Andrew Bell

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It worked out very well for me. I get on much better with my present husband than the one who died in the earthquake 

- Elderly woman in Tangshan widowed by quake and hastily remarried by Communist officials

On this day in 1976, the Chinese city about 110 km east of Beijing was destroyed by the worst quake in centuries. An incredible 240,000 or more people died after unreinforced masonry homes collapsed while residents slept. China had yet to embark on the great opening up of its economy (Chairman Mao died six weeks later) and rescue efforts sputtered. Some soldiers sent to relieve the city had to march on foot for almost 300 km. Looting was also widespread.

China slowdown

The nation’s transformation over four decades has made it ever more important for investors worldwide. Shares in Ford Motor (F.N) have dropped 8 per cent today after profit was dented by weakness in the U.S. market and lower prices in China.

"We do think the U.S. {new vehicle market} is coming down,” chief financial officer Bob Shanks said. "We saw higher industry incentives. In the U.S. we also saw lower auction values, particularly from smaller vehicles.”

Shanks joins us on BNN at 12:10 p.m. ET.

Commodities under pressure

Shares in Goldcorp (G.T) have slipped more than 2 per cent to trade at just over US$18 in New York. “The stock will likely underperform the peer group” today, Desjardins analyst Michael Parkin predicts. He says the huge Penasquito mine in Mexico struggled in Q2, with costs ballooning above US$3,000 per ounce, “due to a challenging restart after the planned 10-day maintenance shutdown; however, the mine was back to normal operating levels in July.” Credit Suisse cut its Goldcorp target price to US$21 from US$22.50.

We’ll hear from CEO David Garofalo at 2:30 p.m. ET.

And tune in at 11:20 a.m. ET when Agnico Eagle (AEM.TO) CEO Sean Boyd joins us on Commodities. BMO says the gold producer Chalked up “an EPS beat on higher revenue and lower taxes. AEM continued to pay down its outstanding debt, reducing net debt by ~$181M, marking the seventh consecutive quarter of reductions.”

Former market darling Cenovus (CVE.TO) has struggled lately with the oil sands stock dropping 54 per cent in the past five years versus as 34 per cent decline in TSX energy hares. TD notes that the company’s Q2 report includes “positive revisions to 2016 capex and operating cost guidance.” Second-quarter results were lifted by strong cash flow from refining and marketing plus lower-than-expected costs across the business.

We’ll get more details from Cenovus CEO Brian Ferguson at 12:20 p.m. ET.

Finally, the Brits aren’t thrilled by the appointment of France's Michel Barnier, dubbed the "scourge of the City of London," as the European Commission’s chief Brexit negotiator.

One pin-striped banker chairman gasped: “My initial reaction was ‘Oh, God.’ It’s clearly provocative.”

Another told the Financial Times: “It’s incredibly provocative. This is {commission president} Juncker’s revenge on Britain.”

Well, they asked for it.

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