Risk is our theme on BNN today as investors seek out volatile assets after a French election result seen as favouring European unity and the euro.

Emmanuel Macron is now the favourite to beat anti-EU candidate Marine Le Pen in the run-off for the French presidency, sending French stocks four per cent higher and lifting bank stocks close to 10 per cent. The euro topped US$1.093 to hit a five-month high against the U.S. dollar.

HOME CAPITAL SHUFFLE

Meanwhile, buyers of Home Capital stock must assess the danger of owning a company facing regulatory action and boardroom turnover. Co-founder Gerald Soloway plans to quit the board “when a replacement with recognized expertise in financial services is named.” And CFO Robert Morton, who along with Soloway has been accused of misleading shareholders, will be reassigned to "special projects outside the financial reporting group."

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FREE REAL TIME TSX STOCK QUOTES

Now, only at BNN.ca. Don’t delay! Watch Canadian stocks trade live here.

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Home Capital shares have dropped 50 per cent in the past year to trade at $19.25. Scotia cut the stock to Underperform with a target of $21 on Friday, warning that “we see too many stacked risks which are too difficult to confidently quantify.”

We can find just one buy on the company among Bay St firms: GMP reiterated its rating today, arguing that “we believe HCG’s importance to the housing market and mortgage competition means regulators will make every effort to keep the company in operation. HCG originates around $7 billion of single family residential mortgages each year.”

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CROSS-CANADA PERSONAL FINANCE UPDATE

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

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CRUDE SLIDES

We’re talking oil at 11:30 a.m. ET with Harry Tchilinguirian, global commodity strategist at BNP Paribas. Crude has been just below US$50 this morning, after sliding seven per cent last week, depressed by fears of growing U.S. output. Tchilinguirian sees WTI trading at US$61 in the second half of the year, climbing to US$64 in late 2018. He sees a drop in global inventories through 2017 but warns that it “will however not be sufficient to reverse the accumulation of stocks between 2014 and 2016.”

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.