BC Ferries has cancelled all sailings on the B.C. Coast as a hurricane force wind warning has been issued by Environment Canada.
All sailings out of Tsawwassen, Swartz Bay, Duke Point, Gulf Islands, Departure Bay and Horseshoe Bay as well as Langdale and Powell River on the Sunshine Coast are cancelled until further notice.
UPDATE 12:58 p.m.
BC Ferries has cancelled all sailings between Swartz Bay and Tsawwassen starting at 3 p.m. Wednesday afternoon.
A tweet by the company indicates, “considering the reports and the wind already at the terminals, it is best that we cancel in advance for the safety of all passengers and crew, and to allow those time to make alternate plans for travel.”
The cancellations are due to high winds which are expected to pick up later this afternoon into tonight.
UPDATE: 10:45 a.m.
A powerful snow storm that swept across southern British Columbia early Wednesday prompted a provincial government advisory warning motorists to stay off many roads.
The advisory covered four Vancouver Island highways including Highway 1 between Nanaimo and Victoria. It was issued shortly after a section of Highway 1 just east of Vancouver was also closed because of blowing snow and treacherous conditions.
“Because of extreme winter weather, motorists are advised to avoid all but essential travel throughout the Metro Vancouver region today, including the Fraser Valley,” said the advisory from the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure.
A section of Highway 99, the Sea to Sky Highway north of Vancouver, was also shut down for several hours due to a vehicle incident in icy and blustery conditions not long after Environment Canada posted a rare blizzard warning for the Howe Sound region, which includes that route.
Every public school and post-secondary institution from the eastern Fraser Valley to Victoria and Nanaimo was shuttered as the storm dumped at least 25 centimetres of snow in many areas, with the weather office calling for more snow.
Hardy Lower Mainland commuters who decided to rely on public transit faced lengthy waits and those who reached SkyTrain stations were advised by attendants to return home.
Extreme cold, winter storm or snowfall warnings were in effect for all but a handful of regions from British Columbia, Yukon and the Northwest Territories all the way to northern Manitoba.
– The Canadian Press
UPDATE: 8:35 a.m.
A powerful snowstorm that has closed part of Highway 1 east of Vancouver, shuttered every public school and university across southern Vancouver Island and Metro Vancouver, has now led to a rare blizzard warning.
Environment Canada issued the warning for the Howe Sound area early Wednesday, saying gusty winds, blowing snow and near-zero visibility are expected or occurring.
The blizzard warning comes as more than 25 centimetres of snow blanketed Greater Victoria and parts of eastern Vancouver Island overnight, with more expected, while at least 15 centimetres fell across Metro Vancouver.
Treacherous conditions forced officials to close a section of Highway 1 through the Fraser Valley early Wednesday while snow and ice have also played havoc with transit services across the Lower Mainland.
Extreme cold, winter storm or snowfall warnings are in effect for all but a handful of regions from British Columbia, Yukon and Northwest Territories all the way to northern Manitoba.
Bitterly cold Arctic air has skidded southward across Western Canada carrying wind chill values in Prairie provinces that are at or below -50 C, while wind chill values in B.C.’s Interior are around -40.
Victoria, Metro Vancouver and much of B.C.’s inner south coast will also be battered by strong winds over the next 24 hours, as wind warnings are posted and forecasters say gusts of up to 90 km/h have potential to bring down trees and cause power outages.
UPDATE 8:27 a.m.
The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure has issued a travel advisory for Metro Vancouver, including the Fraser Valley and Vancouver Island Wednesday morning.
“Because of extreme winter weather, motorists are advised to avoid all but essential travel throughout the Metro Vancouver region today, including the Fraser Valley.
A travel advisory also applies to Vancouver Island on Highway 1 from Nanaimo south to Victoria, as well as Highways 14, 17 and 18.”
Steady snow, high winds and cold temperatures are causing poor road conditions. If you do not absolutely have to travel you are advised not to. If you must travel you are advised to use extreme caution and drive to the conditions. The ministry advises travellers to expect winter conditions for the rest of the week.
UPDATE 7:45 a.m.
The Trans Canada Highway has now been closed between Sumas way and Hunter Creek due to deteriorating weather conditions, detours are available via Hwy 7, Hwy 9, and Hwy 11. DriveBC will issue an update at 11:00 a.m.
Photo: Twitter
ORIGINAL 6:44 a.m.
Metro Vancouver and the South Coast are getting a taste of old man winter Wednesday morning.
DriveBC has issued a travel advisory for the Trans Canada Highway – travel is not recommended unless absolutely necessary between Lickman and Whatcom due to limited visibility and slippery conditions. Compact snow, slush, slippery sections and limited visibility due to heavy snowfall making for very poor conditions.
Most school districts in Metro Vancouver have also cancelled classes for today as well.
Netflix (NFLX) stock slid as much as 9.6% Friday after the company gave a second quarter revenue forecast that missed estimates and announced it would stop reporting quarterly subscriber metrics closely watched by Wall Street.
On Thursday, Netflix guided to second quarter revenue of $9.49 billion, a miss compared to consensus estimates of $9.51 billion.
The company said it will stop reporting quarterly membership numbers starting next year, along with average revenue per member, or ARM.
“As we’ve evolved our pricing and plans from a single to multiple tiers with different price points depending on the country, each incremental paid membership has a very different business impact,” the company said.
Netflix reported first quarter earnings that beat across the board on Thursday, with another 9 million-plus subscribers added in the quarter.
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Subscriber additions of 9.3 million beat expectations of 4.8 million and followed the 13 million net additions the streamer added in the fourth quarter. The company added 1.7 million paying users in Q1 2023.
Revenue beat Bloomberg consensus estimates of $9.27 billion to hit $9.37 billion in the quarter, an increase of 14.8% compared to the same period last year as the streamer leaned on revenue initiatives like its crackdown on password-sharing and ad-supported tier, in addition to the recent price hikes on certain subscription plans.
Netflix’s stock has been on a tear in recent months, with shares currently trading near the high end of its 52-week range. Wall Street analysts had warned that high expectations heading into the print could serve as an inherent risk to the stock price.
Earnings per share (EPS) beat estimates in the quarter, with the company reporting EPS of $5.28, well above consensus expectations of $4.52 and nearly double the $2.88 EPS figure it reported in the year-ago period. Netflix guided to second quarter EPS of $4.68, ahead of consensus calls for $4.54.
Profitability metrics also came in strong, with operating margins sitting at 28.1% for the first quarter compared to 21% in the same period last year.
The company previously guided to full-year 2024 operating margins of 24% after the metric grew to 21% from 18% in 2023. Netflix expects margins to tick down slightly in Q2 to 26.6%.
Free cash flow came in at $2.14 billion in the quarter, above consensus calls of $1.9 billion.
Meanwhile, ARM ticked up 1% year over year — matching the fourth quarter results. Wall Street analysts expect ARM to pick up later this year as both the ad-tier impact and price hike effects take hold.
On the ads front, ad-tier memberships increased 65% quarter over quarter after rising nearly 70% sequentially in Q3 2023 and Q4 2023. The ads plan now accounts for over 40% of all Netflix sign-ups in the markets it’s offered in.
Netflix reported first quarter earnings after the bell on Thursday. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/File Photo (REUTERS / Reuters)
Alexandra Canal is a Senior Reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on X @allie_canal, LinkedIn, and email her at alexandra.canal@yahoofinance.com.
Oil prices initially spiked on Friday due to unconfirmed reports of an Israeli missile strike on Iran.
Prices briefly reached above $90 per barrel before falling back as Iran denied the attack.
Iranian media reported activating their air defense systems, not an Israeli strike.
Oil prices gave up nearly all of early Friday’s gains after an Iranian official told Reuters that there hadn’t been a missile attack against Iran.
Oil surged by as much as $3 per barrel in Asian trade early on Friday after a U.S. official told ABC News today that Israel launched missile strikes against Iran in the early morning hours today. After briefly spiking to above $90 per barrel early on Friday in Asian trade, Brent fell back to $87.10 per barrel in the morning in Europe.
The news was later confirmed by Iranian media, which said the country’s air defense system took down three drones over the city of Isfahan, according to Al Jazeera. Flights to three cities including Tehran and Isfahan were suspended, Iranian media also reported.
Israel’s retaliation for Iran’s missile strikes last week was seen by most as a guarantee of escalation of the Middle East conflict since Iran had warned Tel Aviv that if it retaliates, so will Tehran in its turn and that retaliation would be on a greater scale than the missile strikes from last week. These developments were naturally seen as strongly bullish for oil prices.
However, hours after unconfirmed reports of an Israeli attack first emerged, Reuters quoted an Iranian official as saying that there was no missile strike carried out against Iran. The explosions that were heard in the large Iranian city of Isfahan were the result of the activation of the air defense systems of Iran, the official told Reuters.
Overall, Iran appears to downplay the event, with most official comments and news reports not mentioning Israel, Reuters notes.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said that “there is no damage to Iran’s nuclear sites,” confirming Iranian reports on the matter.
The Isfahan province is home to Iran’s nuclear site for uranium enrichment.
“Brent briefly soared back above $90 before reversing lower after Iranian media downplayed a retaliatory strike by Israel,” Saxo Bank said in a Friday note.
The $5 a barrel trading range in oil prices over the past week has been driven by traders attempting to “quantify the level of risk premium needed to reflect heightened tensions but with no impact on supply,” the bank said, adding “Expect prices to bid ahead of the weekend.”
At the time of writing Brent was trading at $87.34 and WTI at $83.14.
