Everything You Need to Know on Friday: Paramount Resources Sells $75 Million In NuVista Shares

Good morning mooers! Here are things you need to know about today's market:

● S&P/TSX 60 Index Standard Futures are trading at 1,334.40, up 0.38%.

● Canadians are concerned about federal deficit, believe Ottawa is spending 'too much'

● EIA expects US natural gas inventories to remain high through 2025

● Canada to allow 30-year amortization for first-time buyers' mortgages on new homes

● Stocks to watch: Paramount Resources, Corus Entertainment

Today, the Canadian dollar is trading at 72.74 cents US, a slight decrease from Thursday.

The S&P/TSX 60 Index Standard Futures (SXF) are currently trading at 1,334.40, which is up 0.38% from the previous close.

The survey, which interviewed 1,602 adults from March 20-22, found that 59 per cent believe that the federal government is spending “too much.”

The majority (64 per cent) of respondents said they are “concerned” (29 per cent) or “very concerned” (37 per cent) about the federal deficit which is projected to be about $40 billion for 2024-25.

Conservative voters are the most worried with 68 per cent stating they are “very concerned” about Canada’s balance sheet. The majority of Liberal (40 per cent) and NDP (34 per cent) voters said they are “not that concerned,” while Bloc Québécois voters (47 per cent) expressed concern.

Most respondents believe Ottawa is spending too much money on foreign aid (59 per cent), reconciliation or Indigenous programs (39 per cent) and environmental programs (32 per cent).

That said, there are some areas where they would like to see increased spending, with health care (67 per cent) being at the top of their list. Other areas include military or national defence (48 per cent), infrastructure (46 per cent) and social and economic development (34 per cent).

The US Energy Information Administration in a Thursday note said it expects natural gas inventories in the US to remain relatively high through 2025, mainly driven by mild winter weather.

US gas inventories ended the winter heating season at 2,290 billion cubic feet, 39% more than the five-year average, the EIA said. The relatively high level has contributed to record-low Henry Hub natural gas spot prices.

The surplus to the five-year average grew over winter 2023-2024 because of mild weather, low natural gas consumption and high gas production. Natural gas spot prices are expected to remain relatively low through 2025 as well, the EIA noted.

Relatively mild weather from November 2023 through March 2024 resulted in natural gas consumption in the residential and commercial sectors averaging 35 Bcf/d, 6% less than in the winter of 2022-2023 and 7% less than the five-year average. Less consumption this winter contributed to below-average gas storage withdrawals and higher inventories, the agency said.

The Canadian government will allow 30-year amortization periods on insured mortgages for first-time homebuyers purchasing newly built homes.

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland made the announcement in Toronto today, saying it would take effect Aug. 1.

The Canadian Home Builders' Association has advocated for longer amortization periods, saying five more years would help with affordability and spur more construction.

Freeland also said the government will nearly double — to $60,000 — the amount first-time homebuyers can withdraw from RRSPs to buy a home.

That's up from $35,000, to take effect April 16, the day the federal budget is set to be released.

People who make such withdrawals between Jan. 1, 2022, and Dec. 31, 2025, are also getting more time to begin repayment — up to five years in total rather than two.

Paramount sold the shares at $12.50 apiece in a block trade through the TSX. Paramount said it sold the NuVista shares to raise cash.

Following the transaction, Paramount's stake in NuVista dropped to 15.15% from 18.05%.

The television and radio broadcaster says the loss amounted to five cents per diluted share for the quarter ended Feb. 29 compared with a loss of eight cents per diluted share in the same quarter last year.

Revenue in what was the company's second quarter totalled $299.5 million, down from $343.9 million a year earlier.

The drop came as television revenue in the quarter fell to $278.1 million compared with $321.5 million last year, while radio revenue slipped to $21.5 million compared with $22.3 million a year earlier.

On an adjusted basis, Corus says it lost three cents per share in the quarter compared with an adjusted loss of seven cents per share a year earlier.

In its outlook, Corus says it expects a year-over-year decline in television advertising revenue in its third quarter in a range of 10 to 15 per cent. It also says amortization of TV program rights is expected to decline in the quarter by a similar range on a year-over-year basis and that it will continue cutting costs.

Source: BNN Bloomberg, Financial Post, MT Newswire