Everything You Need to Know on Wednesday: Goldman Sachs Upgrades Shopify to Buy

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

● S&P/TSX 60 Index Standard Futures are trading at 1,337.70, down 0.52%

● Inflation data 'all clear' for Bank of Canada interest rate cut in June, economists say

● Goldmans Sachs upgrades Shopify to Buy

● CAE down 12% as it takes a charge against fiscal Q4 results on a re-baselining of Its defense business

● TD bank seeks prompt worldwide settlement in drug money laundering investigations

Statistics Canada announced on Tuesday that the annual inflation rate in Canada decreased to 2.7 percent in April, a drop from the 2.9 percent recorded in the previous month. CIBC's Executive Director of Economics, Andrew Grantham, interpreted the data as giving the "all clear" for the Bank of Canada to initiate reductions in interest rates.

"At the time of the April interest rate decision, the Bank of Canada Governor stated that policymakers were encouraged by recent subdued inflation readings, but needed those to persist for longer before cutting interest rates," he wrote in a note to clients.

"Since then we have received two more months of data pointing to tame underlying inflation, for a total of four in a row, and because of that we continue to forecast a first rate cut at the next meeting in June."

The flight-simulator company it will take a $568-million charge in a write down of goodwill, as well as $90.3 million for unfavorable adjustments and a $35.7-milion charge to write down "related intangible assets" in its fiscal fourth-quarter, which will be released on May 27.

"Because our Defense performance has fallen well short of our expectations, we have taken measures to re-baseline the business, including a leadership reorganization and further targeted operational changes at the segment and corporate executive management levels. The impairments and the accelerated risk recognition on the Legacy Contracts are a disappointing but necessary step to account for the programmatic risks we previously identified and provide a clearer path to margin improvement," chief executive Marc Parent said in a release.

In a direct appeal to the bank's staff through various communications on Monday, including a video conference with around 1,800 key executives, CEO Bharat Masrani acknowledged the severity of the situation, cautioning that challenges may escalate before they subside.

"We are working toward a prompt resolution and aiming for a comprehensive settlement," Masrani conveyed, as per a transcript of the town-hall meeting obtained by Bloomberg News. "However, it's imperative that we maintain our dignity throughout this process."

On the same day, Masrani was present in Hollywood, Florida, for a summit with the bank’s regional leaders in the U.S. to discuss strategies for combating money laundering, and he later issued a company-wide email reiterating the key points from the earlier meeting.

The bank is currently under scrutiny from three regulatory bodies and the U.S. Department of Justice. The latter's investigation is linked to a case involving US$653 million suspected to be drug money laundered through operations in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Sources briefed on the matter informed Bloomberg recently. The focus of the inquiry is on the alleged use of Toronto-Dominion and other financial institutions by Chinese criminal organizations to conceal proceeds from the sale of fentanyl in the U.S., as reported by the Wall Street Journal the previous week.