Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
North American markets saw broad-based declines Wednesday, raising the spectre of more volatility ahead as investors continue to worry about inflation and the possibility of recession.
The S&P/TSX composite index was down 88.53 points at 20,181.44.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 171.69 points at 33,980.32. The S&P 500 index was down 31.16 points at 4,274.04, while the Nasdaq composite was down 164.43 points at 12,938.12.
Financial markets have been on a significant upward trend in recent weeks, bolstered by better-than-expected second-quarter earnings reports as well as July inflation numbers from Canada and the U.S., both of which showed a slight cooling in the year-over-year inflation rate.
In the last four weeks, the S&P/TSX composite has recovered much of the losses that began in June, when investor concerns about skyrocketing inflation and how far central bankers might be willing to go to tame it sparked a major sell-off.
While some analysts have suggested a continuation of the recent rally is possible, Wednesday's slide appears to be an indication of volatility ahead, said Greg Taylor, chief investment officer at Purpose Investments.
"The markets have had a really big bounce in the last four to six weeks. So much so, that we're getting some markets that look a little overbought in the short-term," Taylor said.
"And I think now we've got a situation where investors are starting to say, `OK, we've gotten all this bounceback. Is everything really as good as the markets are starting to price in?' "
On Tuesday, Statistics Canada released new data showing the year-over-year inflation rate slowed to 7.6 per cent in July, down from the nearly 40-year high of 8.1 per cent in June.
While that news came as a relief to investors, it's not clear that a slight downtick in the cost-of-living will be enough to dissuade the Bank of Canada from another significant interest rate in September.
Similarly, Taylor said there's been nothing from the U.S. Federal Reserve to indicate that the fight against inflation is over, and the current 8.5 per cent inflation rate south of the border remains far from the Fed's own target of three per cent.
"So the markets may have gotten a little ahead of themselves," Taylor said. "I think more than anything investors are looking at how much markets have rebounded in the last few weeks, and wondering if that was too much, too fast."
On the commodities front, crude oil gained Wednesday after losing ground three days in a row on weak economic data out of China and speculation about what an Iran nuclear deal could mean for global inventories.
Taylor said it's not a surprise to see the price of oil creeping higher again, because the fundamentals for energy remain strong. The September crude contract was up $1.58 at US$88.11 per barrel on Wednesday.
"The thing with oil is, there's just no new supply coming onto the market," he said. "It (the price of crude) is down from where it was but it's still a good level for these (Canadian energy) companies."
The price of natural gas jumped to a 14-year high this week on the Henry Hub U.S. benchmark, in large part due to the ongoing European energy crisis. While it declined slightly Wednesday, demand for the fuel remains exceptionally strong. The September natural gas contract was down eight-and-a-half cents at US$9.24 per mmBTU.
"The fear of no gas supplies in Europe for the winter is really starting to spook people, and that's keeping natural gas going," Taylor said.
The December gold contract was down US$13 at US$1,776.70 an ounce and the September copper contract was down four cents at US$3.58 a pound.
The Canadian dollar traded for 77.45 cents US compared with 77.72 cents US on Tuesday.
Taylor said while August is generally a slow trading month, September and October are traditionally among the most volatile months for investors.
Another red flag that could signal potential choppiness ahead, Taylor added, is the recent return of the so-called "meme stock" -- a name given to the inexplicable rise in a specific company's share value, such as was seen last year at the heart of the GameStop trading frenzy.
Currently, the "meme stock" is Bed Bath & Beyond, which has seen its share price nearly quintuple in less than two weeks on huge trading volumes, in spite of the retailer's plummeting sales.
"To me, that's another concerning sign. When you see people gambling on stocks like this, that's something you see closer to the end of a bounce than the beginning," Taylor said.
"Everything's lining up, so I would say to investors if you've had some gains, it's probably time to start looking to take some profits off the table and get set up for some volatility that may emerge in the next few weeks."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 17, 2022.
-- With files from The Associated Press
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.