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Today’s headlines
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Rio Tinto staff die in plane crash in Northwest Territories
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The miner is working closely with authorities to find out exactly what happened, it said in a statement today. The company didn’t disclose the number of deaths.
The Transportation Safety Board said the British Aerospace Jetstream passenger plane went down about 740 kilometres south of Yellowknife near the Alberta boundary.
The plane had taken off from Fort Smith’s airport when it lost contact and crashed near the banks of the frigid Slave River.
There was no immediate word on how many people were on board the flight, but the airline’s website said that type of plane can carry 19 passengers.
Rio has been operating Diavik, the biggest diamond mine in Canada, since it started production in 2003, before taking full control of the asset in 2021.
— Bloomberg, The Canadian Press
11:25 a.m.
Rona cutting 300 jobs across the country
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The home improvement retailer says it’s consolidating operations into its core buildings, and will close a distribution centre in Terrebonne, Que. in March and one in Calgary in October.
It says the closure of the centres, along with a streamlining of its corporate structure, will together lead to the roughly 300 cuts nationally.
The move comes after U.S. retailer Lowe’s sold Rona, and its Lowe’s stores in Canada, to private equity firm Sycamore Partners in late 2022.
Under Sycamore’s ownership, the company already announced about 500 job cuts last June as part of its simplification efforts and has been converting Lowe’s stores in Canada to its Rona+ brand.
The company has said it has around 22,000 employees and some 425 stores across its Rona, Rona+, Reno-Depot, and Dick’s Lumber banners.
— The Canadian Press
11:00 a.m.
Markets open: Wall Street gains on tech earnings, TSX up on interest rate outlook
U.S. stocks continued to gain in Wednesday trading, with traders positive about the economy after a fresh batch of data topped estimates and technology companies reported robust earnings.
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U.S. data showing business activity expanded in January by the most in seven months is positive for stocks, according to Renaissance Macro’s Neil Dutta.
“Growth is up and inflation is down. The former puts a ceiling on how many cuts the Federal Reserve will do while the latter means the Fed still ends up cutting,” he said. “Very good scenario for equity markets.”
— Bloomberg, Financial Post
9:13 a.m.
Firehouse Subs offers first responders and veterans $100,000 cash to open restaurant
Firehouse Subs is pushing to open more restaurants in Canada and it’s hoping to get first responders and veterans in on the mission.
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The offer will also stand for second and third restaurants that responders or veterans open.
Firehouse says it costs between $400,000 and $500,000 to build and open one of its restaurants.
It’s zeroing in on first responders and veterans because Firehouse Subs was started by former firefighter brothers in Jacksonville, Fla., nearly 30 years ago.
The pitch comes as Firehouse is spending tens of millions on rapidly growing its brand across North America and as sandwich chain rivals Jimmy John’s and Jersey Mike’s carry out lofty expansion plans in the Canadian market.
— The Canadian Press
Stock markets before the opening bell
Stocks are gaining this morning as investors take heart in a slew of positive earnings.
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China’s plan to stimulate its economy by cutting the reserve requirement ratio for banks gave sentiment another boost. European commodities shares rallied and the Hang Seng Index added 3.6 per cent.
“We’re in somewhat of a sweet spot at the moment for equities,” Francois Rimeu, a strategist at La Francaise Asset Management in Paris told Bloomberg. “U.S. economic newsflow is good, growth is flat in Europe, but it’s no drama and nobody believes in the resurgence of inflationary pressures.”
— Bloomberg
What to watch today
Earnings season continues in the United States with heavy hitters like Tesla Inc, AT&T Inc and IBM. Corp. releasing results today.
Recommended from Editorial
Additional reporting by The Canadian Press, Associated Press and Bloomberg
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