The Daily Chase: Final BoC decision day of 2021; Pfizer study helps ease Omicron fears
BNN Bloomberg
It's Bank of Canada decision day and the storyline today is simple: what will the central bank have to say about the timing for raising rates as inflation sits at the highest level in almost 19 years and after jobs growth in November quadrupled expectations?
It's Bank of Canada decision day and the storyline today is simple: what will the central bank have to say about the timing for raising rates as inflation sits at the highest level in almost 19 years and after jobs growth in November quadrupled expectations? Last time we heard from the Bank of Canada in October, it indicated liftoff could happen as early as April. We’ll set the scene with National Bank Chief Rates Strategist Warren Lovely at 8:30 a.m. (as part of our INFLATION NATION special coverage), and look forward to analysis from the likes of TD Deputy Chief Economist Derek Burleton at 10 a.m., BMO Head of Fixed Income Earl Davis at 1 p.m., Manulife Investment Management Head of Macro Strategy Frances Donald at 1:30 p.m., and we’ll round things out with a discussion about the implications for real estate with Realtor Nasma Ali at 4:20 p.m.
STOCKS TAKE A BREATHER
Major European markets and U.S. futures aren’t doing much of anything this morning after two big days of gains as Omicron fears faded. Notably on that front, Pfizer shares initially came under pressure in pre-market trading (as did BioNTech shares in Europe) after the Africa Health Research Institute released an early study showing their COVID vaccine is less effective against Omicron than other virus variants. However, the losses were pared after the two companies released an update touting the effectiveness of their vaccine at neutralizing Omicron when a third dose is administered.
AWS OUTAGE POST-MORTEM
The problem first landed on our radar yesterday when our news director noticed websites alerting users to a “widespread” problem. Then we saw a spike in AWS’s chart on downdetector.ca. By the late morning, AWS notified users that “an impairment of several network devices” was to blame for service disruptions in its US-EAST-1 region. It wasn’t until 7:35 p.m. ET that AWS said the problem was resolved. Between it all, we were reminded of our reliance on the cloud as everything from Amazon deliveries to Christmas lights were affected. We’ll lean on our Bloomberg News partners for the latest on what went wrong, why, and contingencies to shield the Internet of Things from mishaps like that.
RAIL DEAL GOES TO VOTES
Canada’s federally backed farm lender is offering financial aid to farmers, agricultural businesses and food companies hit by the spike in fertilizer and energy prices, it said on Friday.
Jay Allen is a fan of U.S. President Donald Trump, and voted for him on the belief that the Republican would cut taxes and trim regulations, helping his manufacturing business in northeast Arkansas.
Another climb for oil prices sent the U.S. stock market sharply lower, as hopes collapsed for a possible cut to interest rates by the Federal Reserve.
Global oil prices will continue to rise as the war in the Middle East continues and the Strait of Hormuz remains inaccessible, according to an energy expert.
Global oil prices will continue to rise as the war in the Middle East continues and the Strait of Hormuz remains inaccessible, according to an energy expert.
Facing a $1.4 billion deficit shortfall, the provincial government says its large-animal vet service will be privatized over the next three years.
Facing a $1.4 billion deficit shortfall, the provincial government says its large-animal vet service will be privatized over the next three years.
Jurors wade through daunting evidence in high-stakes Meta trial about social media risks to children
A stream of testimony and evidence has been presented in a New Mexico case exploring what Meta knew about the effects of its platforms on children.
Markets in Canada and the U.S. continued to trade lower while oil went up late morning on Friday as inflationary fears prevailed among investors.
Gold prices fell by 1.8 per cent on Friday as the dollar strengthened on a report that the United States will deploy extra troops in the Middle East, fanning concerns of higher oil prices, inflation, and with it, elevated interest rates.
Canada’s federally backed farm lender is offering financial aid to farmers, agricultural businesses and food companies hit by the spike in fertilizer and energy prices, it said on Friday.
Statistics Canada says retail sales were up 1.1 per cent at $70.7 billion in January, led by sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers.
As Qatar reels from an Iranian attack that has hobbled its giant natural gas company, its boss, who doubles as the country’s energy minister, says he had warned officials and executives of just such a danger should Iran’s own sites be hit.