Here are five things you need to know this morning
Watching U.S. response on Iran: The world is watching Washington today following an overnight meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and his national security team. There are reports the U.S. is considering joining Israel’s attacks against Iran. Diplomatic maneuvering from the White House and a series of Trump social media posts is adding to the perception the U.S. leader is considering one of the more momentous steps of his presidency. Market reaction was muted, with equity futures and commodity prices holding steady.
Awaiting the Fed: Investors are also waiting for the latest decision on interest rates from the U.S. Federal Reserve. Officials are widely expected to hold policy steady for a fourth straight meeting. Fed policymakers face heightened uncertainty as geopolitical tension adds to the inflation and labour market risks that are tied to the Trump administration’s trade policies. While tariffs haven’t so far accelerated price increases, consumers are turning anxious, and household finances have worsened.
G7 wraps up: Canada ended the G7 summit with only limited progress on trade tensions with Trump. Trump’s early departure from the summit left the other leaders to discuss topics like energy in his absence. Bloomberg News reports that Prime Minister Mark Carney had hoped to release a joint statement on Ukraine, but it became clear Trump wouldn’t sign onto strong language against Russia. The group did agree to six statements on specific topics such as critical minerals.
$5 billion Keyera deal: Calgary-based Keyera is buying Plains’ Canadian natural gas liquids business for US$5.15 billion. The move will increase Keyera’s pipeline capacity to 575-thousand barrels a day. Keyera expects to generate savings from the merger and increase its cash flow. Keyera’s CEO says the company was able to strike the deal after paying down about half a billion dollars in debt.
Lacavera buys a bank: A familiar name is taking control of a Canadian bank. Freedom Mobile founder Anthony Lacavera’s investment firm has won federal approval to acquire Wealth One Bank of Canada. Globalive led a consortium of Canadian investors to buy all the issued and outstanding shares of the digital bank. Wealth One, which launched with a focus on winning business from Chinese Canadians, had $516 million in assets as of March 31, most of which were mortgages. The small lender had faced scrutiny from the federal government over some of its previous shareholders’ alleged ties to the Chinese government. Former Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland told three of its investors to cut ties with the bank in 2023, putting the firm into play.
