Financial News

Brief: Canada Gains 14,000, or 0.1% M/M, Jobs in March: MUFG Says Consensus Saw 14,500 Increase

China Longyuan Power's Output Slides 17% in March

China Longyuan Power (HKG:0916, SHE:001289) recorded power generation of nearly 6.3 million megawatt-hours in March, down 17% from a year prior, according to a Friday Hong Kong bourse filing.Of the total, wind power generation fell 25% year over year while solar power output jumped 37%.For the first quarter of 2026, power output fell 2.3% to a little over 19.8 million megawatt-hours. Of this, wind power output slipped 7.3% and solar power generation increased 33%.

Scotiabank Awaiting Friday's Labor Report in Canada

Canada delivers the March Labour Force Survey (LFS) at 8:30 a.m. ET on Friday, notes Scotiabank.A rebound of some magnitude is generally expected, it says, noting consensus sits at a 15,000 gain, with most forecasts in the 10,000 to 40,000 range.Scotiabank expects the unemployment rate to slip to 6.6% from 6.7%.As for drivers, Scotia notes there have been nine times when the monthly jobs tally fell by 70k or more and the next month was up five of those times. "So far that's not so compelling," it says, adding: "A weak base effect could drive a gain, but there is sampling persistence in the way the LFS rotates panels over six months by dropping and replacing one at a time."

Nevada King Completes C$16.3 Million Placement; Centerra Takes 9.9% Stake

Nevada King Gold Corp. (NKG.V) announced Friday that it has completed its previously announced non-brokered private placement that had the company issue an aggregate of 77,739,774 common shares at a price of C$0.21 each, for aggregate gross proceeds of approximately C$16.3 million.A statement noted Centerra Gold (CG.TO) acquired 49,681,622 common shares, representing 9.9% of the issued and outstanding common shares following completion of the financing, for gross proceeds of approximately C$10.4 million. It said both the Chairman of Nevada King, Collin Kettell, and the largest shareholder, Michael Parker, also participated in the financing to maintain their approximate pro-rata ownership positions in the issued and outstanding common shares, for aggregate gross proceeds of approximately C$5.9 million.The company said it intends to use the net proceeds from the financing to continue regional and reconnaissance exploration across the Atlanta Gold Mine Project property especially high priority targets of Silver Park, Atlanta South, Atlanta North, and Western Rim, as well as for general working capital purposes.In connection with the strategic investment, Nevada King and Centerra entered into an investor rights agreement, pursuant to which, subject to certain conditions, including maintaining an ownership threshold of at least 5% of the outstanding common shares, Centerra has been granted financing participation rights and information rights, among other customary terms.The financing is subject to the final acceptance of the TSX Venture Exchange.

Be Friends Logs 1% Boost in Q1 Gross Merchandise Volume

New media company Be Friends (HKG:1450) recorded a gross merchandise volume of over 3.17 billion yuan in the first quarter of 2026, down 1% from a year prior, according to a Friday Hong Kong bourse filing.

OMV Supervisory Board Committee Proposes New CEO

OMV (OMV.VI) said Friday that the presidential and nomination committee of the Austrian petrochemical company's supervisory board recommended the appointment of Emma Delaney as chief executive.Under the proposal, which is subject to the supervisory board's resolution, Delaney would take over the role on Sept. 1 for three years, with an option for another two years.

KOF Global Barometers Diverge in April

The KOF Swiss Economic Institute's global economic barometers diverged in April but remained slightly above the 100-point level, indicating continued "moderate" economic growth across the world, despite the uncertainties created by the US/Israel-Iran war.The coincident global barometer declined 0.2 point to 102.1 points, while the leading barometer rose 1.7 points to 102.9 points, according to a Friday release.The decrease in the coincident barometer was mainly due to negative contributions from Europe and the Asia, Pacific & Africa region. On the other hand, the increase in the leading barometer was largely attributed to positive contributions from the Western Hemisphere and the Asia, Pacific & Africa region.

Shandong Hi-Speed's Output Climbs 14% in December

Shandong Hi-Speed New Energy Group (HKG:1250) recorded operating power generation of around 527,933 megawatt-hours in December 2025, up 14% from a year prior, according to a Friday Hong Kong bourse filing.For the year 2025, operating power output jumped 4.6% year over year to roughly 6.8 million megawatt-hours.

Cineplex March Box Office Jumps 178% YoY

Cineplex (CGX.TO) said Friday that box office revenues jumped 178% year-over-year to hit $52.4 million in the month of March.The company said the increase was due to the success of sci-fi hit Project Hail Mary, which performed particularly well in Cineplex's premium formats.During the first quarter, five films generated more than $100 million in domestic box office, compared with only two films achieving this milestone in the first quarter of 2025, a statement said. This success has continued into April with the release of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, which delivered the largest opening weekend of the year so far and Cineplex's highest grossing Easter weekend of all time.Cineplex shares closed up $0.26, to $10.95, on Thursday on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

China Zheshang Bank Names President, Chief Compliance Officer

China Zheshang Bank (HKG:2016, SHA:601916) said the appointment of Lyu Linhua as its president and chief compliance officer became effective Friday, according to a same-day Hong Kong bourse filing.The move came following the approval of the qualification of Lyu as president from the National Financial Regulatory Administration.

Antwerp Port in Belgium Blocked by Oil Spill Near Exxon Mobil, TotalEnergies Refineries

Port of Antwerp in Belgium, which is home to European refineries operated by Exxon Mobil (XOM) and TotalEnergies (TTE), was blocked following an oil spill during a ship refueling operation, preventing large vessels from entering or leaving the port, the port authority said Friday.Exxon Mobil said its refinery operations were not impacted, with a nearby canal still available to move oil products by barge, according to Bloomberg.Exxon Mobil and TotalEnergies did not immediately respond to' request for comment.

Saudi-Based Satorp Refinery Shuts Units After Damage to Processing Train, TotalEnergies Says

French energy major TotalEnergies (TTE) on Friday said refinery units at its joint-venture Saudi Aramco Total Refining and Petrochemical site in Jubail, Saudi Arabia, after one of the two processing trains was damaged due to incidents earlier this week."The Satorp site was affected by incidents that occurred during the night of April 7 to 8, causing damage to one of the refinery's two processing trains. No casualties were reported. As a safety precaution, the units were shut down," the company said in a statement.The company said an evaluation of the impact on the refinery's operations was currently underway.While the company did not elaborate on the incident in the statement, it was likely referring to the reported retaliatory Iranian strikes on petrochemical facilities in the Kingdom's Al Jubail region on Tuesday.The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a primary branch of Iran's Armed Forces, said the attack was a response to the strikes on Iran's Asaluyeh petrochemical plants linked to the South Pars gas field, according to a Reuters report.Satorp is a joint venture between Saudi Aramco, which own a 62.5% stake, and TotalEnergies, which holds the remaining interest.

ICRA Affirms AA- Rating on Kalyan Jewellers' Bank Financing; Outlook Stable

ICRA affirmed its AA- long-term and A1+ short-term rating on Kalyan Jewellers' (NSE:KALYANKJIL, BOM:543278) bank financing, according to an Indian bourse filing on Friday.The rating outlook is stable, the filing said.

SunOpta Announcing Early Termination of Hart-Scott-Rodino Act Waiting Period Related to Proposed Acquisition by Refresco

Dye & Durham Has Called a Special Meeting For June 9, 2026 to Seek Shareholder Approval of the Co's SRP That Took Effect on April 8, 2026

U.S. CPI and Canadian Jobs Data "Might Be Worth a Glimpse Or Two", Despite "Rather Bland" Market Tone, says Scotiabank

Iran headlines will continue to dominate market action, but U.S. CPI and Canadian jobs data "might be worth a glimpse or two" on Friday morning, despite the "rather bland" market tone going in to the releases, says Scotiabank in its morning note.Scotia notes Canada delivers the March jobs report at the same time as U.S. CPI (8.30am ET) and "might dirty the domestic waters somewhat". The bank says "rebound of some magnitude is generally expected" but suggests a "rebound, with an asterisk or several". Scotia notes consensus sits at 힙 with most in the 10-40k range except "one extreme outlier who's playing mere noise over any narrative". The high end has 40k, notes Scotia.

Emirati Stocks Close Higher Ahead of US-Iran Talks in Pakistan

Markets in the United Arab Emirates closed the last day of the trading week on a positive note, with investor sentiment buoyed by upcoming negotiations between the US and Iran in Pakistan over the weekend.At the close of trading, the FTSE ADX General Index was little changed at 0.021% in the green, while the DFM General Index added 0.382%."Peace talks between the US and Iran, mediated by the Pakistani prime minister, are scheduled to begin on Saturday, but tensions remain high due to disagreements over the agenda," Danske Bank said in a note. "Iran insists on its ten-point plan, which White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt claims President Trump 'literally threw in the garbage.' Further complicating the situation are disputes over whether the ceasefire terms should extend to Lebanon, after Israel's deadly attacks there on Wednesday."Still, oil prices climbed amid concerns over the fragile ceasefire deal, with Brent crude futures up 0.05% to $97.916 per barrel at 3:40 pm UAE time on Friday.Back at home, the UAE's Ministry of Defence confirmed in a Thursday statement that the country's airspace remained free of any air threats, with no ballistic and cruise missile attacks from Iran.Amid a quiet day on the corporate side, Emirates Insurance Co. (ADX:EIC) shares ended the session 2.63% lower after the insurer resumed trading on Friday. The resumption follows submission of the insurance company's annual general meeting results to the Abu Dhabi bourse, which included shareholder approval for a cash dividend of 0.6 Emirati dirham per share for 2025.Stocks of Dubai Islamic Insurance & Reinsurance (DFM:AMAN), d/b/a Aman, closed the session 0.58% in the red. The insurance company published an invitation for its annual general meeting on April 30, 2026, where it will seek approval for the nondistribution of dividends for 2025.

Roots Downgraded To Hold At TD

Roots Corp. (ROOT.TO) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at TD Securities Friday.Analyst Brian Morrison raised his price target on shares of the Canadian retailer to $4.25 from $4 following its quarterly results."Q4/F25 solid results were in line, a combination of new product, client favourites, and heightened marketing investment supporting strong DTC sales," Morrison said in a note to clients."While brand momentum is continuing into F2026, we believe the strategic review process is currently the key investor focal point," the analyst said."We believe there is a high probability for a potential monetization event, that we believe should support a valuation multiple toward the low end of its peer group," Morrison said."Given the recent share price appreciation approaching our view of 'fair value' we are lowering our recommendation to Hold."(covers equity, commodity and economic research from major banks and research firms in North America, Asia and Europe. Research providers may contact us here: https://www..com/contact-us)

Scotiabank Downgrades TELUS to Sector Perform From Sector Outperform, Adjusts Price Target to CA$21.50 From CA$23

Sino Harbour's Chair Boost Shareholding

Sino Harbour's (HKG:1663) chairman and substantial shareholder, Wong Lam Ping, acquired nearly 3.5 million ordinary shares in the company on Friday, according to a same-day Hong Kong bourse filing.The shares were purchased from the open market for an average price of around HK$0.086 apiece.