April 8th, 2016
Daily Market Commentary
ECONOMIC NEWS:
- The Unemployment rate in Canada was quoted at 7.1%, below estimates of 7 .3%.
- The participation rate in Canada was steady at 65.9%.
- Housing starts in Canada also beat expectations, at 204K, when 190K were expected.
Commodities:
- Oil is poised for a weekly gain as U.S. crude output continues to drop before a meeting between suppliers to discuss freezing production.
- Gold is heading for the biggest weekly increase in more than a month as investors scaled back expectations for further interest-rate increases in the U.S., raising the appeal of the metal as a store of value.
- Copper is poised for the biggest weekly loss since January, erasing gains for the year on concerns that demand in China won’t be enough to absorb stocks piling up in warehouses.
Canada:
- Quebec wants to cut oil consumption by 40 percent over the next 15 years and eliminate thermal-coal usage as Canada’s second most populous province strives to reduce carbon emissions.
- Ottawa and Quebec face a possible new hurdle in their efforts to help Bombardier Inc. and its troubled C Series aircraft – the U.S. government. (Globe and Mail)
United States:
- U.S. stock-index futures rose, signaling the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index will rebound from its worst decline in six weeks.
- Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said she continues to see some slack remaining in the U.S. labor market even as the economy shows “tremendous progress” following the financial crisis and the worst recession since the Great Depression.
- Verizon Communications Inc. plans to make a first-round bid for Yahoo Inc.’s Web business next week, and is willing to acquire the company’s Yahoo Japan Corp. stake to help sweeten the offer, according to people familiar with the matter.
- General Electric Co. could become one of the top players in the oil services and equipment industry if it decides to bid for Baker Hughes Inc.
- Abbott Laboratories didn’t cause medical providers to submit false payment claims to Medicare for unapproved stents, a Texas jury ruled, thwarting a whistle-blower’s lawsuit seeking as much as $1 billion.
International:
- Lenders helped lift European equities from their lowest levels since February, giving some respite to traders witnessing the longest stretch of weekly declines since 2014.
- Vodafone Group Plc has started the process of choosing arrangers for a listing of its Indian wireless business, people with knowledge of the matter said, in what could be among the country’s biggest initial public offerings.
- NXP Semiconductors NV, which last year merged with Freescale Semiconductor Ltd., is weighing a sale of its standard products business, people familiar with the matter said.
- Asian stocks rose, erasing an early loss, after Japanese shares posted their biggest rally in two weeks as the yen dropped for the first time in six days.
- The yen climbed past 108 per dollar, reaching the strongest level in almost 1 1/2 years, as demand for haven assets and the Bank of Japan’s apparent reluctance to intervene kept investors buying.
- Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s finance affiliate has increased the amount it’s raising to at least $3.5 billion and gained the support of powerful state-backed investors in a record technology funding, according to people familiar with the matter.
*All information is taken from Bloomberg, unless otherwise noted.