Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - January 16, 2025, Winnipeg, Manitoba B6 ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM BUSINESS I STOCKS THURSDAY, JANUARY 16, 2025 U.S. fabrics, crafts chain Joann files for bankruptcy again U.S. crafts and fabric chain Joann has filed for bankruptcy again, and now it’s looking for a buyer. It is the second time the retailer has sought Chapter 11 protection within a year. The company said in court filings Wednesday it has “faced significant strategic and operational challenges” since April, when it emerged from its previous bankruptcy, six weeks after the initial filing. Despite efforts to improve its inven- tory and profitability, the company Wednesday cited “increasingly tight li- quidity levels” — which means Joann is having a hard time finding enough cash to maintain operations. Those obstacles, coupled with “significant and lasting challenges in the retail environment,” have given the company no choice but to seek bankruptcy protection again, interim chief executive Michael Pren- dergast said in a news release. According to court filings, Joann has US$615.7 million in total funded debt obligations. Gordon Brothers Re- tail Partners, a lender that has been involved with a number of troubled retailers (most recently Big Lots) put forth an initial bid for Joann, though the retail chain is hoping for additional offers. The Hudson, Ohio-based chain, which has been operating for more than 80 years, has four distribution centres and about 800 stores in 49 states, according to court filings. The company did not comment if it expects store closures. Over the past few months, however, it shuttered eight locations in six states, Retail Dive reported. Joann is the latest in a slew of U.S. specialty retailers to file for bankrupt- cy or announce store closures. Core- sight Research in December projected more than 7,300 store locations would shutter by the end of 2024, compared with about 5,500 in 2023. Bankruptcies in the sector last year about doubled. Party City, once the destination for celebration essentials and holiday decor, announced in December it was going out of businesses and closing all of its stores. — Washington Post JPMorgan posts record annual profits in Q4 WASHINGTON — JPMorgan’s net in- come soared 50 per cent to more than US$14 billion in the fourth quarter as the U.S. bank’s profit and revenue easi- ly beat Wall Street forecasts, and other major American banks reported ban- ner earnings for the year as businesses and consumers continued to spend de- spite elevated interest rates. JPMorgan’s earnings per share rose to US$4.81 from US$3.04 a year ago. The result beat Wall Street profit pro- jections of US$4.09 a share, according to the data firm FactSet. Total managed revenue hit US$43.7 billion, up 10 per cent, from US$39.9 billion a year ago. Wall Street was expecting revenue of US$41.9 billion. JPMorgan posted a record US$54 bil- lion profit for the year, or US$18.22 per share, adjusted for one-time expenses. Citigroup, Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs also issued strong results Wed- nesday. The country’s biggest banks have benefited from higher interest rates for the last two years, when the Federal Reserve jacked up rates to combat the inflation that took root in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. When it issued its last cut in Decem- ber, the Fed also trimmed its forecast for 2025 rate cuts to two from four as infla- tion remained stubbornly above its two per cent target. That sent markets into a mini-slump, but not enough to damp- en a spectacular 2024 run. The S&P gained 23 per cent last year, the Nasdaq climbed more than 28 per cent and the Dow finished up nearly 13 per cent. As for the banks, Goldman Sachs shares finished the year 48 per cent higher, while JPMorgan enjoyed a 41 per cent gain and Wells Fargo shares climbed 43 per cent. Wells Fargo also topped profit ex- pectations Wednesday with a nearly 50 per cent jump in net income, to US$5.1 billion in the fourth quarter, or US$1.43 per share. Revenue came in at US$20.4 billion, a touch lower than expectations. In the same quarter a year ago, Wells earned US$3.4 billion, or 86 cents US per share, on US$20.5 billion in revenue. — The Associated Press Reckitt Benckiser to boost U.S., China production as tariff risks loom R ECKITT Benckiser Plc is ramping up manufacturing in the U.S. and China to bolster its supply chain and potentially lessen its exposure to fresh trade wars. The maker of Strepsils lozenges and Durex condoms, which imports just over 40 per cent of its sales in the U.S., has been “discussing for a while” the need to increase self-reliance in key markets, according to Reckitt CFO Shannon Eisenhardt. The former Nike Inc. executive was speaking to Bloomberg during a tour of a Reckitt factory in Taicang, China, which currently makes Dettol products and will also start producing condoms from 2026. Reckitt is also investing 300 million yuan (US$40.9 million) in an R&D centre in Shanghai for products to be made and used in China. Reckitt’s push in China comes not long after the company said it would plow £155 million (US$190 million) into the development of a new factory in North Carolina to make the cold treat- ment Mucinex. Trade tensions between the U.S. and China, a crucial provider of raw ma- terials and manufactured products to several industries, are likely to be ag- gravated under U.S. president-elect Donald Trump. Adopting a protection- ist stance, Trump floated minimum tariffs of 10 per cent to 20 per cent on all imported goods during his 2024 presidential campaign, and 60 per cent or higher on shipments from China. Making significant investments in the supply chains of critical markets is just good business sense, a spokesperson said, as alongside localizing manufac- turing it also reduces mono-sourcing and improves flexibility. Reckitt said its imports into the U.S. could fall to 25 per cent of sales when the North Carolina site starts making Mucinex tablets and liquids in 2027. Reckitt’s remaining imports will in- clude products like condoms from Thai- land and more Mucinex from Mexico. The situation is more promising in China: 80 per cent of the products sold there are manufactured locally. Trump’s tariffs could put the com- pany at a disadvantage compared with domestic producers. And Reckitt’s ex- posure will still be higher than some other consumer multinationals. For ex- ample, Nestle SA produces 95 per cent of its U.S. sales in the country, its CEO Laurent Freixe said in November. North America represented £1 bil- lion (US$1.2 billion) in sales in the third quarter — a third of Reckitt’s total and has suffered falling sales, driven by de- clines in its infant formula unit. Reckitt shares have slumped almost 15 per cent compared with a year ago on concerns over lawsuits connecting its milk-based formulas to necrotizing enterocolitis in pre-term babies. Reck- itt and Abbott Laboratories, which is also defending such lawsuits, dispute the alleged link between the products and the life-threatening bowel illness. — Bloomberg News QILAI SHEN/BLOOMBERG A production line that makes Dettol brand hand soap at Reckitt Benckiser’s production facility in Taicang, China. Agnico Eagle Mines L 120.83 0.30 765 123.86 60.17 Alamos Gold Inc. 27.78 -0.29 645 29.66 15.27 AltaGas Ltd. 33.57 0.09 534 35.77 26.91 ARC Resources Ltd. 27.09 0.06 1,583 28.15 19.58 AtkinsRéalis Group 72.65 0.36 345 79.38 41.01 Bank of Montreal 142.10 1.69 2,212 147.54 109.02 Bank of Nova Scotia 74.18 0.57 3,155 80.14 60.68 Barrick Gold Corpora 22.69 0.33 3,677 29.50 18.65 BCE Inc. 32.54 1.15 3,519 56.18 31.43 BMO S&P 500 Index ET 93.18 1.47 595 95.22 69.74 BMO S&P/TSX Capped C 33.16 0.27 75 34.67 27.43 Brookfield Infrastru 44.73 -0.35 226 50.46 34.36 Brookfield Renewable 29.96 -0.91 424 40.84 27.55 CAE Inc. 34.47 0.63 639 36.68 22.28 Cameco Corporation 71.19 0.75 786 88.18 48.71 Canadian Imperial Ba 89.46 0.82 4,114 95.50 59.53 Canadian National Ra 144.32 0.41 818 181.34 143.18 Canadian Natural Res 45.14 -0.12 5,127 56.50 40.02 Canadian Pacific Kan 106.39 -0.16 884 123.37 101.76 Canadian Tire Corpor 220.01 -2.21 1 275.36 192.10 Canadian Tire Corpor 161.91 -0.27 277 164.13 126.25 Canadian Utilities L 33.49 -0.15 319 37.10 29.15 CCL Industries Inc. 72.29 1.04 204 84.70 55.34 CCL Industries Inc. 72.99 0.00 0 83.99 56.97 Cenovus Energy Inc. 21.64 0.24 4,560 29.96 19.82 CGI Inc. Class A Sub 155.25 0.97 291 162.63 132.06 Colliers Internation 193.35 10.03 83 218.47 138.13 Constellation Softwa 4340.82 76.16 31 4879.19 3533.69 Descartes Systems Gr 164.73 3.31 118 174.24 111.30 Dollarama Inc. 134.30 -1.80 768 152.97 96.80 Element Fleet Manage 28.56 0.53 305 30.49 21.20 Emera Incorporated 51.83 0.29 1,756 56.20 44.13 Empire Company Limit 42.09 -0.46 369 46.77 31.45 Enbridge Inc. 63.50 0.26 8,656 64.02 45.05 Fairfax Financial Ho 1991.83 10.04 129 2071.49 1213.01 Fairfax Financial Ho 1371.18 0.00 0 1397.29 900.00 First Quantum Minera 19.47 0.13 2,474 21.45 10.91 FirstService Corpora 257.53 3.01 91 278.19 193.77 Fortis Inc. 58.75 0.60 1,322 63.75 51.02 Franco-Nevada Corpor 182.06 0.19 265 191.17 140.67 Galaxy Digital Holdi 27.93 1.33 928 31.49 7.61 George Weston Limite 214.51 0.21 104 239.79 166.78 Gildan Activewear In 70.99 0.34 239 71.55 41.32 Great-West Lifeco In 45.99 0.52 1,174 50.99 38.44 Hydro One Limited 42.88 0.20 827 48.05 37.27 IGM Financial Inc. 44.71 1.11 222 47.96 32.95 Imperial Oil Limited 97.79 1.50 811 108.89 73.81 Intact Financial Cor 253.39 2.10 172 275.84 200.55 iShares Core MSCI EA 37.87 0.42 89 39.48 34.08 iShares Core S&P 500 61.64 1.09 259 63.70 49.37 iShares Core S&P/TSX 39.54 0.33 136 41.31 32.65 iShares S&P/TSX 60 I 37.60 0.33 3,184 39.06 31.33 Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. 16.69 0.00 1,239 21.32 12.94 Keyera Corp. 42.35 -0.73 945 47.90 31.16 Kinross Gold Corpora 15.28 0.08 3,284 15.48 6.46 Loblaw Companies Lim 177.62 1.32 311 196.49 129.00 Lundin Gold Inc. 33.89 -0.41 303 35.89 14.23 Lundin Mining Corpor 12.46 0.24 6,481 17.97 9.85 Magna International 58.73 0.67 478 79.98 51.79 Manulife Financial C 43.98 1.18 2,353 46.42 28.06 Metro Inc. 89.14 0.10 282 94.86 67.85 Molson Coors Canada 87.00 0.00 0 97.01 63.46 Molson Coors Canada 75.58 0.00 0 93.06 65.04 National Bank of Can 132.66 0.41 784 141.15 98.04 Newmont Corporation 59.31 1.57 228 81.16 39.96 ONEX Corporation Sub 111.10 0.53 57 118.91 85.36 Open Text Corporatio 40.39 0.84 641 60.00 37.92 Ovintiv Inc. 65.50 0.94 212 76.63 49.74 Pan American Silver 30.40 -0.34 627 36.00 16.50 Pembina Pipeline Cor 52.95 0.22 1,290 60.72 44.56 Power Corporation of 42.55 0.61 2,610 47.89 35.83 RB Global Inc. 128.39 0.00 136 139.48 82.18 Restaurant Brands In 86.61 -0.77 499 112.12 86.33 Restaurant Brands In 87.11 0.00 0 109.74 87.11 Rogers Communication 45.50 0.52 1 64.95 44.98 Rogers Communication 40.78 -0.23 1,641 64.71 39.65 Royal Bank of Canada 171.57 1.19 3,360 180.45 127.60 Saputo Inc. 23.07 0.01 942 32.15 22.65 Shopify Inc. Class A 149.42 3.60 1,419 171.84 72.36 Sprott Physical Gold 20.83 0.19 3 21.61 15.36 Sprott Physical Gold 29.85 0.23 26 30.18 20.78 Stantec Inc. 110.90 -0.21 201 123.92 103.48 Sun Life Financial I 84.41 1.76 1,172 88.54 64.38 Suncor Energy Inc. 57.50 0.39 4,664 58.58 41.88 TC Energy Corporatio 67.16 0.62 3,635 70.32 48.12 Teck Resources Limit 61.73 0.53 1 74.15 49.35 Teck Resources Limit 61.32 0.29 854 74.37 49.30 TELUS Corporation 19.60 -0.10 5,208 24.92 19.10 TFI International In 194.67 0.68 117 220.93 173.25 Thomson Reuters Corp 225.83 4.18 350 243.42 195.45 TMX Group Limited 43.67 0.92 469 45.92 31.73 Toromont Industries 114.57 -0.34 293 135.53 109.83 Toronto-Dominion Ban 79.31 0.74 13,620 87.99 73.22 Tourmaline Oil Corp. 67.65 -1.03 1,225 70.65 53.45 Vanguard S&P 500 Ind 151.18 2.38 246 155.00 113.20 Vanguard U.S. Total 114.37 1.80 78 116.95 85.90 Waste Connections In 253.14 1.58 387 273.51 196.66 West Fraser Timber C 126.89 2.92 149 141.27 100.84 Wheaton Precious Met 83.29 1.56 590 94.84 52.15 WSP Global Inc. 244.35 4.67 179 259.60 186.38 VOLUME 52-WK 52-WK STOCK CLOSE CHG (000S) HIGH LOW (by market capitalization) TSX Top 100 MARK E T WAT CH Daily Mutual Movers Biggest gainers and losers base on percentage change in daily net asset value per share. Data supplied by Fundata. All Funds COMPANY CLOSE CHG Fid Adv Ether ETF Fd B 25.44 6.54 BMO ARK Innova FdA 16.49 3.76 BMO ARK Nxt Gen Int FdA 22.94 3.47 BMO ARK Geno Rev FdA 7.56 3.32 Fid Gbl Innov CN Cl A 32.85 2.77 Fid Glo Innovat Inv Tr O 29.17 2.58 Fid Gbl Innova Cl A 40.24 2.58 Auspice One Fund Trust A 8.30 2.52 IA Cl LmUSAllCapGrwA 17.05 2.51 ADelta Tact Growth Cl A 13.60 2.47 Evolve NASDAQ Tec Id Hg A 22.17 2.45 TR Pr US Bl Ch Gwth Fd A 12.97 2.45 CSL U.S. Growth Ser A 73.81 2.45 Canadian Equity COMPANY CLOSE CHG Fid CdnFundamentalEqM-A O 16.48 1.26 NEI Cdn Equ Pl I 12.37 1.08 BMO Sust Opp Cdn Equ A 14.62 1.06 IAC Inh Cdn Equ SRI Cl A 20.46 1.04 ATBIS Cdn Equ Pool-F1 14.52 1.00 DesjSus Cdn Eq Inc Fd I 11.68 0.99 Desj Div Growth Fd A 31.09 0.99 RBCI Eq Fd Inv 70.21 0.99 Scot Wth Cdn Grw Pool Pin 29.92 0.99 RBCI Cdn Eq Pl Fd F 10.03 0.99 Mawer Cdn Equity Fd A 97.93 0.99 Gdian Cdn Growth Equ Fd I 41.09 0.98 Fid Con Cdn Equ Pvt Pl B 29.23 0.96 Canadian Fixed Income COMPANY CLOSE CHG Scot Cdn Inc Fd A 12.18 0.96 Scot Wth Income Pool Pin 10.19 0.95 Dyn Tact Bond Pvt Pl F 8.05 0.94 Dyn Tot Ret Bond Fd A 7.17 0.93 Scotia Wealth Cdn Bd I 10.12 0.91 BrgHs Cdn Bond Fd A 9.38 0.90 TD Cdn Bond Fd - Inv 12.51 0.89 Gdian Cdn Bond Fund A 9.11 0.88 TD Cdn Core + Bond Fd Inv 10.50 0.86 Mawer Canadian Bond Fd A 11.63 0.86 NEI Cdn Bond Fund A 8.23 0.85 Scot Wth Cdn Cor Bon Pl P 8.81 0.84 CIBC Canadian Bond Fd A 12.58 0.84 Global Equity COMPANY CLOSE CHG Canadian Dollar 43,221.55 19,511.23 DOW NASDAQ S&P 500 S&P/TSX +703.27 +466.84 +107.00 +200.72 24,789.305,949.91 +0.11 +35.50+2.34 OIL GAS GOLD SILVER US$78.71 US$4.08 US$2,717.80 US$31.50 +1.18 DOLLAR 69.76¢ +0.18 24,900 25,400 24,400 25,900 23,900 DAILY CLOSE, PAST 30 DAYS II December January Manitoba Stocks Ag Growth Int’l Inc. 39.78 -1.78 181,141 Artis REIT 7.08 0.07 145,728 BCE Inc. 32.54 0.15 3,448,739 Bird River Resources Inc. 0.04 0 - Boyd Group Services Inc. 217.14 3.6 51,093 Buhler Industries Inc. 3.31 -0.08 603 Exchange Income Corp. 53.73 -0.66 148,592 FP Newspapers Inc. 0.54 0.04 1,000 Gossan Resources Ltd. 0.02 0 - Great West Lifeco Inc. 45.99 0.52 1,174,088 Hudbay Minerals Inc. 12.57 -0.05 1,059,832 IGM Financial Inc. 44.71 1.11 221,643 Kane Biotech Inc. 0.11 0 11,000 Medicure Inc. 0.83 0 - NFI Group Inc. 13.52 -0.28 162,568 North West Co. Inc. New 46.11 0.3 118,480 Pollard Banknote Ltd. 26.46 1.12 11,381 Winpak Ltd. 45.10 0.27 26,559 Marwest Apartment REIT 0.68 0.01 513 COMPANY CLSE CHG VOL COMPANY CLSE CHG VOL Futures Trading — Grain quotes CANOLA COMPANY OPEN HIGH LOW CLOSE YESTERDAY Mar’25 641.50 645.90 623.10 630.10 641.60 May’25 650.00 654.80 633.20 639.80 650.80 Jul‘25 655.60 660.10 640.50 647.00 656.80 Nov‘25 636.50 640.30 623.00 630.30 637.10 Jan‘26 642.00 643.50 635.70 635.70 642.70 Mar‘26 641.20 641.20 636.70 636.70 644.50 May‘26 - 637.20 - 637.20 645.70 Jul‘26 - 634.80 - 634.80 644.00 Nov‘26 - 633.80 - 633.80 643.70 Jan‘27 - 633.40 - 633.40 643.20 Mar‘27 - 633.40 - - - SOURCES: THE BANK OF CANADA, FUNDATA, ICE FUTURES CANADA, CME GROUP S&P/TSX Composite Index Foreign Exchange Rates These are indicative wholesale rates for foreign currency provided by the Bank of Canada on Wednesday. Quotations in Canadian funds. Australian dollar 0.8923 Brazilian real 0.2375 Chinese renminbi 0.1955 European euro 1.4767 Hong Kong dollar 0.1841 Indian rupee 0.01659 Indonesian rupiah 0.000088 Japanese yen 0.00916 Mexican peso 0.07 New Zealand dollar 0.8056 Norwegian krone 0.1266 Peruvian new sol 0.3807 Russian ruble 0.01397 Saudi riyal 0.3819 Singapore dollar 1.0486 South African rand 0.07632 South Korean won 0.000985 Swedish krona 0.1286 Swiss franc 1.5715 Taiwanese dollar 0.04351 Turkish lira 0.0404 UK pound sterling 1.7548 US dollar 1.4334 A U.S. dollar cost $1.4334 based on daily average BMO ARK Innova FdA 16.49 3.76 BMO ARK Nxt Gen Int FdA 22.94 3.47 Fid Gbl Innov CN Cl A 32.85 2.77 Fid Glo Innovat Inv Tr O 29.17 2.58 Fid Gbl Innova Cl A 40.24 2.58 Fid Founders CN Cl A 22.26 2.39 BMO Glo Innov FdA 17.18 2.35 Dyn Gbl Discovery Fd A 48.45 2.21 Fid Founders Inv Tr O 25.64 2.21 Fid Founders Class A 26.27 2.20 TD Gbl Ent & Com Fd Inv 181.96 2.13 Guardian i3 GlQualityGrA 13.12 2.11 CIBC Gbl Tech Fd A 79.52 2.10 These companies will have headquarters or major operations in Manitoba. Closing values are as of the end of trading. Provided by Wellington-Altus Private Wealth. ;