Here are five things you need to know this morning:
Stellantis pumps brakes on Brampton plans: Chrysler-owner Stellantis is pausing all activities at its assembly plant in Brampton, Ont., citing the “dynamic environment” for the North American auto sector given the threat of tariffs. The automaker made the announcement in a release this morning, saying it is pausing all work on the next generation Jeep Compass SUV. The plant northwest of Toronto employed about 3,000 workers and has been retooling to build gas and electric-powered Jeeps. It’s expected to return to full capacity once that work is complete and the company says the temporary pause doesn’t change previously announced plans for the Canadian factory. But it adds another layer of uncertainty for Ontario’s auto sector, which is a key cog in the North American automotive supply chain for all major U.S. automakers and many overseas ones too. Unifor represents workers at the plant and calls the “unexpected announcement” a matter of “grave concern.”
DOJ probing UnitedHealth Medicare billings: We’ll be watching shares in UnitedHealth today after a Wall Street Journal report says the U.S. Department of Justice is looking into the company’s billing practices. According to the report, the DOJ is specifically probing how the company records diagnoses that result in higher payments to them from Medicare Advantage, the privately run arm of the government medical insurance plan that covers anyone 65-and-up, and certain people with disabilities. Shares in UnitedHealth were down by as much as 10 per cent premarket.
SEC abandons case against Coinbase: Crypto platform Coinbase says the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission has agreed to drop its lawsuit against them. That’s according to the company, who say the deal hinges on the sign-off from chair Gary Gensler. The SEC sued Coinbase in 2023 as part of a broad crackdown on crypto in the wake of the FTX collapse. While the SEC’s case was complex, it essentially argued that Coinbase was functionally illegal, as the exchange, broker and clearing agency components to their business were trading in securities and thus needed to abide by SEC rules. Shares in the company were up slightly in premarket trading. So far, the SEC has made no official announcement on the matter.
Canadian retailers rang in a big December: We have fresh numbers on retail sales to digest from Statistics Canada this morning, and the data show that last December was the biggest monthly uptick since 2021. Sales increased by 2.5 per cent to $69.6 billion, blowing past expectations of a 1.6 per cent increase. While undeniably strong, it’s important to remember that the data print had two built in advantages going for it: December is typically a strong month for sales anyway with holiday shopping baked in, and the government’s GST rebate on numerous items including children’s toys and other gifts undoubtedly helped. Preliminary data for January suggests the momentum didn’t continue into January, with sales down 0.4 per cent with a little over half of receipts reporting.
Tiff Macklem speaks this afternoon: We will keep our eyes and ears on what Tiff Macklem has to say today, as the governor of the Bank of Canada is slated to speak at 1 p.m. eastern time to the Mississauga Board of Trade and Oakville Chamber of Commerce. The topic? “Trade friction, structural change and monetary policy.” A readout of his planned comments will be released in the noon hour, and he’ll take questions after 2 p.m. We will monitor and keep you up to date as news warrants.
