Here are five things you need to know this morning:
U.S. banks/CPI: Stock markets were poised to open higher this morning after earnings from U.S. banks showed strength. JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs all topped profit expectations, setting an optimistic tone for the day headed into the release of the latest CPI number at 8:30 a.m. The annual U.S. inflation rate came in at 2.9 per cent, in line with expectations but higher than the previous month’s annual pace. Prior to the number, the market was predicting basically no chance that the U.S. Federal Reserve would cut its interest rate at its next policy meeting at the end of this month, and the CPI number did little to change those plans. “Given the strength in the economy we still think it is more likely the Fed is nearly done cutting rates, with a final move in March possible,” Bloomberg Intelligence’s Ira Jersey said.
Viterra takeover gets the OK: The federal government has signed off on Bunge’s $8 billion takeover of Canadian-originated grain handling firm Viterra, after the two sides agreed to numerous concessions to address antitrust concerns. Canada’s Competition Bureau warned last spring that the deal would lessen competition in the grain and oilseed business, so the companies agreed to Bunge selling a half dozen grain elevators in Western Canada and binding controls on Bunge’s other agribusiness assets in Canada. While neither company is exactly a household name, the combined firm will have outsized influence in the global agriculture business, buying and selling crops and processing oilseeds into food, fuel and other products.
Irving oil to remain in private hands: After a lengthy process, Irving Oil has announced the results of a strategic review that has decided the company will stay in private hands. In the summer of 2023, the company announced it was considering options, potentially putting Canada’s biggest east coast oil refinery, among other assets, into play. The story was major news in Atlantic Canada especially, but the company announced this morning that it has completed the review process and that no changes to the ownership structure are coming.
Scotus to rule on TikTok ban: The Supreme Court of the United States is expected to rule today on whether or not the U.S. government’s move to ban TikTok can go ahead. The court is expected to uphold the decision, which would end the last-ditch legal attempt to maintain the status quo ahead of a deadline that is now measured in days, not months. It’s not clear what happens next but any move to change the control or availability of the wildly popular social media app is sure to be a game-changer.
SEC sues Elon Musk – again: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is suing Elon Musk for failing to disclose his growing stake in Twitter in a timely manner. The suit announced Wednesday alleges that prior to buying Twitter, Musk was quietly and methodically buying up shares in the company without disclosing that he had amassed a more than five per cent interest. That disclosure would likely have sent the price of the shares higher but since he did not, “he was able to make these purchases from the unsuspecting public at artificially low prices,” the regulator said. A fight with the SEC is nothing new for Musk, who has had numerous battles with the regulator over the years. In a statement to Bloomberg, his lawyer Alex Spiro called the civil lawsuit part of a “campaign of harassment” against Musk, noting that the complaint boils down to a failure to file a single form, “an offense that even if proven carries a nominal penalty,” he said. Spiro said the case is an admission by the SEC that they cannot bring “an actual case” against Musk because he “has done nothing wrong and everyone sees this sham for what it is.”