(Illustration: Camille Charbonneau)
THE ESSENTIAL NEWS
• BMO is terminating its indirect retail auto financing business. Bank of Montreal (BMO) is shutting down its indirect retail auto financing business and focusing on other areas, leading to an unspecified number of job cuts, Canada’s third-largest bank said.
• The UAW and Detroit’s three major manufacturers are seeking an agreement. The United Auto Workers (UAW) strike against the three Detroit automakers is entering its fourth day as the two sides try to reach an agreement to avoid costly disruptions at other plants.
• Chevron’s Australian LNG plant returns to full capacity. Chevron said production had resumed at full capacity at its Wheatstone liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility in Australia after an outage reduced output by about a fifth last week.
• Ontario’s Canadian Teachers’ Fund buys KKR’s stake in GreenCollar. The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP) said it has acquired the stakes held by KKR & Co and other shareholders in GreenCollar, making it the majority shareholder of the Australian marketplace platform of the environment.
• HOOPP opens an office in London. The Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP), one of Canada’s largest pension funds, plans to open an office in London as part of its global expansion, it said Friday.
TRENDS BEFORE OPENING
THE Toronto futures increased slightly, supported by the increase in crude oil price amid concerns over supply, as investors eagerly await inflation data to be released later in the week that could provide more guidance on the Bank of Canada’s (BoC) outlook in matter of interest rates. THE futures contracts that track major Wall Street indexes rose slightly after a tough session and ahead of a widely expected pause in interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve later this week. THE European stocks fell as investors prepare for a packed week of global central bank meetings, including rate decisions from Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. THE gold price hit its highest level in a week due to bets on the Fed pause, while the American dollar fell slightly.
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HEADLINES TO FOLLOW
• Bank of Montreal: The bank is winding down its indirect retail auto financing business and focusing on other areas, leading to an unspecified number of job cuts, Canada’s third-largest bank said. The move comes after its provisions for bad debts rose to C$492 million, from $136 million a year earlier, in the quarter ended July 31, a sign of growing stress faced by consumers due to rapidly increasing borrowing costs. “By terminating indirect retail auto financing activities, we have the opportunity to focus our resources on areas where we believe our competitive position is strongest,” BMO said in a statement provided to Reuters.
• Santacruz Silver Mining: The Canadian mining group said in a statement Friday that an employee died at its Zimapan mine in Mexico last week and that the death was due to a collapse of the wall of a mine shaft. “A driller and his assistant were digging a horizontal blast hole when a rock fell from the working face and struck the assistant,” the company added. An investigation is underway, adds the company, which specifies that the mine has since resumed operations.
