SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Asian equities advanced on Tuesday and the dollar slipped, with investor sentiment supported by Chinese data and optimism about COVID-19 vaccines.
People wearing protective face masks, following an outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), look at a stock quotation board outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan, March 10, 2020. REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov/Files
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS rose 0.5%, for a fourth straight day of gains, up nearly 3% so far this year.
E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 put on 0.2%, reversing early losses, while EUROSTOXX 50 futures eased 0.2%.
Chinese blue chips added 0.7% .CSI300, buoyed by data showing China’s industrial output rose 5.6% in August from a year ago, expanding for a fifth straight month. The yuan climbed to a 16-month high.
“The activity data today shows that the recovery in the private sector gained momentum in August. The recovery in China has become more balanced and broad-based,” HSBC economists said in a report.
Japan’s Nikkei .N225 shed 0.5%, while South Korean shares .KS11 were 0.5% higher and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO eased 0.2%.
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga won a ruling party leadership vote, paving the way for Japan’s first change of leader in nearly eight years.
Strategists expect Japanese equities to take support from Suga’s win.
“He’s seen as someone who’s particularly stock market friendly. The fact that we’ve got political certainty for the next two years from someone who’s connected to the free market is going to be good news for Japan,” said Jim McCafferty, joint head of Asia Pacific equity research at Nomura.
E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 slipped 0.3%, while EUROSTOXX 50 futures eased 0.2%
So far this year, gains in Asia have been led by technology stocks.
“From an asset class point of view, if you require to generate any income from your investment portfolio, then equities is one of the few places you can do that because bond yields are so low,” said McCafferty, who prefers North Asian companies due to their stronger balance sheets.
He said investors who didn’t want to pay lofty valuations of U.S. stocks could look to fast-growing tech companies in Taiwan and South Korea.
U.S. retail sales figures from August are due Wednesday.
Investors will also look to central banks for direction, with the U.S. Federal Reserve starting a two-day policy meeting on Tuesday, the first since unveiling a landmark shift to a more tolerant stance on inflation in August.
The Bank of Japan and the Bank of England announce their respective policy decisions on Thursday.
Markets will be focused on projections from Fed policymakers on the U.S. growth outlook and on any details about what the bank intends to do to encourage inflation.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI closed up 1.2% and the S&P 500 .SPX rose 1.3% while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 1.9%.
“We remain neutral stocks versus bonds as we balance extended equity valuations, fading fiscal support, and upcoming U.S. election risks against still ultra-low interest rates and a gradually improving economic environment,” analysts at T. Rowe Price said in a global asset allocation report.
U.S. stocks gained after drugmaker AstraZeneca AZN.L said it resumed its British clinical trials of its COVID-19 vaccine, one of the most advanced in development.
The dollar index slipped to 93.029, dipping further from a one-month high of 93.664 touched last week. The euro ticked up to $1.1867, having gained for four straight sessions until Monday.
Against the safe-haven yen, the dollar traded at 105.73 yen, having touched a two-week low of 105.55 yen on Monday.
Brent crude was down 0.2%, at $39.5, reversing earlier gains. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 0.1% at $37.2 a barrel.
Gold prices put on 0.6%, extending a sharp rise in the previous session.
Reporting by Anshuman Daga; Editing by Richard Pullin and Sam Holmes
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.
