Every week we bring you the biggest business stories from around the world. This week: the loonie and oil are up, TD and CIBC earnings, Beijing billionaires, casinos suffer on the other side of the world, and US shares rise with oil.
Loonie and Oil Rise
The Canadian dollar gained almost a cent against the USD on Thursday to climb to 74 cents USD. The increase comes as the price of oil rose. West Texas Intermediate gained 80 cents to close at $32.95. February has been a strong month for the loonie, and the currency is up 8% against the USD since mid January. Some analysts have suggested that oil has bottomed out at $30 per barrel and will not sink any lower, suggesting the loonie may also have put the worst behind it. (source: http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/loonie-dollar-oil-1.3464333)
Big Banks Make Gains
TD Bank increased its first-quarter earnings by nearly 10% to $2.2 billion up from $2.06 billion. Much of the increase came from increased revenue from US operations. Competitor CIBC grew by over 5% to $982 million in the first quarter of 2015. Both banks however will likely put the money towards covering failed loans and other fallout from the aching energy sector which has been hit hard by low oil prices. (Source: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/td-cibc-hike-payouts-but-join-rivals-in-parking-funds-for-oil-weakness/article28901755/)
Beijing Billionaires
Beijing has become the city with the highest number of billionaires in the world, surpassing New York. 100 billionaires now call Beijing home, compared to 95 in New York and 66 in third place Moscow. China has also overtaken the US in terms of total number of billionaires, although the richest billionaires remain American. China’s 568 billionaires outnumber America’s 535. (Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-35657107)
Gambling Suffers
China’s slowdown has had a huge affect on global markets, and recently on Australia’s biggest casino chain, Crown Resorts. Net profit fell 22% to $2.5million (AUD) for the second half of 2015. The fall comes mostly from losses in Macau, the only place in China casinos are allowed, where profits plunged 30%. (Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/business-35656902)
US Share Prices Rise
Rising crude oil prices lifted shares in the US. The Dow Jones was up 1.3% and the S&P 500 rose 1.1% on Thursday. Durable goods – manufactured products with long life-expectancy – rose 4.9% last month. (Source: http://www.cnbc.com/2016/02/25/us-stocks-open-higher-after-durable-goods.html)
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