TORONTO — Five things to watch for in the Canadian business world in the coming week:
Household debt
Statistics Canada will release Wednesday its national balance sheet and financial flow accounts figures for the fourth quarter of 2023. The figures, which will include the latest reading on the household-debt-to-income ratio, come as high interest rates continue to squeeze Canadians’ budgets.
Transat earnings
Travel company Transat AT Inc. will release its latest quarterly results on Thursday and hold a conference call with investors and financial analysts. Flight attendants at the company voted last month to approve a new contract that the Canadian Union of Public Employees says makes Air Transat flight attendants the highest paid in the industry.
Empire earnings
Empire Co. Ltd. will release its third-quarter results on Thursday and hold a conference call with financial analysts. The earnings come after Empire’s rivals Metro and Loblaw recently reported that their discount stores drove their recent sales growth as shoppers look for ways to save.
Economic data
Statistics Canada will fill in more details on how the economy fared in January this week. The agency is set to release its monthly survey of manufacturing for the month on Thursday followed by wholesale trade numbers on Friday.
Housing starts
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. is expected to release its latest reading on housing starts on Friday when it publishes the figures for February. The annual pace of starts in January slowed by 10 per cent compared with December, as the rate of starts for new multi-unit projects such as apartments, condominiums and townhouses pulled back.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 10, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:TRZ, TSX:EMP.A)
