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The Dow crashes more than 1,800 points out of nowhere — here's one reason why – Yahoo News Canada

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Think more broadly, investors…it may save you from losing a ton of money right now.

<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell — fresh off a press conference Wednesday where he warned about long-term joblessness due to the COVID-19 pandemic — was the easy scapegoat for the surprising market meltdown on Thursday. President Trump of course took full aim at Powell via his latest Twitter pipe-bomb.” data-reactid=”17″>Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell — fresh off a press conference Wednesday where he warned about long-term joblessness due to the COVID-19 pandemic — was the easy scapegoat for the surprising market meltdown on Thursday. President Trump of course took full aim at Powell via his latest Twitter pipe-bomb.

But some blame should get cast upon state governors for perhaps moving too quickly to reopen various businesses without a vaccine for the coronavirus. In turn, that has likely helped fuel a rise in coronavirus infections in key states such as Texas, California and Arizona. Texas alone reported 2,504 new coronavirus infections on Wednesday, the highest one-day total since the pandemic began.

“There is a new wave coming in parts of the country. It’s small and it’s distant so far, but it’s coming,” John Hopkins Center for Health Security Eric Toner told Bloomberg News.

The U.S. has seen more than 2 million confirmed coronavirus infections. About 115,000 people have died from the disease.

<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="Fears of a second wave of COVID-19 have subsequently erupted this week in the markets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average tanked more than 1,800 points on Thursday. Hot stocks that have fueled the rally from the lows such as Royal Caribbean and Bank of America were crushed. Even inherently less risky stocks like Disney, IBM and Pfizer were drilled on the session.” data-reactid=”21″>Fears of a second wave of COVID-19 have subsequently erupted this week in the markets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average tanked more than 1,800 points on Thursday. Hot stocks that have fueled the rally from the lows such as Royal Caribbean and Bank of America were crushed. Even inherently less risky stocks like Disney, IBM and Pfizer were drilled on the session.

Markets were beginning to weaken before Thursday’s rout, however.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JUNE 01: A view of New York Stock Exchange on Wall Street in lower Manhattan on June 01, 2020 in New York City. (Photo by Roy Rochlin/Getty Images)

Wall Street pros have also voiced concern on how the protests across the country would make a second wave worse than expected. Remember, the market’s 40%-plus rally from the March 23 lows has been predicated on a swift, V-shaped economic recovery into year-end. In other words, a rosy economic scenario underpinned by no second wave. And if there were to be a second wave, it would be concentrated to a few states and not broad-based.

That overly optimistic thesis is now being rethought by investors.

“Market friendly Fed policy cannot, however, offset a severe COVID second wave. Another broad shutdown of the economy is unlikely, but data show that people changed their behavior well below stay-at-home orders were official,” wrote EvercoreISI strategist Dennis DeBusschere in a note. “In other words, an official shutdown is not needed to slow the economy. With TX, AZ, CA new cases and hospitalizations increasing and investors concerned that recent protest will fuel a wave of infections, the risk of persistently weak economic and earnings growth has increased. S&P fair value estimates are falling as a result.

And it’s those macroeconomic concerns that ultimately feed into the cautiousness expressed by Powell, which the market hated seeing.

<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="“I think as we look out, we have to be a little bit careful with how the health crisis evolves. We have to remember it’s a health crisis that has led us into this. I’ve been pointing out for the last couple of weeks that if you exclude New York and New Jersey — which have been doing very well in terms of the pandemic — you have a number of rising new cases across states. Close to 20 states are seeing cases rise in the U.S.,” said Oxford Economic chief U.S. strategist Gregory Daco on Yahoo Finance’s The First Trade.” data-reactid=”38″>“I think as we look out, we have to be a little bit careful with how the health crisis evolves. We have to remember it’s a health crisis that has led us into this. I’ve been pointing out for the last couple of weeks that if you exclude New York and New Jersey — which have been doing very well in terms of the pandemic — you have a number of rising new cases across states. Close to 20 states are seeing cases rise in the U.S.,” said Oxford Economic chief U.S. strategist Gregory Daco on Yahoo Finance’s The First Trade.

Daco added, “That’s part of the first wave. It could have a direct effect on the economy just at the time when we were starting to think about recovery. The question is how strong is the fear factor and how strong are the renewed lockdown orders.”

Clearly, the market wasn’t even thinking about renewed lockdown orders headed into this week. But now they are, and it could be risk off in the markets for a little while longer.

<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="Brian Sozzi is an editor-at-large and co-anchor of The First Trade at Yahoo Finance. Follow Sozzi on Twitter @BrianSozzi and on LinkedIn.” data-reactid=”41″>Brian Sozzi is an editor-at-large and co-anchor of The First Trade at Yahoo Finance. Follow Sozzi on Twitter @BrianSozzi and on LinkedIn.

<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flipboard, SmartNews, LinkedIn, YouTube, and reddit.” data-reactid=”52″>Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flipboard, SmartNews, LinkedIn, YouTube, and reddit.

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Telus prioritizing ‘most important customers,’ avoiding ‘unprofitable’ offers: CFO

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Telus Corp. says it is avoiding offering “unprofitable” discounts as fierce competition in the Canadian telecommunications sector shows no sign of slowing down.

The company said Friday it had fewer net new customers during its third quarter compared with the same time last year, as it copes with increasingly “aggressive marketing and promotional pricing” that is prompting more customers to switch providers.

Telus said it added 347,000 net new customers, down around 14.5 per cent compared with last year. The figure includes 130,000 mobile phone subscribers and 34,000 internet customers, down 30,000 and 3,000, respectively, year-over-year.

The company reported its mobile phone churn rate — a metric measuring subscribers who cancelled their services — was 1.09 per cent in the third quarter, up from 1.03 per cent in the third quarter of 2023. That included a postpaid mobile phone churn rate of 0.90 per cent in its latest quarter.

Telus said its focus is on customer retention through its “industry-leading service and network quality, along with successful promotions and bundled offerings.”

“The customers we have are the most important customers we can get,” said chief financial officer Doug French in an interview.

“We’ve, again, just continued to focus on what matters most to our customers, from a product and customer service perspective, while not loading unprofitable customers.”

Meanwhile, Telus reported its net income attributable to common shares more than doubled during its third quarter.

The telecommunications company said it earned $280 million, up 105.9 per cent from the same three-month period in 2023. Earnings per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 was 19 cents compared with nine cents a year earlier.

It reported adjusted net income was $413 million, up 10.7 per cent year-over-year from $373 million in the same quarter last year. Operating revenue and other income for the quarter was $5.1 billion, up 1.8 per cent from the previous year.

Mobile phone average revenue per user was $58.85 in the third quarter, a decrease of $2.09 or 3.4 per cent from a year ago. Telus said the drop was attributable to customers signing up for base rate plans with lower prices, along with a decline in overage and roaming revenues.

It said customers are increasingly adopting unlimited data and Canada-U.S. plans which provide higher and more stable ARPU on a monthly basis.

“In a tough operating environment and relative to peers, we view Q3 results that were in line to slightly better than forecast as the best of the bunch,” said RBC analyst Drew McReynolds in a note.

Scotiabank analyst Maher Yaghi added that “the telecom industry in Canada remains very challenging for all players, however, Telus has been able to face these pressures” and still deliver growth.

The Big 3 telecom providers — which also include Rogers Communications Inc. and BCE Inc. — have frequently stressed that the market has grown more competitive in recent years, especially after the closing of Quebecor Inc.’s purchase of Freedom Mobile in April 2023.

Hailed as a fourth national carrier, Quebecor has invested in enhancements to Freedom’s network while offering more affordable plans as part of a set of commitments it was mandated by Ottawa to agree to.

The cost of telephone services in September was down eight per cent compared with a year earlier, according to Statistics Canada’s most recent inflation report last month.

“I think competition has been and continues to be, I’d say, quite intense in Canada, and we’ve obviously had to just manage our business the way we see fit,” said French.

Asked how long that environment could last, he said that’s out of Telus’ hands.

“What I can control, though, is how we go to market and how we lead with our products,” he said.

“I think the conditions within the market will have to adjust accordingly over time. We’ve continued to focus on digitization, continued to bring our cost structure down to compete, irrespective of the price and the current market conditions.”

Still, Canada’s telecom regulator continues to warn providers about customers facing more charges on their cellphone and internet bills.

On Tuesday, CRTC vice-president of consumer, analytics and strategy Scott Hutton called on providers to ensure they clearly inform their customers of charges such as early cancellation fees.

That followed statements from the regulator in recent weeks cautioning against rising international roaming fees and “surprise” price increases being found on their bills.

Hutton said the CRTC plans to launch public consultations in the coming weeks that will focus “on ensuring that information is clear and consistent, making it easier to compare offers and switch services or providers.”

“The CRTC is concerned with recent trends, which suggest that Canadians may not be benefiting from the full protections of our codes,” he said.

“We will continue to monitor developments and will take further action if our codes are not being followed.”

French said any initiative to boost transparency is a step in the right direction.

“I can’t say we are perfect across the board, but what I can say is we are absolutely taking it under consideration and trying to be the best at communicating with our customers,” he said.

“I think everyone looking in the mirror would say there’s room for improvement.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:T)

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TC Energy cuts cost estimate for Southeast Gateway pipeline project in Mexico

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CALGARY – TC Energy Corp. has lowered the estimated cost of its Southeast Gateway pipeline project in Mexico.

It says it now expects the project to cost between US$3.9 billion and US$4.1 billion compared with its original estimate of US$4.5 billion.

The change came as the company reported a third-quarter profit attributable to common shareholders of C$1.46 billion or $1.40 per share compared with a loss of C$197 million or 19 cents per share in the same quarter last year.

Revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30 totalled C$4.08 billion, up from C$3.94 billion in the third quarter of 2023.

TC Energy says its comparable earnings for its latest quarter amounted to C$1.03 per share compared with C$1.00 per share a year earlier.

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

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:TRP)

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BCE reports Q3 loss on asset impairment charge, cuts revenue guidance

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BCE Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter as it recorded $2.11 billion in asset impairment charges, mainly related to Bell Media’s TV and radio properties.

The company says its net loss attributable to common shareholders amounted to $1.24 billion or $1.36 per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with a profit of $640 million or 70 cents per share a year earlier.

On an adjusted basis, BCE says it earned 75 cents per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 81 cents per share in the same quarter last year.

“Bell’s results for the third quarter demonstrate that we are disciplined in our pursuit of profitable growth in an intensely competitive environment,” BCE chief executive Mirko Bibic said in a statement.

“Our focus this quarter, and throughout 2024, has been to attract higher-margin subscribers and reduce costs to help offset short-term revenue impacts from sustained competitive pricing pressures, slow economic growth and a media advertising market that is in transition.”

Operating revenue for the quarter totalled $5.97 billion, down from $6.08 billion in its third quarter of 2023.

BCE also said it now expects its revenue for 2024 to fall about 1.5 per cent compared with earlier guidance for an increase of zero to four per cent.

The company says the change comes as it faces lower-than-anticipated wireless product revenue and sustained pressure on wireless prices.

BCE added 33,111 net postpaid mobile phone subscribers, down 76.8 per cent from the same period last year, which was the company’s second-best performance on the metric since 2010.

It says the drop was driven by higher customer churn — a measure of subscribers who cancelled their service — amid greater competitive activity and promotional offer intensity. BCE’s monthly churn rate for the category was 1.28 per cent, up from 1.1 per cent during its previous third quarter.

The company also saw 11.6 per cent fewer gross subscriber activations “due to more targeted promotional offers and mobile device discounting compared to last year.”

Bell’s wireless mobile phone average revenue per user was $58.26, down 3.4 per cent from $60.28 in the third quarter of the prior year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:BCE)

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