Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Canada's main stock index ticked upwards Monday, with broad-based gains led by battery metals and energy stock as U.S. markets were closed for a long weekend south of the border.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 47.64 points at 19,967.95. The gains came with U.S. stock markets closed for the Memorial Day holiday.
Canadian markets typically take their direction from U.S. markets, so absent major news for investors to react to, it was a quiet day on the TSX, said Lesley Marks, chief investment officer of equity at Mackenzie Investments.
However, on Tuesday U.S. investors will have a tentative debt-ceiling deal to retroactively react to after weeks of negotiations. On the weekend, President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy struck an agreement to avoid a government default.
"Markets were positive heading into the weekend," noted Marks, on rumours that a deal was closed, though she thinks that the achievement of a deal was to be expected. While the deal still has legislative hurdles to clear, she said investors are likely relieved to move on from the uncertainty the debt-ceiling talks brought to the markets, distracting from other important themes.
The big question mark hanging over markets is still whether the Federal Reserve will hike or pause interest rates at its mid-June meeting, said Marks.
Market expectations have bifurcated as to what the central bank will do, she said -- while chairman Jerome Powell has indicated that a pause could be coming if the data supports it, some of the more recent economic data releases have made investors uncertain as to whether the bank will take that route.
Meanwhile, continued resiliency in the economy, especially in the labour market, has market expectations of rate cuts in 2023 dwindling, said Marks.
"The likelihood of a cut this year has all but vanished," she said.
If the central bank does raise rates again, it puts the Bank of Canada in a tough spot, as it's problematic for its monetary policy to significantly diverge from that of its southern neighbour, said Marks.
This week will bring fresh GDP data for Canada to help the central bank make its own June decision, while the U.S. will get the latest numbers on job openings.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.57 cents US compared with 73.41 cents US on Friday.
The July crude contract was up 37 cents at US$73.04 per barrel as of late afternoon on Monday, and the July natural gas contract was down six cents at US$2.36 per mmBTU (million British thermal unit).
The August gold contract was down US$1.90 at US$1,961.20 an ounce and the July copper contract was down a penny at US$3.67 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 29, 2023.
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
The world is seeing a near breakdown of international law amid flagrant rule-breaking in Gaza and Ukraine, multiplying armed conflicts, the rise of authoritarianism and huge rights violations in Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar, Amnesty International warned Wednesday as it published its annual report.
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
The Senate passed legislation Tuesday that would force TikTok's China-based parent company to sell the social media platform under the threat of a ban, a contentious move by U.S. lawmakers that's expected to face legal challenges.
People living near a wildfire burning about 15 kilometres southwest of Peace River are being told to evacuate their homes.
The U.S. Senate has passed US$95 billion in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden after months of delays and contentious debate over how involved the United States should be in foreign wars.
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
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.
Molly Knight, a Grade 4 student in Nova Scotia, noticed her school library did not have many books on female athletes, so she started her own book drive in hopes of changing that.
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.