Wed, April 24, 2024 at 9:35 AM EDT
Business
CIBC loses billion-dollar suit to New York hedge fund over debt deals dating back to the 2008 U.S. housing crisis
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Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce CM-T could be forced to pay more than US$1-billion in damages after being found liable for losses incurred by a New York hedge fund over two debt deals dating back to the 2008 U.S. housing crisis.
CIBC said Friday it intends to appeal the decision handed down by a New York State court late Thursday, which found the bank liable for damages in a case filed by Cerberus Capital Management LP in November, 2015.
While the court has not determined the exact amount the bank will have to pay, Cerberus has claimed damages of nearly US$1.1-billion, though CIBC said it will “vigorously dispute” that figure at a Dec. 19 hearing. CIBC said it expects to record a charge against its earnings for the first quarter of 2023, which began Nov. 1. The amount of the estimated loss “will be informed by developments in the quarter.”
The ruling marks the second time in as many months that a major Canadian bank has faced a billion-dollar charge against earnings after losing a years-long legal battle.
A jury in a Minnesota bankruptcy court found the U.S. arm of Bank of Montreal was liable in early November for US$564-million in damages related to a nearly $2-billion Ponzi scheme, one of the largest-ever frauds of that kind. BMO also said it planned to appeal the decision, though also took a $1.1-billion charge at the time.
Cerberus, a New York-based hedge fund, alleged CIBC defaulted on payments related to a limited recourse note the bank issued in 2008, as well as a related transaction in 2011. Limited recourse notes are a type of debt instrument that combines elements of preferred shares and traditional corporate bonds to provide fixed-income investors with higher yields.
According to CIBC’s public filings, the two transactions with Cerberus “significantly reduced CIBC’s exposure to the U.S. residential real estate market.”
The ruling handed down Thursday was the second financial blow to CIBC in less than 24 hours. Earlier on Thursday, the bank reported fourth-quarter results that fell short of analyst expectations, with profit down 18 per cent on a year-over-year basis as costs rose 10 per cent over the same period.
Four of the 16 analysts who cover CIBC downgraded the stock to the equivalent of a hold and cut their share price targets in the hours after the release of its fourth-quarter results.
Like BMO, CIBC had not made any provisions for a potential loss as the court case proceeded. In CIBC’s statement Friday, the bank said that was because “it believed it was more likely than not to prevail at trial.”
However, CIBC said it included “a material amount” for the Cerberus matter in a disclosure in its financial statements about the range of reasonably possible losses for all its legal claims, from zero to about $1.5-billion as of Oct. 31.
That disclosure said CIBC had $275-million in total provisions for all its legal matters as of Oct. 31.
According to International Accounting Standard 37, which governs how public companies are to handle provisions, there are “rare cases, for example in a lawsuit,” in which companies can argue a provision is not required. To do so, the company must “take account of all available evidence,” including the opinions of outside experts, to determine which outcome is most likely.
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Business
Oil Firms Doubtful Trans Mountain Pipeline Will Start Full Service by May 1st
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Oil companies planning to ship crude on the expanded Trans Mountain pipeline in Canada are concerned that the project may not begin full service on May 1 but they would be nevertheless obligated to pay tolls from that date.
In a letter to the Canada Energy Regulator (CER), Suncor Energy and other shippers including BP and Marathon Petroleum have expressed doubts that Trans Mountain will start full service on May 1, as previously communicated, Reuters reports.
Trans Mountain Corporation, the government-owned entity that completed the pipeline construction, told Reuters in an email that line fill on the expanded pipeline would be completed in early May.
After a series of delays, cost overruns, and legal challenges, the expanded Trans Mountain oil pipeline will open for business on May 1, the company said early this month.
“The Commencement Date for commercial operation of the expanded system will be May 1, 2024. Trans Mountain anticipates providing service for all contracted volumes in the month of May,” Trans Mountain Corporation said in early April.
The expanded pipeline will triple the capacity of the original pipeline to 890,000 barrels per day (bpd) from 300,000 bpd to carry crude from Alberta’s oil sands to British Columbia on the Pacific Coast.
The Federal Government of Canada bought the Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion (TMX) from Kinder Morgan back in 2018, together with related pipeline and terminal assets. That cost the federal government $3.3 billion (C$4.5 billion) at the time. Since then, the costs for the expansion of the pipeline have quadrupled to nearly $23 billion (C$30.9 billion).
The expansion project has faced continuous delays over the years. In one of the latest roadblocks in December, the Canadian regulator denied a variance request from the project developer to move a small section of the pipeline due to challenging drilling conditions.
The company asked the regulator to reconsider its decision, and received on January 12 a conditional approval, avoiding what could have been another two-year delay to start-up.
Business
Tesla profits cut in half as demand falls
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Tesla profits slump by more than a half
Tesla has announced its profits fell sharply in the first three months of the year to $1.13bn (£910m), compared with $2.51bn in 2023.
It caps a difficult period for the electric vehicle (EV) maker, which – faced with falling sales – has announced thousands of job cuts.
Boss Elon Musk remains bullish about its prospects, telling investors the launch of new models would be brought forward.
Its share price has risen but analysts say it continues to face significant challenges, including from lower-cost rivals.
The company has suffered from falling demand and competition from cheaper Chinese imports which has led its stock price to collapse by 43% over 2024.
Figures for the first quarter of 2024 revealed revenues of $21.3bn, down on analysts’ predictions of just over $22bn.
But the decision by Tesla to bring forward the launch of new models from the second half of 2025 boosted its shares by nearly 12.5% in after-hours trading.
It did not reveal pricing details for the new vehicles.
However Mr Musk made clear he also grander ambitions, touting Tesla’s AI credentials and plans for self-driving vehicles – even going as far as to say considering it to be just a car company was the “wrong framework.”
“If somebody doesn’t believe Tesla is going to solve autonomy I think they should not be an investor,” he said.
Such sentiments have been questioned by analysts though, with Deutsche Bank saying driverless cars face “technological, regulatory and operational challenges.”
Some investors have called for the company to instead focus on releasing a lower price, mass-market EV.
However, Tesla has already been on a charm offensive, trying to win over new customers by dropping its prices in a series of markets in the face of falling sales.
It also said its situation was not unique.
“Global EV sales continue to be under pressure as many carmakers prioritize hybrids over EVs,” it said.
Despite plans to bring forward new models originally planned for next year the firm is cutting its workforce.
Tesla said it would lose 3,332 jobs in California and 2,688 positions in Texas, starting mid-June.
The cuts in Texas represent 12% of Tesla’s total workforce of almost 23,000 in the area where its gigafactory and headquarters are located.
However, Mr Musk sought to downplay the move.
“Tesla has now created over 30,000 manufacturing jobs in California!” he said in a post on his social media platform X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday.
Another 285 jobs will be lost in New York.
Tesla’s total workforce stood at more than 140,000 late last year, up from around 100,000 at the end of 2021, according to the company’s filings with US regulators.
Musk’s salary
The car firm is also facing other issues, with a struggle over Mr Musk’s compensation still raging on.
On Wednesday, Tesla asked shareholders to vote for a proposal to accept Mr Musk’s compensation package – once valued at $56bn – which had been rejected by a Delaware judge.
The judge found Tesla’s directors had breached their fiduciary duty to the firm by awarding Mr Musk the pay-out.
Due to the fall in Tesla’s stock value, the compensation package is now estimated to be around $10bn less – but still greater than the GDP of many countries.
In addition, Tesla wants its shareholders to agree to the firm being moved from Delaware to Texas – which Mr Musk called for after the judge rejected his payday.
Business
Stock market today: Nasdaq futures pop, Tesla surges after earnings with more heavyweights on deck
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Tech stocks rose on Wednesday, outstripping the broader market as investors welcomed Tesla’s (TSLA) cheaper car pledge and waited for the next rush of corporate earnings.
The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) rose roughly 0.6%, coming off a sharp closing gain. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) was up 0.2%, continuing a rebound from its longest losing streak of 2024, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) fell 0.1%.
Tesla shares jumped nearly 12% after the EV maker’s vow to speed up the launch of more affordable models eclipsed its quarterly earnings and revenue miss. That cheered up investors worried about growth amid a strategy shift to robotaxis and the planned cancellation of a cheaper model.
The results from the first “Magnificent Seven” to report have intensified the already high hopes for Big Tech earnings, that the megacaps can revive the rally in stocks they powered. The spotlight is now on Meta’s (META) report due after the market close, as the Facebook owner’s shares rose after the Senate voted for a potential ban on rival TikTok. Microsoft (MSFT) and Alphabet (GOOG) next up on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Boeing (BA) reported better than expected first quarter results before the opening bell with a loss per share of $1.13, narrower than the $1.72 estimated by Wall Street. Shares rose about 2% in morning trade.
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