OCTOBER JOBS NUMBER COMES IN BELOW EXPECTATIONS
Here are five things you need to know this morning:
Canada adds half as many jobs as expected: There’s more evidence this morning that Canada’s economy is slowing, coming in the form of Statistics Canada’s monthly reading on jobs. The data agency says the economy added 14,500 new jobs in October. That’s a slowdown from the more than 47,000 in September and about half the 28,000 that economists were anticipating. It’s the weakest jobs number in seven months and brings the rolling 12-month tally to just over 300,000 people. The unemployment rate held steady at 6.5 per cent, which was better than expected. Speaking to BNN Bloomberg’s The Street this morning, BMO economist Robert Kavcic said overall the numbers “are indicative of an economy that is slowing down.” John O’Connell, CEO of investment firm Davis Rea said the weak jobs number “is going to give the Bank of Canada all the fodder it wants to cut rates again,” adding that “people are in pain and rates are going to go lower.”
Dynamite set to blow up TSX’s IPO drought: Montreal-based retail conglomerate Groupe Dynamite has filed paperwork to go public on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The move confirms previous Bloomberg reporting that the company, which owns 300 stores across North America under the Dynamite and Garage banners, had hired bankers to kick the tires on an IPO that would value the chain at as much as $1 billion. Filings suggest system wide sales came in at $888 million in the year up to early August, and the company turned a profit of $128 million. Details on the number of shares up for sale, timing of the offering and the pricing are still under wraps, but if and when the IPO happens, it will mark the first IPO of a Canadian company on the TSX since Lithium Royalty Corp. raised $150 million in March 2023.
Alberta sacks AIMCO CEO and board: The CEO and entire board of the Alberta Investment Management Corporation have been fired by the provincial government, which says the pension plan has not produced satisfactory returns despite significantly boosting head count and compensation. AIMCO had about $161 billion in its coffers at the end of last year, but its war chest has not expanded as quickly as its staffing. The government says the province’s pension plan manager has boosted its salary wage and benefit costs by 71 per cent annually from 2019 to 2023, and its headcount expanded by almost 30 per cent. Investment returns over that time frame have only grown by 7.6 per cent annually. The province says it will appoint a new chair within 30 days
Ports in a storm: Labour disruptions at Canada’s three biggest ports in Vancouver, Montreal and Prince Rupert are getting worse, not better, and more and more stakeholders are saying something must be done. International shipper Maersk told its customers in a bulletin that the disruptions are “complex and are affecting our operations.” The shipper says it is still accepting new bookings but has started to implement a few contingency plans and will charge a fee to any customers wishing to divert their cargo away from the affected idled ports. The Montreal Port Authority, meanwhile, is calling on the Prime Minister to intervene in the strike that had brought activity at the terminal that processes about 40 per cent of the port’s cargo to a standstill. “It’s obvious that there are no negotiations, and that the government needs to act by offering both sides a path to reach a genuine industrial peace,” port CEO Julie Gascon said of the strike that involves 1,200 dockworkers.
More bad press for TD: There’s another rough headline for Toronto Dominion Bank out there today as the Manhattan District Attorney’s office says a former U.S. employee of the bank has been charged with stealing customer data and distributing it on a Telegram channel. The employee in question worked at TD from 2023 until May 2024 and a search of their possessions found images of 255 cheques on their phone, plus personal info such as names, addresses and SINs for 70 more. The D.A.’s office said the person “then distributed the information on a Telegram channel she operated. She would instruct others to open bank accounts to deposit the checks and would split the profits.” But the worst detail might be this: the person in question worked in the bank’s money-laundering department — the same unit at the bank that has come under scrutiny this year that led to billions in fines and a cap on TD’s assets in the U.S. until it cleans up its act.
Story by: BNN Bloomberg
