OTTAWA, ON, April 28, 2021 /CNW/ -
Note: All times local
Ottawa, Ontario
Private meetings.
The Prime Minister will host a call with provincial and territorial premiers.
Closed to media.
This document is also available at http://pm.gc.ca
SOURCE Prime Minister's Office
View original content: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/April2021/28/c0990.html
The May natural gas futures contract goes off the board on Wednesday so be prepared for another volatile session.
(Bloomberg) -- The European Union is looking to strengthen its hand against the growing economic threat posed by China, with new powers targeted at foreign state-owned companies.The European Commission, the bloc’s executive arm, proposed new rules to levy fines and block deals, according to a draft obtained by Bloomberg. While China isn’t specifically mentioned in the proposal, the move follows complaints from European businesses that the Asian nation’s firms get support they can’t match.Chinese business groups have already complained about the latest initiative, which will need support from EU governments before they become final. The document is a draft and could still change before it’s set to be proposed next week.It’s the next step in the EU’s efforts to ward off China, building on a push by member states to protect strategic companies from takeovers by non-European buyers.Amid the steepest recession in almost a century, Europe has shown signs of increasing protectionism. EU governments have been debating the “repatriation” of supply chains after the pandemic exposed the region’s vulnerability to disruptions, while France and Germany say the bloc should allow the creation of “European champions” big enough to compete with the U.S and China.Member states have voiced growing alarm at the prospect of European companies being bought by firms with unlimited credit lines or being forced out of business because rivals can afford to sell below cost.The new rules would run in parallel with oversight on foreign direct investment, which European governments have been ratcheting up in the last few years to give them more power to stop deals over industries or sectors they view as crucial. The increased scrutiny can be imposed even for minority stakes of more than 10%.Germany blocked a Chinese bid for the first time in 2018 by vetoing the potential purchase of machine-tool manufacturer Leifeld Metal Spinning AG. Last year, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government agreed to buy a 23% stake in CureVac AG, at the time a key player in the race for a coronavirus vaccine which had been the focus of takeover speculation from the U.S.Alongside similar moves in other member states, Germany’s cabinet on Tuesday approved more changes to rules on foreign investment to give the government enhanced powers to scrutinize transactions that could impact national security. The new regulations, which need parliamentary approval, are targeted at high-technology sectors like artificial intelligence, autonomous driving and quantum computing.France recently halted the purchase of grocery chain Carrefour SA by Canada’s Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc., citing food sovereignty and the need to secure supply chains amid the pandemic. The country also vetoed the Teledyne Technologies Inc.’s purchase of Photonis, a company that makes night-vision gear for the military, citing strategic interests.In recent weeks, Italy coordinated with France to protect truckmaker Iveco SpA from an takeover by China FAW Group Co. Prime Minister Mario Draghi also sent a message by blocking a bid by China’s Shenzhen Invenland Holdings Co. for the small semiconductor firm LPE SpA.Spain’s government has signaled it could block at least two deals, one involving a utility and another involving a maker of aviation components.Under the draft EU rules, companies that generate at least 500 million euros ($600 million) of revenue in Europe and received more than 50 million euros of support from a foreign state in the last three years will need the bloc’s approval for deals.The EU also wants to be able to fine companies as much as 10% of their yearly revenue if it finds a firm unfairly benefited from a foreign subsidy -- including an unlimited state guarantee or credit line that undercuts European rivals. It warns in the draft that it could cancel government contracts granted to firms that gain an unfair advantage from such subsidies.European officials are seeking the power to inspect companies’ offices outside of Europe, with the permission of the company and the knowledge of the foreign state, according to the draft.Regulators suggest ways that companies could allay concerns over subsidies, including granting rivals access to infrastructure, licensing on fair terms or publishing research. Companies can also reduce capacity or market presence, divest assets or refrain from investment, according to the document.The European Commission declined to comment and the Chinese mission to the EU didn’t respond to a request for comment.Despite the tougher stance, the EU continues to actively build business ties with China, including an investment agreement. The bloc has promoted the deal, which could enter into force early next year, as a way to rebalance economic relations with its second-largest trade partner.The accord expands access to the Chinese market for European investors in industries ranging from cars to telecommunications. It also seeks to tackle underlying Chinese policies deemed to be market-distorting, such as industrial subsidies, state control of enterprises and forced technology transfers.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.
Kebab chef Kadir Oner hoped to boost his new business by accepting payment in cryptocurrencies, but a ban by Turkish authorities will force him next month to fall back on payment methods as traditional as his spit-roasted meat. Interest in cryptocurrencies has boomed in Turkey, where double digit inflation and a tumbling lira make them an attractive alternative investment, and Oner says that customers used them to settle between 5% and 10% of their bills. But Turkey's Central Bank sees dangers in the new practice, and on April 16 banned the use of cryptocurrencies and crypto assets for purchases from April 30, citing "irreparable" damage and transaction risks.
GSK, which trails competitors in the coronavirus vaccines race, is under the microscope after a report that U.S. activist investor Elliott built up a significant stake. Chief Executive Emma Walmsley said she was focused on GSK's broader transformation, adding that while GSK's consumer health business had great prospects and a "fantastic" leadership team, she would focus on the bigger picture. Walmsley, a former head of GSK's consumer business, became CEO in 2017 despite some investor pressure to name an outsider and such calls may grow with Elliott's arrival on the register.
The family of late Samsung Electronics Co Ltd Chairman Lee Kun-hee said on Wednesday they will pay over 12 trillion won ($10.8 billion) in inheritance tax for his estate and donate his vast private art collection to state curators. Lee, who is credited with transforming Samsung into the world's largest smartphone and memory chip maker, died on Oct. 25 with an estate local media valued at around 26 trillion won. The inheritance tax bill - one of the largest-ever in South Korea and globally - has been closely watched due to its potential to dilute the family's controlling stake in Samsung.
(Reuters) -General Electric's cash outflow was smaller than estimated in the first quarter even as its lucrative jet-engine business struggled with the pandemic-led collapse of air travel, driving down company revenue. The company also reaffirmed its full-year free cash flow and earnings per share outlook. Chief Executive Larry Culp said in an interview the company would update its outlook once it had a better idea how its aviation business would perform in the remainder of the year.
EU antitrust regulators are set to charge iPhone maker Apple this week with blocking rivals on its App Store following a complaint by music streaming service Spotify, a person familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. The move, the first EU antitrust charge against Apple, could lead to a fine as much as 10% of Apple's global revenue and changes in its lucrative business model. Sweden's Spotify took its grievance to the European Commission in 2019, saying Apple unfairly restricts rivals to its own music steaming service Apple Music.
Analysts and traders have slashed their gold price forecasts, with many believing a return to last year's record highs is unlikely as economic recovery tarnishes the safe-haven metal's appeal, a Reuters poll showed on Tuesday. Spot gold has fallen to around $1,775 an ounce from an all-time high of $2,072.50 last August, when the COVID-19 pandemic upended economies and forced central banks to pump money into markets and cut interest rates. Returns on government bonds, an asset class that competes with gold, plunged last year, but U.S. Treasury yields have rebounded, fuelling talk of sooner-than-expected central bank tightening that would hurt bullion.
(Bloomberg) -- China slapped steel exporters with higher taxes on a range of products as authorities ramp up efforts to cut output and clean up one of the biggest carbon emitters.Rebates on export taxes for some goods will be removed, and tariffs on some products raised starting May 1, the Ministry of Finance said on its website. Import fees on pig iron, semi-finished and scrap steel will be dropped. The measures highlight an increased focus on servicing the domestic market and come as the country’s steel mills grapple with raw material costs that have surged to historic highs.China churns out half the world’s steel, and is the biggest exporter, but has vowed to reduce output in 2021 as part of a drive to contain carbon emissions from one of its dirtiest industries. The tax changes could alter global steel trade and tighten markets in the middle of a global boom.While the tax changes may have some cooling effect on domestic prices, investors “remain very confident” about a tight Chinese steel market, analyst Lin Lin at CRU Group, said by phone. The volumes covered by these tax changes are small by comparison to China’s huge domestic output.Read more: Global Steel Boom Builds as Rampant Demand Overwhelms SupplyThe existing levies on imported products were only 1% or 2%. For exported products -- including everything from hot-rolled coil to some types of pipes and stainless steel -- the removal of rebates means exports are subject to value-added tax. Additionally, the ministry said taxes will be increased on exports of pig iron ore and some ferro-alloys.A global spike in steel demand has sent prices from China to North America climbing to multi-year highs, threatening to undermine Beijing’s push for lower output. While that drive has centered on a swathe of production restrictions, including the hub of Tangshan, mills are instead boosting supply amid bumper profits and on concerns that there may be more curbs to come.The spike in steel production has also lifted iron ore to around a record. The tax changes will “reduce import costs, expand the import of steel resources and support the reduction of domestic crude steel output”, the ministry said.Steel joins other major industrial commodities in climbing, adding to concerns about inflation as China tries to keep its economy on track. The country has flagged plans to strengthen controls on the raw materials market to help limit costs for companies.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.
(Reuters) -Apple Inc on Wednesday posted sales and profits far ahead of Wall Street expectations as customers upgraded to 5G iPhones but warned that a global chip shortage would cost it billions in revenue in the current quarter, hitting Macs and iPads. Sales to China nearly doubled and results topped analyst targets in every category, led by $6.5 billion more in iPhone sales than predicted and Mac sales about a third higher than estimates. Apple also announced a $90 billion share buyback, a day after Google-owner Alphabet Inc announced a $50 billion share repurchase plan.
China's Huawei Technologies saw revenue fall 16.5% in the first quarter compared to a year earlier, hurt by a dip in sales after selling its budget smartphone unit Honor in November. "2021 will be a challenging year for us, but it's also the year that our future development strategy will begin to take shape," Huawei's rotating chairman Eric Xu said in the statement. The ban put Huawei's once lucrative handset business under immense pressure, prompting the sale of its Honor budget smartphone unit to a group of agents and dealers in November.
SEOUL (Reuters) -The family of late Samsung Electronics Co Ltd Chairman Lee Kun-hee said on Wednesday they will pay over 12 trillion won ($10.8 billion) in inheritance tax for his estate and donate his vast private art collection to state curators. Lee, who is credited with transforming Samsung into the world's largest smartphone and memory chip maker, died on Oct. 25 with an estate local media valued at around 26 trillion won. The inheritance tax bill - one of the largest-ever in South Korea and globally - has been closely watched due to its potential to dilute the family's controlling stake in Samsung.
Ripple’s XRP token has enjoyed a magnificent rally to $1.44 after rising by 59.28% from Friday’s low of $0.87. The world’s fourth largest cryptocurrency by market cap is 11.
Investors will be scrutinizing the Federal Reserve's comments at the close of its policy meeting this week, which will come on Wednesday, for insight into the central bank's thinking on inflation, bond purchases and risks to the financial system posed by soaring asset prices. WHERE IS INFLATION HEADED? The Federal Reserve has said it expects some inflationary pressures, but predicts it will be temporary and not enough to warrant interest rate hikes.
Alphabet sees earnings soar as people stuck at home in the pandemic used more of its services.
HSBC Holdings PLC beat quarterly profit forecasts and released $400 million it had set aside to cover bad loans caused by the pandemic, as rapid vaccine rollouts in the United States and Britain raise hopes for an economic recovery. HSBC reported on Tuesday profit before tax of $5.78 billion for the three months to March 30, up from $3.21 billion a year ago and well above analysts' average forecast of $3.35 billion as compiled by the bank. HSBC, which makes the bulk of its profits in Asia, said its credit losses for 2021 were likely to be below the medium-term range of 30-40 basis points it forecast in February.
Ford Motor Co on Wednesday said it expects a global semiconductor shortage could ease this summer but may not be fully resolved until 2022, as the automaker reported a strong first-quarter profit but said the shortage may slash second-quarter production by half. Ford said the ongoing chip shortage would cost it about $2.5 billion and about 1.1 million units of lost production in 2021. Ford shares were down 2.9% in after-hours trade on Wednesday.
(Bloomberg) -- Dubai property developer Limitless, one of the biggest casualties of the emirate’s financial crisis in 2009, may end up taking close to two decades to complete its debt restructuring under the timeline of its new plan.Limitless gave secured lenders -- both banks and trade creditors -- two options, according to a recent presentation to creditors that shows the company owes around 2.8 billion dirhams ($762 million). People familiar with the matter confirmed the details of the proposal, asking not to be identified because the information is private.Creditors either receive an upfront 50% payment on the money they’re owed to settle or agree to a seven-year restructuring of 2 billion dirhams worth of debt facilities, according to the terms outlined in the document.Limitless told creditors last year it was hiring advisers for its third restructuring as the company defaulted on certain earlier agreements it had struck with its banks in recent years.Read more: Dubai’s Limitless to Hire Advisers as Third Restructuring LoomsA spokeswoman for Limitless said “discussions with our lenders are ongoing, but, as the talks are private and confidential, we are not at liberty to share details.”Limitless was once the poster child for Dubai’s meteoric rise on the global property and finance scene. Before the onset of the property crash and crisis that followed, the Dubai developer was behind several mega-projects including a man-made canal that would have cut through the desert but was never completed.But as global markets turned sour, Limitless was unable to repay its debts and had to restructure on several occasions, similarly to other state entities such as its then-owner Dubai World and the government conglomerate’s subsidiaries including property firm Nakheel.The United Arab Emirates central bank and Abu Dhabi, the oil-rich capital of the UAE, stepped in to provide $20 billion of support to Dubai, whose near default rocked global markets.Dubai -- where property prices have mostly been in decline for over half a decade -- is now grappling with the fallout from the global pandemic. Despite an uptick in visitors after a gradual reopening, the disease outbreak has damaged sectors vital to the city’s economy, such as tourism and construction.The economic headwinds have hurt the prospects of Limitless, also providing a reminder that the emirate has yet to fully turn the page on its financial crisis over a decade ago.The company said in the proposal that “the challenges faced” by it “have been exacerbated by market-related events across the last year,” resulting in a reduction of about 31% “in key asset values since year end 2019.”For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.
Rake in the points if you can but look out for processing fees and high interest rates.
Home prices continue to accelerate
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