Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
Israeli forces storm southern Gaza’s main hospital in search of hostages’ remains
Israeli forces stormed Nasser hospital in Gaza with the intention to seek the remains of hostages taken by Hamas. Hours earlier, Israeli fire killed one patient and wounded six others in the facility.
Israeli troops had besieged the hospital for nearly a week with hundreds of staff, patients and others inside struggling under heavy fire as crucial supplies dwindled. The military said it had “credible intelligence” that Hamas had held hostages at Nasser Hospital and that the hostages’ remains might still be inside.
Meanwhile, the risk of the conflict widening grew as Hezbollah fired rockets at northern Israel in response to the killing of 10 civilians in southern Lebanon, which was the deadliest day for Lebanese casualties since the cross-border fighting began.
Read more:
- Yasser Khan: As a doctor in Gaza, I came face to face with unimaginable suffering
- Trudeau warns Israel of ‘catastrophic’ consequences of pending Rafah offensive
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Canadian Tire profit falls nearly 68%
Canadian Tire Corp. Ltd. reported a sharp drop in sales and profit for the fourth quarter. The share price fell by more than 3 per cent on Thursday, and the stock was trading near its 52-week low.
As one of Canada’s largest retailers, Canadian Tire has a broad perspective on the consumer economy. The flagship chain continued to see categories considered essential – such as pet care and automotive services – outperform discretionary purchases. Its credit-card business revealed that apparel sales were under pressure across the industry, with many retailers offering deeper markdowns. And unusually mild weather had an impact at all of its banners, including lower sales of winter items such as boots at Mark’s, and outerwear and skis at Sport Chek.
Debris left by fans near the scene where shots were earlier fired near the Kansas City Super Bowl victory parade in Kansas City, Mo., Feb. 14, 2024.DOMINICK WILLIAMS/The New York Times News Service
Kansas City police link Super Bowl rally shooting to personal dispute, not terror
A personal dispute and not extremism was behind the deadly shooting that took place at the Super Bowl parade in Kansas City yesterday, the police said.
The number of gunshot victims rose to 23, ranging from ages 8 to 47, and the death toll remained one. At least nine children were among those hit by bullets.
Two juveniles and an adult are being held as suspects in the shooting. The violence erupted as “a dispute between several people,” Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves said at a press conference.
Read more:
ALSO ON OUR RADAR
EV battery deal in Quebec: U.S. auto giant General Motors Co. and Japan’s Panasonic Holdings Corp. will buy electric vehicle battery materials from Nouveau Monde Graphite Inc. and invest in the company, buoying the Quebec miner’s prospects in its bid to become a go-to critical mineral supplier for North America.
Donald Trump updates: The former president’s hush-money trial will go ahead as scheduled with jury selection starting on March 25, a New York judge ruled today, turning aside demands for a delay from Trump’s defence lawyers. Also, Fani Willis, the prosecutor overseeing the election interference case against Trump in Georgia, testified on today about his claims that her romance with a colleague presented a financial conflict of interest.
Missile strikes in Russian city of Belgorod: Ukrainian strikes on the city injured more than a dozen people and killed seven, including a child. It’s the latest in an exchange of long-range missile and rocket fire in the war between the two countries.
Cineplex deal with Lionsgate draws criticism: Independent Canadian film distributors are accusing Cineplex Entertainment of engaging in unfair competition over the theatre chain’s recent renewal of its distribution agreement with the studio Lionsgate until Dec. 31, 2024.
MARKET WATCH
TSX posts biggest gain in two months as resource shares jump
Canada’s main stock index on Thursday posted its biggest advance in two months, with resources leading broad-based gains, as weaker-than-expected U.S. retail sales data raised prospects of an early start to Federal Reserve interest rate cuts.
The S&P/TSX composite index ended up 333.29 points at 21,222.69. It was the index’s biggest gain since Dec. 13 but stopped short of its recent 21-month high at 21,227.87. The S&P 500 gained 29.05 points to end at 5,029.67 points, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 47.03 points to 15,906.17. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 350.07 points to 38,774.73.
The Canadian dollar traded for 74.11 cents UScompared with 73.80 cents US on Wednesday.
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TALKING POINTS
Doug Ford’s government of gimmicks presents its next schtick
“By waving his arms, tossing his cape and shouting ‘Carbon Tax Referendum!’, Mr. Ford also creates a useful diversion from some of the more substantive issues the government would prefer Ontarians ignore.” – Robyn Urback
The ArriveCan app is the graveyard of accountability and common sense
“Government can’t be run like a business, but that doesn’t exempt it from accountability and common sense.” – The Editorial Board
Australia’s centre-left Labor government points the way for Canada’s Liberals on immigration
“While Australia’s centre-left federal government has finally moved – however reluctantly – to fix a ‘broken’ immigration system, Canada’s is still in denial.” – Konrad Yakabuski
LIVING BETTER
This image released by Universal Pictures shows Emily Blunt in a scene from "Oppenheimer."Melinda Sue Gordon/The Associated Press
What to watch this weekend
- Streaming on Crave, Red Rooms mixes the modern folklore of the internet with the pulse-pounding tension of a classic whodunnit.
- The Beekeeper is streaming on multiple platforms and turns trash into dumpster-diving treasure.
- Lastly, patient Christopher Nolan fans are finally rewarded this weekend, when Oppenheimer hits streaming on Prime Video.
To help you navigate the choppy digital waves, you can also read the full version of The Globe’s best bets for weekend streaming.
TODAY’S LONG READ
The 2024 Globe and Mail Digital Brokerage Ranking
There are several options when it comes to using digital brokerages to invest your money in Canada. Rob Carrick had a look at what’s available and ranked the offerings. The ranking considers the design of websites and apps for mobile devices, portfolio management tools, resources for researching stocks and ETFs and the process for opening accounts and transferring in money. One Big Five bank’s service tops the list – again. See the full ranking.
Evening Update is written by Sierra Bein and Prajakta Dhopade. If you’d like to receive this newsletter by e-mail every weekday evening, go here to sign up. If you have any feedback, send us a note.