Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – New figures showing Chinese manufacturers came roaring back to life in March following two months of coronavirus lockdowns gave Asian stocks a modest boost on Tuesday.
European stocks were also up in early trade, while oil prices rose.
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The latest survey of China’s factory activity, the so-called Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics, indicated that companies in the manufacturing sector are expanding again, after a deep contraction in February.
The recovery may be an early signal that the worst is over for the world’s second-largest economy, where the pandemic began, but the road to a full recovery remains long and arduous, analysts said.
In Japan, data released on Tuesday showed both factory output and retail sales rose in February, though the pandemic may still lead to weaker numbers in the months ahead.
“The data itself was pleasing in that it was broad-based and implies that the first countries into COVID-19, are perhaps on their way out of it,” Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst for Asia Pacific at OANDA, told Al Jazeera. “That won’t alleviate the demand shock coming from elsewhere in the world, and any recovery will be fragile indeed, but the potential light at the end of the tunnel gave Asian investors some welcome cheer today,”
China’s benchmark Shanghai Composite share index ended the day little changed with a 0.11 percent gain, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 index lost 0.88 percent. Both markets erased early gains after the release of their respective economic figures.
Over the first quarter of 2020, the Nikkei has lost more than 18 percent of its value.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 1.85 percent, South Korea’s Kospi Index rose 2.19 percent, and Singapore’s Straits Times Index increased 1.99 percent.
Accelerated government efforts in South Korea and Japan to fight the pandemic and its economic fallout also buoyed investor optimism.
Japan’s government on Monday proposed a record stimulus spending package worth 100 trillion yen ($926bn) – the equivalent of up to 17 percent of the size of the Japanese economy – to insulate the country’s people from the worst of the effects of the coronavirus.
Meanwhile, South Korean President Moon Jae-in the country is planning a second round of emergency spending that will include direct payments to low-income families to help cushion the blow of the containment measures.
Chinese factories rebound
China’s PMI jumped to 52.0 in March, from 35.7 in February, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics.
The non-manufacturing PMI also rose to 52.3 from 29.6, bolstered by a recovery in the services and construction sectors.
A figure above 50 indicates businesses are expanding, while anything below that means activity is shrinking.
“The latest survey data add to a broader evidence that activity has started to rebound but suggest that weak foreign demand and labour market strains remain headwinds,” Julian Evans-Pritchard, senior China economist at Capital Economics, wrote in a note.
“A full recovery will take much longer given the deepening slump in foreign demand and the deterioration in the labour market – the employment components of the PMIs rose last month but still point to continued layoffs.”
Shares in Europe were mostly higher in early trade, with the main indices in Paris, London and Frankfurt up between 2.2 and 2.5 percent.
Meanwhile, oil prices rebounded after Brent crude nosedived to the lowest levels in 18 years on Monday amid a double whammy of a supply glut caused by a price war between top producers Saudi Arabia and Russia, and a collapse in demand as the world comes to a near standstill.
After calling the price war “crazy,” US President Donald Trump agreed with Russian President Vladimir Putin during a phone call on Monday to let their top energy officials meet to discuss the crash in oil markets. The plunge in crude prices has hurt US shale oil and gas producers because of their higher operating costs.
Brent crude futures clawed back some losses on Tuesday, rising 0.7 percent to $27.12 per barrel. US West Texas Intermediate jumped 5.43 percent to $21.16 per barrel.
Even with Tuesday’s gains, global crude prices have fallen by about 66 percent so far this year.
Virus still spreading
The coronavirus pandemic continues to take its toll on the global economy since the first cases were reported in China at the end of 2019. The virus has infected more than 784,000 worldwide, killing about 37,500 people, while some 165,000 have recovered.
The epicentre of the outbreak has shifted from China to the US, where the number of new cases has jumped to 163,500, the most in the world.
With large areas of the US under lockdown, Trump has abandoned plans to reopen parts of the economy by mid-April while Congress started to ready a fourth round of stimulus spending plans to shore up the economy and protect its people from the deepening fallout.
“Due to the severe global travel bans and lockdowns in place in many countries around the world, the global economy is expected to experience the worst recession since the Global Financial Crisis in 2020,” Rajiv Biswas, Asia Pacific chief economist at IHS Markit, told Al Jazeera.
The US, UK, Europe and Japan are expected to experience deep recessions in 2020, he said.
“However, there is some brighter news as China’s economy is showing signs of a gradual rebound in momentum in March as new COVID cases have fallen to extremely low levels, after the severe disruption of production and business activity during February,” Biswas said.
Future PMI surveys in coming months will help show the strength of China’s economic rebound, while PMI readings for other Asian countries will provide a guide to the extent of the economic shocks from the pandemic across the Asia Pacific region, he said.
TORONTO – Canada Goose Holdings Inc. says it has signed a deal that will result in the creation of its first eyewear collection.
The deal announced on Thursday by the Toronto-based luxury apparel company comes in the form of an exclusive, long-term global licensing agreement with Marchon Eyewear Inc.
The terms and value of the agreement were not disclosed, but Marchon produces eyewear for brands including Lacoste, Nike, Calvin Klein, Ferragamo, Longchamp and Zeiss.
Marchon plans to roll out both sunglasses and optical wear under the Canada Goose name next spring, starting in North America.
Canada Goose says the eyewear will be sold through optical retailers, department stores, Canada Goose shops and its website.
Canada Goose CEO Dani Reiss told The Canadian Press in August that he envisioned his company eventually expanding into eyewear and luggage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
Almost seven years since news broke of an alleged conspiracy to fix the price of packaged bread across Canada, the saga isn’t over: the Competition Bureau continues to investigate the companies that may have been involved, and two class-action lawsuits continue to work their way through the courts.
Here’s a timeline of key events in the bread price-fixing case.
Oct. 31, 2017: The Competition Bureau says it’s investigating allegations of bread price-fixing and that it was granted search warrants in the case. Several grocers confirm they are co-operating in the probe.
Dec. 19, 2017: Loblaw and George Weston say they participated in an “industry-wide price-fixing arrangement” to raise the price of packaged bread. The companies say they have been co-operating in the Competition Bureau’s investigation since March 2015, when they self-reported to the bureau upon discovering anti-competitive behaviour, and are receiving immunity from prosecution. They announce they are offering $25 gift cards to customers amid the ongoing investigation into alleged bread price-fixing.
Jan. 31, 2018: In court documents, the Competition Bureau says at least $1.50 was added to the price of a loaf of bread between about 2001 and 2016.
Dec. 20, 2019: A class-action lawsuit in a Quebec court against multiple grocers and food companies is certified against a number of companies allegedly involved in bread price-fixing, including Loblaw, George Weston, Metro, Sobeys, Walmart Canada, Canada Bread and Giant Tiger (which have all denied involvement, except for Loblaw and George Weston, which later settled with the plaintiffs).
Dec. 31, 2021: A class-action lawsuit in an Ontario court covering all Canadian residents except those in Quebec who bought packaged bread from a company named in the suit is certified against roughly the same group of companies.
June 21, 2023: Bakery giant Canada Bread Co. is fined $50 million after pleading guilty to four counts of price-fixing under the Competition Act as part of the Competition Bureau’s ongoing investigation.
Oct. 25 2023: Canada Bread files a statement of defence in the Ontario class action denying participating in the alleged conspiracy and saying any anti-competitive behaviour it participated in was at the direction and to the benefit of its then-majority owner Maple Leaf Foods, which is not a defendant in the case (neither is its current owner Grupo Bimbo). Maple Leaf calls Canada Bread’s accusations “baseless.”
Dec. 20, 2023: Metro files new documents in the Ontario class action accusing Loblaw and its parent company George Weston of conspiring to implicate it in the alleged scheme, denying involvement. Sobeys has made a similar claim. The two companies deny the allegations.
July 25, 2024: Loblaw and George Weston say they agreed to pay a combined $500 million to settle both the Ontario and Quebec class-action lawsuits. Loblaw’s share of the settlement includes a $96-million credit for the gift cards it gave out years earlier.
Sept. 12, 2024: Canada Bread files new documents in Ontario court as part of the class action, claiming Maple Leaf used it as a “shield” to avoid liability in the alleged scheme. Maple Leaf was a majority shareholder of Canada Bread until 2014, and the company claims it’s liable for any price-fixing activity. Maple Leaf refutes the claims.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:L, TSX:MFI, TSX:MRU, TSX:EMP.A, TSX:WN)
TORONTO – TD Bank Group, which is mired in a money laundering scandal in the U.S., says chief executive Bharat Masrani will retire next year.
Masrani, who will retire officially on April 10, 2025, says the bank’s, “anti-money laundering challenges,” took place on his watch and he takes full responsibility.
The bank named Raymond Chun, TD’s group head, Canadian personal banking, as his successor.
As part of a transition plan, Chun will become chief operating officer on Nov. 1 before taking over the top job when Masrani steps down at the bank’s annual meeting next year.
TD also announced that Riaz Ahmed, group head, wholesale banking and president and CEO of TD Securities, will retire at the end of January 2025.
TD has taken billions in charges related to ongoing U.S. investigations into the failure of its anti-money laundering program.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
