Political disarray in Greece continues
The chase by Marty Cej:
European stocks are slumping this morning and U.S. stock index futures are pointing to another weak start as the leader of the left-wing Syriza party in Greece struggled to form a coalition government, demanding that leaders of the more mainstream parties first send letters to the EU revoking their pledges to implement austerity measures. Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras will send a letter to the EU himself saying the rescue deal is no longer binding given the way Greeks have voted. If nothing else, the likelihood that the New Democracy and Pasok parties will continue to reject Tsipras' terms means Greeks will head back to the polls within weeks. To the north and east, European Central Bank executive board member Joerg Asmussen has said that there is no alternative to the austerity program if Greece wants to remain a member of the euro-zone, an unusual statement from an ECB official in that it suggests the possibility for a country to exit the currency union, something the bank has repeatedly refused to consider. Can the reintroduction of the drachma be far behind?
We need to stay on top of the tumble in the commodities market. Over the past five sessions, crude oil has dropped more than 8 percent, gold is down more than 4 percent -- including a slide of $35 US yesterday -- and copper has fallen almost 4 percent. We need to first answer the question "why" and then turn our attention to what it means for earnings, the Canadian stock market and the global economy. Natural gas, meanwhile, is up more than 8 percent in the last five trading days.
Telus will be a mover today after the company withdrew its proposal to dismantle its dual-share structure -- the history of which Frances can explain in great detail -- into a single common stock. Telus is backing down from the challenge by hedge fund capital, a decision that may affect other dual-class shares across the country. In Telus' words, the "empty voting trading tactics of hedge fund Mason Capital and lack of regulatory oversight of the practice make it apparent a vote to be held at TELUS' annual general and special meeting of shareholders on May 9 would not succeed. Empty voting is buying shares to vote them while simultaneously short selling shares in the same company, a troubling practice that gives a fund more votes than its economic stake warrants. In this case, Mason Capital was voting $1.9 billion worth of TELUS' common shares with only a $25 million net economic stake." We'll take a closer look.
Better-than-expected earnings from a host of big Canadian companies will struggle to lift share prices today as macroeconomic worries weigh on sentiment. Agrium, for example, blew past expectations; Sprott reported profit of 10 cents a share, double the market forecast, and Enbridge beat the average expectation by 2 cents.
Tim Horton's failed to beat expectations as higher commodity costs offset gains in same-store sales, which rose 5.2 percent in Canada and 8.5 percent in the U.S. The company said new offerings, such as espresso-based lattes, fruit smoothies and beef lasagna casserole were popular with customers. One of the more bold introductions at Tim Hortons arrived at an outlet in Windsor ON yesterday. Customer Shireen Anderson gave birth to a seven-pound, 14-ounce baby girl, assisted by employee Judy Glenn and manager Aaron Hayes. Nicknamed "Timbit," the baby girl is home and doing just fine. Interim CEO Paul House has declined to say whether Tim Hortons will offer outpatient services in coming quarters.
Other earnings we're watching today include Onex, Torstar (profit and revenue down, dividend up), Calfrac, Whistler Blackcomb. Hudbay, Linamar, Quebecor and Rona. Out of the U.S., we'll keep an eye on Macy's, Activision Blizzard, Cisco, Wynn Resorts and Newscorp.
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