"Latest Business News: Debt Ceiling Agreement, Alberta Elections, Wildfire Emergency and More"

2023-05-29 14:43:44

(Illustration: Camille Charbonneau)

NEWS ESSENTIALS

• US: Debt Ceiling Agreement Ready for Congressional Vote? US President Joe Biden on Sunday finalized a budget deal with Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy to suspend the US$31.4 trillion debt ceiling until January 1, 2025, saying the deal is ready for a vote by the United States Congress.

• Alberta goes to the polls, the issue of climate change would be at stake. Voters in Canada’s main oil province, Alberta, head to the polls on Monday in a tight election race that is expected to significantly impact the climate goals of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who is already seen as a lagging behind its counterparts around the world.

• Nova Scotia: City of Halifax declares state of emergency after forest fire. The city of Halifax in eastern Canada declared a local state of emergency late Sunday after a wildfire prompted evacuations and power cuts.

• Debt deal between Biden and McCarthy would help Mountain Valley pipeline. US energy company Equitrans Midstream’s Mountain Valley pipeline, valued at US$6.6 billion, may receive federal government approval under the debt ceiling agreement reached in Washington.

• WestJet and its pilots agree on an hourly increase of 24% over 4 years. WestJet Airlines pilots will get a 24% increase over four years in their hourly wages, along with other compensation and benefits as part of the tentative agreement reached in May, according to a copy seen by Archyde.com on Friday.

TRENDS BEFORE OPENING

Futures contracts for the main Canadian equity index are down on weak commodity prices. In Asian markets, the Japanese Nikkei rose to its highest level since July 1990, benefiting from optimism linked to the debt ceiling agreement in the United States and the weakness of the Japanese yen, while Chinese stock markets ended the session in negative territory due to plummeting profits in the local industrial sector. European securities are down slightly. Gold prices are down slightly as the US dollar remains near a two-month high. Oil prices fell on fears of further interest rate hikes.

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TITLES TO FOLLOW

• Onex: WestJet Airlines pilots will get a 24% increase over four years in their hourly wages, along with other compensation and benefits as part of the tentative agreement reached in May, according to a copy seen by Archyde.com on Friday. The agreement had been reached by WestJet, which is owned by Onex, and the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) less than 24 hours before the start of a strike that was due to be called at Canada’s second largest airline. Along with the 24% raise, WestJet’s deal also includes back pay through Jan. 1, plus additional benefits and a restructuring of pension funds, according to an executive summary reported earlier by The Canadian Press. . The agreement also provides for the full integration of the flight operations of Swoop, WestJet’s low-cost carrier, into its mainline by October 2024.