Economic news to watch this week

By The Canadian Press | August 19, 2019 | Last updated on August 19, 2019
2 min read
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Here’s the news to watch in the Canadian business world this week.

July inflation

Statistics Canada will release its consumer price index for July on Wednesday. The agency reported last month that the annual inflation number for June hit the Bank of Canada’s ideal target as it came down from 2.4% in May, marking the first move lower after four straight months of a rise in the year-over-year change.

RBC and CIBC earnings

Royal Bank of Canada will report its third-quarter results on Wednesday. The country’s biggest bank by market value saw a big bump in profits last quarter, propelled by loan growth and higher interest rates at its personal and commercial banking business.

CIBC reports its latest financial results on Thursday. The Toronto-based lender saw slow growth in personal and small business banking in the second quarter, offsetting its gains in capital markets and U.S. commercial banking as total earnings fell short of analysts’ expectations.

Transat vote

Transat shareholders will hold a special meeting to vote on Air Canada’s $720-million bid for the company on Friday. Quebec’s securities tribunal barred rival bidder Group Mach’s effort to block the sale on Aug. 12, one day after Air Canada upped its takeover offer by $200 million in an effort to win shareholder support for its bid to take Transat private.

More economic data

A trio of reports for June are expected to help round out the picture of how the economy fared in the second quarter after a sluggish start to the year. Statistics Canada will release its monthly survey of manufacturing on Tuesday, the wholesale trade figures on Thursday and retail sales results on Friday.

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