Canadian Underwriter

Five things to watch for in the Canadian business world in the coming week


July 16, 2018   by The Canadian Press


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broker_monitor_investigateFive things to watch for in the Canadian business world in the coming week:

Home sales

The Canadian Real Estate Association is expected to release its sales results for June on Monday. It was a sluggish spring real estate season compared with the red hot markets of recent years. Higher mortgage rates and stricter lending rules have been blamed for the change.

Read: Homeowners satisfied with their insurers – JD Power study

Pot colossus

Aurora Cannabis Inc. and MedReleaf Corp. will both hold special shareholder meetings regarding Aurora’s all-stock acquisition of MedReleaf on Wednesday. The deal valued at $3.2 billion is the largest-ever in Canada’s burgeoning cannabis industry, and will create what MedReleaf’s CEO described as the “undisputed world leader in cannabis.”

Read: Could drug-impaired driving laws lead to wrongful arrests?

CP earnings

CP Rail releases second-quarter results on Wednesday. In response to federal government changes encouraging railways to avert service disruptions, the railway recently placed an initial order for 1,000 new high-capacity grain hopper cars, 500 of which are expected to be in service before the end of 2018.

Read: Insuring rail risk in Canada

Need for speed

Rogers Communications Inc. discusses second-quarter results on Thursday. Rogers and rival BCE Inc. recently slashed prices for their ultra-high speed internet products in select markets in what analysts described as an effort to get customers used to the product in the hopes they’ll pay full price once the promotion ends.

Read: Cyber criminals becoming more savvy – ICRMC 2018

Inflation

Statistics Canada will release its June reading on inflation and retail sales results for May on Friday. The consumer price index in May was up 2.2 per cent compared with a year earlier, matching the increase in April. The Bank of Canada, which looks to keep inflation under control, has said it expects the rate to rise to as high as 2.5 per cent due to temporary factors before settling back down to two per cent in the second half of 2019.

Read: Bank of Canada raises interest rate to 1.5 per cent

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This story was originally published by Canadian Insurance Top Broker.


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