By Ketki Saxena
Investing.com – The TSX eked out a gain this morning, as the Bank of Canada held its policy rate at its current level, becoming the first of the world's major central banks to suspend their tightening campaign.
Optimism around the Bank of Canada’s decision boosted the Canadian index, even as Wall Street indices traded in the red fas Jerome Powell continues his testimony to congress, and following robust economic data in the US as job openings, private payrolls, and demand for home loans all came in hotter that expected.
The Biggest Stories on Bay Street
First Quantum Minerals (TSX:FM) Ltd. has reached an agreement to settle its dispute with the government of Panama over profit-sharing at the Canadian miner's Cobre Panama mine. Under the concession agreement, First Quantum is proposing payment of US$375 million plus an additional US$20 million to cover taxes and royalties up to the end of 2022. The deal provides for a minimum of US$375 million a year in government income, a profit-based mineral royalty of 12 to 16% with downside protections. Ore processing at the Cobra Panama, which had been suspended, is expected to resume and restore the mine to full production levels over the next several days.
Skky Capital, which owns just under 9% of Canaccord, is looking to requisition a special shareholders meeting with the goal of removing a number of board members that that has opposed a buyout offer for the firm by a management-led group of employees. The board members hold that the offer to buy the firm for $11.25 a share is too low, citing an assessment from RBC (TSX:RY) that pegs Canaccord’s value as $15.75 a share. The board committee is exploring alternatives to the sale, including breaking off the assets into parts.
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In Canadian Economics
The Bank of Canada announced that it will hold its benchmark policy rate at 4.5%, in a move that had been widely expected by economists. After hiking interest rates 8 consecutive times over the past year, the Canadian central bank will now hold its policy rate at the current level, citing signs that core inflation has peaked and that monetary policy is beginning to work as it trickles its way through the economy.