It’s another sunny day on the Isle of Man though a bit windy.
On Tuesday our stocks were mostly up.
Canadian Western Bank will report shortly, perhaps today. The headline number will be well down because they had a large special gain last year this time and they already said there will be big loan losses this quarter – but still a profit. What will affect the stock price is how the earnings and especially the outlook compare to expectations.
Statistics Canada reported capital spending in the energy sector for Q1. Down almost 50%. I would have thought they should cut more than that. Lower capital spending would lead to lower production and help push up prices.
I see Trican Well Services is selling stock at about $1.60. It’s not what current owners would like to see but it is probably a very wise move. Probably necessary for survival. Any company in trouble is wise to issue new shares even at low prices if necessary for survival.
GDP was reported Tuesday. I think the figures understate the decline in energy because of using something called 2007 chained dollars. It’s basically a volume measure which measures activity, which is important, but an alternative measure in current dollars would show a far bigger decline.