Here are the top reads on deals and financial services over the last 24 hours,
BMO expects Bank of Canada to cut key interest rate to record low: The Bank of Canada will have to slash its key interest rate by another three-quarters of a percentage point in its next rate decision in mid-April, Bank of Montreal says, as plunging oil prices and mounting coronavirus fears prompt economists to rewrite their economic and rate forecasts. (David Parkinson)
Why now is a good opportunity to load up on Canadian bank stocks: The free-falling price of crude oil has walloped North American energy companies, and the Canadian banks that lend to them are being hit almost as hard. But the bank sell-off may be overdone, offering a good buying opportunity – and dividend yields that now average 5.7 per cent. (David Berman)
Trudeau says relief coming ‘very soon’ to address the economic effects of coronavirus: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the government is preparing to unveil a package of measures to combat the economic impact of coronavirus “very soon,” as he faces calls for stimulus measures, including possible tax cuts, from CEO of Canada’s largest bank and Alberta’s premier. (Mark Rendell)
Paramount executives misled investors on use of funds, OSC lawyer argues at hearing: Investors in the Paramount Group, which sold pooled mortgage products until it was shut down in 2017, were provided with “stark” and “persuasive” misrepresentations about how their money was being used, a lawyer for the Ontario Securities Commission charged at a hearing on Tuesday. (Greg McArthur)
HOOPP names Jeff Wendling as new CEO: The Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan has named its top investment professional to succeed CEO Jim Keohane, who retires this month after eight years in the top job and two decades at the organization. (David Milstead)
U.S. investment giant Hamilton Lane pulls out of federal venture capital program: U.S. fund management giant Hamilton Lane Advisors LLC has pulled out of one of the federal government’s signature innovation funding programs, less than two years after Ottawa pledged close to $80-million to the company to invest in the Canadian technology sector. (Sean Silcoff)
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Banks can handle potential energy losses, but face risks if larger economic crisis triggered by coronavirus unfolds: Canada’s big banks can absorb potential losses on loans to energy companies after years of trimming exposure to the sector, but a larger economic crisis triggered by the COVID-19 virus could still cause significant damage to loan books, analysts warned Monday. (Mark Rendell)
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