Here are four things you need to know this morning
A new tariff tirade: The federal government’s softly trade tactics (notably backing down on a digital services tax) don’t seem to be paying off. U.S. President Donald Trump is threatening a 35 per cent tariff on some Canadian goods and raised the prospect of increasing levies on most other countries. “Fentanyl is hardly the only challenge we have with Canada, which has many Tariff, Non-Tariff, Policies and Trade Barriers, which cause unsustainable Trade Deficits against the United States,” Trump said in a letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney, posted on social media. U.S. stock futures dropped as the U.S. leader ramped up his trade rhetoric.
Unemployment slightly down: Despite looming tariffs, Canada added 83,100 jobs last month, beating all estimates, and the unemployment rate fell 0.1 percentage points to 6.9 per cent. However, the growth was concentrated in part-time work, which increased by 70,000 positions. And there were few gains among youth and people aged 55 years and older.
Aritzia’s earnings up: Analysts like the look of the latest results from Canadian clothing chain Aritzia. Chris Li at Desjardins says the retailer is “firing on all cylinders” and he’s hiking his price target on the stock to US$91 from $84. Aritzia shares have jumped almost 40 per cent this year to trade at just over $74 Comparable sales soared 19 per cent in the latest quarter, boosted by what Li calls “exceptional growth in Canada”
Gold seized: Barrick Mining CEO Mark Bristow likes to proclaim his skill in dealing with governments but he’s having no luck with Mali. The west African nation sent helicopters to the company’s gold mine Thursday and seized more than a metric ton of the precious metal, worth about US$117M. It’s an escalation in a dispute over revenue from the giant, now shuttered, Loulo-Gounkoto mining complex.
