Category: BMO

Bank of Canada Expected to Hold Interest Rate on Wednesday

Economists from Canada’s major banks predict that the Bank of Canada will hold its key interest rate steady at 4.5 percent on Wednesday, as inflation in the country continues to slow. “After announcing a conditional pause on interest rate hikes in January, the central bank is widely expected to make a second consecutive decision to hold,”…


BMO Financial Group Signs Deal to Acquire Air Miles Loyalty Rewards Program

BMO Financial Group announced a deal Friday to acquire the Air Miles loyalty rewards program from LoyaltyOne Co. Financial terms of the agreement were not immediately available. Air Miles president Shawn Stewart called the deal a “significant step forward in solidifying the future of the Air Miles program.” The deal has “no impact on Air…


Canadians Now Expect to Need $1.7M in Order to Retire: BMO Survey

Canadians now believe they need $1.7 million in savings in order to retire, a 20 percent increase from 2020, according to a new BMO survey. The eye-watering figure is the largest sum since BMO first started surveying Canadians about their retirement expectations 13 years ago. It’s also a drastic increase from the $1.4 million in…


BMO CEO Addresses Suggestion to Designate Convoy Protesters as ‘Terrorists’ to Freeze Accounts

The CEO of Canadian bank BMO addressed on Jan. 19 the revelation that he had recommended to the finance minister that Freedom Convoy protesters be designated as “terrorists” to facilitate the freezing of their financial accounts last year. “I would never call the convoy protesters terrorists. What was said is that in order for the…


Interest Rate Hike Like a ‘Hammer to Housing’: BMO Senior Economist

A BMO Capital Markets senior economist says the Bank of Canada’s recent move to increase its key interest rate is setting up the housing market for an even deeper correction next year. Robert Kavcic says governor Tiff Macklem’s surprise one-percentage-point rate hike last week was like taking a hammer to the housing market. In a…


BMO Capital Upgrades PayPal to Outperform; Cuts Price Target By 19.4 Percent

BMO Capital analyst James Fotheringham upgraded PayPal Holdings Inc. to Outperform from Market Perform with a price target of $224, down from $278. The price target implies an 18.8 percent upside. Fotheringham cites valuation for the upgrade following 2021’s “de-rating,” where the stock went down from 51x to 28x on a rolling two-year-forward price-to-earnings basis. Tax-loss selling…


Rising Canadian Dollar a Headwind for Economic Rebound

The Canadian dollar’s strength is acting as a headwind for the country’s economic recovery, but its rally isn’t happening in isolation, as broad U.S. dollar weakness has been a trend since last spring