(Illustration: Camille Charbonneau)
THE ESSENTIAL NEWS
• US lawmakers unveil bill to make it easier to restrict exports of AI models. A bipartisan group of lawmakers unveiled a bill last Wednesday that would make it easier for the Biden administration to impose export controls on artificial intelligence models, in an effort to protect valuable U.S. technology from bad foreign actors.
• U.S. banks face data challenges on climate risks, Fed analysis shows. U.S. banks face significant data and modeling challenges in predicting the impact of climate change on their loan books, the Federal Reserve said Thursday after its first analysis on the issue.
• Pipeline operator Enbridge beats profit estimates on strong demand. Pipeline operator Enbridge beat market estimates for first-quarter profit as demand remained strong amid rising oil production across North America.
• Sun Life announces exceptionally weak profit due to weakening operations in the United States. Sun Life Financial, Canada’s second-largest life insurer, missed its core profit estimates on Thursday for the first time in 12 quarters, penalized by the weakness of its activities in the United States, a region where it has expanded.
• US Senate passes aviation safety and consumer protection bill. The US Senate on Thursday overwhelmingly passed a sweeping aviation bill aimed at boosting the workforce of air traffic controllers, increasing funding to avoid runway closure incidents and speeding up refunds for canceled flights.
TRENDS BEFORE OPENING
Futures contracts for Canada’s main stock index are rising on rising metal prices and Brent crude oil rose above $84 a barrel on higher demand. Canada’s jobs report for April is expected later today. Wall Street futures are rising as weaker jobs data boosted investor optimism that the Fed will cut rates this year. In addition, several Fed officials are expected to speak later today, which could provide more guidance on the policy to follow. European stocks also returned to record highs on euphoria over monetary policy easing and a strong earnings season, with the STOXX 600 and FTSE 100 hitting new highs. In Asia, the Nikkei was supported by Wall Street’s rise overnight, but Chinese stocks closed flat after the list of trade restrictions imposed by the United States grew. The US dollar erased earlier losses, while the yen retreated as traders continued to test the resolve of Japanese authorities. k
(Re)read all the market news.
HEADLINES TO FOLLOW
• Enbridge: The pipeline operator beat market estimates for first-quarter profit on Friday as demand remained strong amid rising oil production in North America. The company’s Mainline, the largest oil pipeline system in North America, has transported strong volumes in recent quarters thanks to the ramp-up of Canadian oil sands production and a delay in the start-up of a competing pipeline — the Trans Mountain, owned by the Canadian government — in the second quarter. Adjusted earnings at its core liquids pipeline segment increased to C$2.46 billion from C$2.34 billion in the year-ago quarter. On an adjusted basis, Enbridge reported earnings of 92 Canadian cents per share for the three months ending March 31, compared with analysts’ average estimate of 81 Canadian cents per share.
• Sun Life Financial: Canada’s second-largest life insurance company missed core profit estimates for the first time in 12 quarters on Thursday, hurt by weakness in the United States, the region where it is expanding. However, U.S. results were impacted by lower dental outcomes due to Medicaid redeterminations and market-related impacts primarily from real estate investments, the company said. For Sun Life, underlying net income in Asia increased 26% while that in the United States fell 20%. The wealth and asset management unit recorded a decrease of 1%. This led to an overall underlying net profit decline of 2.2% to C$875 million. On a per share basis, the company earned CA$1.50. Analysts were expecting CA$1.65 per share. Profits from Sun Life’s group health and protection businesses fell 8% to C$280 million. The company posted a 4% decline in underlying net income from its personal protection business to C$278 million, due to the sale of Sun Life UK.
