Live news: Federal government’s deficit climbs to $19.1 billion

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Federal government’s deficit climbs to $19.1 billion from $3.6 billion last year

The result for the April-to-November period compared with a deficit of nearly $3.6 billion reported for the same stretch of its 2022-23 fiscal year.

Government revenues for the eight-month period totalled $281.8 billion, up 2.6 per cent from $274.7 billion in the same period a year earlier.

Program expenses, excluding net actuarial losses, for the April-to-November period totalled nearly $264.9 billion, up 6.3 per cent from nearly $249.2 billion.

Net actuarial losses totalled $5.0 billion compared with nearly $6.6 billion in the same period last year.

— The Canadian Press

1:07 p.m.

BlackBerry stock hits 20-year low after private debt offering

Once a Canadian tech darling, the company’s Toronto-listed shares fell as much as 20 per cent on Wednesday to $3.94, closing the session at its lowest point since May 2003. In the late 2000s, BlackBerry was one the biggest players in the global smartphone market with a peak market value of over $80 billion. Now it’s worth about $2.3 billion.

BlackBerry upsized the convertible note offering to US$175 million from US$160 million on Thursday, and priced its five-year convertible notes at a three per cent coupon and US$3.88 conversion price. The company said in a press release that it plans to use net proceeds from the offering to fund repayment or repurchase of its outstanding US$150 million existing debentures due Feb. 15 and the remainder for general corporate purposes.

“The pricing appears better than feared,” RBC Dominion Securities analyst Paul Treiber wrote in a note.

The offering comes a month after the company’s newly minted chief executive John Giamatteo backed away from plans to spin off its internet of things business, reversing plans made by John Chen, who held the chief executive helm for nearly a decade.

Bloomberg

12:35 p.m.

Canadian energy producers dismayed by Biden’s move to pause U.S. LNG approvals

Biden’s decision is being viewed as a win by environmentalists who fear an increase in North American LNG exports will lock in greenhouse gas emissions for the long-term and make it impossible for countries to meet their climate commitments.

But the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers said Friday it is disappointed by the decision, adding it sees LNG as a lower-emission source of secure energy that can help countries get off coal.

The industry group added that LNG facilities on the U.S. Gulf Coast also offer Canadian natural gas producers an opportunity to export their product globally.

The U.S. is the largest exporter of LNG in the world, while Canada does not yet have its own LNG export capacity.

Canadian natural gas producers have been eagerly anticipating the startup of the massive LNG Canada export terminal being built near Kitimat, B.C., which is 90 per cent complete and expected to be operational later this year.

The Canadian Press

Noon

Midday markets: Technology stocks boost TSX

Strength in technology stocks helped keep Canada’s main stock index in the green in late-morning trading, while stock markets on Wall Street also moved higher.

The S&P/TSX composite index was up 0.03 per cent at 21,106.43.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 0.31 per cent at 38,168.79. The S&P 500 index was up 0.18 per cent at 4,902.91, while the Nasdaq composite was up 0.15 per cent at 15,533.54.

The Canadian dollar traded for 74.30 cents US compared with 74.10 cents US on Thursday.

The March crude oil contract was down 1.27 per cent to US$76.38 per barrel and the March natural gas contract was down six cents at US$2.12 per mmBTU.

The February gold contract up 0.02 per cent at US$2,018.20 an ounce and the March copper contract up less than a penny at US$3.87 a pound.

The Canadian Press

11:28 a.m.

Oil set to rise 5% this week

West Texas Intermediate edged above US$77 a barrel on Friday, and was on pace for a weekly gain of more than five per cent, its biggest since the week following the start of the Israel-Hamas war. Crude jumped on Thursday in a rally ignited by positive fundamental news and extended by trading algorithms.

Oil has gained more than eight per cent in January, with additional support from an unexpectedly large drawdown in U.S. inventories and efforts by Chinese policymakers to shore up the economy. Still, many traders remain cautious given prospects for robust supplies from non-OPEC producers, as well as slower demand growth in major importers, including India.

— Bloomberg

10:06 a.m.

Wall Street poised to close out another winning week

The S&P 500 was down 0.09 per cent in early trading after setting a record high for five straight days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.1 per cent, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.31 per cent lower.

Intel Corp.’s drop of 11.2 per cent was dragging on the market after its forecasts for revenue and profit for the start of 2024 fell short of Wall Street’s estimates.

Visa also sank, down 1.6 per cent, despite reporting better results than expected. Analysts called the figures solid but highlighted how the company described some slowing trends for January so far.

The latest report on Friday showed the measure of inflation the Fed prefers to use behaved just about exactly as expected in December. Overall inflation by that measure was 2.6 per cent during the month, matching November’s rate.

The Fed pays more attention to the inflation figure after ignoring prices for food and fuel, which can zigzag sharply month to month. That figure cooled to 2.9 per cent from 3.2 per cent and was a bit better than economists expected.

In Canada, the S&P/TSX composite index was up 0.07 per cent on strength in energy and information technology stocks.

— The Associated Press, Financial Post

7:30 a.m.

Canada, U.K. blame each other as trade talks fall apart

The two countries have been negotiating for almost two years on replacing an interim deal put in place following Britain’s departure from the European Union. The breakdown in talks effectively leaves the U.K. at risk of being in a worse position than it was as a member of the bloc when it comes to Canada trade.

But those do not currently meet British regulatory standards, and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s administration has come under intense pressure from U.K. farmers not to allow, in particular, hormone-treated beef into the country.

“We had to take a strong line on this,” Minette Batters, president of the National Farmers’ Union of England and Wales, told the BBC. “It would lead to a two-tier food market in this country. There is no need to compromise on it.”

Explaining the decision to stall talks, a U.K. government spokesperson said late Jan. 25 Britain will only negotiate trade deals that “deliver” for its people.

“We remain open to restoring talks with Canada in the future to build a stronger trading relationship that benefits businesses and consumers on both sides of the Atlantic,” the spokesperson said in a post published by Susannah Goshko, British High Commissioner to Canada, on X, formerly Twitter.

The U.K. is Canada’s third-largest, single-country trading partner at over $46 billion a year, according to the Canadian government. The U.K. ranks Canada as its 18th-largest trading partner.

Laura Dhillon Kane and Brian Platt, Bloomberg

7:30 a.m.

Stock markets before the opening bell

European stocks rose on Friday, lifted by a raft of forecast-beating earnings and expectations that euro-area interest rates will start falling from April.

The Stoxx 600 index rose 0.9 per cent.

Contracts on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100, on the other hand, signalled a halt to six days of dizzying gains that propelled Wall Street stocks to records. Intel Corp. fell more than 11 per cent in premarket trading after a bleak forecast that also pressured technology stocks including Advanced Micro Devices Inc. and Nvidia Corp.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 0.36 per cent on Thursday.

— Bloomberg

What to watch today

The Department of Finance Canada will publish financial results for November 2023 this morning.

The 35th Annual Economic Outlook Forum, presented by Scotiabank, takes place in Vancvouer today. The event aims to provide some answers on what businesses in the Greater Vancouver region can expect from the local and national economy in the year ahead. Panellists will include economists, industry experts and political commentators. Keynotes will be presented by Jean-Francois Perrault, chief economist, Scotiabank; Jobs Minister Brenda Bailey and Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon.

American Express Co. and Colgate-Palmolive Co. will report earnings today.

— Additional reporting by The Canadian Press, Associated Press and Bloomberg