HEADLINES

Traders Face 'Considerable Uncertainty' Over Mideast Conflict, Bank of Canada's Macklem Says

The conflict in the Middle East has forced traders to reprice assets due in part to "considerable uncertainty" about how long military operations in Iran will last, said Bank of Canada Gov. Tiff Macklem.

Macklem referred briefly to the joint U.S.-Israel attacks in Iran in remarks delivered in Toronto.

"As we speak, the actions taken against Iran by Israel and the United States have increased volatility in energy and financial markets and there is considerable uncertainty about the duration and fallout of this conflict," Macklem said.

Afterward, during a question-and-answer session, Macklem said the conflict represents a shock to both energy markets and risk sentiment. The price of a barrel of West Texas Intermediate crude is nearly $10 higher relative to late last week, or before the U.S. and Israel started air attacks on Iran. Natural gas prices also have shot upward.

Labor Productivity Edged Down in Final Quarter of 2025

Labor productivity for Canadian businesses continued to fluctuate into the end of last year, slipping slightly in the final quarter as economic activity pulled back.

Productivity nudged down 0.1% in the October-to-December period following an upwardly revised advance of 1.1% the prior quarter when economic activity recovered, Statistics Canada said.

The modest pullback marks the second quarterly decline in labor productivity in the last nine months.

George Weston Profit Drops on Trust Unit Liability Adjustment

George Weston's fourth-quarter profit fell as a negative shift in the value of its trust unit liability outweighed revenue growth.

The stock fell nearly 4% to C$95.21.

The Canadian holding company, which operates Choice Properties and has a controlling stake in grocer Loblaw, on Wednesday posted net income attributable to common shareholders of C$280 million, or C$0.72 a share, down from C$664 million, or C$1.68 a share, in the comparable quarter a year earlier.

The drop was mainly due to the value of the trust unit liability, which the company said moved in an unfavorable direction compared with last year.

SSR Mining Stock Rises on Plans to Sell Ownership in Mine

Shares of SSR Mining gained after the company agreed to sell its 80% stake in the Çöpler gold mine in Turkey and related assets to Cengiz Holding for $1.5 billion in cash.

Shares rose 14.7% to C$45.32.

The miner said Tuesday the transaction is expected to close in the third quarter. Under the terms of the deal, Cengiz will make a $100 million deposit, creditable against the purchase price. The acquisition also includes a reciprocal $50 million break fee.

SSR Mining said it will use the proceeds to reinvest in the business, fund capital returns and support growth initiatives.

MDA Space Sees Growing Defense Opportunities in C$40 Billion, Five-Year Pipeline

MDA Space expects growing opportunities at home and abroad as governments ramp up investment in defense-related work.

The Canadian space-technology company has outlined a C$40 billion pipeline of opportunities over the next five years spanning government, defense and commercial programs, with an emphasis on security. "Defense has some of the chunkier growth in the pipeline," Chief Executive Mike Greenley said in a call.

Already, MDA is participating in some large defense projects. The company was selected by the U.S. Missile Defense Agency on the SHIELD program, part of the broader Golden Dome strategy, and it is developing uncrewed aircraft systems for the Royal Canadian Navy.

Canadian Small Businesses Question U.S. As a Trading Partner

About half of Canada's small businesses no longer consider the U.S. a reliable trading partner, data from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business showed.

"Small businesses have faced massive uncertainty since the trade battle began last year," said CFIB President Dan Kelly, adding companies have been trying to keep up U.S. tariffs, including many that don't happen or are revised within hours.

The study found 52% of small business don't view the U.S. as a reliable trading partner, and three quarters say tariffs have strained relationships with U.S. partners or clients. With the Canada-U.S.-Mexico trade pact coming up for review in the months ahead, the stakes are even higher, Kelly said.

OpenAI Pledges to Cooperate At Inquest Into Fatal Canada School Shooting

OpenAI said Wednesday it intends to cooperate with authorities in British Columbia leading a public inquest into a fatal school shooting in which the suspect interacted with the company's ChatGPT chatbot.

"OpenAI remains committed to cooperating with law enforcement authorities on all investigations into the Tumbler Ridge tragedy," the company said in a statement.

The chief coroner in British Columbia, Canada's most western province, announced the inquest on Tuesday, which is likely to draw closer scrutiny on OpenAI's safety protocols and relationship with police.

The inquest will examine the circumstances surrounding the shooting in Tumbler Ridge, where eight people were killed and dozens injured. Police identified Jesse Van Rootselaar as the main suspect. Van Rootselaar, an 18-year-old transgender woman, was found dead at the scene from what appeared to be a self-inflicted injury.

TALKING POINT

Regulators Need to Play Catch-Up on Private-Credit Risk, Canada Central Banker Says

By Paul Vieira

OTTAWA--Global authorities must step up their surveillance of lending by nonbank players like hedge funds and institutional investors to minimize risks to financial stability, says Bank of Canada Gov. Tiff Macklem.

His remarks come at a time when financial markets are on edge due to the recent military attacks by the U.S. and Israel in Iran and concerns that the boom in artificial-intelligence investment might come to an end. Further, President Trump's trade policy has kept uncertainty at elevated levels.

Stronger banking regulations introduced following the 2008-to-2009 financial crisis have shifted riskier activities to nonbank participants like hedge funds, pension funds and asset managers, Macklem said, according to prepared remarks for delivery in Toronto.

This shift, Macklem said, has diversified risk and improved access to financing. "But risks have not disappeared--they've migrated. And our global surveillance and regulatory frameworks haven't kept pace with the change."

He warned, "Risks may be growing faster than our ability to understand and mitigate them. Economic uncertainty is already high--we cannot afford to add financial instability to the mix."

Macklem cited two areas that required increased oversight. First, hedge funds have emerged as notable buyers of government debt. In Canada, the Bank of Canada estimates that hedge funds buy up to 50% of government of Canada bonds sold at auction, and that they account for a significant portion of trading activity in the secondary market.

The purchases are mostly financed with debt, Macklem said, largely through short-term repurchase, or repo, agreements. Macklem said a shock to markets that leads to increased interest-rate volatility could force hedge funds to sell some of their bond holdings to raise cash. "Short-term funding strains could cause severe dislocations in sovereign debt markets--the backbone of our financial system. And the cross-border nature of markets means that stress that begins in one jurisdiction or sector can quickly move to another," he said.

He also cited the growth of private credit, which has a global footprint in the trillions. Private credit incorporates lending by institutional investors and investment funds, and Macklem said this is expected to be a key source of funding to expand AI deployment.

"Private credit hasn't been through a full economic downturn," he said, adding that it falls outside the purview of global banking regulators. And private credit is opaque, Macklem added, so investors may not have sufficient information about the quality of the loans.

"Weakness in private credit could spill back to the regulated sector," he said. "And because private credit is increasingly global, those spillovers could travel quickly across borders."

Write to Paul Vieira at [paul.vieira@wsj.com]

Expected Major Events for Thursday

02:00/JPN: Feb Imported Vehicle Sales

06:00/JPN: Jan Revised Machine Tool Orders

07:45/FRA: Jan Industrial production index

09:00/UK: Feb UK monthly car registrations figures

09:00/ITA: Jan Retail Sales

09:30/UK: Feb S&P Global UK Construction PMI

12:30/US: Feb Challenger Job-Cut Report

13:00/RUS: Weekly International Reserves

13:30/US: 4Q Preliminary Productivity and Costs

13:30/US: Jan Import & Export Price Indexes

13:30/US: 02/28 Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report - Initial Claims

13:30/US: U.S. Weekly Export Sales

13:30/CAN: Mar Intentions of principal field crop areas

15:30/US: 02/27 EIA Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report

16:00/US: Feb Global Services PMI

17:00/US: Feb Monthly U.S. Retail Chain Store Sales Index

21:30/US: Foreign Central Bank Holdings

21:30/US: Federal Discount Window Borrowings

23:50/JPN: Feb International Reserves / Foreign Currency

23:50/JPN: Feb Provisional Trade Statistics for 1st 20 days of Month

All times in GMT. Powered by Onclusive and Dow Jones.

Expected Earnings for Thursday

Acorn Energy Inc (ACFN) is expected to report for 4Q.

Algoma Central Corp (ALC.T) is expected to report for 4Q.

Aligos Therapeutics Inc $(ALGS)$ is expected to report for 4Q.

Altimmune $(ALT)$ is expected to report $-0.23 for 4Q.

Amprius Technologies Inc $(AMPX)$ is expected to report $-0.04 for 4Q.

BJ's Wholesale Club Holding Inc $(BJ)$ is expected to report $0.91 for 4Q.

Bioventus Inc $(BVS)$ is expected to report $0.12 for 4Q.

Burlington Stores Inc $(BURL)$ is expected to report $4.75 for 4Q.

CPI Card Group Inc (PMTS,PMTS-T) is expected to report $0.54 for 4Q.

Canadian Natural Resources Ltd (CNQ,CNQ.T) is expected to report $0.45 for 4Q.

Ciena Corp $(CIEN)$ is expected to report $0.60 for 1Q.

CorMedix Inc $(CRMD)$ is expected to report $0.67 for 4Q.

Distribution Solutions Group Inc $(DSGR)$ is expected to report $0.19 for 4Q.

Endeavour Mining PLC (EDV.T,EDVMF) is expected to report for 4Q.

Fastenal Co $(FAST)$ is expected to report.

Global Water Resources Inc (GWR-T,GWRS) is expected to report $0.03 for 4Q.

GoPro Inc $(GPRO)$ is expected to report $-0.36 for 4Q.

Invivyd Inc $(IVVD)$ is expected to report $-0.08 for 4Q.

Ituran Location & Control Ltd (ITRN,ITRN-TV) is expected to report for 4Q.

John Wiley & Sons Inc - A Share $(WLY)$ is expected to report $0.67 for 3Q.

Kroger Co $(KR)$ is expected to report $1.20 for 4Q.

Kura Oncology Inc (KURA) is expected to report $-0.64 for 4Q.

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals Inc $(LXRX)$ is expected to report $-0.07 for 4Q.

Lightwave Logic Inc (LWLG) is expected to report for 4Q.

Liquidia Corp $(LQDA)$ is expected to report $0.18 for 4Q.

Maple Leaf Foods Inc (MFI.T,MLFNF) is expected to report for 4Q.

Methanex Corp (MEOH,MX.T) is expected to report $0.89 for 4Q.

Myers Industries Inc (MYE) is expected to report $0.23 for 4Q.

Olaplex Holdings Inc $(OLPX)$ is expected to report $-0.02 for 4Q.

Palladyne AI Corp $(PDYN)$ is expected to report for 4Q.

REGENXBIO Inc $(RGNX)$ is expected to report $0.16 for 4Q.

Ranger Energy Services Inc $(RNGR)$ is expected to report $0.10 for 4Q.

Ranpak Holdings Corp (PACK) is expected to report $-0.03 for 4Q.

Spin Master Corp (TOY.T) is expected to report $0.07 for 4Q.

Stratasys Ltd (SSYS) is expected to report $-0.23 for 4Q.

Tango Therapeutics Inc $(TNGX)$ is expected to report $-0.30 for 4Q.

Teads Holding Co (TEAD) is expected to report $-0.10 for 4Q.

Tejon Ranch Co (TRC) is expected to report for 4Q.

Toro Co $(TTC)$ is expected to report $0.63 for 1Q.

Victoria's Secret & Co $(VSCO)$ is expected to report $2.49 for 4Q.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 04, 2026 16:31 ET (21:31 GMT)

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