Here are five things you need to know this morning
Stocks clobbered again: The carnage in financial markets continues today, as investors price in the very real prospect of a global trade war and a sharp slowdown for the world economy in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff policy. Europe’s Stoxx 600 index has tumbled five per cent. Asian markets had their worst day since 2008. S&P 500 equity futures signalled a three per cent loss overnight, though that decline had been trimmed to about two per cent by 8 a.m. EDT. Canadian stocks will likely follow the global trend today, after plunging by more than six per cent last week.
Oil under renewed pressure: The Canadian market was hit especially hard on Friday due to its heavy weighting in energy stocks. That sector is likely to be under pressure again today, as the price of oil is posting a third steep decline — with the U.S. benchmark falling below US$60 a barrel. Economic worries have been weighing on oil, and that was compounded this weekend by Saudi Arabia making some of the biggest cuts in years to its flagship oil price. Saudi Arabia slashed the selling price of its key Arab Light crude to Asia — the top market — by the most since 2022, adding supply concerns to a deteriorating demand outlook. The kingdom’s price move was bigger than traders expected and came atop a surprise output hike from Saudi-led OPEC+ last week.
Trump remains defiant: Trump is touting the steep drop in the oil price as a policy win, as he remains defiant in the wake of the overall market meltdown. In a posting on social media, Trump said: “Oil prices are down, interest rates are down (the slow-moving Fed should cut rates!), food prices are down, there is NO INFLATION, and the long-time abused USA is bringing in Billions of Dollars a week from the abusing countries on Tariffs that are already in place.”
Dimon warns of ‘disastrous’ impacts: One of the leaders of corporate America is taking issue with Trump’s initiatives. JPMorgan Chase Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon is urging a quick resolution to the uncertainties sparked by Trump’s tariffs, and warning against a potentially “disastrous” fragmentation of America’s long-term economic alliances. “The quicker this issue is resolved, the better because some of the negative effects increase cumulatively over time and would be hard to reverse,” Dimon wrote in his annual shareholder letter. In the near term, “we are likely to see inflationary outcomes, not only on imported goods but on domestic prices, as input costs rise, and demand increases on domestic products.”
Simpson pushes for Parkland overhaul: There is a new development in the fight for control of Calgary-based fuel and gas station company Parkland. Activist investor Simpson Oil is proposing a full overhaul of the company’s board and the ousting long-serving Chief Executive Officer Bob Espey, aiming to fix what the firm calls “chronic underperformance.” In a letter sent to fellow shareholders, Simpson Oil — which holds a 19.8 per cent stake — blamed Parkland’s board and management for a “deeply flawed capital allocation strategy,” amid a “strategy that ignores the company’s competitive advantages.” Parkland has responded, saying: “This is a self-interested attempt by Simpson, a minority shareholder, to seize full control of Parkland without paying a control premium.”