Noah Zivitz

Managing Editor, BNN Bloomberg

Archive

Investors are still on edge amid simmering tension between North Korea and U.S. President Donald Trump. Stocks are into another day of losses overseas, futures are pointing to a lower open in New York, and gold has touched the highest level since early June as the war of words continues. Pyongyang warned overnight it could strike near the U.S. territory of Guam by mid-month, and derided Trump's "fire and fury" warning as "a load of nonsense."

CI FINANCIAL BUYING SENTRY INVESTMENTS 

We’ve got more consolidation today in Canada’s asset management industry. CI Financial is buying Sentry Investments for $780 million in cash and (mostly) stock. The two companies are aiming to close the deal by the end of next month. CI’s CEO says the additional scale “is key to being competitive.” 

CALLIDUS VS WSJ AND SHORT SELLERS

Newton Glassman's Callidus Capital is firing back at The Wall Street Journal over its story yesterday afternoon that sent its stock down 21 per cent. Callidus says the report about whistleblowers allegedly taking aim at the distressed lender and its majority shareholder, Catalyst Capital, in complaints filed with the Ontario Securities Commission is based on claims that "are completely false." It's criticizing the Journal for proceeding "after a comprehensive briefing" on Tuesday, and also taking aim at short sellers for "attempting to manipulate the market by making false allegations." Lots to sift through here.

OSC CITES INVESTOR UNCERTAINTY IN HOME CAPITAL SETTLEMENT

Worth flagging an interesting nugget in the OSC’s formal decision to accept the settlement with Home Capital, et al. “A settlement in this matter also curtails the uncertainty affecting the market for HCG's securities and the negative effect this uncertainty has on investors,” the regulator said. Should the OSC be preoccupied with the marketability of an issuer’s securities when deciding whether to settle after breaches of securities laws? Just something to consider.

NEXT STEPS FOR (ERR, AGAINST?) TRANS MOUNTAIN

Two B.C. government officials are expected to make an announcement regarding the future of Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project this afternoon. No details yet on what to expect. Good opportunity, though, to refer back to what provincial Kingmaker Andrew Weaver told us last week: “I don’t see this project ever coming to fruition on the coast of British Columbia.” 

OTHER NOTABLE STORIES:

-Canadian Tire delivered double-digit profit growth (+14 per cent) in the second quarter, with adjusted earnings per share in the period beating the average estimate by 29 cents. If there's a wrinkle here - the company is warning its FGL Sports banner is "unlikely" to hit its annual sales growth target due to "recent results."

-Manulife Financial narrowly topped the average profit estimate. Notably, the company’s assets under management and administration has reached $1 trillion. And no discussion in the earnings release about Manulife’s long-term plan for John Hancock; though worth pointing out the U.S. division was the company’s primary profit driver in the second quarter. Also, former Conservative Party Interim Leader Rona Ambrose is joining its board of directors. CEO Don Guloien joins us at 4:10 p.m. ET.

-TMX Group’s second-quarter profit easily topped estimates. Notably, though, the beat was largely driven by lower expenses while total revenue slipped in the quarter. CEO Lou Eccleston joins us at 0945 to discuss the quarter and the outlook.

-Aimia’s second-quarter operating loss more than doubled and the company warned it might never again pay dividends. The backdrop here is uncertainty after Air Canada declared its plan to cut ties and launch its own loyalty program.

-TransAlta is cutting its full-year cash flow forecast due to “expected headwinds” later this year.

-Former Canadian Ambassador to the U.S. Derek Burney says there’s “no grounds yet for either complacency or optimism” in Canada on NAFTA. We’ll run that by Trade Minister François-Philippe Champagne when we speak with him this afternoon.

NOTABLE RELEASES/EVENTS

-Notable earnings: Brookfield Asset Management, CAE, Canada Goose, Canadian Tire, CI Financial, Element Fleet Management, Emera, Onex, Quebecor, Trican Well Service, Macy's, Nordstrom, Snap

-Notable data: Canadian new housing price index (8:30 a.m. ET)

-1:15 p.m. ET: Alberta Premier Rachel Notley tours Enbridge Line 3 site in Hardisty, Alberta 

-1:30 p.m. ET: B.C. announcement on Trans Mountain 

 Every morning BNN's Managing Editor Noah Zivitz 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.