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Stantec continues its spree and acquires the engineering firm Morrison Hershfield
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A further slowdown in the labor market is on the horizon, but wage increases and hybrid cadres are likely to persist.
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The vacancy rate of downtown Toronto’s workplace buildings hit an all-time high last year as an influx of largely vacant areas from recently completed projects hit the market.
The vacuum rate in Canada’s central financial capital hit 17. 4 per cent as about 58,100 square meters of new acreage hit the market in the fourth quarter, according to data released Tuesday through brokerage firm CBRE Group Inc.
The poor functionality of Toronto’s market helped push central Canada’s national vacuum rate to its own record high last quarter, reaching 19. 4 per cent, according to the data.
Toronto experienced one of the largest workplace structure booms in North America before the COVID-19 pandemic initiated a primary shift toward remote paints that could impact long-term demand. Because workplace towers take many years to build, Toronto still operates on job sites. projects that started before the pandemic.
While the city accounts for nearly a portion of all new office structure nationally, Canada’s net absorption rate, or the rate at which office space is leased when available, would have been positive without the impact of Toronto’s new offering, according to the data. Instead, the rate was negative during the period.
Bloomberg
Weakness in the financial sector affected Canada’s main stock index, which lost more than a hundred points, while US markets were mixed.
The S-Composite Index
In New York, the Dow Jones trading average fell 157. 85 points to 37,525. 16. The S-Index
The Canadian dollar traded for 74.68 cents U.S. compared with 74.78 cents U.S. on Monday.
The February crude oil contract rose $1. 47 to $72. 24 a barrel and the February natural fuel contract rose 21 cents to $3. 19 per mmBTU.
The February gold contract was down 50 cents at US$2,033 an ounce and the March copper contract was down five cents at US$3.76 a pound.
The Canadian Press
AppDirect Inc. , a marketplace for buying, promoting and managing apps, has secured $100 million in debt financing to fuel its growth.
Canadian pension fund Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec is providing the funding to help AppDirect expand the financing it offers to users, the San Francisco-based startup said Tuesday. It adds to the US$80 million received from CDPQ in 2021.
AppDirect, subsidized through JPMorgan Chase
The startup, which was founded in 2009 and reached a US$1 billion valuation in 2015, is piloting a marketplace for artificial intelligence apps and plans a full rollout in the coming months. The AI offerings will allow customers to build AI bots based on their choice of large language model, from the likes of OpenAI’s GPT-4, Meta Platforms Inc.’s Llama, Alphabet Inc.’s Lamda and Cohere.
“By combining our market expertise, the features of our e-commerce platform, and the great application of AI, AppDirect is in a distinct position to drive and democratize the adoption of AI for non-technical users,” CEO Nicolas Desmarais said via email. .
Bloomberg
Canada Post Corp. has signed a deal to sell SCI Group Inc., its third-party logistics business, to Metro Supply Chain Inc.
Financial terms of the deal were not available.
Montreal-based Metro Supply Chain sees the transaction as a transformative acquisition that will enhance its position in strategic contract logistics services.
SCI has more than 75 locations and employs about 3,000 people.
The agreement follows a detailed assessment of Canada Post’s long-term strategic plan.
The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2024, subject to standard ending terms.
The Canadian Press
A Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. property fund sold a large chunk of a manufactured housing portfolio as the company seeks to capitalize on growing demand for the sector.
The $325 million deal consists of 19 manufactured housing communities across seven U.S. states, totalling 3,166 home sites, according to a Brookfield spokesperson. The sale resulted in a gross internal rate of return of roughly 24 per cent, the spokesperson said. The company declined to name the buyer.
Brookfield acquired most of its manufactured housing communities in 2017 and bought more in 2021. But the opportunistic real estate fund has recently tried to sell some of those assets and reached a deal in August to offload 23 communities. thanks to strong demand, according to Swarup Katuri, managing partner of Brookfield Real Estate.
The most recent sale “reflects the continued strength of the manufactured home sector, as well as the execution of our strategy for a favorable return and return of capital to our investors,” Katuri said in an emailed statement.
Bloomberg
Weakness in the financial sector contributed to the decline in Canada’s main stock index in morning trading, while U. S. stock markets also declined.
The S-Composite Index
In New York, the Dow Jones trading average fell 236. 58 points to 37,446. 43. The S-Index
The Canadian dollar is trading at 74. 61 US cents, compared to 74. 78 US cents on Monday.
The February crude oil contract rose cents to $71. 72 a barrel and the February natural fuel contract rose seven cents to $3. 05 per mmBTU.
The February gold contract was down 50 cents at $2,033 an ounce and the March copper contract was down 4 cents at $3. 78 a pound.
The Canadian Press
Canada’s Energy Regulator will hear arguments from the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion builder on Friday in relation to its request for a pipeline exemption.
The Trans Mountain Pipeline is Canada’s pipeline to the West Coast, and its expansion will increase the pipeline’s capacity to 890,000 barrels per day, up from 300,000 b/d.
The task was scheduled to be completed in the first quarter of this year, but Trans Mountain Corp. faced demanding situations in structures similar to hard rock situations in British Columbia.
In the past, the Crown Corporation had sought approval to use another diameter, wall thickness and casing for a 2. 3-kilometer segment of pipe, but the regulator rejected its request citing protection concerns.
But Trans Mountain Corp. has asked the regulator to reconsider its decision, saying it now believes that without the change, the task could face the worst possible situation: a two-year delay in completion.
Canada’s Energy Regulator to Heed Trans Mountain Corp. ‘s Argumentsat an oral hearing scheduled for Calgary on Friday morning.
The Canadian Press
Canadian bank executives hope to set aside more cash this year for potential bad loans, but borrowers are doing well overall thanks to higher interest rates.
Royal Bank of Canada Chief Executive Dave McKay, speaking at the bank’s chief executive conference, said he expects provisions for credit losses to peak this year as some business facets of lending tighten.
He says that borrowers on the mortgage side are having to adapt to higher payments with an average $400 a month for its clients renewing this year, but that higher wages along with savings are helping to soften the impact.
McKay says he expects 2024 to be a bit worse on several fronts, adding real estate advertising in the U. S. to the top of the list. The U. S. Department of Homeland Security is responsible for the use of multifamily residential markets, capital markets, and some lending areas for unsecured customers.
Scotiabank chief executive Scott Thomson says the bank also expects higher provisions for bad loans, but sees a more steady path this year after 2023’s restructuring efforts.
Thomson says the bank’s markets in Latin America are already seeing rates fall to lessen the threat and provide a tailwind for provisions for credit losses.
The Canadian Press
Wall Street fell on Tuesday, pulling back after a tech-led rally on Monday, when 10-year Treasury yields fluctuated above four and oil rose.
The s
According to Max Kettner of HSBC Holdings PLC, the growing mismatch between the competitive pricing of U. S. interest rate cuts and the resilience of economic fundamentals that the need for such easing risks creating an “upside-down Goldilocks” situation for global markets.
“We’re probably seeing a ‘counterfeit’ in the market right now,” said Matt Maley of Miller Tabak Co. “We just don’t know yet if last week’s drop is due to this ‘fake’ or if yesterday’s rally is due to this phenomenon. . Fortunately, the lines of war are very well drawn and we will know what the scenario is once one of the two lines suffers major damage.
In Toronto, the S-Composite Index
Bloomberg
Statistics Canada says the country’s merchandise trade surplus narrowed to $1.6 billion in November as imports rose and exports fell.
That compares with a revised surplus of $3. 2 billion in October. The initial October report released last month showed a surplus of $3 billion.
In November, total imports increased by 1. 9%, thanks to an 11. 6% increase in imports of energy products, driven by uranium imports from Kazakhstan.
Imports of petroleum-based energy products also rose 18. 8%, driven by higher imports of gas and aviation fuel from the United States.
At the same time, total exports fell by 0. 6% in November, as exports of metals and non-metallic mineral products fell by 6. 5%, mainly due to declining exports of raw gold, silver, and platinum organizational metals. Portions fell 16. 8%.
In terms of volume, total imports in November increased by 1. 6 percent, while exports decreased by 0. 1 percent.
The Canadian Press
Stantec Inc. has signed an agreement to acquire engineering and control company Morrison Hershfield.
The financial terms of the deal were revealed.
Stantec said the deal expands its presence in most Canadian primary markets and strengthens its U. S. presence in the construction engineering space.
Morrison Hershfield, founded in Markham, Ontario, is a 1,150-person company with offices in 22 cities in Canada and the United States, as well as India.
The acquisition is subject to court, regulatory and Morrison Hershfield shareholder approvals.
The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2024.
Read the full story.
The Canadian Press
Canada’s Big Five banks are potentially misleading investors with their use of terms like sustainable finance, according to a complaint to securities regulators by a climate advocacy group.
Banks are using the term “sustainable finance” too broadly and not backing up the claims with data, Investors for Paris Compliance said in its submission Jan. 9 to the Ontario Securities Commission and the Autorite des marches financiers of Quebec.
Canadian banks, together with the Royal Bank of Canada, Toronto-Dominion Bank, Bank of Montreal, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and Bank of Nova Scotia, have made commitments to sustainable finance that together total $2 trillion through 2030. .
Sustainable finance covers a variety of lending activities aimed primarily at promoting environmental and social causes. Financing can take the form of green bonds that finance an express allocation of renewable energy or loans intended for general corporate use but related to sustainability-related sustainability goals.
These commitments are a key component of their sustainability efforts, but banks are contributing little to their effectiveness, said Matt Price, executive director of Investors for Paris Compliance.
“They’re putting this in the window as one of their core responses to climate change and net zero, when they’re not rationalizing or justifying or providing any evidence or proof about that.”
The advocacy organization is concerned only with the general lack of disclosure, but also with the fact that some of the leaked deals were with oil and fuel corporations whose emissions are rising.
Ian Bickis, The Canadian Press
Read the full story here.
Stocks and bonds retreated before a key United States inflation reading this week and under a wave of heavy government and corporate debt supply.
U.S. stock futures dropped with Europe’s Stoxx 600 benchmark as investors shrugged off tech-led gains that rolled across global markets.
While Monday’s rally is short-lived, investors will once again worry about the dangers of inflation and bond volatility as a tsunami of corporate and government debt sweeps through the market.
In Canada, the S-Composite Index
Bloomberg
RBC Capital Markets is your Canadian bank CEOs conference in Toronto.
This morning, the Canadian Products Industry Balance and Construction Rents data for November will be released. In the U. S. , expect the NFIB Small Business Trends Survey for December and the Trade Balance of Goods and Services for November.
Cannabis company Tilray Brands Inc. reports earnings today.
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Need a reminder of yesterday’s headlines? Catch up here.
Additional reporting by The Canadian Press, Associated Press and Bloomberg
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