Independent dealers get a buzz off pot producers
When marijuana is being passed around and someone holds the spliff a little too long, that's called bogarting the joint.
Right now, a handful of Canada's independent investment banks are bogarting the legal and lucrative medical marijuana market, raising more than $230-million to fund fledgling companies in the past two years. These dealers in dope stocks have created businesses that are expected to be valued at $5-billion or more by the time lighting a joint becomes totally legal. Story
Savanna secures financing, faces takeover bid from Total Energy
Debt-saddled Savanna Energy Services Corp. has finalized financing to strengthen its balance sheet, and is now turning its focus to a hostile takeover bid from a rival firm.
Like others in the sector, the mid-sized Canadian energy-services company has struggled during the two-year oil price collapse. It announced this week that it had formalized an agreement with Alberta's public-sector investment manager – Alberta Investment Management Corp. or AIMCo – for $200-million in debt financing, and a private placement of almost $19-million of equity. Story
The swift decline of promising fintech firm DH Corp. came with some warning signs
With global growth prospects and a sizeable dividend, DH Corp. was one of Canada's most promising financial technology companies. Then, over the span of six months in 2016, it lost more than half of its $4.2-billion market value. Last week, management said it is exploring sale options.
Such a swift and steep decline took investors by surprise. Yet, anyone scrambling to make sense of DH's tumble shouldn't be so shocked: Some warning signs were there. Story
Big bond sales at Canada's big banks may signal a rise in rates
The Bank of Canada may be holding off on interest-rate hikes, but the country's largest financial institutions are signalling they expect the cost of borrowing to rise in the not-too-distant future by staging a series of massive bond sales in recent weeks.
Canada's central bank kept benchmark rates at historic lows last week, explaining that the business outlook remained uncertain and there is still slack in the economy. However, the news release from Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz did note that market sentiment is shifting: "Following the election in the U.S., there has been a rapid back-up in global yields." Story