Here are five things you need to know this morning:
 
Worst recession ever: Canada’s job market continues to be red hot. Canada added nearly 64,000 jobs, the most since January and well above economists’ expectations for 20,000 new jobs. Wage growth re-accelerated to 5.3 per cent, the most since February. It wasn’t a perfect report. Most of the gains were in part-time jobs, but full-time employment grew as well. I don’t have to tell you what comes next. The odds of a Bank of Canada rate hike shot up after the report. The next interest rate decision is Oct. 25 and the odds now are 42 per cent chance of a hike, compared to just 28 per cent yesterday. CIBC is not so sure this jobs report is enough to force the Bank of Canada’s hand. “The increase in jobs was not exactly broad-based,” Andrew Grantham of CIBC Economics wrote in a note to clients. Grantham notes the huge gains in education employment, which can be volatile this time of year, while we saw declines in finance, real estate and leasing.
 
Good news is bad news: The U.S. job market also grew significantly more than anticipated. The U.S. added 336,000 new jobs – the largest gain since January. Wage growth ticked down to 4.2 per cent – but still above four per cent for 10 months in a row.  The market reaction was swift. Futures dived, yields rose and the U.S. dollar spiked. Odds of a rate hike moved slightly higher but it’s definitely not baked in the cake, and the market is still pricing in rate cuts in the back half of next year.
 
Party like it’s 1999: Exxon Mobil is reportedly close to buying Pioneer in what could be its biggest deal since 1999. Bloomberg is reporting the deal could be as large as US$60 billion, making it one of the world’s largest so far this year. Shares of shale producer Pioneer are rallying in the pre-market and the deal would make Exxon the undisputed top dog in the Permian Basin. We will watch for how this boosts the sector – especially those Permian plays like Ovintiv (formerly Encana).
 
Au revoir: We will watch shares of Canadian small-cap Velan this morning. The maker of steel valves was supposed to be acquired by Flowserve in a deal announced in February, but after the close said it was not going to get regulatory approvals in France. Velan was already trading at a discount to the $13 per share offer price because of concerns it wouldn’t get approval, but closed out at $11 per share yesterday, so it could face a big drop as the stock was trading with a five handle before the deal was announced.
 
Another round of price cuts: Tesla is cutting prices on top selling U.S. models again. This comes just days after the company missed third-quarter delivery expectations. Shares are lower in the pre-market. While Tesla definitely has the margin space compared to the legacy car makers to offer discounts, analysts have been trimming their profit outlooks due to these price cuts.