Turns out, the biggest short in the banking industry anywhere in the world isn’t in Switzerland or Silicon Valley, but rather in the relatively tame financial center of Canada, Bloomberg reported. In recent weeks, short-sellers have upped their bearish bets against Toronto-Dominion Bank, and now have roughly $3.7 billion on the line vis-à-vis Canada’s second-largest lender, according to an analysis by S3 Partners. That’s the most among financial institutions globally and puts TD ahead of the likes of France’s BNP Paribas SA and Bank of America Corp.
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The Bank of Canada was concerned about inflation sticking above its 2% target and agreed there might be a need to tighten monetary policy further when officials decided to leave rates on hold this month, Reuters reported. On March 8, the bank became the first major central bank to pause its tightening campaign, leaving the key overnight interest rate on hold at 4.50%.
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Canada's inflation rate slowed more than expected in February to its lowest level in 13 months, data showed on Tuesday, backing up the central bank's plans to hold off on further interest rates hikes, Reuters reported. The annual inflation rate fell to 5.2% in February from 5.9% in January, the biggest single-month decline in almost three years, Statistics Canada said. That beat a median analysts' forecast for a decline to 5.4%. Excluding food and energy, prices rose 4.8% versus a year ago compared with a 4.9% increase in January.
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Canadian holidaymakers jetting south for spring break on red-eye flights with Flair Airlines Ltd were in for a surprise on March 11 when the Boeing Co. 737s they were about to board were seized by agents acting on behalf of a jet leasing firm that manages the planes, Bloomberg News reported. The episode emerged from a $50 million lawsuit filed by Flair in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, in which the budget carrier alleges Airborne Capital Ltd.
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Canada's competition watchdog called for stronger merger review rules on Wednesday and recommended some 50 improvements to what it said was outdated antitrust legislation, Reuters reported. "Canada needs more competition. And Canadians need a modern and effective competition law to support that," the Competition Bureau said in a statement. Canadians have been left with fewer and pricier choices in everything from telecoms to banking after decades of industry consolidation, consumer advocates say. Soaring inflation has worsened the issue of affordability.
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Canada’s banking regulator seized control of SVB Financial Group’s branch in the country Sunday and said it will seek a legal order to wind up the operation, Bloomberg News reported. Peter Routledge, the country’s financial superintendent, “took this action to preserve the value of the assets held at the branch” after US regulators shut down the California-based parent bank on Friday, his office said in a statement. Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland spoke with banking executives and Bank of Canada officials on Sunday evening, and said the government continues to watch the situation.
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Loyalty Ventures Inc. filed for bankruptcy Friday, blaming its financial problems largely on its 2021 spinoff from its parent company, a move that it said left the new business with substantial debt and limited cash flow, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The Dallas-based loyalty-programs operator filed for chapter 11 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Houston and said it plans to sell its customer-rewards programs including its Air Miles Reward Program, a loyalty program popular in Canada, and its Europe-based BrandLoyalty program for grocers and other retailers.
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Restaurants Canada is proposing a solution to help small businesses, particularly restaurants, struggling with pandemic-related debt, NetNewsLedger reported. With the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) loan reimbursement deadline approaching, Restaurants Canada suggests extending the payback period for 36 months and implementing a scaled-down model for the forgivable portion to save thousands of restaurants and small businesses from declaring bankruptcy. “The program was a key tool to assist thousands of businesses who had begun waiving their white flag as a result of the pandemic.
The Bank of Canada needs more evidence to gauge if interest rates are high enough to tame inflation, in part because the economies of major trading partners are doing better than forecast, senior deputy governor Carolyn Rogers said on Thursday, Reuters reported. She spoke a day after the central bank left its key overnight interest rate on hold at 4.50%, becoming the first major central bank to suspend its tightening campaign as inflation eases. The BoC has said it will hold rates where they are as long as inflation comes down as it forecast in January, hitting 3% at about mid-year.
The Bank of Canada kept interest rates unchanged for the first time in nine meetings, saying it’s prepared to hike again if the economy veers off its forecast course, Bloomberg News reported. Policymakers led by Governor Tiff Macklem made good on a January pledge to hold the benchmark overnight rate at 4.5% on Wednesday, the first pause among major central banks that was expected by both markets and economists. Officials kept the door open to further rate increases, however, reiterating that they’re willing to raise borrowing costs again if necessary.
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