Market View

President Trump signs executive order banning use of technology posing a national security risk. Subsequently, it banned Huawei from selling telecom gear and threatened its supply chain. China responded by saying, “The United States must show sincerity if it is to hold meaningful trade talks”. Following some setbacks in Brexit talks, the British pound slid down for a tenth consecutive session. Gold prices remained unchanged and oil gains were supported by OPEC supply cuts and lowered Iran exports. The Canadian dollar was 74.26 cents. U.S. S&P500 was up 1.4% this week and TSX ended the week up 1.7%.

Almost all subgroups ended the week positive. Technology jumped the highest by 5.8%, followed by industrials at 5.3% and consumer staples at 2.2%. Healthcare jumped by 2.2% boosted by good Aurora results. Materials slid down by 0.6%. Aurora Cannabis reported a rise in quarterly revenue, helped by increased demand. Third-quarter sales rose to 9,160 kg from 6,999 kg the quarter before, increasing revenue to $75.2 million from $62 million in the second quarter. Australian gold miner St Barbara said it will buy a smaller Canadian peer Atlantic Gold for $536 million, at an attractive premium for shareholders. Restaurant Brands International said it plans to expand the global presence of all three of its brands, namely Burger King, Tim Hortons, and Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, to more than 40,000 restaurants, from the current 26,000, over the next decade. It expects it's coffee, burger and chicken markets to grow between 5% and 6% per year over the next 5 years. Onex’s $2.6 billion bid for WestJet Airlines was a surprising one at 60% premium. Shareholders were joyed following the news as the airlines' industry continues to struggle. The most heavily traded shares by volume were Champion Iron Limited, Aurora Cannabis, and Prometic Life Sciences.

5 from 5i

Here are five reads we found interesting last week:

-Bitcoin is not gold 2.0

-The 2-year Treasury yield is back to early 2018 levels

-Value stock without a catalyst is a trap

-How to think about correlation in your portfolio

-Bond factors and fund outperformance

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