Live news: Rogers sisters resign from board ‘with family differences settled’

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Rogers sisters resign from company board as part of private settlement

Two members of the Rogers family who had opposed their brother Edward’s plan to replace former chief executive Joe Natale with Tony Staffieri have announced their retirement from the company’s board of directors.

Chair Edward Rogers thanked them for their contributions to the company in a statement, saying their dedication “has been integral to the company’s growth.”

Melinda Rogers-Hixon joined the Rogers board in 2002 and became deputy chair in 2018, having spent 15 years in management at the company, while Martha Rogers joined the board in 2008 and has served as chair of the ESG committee since 2021.

The siblings were at the centre of a power struggle in 2021, when Edward wanted Natale replaced with Staffieri, the company’s former chief financial officer, while his mother, Loretta Rogers, and his sisters opposed the plan.

The Canadian Press

10:39 a.m.

Suez Canal traffic drops to lowest level since 2021 blockage by giant container ship

According to a data platform maintained by the International Monetary Fund and Oxford University, the seven-day moving average of daily Suez crossings by bulk cargo ships, container carriers and tankers fell to 49 as of Sunday. That’s down from a 2023 daily peak of 83 transits in late June, and lower than the seven-day average a year earlier of 70 transits.

It’s also the lightest traffic flow through Suez since early April 2021 — just after the massive container carrier wedged itself between the canal’s banks for almost a week in late-March 2021, rattling supply chains for months as idling ships scrambled to get back on schedule.

The data also show a corresponding rise in the number of ships passing by the Cape of Good Hope near the southern tip of Africa.

As for the Ever Given, ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg showed its most recent position was in the middle of the Indian Ocean, heading east toward Sri Lanka after taking the southern route from northern Europe on a journey that began just after the widespread diversions started in mid-December.

Bloomberg

8:55 a.m.

Jimmy John’s to expand into Canada

Canadian sandwich lovers will soon have a new spot to stop.

United States sandwich chain Jimmy John’s is set to cross the border for the first time with an expansion that will start with a location in the Greater Toronto Area opening in mid-2024.

Its exact whereabouts have yet to be announced, but more locations will follow throughout Canada, said Michael Haley, president and managing director of international for Jimmy John’s parent company Inspire Brands.

“We won’t publicly announce the number, but…we’re approaching 3,000 in the U.S. and we have amazing runway to grow, so you could easily do that and more in Canada over a long period of time,” he said.

Inspire Brands, which is also behind Arby’s, Baskin-Robbins, Buffalo Wild Wings, Dunkin’ and Sonic, will use Canadian franchisor Foodtastic Inc. to launch Jimmy John’s in Canada.

Foodtastic has more than 1,100 restaurants across brands including Milestones, Freshii and Quesada.

Jimmy John’s is best known in the U.S. for its customizable submarine-style sandwiches made on French or sliced wheat bread. Diners can also opt for wraps or an unwich, a sandwich which uses lettuce in lieu of a bun.

— The Canadian Press

7:30 a.m.

Canada tightens grip on home-grown research

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government yesterday produced a list of dozens of foreign institutes, schools and laboratories it says are linked to entities that might pose a risk to Canada’s national security.

The new rules establish a list of sensitive research areas, such as advanced weapons, digital infrastructure and life-science technology. Any project in those fields that’s receiving money from one of the listed institutes would be ineligible for a Canadian government grant.

The organizations are primarily based in China, but the list also includes several from Russia and Iran.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said Wednesday that Canada was using national security as an excuse to suppress Chinese universities and scientific institutions. “This decision is not wise,” she said.

— Laura Dhillon Kane, Bloomberg

Stock markets before the opening bell

The Europeans joined the fray this morning when European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde and governing council member Klaas Knot warned that aggressive bets on interest-rate cuts aren’t helping policymakers in the battle against inflation.

European stocks slumped more than 1 per cent at the open with all industry sectors in the red. Futures on the Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500 fell around 0.5 per cent, suggesting another weak day ahead for U.S. equities.

The CBOE Volatility Index — Wall Street’s “Fear Gauge” — climbed to a two-month high.

Fresh concerns about China are adding to the headwinds after officials figures showed the housing slump has worsened and domestic demand remains listless in the world’s second biggest economy.

— Bloomberg

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Additional reporting by The Canadian Press, Associated Press and Bloomberg