Watch BNN Bloomberg live.Canada’s biggest company, Royal Bank of Canada, bested analyst expectations last quarter as the lender saw higher revenue and less money set aside for bad loans.
RBC’s adjusted earnings per share came in at $3.07 in the fourth quarter, slightly ahead of the $3.03 expected . The bank set aside $840 million in provisions for credit losses during the quarter, less than the $846 that analysts were expecting. Revenue came in at $15.1 billion, also ahead of the $14.8 billion analysts were expecting. Royal’s shares have already gained 30 per cent this year and Jefferies analyst John Aiken said in a note to clients that he thinks the stock will likely add to that tally today as the market digests the bank’s numbers.
. Policy makers including the central bank are doing their best to calm domestic and foreign investors today as markets are open and trading as normal.The proposed US$60 billion buyout of Seven & i Holdings Co. includes plans for an initial public offering of its North American convenience stores and gasoline stations,.
. Same store sales grew 2.4 per cent, less than the 2.8 per cent expected, while total sales came in at US$1.96 billion. That’s a decline of 1.4 per cent and less than the $2.02 billion expected. The company’s quarterly loss came in at 34 cents per share, worse than last year and worse than analysts were hoping for. The company is closing stores and now has 691 in the U.S. That’s a decline of six per cent compared to this time last year. The shares are off 19 per cent premarket.