Canada’s biggest banks reported their third-quarter earnings this week, covering the three months that ended July 31.Sammy Kogan/The Globe and Mail
Getting caught up on a week that got away? Here’s your weekly digest of the Globe’s most essential business and investing stories, with insights and analysis from the pros, stock tips, portfolio strategies and more.
Canada’s Big Six banks report third-quarter earnings
It is bank earnings season yet again. Canada’s biggest banks reported their third-quarter earnings this week, covering the three-month period that ended July 31. Perhaps most notably, Toronto-Dominion Bank reported its first quarterly loss in 21 years after it set aside a US$2.6-billion provision to pay anticipated regulatory fines over anti-money laundering failures. Bank of Montreal reported higher profits but also missed analysts’ expectations. Meanwhile, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Royal Bank of Canada, Bank of Nova Scotia and National Bank of Canada reported earnings that beat analysts’ estimates.
Ottawa to impose 100-per-cent tariff on Chinese-made EVs
Earlier this week, Ottawa announced a 100-per-cent tariff on Chinese electric vehicles, which will come into effect in early October. It matches a similar tariff imposed in May by the United States, and follows the European Union’s decision in July to also raise tariffs. The EV tariff applies to some hybrid passenger cars, trucks, buses and delivery vans, and is in addition to a pre-existing import tariff of 6.1 per cent that already applies to Chinese-made EVs coming into Canada, Pippa Norman and Marieke Walsh report. The federal government also announced a 25-per-cent tariff on steel and aluminum products from China. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the extra levies are justified given China’s “unfair” trade approach and policies that have displaced Canadian auto and metal workers.
Decoder: Canada’s immigration system is failing recent immigrants themselves
Immigrants are facing a tough job market in Canada. The unemployment rate for immigrants who arrived within the past five years rose to nearly 13 per cent in July, which was seven percentage points higher than the unemployment rate for workers born here. That’s the largest unemployment gap for recent immigrants in more than a decade, aside from the early months of COVID-19, Bank of Montreal senior economic Robert Kavcic recently said in a research note. Jason Kirby takes a closer look at the figures in this week’s Decoder.
Receiverships soar, putting distressed commercial properties on market
With developers filing for bankruptcy protection or lenders forcing their projects into receivership, the number of available properties is on the rise. There were $803-million worth of distressed commercial property sales in Canada during the first half of 2024, according to commercial real estate brokerage Colliers International Group Inc. Real estate professionals, however, say there’s a disconnect in the market as buyers “smell blood in the water” while sellers cling to “unrealistic valuations.” If the two sides start to come together, the number of transactions could boom – particularly as defaults are expected to increase, Rachelle Younglai reports. More troubled properties are expected to hit the market as real estate companies struggle with higher borrowing costs and miss their loan payments.
Algoma Steel is banking on a renaissance with its multimillion-dollar plan to go electric
Algoma Steel Inc. is on the brink of a major shift. The company is transforming its coal-fired production processes into a modern operation that emits far less carbon and other pollutants – by installing electric arc furnaces (EAFs). The new equipment eschews coking coal and blast furnaces in favour of scrap metal that, with a massive charge of electricity, will produce what’s known in the industry as green steel. The project is now expected to cost between $825-million and $875-million. Jeffrey Jones reports on the company’s massive transformation in Sault Ste. Marie, where it has played a crucial role in providing jobs for generations. He spoke to Algoma Steel workers, as well as locals who say they support the changes that could improve their quality of life.
AI-generated video: Can you spot the difference between real and fake?
AI-generated video has come a long way. In the span of a few months, many of those videos made with artificial intelligence applications have become viral memes, commercials, short films and music videos, marking an astounding – and unnerving – leap in quality. The improvements in text-to-video AI applications have been fuelled by lots more data and computing processing power. Some developers, notably OpenAI and Runway AI, are determined to make the quality even better. But can you really spot the difference between real and fake? Test your AI-detection skills with a quiz from Joe Castaldo and Patrick Dell.
Take our business quiz for the week of August 30
a. Toronto-Dominion Bank and Bank of Montreal. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Royal Bank of Canada, Bank of Nova Scotia and National Bank of Canada reported earnings that beat analysts’ estimates.
Get the rest of the questions from the weekly business and investing news quiz here, and prepare for the week ahead with The Globe’s investing calendar.