Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
The latest in COVID-19: Case counts fall, Ontario hot spots want restrictions to stay and more
The top doctors for Ontario’s two largest COVID-19 hot spots – Toronto and Peel – are asking the province to keep a stay-at-home order and other restrictions in place for their regions for two more weeks. The stay-at-home order is set to lift on Feb. 22.
In British Columbia, up to 6,000 people who received their first COVID-19 vaccine are likely to miss their booster shot within the target of 42 days amid delivery delays, but Provincial Health Officer Bonnie Henry says she is now confident the protective benefits of just a single shot will last as long as three months.
Meanwhile in Quebec, despite having arguably the country’s worst pandemic record – by far the highest death toll paired with some of the most prolonged lockdown measures – Premier François Legault remains the most popular premier in Canada, with an approval rating above 60 per cent as recently as December. Still, sobering modelling suggested new variants of the coronavirus could surge in Montreal by March
As the number of new coronavirus infections in Canada continues to fall, a similar phenomenon is unfolding in many other parts of the world, leading experts to try to better understand why COVID-19 cases are plummeting right now.
And federal Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller says new guidance on COVID-19 vaccinations reaffirms the standard set for provinces to prioritize Indigenous people in their vaccination programs.
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Myanmar’s joyful young protesters press for democracy, but history’s not on their side
As international observers warned that the Myanmar military was dispatching more troops to its biggest cities, demonstrators snarled traffic on major urban thoroughfares today and gathered en masse in what they said were among the biggest street protests since armed forces seized back power in a Feb. 1 coup.
But behind the ebullience of crowds seeking to weaken the military’s ability to govern, a gnawing fear was taking hold, Asia correspondent Nathan VanderKlippe reports. By nightfall, video shared on Facebook showed armed clashes in Mandalay that left residents cowering in fear at what sounded like gunfire.
Mars mission set to advance search for life beyond Earth
After a seven-month journey through the vacant reaches of interplanetary space, NASA’s Perseverance rover is on the cusp of reaching its destination and beginning the most ambitious quest to date for signs of past life on Mars.
For the hundreds of scientists and engineers connected with Perseverance, including many in Canada, the drama and anticipation will peak shortly before 4 p.m. ET tomorrow. The US$2.2-billion spacecraft will have to go from a cruising speed of just under 20,000 kilometres an hour as it hits the Martian atmosphere to sitting safely at rest on the planet’s surface less than seven minutes later.
H&R REIT considers a radical change after a tough year: Splitting up
One of Canada’s largest publicly traded commercial property owners is contemplating a major shakeup, with H&R REIT weighing a revamp that could spin out some divisions as standalone companies.
Toronto-based H&R is a diversified real estate investment trust, owning everything from industrial properties to apartment buildings, but with a heavy weighting toward office towers – such as the Bow in Calgary – and enclosed malls. The REIT’s market performance has suffered more than many of its peers’ since the pandemic erupted.
To fix this, the company is considering a wholesale change that could narrow its focus, so that investors can better appreciate what its owns.
ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Rush Limbaugh dies: Rush Limbaugh, the talk radio host who ripped into liberals and laid waste to political correctness with a merry brand of malice that made him one of the most powerful voices on the U.S. right, has died at 70.
Ghislaine Maxwell alleges abuse by guard: The former associate of Jeffrey Epstein has alleged through her lawyer that a guard physically abused her at a federal lock-up in Brooklyn, and then she was punished for complaining about it.
Prince Philip hospitalized: Prince Philip, the 99-year-old husband of Queen Elizabeth, has been admitted to a London hospital as a “precautionary measure” after feeling unwell, Buckingham Palace said.
Trump casino imploded: The former Trump Plaza casino on the Atlantic City Boardwalk, where movie stars, athletes and rock stars used to party, was reduced to a dusty pile of rubble after falling into disrepair. Watch video here of the demolition.
The former Trump Plaza casino collapses after a controlled demolition in Atlantic City, N.J., Feb. 17, 2021.Adam Monacelli/Courier-Post/Reuters
MARKET WATCH
On Wall Street, the Nasdaq Composite closed lower while the S&P 500 was little changed as investors rotated out of technology shares and concerns about inflation added some pressure on stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose, however, aided in part by gains in shares of Verizon Communications and Chevron after Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway disclosed major investments in the companies yesterday.
The Dow rose 90.27 points or 0.29 per cent to 31,613.02, the S&P 500 slipped 1.16 points or 0.03 per cent to 3,931.43 and the Nasdaq dropped 82.01 points or 0.58 per cent to 13,965.49.
The S&P/TSX composite index fell 117.94 points or 0.64 per cent to 18,374.78, as shares of market heavyweight Shopify slid 2.79 per cent after releasing its latest earnings.
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TALKING POINTS
The Senate must not stand in the way of legislation – even if, in the case of Bill C-7, it is flawed
“The increasing frequency with which the Senate has demanded, and obtained, amendments to legislation – it amended 33 out of 88 bills passed in the last Parliament – suggests that, in at least some cases, it is the Commons that is giving way.” - Andrew Coyne
Can Navalny take down Putin?
“The Kremlin’s response to the protests has shown, [Vladimir] Putin and the state are one and the same. That makes toppling him a particularly difficult proposition – at least for now.” - Nina L. Khrushcheva, professor of international affairs, New School in New York
The changing of the guard in Washington has prompted change in Saudi Arabia
“During a primary debate, the then-candidate underlined that he would make long-time ally Saudi Arabia ‘the pariah that they are,’ and now that [Joe] Biden is in office, the pressure appears to be beginning to yield results.” - Rashid Husain Syed, journalist
LIVING BETTER
Mortgage shoppers, now’s the time to lock into a long-term rate, according to expert Robert McLister. If you’re getting a five-year fixed mortgage today, rates will likely be more than one percentage point higher by the time you renew. That’s what Canada’s bond market is now pricing in.
What’s more, Canada’s five-year swap rate, a benchmark that lenders refer to when pricing five-year fixed mortgages, is the highest it’s been since last April. When swap rates surge, it means lenders are making significantly less on fixed mortgages – unless they raise their rates.
TODAY’S LONG READ
Fred Ketchen, former Scotiabank executive and TSX chair, dies at 85
Scotia Capital's Fred Ketchen during an interview with The Canadian Press in Toronto on Sept. 11, 2007.Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press
Long-time bank executive, trader and media commentator Fred Ketchen, known to many as the “Dean of Bay Street,” has died. He was 85.
Regular appearances on television and radio made him a trusted voice on markets well beyond the well-heeled corridors of Bay Street. On cross-country tours to talk to investors, he could fill local hockey arenas in smaller towns like Stratford, Ont., with hundreds of people eager to hear from him.
He was seen as an old-fashioned gentleman in a competitive industry full of tough people, and was always dapper. When he wasn’t wearing his yellow-and-black tartan trader’s jacket at ScotiaMcLeod, he would don three-piece suits even for gardening, his family said in an obituary, and his collection of ties and pocket squares “was unrivalled.” Read James Bradshaw’s full story here.
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