What You Need To Know This Week — December 7th, 2019
What You Need To Know This Week
A weekly recap to keep you informed on the most important events this week impacting markets, business, tech and the global economy.
THE WORLD’S LARGEST COMPANY GOES PUBLIC
Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil business, Saudi Aramco, priced its initial public offering, raising $25.6 billion and valuing Aramco at $1.7 trillion. This is the largest IPO of all time, beating Alibaba’s IPO by $600 million. The shares will begin trading on the Riyadh exchange next week.
U.S. REPORTS BLOW-OUT JOBS NUMBERS
For the month of November, the Labor Department reported that non-farm payrolls surged by 266,000, crushing the consensus analyst estimate of 187,000. The U.S. unemployment rate dropped from 3.6% to 3.5%. Some of the job gains were attributable to GM workers returning following a lengthy strike. The S&P 500 was up about 1% on the news.
CANADA RECORDS THE WORST JOBS FIGURES IN 10 YEARS
In contrast to the U.S, Canada reported a stunning loss of 71,200 jobs in November, compared to the average forecast for a 10,000 job gain. The unemployment rate jumped from 5.5% to 5.9%. After large unexpected job gains prior to the election, something about the last few jobs reports seems fishy. Why? Listen to next week’s Absolute Return Podcast to find out.
Recommended Articles, Podcasts, Books and Tweets
Listen to David Rosenberg discuss recession risks and where investors can find shelter in the next bear market on the Consuelo Mack Wealthtrack podcast.
Canadian financial advisors are expected to use more and more ETFs in their portfolios, citing their lower fees, liquidity, transparency and a growing selection of products. Allocations are expected to rise to 28% in 2021, from 19% today.
Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz announced his intention to step down from the position when his term ends next summer. Here is a list six candidates who could replace him.
Canadian bank stocks are having a rough go of it after the banks’ third quarter reports saw large increases in loan loss provisions.
61% of Americans said stock market movements had little or no effect on their financial well-being. In fact, 60% didn’t know the stock market went up this year.
U.S. short seller Spruce Point Capital Management targeted Canadian Tire’s stock in a bearish report based on the retailer’s sizable debt levels and “antiquated” retail stores.
Iron-ore miner Cleveland-Cliffs announced the acquisition of AK Steel for $1.1 billion in shares. Cleveland-Cliffs’ stock dropped by more than -10% on the news.
Luxury jacket company Moncler’s stock rallied after media outlets reported takeover interest for the company from Gucci-parent Kering.
Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin announced that they are stepping down from their leadership roles at the tech giant after 21 years.
Exercise bike maker Peloton saw its stock drop -15% after its holiday advertisement was widely panned as sexist, tone-deaf, and dystopian.
U.S. endowments and institutional investors have been at the forefront of traditional alternative investing and Greenwich Associates expects that institutional investments in liquid alternative ETFs will more than double over the next 12 months.
Former cannabis industry executives have moved on to the next big frontier growth market: psychedelic drugs.
Dyal Capital closed a $9 billion fund to buy stakes in other alternative asset managers.
Portag3 Ventures, controlled by Power Corp. of Canada, raised a $427 million fintech fund.
Continental Gold is selling to one of China’s largest gold miners, Zijin Mining, for $1.33 billion.
Gold miner Centamin PLC rejected Endeavour Mining’s $1.9 billion unsolicited offer.
