Global Markets: King Charles delivers throne speech
The following is a glance at the news moving markets in Canada and globally.
– King Charles III will deliver the Throne Speech to open the 45th Parliament in Ottawa later today. It would be the third time the sitting monarch will deliver the speech to open a parliamentary session after Charles’ mother Queen Elizabeth II did so in 1957 and 1977. The King was invited to deliver the speech by Prime Minister Mark Carney in response to sovereignty threats from United States President Donald Trump.
– The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, along with the Gulf Cooperation Council and China began a first-of-its-kind economic summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia earlier today. Seventeen nations in total took part in the meeting, which was designed to increase economic ties between the nations and to create solidarity in the face of U.S. tariffs. The participating countries have a combined GDP of approximately US$25 trillion.
– Hudson’s Bay Company will terminate the employment of 8,347 of its workers, or 89 per cent of its workforce, when its stores close on June 1, according to a court motion filed on Monday. An additional 899 employees will also be let go by June 15. The retailer founded in 1620 filed for creditor protection earlier this year and its brands and intellectual property were bought by Canadian Tire Corporation Ltd. for C$30 million earlier this month.
– The former Merit Functional Foods protein processing plant in Winnipeg found a new buyer more than two years after entering receivership. A Manitoba numbered company entered into an asset sale purchase agreement as of April 29, according to court documents. Merit Foods owed C$58.5 million to Export Development Canada and C$36.5 million to Farm Credit Canada when it shut down operations in 2023.
