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OTTAWA, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Canada's annual inflation rate eased more than expected in January to 5.9%, data showed on Tuesday, which should allow the Bank of Canada to stay on the sidelines at its next meeting while it lets previous rate hikes sink in. Before the inflation figures were released, money markets saw a 100% chance for another rate increase this year. The bank forecasts inflation to slow to about 3% by the middle of 2023, and to come down to its 2% target next year. Excluding food and energy, January prices rose 4.9% compared with a 5.3% increase in December. The figures show prices coming down faster in Canada than in the United States, where annual inflation gained 6.4% in January.

☆ The chief executive of an AI-driven markets analytics company breaks down how to invest in the craze sparked by ChatGPT
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Today, I'm eager to share my conversation with the CEO of a markets analytics platform that leverages the power of artificial intelligence. Jan Szilagyi is the chief executive officer and cofounder of Toggle AI. Toggle AIJan Szilagyi is the chief executive officer and cofounder of Toggle AI. Jan Szilagyi: We've seen a big increase in business and a huge spike in inquiries to Toggle AI. Ultimately, I don't think AI is going to be a fad though.

☆ Beyoncé's line with Adidas is reportedly struggling, driving home the challenge of filling the $2 billion hole left by Kanye West's Yeezy line
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Matthew Kish | Lakshmi Varanasi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday reported sales for the singer's Ivy Park Adidas line fell 50%. Adidas' struggles to gain traction with Ivy Park come after the brand cut ties with Kanye West. Sales of the Ivy Park line with Adidas decreased more than 50% to roughly $40 million last year, well short of the company's $250 million forecast, according to the Journal. The Adidas line with Ivy Park launched in 2020. The contract between Beyoncé and Adidas expires after 2023, according to the Journal, which reported Adidas has discussed ending or revising the deal.

"When you think about traditional drug and vaccine development and longevity of sales, it's usually much more spread out," Morningstar analyst Damien Conover said. The sudden inflow of revenue should prod companies to strike deals and link up with new partners, he said. Vaccine maker Moderna also expects 2023 revenue to fall sharply. The company's only product - its messenger RNA COVID vaccine - pulled in around $18.4 billion in 2022. Eli Lilly and Co (LLY.N) made $2 billion in 2022 from monoclonal antibody COVID treatments and is not expecting any revenue from the business in 2023.

That prompted the central bank to pause its most aggressive tightening cycle for now, becoming the first major central bank to do so. Traders have already bid up Canadian stocks and the Canadian dollar , dubbed a 'commodity currency', since the news of China reopening surfaced in December. Doug Porter, chief economist at BMO Capital Markets, said that for Canada, China's reopening is more a "clear-cut positive" than it would be for other countries with fewer commodities exports. The U.S. Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank and the Bank of England have since laid the groundwork for a pause as well. Karl Schamotta, chief market strategist at Corpay said China's reopening will help put a floor under global price levels, potentially offsetting demand destruction as economies slow.

☆ BMO: These 15 top stocks will continue to outperform the market as an explosive rally for small caps gains momentum
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( James Faris | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Small caps have outperformed their larger counterparts during a broader market rally. BMO Capital Markets shared its 15 favorite small stocks to buy right now. High-flying energy stocks have taken a breather recently while beaten-down technology companies, international equities, and small caps have made a comeback. Below are the 15 small-cap stocks that BMO Capital Markets recommends most right now, along with the ticker, market capitalization, and price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio for each. All except one of these stocks rose last month, wrote Brian Belski, the firm's chief investment strategist, in a February 1 note.

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Amazon, Alphabet, Apple, Nordstrom, Ford and more
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Alphabet — The tech giant saw its shares drop 1% following the aftermath of its disappointing earnings report. Alphabet's posted earnings per share of $1.05 missed Refinitiv analyst consensus estimates of $1.18 per share. The company posted its largest quarterly revenue decline since 2016 as it fended off a strong dollar, China production issues and a difficult macro picture. Ford – Ford Motor shared shed 6% after fourth-quarter earnings fell short of both Wall Street and its own guidance. The Wall Street firm said the rally is driven by a short squeeze.

☆ BMO says this stock taking gene therapy to the 'next level' can more than double
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Shares of 4D Molecular Therapeutics could more than double as the biotechnology company revolutionizes gene therapy treatment, according to BMO Capital Markets. Analyst Kostas Biliouris initiated coverage of the stock with an outperform rating, saying in a Monday note to clients that 4DMT's utilization of a protein engineering method known as directed evolution can help take "gene therapy to the next level." "4DMT has built a powerful gene therapy platform that has been validated in clinic and is generating transformative therapies leading to potential multibillion dollar commercial opportunities," he said. "4DMT's gene therapy for wet AMD addresses the above key challenges, while its early clinical data point to a potential best-in-class profile that can drive > $5B in (risk-unadjusted) peak sales," Biliouris wrote. With a solid cash runway and just 140 employees working on five gene therapy programs, 4DMT's operating efficiencies differentiate it from competitors, he added.

Analysts say they have based their 2023 Paxlovid sales estimates primarily on public details of announced deals, with a token amount of estimated China sales from before the country dropped the Zero-COVID policy. Their current estimates for over $10 billion in 2023 Paxlovid sales is less than half the $22 billion Pfizer is expected to report for 2022, according to Refinitiv data. Billions of dollars in Paxlovid sales could be at stake for Pfizer. Even without a deal to sell Paxlovid broadly in China, the company can still sell it there on the private market. China is "probably the only region that we're modeling a year-over-year increase in 2023" for Paxlovid, Conover said.

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves premarket: Intel, Chevron, American Express, Silvergate and more
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Sarah Min | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Advanced Micro Devices — Chip stocks such as Advanced Micro Devices fell as a group following Intel's results. Shares of Advanced Micro Devices fell nearly 2.4%, while shares of Nvidia and Micro dipped about 1.5% each. Chevron — Shares dipped more than 1% after Chevron reported its latest earnings results. American Express — Shares of the credit card company rose 5% despite weaker-than-expected results for the fourth quarter. American Express reported $2.07 in earnings per share on $14.18 billion of revenue.

☆ BMO downgrades Ralph Lauren shares after 50% rally, citing 'domestic pressures'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Hakyung Kim | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Ralph Lauren 's 50% rally in the past four months has gone too far, too fast, according to BMO Capital Markets, which downgraded the stock Friday to underperform. Siegel suspects the decline of North American margins may be due to increased marketing spending, supply chain pressures, and consumer questions regarding the average selling price of items. BMO questions whether the current level of Ralph Lauren shares—which are close to pandemic peaks—can be sustained, given the changes in consumer spending during 2021. Shares for Ralph Lauren fell 3.23% in Friday premarket trading following the call. Ralph Lauren reports results on February 9.

☆ Fewer Treasury bills and liquidity questions – what to expect from the U.S. refunding
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Karen Brettell | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Jan 26 (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department next week is likely to announce that it will offer fewer Treasury bills in the second quarter, after hitting its statutory borrowing limit. Next week, the Treasury is likely to say that it will reduce its issuance of Treasury bills, debt that matures in one year or less, and run down its cash balance to buy more time. That is because the U.S. government wants to increase bills as a percentage of overall debt to meet its long-term goals. BofA’s Swiber said that Treasury buybacks, which the Treasury queried dealers about in a previous survey, are a better solution to boost liquidity during times of market stress. These “allow Treasury to more directly manage Treasury liquidity, to more directly manage the outstanding supply of securities and they can effectively buy back things that are cheap on the curve and help support liquidity in the more liquid parts of the curve as well,” she said.

"Credit spreads have rallied across the board since the beginning of the year despite heavy (new bond) issuance and are at multi-month tights. This puts the credit market at odds with economic forecasts and the rates market," Barclays strategists said in a recent note. They said U.S. investment grade bonds rated BBB implied a 30% chance of recession, and CCC rated bonds implied a 35% chance. In the most bullish scenario, investment-grade bond spreads could tighten another 20 to 30 basis points, but they could widen much more if the economic downturn is deeper than anticipated, he added. Reporting by Davide Barbuscia and Matt Tracy; Editing by Shankar Ramakrishnan and Andrea RicciOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Bank of Canada set for one more rate hike in historic tightening campaign
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Fergal Smith | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] A Canadian dollar coin, commonly known as the "Loonie", is pictured in this illustration picture taken in Toronto January 23, 2015. This week's meeting will be significant as the BoC will offer minutes from the policy-setting session for the first time. Money markets see a roughly 70% chance of a 25-basis-point move and expect the policy rate to peak at 4.50%. Economists expect the BoC to leave the door open to further tightening should upcoming data show price pressures persisting and push back against market expectations for interest rate cuts in the second half of the year. Better to err on the side of too much tightening with a 25-basis-point hike."

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Sunrun, U.S. Bancorp, Alphabet, AT&T and more
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Michelle Fox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Sunrun — The solar company dropped 8.6% after being downgraded to equal weight from overweight by Barclays, which cited a potential slowdown in solar demand. Alphabet — Shares shed 3.3% in midday trading, a day after the Justice Department filed a second antitrust lawsuit against Google. Enphase Energy — The solar stock fell 5.3% after Piper Sandler downgraded it to neutral from buy. U.S. Bancorp — The stock gained 5.7% after U.S. Bancorp reported fourth quarter earnings of $1.20, excluding items, versus the $1.12 expected by StreetAccount. NextEra Energy — The stock dropped 6.1% after the alternative energy company reported revenue for the fourth quarter that missed expectations.

☆ Strategist discusses the impact of China's reopening on commodity currencies
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailStrategist discusses the impact of China's reopening on commodity currenciesGregory Anderson of BMO Capital Markets says "there's probably a catch-up trade out there."

☆ Cybersecurity was supposed to be a resilient area of tech, but these ETFs are struggling
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( Jesse Pound | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Through the first three weeks of the year, the exchange traded funds tracking cybersecurity stocks are underperforming the rest of tech sector. The iShares Cybersecurity and Tech ETF (IHAK) , for example, has returned just 1% in January, well behind the tech and communication services funds that are also sponsored by BlackRock. The January underperformance comes at a time when high growth cybersecurity stocks were expected stay in favor. "From my perspective, it should be doing better in terms of performance because of the tailwinds that are behind cybersecurity," Maier said. Cyber stocks moved broadly higher, with the Global X Cybersecurity ETF (BUG) gaining almost 3%.

☆ Strong Canada retail sales forecast adds fodder to rate hike argument
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Ismail Shakil | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The November monthly sales decline was less than the 0.5% drop analysts expected. By volume, retail sales were down 0.4% in November from October, Statistics Canada said. "Ongoing economic momentum will likely prompt the Bank of Canada to raise rates another 25bps next week," Royce Mendes, head of macro strategy at Desjardins Group, said in a note. Money markets see a roughly 70% chance of a quarter-point hike by the Bank of Canada next week. Reporting by Ismail Shakil and Dale Smith in Ottawa Editing by Frances KerryOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ BMO Capital Markets CEO on recession fears: I'm near-term cautious and medium-term bullish
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailBMO Capital Markets CEO on recession fears: I'm near-term cautious and medium-term bullishDarryl White, BMO Capital Markets CEO, joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss White's thoughts on the markets, what's kept inflation around and if White can explain why market participants believe the Federal Reserve won't get to where it says it will.

☆ Buy these 42 stocks in BMO's market-crushing US dividend growth portfolio to earn income and hedge against high prices in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( James Faris | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Here are the 42 stocks in BMO's US dividend growth portfolio, which beat the market soundly in 2022. One such model, the US dividend growth portfolio, beat the S&P 500 convincingly in 2022, falling just 5.4% after dividends compared to the index's -18.1% total return. And in 2021, the US dividend growth portfolio matched the S&P 500's performance exactly by rising 28.7%. Still, Belski noted that 30 of the 42 stocks held in BMO's US dividend growth portfolio topped the S&P 500 in the fourth quarter. Below are the 42 stocks in BMO Capital Markets' market-beating US dividend growth portfolio right now, along with the ticker, market capitalization, sector, and dividend yield for each.

☆ CrowdStrike is a buy as it become a bigger player in the cybersecurity space, BMO says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

It's time to buy shares of cybersecurity company CrowdStrike , according to BMO Capital Markets. That continued evolution will allow CrowdStrike to differentiate from Microsoft and legacy cybersecurity companies. "We believe that CrowdStrike offers best-in-class endpoint security capabilities and an expanding platform that will help CrowdStrike compete against Microsoft and other vendors," Bachman said in a note to clients Wednesday. There is concern that Microsoft could pressure competitors by using bundle prices to win companies looking to save money. He added that consolidation will help CrowdStrike, as companies seek to use one company for multiple needs.

Some two-thirds of firms expect a recession over the next 12 months, with 90% of those expecting it to be mild. Several businesses said rising interest rates were slowing household demand and housing market activity. The survey showed that 84% of firms expect inflation to remain above 3% for the next two years, up from 77% in the third quarter. Canada's annual inflation rate eased to 6.8% in November as gasoline prices rose more slowly, still well above the central bank's 2% target, data showed last month. Almost 64% of consumers said they would reduce spending and save more to cope with inflation and rising interest rates.

☆ 'The market is built on a bedrock of total complacency': A former top TD Ameritrade technical analyst says stocks will fall another 20% this year as investors begin to realize a Fed pivot isn't in the
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-14 | by ( William Edwards | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

He also thinks earnings expectations are too high and will come down. This hawkish policy will eventually lead to a recession this year, Bierman said, a view that is shared by many on Wall Street. "The market has not priced in earnings misses, the market has priced in earnings beats," he said. Bierman's views in contextBierman's recession call has become a somewhat consensus view on Wall Street. RIA AdvisorsThis translates to lackluster expectations for stocks among Wall Street strategists.

☆ Nike faces 3 obstacles that could threaten its dominance
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-14 | by ( Matthew Kish | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

New Adidas CEO Bjørn Gulden could reinvigorate the rivalry with Nike. Top of mind with stock pickers: Nike needs to shed inventory and get sales growing more in China. Where is the next leg of growth going to come from? Before the December earnings report, Simeon Siegel, managing director for equity research at BMO Capital Markets, told Insider Nike appeared to be turning a corner in China. Analysts also think new Adidas CEO Bjørn Gulden, who previously worked as CEO of Puma, could reinvigorate the rivalry with Nike.

☆ Stocks gain, yields fall after U.S. inflation data
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Chuck Mikolajczak | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Still, a separate reading on the labor market showed weekly initial jobless claims came in at 205,000, below expectations of 215,000. Many market participants are looking for signs of weakness in the labor market as a key sign of slowing inflation. On Wall Street, equities were choppy after the data, with the S&P 500 falling as much as 0.8% before rebounding. "The fact that we have seen core inflation decelerate to 5.7% year-over-year, from 6% in November, reinforces the peak inflation argument." Crude prices rose in the wake of the data, getting an additional boost from optimism over China's emergence from its COVID-19 restrictions creating additional demand.

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