Agenda: Lion Electrique, Disney, Walmart, Estee Lauder, Johnson & Johnson, GM, National Bank, Scotiabank, Pfízer, Market Review
Image: Lion Electric. All rights reserved.
Lion Electrique has more than doubled its deliveries of electric vehicles. As Lion Électrique has been ramping up production, the electric truck and bus maker has decided to "oversupply" to protect its production from any supply chain disruption. According to TVA Nouvelles, in the second quarter, the Saint-Jérôme-based company nearly tripled its deliveries to 61 vehicles, compared to 22 during the same period last year.
Excellent quarterly results for Disney. According to Reuters, Disney has delivered financial results that met beyond expectations for the April-June quarter. Results have been excellent both on the streaming platform side and in the theme parks. In addition, the Delta variant of the Covid is not expected to dramatically affect its business this summer. Disney + has now 116 million subscribers. Since the end of March, the streaming service has gained over 12 million additional subscriptions.
Good quarterly results for Walmart. For the second quarter, US retail giant Walmart reported strong sales. According to BNN Bloomberg, Walmart has adjusted its growth forecast upwards despite a slowdown in online sales. Demand for online sales was stronger a year ago given the COVID-19 pandemic. Its revenue in the second quarter was $141 billion, 2.4% higher than last year during the same period.
Increase in sales for Estée Lauder. According to Yahoo News, sales of the American group Estée Lauder exceeded expectations between the months of April and June. For the last quarter, Estée Lauder benefited from a rebound in cosmetics products thanks to the gradual lift of travel restrictions. Sales were particularly strong in Europe, Middle East and Africa. However, the company mentioned that it is remaining cautious regarding the consequences the Delta Variant may impose.
Change in the senior management of Johnson & Johnson. According to Reuters, the American pharmaceutical and hygiene group Johnson & Johnson will change direction: Alex Gorsky, the current CEO, will leave operational controls to Joaquin Duato for personal reasons on January 3, 2022, but will remain President of the company. Following the transition to his new role, Joaquin Duato will also join the group's board of directors. The Johnson & Johnson company offers one of the Covid-19 vaccines and anticipates US $2.5 billion in revenue from its serum this year.
Recall of electric cars for GM. According to CNBC, General Motors said it has expanded the recall of its Chevy Bolt electric vehicles to all models due to the risk of battery fire. This recall includes approximately 73,000 Bolts models from the years 2019 to 2022, of which just over 10,000 are in Canada. GM has specified that in rare cases, two manufacturing defects in the cells of the battery pose a risk of fire.
Image: Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press
No more commission for the brokerage division of the National Bank. According to BNN Bloomberg, National Bank says its direct brokerage division will no longer charge commissions for online transactions as competition intensifies in the online brokerage market. The Montreal institution maintains that the elimination of commissions for all online transactions in Canadian and US stock and exchange-traded funds is a first for a direct brokerage firm affiliated with a Canadian Bank.
Scotiabank exceeds profit expectations. Scotiabank's quarterly results beat analysts' expectations, reporting third quarter profit of $2.54 billion, compared to $1.30 billion in the same quarter last year. According to BNN Bloomberg, the Bank has indicated that all of its operating segments contributed to this result, which reflects the advantage of its well-diversified business model even though the pace of economic recovery in the countries where the bank operates varies from place to place.
Profits increase for the National Bank of Canada.National Bank of Canada, headquartered in Montreal, said it achieved a net income of $839 million in the third quarter of the current fiscal year, compared to $602 million in the corresponding quarter of 2020. According to BNN Bloomberg, the bank explains the growth by the increase in income from all operating segments. This improvement is mainly due to the improved macroeconomic outlook compared to the third quarter of 2020, in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. On the other hand, the board of directors of National Bank has declared a dividend of $ 0.71 per common share for the quarter ending October 31, 2021.
Pfizer and vaccines for Latin America. According to Reuters, the Pfizer and BioNTech alliance will join forces with the Brazilian laboratory Eurofarma to bottle anti-Covid 19 vaccines for Latin America, a region severely affected by the pandemic. The new Brazilian partner of the two laboratories will source serums from the United States. With this agreement, the alliance's manufacturing chain will now span over four continents and will include 20 manufacturing sites.
Market Review. According to CNBC, the New York Stock Exchange finished higher last Friday, beating records for the Nasdaq and the S&P 500. The markets appreciated the explanations of the Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell who did not give a precise timetable for the withdrawal of measures to support the US economy. For its part, the Toronto Stock Exchange announced positive returns, a result of a propulsion from the base metals sector.
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