Andrew Bell

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"I've heard from numerous businesses that they're running out of cash to operate their everyday business. So that means if they don't get relief from their bankers soon, in the next few days or couple of weeks, they will be laying off workers and shutting operations" -- Economist Mark Zandi

On this day in 2008 , the  Dow Jones Industrial Average crashed almost  778 points or almost 7 per cent, its biggest point drop ever, as the financial crisis deepened when the U.S. Congress spurned an early bank bailout plan. Things got worse on Oct. 15 of that year when weak retail sales helped to send the Dow down another 733 points or nearly 8 per cent.  

Skepticism over OPEC's deal

Oil producers have been wrestling with their own threatened fiscal meltdown since 2014 as a crude glut and low oil prices blow out government budgets. Oil has been hovering around US$47 this morning after jumping more than $2 yesterday on word that OPEC has agreed to an outline deal to curb production for the first time in almost a decade.  

"OPEC made an exceptional decision today," Iran's Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said.

But skepticism abounds. “For them to say it's going to start in November is very suspect to me," Jeff Quigley, director of energy markets at energy consultant Stratas Advisors, told the BBC. “We don't know yet who's going to produce what."

The OPEC gambit is our Top Line on BNN as some investors grab energy stocks in hopes that the worst is over for crude. TSX oil and gas stocks jumped almost 4 per cent yesterday, bringing their year to date rise to 22 per cent (25 per cent including dividends.)

"This is the most important development in the oil market since the beginning of the selloff that began in November 2014," Sprott Asset Management's Eric Nuttall says. He joins us on Business Day AM at 9:35 a.m. ET.

Scott Hand on Inco, 10 years later

For investors, the financial crisis roiled the first decade of the century. On Commodities at 11:30 a.m. ET, we look back at a deal 10 years ago that heightened fears that Canada’s corporate structure was being hollowed out by foreign takeovers. We’ll be joined by Scott Hand, CEO of miner Inco when it was swallowed by Brazil’s Vale. We’ll get him to look back at the frantic maneuvering that saw plans to merger Inco with archrival Falconbridge - creating a Canadian nickel giant -  fall apart.

Finally, students of the Queen’s English will be intrigued and perhaps horrified by a prediction that by 2066,  the "th" sound will vanish completely in London because so many foreigners struggle with interdental consonants, created by pushing the tongue against the upper teeth.

“Already Estuary English – a hybrid of Cockney and received pronunciation (RP) which is prevalent in the South East – is being replaced by Multicultural London English (MLE) which is heavily influenced by Caribbean, West African and Asian Communities,” the Telegraph says. The “th” sound  is likely to succumb to "f", "d", or "v" meaning "mother" will be pronounced "muvver" and "thick" will become "fick".

Dat’ll be nice.

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