Stocks waver as volatility grips global trading - BNN

Stocks fluctuated, while bonds joined gains in haven assets as traders weighed a wall of sanctions against Russia for the invasion of Ukraine.

The S&P 500 was little changed after earlier dropping as much as 1.3 per cent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 rose. Demand for Treasuries was led by short-maturity issues that are more sensitive to changes in Federal Reserve policy, with the yield on two-year notes down to 1.45 per cent. Airlines slumped as Moscow banned carriers from 36 nations from its airspace in retaliation to a similar move from European states. Oil trimmed gains on reports that the U.S. and its allies are considering releasing about 60 million barrels of crude from emergency stockpiles to quell supply fears. Bitcoin climbed about 10 per cent.

Russia halted trading of stocks in Moscow, London-listed shares of Russian companies cratered, with depositary receipts for Sberbank of Russia sinking as much as 77 per cent, and energy giant Gazprom dropping 62 per cent, before paring the loss. Traders struggled to price the ruble, with the currency losing a third of its value in offshore trading at one point. Quotes were infrequent and volatile at the start of the session, with low liquidity making it difficult to match buyers and sellers.

Concerns are growing that a decision to freeze the Russian central bank’s assets and exclude some of the nation’s biggest lenders from critical international payment systems may increase stress in global funding markets. President Vladimir Putin banned all Russian residents from transferring foreign currency abroad, including for foreign debt, part of a package of retaliatory measures for U.S. and European sanctions over his invasion of Ukraine.

Comments:

• “The situation in Ukraine remains highly unpredictable with no simple off-ramp. Investors are advised to stretch their time horizon, as events in the region continue to create challenges in the near term,” said Robert Teeter, managing director of Silvercrest Asset Management.
• “This invasion simply adds another risk to the mix that’s unlikely to disappear quickly,” wrote Morgan Stanley strategists led by Mike Wilson, referring to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “In a world where valuations remain elevated and earnings risk is rising, last week’s tactical rally in equities will likely run out of momentum in March as the Fed begins to tighten in earnest and the earnings picture deteriorates,”
• “We do not view this as a time to derisk,” said Solita Marcelli, chief investment officer Americas at UBS Global Wealth Management. “Drawdowns based on geopolitical events have been brief: If we look at S&P 500 performance following key military conflicts since 1945, markets were usually down within the first week. But on 14 of the 18 occasions they were up within three months, with a median performance of around 2 per cent.”

What to watch this week:

• President Joe Biden State of the Union address, Tuesday
• Reserve Bank of Australia policy decision, Tuesday
• Fed Chair Jerome Powell testifies to Congress on monetary policy, Wednesday and Thursday
• OPEC+ meeting, Wednesday
• Eurozone CPI, Wednesday
• Bank of Canada rate decision, Wednesday
• ECB publishes the account of its February meeting, Thursday
• U.S. unemployment, nonfarm payrolls, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

• The S&P 500 was little changed as of 11:29 a.m. New York time
• The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.6 per cent
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3 per cent
• The Stoxx Europe 600 was little changed
• The MSCI World index rose 0.1 per cent

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
• The euro fell 0.2 per cent to US$1.1246
• The British pound was little changed at US$1.3417
• The Japanese yen rose 0.2 per cent to 115.28 per dollar

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined eight basis points to 1.88 per cent
• Germany’s 10-year yield declined seven basis points to 0.16 per cent
• Britain’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 1.43 per cent

Commodities

• West Texas Intermediate crude rose 3.9 per cent to US$95.12 a barrel
• Gold futures rose 0.8 per cent to US$1,902.50 an ounce

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2022-02-28 16:41:15Z
1290197942

Ruble plummets as Russia attempts to prevent run on banks - CBC.ca

The ruble plunged to a record low of less than one U.S. cent and most global stock markets declined Monday after Western nations moved to block some Russian banks from a global payments system.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has caused markets to swing wildly, given the vast potential economic impact, especially on inflation and energy supplies.

Putin's order that Russian nuclear weapons stand at increased readiness to launch ratcheted up tensions with Europe and the United States and revived dormant fears from the Cold War era.

The Russian central bank raised its key rate to 20 per cent from 9.5 per cent in a desperate attempt to shore up the plummeting ruble and prevent a run on banks. That brought a temporary reprieve for the Russian currency, which bounced back to the level it was at last week, but only briefly.

It fell as low as 119 to the U.S. dollar and by midday in Europe was down 14 per cent at 95.75 to the dollar.

The ruble had plunged more than 30 per cent after the move to block Russian banks from the SWIFT global payment system, which provides a secure messaging system to facilitate cross-border money transfers.

A Russian ruble coin is pictured in front of St. Basil cathedral in central Moscow in 2014. The ruble sank more than 30 per cent against the U.S. dollar early Monday. (AFP/Getty Images)

Among other things, the sanctions by Western nations are meant to crimp the Russian central bank's access to over $600 billion US in reserves and hinder its ability to support the ruble.

It was unclear exactly what share of Russia's hard currency coffers would be paralyzed by the decision on SWIFT. European officials said that at least half of it will be affected.

Worries over inflation

A weaker ruble is expected to cause inflation to surge, potentially angering Russians whose budgets will be stretched by soaring prices. It will also add to strains across Russia's financial systems.

"At the moment, the ruble is in a state close to free fall," Alex Kuptsikevich of FxPro said in a report. "At some point in the coming days, we will see the limit of the fall of the ruble, from where it will begin its slow and difficult recovery. But it is hardly possible to pinpoint."

Germany's DAX fell 2.6 per cent to 14,158.00 and the CAC 40 in Paris lost 3.2 per cent to 6,539.54. Britain's FTSE 100 shed one per cent to 7,413.23.

In New York, the future for the S&P 500 was 1.4 per cent lower, and that for the Dow industrials declined 1.2 per cent.

Markets in Asia and Australia appeared to take the latest developments more calmly with slight gains.

West accepting 'a bit of economic pain'

"It's all about the Russia-Ukraine situation and evolutions in that situation will drive market sentiment and direction," Jeffrey Halley of Oanda said in a commentary.

"President Putin will now have to accept that the Western powers are prepared to accept quite a bit of economic pain now to punish Russia."

A man walks past a currency exchange office in central Moscow on Monday. (Alexander Nemenov/AFP/Getty Images)

But the Ukraine conflict has heaped uncertainty atop other worries over interest rates and inflation.

The U.S. Federal Reserve has suggested it will raise short-term interest rates next month by double its usual increase, the first rate increase since 2018. Higher U.S. rates tend to put downward pressure on all kinds of investments, and can have global repercussions.

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2022-02-28 13:41:51Z
1312176182

Dow futures tumble 600 points and oil surges as West pours on Russian sanctions - CNN

Hong Kong/ New York (CNN Business)US stock futures tumbled and oil prices surged Monday morning as investors grew increasingly concerned about the consequences of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

On Wall Street, Dow futures plunged nearly 600 points, or 1.7%. S&P 500 futures fell 2% and Nasdaq futures were 2.7% lower.

In Asia, markets mostly declined. Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 1.4%, Japan's Nikkei 225 shed 0.3%, while China's Shanghai Composite slid 0.1%. Korea's Kospi erased earlier gains and was nearly flat.

Global markets had been turbulent last week after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an invasion of Ukraine, and the pain has spread beyond stocks.

The Russian ruble plummeted 36% Monday against the US dollar to 114.11, after Western countries announced new sanctions against Russia, including expelling certain Russian banks from SWIFT, the high-security network that connects thousands of financial institutions around the world.

The disruption to oil in particular is concerning to investors. Oil prices surged. Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose 4.2% to $102.05 a barrel. US crude rose 5.2% to $96.33 a barrel.

The conflict also threatens to exacerbate food inflation as Russia is the world's top exporter of wheat, and Ukraine is also a significant exporter of both wheat and corn. Wheat futures soared 7% on the Chicago Board of Trade.

Russia continued to bear down on Ukraine's largest cities over the weekend, but Russian fighters bore stiff resistance from Ukrainians. Peace talks are set to take place between delegates of the two nations Monday on the Ukrainian-Belarusian border.

Still, President Vladimir Putin ordered his country's deterrence forces — including nuclear arms — be placed on high alert. That unnerved investors, concerned that the war could spill over to other countries outside of Ukraine.

Putin's threat came after the White House and several EU nations announced the expulsion of certain Russian banks from the SWIFT banking system Saturday evening. Removing some Russian banks from SWIFT could effectively disconnect them from the international financial system, hindering their ability to do global business.

But that action could hurt European countries' ability to buy Russian energy. Senior Russian lawmakers have said that shipments of oil, gas and metals to Europe would stop if the country's financial system is removed from SWIFT. Russia remains a key exporter of oil and natural gas for much of Europe, and immediate alternatives that could blunt rising energy prices from a reduction of Russian exports aren't obvious.

Some Western banks also have assets tied up in Russia, and cutting Russian banks off from SWIFT could sting.

The market had been up quite a bit toward the end of last week as investors were hopeful the spillover effect from the invasion would be limited, said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at National Securities Corporation. But Wall Street grew concerned again as the situation deteriorated over the weekend.

"There was so much information over the course of the weekend," Hogan said. "It's almost impossible to understand exactly what this means for the earnings power of US companies. ...As things have gotten more complicated, tensions have increased, it's hard to know exactly how you land as an investor."

"The global demand for energy product is stronger right now than global supply," Hogan said. "And that's without fear that we have of disruption of that supply. If we have a major disruption that's going to be a negative for economic activity."

-- CNN Business' Matt Egan and Laura He contributed to this report

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2022-02-28 04:01:00Z
1290197942

Russia hikes rates, introduces capital controls to defend against sanctions - Reuters

Feb 28 (Reuters) - Russia's central bank more than doubled its key policy rate on Monday and introduced some capital controls as it scrambled to shield the economy from unprecedented Western sanctions that sent the rouble tumbling to record lows.

The main interest rate will rise to 20%, its highest this century, from 9.5% to counter the risks of the rouble's rapid depreciation and higher inflation, which threaten Russians' savings. [nL1N2V30GI ]

"External conditions for the Russian economy have drastically changed," the central bank said, adding that the hike 'will ensure a rise in deposit rates to levels needed to compensate for the increased depreciation and inflation risk".

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

The monetary authority also ordered companies to sell 80% of their foreign currency revenues, increased the range of securities that can be used as collateral to get loans and temporarily banned Russian brokers from selling securities held by foreigners. It did not specify which securities the ban applies to. read more

Bank of Russia Governor Elvira Nabiullina will hold a briefing at 1300 GMT.

The emergency measures put the central bank on the frontline defending Russia against a campaign by Western allies to isolate it economically following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

The central bank has itself been targeted, with the West seeking to restrict its ability to deploy $640 billion of forex and gold reserves and cut Russia's major banks off the SWIFT financial network. read more

Britain on Monday banned any transactions with the Russian central bank, finance ministry and wealth fund, and said it would prevent Russian companies from issuing transferable securities and money market instruments in the United Kingdom. read more

Monday's steps by the Russian central bank bolster other measures announced on Sunday, including an assurance that the central bank would resume buying gold on the domestic market. It will also launch a repurchase auction with no limits and ease restrictions on banks' open foreign currency positions.

RUN ON BANKS?

The West's sanctions are likely to deal a devastating blow to the Russian economy and make it hard for banks and companies to access the international financial system. The rouble plunged nearly 30% to an all-time low versus the dollar on Monday.

Russians queued outside ATMs on Sunday, worried the sanctions could trigger cash shortages and disrupt payments.

"A bank run has already started in Russia over the weekend ... and inflation will immediately spike massively, and the Russian banking system is likely to be in trouble," said Jeffrey Halley, Asia-based senior market analyst at OANDA.

Nomura analysts said in a note to clients that fresh reprisal measures by the West against Russia were likely to have wider global implications.

"These sanctions from the West are likely to eventually hurt trade flows out of Russia (around 80% of FX transactions handled by Russian financial institutions are denominated in USD), which will also hurt the growth outlook of Russia's key trading partners including Europe and lead to greater inflationary pressures and risk of stagflation, we think," they wrote.

Energy major BP opened a new front in the West's campaign to isolate Russia's economy.

Its decision to abandon its stake in state oil company Rosneft (ROSN.MM) at a cost of up to $25 billion is the most aggressive move yet by a company in response to Russia's actions in Ukraine, which Moscow calls a "special operation". read more

The Russian business operations of other Western corporations are also in the spotlight. read more

Several European subsidiaries of Sberbank Russia, majority-owned by the Russian government, are failing or likely to fail due to the reputational cost of the war in Ukraine, the European Central Bank, the lenders' supervisor, said on Monday.

FINANCIAL STABILITY

The Russian central bank in several announcements on Sunday sought to ensure financial stability. It said it would resume buying gold on the domestic market from Feb. 28.

Customers of sanctioned banks would be unable to use their bank cards outside Russia, it said, and cards issued by the sanctioned banks would not work on Google Pay or Apple Pay.

It also ordered market players to reject attempts by foreign clients to sell Russian securities, a document showed.

That could complicate plans by the sovereign wealth funds of Norway and Australia to wind down exposure to Russian-listed companies. read more

In a bid to inject cash into the financial system, the central bank said there would be no limit at a "fine-tuning" repo auction it will hold on Monday.

It said the banking system remained stable, with bank cards working as normal and customers able to access their funds.

The central bank said it would substantially increase the range of securities that can be used as collateral to get central bank loans and temporarily ease restrictions on banks' open foreign currency positions after the sanctions. read more

The measure, allowing banks suffering from "external circumstances" to keep positions above the official limits, will be in place until July 1, it said in a statement.

The central bank will continue to monitor changes in currency positions "in order to guarantee the normal functioning of the currency and money markets and the financial stability of lending institutions", it said. read more

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

With reporting by Reuters in Moscow; Editing by Stephen Coates, Jacqueline Wong and Catherine Evans

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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2022-02-28 09:40:00Z
1312176182

Crude falls from US$100 with Russian oil sanctions off the table - BNN

Oil extended its retreat from a seven-year high after the U.S. reiterated its decision not to sanction Russian energy exports.

Futures in New York traded near US$91 a barrel on Friday, falling from its highs of US$100 a barrel earlier in the week. Friday’s pullback came after the U.S. State Department said it won’t sanction Russian crude oil because that would harm U.S. consumers and not Russian President Vladimir Putin. At the same time, the International Energy Agency pledged to help ensure global energy security in the mids of the crisis.

“It seems that the U.S. and its allies want to inflict pain on Russia but do not want to impede their ability to deliver energy products to the world,” said Bart Melek, head of commodity strategy at TD Securities. 

On Thursday, oil surged to US$100 as Russia launched an attack as Russia launched an attack on its neighbor, though prices subsequently retreated as it emerged that Western governments wouldn’t impose sanctions on energy exports.

Still, buyers like China have briefly paused purchases of Russia’s flagship Urals grade on concern that the rupture in international relations may yet complicate dealings with Moscow. Urals are now being offered at a discount of US$11.60 a barrel below Dated Brent, the deepest discount in 11 years of data compiled by Bloomberg.

Merchant ships carrying crude oil in the Black Sea have also been thrown into the turmoil of Russia’s invasion. At least two merchant ships have been reportedly hit since Russian forces began the attack on its neighbor this week. Meanwhile, insurers are either not offering to cover vessels, or they’re demanding huge premiums to do so. 

In the U.S., President Joe Biden imposed its toughest-ever sanctions on Russia as tanks and troops moved closer to the Ukrainian capital, but said restrictions on currency clearing would include carve-outs for energy payments, a crucial source of revenue for Moscow. 

Biden said Russia will not be barred from the Swift international banking network because Europe opposed that action. Despite that, some European lenders are scaling back exposure to Ukraine and Russia in a threat to the credit lines essential to trade.

Prices

• WTI for April dropped US$1.92 to US$90.89 a barrel at 12:00 p.m. in New York
• Brent for April settlement fell US$2.53 to US$96.55 a barrel
  • It closed up 2.3 per cent in the previous session, after it peaked at a seven-year high of US$105.79 earlier

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has spooked a global oil market that was already perilously tight due to the inability of supply to keep up with the demand recovery from the pandemic. Biden said the U.S. is working with other major consuming nations on a coordinated reserves release. Any such sales would need to be very large to have a major impact on prices. 

Japan and Australia have indicated they may be part of an international release, but China said it had no immediate plans to intervene in oil markets. A spokesperson for Beijing said it would only consider such a move when the geopolitical situation had stabilized. South Korea said it was preparing to take action if there’s a disruption to energy shipments. 

More oil coverage

• There is a risk oil will rise to US$125 a barrel should demand destruction be required to balance the market, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said in a note.
• Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has brought turmoil to commodities markets as the conflict ensnares merchant shipping. At least two merchant ships have been reportedly hit since Russian forces began the attack on its neighbor this week.
• Vital shipments of commodities from ports in the Black Sea are being disrupted by chaos in the insurance market, with underwriters struggling to evaluate the risk of hauling cargoes from the region in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

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2022-02-25 21:02:50Z
1281799890

Tanker Rates On Russian Crude Routes Triple - OilPrice.com

Julianne Geiger

Julianne Geiger is a veteran editor, writer and researcher for Oilprice.com, and a member of the Creative Professionals Networking Group.

More Info

Related News

By Julianne Geiger - Feb 25, 2022, 12:30 PM CST

Sanctions on Russian banks and oligarchs have not halted Russian oil exports, with Indian refiners scooping up highly discounted Urals crude at a record pace, but Western buyers are hitting roadblocks with payments, shipping and banking guarantees, even though sanctions aren’t targeting the energy specifically. 

On Thursday, Russian Urals crude was going for $11.60 per barrel below Dated Brent, representing the biggest discount in over a decade, based on Bloomberg data.

Reuters reports that while Russia has maintained its crude oil and refined product exports, sanctions on Russia’s banking industry that will make it nearly impossible for Russian oil companies to process payments have traders running scared because sellers may not be paid.

Additional fears have arisen about how the market will interpret those sanctions.

“Letter of credit is a bank guarantee, but now it’s quite useless as after sanctions, no Western bank wants to guarantee anything for Russian sellers”, Reuters cited a source with a major Russian oil company as saying.

That, in turn, has led the energy industry to behave as if sanctions have targeted the industry itself.

According to the Wall Street Journal, amid this fear, shipping companies are refusing to load Urals crude, while trading houses are running up against hurdles in getting bank funding based on letters of credit. 

Additionally, WSJ said that some refining companies are already rejecting Russian crude oil.

“The key word today is obviously hold off and do not do anything that could backfire in the future,” WSJ cited Hugo De Stoop, chief executive of tanker company Euronav, as saying. “At the moment, we're not touching any cargo that’s linked to Russia.”

At the same time, Indian refiners have scooped up 6 million barrels of discounted Russian Urals crude, traders told Bloomberg. 

By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:

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Julianne Geiger

Julianne Geiger is a veteran editor, writer and researcher for Oilprice.com, and a member of the Creative Professionals Networking Group.

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2022-02-25 14:45:00Z
1281799890

Canadian gas prices to spike as Ukraine conflict prompts oil market chaos - CBC News

Canadians can expect to pay more at the pump as Russia's attack on Ukraine puts even greater pressure on an already surging oil price environment.

Roger McKnight, chief petroleum analyst at En-Pro International Inc., expects gas prices across the country to rise  approximately five cents per litre this weekend.

"If you are only filling up once a week or that sort of thing, get anything in your tank that you can before Saturday," McKnight said Thursday. "But if you're a daily filler, there's really not much you can do."

The high demand for oil combined with a shortage of supply has been pushing oil prices — and consequently gas prices — up for weeks.

The benchmark West Texas Intermediate price sat at $92 US per barrel Thursday afternoon after briefly trading above $100 US per barrel earlier in the day. Brent crude fell to $99 US a barrel, after topping $105 US a barrel for the first time since 2014 on Thursday morning.

Roger McKnight, chief petroleum analyst for En-Pro International, encourages people to fill up their tanks now before prices rise. (CBC)

Even if U.S. President Joe Biden attempts to intervene to calm the pressure on oil prices, the situation could still worsen, according to McKnight.

"OPEC+ is really Saudi Arabia and Russia together, and if President Biden puts pressure on Saudi Arabia to get more crude into the system to lower prices, that's just going to upset Russia even further and they may even shut down supply completely," McKnight said.

The ability for OPEC+ to respond in any meaningful way is limited anyway because of the oil cartel's struggle to keep up with its committed production increases, said Rory Johnston, founder of energy price newsletter Commodity Context.

There is still much uncertainty around how tensions between Russia and Ukraine will play out and if there will ultimately be a loss of oil supply. If the crisis in eastern Europe does worsen, Johnston said the current deficit in the oil market could double, sending prices through the roof.

"I think you could absolutely see prices add $20, $30, $40 a barrel," he said.

Meanwhile, Canada on Thursday announced more sanctions on Russia, including the halting of all export permits, as well as financial penalties targeting banks, lawmakers and elites, despite Russia promising to retaliate against those who interfere with its operations in Ukraine.

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2022-02-25 15:37:29Z
1307239324

What is Novavax, the new and different COVID-19 vaccine that’s soon to arrive in B.C.? - Global News

British Columbians will soon have another option for a COVID-19 vaccine.

Novavax has been approved for use by Health Canada and on Wednesday, B.C.’s provincial health officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, said the vaccine will be available in the province in the next few weeks.

“I think this is really good news,” Henry said. “This is an important new, different class of vaccination. It is what we call a protein subunit vaccine.

“It’s another option for people who require immunization and who have not yet been vaccinated and need it for work or for people who are health-care workers, for example, for people who have had a reaction to an mRNA vaccine.

“This is a perfectly good and valid option to make up those doses that you need to get full protection.”

Henry said this type of vaccine is an interesting one as it uses no human-derived materials in its development and uses instead an insect cell line.

“It also has an adjuvant that’s made out of soap bark tree extract. So it is plant-based as well in part.”

4:43 Canada’s top doctors say unvaccinated, those without booster could benefit from Novavax vaccine

Canada’s top doctors say unvaccinated, those without booster could benefit from Novavax vaccine

Read more: Novavax COVID-19 vaccine approved for use in Canadian adults

Henry added it is different than the mRNA vaccines as in this type of vaccine, the proteins are the virus.

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“Baculovirus is used and it generates proteins that are then purified from these moth cells,” she said. “And the proteins are put together with this matrix made out of the soap bark tree extract.

“So you’re given the proteins directly and those stimulate your own immune system to develop antibodies, both antibodies and cell-mediated immunity against those proteins. So this is a more traditional type of vaccine.”

She added many other vaccines are made this way, including some of the influenza vaccines.

It also does not require to be stored at ultra-low temperatures and is approved for everyone over the age of 18.

1:11 Health Canada advisor on the difference between protein-based and mRNA vaccines

Health Canada advisor on the difference between protein-based and mRNA vaccines – Feb 17, 2022

Read more: Lower vaccination rates in B.C. Interior allowing Omicron to linger, says Henry

Henry said it will be available primarily through pharmacies and some other health clinics but the best thing to do is to call the COVID vaccine line and tell them you are interested in this vaccine so you can be added to a list and notified when it is available.

It is a two-dose vaccine.

“I think this is fantastic,” Henry added. “It’s another really important tool that we have now in our toolbox that’s going to get us through both this Omicron wave, but is also going to get us through what comes next.”

View link »

© 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

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2022-02-25 02:23:25Z
1146518087

Medicago's homegrown, plant-based COVID-19 vaccine approved by Health Canada - CBC News

Medicago's plant-based COVID-19 vaccine is now approved by Health Canada, which will soon give Canadians the option of getting a homegrown shot against SARS-CoV-2.

Regulators announced the decision to allow its use for adults 18 to 64 years of age on Thursday, making this the sixth vaccine approved in Canada, on the heels of Health Canada's approval of the Novavax shot last week.

In what the biopharmaceutical company calls a world first, the vaccine from Quebec City-based Medicago uses plant-derived, virus-like particles, which resemble the coronavirus behind COVID-19 but don't contain its genetic material.

The shots also contain an adjuvant from British-American vaccine giant GlaxoSmithKline to help boost the immune response.

In December, the companies reported high efficacy levels against infection as they geared up for regulatory approval.

High efficacy rate

Dubbed "Covifenz," the two-dose shot's overall efficacy rate against all virus variants studied was 71 per cent, with a higher efficacy rate of 75 per cent against COVID-19 infections of any severity from the delta variant, then dominant, according to data shared at the time in a press release.

The results followed a global, Phase 3, placebo-controlled study of the two-dose vaccine that was launched last March. This was before the highly contagious Omicron family of subvariants, including BA.1 and BA.2, began circulating, though the company has said the vaccine can be adapted as needed.

"While additional confirmatory data are needed, preliminary and exploratory data shows that Covifenz produces neutralizing antibodies against the Omicron variant," noted Health Canada in a statement.

The department has also placed terms and conditions on the authorization. Medicago must continue to provide information to Health Canada on the safety and efficacy of the vaccine, "including protection against current and emerging variants of concern as soon as it is available," the statement continued.

"We will, in the next several months, know how well our vaccine did against Omicron," the company's medical officer, Dr. Brian Ward, told CBC News, citing ongoing company trials, which also include a study on a booster dose that's slated to start within weeks.

WATCH | The importance of Canada's 1st home-grown COVID-19 vaccine:

The importance of Canada’s 1st home-grown COVID-19 vaccine

3 months ago

Duration 4:52

Quebec company Medicago is getting ready to submit data about its COVID-19 vaccine for final regulatory approval, which is a significant step for the pandemic and Canada's bio-pharmaceutical industry. 4:52

Medicago 'manufacturing doses'

In October, Canada signed a deal to buy 20 million doses of Medicago's vaccine, with an option for 56 million more.

In a press release issued on Thursday, the company stressed a commitment to providing its shots as soon as possible.

"The approval of our COVID-19 vaccine is a significant milestone for Canada in the fight against the pandemic. We appreciate Health Canada's timely review," said Takashi Nagao, the company's president and CEO, in the statement.

"We're also grateful for the Government of Canada's support in the development of this new vaccine, and we are manufacturing doses to start fulfilling its order."

Given this huge influx of vaccines, Canada's deputy chief public health officer Dr. Howard Njoo said some of those expected Medicago supplies will be part of Canada's ongoing efforts to send doses abroad.

"Canada is committed to the global effort to supply vaccines across the world," he said during a press conference.

Recommendations on the vaccine's use from the National Advisory Committee on Immunization are also expected in the weeks ahead, Njoo said.

WATCH | Plant-based vaccine can be adapted for variants, Medicago says:

1st plant-based vaccine for humans can be adapted for variants, Medicago says

3 months ago

Duration 2:45

Quebec-based biopharmaceutical company Medicago is preparing for its final Health Canada submission on Canada's first homegrown COVID-19 vaccine. 2:45

Vaccine not approved for adults over 65

For now, the vaccine is only authorized for use in adults 18 to 64 years of age, based on the data that was reviewed by Health Canada.

"There was limited enrolment of participants older than 65 years of age in the clinical trials because a large proportion of older individuals were already vaccinated," the department said in its statement. "Medicago is currently gathering data in older individuals to support regulatory authorization for this age group."

Dr. Isaac Bogoch, an infectious diseases specialist based in Toronto, told CBC News the vaccine's approval is good news, even though it comes after the majority of Canadians are already vaccinated with two or more doses.

"Is this going to have a major impact on us here in Canada? Probably not. But there might be some individuals who choose to get vaccinated with a non-mRNA product," he said, referring to the shots offered by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna.

What's most hopeful, Bogoch added, is how plant-based technology could help future vaccine development.,

The process developed by Medicago uses the plant species nicotiana benthamiana, a close relative of tobacco plants that is used for pharmaceutical development, largely because of the high number of viruses that can successfully infect it. 

"This might be a pretty unique way to produce and scale vaccination," Bogoch said.

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2022-02-24 17:54:18Z
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RBC profit climbs 6% on gains in retail banking loans, wealth management fees - The Globe and Mail

A Royal Bank branch in Toronto.CARLOS OSORIO/Reuters

Royal Bank of Canada RY-T reported a 6-per-cent rise in first-quarter profit driven by increases in retail banking loans and wealth management fees.

For the three months that ended Jan. 31, RBC earned $4.1-billion, or $2.84 per share, compared with nearly $3.9-billion, or $2.66 per share, in the same quarter last year.

Adjusted to exclude certain items, RBC said it earned $2.87 per share, which was well ahead of the average estimate of $2.71 per share among analysts, according to Refinitiv.

The bank kept its quarterly dividend unchanged at $1.20 per share, and bought back $1.2-billion of shares in the quarter.

Profit of $2-billion from personal and commercial banking, which is RBC’s largest division, was up 10 per cent year over year. The increase was driven partly by higher fees from distributing mutual funds. But loans also increased by 8 per cent on average, led by a 10.8-per-cent rise in residential mortgages amid busy housing markets. Business loans increased 8.4 per cent from a year earlier, and lagging credit card balances showed signs that they are rebounding, up 3.5 per cent.

Wealth management profits surged by 24 per cent to $795-million as strong equity markets drove fees higher. The bank also released $80-million of a $116-million legal provision it had recorded in its U.S. wealth division in the previous quarter, which helped the division’s results.

The bank’s capital markets arm reported profit of $1-billion, down 3 per cent from an unusually strong first quarter last year, as mergers remained hot but fixed income trading trailed off.

Profits from the bank’s insurance arm and its investor and treasury services division declined by 2 per cent and 4 per cent respectively.

RBC benefited from low provisions for credit losses – the money banks set aside to cover loans that may default – of $105-million, consistent with analysts’ estimates.

Revenue increased 1 per cent to $13.1-billion, and expenses were relatively flat at $6.5-billion, even as the bank paid higher compensation and bonuses to bankers.

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2022-02-24 11:56:53Z
1307239328

Was $99 The Peak For Oil Prices - OilPrice.com

Tsvetana Paraskova

Tsvetana is a writer for Oilprice.com with over a decade of experience writing for news outlets such as iNVEZZ and SeeNews. 

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By Tsvetana Paraskova - Feb 23, 2022, 8:00 PM CST

• The already priced-in geopolitical risk premium is probably more than $10 per barrel.
• An imminent Iran nuclear deal could send oil prices down to the low $90s or even below $90.
• An Iran agreement, a Fed hike, and de-escalation of the Ukraine situation by the end of March could lead to a significant drop in crude prices.

Following the escalation in the Russia-Ukraine crisis, oil prices surged within striking distance of $100 a barrel early on Tuesday, when Brent hit $99.50 before retreating to the $97 mark.  

The already priced-in geopolitical risk premium is probably more than $10 per barrel, analysts say, and most of them believe it’s just a matter of when—not if—oil hits the triple-digit threshold. 

Although the Ukraine premium is a large part of the current rally towards $100 oil, there are several bullish fundamentals that could keep prices elevated even if a worst-case scenario of a conflict with subsequent Western sanctions on Russian energy exports does not materialize. 

These bullish factors include robust growth in global oil demand, which is set to exceed pre-COVID levels this year, the lowest commercial inventories in developed economies in seven years, and the lowest crude inventories at Cushing, Oklahoma—the designated delivery point for WTI Crude oil futures contracts—since September 2018.  

On the bearish side, an imminent Iran nuclear deal could send oil prices down to the low $90s or even below $90 as the market tightness would see relief at some point later this year when U.S. sanctions on Iran’s oil exports are removed. 

In recent days, reports have intensified that the indirect talks between the United States and Iran about returning to the 2015 deal are in their final stage and are said to be “about to cross the finish line,” according to a tweet from Russia’s envoy Mikhail Ulyanov on Tuesday. “At the final stage of the #ViennaTalks intensive consultations in various formats are underway,” Ulyanov said a few hours later. 

Iran could bring 1.3 million barrels per day (bpd) to the global oil supply, although this would take some time, including technical time, for reinstating oil payment settlements and Iranian foreign accounts. At any rate, if a deal is reached, more supply would bring relief to the tight oil market. 

As the past two years have shown, another bearish factor for oil would be a new infectious vaccine-jumping COVID variant that could prompt governments to re-impose restrictions. Expected Fed interest rate hikes could also have some slowdown effect on rebounding economic growth. 

An Iran agreement, a Fed hike, and de-escalation of the Ukraine situation by the end of March could see oil prices around $80 in the second quarter, and at around $70-75 in the second half of 2022, Michael Lynch, petroleum economics and energy policy analyst, writes for Forbes.

Still, as-is, demand appears to be strong, the physical market is very tight, and as Omicron-related restrictions are lifted in many economies, global demand is expected to beat the 2019 levels in the third and fourth quarter this year and average more than the 2019 demand volumes for the whole of 2022. 

Then, there is the growing gap between the OPEC+ nominal production increases and the actual supply to the market from the alliance. 

If OPEC+ continues to fail in delivering its oil production targets amid rising demand and inventories at multi-year lows, oil prices will remain under upward pressure and are set for more volatility, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said earlier this month. The gap between OPEC+ output and its target levels surged to as much as 900,000 bpd in January, the IEA said in its Oil Market Report for February.

Moreover, major investment banks had started to predict $100 oil was coming even before the recent escalation in Ukraine. Many of them continue to believe $100 is justified right now. If the crisis escalates into a conflict that would trigger Western sanctions on Russia’s oil – accounting for 12 percent of global supply – prices could even hit $150 a barrel, J.P. Morgan said earlier this month. 

“Such is the fundamental market tightness in oil today that under a best-case scenario in which tensions between Russia and Ukraine de-escalate, the oil price would likely merely drop to $84 bbl. But any disruptions to oil flows from Russia in a context of low spare capacity in other regions could easily send oil prices to $120 bbl. A halving of Russian oil exports would likely push the Brent oil price to $150 bbl,” Natasha Kaneva, Head of Global Commodities Strategy at J.P. Morgan, said. 

Bank of America says that a Ukraine conflict could send oil higher by $20 a barrel than current levels, but it also notes that “A weaker dollar trend and a pro-growth macro backdrop, if it indeed occurs, could support crude near triple digits in the second half of the year.” 

The world’s biggest independent oil trader, Vitol, sees further room for oil prices to rally, based on bullish fundamentals, as it expects global oil demand to surge in the second half of 2022.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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Tsvetana Paraskova

Tsvetana is a writer for Oilprice.com with over a decade of experience writing for news outlets such as iNVEZZ and SeeNews. 

More Info

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2022-02-24 02:00:00Z
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