Here are five things you need to know this morning
Markets plunge again: Stock markets around the world are getting hit again after China retaliated against new U.S. tariffs with levies on all American imports. Stock futures tied to the U.S. S&P 500 Index are indicating another drop of about three per cent is on the way. The drop comes as China retaliates against U.S. tariffs with levies of its own, imposing a 34 per cent tariff on all American imports starting April 10. Today’s downward pressure follows a massive drop yesterday, with Canada’s S&P/TSX Composite Index plunging 3.8 per cent, the most since June 2020. U.S. indices fell even more, wiping out US$2.5 trillion in value. Investors will closely watch a speech at 11:30 am ET from U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, to find out his view of the impact of the Trump tariffs and the stock selloff.
Auto layoffs: For Canada, the tariff impact focus right now is the auto sector. U.S. President Trump’s 25 per cent tariffs on foreign vehicles kicked in yesterday. Prime Minister Mark Carney has responded with plans to impose a 25 per cent retaliatory duty on some U.S.-made vehicles. The highly integrated North American auto industry has been thrown into chaos. About 6,000 workers in Canada’s auto sector have received temporary layoff notices, according to Unifor.
March job losses: There is fresh evidence Canada’s economy was hurting even before the Trump tariffs took effect. The latest numbers from StatsCan show Canada had a net loss of 32,600 jobs in March – economists had expected a small gain. The unemployment rate rose to 6.7 per cent. It’s the biggest monthly job loss in more than three years. Wholesale and retail trade, culture and recreation, business support services, agriculture and manufacturing led job losses. In the U.S., March payrolls unexpectedly rose by 228,000, but the unemployment rate edged up to 4.2 per cent as more Americans entered the workforce.
Brookfield buying Colonial: Brookfield Infrastructure Partners is buying Colonial Enterprises, the operator of the biggest fuel pipeline in the United States, in a deal valued at US$9 billion. The agreement includes buying Shell’s stake in the business. The Colonial pipeline runs for nearly 9,000 kilometers from Texas to New Jersey, and is the main source of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel for the U.S. east coast.
Rogers raises $7 billion: Rogers Communications has officially announced a $7 billion investment by funds managed by Blackstone, backed by leading Canadian institutional investors. Blackstone will acquire a non-controlling interest in a new Canadian subsidiary of Rogers that will own part of Rogers’ wireless network. The investor group includes Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, the Public Sector Pension Investment Board, and British Columbia Investment Management Corporation. Rogers intends to use the proceeds to pay down debt. Reports that Rogers was working on this deal surfaced late last year.