Ontario ticket holder claims Friday night's $70 million Lotto Max jackpot – CP24 Toronto's Breaking News

Published

1 week ago

August 1, 2020

Megan Johnson

The Canadian Press

Published Saturday, August 1, 2020 6:29AM EDT

Last Updated Saturday, August 1, 2020 7:57AM EDT

TORONTO — This will certainly be a long weekend to remember for at least one Lotto Max player in Thornhill, Ontario.

The lone winning ticket for Friday night’s whopping $70 million jackpot was sold in the community just north of Toronto.

The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation says this is the third time the maximum jackpot has been won in Ontario.

The draw also offered 18 Maxmillions prizes of $1 million each, and six of them were won, including one which will be split by two ticket holders.

The winning tickets for those prizes were sold in Ontario, Quebec, the Prairies and British Columbia.

The jackpot for the next Lotto Max draw on Aug. 4 will be approximately $26 million.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 1, 2020.

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'Like gold': Canadian canola prices spike as shippers find back door to China – Reuters

Published

27 mins ago

August 9, 2020

Megan Johnson

WINNIPEG, Manitoba/BEIJING (Reuters) – Canadian canola prices have soared to the highest in nearly two years, despite a diplomatic dispute between Ottawa and Beijing, as exporters find roundabout ways to reach top oilseed buyer China.

A deer feeds in a western Canadian canola field which are in full bloom this week before it will be harvested later this summer in rural Alberta, Canada July 23, 2019. REUTERS/Todd Korol

Chinese authorities have since March 2019 blocked canola shipments by two Canadian exporters, an action they took after Canadian police detained a Huawei Technologies executive in late 2018 on a United States warrant.

The dispute however, has not spoiled China’s appetite for canola, which is mainly processed into vegetable oil. While China is buying less from Canada directly, it has bought canola oil instead from Europe and the United Arab Emirates, with some of that oil made from Canadian canola, traders said.

ICE canola futures RSc1 on Tuesday hit the highest nearby price since October 2018. Prices of China’s rapeseed oil, another name for canola oil, have also rallied, partly because of limited Canadian supply.

“Profits are extravagant. Anyone who has the resources to import (canola oil) will definitely buy,” said a manager with a China-based canola importer.

“It is like gold oil now.”

Canadian canola exports to China fell 45% year over year during the 11-month period through June, however total canola exports have jumped 9%, helped by a tripling of sales to France and double the shipments to the UAE.

Canada is the world’s biggest canola producer, and the yellow-flowering plant earned farmers C$8.6 billion ($6.42 billion) last year, the most of any crop.

China meanwhile boosted canola oil imports from Europe, Russia and Australia, with some of that oil made from Canadian canola, said another China-based trader.

The price rally left farmer Mary-Jane Duncan-Eger, who grows canola near Regina, Saskatchewan, “super-mystified,” considering that Canada is heading for a bumper crop.

To lock in high prices, she pre-sold 50% of her anticipated harvest, up from the 30% she usually pre-sells at this time of year.

“I’m pretty happy. As long as someone is buying it, I don’t care who.”

Global canola oil demand has prompted Canadian crushers – who include Archer Daniels Midland Co (ADM.N) and Bunge Ltd (BG.N) – to process canola at a brisk pace, said Brian Comeault, commodity risk manager with Cargill Ltd’s [CARGIL.UL] Canadian marketing service MarketSense.

GRAPHIC: China edible oils prices – here

Exporters are also selling more seed to the UAE, where crushers produce oil to sell to China, he said.

Bad crop weather and insect attacks in Europe have also lifted prices.

Rapeseed production in the European Union and Britain is expected near the 13-year low seen in 2019.

This has led European importers to scour other countries for supplies, especially those with weaker currencies that make purchases more profitable, consultancy Strategie Grains said in a report.

“Canadian canola has the biggest edge,” it said. “Competition among importing countries will probably be fierce over the coming months.”

Slideshow (2 Images)

GRAPHIC: Canadian canola exports – here

GRAPHIC: China rapeseed oil futures prices – here

Reporting by Rod Nickel in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Hallie Gu in Beijing, Gus Trompiz in Paris and Michael Hogan in Hamburg; Editing by Marguerita Choy

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Saudi Aramco profits crash 73% as coronavirus sinks oil market – RT

Published

1 hour ago

August 9, 2020

Megan Johnson

The world’s biggest oil exporter, Saudi Aramco, has reported massive losses for the second quarter, with its net profit nosediving 73.4 percent, as the Covid-19 outbreak crippled global demand for crude.

The oil giant’s net profit plunged to 24.6 billion riyals ($6.6 billion) for the three months to June 30, from 92.6 billion riyals ($24.7 billion) in the same period of 2019, according to a regulatory filing published at the Tadawul exchange where its stock trades. For the whole first half of the year, Saudi Aramco said its net income plunged to 87.1 billion riyals ($23.2 billion) down 50 percent from 175.9 billion riyals ($46.9 billion) one a year ago.

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“Strong headwinds from reduced demand and lower oil prices are reflected in our second quarter results,” CEO Amin Nasser said, adding that the company is trying to adapt to the unprecedented conditions created by the pandemic. “We are seeing a partial recovery in the energy market as countries around the world take steps to ease restrictions and reboot their economies.”

The financial results, which were even worse than analysts predicted, however, did not sink the company’s stock. After the company presented the report on Sunday, its shares were up slightly by 0.15 percent. Notably, the company’s shares fell much less this year than those of its overseas peers. While Saudi Aramco stock slipped around six percent, those of Exxon Mobil were down 38 percent, while Shell declined by half.

Most energy companies have taken a painful blow from the coronavirus pandemic as lockdowns to contain the spread of the deadly virus limited travel and halted production, crushing demand for crude and sending oil prices into a tailspin. In April, US crude futures entered into negative territory for the first time in history.

While crude prices have already bounced from April lows thanks to output cuts agreed on by OPEC+ producers, they are still down around 30 percent from a year earlier.

Saudi Aramco went public last year, with its IPO becoming the largest in history. The oil giant has long held the position of world’s most valuable company – until last week, when it was dethroned by US tech giant Apple.

For more stories on economy & finance visit RT’s business section

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