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U.S. stock index futures are pointing to a slightly lower open on Wall Street Thursday morning after a record-setting session, as investors continue to monitor the global economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials shed 43 points, or 0.2%, early Thursday to 29,294. Futures for the S&P 500 picked back 6.25 points, or 0.2%, at 3,381. Futures for the NASDAQ Composite slid 20.5 points, on 0.2%, to 9,713. In corporate news, Morgan Stanley is buying e-Trade for $13 billion. The news sent e-Trade shares up more than 20% in the pre-market while Morgan Stanley dipped 4.7%. U.S. jobless claims data for last week is due this morning, likewise, and January’s leading index reading. China’s National Health Commission on Wednesday reported that 74,576 cases of the new coronavirus have now been confirmed with 2,118 ...

The federal government is moving to relax the "stress test" that financial institutions are required to perform on insured mortgages beginning on April 6. The easing of the mortgage stress test is designed to make it easier for people to purchase their first home, as well as for homeowners to refinance existing mortgages. Under the revised rules, the new minimum qualifying rate for a mortgage will be the greater of the borrower's contract rate, or the weekly median five-year fixed insured mortgage rate from mortgage insurance applications, plus two percentage points. The current stress test rate is the greater of the borrower's contract rate or the Bank of Canada's five-year benchmark posted mortgage rate...

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) got roughed up Tuesday morning, developments which affected trade in the Canadian dollar. The trillion-dollar tech behemoth downgraded its earnings outlook for Q1 2020 and that sent global financial markets into a tizzy. Apple said the coronavirus constrained production of iPhones, causing supply shortages which would temporarily affect revenues worldwide. Equity traders quickly realized that if the coronavirus were negatively impacting Apple’s bottom line, other companies with a China-based supply chain would suffer the same fate...

U.S. stock index futures were slightly higher Friday as Nvidia led a number of companies in reporting better-than-expected earnings while investors wrapped up another solid week of gains. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials progressed 44 points, or 0.2%, early Friday to 29,471.Futures for the S&P 500 moved up 7.75 points, or 0.2%, at 3,385.25. Futures for the NASDAQ Composite acquired 34 points, on 0.4%, to 9,647. Wall Street is headed for strong weekly gains even as investors grapple with a rising number of reported coronavirus cases. The S&P 500 and Dow are each up more than 1% for the week through Thursday’s close. The NASDAQ, meanwhile, has risen 2%. Markets are to be shuttered on Monday for the Presidents’ Day holiday. Nvidia shares rose more than 6% in the pre-market after its quarterly...

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares slid after the electric automaker said it plans a $2 billion common stock offering, just two weeks after CEO Elon Musk said it would not take advantage of its surging stock by raising more capital. Musk himself will buy as much as $10 million of stock in this offering, while Tesla board member Larry Ellison will also purchase up to $1 million. The company will offer 2.65 million Tesla shares through underwriters Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. Tesla said it plans to use the proceeds from the offering "to further strengthen its balance sheet, as well as for general corporate purposes." Shares of Tesla on Thursday slumped early Thursday by $9.79, or 1.3%, to $757.50. But the stock is still well ahead of where it was as recently as December. Even accounting for the pre-market moves, Tesla stock is still up 109% 219% and 135% over the last three, six and 12 months, respectively. Tesla at one point ...

Shopify Inc (NYSE:SHOP) on Wednesday posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings, helped by higher holiday sales, and forecast full-year revenue above Wall Street estimates, sending its U.S.-listed shares skyward. Shopify lets small businesses sell goods and services to customers by setting up stores on its platform. Last year, it set aside over $1 billion to build fulfillment centers in the United States as it takes on larger rivals Amazon.com and EBay. For full year 2020, it forecast revenue in a range of $2.13 billion to $2.16 billion, above the average analysts’ average estimate of $2.11 billion. Excluding items, it earned 43 cents per share...

Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau taxed his brain and concluded that the coronavirus would have a significant impact on the Canadian economy. He told a Calgary audience, "I do want to acknowledge that the virus is undoubtedly going to have an economic impact.” He went on to say "We know the impact is real. It’s going to be felt across the country but perhaps even more so here in the oil and gas sector." Cynics might suggest that the Finance Minister was attempting to use the tragedy of the coronavirus outbreak to mask his government’s incompetence around the energy file. He bragged about the progress on the Trans-Mountain pipeline and how it is creating benefits for...

The novel coronavirus has not had a dramatic effect on energy markets, US Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette said on Friday, according to Reuters, though the effect on the market could worsen if the virus continues to spread, he added.“I think the impact has been marginal,” Brouillette said. But the oil price slide since the beginning of the year—trigged by the coronavirus epidemic—indeed has been dramatic. The price of a WTI barrel that was trading at $62.70 just one month ago is now trading at $50.45 per barrel—a drop of more than $12 per barrel, or nearly 20%, in just 30 days.The price of a Brent barrel, trading at $68.91 a month ago, has sunk to $54.52 today, a drop of over $14 per barrel, or nearly 21%. And it’s more than just fearful trades.Earlier this week, anonymous...

Aurora Cannabis Inc. (TSX:ACB) is replacing its chief executive officer as it prepares to write down $1 billion of losses.
The Edmonton-based company announced that Terry Booth is stepping down from his role as Chief Executive Officer after seven years in the top job. Booth will be replaced by Executive Chairman, Michael Singer, on an interim basis. Booth will remain on the company's board in a strategic advisory role. The change at the top comes as the pot giant looks to press the reset button following several quarters of disappointing sales and mounting losses. Aurora Cannabis also said that it will reduce its workforce by 500 staff, including 25% of all corporate positions, a decision aimed at driving down costs as it looks to end a string of quarter...