Everything You Need to Know on Thursday: TD Bank Misses Expectations After US$26-Billion Hit from US Investigation

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

● S&P/TSX 60 Index Standard Futures are trading at 1,385.60, down 0.06% from previous close

● National rail shutdown begins as employees locked out at both major Canadian railways

● TD Bank misses expectations after US$26-billion hit from U.S. investigation

● Bronfman offers US$4.3 billion for Paramount Global as bidding war heats up

Today, the Canadian dollar is trading at 73.52 cents US, a slight increase as previous close.

S&P/TSX 60 Index Standard Futures are trading at 1,385.60, down 0.06% from previous close.

In a first for Canada, freight traffic on its two largest railways has simultaneously ground to a halt, threatening to upend supply chains trying to move forward from pandemic-related disruptions and a port strike last year.

The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference has begun posting pictures to social media of workers from Halifax to Vancouver setting up picket lines.

The impasse also affects tens of thousands of commuters in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, whose lines run on CPKC-owned tracks. Passenger trains cannot run on those rails without the locked-out traffic controllers to dispatch them.

GO Transit warned Thursday morning that its service “may be busier than usual.”

Toronto-Dominion Bank is taking a provision of US$2.6 billion for fines it expects to pay for failures in its money-laundering controls, and has sold part of its stake in Charles Schwab Corp. to fund it.

Canada’s second-biggest bank made the announcement on Wednesday after markets closed. Its Schwab stake will fall to 10.1% from 12.3%.

Chief executive Bharat Masrani said the bank recognizes the seriousness of the deficiencies in its anti-money laundering program.

"TD continues to work constructively with our regulators and law enforcement towards resolution of our U.S. AML matters and looks forward to bringing additional clarity to our shareholders, clients and other stakeholders," Masrani said in the press release.

The media executive and Seagram Co. spirits heir is offering to buy National Amusements Inc., the Redstone family holding company that owns the majority of Paramount’s voting stock, for about US$2.4 billion, including liabilities, according to the person, who asked to not be identified because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly.

Bronfman also plans to invest US$1.5 billion in Paramount to reduce the company’s debt, receiving shares worth US$16 each in exchange. Non-Redstone holders of the company’s Class A voting stock will have the option of receiving US$24.53-a-share in cash or 1.53 Class B shares. Within two years, Bronfman plans to eliminate Paramount’s dual-share classes, extending voting privileges to all investors.

Bronfman plans to pay a US$400 million breakup fee for the Skydance deal. Overall, he’s raised US$5.5 billion, with plans to sweeten his offer later.

Paramount nonvoting shares closed down 1.2 per cent to US$10.94 in New York. The Wall Street Journal reported on the Bronfman offer late Monday.