TORONTO — Five things to watch in the Canadian business world in the coming week:
Debt report:
Statistics Canada is expected to release a report Monday on trends in household non-mortgage lending and the evolution of household debt before and during the pandemic. The agency reported in June that household financial assets rose for a fourth consecutive quarter and the debt-to-income ratio fell, but some economists predict the gains could slow as the economy reopens and spending will increase.
Shopify Appearance:
Shopify Inc.’s Senior Director of Investor Relations, Ana Raman, will participate in a fireside chat at the Guggenheim Conference on Tuesday. The e-commerce company’s revenue crossed the $1 billion mark for the first time in a single quarter in June and the volume of goods sold through its offerings hit an all-time high as businesses began to reopen in amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bank earnings:
Scotiabank and BMO will kick off the Big 6 earnings season on Tuesday, followed by National Bank and RBC on Wednesday, and CIBC and TD on Thursday. Investors will be looking for signs of loan growth, Delta Variant impacts and clues about what banks might be doing with their cash reserves.
Price of raw products:
Statistics Canada will release the price indexes for industrial products and raw materials on Friday. The figures could provide more insight into the effects of inflation, which hit 3.7% in July, marking the biggest increase since May 2011, as price growth accelerated across much of consumer price index and in all provinces.
More vaccine mandates:
The number of companies releasing their plans for employee vaccination mandates is expected to rise next week, following a flurry of announcements last week from Sun Life Financial Inc., Shopify Inc., the city of Toronto, the Toronto Transit Commission and the major banks. .
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on August 22, 2021.
By The Canadian Press
