The story of how a B.C. man found his birth mother
After his adopted parents died, Dave Rogers set out to learn more about his birth mother. DNA results and a little help from friendly strangers would put him on a path to a small town in England.
Market volatility continued with Canada's main stock index posting a triple-digit drop as commodity sectors fell ahead of U.S. inflation numbers that could trigger stimulus tightening by the Federal Reserve.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 151.86 points to 20,925.49 for a second consecutive losing day following two up days.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down six tenths of a point at 35,754.69. The S&P 500 index was down 33.76 points at 4,667.45, while the Nasdaq composite was down 269.62 points or 1.7 per cent at 15,517.37.
“Over the last week-and-a-half a lot of volatility with big up days and big down days. There doesn't seem to be any flat ones or marginal ones here and there and today is another one of the sizable down ones,” said Michael Currie, vice-president and investment adviser at TD Wealth.
Thursday's market movements came a day before the release of November consumer price index numbers in the U.S. that are expected to be hot. That could prompt the Fed to aggressively tighten its policy by speeding up its tapering of bond purchases and raising interest rates quicker next year.
Some economic data and news was released Thursday that didn't appear to move markets, Currie said in an interview.
U.S. employment benefits fell to 184,000 last week to reach the lowest level in more than 52 weeks.
And Pfizer and partner BioNTech said Wednesday that a booster of its COVID-19 vaccine may offer protection against the new Omicron variant even though the initial two doses appear significantly less effective.
But Currie said there was conflicting reaction to the news with some saying it's not a big deal while others say it is significant.
After initially being hit hard by concerns about Omicron, stock markets had partially recovered earlier this week on comments that it's not as harmful as originally feared.
Only consumer staples was higher on the day among the 11 major sectors on the TSX.
It rose after grocery retailer Empire Co. Ltd. reported good quarterly results following acquisitions that pumped up sales and a stabilization of shopper behaviour as COVID-19 restrictions were eased across the country.
Health care decreased 3.6 per cent while the energy and materials sectors were off two and 1.7 per cent, respectively, on lower crude oil and metals prices.
Tourmaline Oil Corp. was off 4.2 per cent and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. down 3.1 per cent as crude prices fell on concerns that new pandemic restrictions would hurt oil demand.
“The more we hear about New Zealand, Denmark, U.K. talking about putting more restrictions in, that always pressures the price of oil because we assume there will be less demand,” Currie said.
The January crude contract was down US$1.42 at US$70.94 per barrel and the January natural gas contract was essentially flat at US$3.81 per mmBTU.
Prices were affected by a strengthened U.S. dollar that also moved the loonie lower.
The Canadian dollar traded for 78.74 cents US compared with 79.10 cents US on Wednesday.
Materials was driven lower by a 10.2 per cent decrease in shares of Kinross Gold Corp. after it signed an agreement to buy Great Bear Resources Ltd. and its Dixie project in northern Ontario in a deal valued at $1.8 billion in cash and shares.
The February gold contract was down US$8.80 at US$1,776.70 an ounce and the March copper contract was down 6.1 cents at US$4.33 a pound.
The technology sector was also down as an 8.6 per cent decrease in shares of Hut 8 Mining Corp. and 5.1 per cent drop by Lightspeed Commerce Inc. was partially offset by as a 6.1 per cent increase in Nuvei Corp. a day after a short-seller report caused its shares to collapse.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 9, 2021.
After his adopted parents died, Dave Rogers set out to learn more about his birth mother. DNA results and a little help from friendly strangers would put him on a path to a small town in England.
AI tools can offer recommendations, answer questions and 'talk' with users. But some users are using them to recreate the likeness of the dead.
The Israel-Hamas war has led to a spike in 'violent rhetoric' from 'extremist actors' that could prompt some in Canada to turn to violence, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service warns.
A Montreal man is warning Tesla drivers about using the Smart Summon feature after his vehicle hit another in a parking lot.
Italy's mafia rarely dirties its hands with blood these days. Extortion rackets have gone out of fashion and murders are largely frowned upon by the godfathers.
A potential strike between WestJet and its mechanics union appears to have been avoided.
Prosecutors in Donald Trump's hush money trial are moving deeper into his orbit following an inside-the-room account about the former president's reaction to a politically damaging recording that surfaced in the final weeks of the 2016 campaign.
Russia plans to hold drills simulating the use of battlefield nuclear weapons, the Defense Ministry announced Monday, days after the Kremlin reacted angrily to comments by senior Western officials about the war in Ukraine and Moscow warned that tensions with the West are deepening.
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
Eighty-two-year-old Susan Neufeldt and 90-year-old Ulrich Richter are no spring chickens, but their love blossomed over the weekend with their wedding at Pine View Manor just outside of Rosthern.
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
A mother goose and her goslings caused a bit of a traffic jam on a busy stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway near Vancouver Saturday.
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.