Businesses are facing another round of policy whiplash as hard-hit provinces race to contain COVID-19 variants. Jason Kenney’s United Conservative government has tightened up retail capacity restrictions in Alberta again and will prohibit dine-in service at bars and restaurants as of Friday. Meanwhile, our CTV News colleagues have learned Doug Ford’s cabinet approved another stay-at-home order yesterday, with another meeting on tap this morning to finalize the decision. Canadian Federation of Independent Business President Dan Kelly quickly warned on Twitter that “thousands of businesses will not survive” if that order comes to fruition.
TSX RECORD RUN
The S&P/TSX Composite has closed at new highs in all three trading sessions thus far in April after Shopify and the materials group led the way higher yesterday. We’ll get some actionable ideas and gauge the outlook this morning with Starlight Capital Chief Executive and Chief Investment Officer Dennis Mitchell at 8:30 a.m.
HOUSING HAVEs AND HAVE-NOTs
More than one in five Canadians are apparently hoping for a home-price crash that could have devastating consequences for the economy. A new Angus Reid Institute survey shows 22 per cent of respondents to a recent online poll said they’re hoping real estate prices fall at least 30 per cent, while 14 per cent of respondents said they want to see prices rise by at least the same amount. No points for guessing who’s in which camp. We’ll dig into an incredibly detailed report on housing sentiment in this country with Shachi Kurl from The Angus Reid Institute at 10:10 a.m.
OTHER NOTABLE STORIES
- The annual must-read in global banking circles is out. JPMorgan Chase & Co. CEO Jamie Dimon’s annual letter to shareholders was published this morning (all 66 pages). We’ll dig into key takeaways. I, for one, just landed on this gem about wrongdoings in his industry: “When I hear examples of people doing something that is wrong because they could be paid more, it makes my blood boil – and I don’t want them working here.”
- We’ll watch shares of MDA this morning as the Canadian space technology company returns to public markets after failing to meet its own roadshow expectations. Shares ended up being priced at $14 apiece, falling short of the $16-$20 target range.
- Transat AT is facing another hurdle after its top shareholder came out against the $5/share takeover proposal that has been dangled by Pierre Karl-Péladeau. Peter Letko told The Globe and Mail that dollar value would be akin to “giving the company away.”
- Fresh evidence of the interest in crypto: Coinbase Global Inc., which is a week away from going public on the Nasdaq, said it expected to report up to US$800 million in profit…
Read more:The Daily Chase: Alberta, Ontario toughen COVID rules; 1 in 5 hoping for home-price
