Business

Canada's inflation slows in January, making rate pause more likely – Reuters

Published

2 years ago

February 22, 2023

OTTAWA, Feb 21 (Reuters) – Canada’s annual inflation rate eased more than expected in January to 5.9%, data showed on Tuesday, which should allow the Bank of Canada to keep interest rates steady at its next meeting while it lets previous rate hikes sink in.

Analysts had expected inflation to edge down to 6.1% from 6.3% in December. Month over month, the consumer price index rose 0.5%, Statistics Canada said, again lower than analysts’ forecast of a 0.7% gain, after a 0.6% decline in December.

Statscan cited a base effect, or comparison with last year’s strong result, that should persist through June. In January 2022, prices surged at a time of Russia-Ukraine tensions and supply chain disruptions, and they increased to a peak of 8.1% in June.

The inflation figure “allows (the Bank of Canada) to stay on hold in March, despite the fact that the labor market was extraordinarily hot in the month of January,” said Andrew Kelvin, chief Canada strategist at TD Securities.

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The Bank of Canada in January raised its benchmark interest rate to a 15-year high of 4.5% and became the first major central bank to say it would hold off on further increases as long as prices eased in line with its forecast.

Then Canada’s economy smashed expectations by adding a net 150,000 jobs in January, data showed earlier this month.

Before the inflation figures were released, money markets saw a 100% chance for another rate increase this year. Now they see a roughly 80% chance.

The bank forecasts inflation to slow to about 3% by the middle of 2023, and to come down to its 2% target next year. The next inflation report will come out after the central bank’s next policy-setting meeting on March 8.

The Canadian dollar was trading 0.4% lower at 1.35 per U.S. dollar, or 74.07 U.S. cents.

Excluding food and energy, January prices rose 4.9% compared with a 5.3% increase in December.

The average of two of the central bank’s core measures of underlying inflation, CPI-median and CPI-trim, came in at 5.1% compared with 5.3% in December.

The January inflation figures give the Bank of Canada “somewhat greater comfort in their decision to go on pause at least temporarily,” said Doug Porter, chief economist at BMO Capital Markets.

“A low-side inflation read will definitely prove to be a nice antidote to some of those high-side surprises,” he said.

The figures show prices coming down faster in Canada than in the United States, where annual inflation gained 6.4% in January. Goldman Sachs and Bank of America said they expect the U.S. Federal Reserve to raise interest rates three more times this year.

On Friday, Bank of Canada Deputy Governor Paul Beaudry said its policy-setting path can diverge from central banks in other countries as long as inflation is ultimately brought down to target.

Adding to the favorable base effect, cellular services fell 7.9% annually in January after increasing 2.5% in December, and consumers paid 6.2% more for passenger vehicles compared with 7.2% in December.

Mortgage interest costs, on the other hand, rose 21.2% annually in January, the largest increase since 1982, while food prices rose 10.4%, slightly faster than the 10.1% in December.

Separately, retail sales rose 0.5% in December, in line with forecasts, and Statscan’s flash estimate for January puts retail sales up 0.7% on the month.

Reporting by Ismail Shakil and Steve Scherer; Additional reporting by Fergal Smith in Toronto and Dale Smith in Ottawa; Editing by Mark Porter and David Gregorio

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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TC Energy launches South Bow Corp. as independent crude oil pipeline business

Published

1 day ago

October 1, 2024

Anne Joseph

CALGARY – TC Energy Corp. has completed its spinoff of South Bow Corp., its crude oil pipelines business, as an independent company.

The new company, which will be headquartered in Calgary with an office in Houston, will be led by Bevin Wirzba, formerly the executive vice-president for TC Energy’s natural gas and liquids pipelines business.

South Bow will run TC Energy’s crude oil pipelines business, including the critical Keystone pipeline system.

The move is the result of a strategic review in which the Calgary-based TC considered its options including the potential sale of the oil pipelines business.

Spinning off the oil pipelines business, which has long-term committed contracts with oil shippers, will give South Bow the chance to use its robust cash flows to pay down debt and enhance shareholder returns, while TC Energy will become a growth-oriented company focused on natural gas.

TC Energy — which has natural gas transportation infrastructure in Canada, the U.S., and Mexico — is bullish on the future of the commodity, in particular the potential for growth spurred by demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG).

TC Energy also has plans to look at new, low-carbon energy opportunities such as nuclear and pumped hydro energy storage.

The company has been under scrutiny by analysts and credit ratings for its significant debt load as well as for cost overruns on the Coastal GasLink pipeline project, which was completed in the fall of 2023.

TC Energy shareholders voted in favour of the spinoff of the crude pipelines business in a vote in June.

South Bow common shares were distributed Tuesday to TC Energy shareholders of record on Sept. 25. Shareholders received one South Bow common share for every five TC Energy common shares owned.

South Bow’s common shares are expected to start trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Wednesday under the ticker symbol SOBO. Trading on the New York Stock Exchange is expected to start on or about Oct. 8.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 1, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:TRP, TSX:SOBO)

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Business

Image Is Everything; Hence, Your LinkedIn Banner’s Importance

Published

2 days ago

September 30, 2024

Nick Kossovan

Why do I keep seeing LinkedIn profiles with an empty banner and/or no profile picture? Are these people oblivious to the importance of a first impression, or do they just not care?

You, I, and everyone judge; hence, we live in a judgemental society. Your image, which shapes how people view you, is everything.

You can’t claim to be a serious job seeker if you’re not taking advantage of LinkedIn’s visual opportunities to optimize your profile to make a strong impression. When it comes to social media content, visuals are scrolling-stoppers. Aside from your profile picture, your LinkedIn banner is the first visual people see.

View your LinkedIn banner as a billboard strategically placed at street level, which you can use to capture the attention of passersby who may have a potential opportunity. (In a previous column, I wrote that opportunities exist all around you; the caveat is they’re attached to people.) Advertisers spend a great deal of money to have billboards with a captivating visual and compelling message, making the point that billboard advertising is a good investment for driving traffic to their offerings. Your LinkedIn banner—your billboard—is free, so why not use it to market yourself to employers?

If your LinkedIn banner is currently blank, hopefully, you’re now convinced that leaving it blank is likely costing you job search and career opportunities, and you no longer want to leave it blank. Here are instructions on how to create a LinkedIn banner using Canva, a user-friendly graphic design tool that offers various customization options.

Step 1: Create a Canva account

Canva offers both free and paid plans. Their free plan is more than adequate to design your LinkedIn banner. Go to Canva’s website and sign up using your email address or social media account.

Step 2: Choose the LinkedIn banner template

In the Canva dashboard, type in ‘LinkedIn Background Photo’ in the search bar at the top to find a LinkedIn banner template. Canva offers a variety of pre-made templates—as I write this, there are 7,203 LinkedIn banner templates (Canva Pro)—that are optimally sized for LinkedIn, which is 1584 x 396 pixels. Alternatively, you can use Canva to create your LinkedIn banner from scratch.

Step 3: Customize the template

Here’s where the fun begins; experimenting with all the templates and conveying your message to employers. Canva provides an interface that allows you to customize your banner template in multiple ways.

Edit text: Click on the text elements in the template to change them. You can modify the text, fonts, colours, and sizes to match your personal brand or professional style. Ensure that the text is concise, relevant, and legible.
Add elements: Shapes, lines, icons, illustrations, and other design elements, which Canva offer a wide variety of, can be included in your banner. When used strategically, these will make your banner more visually appealing and emphasize specific aspects of your personal or professional brand.
Upload your own images: Nothing will personalize your LinkedIn banner more than incorporating your own images, such as a picture of you in your work environment or enjoying your hobby, a logo or any other relevant images, into your banner.
Change the background: You can change your banner’s background to reflect your profession, industry and personality. Canva offers a multitude of colours, gradients, and images, allowing you to create an eye-catching, scroll-stoping background.

If you’re actively job searching, consider adding your contact information and, at the risk of adding fuel to the ongoing LinkedIn’s #OPENTOWORK green banner feature, announcing you’re looking for your next opportunity or available ‘for hire.’

Step 4: Maintain consistency

When designing your LinkedIn banner, ensure it aligns with your personal brand and harmonizes with your profile picture. Consistency in design and branding is critical to creating a strong professional image on a social media platform. It’s important to avoid having your profile picture’s colour conflicting with those in your banner and vice versa.

Step 5: Review and adjust

Before finalizing your LinkedIn banner, take a moment to review your design. Check for any typos, ensure the banner is eye-catching, and convey the message you want to send to your LinkedIn network and hiring managers. Your banner should show your intention and indicate that you’ve taken a thoughtful and strategic approach to your profile.

Step 6: Download your new LinkedIn banner

Once you’re satisfied with your banner, click the download button in the upper-right corner of Canva’s interface. You’ll be prompted to choose the file format; select PNG for the best image quality. Once downloaded, your banner can be uploaded to your LinkedIn profile.

Similar to how advertisers run campaigns for a period of time, updating your LinkedIn banner every quarter is an effective way to get noticed. Aside from updating your banner to reflect different aspects of your abilities, you may also want to consider updating your banner image to reflect a relevant seasonal or holiday theme—autumn, Thanksgiving, Christmas or whatever holidays you celebrate. A visually compelling banner isn’t just an accessory; it’s a powerful tool in your job search arsenal, especially since, more than ever, image is everything.

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Nick Kossovan, a well-seasoned veteran of the corporate landscape, offers “unsweetened” job search advice. You can send Nick your questions to artoffindingwork@gmail.com.

Business

TD Bank to pay more than US$28M in settlement for market manipulation

Published

2 days ago

September 30, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – TD Bank Group has agreed to pay more than US$28 million after an investigation into manipulation of the U.S. Treasuries market by one of its traders.

The deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice has TD agreeing that a former employee created a false appearance of supply or demand in the market by placing bids or offers, only to cancel them before completion.

The agreement says hundreds of so-called spoof orders were placed, amounting to tens of billions of dollars of false supply and demand, in an effort to artificially increase the market prices of those products.

The resolution comes as TD is also soon expected to settle a sweeping investigation into shortcomings of its anti-money laundering program that the bank expects will cost it more than US$3 billion.

The agreement on the spoofing case has TD paying about US$12.6 million in civil penalties. It also faces US$9.4 million in criminal penalties, which court documents say is the statutory maximum, plus US$4.7 million in victim compensation and US$1.4 million in forfeiture.

TD says it takes regulatory and employee conduct violations very seriously, and that it reported the employee and fired him and has since enhanced its monitoring and compliance capabilities.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 30, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:TD)

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