TSX slides on oil decline... RBC warns of manufacturing slowdown... Minimum wage up in 5 provinces... Alberta will have an overall recession this year says ATB... SNC-Lavalin to pay $1.5 billion to settle corruption case...
TSX slides on oil decline
After closing up 2 per cent in the previous session it was perhaps over-optimistic to expect another excellent day for the main index on the Toronto Stock Exchange in current volatile times.
October’s trading began with gains in Asian and European markets and North America followed but then came a decline in oil prices. The loss was less than half a percentage point though.
Wall Street closed essentially flat with the Dow ever so slightly lower and S&P500 and Nasdaq mildly positive. Europe also closed with mixed fortunes.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed down 65.07 (0.49 per cent)
The Dow Jones closed down 12.69 (0.08 per cent)
Oil is trending lower (Brent $47.92, WTI $45.01 at 4.20pm)
Gold is trending lower (1113.40)
The loonie is valued at U$0.7538
RBC warns of manufacturing slowdown
The latest RBC purchasing managers index hit a new record in September, but not in a good way. The PMI saw the “sharpest deterioration in business conditions in survey history” dropping from 49.4 in August to 48.6 in September; anything below 50 is considered as contraction. Although the latest GDP data shows that the economy left recession at the start of Q3, this latest leading indicator could suggest some tougher times for our factories in these last three months of 2015.
Minimum wage up in 5 provinces
The lowest paid workers in Newfoundland, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta are earning a little more from this month as a rise in the five provinces’ minimum wage took effect Thursday. None reached the level of the Northern Territories which has the country’s highest at $12.50 per hour.
Alberta will have an overall recession this year says ATB
Provincial bank ATB Financial says that Alberta will end 2015 with a 0.7 per cent decline in GDP before recovery in 2016. Unsurprisingly the oil decline is the “single reason” given for the estimated fall however forestry, real estate and cattle prices are all holding up. ATB economists predict that the province will see 1.4 per cent growth in 2016.
SNC-Lavalin to pay $1.5 billion to settle corruption case
The African Development Bank Group’s corruption allegations against Quebec’s SNC-Lavalin will be settled by a $1.5 billion payment and acceptance of certain conditions. CBC reports that SNC-Lavalin did not contest the allegations that former company employees authorised illicit payments to public officials in two African countries.
After closing up 2 per cent in the previous session it was perhaps over-optimistic to expect another excellent day for the main index on the Toronto Stock Exchange in current volatile times.
October’s trading began with gains in Asian and European markets and North America followed but then came a decline in oil prices. The loss was less than half a percentage point though.
Wall Street closed essentially flat with the Dow ever so slightly lower and S&P500 and Nasdaq mildly positive. Europe also closed with mixed fortunes.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed down 65.07 (0.49 per cent)
The Dow Jones closed down 12.69 (0.08 per cent)
Oil is trending lower (Brent $47.92, WTI $45.01 at 4.20pm)
Gold is trending lower (1113.40)
The loonie is valued at U$0.7538
RBC warns of manufacturing slowdown
The latest RBC purchasing managers index hit a new record in September, but not in a good way. The PMI saw the “sharpest deterioration in business conditions in survey history” dropping from 49.4 in August to 48.6 in September; anything below 50 is considered as contraction. Although the latest GDP data shows that the economy left recession at the start of Q3, this latest leading indicator could suggest some tougher times for our factories in these last three months of 2015.
Minimum wage up in 5 provinces
The lowest paid workers in Newfoundland, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta are earning a little more from this month as a rise in the five provinces’ minimum wage took effect Thursday. None reached the level of the Northern Territories which has the country’s highest at $12.50 per hour.
Alberta will have an overall recession this year says ATB
Provincial bank ATB Financial says that Alberta will end 2015 with a 0.7 per cent decline in GDP before recovery in 2016. Unsurprisingly the oil decline is the “single reason” given for the estimated fall however forestry, real estate and cattle prices are all holding up. ATB economists predict that the province will see 1.4 per cent growth in 2016.
SNC-Lavalin to pay $1.5 billion to settle corruption case
The African Development Bank Group’s corruption allegations against Quebec’s SNC-Lavalin will be settled by a $1.5 billion payment and acceptance of certain conditions. CBC reports that SNC-Lavalin did not contest the allegations that former company employees authorised illicit payments to public officials in two African countries.
