Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem holds a news conference at the Bank of Canada in Ottawa on July 12.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
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.
Bank of Canada’s Tiff Macklem doesn’t rule out more rate hikes
The day after the Bank of Canada hit pause on monetary policy tightening and held its key interest rate steady at 5 per cent, Governor Tiff Macklem said his team could raise rates again if consumer price growth remains stubborn. Mark Rendell reports that Mr. Macklem struck a hawkish tone when talking about inflation. He said the central bank’s 2-per-cent inflation target “is now in sight,” but the persistence of underlying inflation is cause for concern. The bank has raised interest rates 10 times over the past year-and-a-half, making it far more expensive for households and businesses to borrow money and service their debt.
Teck’s new CEO Jonathan Price wants to put Canada on the critical metals map
Meet Jonathan Price, the CEO of Teck Resources Ltd. TECK-B-T who wants to put Canada on the critical metals map. In a rare interview, Eric Reguly asked the 47-year-old Welshman about his baptism of fire as a corporate boss and his plans for Canada’s biggest diversified mining company. He became CEO almost exactly a year ago, and, within months, the company’s plans to shed its coal division and reinvent itself as a copper giant were interrupted by a US$23-billion takeover attempt from Swiss commodities giant Glencore GLCNF. Since then, Mr. Price has devoted his energies to fending off Glencore while repairing a convoluted coal spinoff that went awry.
Fewer Canadians dining out as inflation and interest rates bite consumer spending
More Canadians are choosing to dine out less and eat at home more as food inflation continues to soar. Since the spring, the number of seated diners at restaurants in Montreal, Calgary, Vancouver, Toronto and Edmonton has slowed significantly year-over-year, according to data published by OpenTable, an online restaurant-reservation service. But Canadians don’t appear to be letting steep menu prices get in their way when they do decide to eat out. Jason Kirby takes a closer look in this week’s Decoder.
Enbridge bets big on natural gas with $9.4-billion acquisition of three U.S. utilities
This week, Enbridge Inc. ENB-T announced it would buy three U.S. utilities for US$9.4-billion, plus US$4.6-billion of assumed debt, to create the continent’s largest natural gas utility. The company said it would fund the deal through a combination of debt and equity. On Tuesday, it launched a $4-billion equity offering – one of the largest share sales in Canadian history – which have dealmakers predicting an upturn in acquisitions and stock sales through the rest of the year. Emma Graney and Tim Kiladze report the blockbuster acquisition likely pits newly minted chief executive Greg Ebel’s diversification strategy against the potential for more debt drama.
Rogers countersues former CEO Joe Natale, seeks severance repayment
The drama between Rogers Communications Inc. RCI-B-T and Joe Natale continues. The telecommunications company is countersuing its former chief executive officer after Mr. Natale filed a lawsuit in court last month. Rogers argues that he should return at least $15.4-million in severance payments after the company retroactively made his 2021 dismissal for cause, Alexandra Posadzki reports. Mr. Natale, on the other hand is seeking at least $24-million for wrongful dismissal and breach of contract, as well as “punitive, moral, and aggravated damages.”
A playbook for debt and investing as we look ahead to a U-turn for interest rates
It’s probably too soon to ask when interest rates will start falling, but that doesn’t mean you can’t start getting your finances prepared. “It looks like we are looking down from the heights of Mount Interest Rate,” Rob Carrick writes. In the meanwhile, he offers up his playbook on how to prepare for the coming descent: snap up high-rate GICs; take a step back if you’re thinking of locking in a variable-rate mortgage; consider high-yielding dividend stocks in rate-sensitive sectors; and consider bond funds.
Now that you’re all caught up, test your knowledge with our weekly business and investing news quiz and prepare for the week ahead with the Globe’s investing calendar.
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