The COVID-19 pandemic is having a major impact on business, markets and the economy. For continuous updates, follow along with The Financial Post’s James McLeod @jamespmcleod as he live blogs here. For more general COVID-19 updates, the National Post has a liveblog going for all news about the pandemic. For business-specific tips, announcements and information that should be added to this liveblog, please email jmcleod@postmedia.com.
11:20 a.m. — No new money for business today: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s media availability today was mostly reiterating the details of the $27 billion in direct stimulus tied to COVID-19. When he was asked about what he’s doing for small businesses hit by disruptions relating to the pandemic, Trudeau emphasized what’s already being done.
“We have made credit a lot easier to access for businesses of all sizes,” he said.
Trudeau also said the government is moving as quickly as possible, but it will take a bit of time to get financial assistance out to Canadians.
11:15 a.m. — Trudeau open to using war measures to produce supplies: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was asked about the U.S. move to enact the Defence Production Act, allowing the government to direct companies to make essential products. Trudeau didn’t offer any specifics, but he said he’s open to a similar move in Canada.
Trudeau said the government is already engaged with industry when it comes to manufacturing essential supplies and equipment to fight the pandemic.
11:11 a.m. — U.S. border shuttingshortly: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he’s still working out the details of the Canada-U.S. border shutdown, and Trudeau said he expects the border to be shut down overnight between Friday and Saturday.
The border will remain open for trade and essential travel, but all non-essential border crossing will be blocked. Trudeau has repeatedly said that Canadians trying to come home will always be able to get through.
10:25 a.m. — More GDP forecasts: Global credit rating service Fitch Ratings Inc. published research from chief economist Brian Coulton suggesting that the world is already in recession and global GDP could be US$850 billion lower than previously forecast. According to the Fitch report, Chinese GDP is likely to fall by 5 per cent in the first quarter of 2020.
Meanwhile, the Institute of International Finance said that it is now forecasting global economic growth at 0.4 per cent for 2020.
10:05 a.m. — Trudeau to speak at 11 o’clock: It’s strange that we’re starting to get into a crisis rhythm, but just as a programming note, we’re expecting the usual cadence of government announcements.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to speak at 11 a.m. outside Rideau Cottage, as he has been doing regularly through this crisis. Afterwards, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland is scheduled to lead a news conference at noon, along with other government ministers.
I’ll be liveblogging relevant business and economic details. Hopefully Trudeau remembers his coat today.
9:55 a.m. — More red at market opening: Yesterday was a bad day for the markets, and today is looking like a rough start too. In the opening minutes of trading in Toronto, the TSX/S&P composite is down 164 points, or 1.4 per cent.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down more than 500 points, or 2.88 per cent. The Nasdaq is also down, but only by about half a percentage point so far.
9:37 a.m. — SNC-Lavalin also has a pandemic response: The Montreal based engineering and project management company issued a news release to say that they’re also working through the COVID-19 pandemic.
“A robust business resilience program and a dedicated Executive-level global crisis management team and regional counterparts have been activated. We are taking appropriate action to protect our staff and business operations by following the latest health and safety measures,” president and CEO Ian Edwards said.
9:25 a.m. — Gig economy workers struggling: One of the notable aspects of the current crisis is that we have a bunch of new economic structures that never existed before, and we don’t know how they’ll respond to a severe downturn.
Financial Post reporter Vanmala Subramaniam has a great piece on the freelancers and gig workers whose lives are upended by social distancing. This isn’t a small problem. Vanmala reports that in 2016, Statistics Canada reported there are 1.7 million Canadians that rely on the gig economy.
9:17 a.m. — Oil markets in rough shape: We’re still a few minutes away from markets opening, but watching the price on oil will be really important in the weeks and months ahead. I posted this story in yesterday’s liveblog, but I’m going to repost this piece by Gabriel Freidman about the situation in Western Canada.
With oil prices at historic lows, many Alberta producers are below break-even on production.
From Gabe’s story: “Canadian crude dropped as low as $7.36, and West Texas Intermediate fetched $21.48, both below the break-even point for nearly all Canadian producers.”
9:00 a.m. — Posthaste: Financial Post editor Pamela Heaven has this morning’s Posthaste roundup of news to watch for today. Check it out here.
8:55 a.m. — Betting on stocks: A news release from SportsBetting.ag says that without any sports to bet on, gamblers are looking at the stock market instead. They aren’t actually investing though; they’re just betting on what the end-of-month prices will be.
“Like the market, stock price odds are extremely volatile,” said SportsBetting.ag head linesman, Robert Cooper. “Our traders are constantly monitoring the market movement, as well as the betting action that comes in in order to adjust odds accordingly.”
At the risk of editorializing, it seems like it’d be simpler to just buy stocks if you want to bet on the market.
8:25 a.m. — Fiscal stimulus underwhelming: Financial Post columnist Kevin Carmichael is one of the smartest writers in Canada when it comes to big-picture economic issues. So just go read his assessment on the Liberal government’s stimulus response announced yesterday. It’s worth your time.
The short version is that the $27 billion in direct aid, plus $55 billion in tax deferrals is underwhelming, in the face of a crisis without precedent. Scroll down to the next item in this liveblog to appreciate the scale of the crisis.
8:20 a.m. — U.S. economy forecasts to shrink 14 per cent: The scale of the COVID-19 crisis can be overwhelming, but sometimes you see a statistic or detail that really hits you. Financial Post reporter Victor Ferreira has an article about JP Morgan Chase analysis which suggests that the U.S. economy will shrink by a staggering 14 per cent.
Believe it or not, it could actually be worse: The same report indicates China’s GDP growth will decline by 40 per cent in the first quarter of 2020.
Read Victor’s full report, because it has a lot of other good statistics and details. And keep in mind the scale of this situation while you’re digesting the rest of the news today.
March 19, 2020
Good morning! Today is the first day of spring, and the eighth day since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 as a global pandemic. As the world continues to grapple with the drastic measures required to respond, the economy and markets are also in massive upheaval. The Financial Post is working to bring you the best, up-to-date information about how the pandemic is impacting Canadian business and the economy. Keep refreshing this page to stay up to date on the latest COVID-19 business news as it happens.
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