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Strength in battery metals and financial stocks helped Canada’s main stock index eke out a small gain, while U.S. markets fell, led by losses in tech.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 54.50 points at 20,622.34.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 288.87 points at 34,618.24.The S&P 500 index was down 54.78 points at 4,450.32, while the Nasdaq composite was down 217.72 points at 13,708.33.
The Canadian Press
Canada is postponing a trade mission to India that was planned for early October, a move that comes as broader trade talks between the two countries have stalled.
It also follows a contentious meeting between Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the recent Group of 20 summit in New Delhi.
Modi’s office publicly criticized Trudeau after the meeting for allegedly tolerating “anti-India activities of extremist elements in Canada,” while Trudeau said he raised concerns over foreign interference in Canadian politics.
In a statement released Friday afternoon, a spokesperson for Canadian Trade Minister Mary Ng gave no explanation for calling off the trade mission, and did not give a future date for sending one. The trip had been planned to go to Mumbai beginning Oct. 9, and focus on sectors including automobiles, agriculture and information technology.
“At this time, we are postponing the upcoming trade mission to India,” said Alice Hansen, Ng’s spokesperson. “In the next year we will be taking businesses to Japan, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, and Vietnam.”
Bloomberg
Canada’s auto union has “a lot of work to do” this weekend to avert a strike by Monday, labour leaders say after their counterparts in America walked off the job today in an unprecedented strike action.
The United Auto Workers (UAW) for the first time launched a targeted strike at all three Big automakers that could disrupt the whole North American industry if it continues into next week.
In Canada, Unifor members are in talks with Ford Motor Co, but the strike deadline is midnight Monday.
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Almost half the auto products made in Canada are shipped across the border, so the length of the UAW’s strike could cause disruptions up north since the industry works on a just-in-time basis.
Metroland Media Group says it plans to end the print editions of its 71 community newspapers and will exit the flyer business as it seeks protection under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act as part of a restructuring plan.
The move will mean the loss of 605 jobs or about 60 per cent of its total workforce. Affected staff will not be given termination or severance pay, the Toronto Star reported, because of insufficient funds.
Metroland said the decision is a result of unsustainable financial losses stemming from the changing preferences of consumers and advertisers.
Under the plan, Metroland’s community publications will move to a digital only model.
Meanwhile, the company’s six daily newspapers, including the Hamilton Spectator, Peterborough Examiner, St. Catharines Standard, Niagara Falls Review, Welland Tribune, and the Waterloo Region Record, will continue both in print and online.
Metroland is owned by NordStar Capital, which also owns the Toronto Star newspaper. The Star is not part of the restructuring.
The Canadian Press with additional reporting from the Financial Post
Canada’s main stock index was little changed in midday trading, while United States markets traded lower, led by losses in tech.
The S&P/TSX composite was up 10.05 points to 20,577.89 at noon.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 155.86 points to 34,721.25. The S&P 500 index was down 36.74 points to 4,468.36, while the Nasdaq composite was down 1178.72 points to 13,747.33.
Businesses in Canada says the federal government’s efforts to ease the burden of repaying COVID loans or CEBA are “laughable” and a “slap in the face.”
More than $49 billion was lent to businesses to help them survive the challenges of the pandemic. Ottawa announced this week the overall repayment timeline would be extended a year but the deadline to meet the condition for a forgiveness grant by only 18 days.
“It’s almost like a slap in the face. What are 18 days going to do for a business that has been struggling for the last two to three years?” said one Edmonton business owner.
The Financial Post’s Naimul Karim talks to businesses across Canada to get their reaction.
Home sales slowed in August while the average price of a home rose slightly, according to monthly data just out from the Canadian Real Estate Association.
National home sales were down 4.1 per cent compared to July. The sales figures were pulled lower by declines in Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley in British Columbia, Montreal, Ottawa, Hamilton and Burlington, Ont., as well as London and St. Thomas, Ont., CREA said.
The non-seasonally adjusted national average home price was $650,140 in August, up 2.1 per cent from August 2022.
CREA’s senior economist, Shaun Cathcart, said the dip in activity in August was expected following the Bank of Canada’s July interest rate hike.
U.S. stocks are retreating today as markets weigh mixed economic reports ahead of next week’s Federal Reserve decision.
The S&P 500 was down 0.4 per cent after the bell. The Dow edged down 37 points and the Nasdaq composite was off 0.5 per cent. The TSX was up 42 points.
In an unprecedented move that bodes ill for Canada, United Auto Workers began a targeted strike at all three of the legacy Detroit carmakers, kicking off a potentially costly and protracted showdown over wages and job security.
After the midnight deadline for a new contract passed, workers walked out on a Ford Motor Co. plant in Michigan that makes Bronco SUVs, a General Motors Co. factory in Missouri that assembles Chevrolet Colorado pickups and a Stellantis NV plant in Ohio that builds Jeep Wrangler SUVs.
The union and automakers are still far apart after weeks of talks and the UAW said it will add strike locations depending on how bargaining progresses.
“Tonight, for the first time in our history, we will strike all three of the Detroit Three at once,” UAW president Shawn Fain said late last night.
The strike will likely affect Canada’s auto industry as well as the two are deeply integrated. Automakers rely on operations and suppliers in Canada and the U.S. as components criss-cross the border before they are assembled into a finished vehicle.
The strike deadline for Canadian auto workers talks with Ford Motors Co is Monday.
Bloomberg and Financial Post
Stocks are rallying this morning after better-than-expected economic data in China fuelled hopes stimulus measures are paying off.
But take care — it’s triple witching day. This event, which only happens four times a year, is when expiration of stock options, stock index futures, and stock index options all fall on the same day and it’s been known to trigger volume spikes and volatility.
According to MarketWatch today is on track to be the largest September expiry on record involving contracts attached to US$3.4 trillion worth of U.S. stocks, ETFs and indexes — so buckle up.
Today’s data: Canada’s manufacturing sales for July and International Securities Transactions. Stateside it’s U.S. trade price indicesi, Empire State Manufacturing Surveyi, and University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index
Additional reporting by The Canadian Press, Associated Press and Bloomberg
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