. 31 to work on the bank’s premises, and TD has now set Nov. 1 as its cutoff date for staff to be vaccinated. 

WHY FRESHII FLOPPED ON BAY STREET

There was a time when Freshii was everywhere and its founder/CEO Matthew Corrin was a regular on BNN Bloomberg to tell us all about it: from product announcements, to ambitious growth plans, to very public attempts to cozy up with the biggest brands in the industry that Corrin was attempting to disrupt. It’s been a while since we’ve heard from him; so we sought out perspective from the investment, marketing and food industries on why Freshii has struggled to live up to the expectations it set for itself – and investors – when it went public in 2017. Watch for that story at BNNBloomberg.ca                          

OTHER NOTABLE STORIES

• Hexo shares tumbled 25 per cent in early trading after the pot producer announced late yesterday that it will go ahead with a financing. Details on the terms were disclosed this morning: the company is aiming to raise US$140 million with an offering of units comprised of one common share and a warrant to half a common share. Each unit is priced at US$2.95.
• Tesla CEO Elon Musk has unveiled plans for a 125-pound, 5’8” life-like robot that, according to Tesla, is “friendly” and “eliminates dangerous, repetitive, boring tasks”  -- and can apparently deadlift 150 pounds. That reveal came at an AI presentation that also included updates on the company’s self-driving technology and an in-house semiconductor.
• The U.S. government announced this morning that it’s extending restrictions on non-essential travel at its land border crossings until Sept. 21. Those rules had been scheduled to expire tomorrow. 

NOTABLE RELEASES/EVENTS

• Notable data: Canadian retail sales
• Notable earnings: Deere & Co.
• 9:45: Liberal Party Leader Justin Trudeau makes announcement in Winnipeg (plus avail)
• 9:30: Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet holds news conference on climate change
• 10:00: People's Party of Canada Leader Maxime Bernier launches campaign and holds news conference in Beauce, Que.
• 11:00: Conservative Party Leader Erin O’Toole makes announcement in Winnipeg (plus avail)
• 12:00: NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh holds media avail in Cowessess, Sask.
• 12:30: Green Party Leader Annamie Paul makes announcement in Toronto on plan to reach net-zero emissions
• 19:00: Brookfield Infrastructure offer for Inter Pipeline scheduled to expire