5 to things watch
IN THE CANADIAN BUSINESS WORLD IN THE COMING WEEK
1. POLOZ SPEAKS
Bank of Canada governor Stephen Poloz will give a speech to the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal on Thursday. Poloz kept his key interest rate target on hold in January at 1.75 per cent. The central bank’s next rate announcement is set for March 6.
2. HYDRO ONE
Hydro One Ltd. reports its results before markets open on Thursday. The utility called off its merger with Avista Corp. last month after regulators in Washington state and Idaho shot down the deal. Under the terms of the merger agreement, Hydro One was required to pay Avista US$103 million in termination fees.
3. ECONOMIC DATA
Statistics Canada is expected to release wholesale trade results for December on Thursday followed by retail trade data on Friday. The results cover a soft spot for the economy at the end of last year.
4. ROYAL BANK RESULTS
Royal Bank of Canada will be the first of Canada’s big banks to report their first-quarter results when they come out Friday. RBC posted a record annual profit of $12.4 billion in its 2018 financial year helped by rising interest rates and U.S. tax reforms.
5. TRANS MOUNTAIN DEADLINE
The deadline for the National Energy Board to complete its report on the future of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project is Friday. Ottawa ordered the NEB to reconsider parts of Trans Mountain’s application after a court overturned approval of the project citing insufficient consultation with Indigenous communities and a failure to assess the environmental impact of additional oil-tanker traffic.