Getting caught up on a week that got away? Here’s your weekly digest of The Globe’s most essential business and investing stories, with insights and analysis from the pros, stock tips, portfolio strategies and more.
Laurentian Bank’s sale, year-end earnings and more from the banking world
Laurentian Bank has struck a deal with Fairstone and National Bank after having launched an unsuccessful bid to attract a buyer in 2024.Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press
There were many headlines that came out of the financial world this week. On Tuesday, Laurentian Bank of Canada announced it has struck an agreement to be taken over by Fairstone Bank of Canada in an all-cash deal valued at $1.9-billion, while also selling its retail business to National Bank of Canada. Meanwhile, EQB Inc., the parent company of Equitable Bank, announced it is buying PC Financial from Loblaw Cos. in a deal valued at $800-million.
Canada’s biggest banks also reported their earnings for the fiscal year-end, covering the three months that ended Oct. 31. All six lenders – Bank of Nova Scotia, Royal Bank of Canada, National Bank of Canada, Toronto-Dominion Bank, Bank of Montreal and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce – posted higher fourth-quarter profits that beat analysts’ estimates. Here’s a breakdown of the big banks’ fourth-quarter earnings.
Algoma Steel to lay off more than 1,000 workers
Algoma Steel is laying off more than a third of its workforce as it accelerates a transition to new equipment in response to U.S. tariffs.
The Canadian Press
Algoma Steel Group Inc. said it is laying off more than a third of its work force as it accelerates a transition to new equipment in response to U.S. tariffs. The company started issuing some 1,050 layoff notices Monday morning, said Bill Slater, president of United Steelworkers Local 2724.
The job cuts come as Algoma has accelerated plans to shut down its blast-furnace and coke-oven operations as it transitions to more efficient electricity-based steel production. The company reported almost half a billion dollars in losses last quarter as the 50-per-cent tariffs on steel imposed by the U.S. effectively shut it out of the market. The federal and Ontario government have also provided Algoma with $500-million in financing to help support the company during the market turmoil.
Why coffee prices are soaring – even more than other groceries
XO Bisous owner Genna Steckel prepares a latte at her coffee shop in Toronto's west end on Monday.Sammy Kogan/The Globe and Mail
Lately, the price of coffee has been rising and leaving a bitter aftertaste for Canadian consumers. Coffee prices jumped by 26.3 per cent over the previous year as of October, according to Statistics Canada. That outpaces the 3.4-per-cent rise for overall groceries.
Prices for coffee have soared by 59 per cent over the past six years, Bianca Thompson reports, and two things are driving the increase: climate change and U.S. tariffs. Extreme weather conditions disrupted harvests and supply, especially Arabica beans, which are vulnerable to rising temperatures, drought and crop diseases. Meanwhile, U.S. tariffs on major producing countries Brazil and Vietnam have pushed prices even higher. Here’s how rising costs are changing how Canadians shop and how independent cafés are coping to keep prices low.
Thomson, Weston families win bid for Hudson’s Bay charter
The 1670 royal charter signed by King Charles II establishing Hudson's Bay on display at the Manitoba Museum in 2020.HO/The Canadian Press
The auction process for the 1670 Hudson’s Bay charter has officially concluded. As Susan Krashinsky Robertson reports, an uncontested $18-million bid from two of Canada’s most prominent families – the Thomson and Weston families – was selected on Wednesday. The failed retailer will now seek court approval to sell the charter to DKRT Family Corp., the personal family holding company of Canadian businessman David Thomson, and the billionaire Weston family’s holding company, Wittington Investments Ltd. A court hearing into the matter is scheduled for next week. (The Woodbridge Co. Ltd., another holding company and primary investment vehicle for the Thomson family, owns The Globe and Mail.)
Once the deal is approved and finalized, the charter will be permanently donated to the Archives of Manitoba, the Manitoba Museum, the Canadian Museum of History and the Royal Ontario Museum. The Bay has been selling off a number of assets to pay down a portion of the $1.1-billion debt that pushed it to seek court protection from its creditors in March.
How Canada can beef up its defences and grow its economy at the same time
Prime Minister Mark Carney tours the cargo hold of a Boeing CC-177 military aircraft at Canadian Forces Base 8 Wing Trenton in August.Spencer Colby/The Canadian Press
Canada is embarking on a defence spending increase not seen in generations. Prime Minister Mark Carney has committed to ramping up spending on defence to 5 per cent of gross domestic product by 2035, part of a concerted effort by members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to sharply increase military budgets after years of neglect and underfunding.
But Canada now faces the challenge of figuring out what to spend the money on, and how to ensure the massive new spending also brings substantial, lasting economic benefits. What does it take to build a self-sustaining modern defence economy? And what’s the smartest way to spend an annual defence budget expected to reach $150-billion by 2035? Pippa Norman reports on what a modern defence economy could look like for Canada and spoke to experts about similar countries (Poland and South Korea) that offer valuable lessons in how to increase spending on defence in effective ways.
Take our business quiz for this week
b. A pause to dividend hikes. Surprise! Telus said it would pause its dividend growth and keep its payout at its current level. The Vancouver-based telecom company is trying to reduce its financial leverage. However, it had insisted until recently that it was still planning on dividend increases. Its change of heart is bad news for dividend investors.
Get the rest of the questions from the weekly business and investing news quiz here, and prepare for the week ahead with The Globe’s investing calendar.