HEADLINES

Bausch + Lomb Upgrades Full-Year Outlook on Strong Quarter

Bausch + Lomb lifted its full-year targets after narrowing its second-quarter loss as its core segments drove revenue higher.

The dual Toronto and New York-listed eye health company on Wednesday raised its full-year guidance across the board, bumping its revenue target up by $20 million to a new range of $5.44 billion to $5.54 billion. The increase would represent 5.8% to 7.7% constant currency growth.

Alongside the new revenue target, the company lifted its full-year adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization expectation by $15 million at the high and low ends of the range, to between $1.025 billion and $1.075 billion.

Hudbay Earnings Buoyed by Higher Metal Prices

Hudbay Minerals logged a rise in quarterly earnings as higher metal prices more than countered a rise in input costs for the Canadian miner.

The copper producer's net earnings rose in the second-quarter to $138.1 million, or 34 cents a share, from $114.7 million, or 30 cents, a year earlier.

On an adjusted basis, per-share earnings came in at 28 cents, topping the 26 cents a share expected from analysts polled by FactSet.

Revenue for the three months increased 14% to $631.3 million, near the about $632 million mean forecast.

Cenovus Energy Earnings Climb With Increased Production

Cenovus Energy bumped up its production guidance for the year after strong output helped drive a jump in earnings in the second quarter.

The Canadian energy company recorded net earnings of C$2.87 billion, or C$1.53 a share, up sharply from C$851 million, or C$0.45, a year earlier.

Revenue for the quarter increased 41% to C$17.4 million from C$12.3 million last year.

The company's production, which comes from a mix of oil and gas production from oil sands, convention and offshore operations, averaged 970,400 barrels of oil equivalent a day, up from 765,900 barrels a year earlier and ahead of the 965,300 barrels expected by analysts.

Brookfield, NextEra to Develop $100 Billion Data Center Campus in Kentucky

Brookfield Asset Management and power company NextEra Energy are teaming to build a $100 billion AI data center on the site of a Cold War-era uranium-enrichment plant.

A partnership of energy, infrastructure and utility companies plan to develop a data center campus on the Energy Department's Paducah site in western Kentucky, repurposing the land as part of a privately-funded project that aims to create a center for innovation and energy generation.

When fully constructed in 2032, the campus plans to support up to 1.8 gigawatts of utility capacity and more than 1.2 gigawatts of compute capacity, which the companies aid will be backed by up to 4.6 gigawatts of dedicated generation resources that will be paid for and built specifically for the project.

Tilray Brands Reports Beverage Segment Margin Pressure

Tilray Brands reported a wider-than-expected quarterly loss and margin pressure within its beverage segment, a core pillar of its global diversification strategy.

The cannabis company late Tuesday reported a fourth-quarter loss of $37.9 million, compared with a loss of $1.27 billion a year earlier, which on a per-share basis was a loss of 43 cents compared with $13.01. Tilray said the declines were largely due to noncash charges in the quarter.

Analysts had expected the loss to be narrower at 1 cent a share, according to FactSet.

Canada Mulls New Measures to Replace Levy on Revenue From Foreign Streamers

Canada is mulling new measures that would contemplate investments by foreign online-streaming providers in the domestic entertainment industry, according to a government spokeswoman.

The proposals could replace the mandatory contribution of at least 5% of streaming firms' Canadian revenue, which the federal government has scrapped, per a notice filed this month in the country's Federal Court of Appeal.

Canada's decision to abandon mandatory payments from streamers represents a reset in the country's digital policy, amid stern rebukes from the Trump administration and Hollywood. Prime Minister Mark Carney and senior officials are in talks with the White House on a trade deal that would ease the tariff burden on some key Canadian sectors such as steel, aluminum, automobiles and forest products.

Secure Waste Infrastructure Profit, Revenue Grows as New Projects Pay Off

Secure Waste Infrastructure logged higher second-quarter profit and revenue driven by newly operational water disposal and hazardous waste projects that expanded capacity across Western Canada.

The Calgary, Alberta-based waste management and energy infrastructure company a higher posted net income of C$43 million, or C$0.20 a share, up from C$31 million, or C$0.14 a share, in the comparable quarter a year ago.

According to FactSet, analysts were expecting C$0.16 a share.

Revenue rose 19% to C$422 million, coming in well ahead of the C$368.5 million forecasted by analysts.

Canada Miners Press PM Carney to Fulfill Promise on Tax Revamp

Miners are pushing Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to fulfill his promise on revamping tax laws that would help kickstart nearly 200 rare-earth projects that are at a standstill due to financing needs.

"Canada's capital markets are not currently sufficient to address the financing gap between discovery and construction," said Todd Stone, president and chief executive for the Association for Mineral Exploration of British Columbia, in a letter to Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne. "This project-advancement financing gap weakens Canada's ability to convert its geological potential into mines, supply chains and longterm economic opportunity."

Stone's letter has the support of other mining lobbying groups, regional chambers of commerce, and mining companies, such as gold producers Newmont and Agnico Eagle. This marks an attempt to persuade Canadian officials to include changes to tax laws in the 2026 annual budget plan, set for release this fall.

Allied Gold Shares Sink After Planned Takeover by Zijin Gold Scrapped

Allied Gold's shares slumped after an almost $4 billion planned takeover by Zijin Gold International was dropped in favor of a much smaller investment in the Canadian gold producer.

Allied's shares sank 18.6% to settle at C$24.

Allied Gold said its agreement with Zijin Gold was terminated since both companies concluded there was no reasonable likelihood that a deal could be completed.

The pair cited broader external factors that applied to a cross-border transaction of this scale. The takeover had been approved in Canada and Africa, where Allied operates, but was waiting on the go ahead from authorities in China.

TALKING POINT

Bank of Canada Officials Unsure Momentum Had Staying Power, Minutes Say

By Paul Vieira

OTTAWA--Senior Bank of Canada officials were unsure whether an uptick in growth had staying power while also mulling the need for a rate hike due to a re-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East, according to minutes published Wednesday.

The minutes cover deliberations that began eight days ahead of the central bank's July 15 decision to keep its policy interest rate unchanged at 2.25%. At that time, Gov. Tiff Macklem presented what he called a positive outlook for the Canadian economy, as businesses adapted to trade uncertainty and energy prices eased following an interim agreement between the U.S. and Iran.

Since July 15, the U.S. and Iran conflict has intensified, with crude oil prices up sharply Wednesday after Iran launched a surprise missile attack on U.S. forces in Jordan. The price for a barrel of U.S. crude is nearly 7% higher relative to July 15, or when Canada's central bank issued its rate decision.

Furthermore, President Trump threatened last week to impose a 50% tariff on certain Canadian imports as soon as Aug. 19, in response to what Washington deems discriminatory treatment by Canada of U.S. automobiles, alcohol and dairy products. That has cast doubt on Canada's efforts to reach an agreement with the U.S. on relief from existing hefty tariffs targeting key industrial sectors like metals and motor vehicles.

The minutes indicate that officials recognized that the possibility of U.S. tariffs "was an ever-present downside risk to growth." Still, members agreed that growth would accelerate in the second quarter, to 2.5% annualized after a slight decline in the previous three-month period, and continue to strengthen in 2027 and 2028.

Doubts remained, however. "There was a range of views among governing-council members about the sustainability of the rebound beyond the near term," according to the minutes. "Members agreed they would need to monitor the data closely for signs that growth was broadening as projected."

Officials fretted that growth might not materialize as forecast because of trepidation among firms, weaker foreign demand, a continued slump in housing activity and a slowdown in consumer spending, according to the minutes.

Officials also expressed concern about the inflation outlook. The renewal of strikes near the Strait of Hormuz "underlined that upside risks to inflation remained," the minutes said. "If oil prices increased and were to stay higher, spillovers to other prices could increase, raising the risk that inflation would broaden. Such a scenario would likely require a monetary policy response."

Senior officials also discussed inflation expectations. Inflation eased in June to 2.8% after reaching 3.2% in May. Policymakers noted that near-term inflation expectations had fluctuated alongside changes in gasoline prices, according to the minutes. "Some members were concerned about signs of upward drift in medium-term inflation expectations, but all agreed longer-term inflation expectations remained well anchored," the minutes added.