Tomorrow is the anniversary of Donald Trump being sworn into office as president of the United States and putting the rest of the world on notice that his White House would be about one thing and one thing only: “America first.” Since then, U.S. stocks have made a mockery of existing records, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbing almost 32 per cent through the end of trading yesterday as Boeing led the way by more than doubling in value. Meanwhile, Trump’s view of the world has put Canadians on edge as NAFTA’s fate hangs in the balance. Today we’ll dive a little deeper into what a year of President Trump has meant for investors and Canada’s economic outlook.

FIGHTING TO KEEP THE LIGHTS ON IN D.C.

Awkward Trumpaversary legislative matters to deal with on Capitol Hill as it remains unclear how/whether Republicans can rally enough votes to pass the one-month funding measure that was approved in the House of Representatives late yesterday. Now there are suggestions that lawmakers might have to abandon the idea of a one-month extension and instead settle for bill that would keep the lights on for just a couple of days to allow more time for talks about a longer-term spending plan.

 

     

MAKING TORONTO’S CASE FOR HQ2

Tech industry insiders were in no mood to cheerlead Toronto candidacy yesterday after the city made the cut for Amazon’s HQ2 shortlist. We had not one, but two, big names warn that winning Jeff Bezos’ affection could end up being a “disaster” for Canada’s largest city. Today, we’ll address those concerns, and dive deeper into Toronto’s case, with Ontario’s top business advisor, Ed Clark. Watch for him on Business Day around 2:45 p.m. ET.

OTHER NOTABLE STORIES:

-Kinder Morgan Canada is saluting the National Energy Board’s new plan for dealing with permitting disputes as an “important” development in determining the outlook for Trans Mountain.

-CP Rail is a stock to watch after record fourth-quarter profit narrowly topped estimates, while its operating ratio improved to 56.1 per cent, and the company forecast low double-digit profit growth this year. CEO Keith Creel also said on a conference call NAFTA uncertainty doesn't present significant "micro" concerns for CP.

-Dozens of protests are planned outside Tim Hortons stores across the country today in what’s being billed as a national day of action in response to working conditions at the fast food chain.

-IBM’s 23-quarter streak of eroding revenue is finally over after the company posted top line growth in the last quarter of 2017.

NOTABLE RELEASES/EVENTS

-Notable earnings: Schlumberger

-Notable data: Canadian manufacturing sales, Canadian international securities transactions, U.S. consumer sentiment

-11:00 a.m. ET: Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland holds photo op at Montreal International Auto Show

-Midnight deadline for U.S. Congress to pass a spending bill

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.