Another day, more big profits for Canada’s banking industry.

After yesterday's strong report from Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM.TO),  Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) churned out earnings of $1.87 a share in its latest quarter, a full dime ahead of analyst expectations.

Barclays Analyst John Aiken says that “unlike CIBC yesterday, there does not appear to have been any incremental deterioration in RY’s consumer credit book, with delinquencies improving from a year ago.”

Royal Bank shares are ahead almost 40 per cent in the past 12 months. For those who prefer taking their chances in the soaring U.S. market, we’ll hear this afternoon from Noah Blackstein, manager of the $498-million Dynamic Power American Growth Class fund. The fund dropped almost 15 per cent last year but Blackstein’s job wasn’t made easy by a Canadian dollar that climbed above 74 cents U.S. from just over 72 cents at the start of the year.

His top holdings are far from the usual big-cap suspects. As of Jan 31, they included Inphi (IPHI.N) a builder of gear to speed up “hyper-scale” data centres, and ServiceNow (NOW.N), which promises to "replace unstructured work patterns of the past with intelligent workflows of the future."  (Er, does that mean we won’t get away with checking Facebook first thing in the morning to see whose birthday it is?)

INFLATION HEATS UP

Fresh data from Statistics Canada shows the cost of living shot up 2.1% year-over-year in January. That’s the first time we’ve seen headline CPI above two per cent since the fall of 2014. Credit (blame?) goes to gas prices, which posted their largest annual increase since September 2011. If you’re looking for an outlier in the numbers, check out food prices. According to StatsCan data, they fell in the month – led by a big drop in the produce aisles.  

SPACE DEAL

Speaking of tech, we’re all over that deal in which MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates (MDA.TO) is buying U.S.-based satellite imagery provider DigitalGlobe Inc (DGI.N) for about $3.1 billion to strengthen its position in the U.S. market.

At 10:05 a.m. ET, we’re planning to talk to MacDonald Dettwiler CEO Howard Lance.

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FEBRUARY IS YOUR MONEY MONTH ON BNN!

BNN’s annual look at personal finance and financial planning is underway – with financial experts, economists, CEOs, and analysts all offering advice and guidance for Canadians looking for a financial edge. Find it all at BNN.ca/personalfinance

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Almost a decade ago, Stephen Harper’s government Conservative government surprised investors by blocking a U.S. takeover of BC-based Dettwiler, concerned about America controlling such a key Canadian aerospace and defence firm.

But it looks as though that move may have been snookered. The Financial Post said last year that CEO Lance “is a U.S. citizen who now operates the company from its San Francisco headquarters. SSL MDA Holdings, Inc., registered as a corporation in Delaware, is now the operating company for all MDA businesses, both in the U.S. and Canada, the firm has announced.”

“What you’re seeing is a stealth takeover of sensitive technology that Canadian taxpayers paid for,” said Steve Staples, vice president of the Rideau Institute in Ottawa. “The very thing that the Conservative government was worried about has happened.”

GOING FOR GOLD

We’ve got a comprehensive look at gold on Commodities, starting at 11 a.m. ET.

Money manager Ross Healy, president of Strategic Analysis Corp, will tell us why he has been cutting his gold exposure but prefers gold-mining stocks over the metal because they offer more leverage to gains in bullion prices. His holdings include IAMGOLD Corp (IMG.TO) and Alamos Gold Inc (AGI.TO).

Alamos CEO John McCluskey told us yesterday how he plans to go on growing production and cutting sustaining costs at the company, whose stock has bounced 85 per cent in a year versus a gain of about 23 per cent for the TSX gold group.

And also on Commodities today, we’ll be joined by Scott Caldwell, CEO of Guyana Goldfields (GUY.TO). The company’s Aurora mine in Guyana, which reached commercial production last year, is designed to produce an average of 220,000 ounces per year over an initial 15-year mine life. The stock has climbed 64 per cent in the past year.

CONFESSIONS OF AN (EX-)SHOPAHOLIC

Finally, skinflints will be tuning in at 10:50 a.m. ET to get cheeseparing advice from Krystal Yee, who bills herself as an ex-shopaholic and now offers money saving strategies at her Web site, Give Me Back My Five Bucks.

Vancouver-based Yee also runs a site called the Frugal Wanderer. “I understand how important it is to travel and see the world at every stage of your life,” she says. “Even when money is tight.”

Segment producer Sarah Traynor says Yee’s tips include avoiding hotels and sticking to home-rental services such as HomeAway and Airbnb. You get a kitchen - and access to a laundry may let you stick to carry-on luggage. And stop rushing around. Yee advocates “slow travel,” stay at locations longer because destination hopping is expensive and tiring.

Amen to that.

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.