We’re about liquids on BNN today… milk and gasoline.
Ottawa has been quick to fire back at U.S. President Donald Trump after he criticized Canada’s system of protecting its milk producers from foreign imports. Trump blamed Canada, saying "some very unfair things have happened to our dairy farmers and others and we're going to start working on that."
The U.S. leader spoke at a Wisconsin tool factory. Some farmers in that big dairy state have been selling a high-protein concentrate called ultrafiltered milk to Canada but those exports are being cut off after Canadian dairy producers slashed their prices.
At 12:30 p.m. ET, we hear from University of Guelph food economist Michael von Massow. He tells segment producer Adena Ali that the ultrafiltered milk dispute has little impact on the industry as a whole. Trump’s move doesn’t represent a massive threat to the Canadian industry, he says, but it does call attention to the sector and potentially increases political stakes.
CROSS-CANADA PERSONAL FINANCE UPDATE
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PARKLAND PICKUP
We’re also tracking the massive deal in which Parkland Fuel (PKI.TO) is buying a B.C. refinery and fuel marketing business from Chevron Canada for $1.6 billion including $186 million in working capital. The assets include 129 retail gas stations with convenience stores. Meanwhile, Loblaw (L.TO) is selling its gas station operations - one of the largest networks in Canada at 213 outlets - to Brookfield Business Partners (BBU_u.TO) and institutional partners for $540 million.
SHILLING'S WARNING
Don’t miss the always-stimulating Gary Shilling on Business Day at 3 p.m. ET. The economist has been warning that a huge repatriation of U.S. corporate cash to take advantage of an anticipated tax amnesty won’t lead to an investment and productivity boom.
He says “there’s zilch correlation” between capital spending and productivity because of a lot of the capex is simply squandered, one example being overbuilding of shopping malls.
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HOUSING SUMMIT RECAP
Finally, there were no concrete announcements after yesterday’s meeting that gathered federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau, Ontario Finance Minister Charles Sousa and Toronto Mayor John Tory to discuss the city’s home-price surge. “What we clearly see is that there’s a situation that is not going to be able to continue,” Morneau told BNN’s Greg Bonnell.
But he also sounded a familiar refrain: ”We believe that we need to make sure that we get the very best information possible so that we can get to a conclusion.”
We address home prices and the banks at 9:45 a.m. ET with Robert Lam of Cardinal Capital Management. He tells segment producer Michelle Zadikian that Canada’s big banks are well-positioned to survive a potential housing downturn.
Every morning Commodities host Andrew Bell writes a ‘chase note’ to BNN's editorial staff listing the stories and events that will be in the spotlight that day. Have it delivered to your inbox before the trading day begins by heading to www.bnn.ca/subscribe.