By Angela Harmantas
Debating a recession, record revenues for one of Canada’s biggest companies and deciding if the punishment fits the crime – here are three things we’re watching today:
Despite the plummeting loonie and weakness in commodity prices, Canada is not in a recession, according to a new report by Canadian research group C.D. Howe Institute.In a statement that accompanied the report’s release on Monday, C.D. Howe’s researchers said that “The council defines a recession as a pronounced, pervasive and persistent decline in aggregate economic activity,” and the economic numbers did not point to a downturn in the economy. I went on record last week in this blog with my belief that the country has entered a recession, and I’ll stick by that until someone can point me to stronger evidence besides an unemployment rate that’s 2% lower than 2009 levels. Anyone?
As I mentioned, it’s earnings week in Canada and two of the country’s biggest companies reported strong Q2 results to start the week. Both Husky Energy Inc. (TSX:HSE) and WestJet Airlines Ltd. (TSE:WJA) delivered positive quarterly results, with Husky posting a $120 million Q2 profit despite oil prices and WestJet reporting record revenues of $942 million – ironically thanks to the same drop in oil prices that’s hurting so many of their TSX-listed peers. I’m looking forward to seeing how other companies are faring later this week, especially the major gold miners such as Goldcorp who will releasetheir quarterly report on Thursday.
One of Canada’s most notorious fraud cases came to a close on Tuesday as Gary Sorenson and MiloweBrost were each sentenced to 12 years in prison for their role in an elaborate Ponzi scheme that defrauded more than 2000 investors of over $200 million. It’s great that they received close to the maximum sentence of 14 years, but I can’t help but feel for the thousands of victims whose life savings were decimated thanks to the greed of these two individuals. Sometimes the punishment doesn’t fit the crime.
Have a comment or suggestion? I’d love to hear from you! Contact me at angela@smallcappower.com or @aharmantas
