Here are five things you need to know this morning:
Natural gas in B.C.: Environmentalists deride natural gas as a fake solution to global warming, but the Canadian energy sector has high hopes for exports of the stuff. An outfit called Ksi Lisims LNG has applied for environmental approval for a 12 million-metric-ton-a-year liquefied natural gas project off the West Coast near British Columbia’s southern border with Alaska. The project is backed by the Indigenous Nisga'a Nation, Houston-based Western LNG and Rockies LNG Partners, which includes major Canadian gas producers such as Tourmaline and Paramount Resources. The International Gas Union, an industry group, says the world’s natural gas supply will slump in the coming decades without fresh investment after a 58 per cent cut in spending from 2014 to 2020.
Tesla misses: Tesla fell about seven per cent in the premarket after the electric vehicle-maker’s third-quarter profit, sales and margins missed expectations that were already low. CEO Elon Musk sounded cautious on the conference call. We’ll hear from Tom Narayan, global auto analyst at RBC Capital Markets at 10:20 a.m. EDT. Reuters says Tesla has joined General Motors and Ford in expressing caution about expanding electric vehicle production capacity amid economic uncertainties.
Canada Goose falls: I’m generally too warm to even consider a Canada Goose parka. The company’s stock fell six per cent in premarket trading after Cowen and Wells Fargo Securities cut shares to Hold. Wells Fargo Securities analyst Ike Boruchow cited, yes, a tough economic outlook in both the U.S. and China.
Oil moves: Oil slipped below US$88 as the U.S. eased crude sanctions against Venezuela after the government of President Nicolas Maduro and the opposition struck a deal on holding elections. Mind you, that will add only 200,000 barrels a day to world supply.
The Ozempic effect: Bloomberg says European chocolate and sugar makers are the latest group shaken up by a growing market for weight-loss drugs. Shares in Swiss chocolate maker Barry Callebaut AG and German sugar firm Suedzucker fell on Thursday after Barclays downgraded companies across the sector. Analysts say weight-loss drugs — known as GLP-1s — along with increasing concerns about ultra-processed foods represent risk to the ingredients sector.