Here are five things you need to know this morning
Trump says tariffs coming for cars, drugs and chips: Donald Trump escalated his trade war to new fronts yesterday, telling reporters that he plans to announce tariffs of 25 per cent and up on products like cars, pharmaceuticals and semiconductors starting in April. He has thrown around the notion of across-the-board tariffs before, but his comments are his most detailed yet of his plans for specific sectors, beyond steel and aluminum tariffs set to come in March. Trump says he is giving companies advance warning for the move because he wants to give them time to onshore domestic production, as if a semiconductor factory is the sort of thing you can build from scratch in six weeks. Based on the sectors, countries like Singapore, South Korea, Mexico and Malaysia would be most impacted by the plan, and stock markets are responding accordingly, with global markets selling off on the news.
Canadian Tire sells Helly Hansen to Kontoor: Canadian Tire is selling outwear gear brand Helly Hansen for just over $1.2 billion. The retailer announced the move this morning in a press release, saying NYSE-listed Kontoor Brands is better positioned to grow and expand a global brand like Helly Hansen while Canadian Tire focuses solely on Canadian retail. Canadian Tire says it plans to use the proceeds to reduce debt, buy back shares and invest in its business. Canadian Tire bought the Norwegian brand from Teachers almost a decade ago for just shy of $1 billion.
Gildan boosts dividend: We will be watching shares in Gildan closely this morning, after the apparel maker posted quarterly earnings. The company posted profit and sales in its most recent quarter that beat expectations. The results were driven by strong performance in activewear, and the international segment was a particular standout, where sales grew 20 per cent. The company boosted its quarterly dividend payment by 10 per cent.
CEO of TSX Venture Exchange speaks with BNN Bloomberg: I’ll be listening intently in the 10 o’clock hour when we speak with Tim Babcock, the CEO of the TSX Venture Exchange. The junior exchange has just released the list of the TSX Venture 50, the top performing growth stage companies in Canada. Given the market caps on the Venture, none of them are household names quite yet, but it’s often the case that the next big companies first break out on the Venture before graduating to the main index. There are a lot of resource and tech names on the list, but we will hear what the trends are. And spoiler alert: the top spot goes to Kraken Robotics, a maker of marine-based sonar, sensor and robotic systems. The stock has more than doubled since a brief blip in October.
AtkinsRealis buys 70% stake in David Evans: AtkinsRealis says it has purchased a 70 per cent stake in engineering firm David Evans for US$300 million. Based in Oregon, David Evans has 34 offices in 10 U.S. states and more than 1,250 employees. It focuses on the transportation, power, water & environment, surveying & geomatics, and land development markets, as well as staffing services.
