Market News: Federal Reserve, Oil, Wildfires, WestJet, and Cineplex - Latest Updates and Trends Before Opening

2023-05-19 15:42:49

(Illustration: Camille Charbonneau)

NEWS ESSENTIALS

• Federal Reserve: Jerome Powell in the limelight, the pressure is mounting. Wall Street, small businesses and potential home buyers could all breathe a sigh of relief if the Federal Reserve decides not to raise interest rates at its meeting next month, as several analysts expect.

• Oil: Growth in New Mexico exceeded that of Texas in 2022. Crude oil production in New Mexico rose more last year than any other US state, including Texas, the top US producer, and accounted for half of the overall increase in national production, which shows the importance of this state in increasing oil production in the United States.

• Risk of wildfires: Alberta closes some parks for the long weekend. Authorities in Canada’s main oil province, Alberta, have closed some parks and campgrounds and are urging residents to avoid activities that could fuel wildfires, so as not to put a strain on resources. firefighting during the holiday weekend.

• WestJet reaches tentative agreement with pilots, avoids announced strike. The union representing WestJet pilots reached a tentative agreement with the Canadian airline late Thursday, averting a strike that was due to start as early as Friday and which would have led to travel disruptions over the New Year’s Eve weekend. the Queen.

• The Competition Bureau sues Cineplex for misleading ticket prices. Canada’s Competition Bureau said Thursday it is suing the theater company for tickets at a price lower than many consumers actually have to pay.

TRENDS BEFORE OPENING

Futures contracts for the main Canadian stock index are slightly ahead, following the positive trend observed on Wall Street. European stocks are on the rise, pushing the German DAX to new highs. The Japanese Nikkei hit its highest level since August 1990, during the country’s “bubble” era. Gold prices are up after falling for three sessions in a row and oil prices are recovering after losing more than 1% the previous day. The US dollar is holding near a six-month high against the Japanese yen and a seven-week high against the euro.

(Re)read all market news

TITLES TO FOLLOW

• Absolute Software: investment advisory firm Edenbrook Capital has sent a letter to the board of Canadian firm Absolute Software, saying Crosspoint Capital Partners’ bid to take the company private is “significantly undervaluing” the society. Edenbrook, which owns a 10.4% stake in Absolute Software, said Thursday that “the transaction is unfair to public shareholders.” Last week, Absolute Software agreed to be acquired by Crosspoint for US$657 million and said its shareholders would receive US$11.50 per share in cash. Shareholders must vote on the transaction at an extraordinary meeting which should be held at the end of June.

• Cineplex: Canada’s Competition Bureau said Thursday it is suing the theater company for tickets at a price lower than many consumers actually have to pay. “We are taking action against Cineplex because deceptive tactics like drop pricing only serve to mislead and harm consumers,” said Competition Commissioner Matthew Boswell. Regulators allege Cineplex broke the law by adding additional fees that increase the price of tickets purchased online. The company responded that its ‘online booking fees are not misleading and fully comply with the spirit and letter of the law’.

• Onex: The union representing WestJet pilots reached a tentative agreement with the Canadian airline late Thursday, averting a strike that was due to start as early as Friday and which would have led to travel disruptions over the New Year’s Eve weekend. the Queen. WestJet said it was ramping up operations following the deal, but it would take time to resume full service. As of Thursday, the airline had canceled 31% of scheduled flights due to the expected strike. The agreement will have to be ratified by the pilots in the coming days, according to what the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) said in a press release, without however giving details on the new contract.