Noah Zivitz

Managing Editor, BNN Bloomberg

Archive

OIL ON EDGE AMID TRUMP BUDGET

The Trump administration’s first budget is putting the oil market on edge this morning. The U.S. president’s fiscal plan reportedly includes a proposal to sell half the country’s strategic petroleum reserve. That’s giving traders pause, and raising the risk that the global supply glut will deepen. The timing couldn’t be more uncomfortable for OPEC, as the cartel gets set to meet in Vienna later this week.

BNN’s Jameson Berkow will juxtapose the budget plan against the production cuts orchestrated by OPEC. He’ll also remind us about legislative risk in the U.S., which risks gumming up the budget approval process.

FEATURE INTERVIEW WITH RICK GEORGE

The icon of the oil sands sits down with BNN’s Jon Erlichman at 10:10 a.m. ET for an in-depth conversation about the outlook for oil in a week that has so much riding on OPEC’s meeting in Vienna on Thursday. Beyond price uncertainty, we’ll also get the former Suncor CEO’s perspective on how U.S. President Donald Trump’s energy policies will impact the industry.

MORNEAU ADVISOR: GET READY FOR ANOTHER COMMODITY SUPERCYCLE

Quite the predictions by former Goldman Sachs Asia Vice-Chair Ken Courtis on BNN late Friday. Not only does he see oil topping US$70 per barrel next year; he also believes sweeping infrastructure spending plans in Asia will drive another commodity supercycle in the next 10-15 years. Courtis, it should be remembered, sits on Finance Minister Bill Morneau’s Advisory Council on Economic Growth. Full details here.

CANADIANS STRETCHED TOO THIN

Lest there be any doubt that Canadians have taken on too much debt, check out the latest Manulife Bank of Canada survey. Twenty-four per cent of Canadian homeowners reported not having enough cash to cover their bills in the last year. Seventy per cent of mortgage-holding Canadians say they couldn't make their payments if they went up 10 per cent. And one fifth say they have zilch set aside in a rainy day fund. We’ll use this data to help tee up tomorrow’s rate decision by the Bank of Canada.​

LOONIE AT ONE-MONTH HIGH

Don’t look now, but the Canadian dollar has reached its highest level since April 24. The loonie climbed as high as 74.23 US in overnight trading, putting it back in the spotlight ahead of the Bank of Canada decision. While virtually all the attention in the lead up to this week’s policy pronouncement has centered on how Home Capital Group’s woes, and the broader mortgage market, will factor into the central bank’s statement, today is as good a day as any to consider whether or not the currency is behaving to the central bank’s liking.

FREELAND IN MEXICO

Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland is in Mexico City for an on-stage conversation with her counterpart at a conference dubbed Mexico and North America: A Global Powerhouse. Presumably much of the discussion will tackle the need to make sure NAFTA retains its trilateral nature as the U.S. gets set to trigger renegotiations. Bank of Nova Scotia CEO Brian Porter is speaking at the same event. Full details here.

HACKETT TO THE RESCUE AT FORD 

We’ll do some clean up today on Ford’s latest “people action” – the firing of CEO Mark Fields. He lasted less than three years in the top job, after he was selected as the chosen one to succeed Alan Mulally in 2014. No doubt those were big shoes to fill, considering how Mulally led Ford through a global recession and the crisis in the auto sector that dragged GM and Chrysler into bankruptcy protection. Still, who could have imagined Fields' time at the top would be so brief?

-Firstly, is this the solution for whatever is ailing the automaker?

-Secondly, is Jim Hackett the right person to guide Ford into the future?

-Thirdly, and this is just a matter of local interest, does it matter for BlackBerry? Keep in mind Ford has an existing relationship with QNX.

-Also worth circling back to what ex-Chrysler CEO Tom Lasorda told us last week about Ford needing to make a "big and bold" move

BNN Advisor

Vancouver: Housing concerns cross generations

Winnipeg and Saskatchewan: The loonie and U.S. protectionism weigh on Central Canada

Yellowknife and Whitehorse: The hurdles of northern living and aboriginal issues

UPGRADING THE BANKS

On the eve of bank earnings season, Barclays Capital is ratcheting up its view on some stocks in the sector. Analyst John Aiken has bumped up his recommendations on Scotia (overweight), National (overweight), BMO (equal weight), TD (equal weight), and Laurentian (equal weight). He'll walk us through the rationale at 9:40 a.m. ET.

NOKIA SHARES SPIKE 

Nokia shares are spiking in Helsinki, and the ADR is trading higher in the pre-market on the back of the truce with Apple announced this morning. The two companies said they’ve settled all IP litigation and struck a licensing deal. In the words of Nokia’s chief legal officer, “It moves our relationship with Apple from being adversaries in court to business partners working for the benefit of our customers.”

NOTABLE INTERVIEWS ON BNN

-TD Bank Group Head Colleen Johnston (8:40 a.m. ET)

-Former Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird (9:05 a.m. ET)

NOTABLE RELEASES/EVENTS

-Notable data: Canadian wholesale trade (8:30 a.m. ET), U.S. new home sales (10:00 a.m. ET)

-Mexico and North America: A Global Powerhouse conference in Mexico City. Speakers include Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland (12:00 p.m. ET) and Bank of Nova Scotia CEO Brian Porter (10:45 a.m. ET).

-12:00 p.m.: Amazon.com holds annual meeting

-2:20 p.m.: Finance Minister Bill Morneau holds media avail in Montreal after meeting with Concordia students

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.