Business

Macklem appears confident in inflation progress, rate cuts could come soon: economist

Published

12 months ago

November 23, 2023

In the aftermath of Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem’s latest comments on the state of the economy, a top economist suggests the governor’s confidence signals rate cuts could be on the way.

Macklem told reporters on Wednesday that the federal government’s plan to limit deficits will help the bank rein in inflation, while inflation data from earlier this week shows that interest rates may be high enough to bring inflation down to its target of two per cent.

Jimmy Jean, vice president, chief economist and strategist at Desjardins, told BNN Bloomberg that the governor’s comments show that the bank believes inflation is trending in the right direction.

“I think his tone today signals that he’s not overly concerned about the (federal government) spending and it’s also important to highlight that a lot of the announcements involve sums of money that will be spent over a fairly lengthy time horizon,” Jean told BNN Bloomberg in a television interview on Wednesday.

“That all speaks to a Bank of Canada that is growing confident that the tightening is working as intended. Growth has flat-lined, the slack is opening, the job market is loosening.”

Jean now predicts interest rates will start to come down slowly in the spring of 2024, particularly if inflation excluding shelter really decreases.

“I think by April, (the Bank of Canada will) have collected a sufficient body of evidence, by then we’ll have inflation presumably more around three per cent,” he said.

“If they’ve seen sufficient, especially compelling evidence on that front, they’ll be really ready to start cutting, not very rapidly, but starting to cut progressively to loosen up some of the pressure.”

Source link

Business

Restaurant Brands reports US$357M Q3 net income, down from US$364M a year ago

Published

24 hours ago

November 5, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – Restaurant Brands International Inc. reported net income of US$357 million for its third quarter, down from US$364 million in the same quarter last year.

The company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, says its profit amounted to 79 cents US per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with 79 cents US per diluted share a year earlier.

Revenue for the parent company of Tim Hortons, Burger King, Popeyes and Firehouse Subs, totalled US$2.29 billion, up from US$1.84 billion in the same quarter last year.

Consolidated comparable sales were up 0.3 per cent.

On an adjusted basis, Restaurant Brands says it earned 93 cents US per diluted share in its latest quarter, up from an adjusted profit of 90 cents US per diluted share a year earlier.

The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 95 cents US per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:QSR)

Source link

Business

Electric and gas utility Fortis reports $420M Q3 profit, up from $394M a year ago

Published

24 hours ago

November 5, 2024

Anne Joseph

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Fortis Inc. reported a third-quarter profit of $420 million, up from $394 million in the same quarter last year.

The electric and gas utility says the profit amounted to 85 cents per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30, up from 81 cents per share a year earlier.

Fortis says the increase was driven by rate base growth across its utilities, and strong earnings in Arizona largely reflecting new customer rates at Tucson Electric Power.

Revenue in the quarter totalled $2.77 billion, up from $2.72 billion in the same quarter last year.

On an adjusted basis, Fortis says it earned 85 cents per share in its latest quarter, up from an adjusted profit of 84 cents per share in the third quarter of 2023.

The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 82 cents per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:FTS)

Source link

Business

Thomson Reuters reports Q3 profit down from year ago as revenue rises

Published

24 hours ago

November 5, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – Thomson Reuters reported its third-quarter profit fell compared with a year ago as its revenue rose eight per cent.

The company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, says it earned US$301 million or 67 cents US per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30. The result compared with a profit of US$367 million or 80 cents US per diluted share in the same quarter a year earlier.

Revenue for the quarter totalled US$1.72 billion, up from US$1.59 billion a year earlier.

In its outlook, Thomson Reuters says it now expects organic revenue growth of 7.0 per cent for its full year, up from earlier expectations for growth of 6.5 per cent.

On an adjusted basis, Thomson Reuters says it earned 80 cents US per share in its latest quarter, down from an adjusted profit of 82 cents US per share in the same quarter last year.

The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 76 cents US per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:TRI)

Source link