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TOP NEWS
Canada
deporting thousands even as pandemic rages
Canada deported thousands of people even as COVID-19 raged last year,
data seen by Reuters shows, and lawyers say deportations are ramping up,
putting people needlessly at risk in the midst of a global health
emergency.
Yellen
vote in U.S. Senate committee to test support for Biden economic plan
The Senate Finance Committee will vote on Janet Yellen's nomination for
Treasury secretary, an early litmus test of bipartisan support for
President Joe Biden's ambitious plans for coronavirus relief,
infrastructure investment and tax hikes.
• In blow to Trudeau, queen's representative in Canada quits after harassment allegations
Canadian Governor General Julie Payette, the representative of the
country's head of state, Queen Elizabeth, quit on Thursday amid
allegations of workplace harassment in an embarrassment for Prime
Minister Justin Trudeau.
• Biden to sign order to increase pandemic-related food aid
U.S. President Joe Biden will sign two executive orders aimed at
speeding pandemic stimulus checks to families who need it most and
increasing food aid for children who normally rely on school meals as a
main source for nutrition.
• Long queues as China's capital launches mass virus tests
Beijing launched mass COVID-19 testing in some areas and Shanghai was
testing all hospital staff as China battles its worst outbreak of the
disease since March, with families fretting over Lunar New Year reunion
plans amid new curbs.
BEFORE THE BELL
Futures for Canada’s main stock index fell, as oil prices tumbled on demand concerns sparked by pandemic restrictions in
China. U.S. stock futures fell, along with world shares, as disappointing economic data across the globe and new pandemic
restrictions in China dented a rally backed by hopes of U.S. stimulus by President Joe Biden. The U.S. dollar was little changed. Gold prices
slumped as U.S. Treasury yields rose. Retail sales data is due for release later in the day.
STOCKS TO WATCH
• Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd:
The diversified Canadian miner said
on Thursday its U.S. subsidiary Pebble Limited Partnership has filed an
appeal with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) over its decision
to deny a key water permit for the contentious Pebble Mine in Alaska.
The USACE denied the Clean Water Act permit
in November because the plan submitted by the Pebble Limited
Partnership detailing how it would handle the project's waste in the
ecologically sensitive area did not comply with guidelines. "Additional
details about the Pebble Partnership's RFA (request for
appeal) submission will be released in the days and weeks ahead,"
Northern Dynasty Minerals said on Thursday. Pebble Mine Partnership
Chief Executive John Shively said at the time of the permit's denial
that the decision was political and that the project
had included necessary safeguards.
COLUMN
Vaccine
races and currency wars: Mike Dolan
A collision of vaccine races, early policy reversal and even currency
wars could well give investors a headache this year. Speed in ending the
pandemic is clearly critical to all economies and markets. And
strategists everywhere are pouring over relative rates
of vaccine rollouts for a lead on whose national herd reaches immunity
first - with obvious implications for businesses, consumers and markets.
ANALYSTS' RECOMMENDATION
• Air Canada:
ATB Capital Markets raises target price to C$28 from C$27.50, expecting
the company to make it to the other side of the pandemic and leveraging
a more efficient cost structure
and fleet in a recovery.
• Metro Inc:
RBC cuts target price to C$65 from C$68, reflecting softer expectations
from the pharmacy channel due to restrictions on the sale of
non-essential items, store capacity limitations
and relative absence of the seasonal flu.
ECONOMIC EVENTS (All timings in U.S. Eastern Time)
0830 (approx.) Retail sales mm for Nov: Expected 0.1%; Prior 0.4%
0830 (approx.) Retail sales ex-autos mm for Nov: Expected 0.3%; Prior 0.0%
COMPANIES REPORTING RESULTS
January 22 & 25:
No major companies are scheduled to report.
CORPORATE EVENTS
No major events are scheduled for the day.
EX-DIVIDENDS
AltaGas Ltd: Amount C$0.08
Pembina Pipeline Corp: Amount C$0.21
(All analysts' estimates are according to I/B/E/S Refinitiv data)
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