Business Report: Strike looms on Canada's railways

Business news Now Chris Mccasker joins us from the City News Business Centre. And I know you’ve got, yeah, you’ve got a smile on your face. Come on, you must be so happy about the Leafs game last night. It’s because I didn’t wear the jersey. It’s true. It’s true. So you proved yourself right. So I’m guessing you’re not wearing it tomorrow. No, I’m. It’s hanging up. It’ll just sit there until we get to Round 2. Cynthia. I’ll leave it for the rest of round one. I love your optimism. OK, now everyone is keeping a close eye on the US interest rates. Chris, what are the odds of another rate hike South of the border? Well, the Fed chair said today Cynthia Unlikely that’s the best he could do. No change in interest rates this time. And he said very clearly that it is unlikely the next move would be a hike. He didn’t really offer any insight or specifics on when we might see a cut in the US so markets finished the first day of May mixed after that pretty steep sell off yesterday. Now shares in Amazon up by about 2% after better than expected earnings. Similar story for Pfizer that stock up by 6%. Pinterest up by about 20% on Bay St. We did see a slight gain today, shares in Loblaw getting very close to an all time high. The grocery and drug store chainsaw 4 1/2 percent increase in revenue in its latest quarter, profits up by almost 10%. So the company hiked its dividend by 15% and then oil dropped today by about $3. So that should cycle through to the gas stations very soon. People will like that. Now, Chris, could a strike be looming on the Canadian railway lines? It sounds like it’s possible. We did get a vote from workers with CN Rail and CP Kansas City, and more than 9000 workers at Canada’s two biggest railways voted more than 97% in favor of a strike mandate this week. Now, if it happens, it would happen on May the 22nd. Paul Boucher, the president of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, says the railways are trying to slip the Strip. The collective agreements of safety, critical rest, provisions and negotiators are at an impasse. And I don’t have to tell you, Cynthia, that if this happens, it would not be good for supply chains. Definitely. Definitely. Now, Chris, we all know the Leafs could be on the brink of playoff elimination. Could maybe not our bars and restaurants near Maple Leaf Gardens or Square, excuse me, Don’t seem to be bothered by that. No, because data shows, according to Minaris, that when the Leafs are on the brink of elimination, that is good for business. And this is something that Minaris is seeing throughout the NHL as far as playoffs go. So in Toronto, the trend actually goes back to last year when the Leafs lost to Florida in the second round. We’re not going to talk about that now. Spending this year overall has not been significant, but they’re going to be paying attention. Minaris is to see what happens tomorrow night, to see if there is an uptick in spending because, of course, the leaves on the brink of elimination for a second time in this series. Well, we’ll see. But if you don’t wear your jersey and you just hang it up there, I don’t know. I think they’ve got a better shot. They’ll be fine. I’ll leave it. I’ll leave it on the hanger. They’ll be fine. You’ll be fine. OK. Chris Mccusker, thanks so much. See you again.