<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="Stocks futures fell Wednesday morning, signaling more selling after the Dow posted its worst quarterly drop since 1987.” data-reactid=”16″>Stocks futures fell Wednesday morning, signaling more selling after the Dow posted its worst quarterly drop since 1987.
<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="In the U.S., officials’ outlooks around the coronavirus outbreak have grown increasingly somber, as the case count topped 189,000 – comprising around one-fifth of known global cases – and the death toll rose about 3,000. During a White House briefing Tuesday evening, President Donald Trump said Americans should prepare for what is going to be “a very painful two weeks” as the pandemic paces toward a peak in the U.S. Based on new White House projections, the death toll could reach up to 240,000 domestically.” data-reactid=”17″>In the U.S., officials’ outlooks around the coronavirus outbreak have grown increasingly somber, as the case count topped 189,000 – comprising around one-fifth of known global cases – and the death toll rose about 3,000. During a White House briefing Tuesday evening, President Donald Trump said Americans should prepare for what is going to be “a very painful two weeks” as the pandemic paces toward a peak in the U.S. Based on new White House projections, the death toll could reach up to 240,000 domestically.
Each of the three major indices suffered stunning declines during the first three months of this year as the coronavirus outbreak escalated globally, triggering widespread stay-at-home orders, effectively shutting down travel-related industries and grinding a myriad other business operations to a halt.
As of market close Tuesday, the S&P 500 was down 20% for the year to date, the Dow fell 23.2% and the Nasdaq dropped 14.18%, with the latter’s declines cushioned relative to the other indices as investors bought into big tech names. The Information Technology sector was the leader in the S&P 500 for the first quarter, followed by the Health-Care sector.
The Energy sector, meanwhile, was the S&P 500’s biggest laggard, dropping 51% for the year to date. This coincided with a precipitous decline in crude oil prices, with domestic West Texas Intermediate posting its single largest quarterly and monthly declines on record, settling more than 66% lower for the year to date on Tuesday. Saudi Arabia has vowed to hike its oil output to a record in April, further applying downward pressure to prices on the supply side while the coronavirus simultaneously drags down energy demand.
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8:15 a.m. ET: Private payrolls declined by 27,000 in March as small businesses shed jobs, according to ADP/Moody’s report
<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="Private payrolls fell less than expected in March, according to the ADP/Moody’s monthly report capturing the early impacts of the coronavirus outbreak on the domestic labor market.” data-reactid=”23″>Private payrolls fell less than expected in March, according to the ADP/Moody’s monthly report capturing the early impacts of the coronavirus outbreak on the domestic labor market.
Headline private payrolls sank by 27,000, beating expectations for a decline of 150,000, according to Bloomberg-compiled consensus data. in February, private payrolls rose by 179,000, downwardly revised from the 183,000 previously reported.
<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="The ADP/Moody’s survey collects data through the 12th of the month, and so does not fully capture the most recent impacts to the job market caused by the coronavirus outbreak and related social distancing measures.” data-reactid=”25″>The ADP/Moody’s survey collects data through the 12th of the month, and so does not fully capture the most recent impacts to the job market caused by the coronavirus outbreak and related social distancing measures.
By company size, small businesses bore the brunt of declines in March, with companies of up to 49 employees losing 90,000 payrolls. Medium and large business each posted net gains in payrolls.
Both the goods-producing and services sectors saw net job losses in March, with the services sector leading declines. Trade, transportation and utilities industries lost 37,000 jobs, and administrative services lost 12,000 payrolls. In the goods-producing sector, construction lost 16,000 jobs.
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Small businesses lost 90,000 jobs in March, according to ADP/Moody’s.
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8:00 a.m. ET: Home Depot announces early store closures, expanded COVID-19 safety measures
<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="The Home Depot (HD) became one of the latest major retailers to announce operational changes amid the coronavirus outbreak. The company said Wednesday morning it will shrink its store hours and close at 6 p.m. daily to give staff “additional time to perform cleaning and restock shelves.” Store associates will take their temperatures before work, it added.” data-reactid=”50″>The Home Depot (HD) became one of the latest major retailers to announce operational changes amid the coronavirus outbreak. The company said Wednesday morning it will shrink its store hours and close at 6 p.m. daily to give staff “additional time to perform cleaning and restock shelves.” Store associates will take their temperatures before work, it added.
The company also said it is limiting the number of customers inside at any given time, and eliminating spring promotions to avoid incentivizing more shoppers into retail locations. The company froze prices nationwide on products in high demand due to the coronavirus outbreak, and is prioritizing fulfillment to health-care centers and personnel.
Home Depot also said it is expanding its paid time off policy for workers to accommodate disruptions due to the coronavirus, and is implementing a temporary bonus program for workers in stores and distribution centers.
Shares of Home Depot fell 3.8% in early trading to $179.55 each.
7:00 a.m. ET Wednesday: Mortgage applications jumped last week as refinances surge, but new purchases extended declines
Mortgage applications jumped by a seasonally adjusted 15.3% over the prior week for the week ending March 27, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said Wednesday. This came following a 29.4% weekly drop for the week ending March 20.
The MBA’s index tracking refinances surged 26% from the previous week and was more than double that of the comparable period last year. Purchases, however, decreased 10% compared with the previous week, and 24% compared to the same week last year.
“Mortgage rates and applications continue to experience significant volatility from the economic and financial market uncertainty caused by the coronavirus crisis. After two weeks of sizable increases, mortgage rates dropped back to the lowest level in MBA’s survey, which in turn led to a 25 percent jump in refinance applications,” Joel Kan, MBA’s associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting, said in a statement. “The bleaker economic outlook, along with the first wave of realized job losses reported in last week’s unemployment claims numbers, likely caused potential homebuyers to pull back.”
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6:01 p.m. ET Tuesday: Stock futures open little changed
Here were the main moves in markets, as of 6:01 p.m. ET:
S&P 500 futures (ES=F): down 0.47%, or -12 points to 2,557.75
Dow futures (YM=F): down 0.45% or -98 points to 21,653.00
Nasdaq futures (NQ=F): down 0.32% or -25 points to 7,761.25
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The empty Trading Floor of the NYSE after the market has closed.
TORONTO – Roots Corp. may have built its brand on all things comfy and cosy, but its CEO says activewear is now “really becoming a core part” of the brand.
The category, which at Roots spans leggings, tracksuits, sports bras and bike shorts, has seen such sustained double-digit growth that Meghan Roach plans to make it a key part of the business’ future.
“It’s an area … you will see us continue to expand upon,” she told analysts on a Friday call.
The Toronto-based retailer’s push into activewear has taken shape over many years and included several turns as the official designer and supplier of Team Canada’s Olympic uniform.
But consumers have had plenty of choice when it comes to workout gear and other apparel suited to their sporting needs. On top of the slew of athletic brands like Nike and Adidas, shoppers have also gravitated toward Lululemon Athletica Inc., Alo and Vuori, ramping up competition in the activewear category.
Roach feels Roots’ toehold in the category stems from the fit, feel and following its merchandise has cultivated.
“Our product really resonates with (shoppers) because you can wear it through multiple different use cases and occasions,” she said.
“We’ve been seeing customers come back again and again for some of these core products in our activewear collection.”
Her remarks came the same day as Roots revealed it lost $5.2 million in its latest quarter compared with a loss of $5.3 million in the same quarter last year.
The company said the second-quarter loss amounted to 13 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended Aug. 3, the same as a year earlier.
In presenting the results, Roach reminded analysts that the first half of the year is usually “seasonally small,” representing just 30 per cent of the company’s annual sales.
Sales for the second quarter totalled $47.7 million, down from $49.4 million in the same quarter last year.
The move lower came as direct-to-consumer sales amounted to $36.4 million, down from $37.1 million a year earlier, as comparable sales edged down 0.2 per cent.
The numbers reflect the fact that Roots continued to grapple with inventory challenges in the company’s Cooper fleece line that first cropped up in its previous quarter.
Roots recently began to use artificial intelligence to assist with daily inventory replenishments and said more tools helping with allocation will go live in the next quarter.
Beyond that time period, the company intends to keep exploring AI and renovate more of its stores.
It will also re-evaluate its design ranks.
Roots announced Friday that chief product officer Karuna Scheinfeld has stepped down.
Rather than fill the role, the company plans to hire senior level design talent with international experience in the outdoor and activewear sectors who will take on tasks previously done by the chief product officer.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, are set to resume today as a strike that has stopped most services drags into a second week.
No timeline has been set for the length of the negotiations, but Joe McCann, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they are willing to stay there as long as it takes, even if talks drag on all night.
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people unable to navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last Tuesday, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
Hundreds of drivers rallied outside TransLink’s head office earlier this week, calling for the transportation provider to intervene in the dispute with Transdev, which was contracted to oversee HandyDART service.
Transdev said earlier this week that it will provide a reply to the union’s latest proposal on Thursday.
A statement from the company said it “strongly believes” that their employees deserve fair wages, and that a fair contract “must balance the needs of their employees, clients and taxpayers.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
MONTREAL – Travel company Transat AT Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter compared with a profit a year earlier as its revenue edged lower.
The parent company of Air Transat says it lost $39.9 million or $1.03 per diluted share in its quarter ended July 31.
The result compared with a profit of $57.3 million or $1.49 per diluted share a year earlier.
Revenue in what was the company’s third quarter totalled $736.2 million, down from $746.3 million in the same quarter last year.
On an adjusted basis, Transat says it lost $1.10 per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of $1.10 per share a year earlier.
Transat chief executive Annick Guérard says demand for leisure travel remains healthy, as evidenced by higher traffic, but consumers are increasingly price conscious given the current economic uncertainty.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
