The Toronto stock exchange index is up 0.3% this morning while the S&P 500 id down 0.4%.
Oil is up 2.1% to U.S. $44.95. That’s $56.90 in Canadian dollars which is not such a low oil price. This is positive for many Alberta-based companies including Melcor.
I stopped by a new and large Melcor land development yesterday (this one is a joint venture). What I saw was activity. Several dozen houses are under construction including some very affordable duplexes as well as single family homes. Given the partial recovery in house prices and the continued home-building activity in Alberta, the market may be far too pessimistic about Melcor’s outlook.
Bombardier is up 4.8% to $2.08 and the Bombardier preferred share series 4 is up 5.2% to $16.35. These prices are likely to be volatile for the rest of the week as Bombardier reports Q1 earnings tomorrow morning and has its annual meeting on Friday and may announce progress on sales.
Statistics Canada reports that rail carloadings were up 4.5% in February verusus the prior year. However industry data indicates that the carloadings for Canadian railroads are running considerably weaker than 2015 particularly in the latest weeks. This includes the U.S. operations of the Canadian railroads which is a more relevant figure for investors.