HEADLINES
Retail Trade Remains Soft After Fall in September
After a drop in trade in September, flat sales seen by Canadian retailers last month point to cracks in the consumers' resilience as the fallout from the trade war with the U.S. lingers.
An advance tally of receipts by Statistics Canada indicates retail sales were relatively unchanged in October.
That comes after a retreat in September sales, and a slowdown in growth over the third quarter as household worries about job security and costs persist, and the federal government's efforts to reduce immigration slow once-booming population growth.
Canada Secures Pledge of Up to $50 Billion Investment From U.A.E., Closer Trade Ties
Prime Minister Mark Carney has secured new agreements with the United Arab Emirates and a pledge up to $50 billion will be invested in Canada.
During a visit, Carney and President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates, signed a Canada-U.A.E. Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement that lays out rules for investors and seeks to ensure a stable business environment to unlock billions in bilateral investment.
The U.A.E. president said the launch of an investment framework had been agreed between the countries under which his government will invest in several vital sectors in Canada. Under the terms of the agreement, the U.A.E. will invest in energy, artificial intelligence, logistics, mining and other priority national and strategic industries in Canada.
Dye & Durham Confirms Unsolicited Bid from Plantro
Dye & Durham confirmed it has received an unsolicited takeover bid from investment firm Plantro.
The company said its strategic committee is currently reviewing the proposal and that it doesn't intend to make any further public announcements regarding rumors or speculation, unless a disclosure is warranted.
Dye & Durham's stock rose 17.7% to C$3.19.
Lululemon Names Andre Maestrini President as Celeste Burgoyne Departs
Lululemon Athletica's president of the Americas and global guest innovation, Celeste Burgoyne, is leaving the athletic apparel maker to join ski-resort operator Vail Resorts.
Lululemon said it will consolidate regional leadership across the Vancouver, British Columbia, company under Andre Maestrini, who is taking on the newly created post of president and chief commercial officer.
Maestrini joined Lululemon in 2021 as executive vice president of international.
Recent Leadership Changes Seen as Negative
Magna International Working With GAC Group on Building EVs in Europe
Magna International is working with the Chinese automaker Guangzhou Automobile Group Co. to build more electric vehicles in Europe.
GAC Group's SUV Aion V has debuted in Finland, Poland and Portugal, and the company plans to expand into additional European markets, with Magna's help.
The Canadian car parts maker said its Graz facility in Austria can produce internal combustion, hybrid and electric vehicles on shared lines, it said. The partnership will allow Magna to bring locally assembled EVs to European customers.
Star Diamond Names New Board Chair, Interim CEO
Star Diamond named an interim successor for its retiring chief executive and added several members to its board, including a new chair.
The Canadian natural resource company said it named Lester Kemp as interim chief executive, succeeding Ewan Mason who was set to retire Thursday.
Kemp co-founded Mantle Diamonds, which operated two diamond mines in Lesotho and Botswana. He was a non-executive director of Levin Sources, a consulting firm specializing in sustainable mining.
Wayne Malouf, who has served as board director since August, has accepted the role of board chair.
TALKING POINT
Mexico Has Jumped Past Canada to Become the U.S.'s Top Customer
By Jason Kirby of The Globe and Mail
For decades, Canada has been the largest foreign buyer of U.S. goods, a point Ottawa and the provinces have stressed in their push to get the Trump administration to lower its tariffs on Canadian goods.
Now Mexico has surpassed Canada to become the U.S.'s top customer.
In recent years, as Mexico steadily closed the gap in buying U.S. stuff, there were occasional months when it actually edged out Canada for the top spot.
But in July and August, Mexico's imports of U.S. goods soared, topping Canada's purchases by a combined US$4.9 billion, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
The decline in U.S. exports to Canada is partly owing to Ottawa's countertariffs on certain U.S. goods, which made them more expensive. All those retaliatory duties were lifted in September.
Consumer boycotts of U.S. products and bans by some provinces of U.S. alcohol are also weighing on demand.
For Mexico, the biggest factor propelling it as a buyer of U.S. goods is also what has helped fuel its success this year as an exporter to the U.S.: computer equipment.
There's been a large increase in the flow of tech hardware both ways between Mexico and the U.S. since the Trump administration slapped steep tariffs on China.
Computer equipment manufacturers have rushed to shift production away from China, and Mexico has been a big beneficiary of that trend.
That's made it a top destination for U.S.-made equipment, including semiconductors.
During July and August U.S. shipments of computers, servers, chips and other equipment to Mexico surged 426% from the year before to nearly US$4.4 billion.
This isn't the first trade title Canada has lost to Mexico. Canada was once the largest exporter to the U.S., too, but was overtaken first by China in 2009 before falling to third place behind Mexico in 2016.
Expected Major Events for Monday
09:00/GER: Nov ifo Business Climate Index
13:30/US: Oct Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI)
13:30/CAN: 3Q Quarterly financial statistics for enterprises
15:30/US: Nov Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey
17:00/US: Annual Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization annual revision
17:59/UK: Oct Adzuna UK Job Market Report
23:30/JPN: Sep Final Labour Survey - Earnings, Employment & Hours Worked
All times in GMT. Powered by Onclusive and Dow Jones.
Expected Earnings for Monday
ALT5 Sigma Corp $(ALTS)$ is expected to report $-0.36 for 3Q.
Agilent Technologies Inc $(A)$ is expected to report $1.44 for 4Q.
Alico Inc $(ALCO)$ is expected to report $-0.39 for 4Q.
Alimentation Couche Tard Inc (ATD.T) is expected to report for 2Q.
Blue Bird Corp (BLBD) is expected to report $1.03 for 4Q.
Broadway Financial Corp $(BYFC)$ is expected to report for 3Q.
Central Garden & Pet Co (CENT,CENTA) is expected to report $-0.19 for 4Q.
Fluence Energy Inc $(FLNC)$ is expected to report $0.19 for 4Q.
Keysight Technologies Inc (KEYS) is expected to report $1.61 for 4Q.
Peak Discovery Capital Ltd (PEC.H.V) is expected to report for 2Q.
PennantPark Floating Rate Capital Ltd (PFLT) is expected to report $0.29 for 4Q.
PennantPark Investment $(PNNT)$ is expected to report $0.17 for 4Q.
Semtech Corp $(SMTC)$ is expected to report $0.23 for 3Q.
StoneX Group Inc $(SNEX)$ is expected to report $1.58 for 4Q.
Symbotic Inc $(SYM)$ is expected to report $-0.04 for 4Q.
Waldencast PLC $(WALD)$ is expected to report $-0.10 for 2Q.
Waldencast PLC (WALD) is expected to report $-0.08 for 3Q.
Woodward Inc $(WWD)$ is expected to report $1.87 for 4Q.
Zoom Communications Inc (ZM) is expected to report $0.82 for 3Q.
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This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 21, 2025 16:29 ET (21:29 GMT)
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