Daily Wrap-up: Oil continues advance but data weighs

Oil continues advance but data weighs... Drug company stock drops, not Valeant this time... Energy firms invest record low for Alberta drilling rights... New CEO at Amaya...

Steve Randall
Oil continues advance but data weighs
The week ended with a flurry of data from some major economies with some negative impact on equities.

Despite oil prices rising by more than 2 per cent - the second day of strong gains - the main TSX index closed lower, tracking losses for Wall Street.

In New York, 2 of the main indexes slipped having closed at record highs in the previous session as weak data on retail and producer prices weighed. The Nasdaq closed slightly higher.

Asian markets closed mostly higher earlier in the day despite weak data from China. European markets closed mixed as GDP data showed disparity for the Eurozone bloc; Germany beat expectations, Italy failed to grow and the aggregate for the bloc was roughly in line with forecasts.
 
The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed down 48.61 (0.33 per cent)
The Dow Jones closed down 37.05 (0.20 per cent)
Oil is trending higher (Brent $47.13, WTI $44.65 at 4.30pm)
Gold is trending lower (1340.80 at 4.30pm)
The loonie is valued at U$0.7715
 
Drug company stock drops, not Valeant this time
The stock of drug company Concordia International slumped 39 per cent Friday as the firm announced a lower earnings forecast, suspended its dividend and lost its CFO.

The firm says that it has no liquidity or covenant concerns currently but it expects 2016 revenue to be as much as $80 million below the lower end of its previous forecast of $939 million.
 
Energy firms invest record low for Alberta drilling rights
Oil and gas drilling rights for provincially-owned land in Alberta would typically mean healthy revenue for the government but this year is on target for a record low.

Until the end of July, $75 million had been paid for the rights and at that pace the year-total will be $125 million. That’s around $100 million lower than any year since the sales schedule began almost 40 years ago; and way lower than the $3.5 billion record high set in 2011.

The NDP government were expecting the drop though and in its spring budget it forecast $95 million in land sales, a figure it may well exceed.
 
New CEO at Amaya
Montreal-based online gambling firm Amaya has announced that Rafi Ashkenaz has been appointed interim CEO following the departure Thursday of David Baazov.

The firm exceeded expectations for its second-quarter profit with earnings of 12 cents per share, up from 3 cents a year earlier. It also said that it is cutting expenses across its international offices and expects to make cut the size of its workforce.
 

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