Quebec man who threatened Trudeau, Legault online sentenced to 20 months in jail
A Quebec man who pleaded guilty to threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier François Legault has been sentenced to 20 months in jail.
North American stock markets inched higher Tuesday after U.S. Federal Reserve officials appeared to tone down some of their comments that prompted last week's slide.
First, Federal Reserve of New York president John Williams reaffirmed that interest rate increases are still a ways off in the future.
That "alleviated fears of an earlier-than-expected withdrawal of policy support after last week's hawkish-leaning message from the Fed," said Candice Bangsund, portfolio manager for Fiera Capital.
Investor optimism revived somewhat ahead of congressional testimony from Fed chairman Jerome Powell where he was "widely expected to walk back on some of the hawkish undertones from last week's policy gathering."
"Indeed, his prepared remarks were released last night, where he downplayed the near-term spike in inflation and attributed the latest increase in pricing pressures to transitory factors that should fade over time," she wrote in an email.
Investors are struggling to interpret Fed comments.
Last week, it signalled that interest rates would increase sooner than previously indicated to twice in 2023. A Fed member later suggested the increases could start next year.
Powell told the House select subcommittee on coronavirus crisis that he expects recent increases in inflation will subside soon.
He said Fed had formally begun discussing when and how the central bank might reduce the current US$120 billion a month of Treasuries and mortgage-backed bonds that the Fed is purchasing each month. Those purchases are intended to keep longer-term interest rates lower to encourage more borrowing and spending.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 44.29 points to 20,200.65.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 68.61 points at 33,945.58. The S&P 500 index was up 21.65 points to 4,246.44, while the Nasdaq composite was up 111.79 points to 14,253.27.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq set a new record while the sector led Canada's main stock index.
It rose 1.3 per cent as BlackBerry Ltd. climbed 4.6 per cent and Shopify Inc. was 1.5 per cent higher.
Consumer sectors also increased as shares of Canada Goose Holdings Inc. gained 6.7 per cent, while materials rose despite lower gold prices.
Lundin Mining Corp. increased 3.9 per cent while First Quantum Minerals Ltd. was up 3.7 per cent.
The August gold contract was down US$5.50 at US$1,777.40 an ounce and the July copper contract was up 4.6 cents at US$4.23 a pound.
Energy was one of three sectors to lose ground, falling as crude oil prices dipped on reports that OPEC and its allies are contemplating increasing production at its meeting next week.
The August crude oil contract lost 27 cents from its 2 1/2-year high to US$72.85 per barrel and the July natural gas contract was up 6.7 cents at US$3.26 per mmBTU.
Shares of Cenovus Energy Inc. and Whitecap Resources Inc. were down 1.9 and 1.7 per cent, respectively.
The Canadian market underperformed its U.S. counterparts as "energy stocks retreated and weighed more heavily on the resource-levered S&P/TSX," Bangsund added.
The Canadian dollar traded for 80.93 cents US compared with 80.80 cents US on Monday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 22, 2021.
With files from The Associated Press.
A Quebec man who pleaded guilty to threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier François Legault has been sentenced to 20 months in jail.
Pius Suter scored with 1:39 left and the Vancouver Canucks advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs with a 1-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Friday night in Game 6.
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
Crucial witnesses took the stand in the second week of testimony in Donald Trump's hush money trial, including a California lawyer who negotiated deals at the center of the case and a longtime adviser to the former president.
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
The Ukrainian village of Ocheretyne has been battered by fighting, drone footage obtained by The Associated Press shows. The village has been a target for Russian forces in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.
Three people have been arrested and charged in the killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar – as authorities continue investigating potential connections to the Indian government.
As Wegovy becomes available to Canadians starting Monday, a medical expert is cautioning patients wanting to use the drug to lose weight that no medication is a ''magic bullet,' and the new medication is meant particularly for people who meet certain criteria related to obesity and weight.
The erstwhile group of senators and MPs studying the federal government's invocation of the Emergencies Act over the "Freedom Convoy" was supposed to present its findings in December. December of 2022, that is.
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 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.
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.