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Treasury
IM Cannabis Closes $225,000 Convertible Note Financing
IM Cannabis (IMCC) said late Wednesday it has closed a $225,000 convertible note financing with an institutional investor, with an original issuance discount of 10%.The note bears an interest rate of 8% per annum, the firm said. It plans to use the net proceeds for general corporate purposes.
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Treasury
Canada's Economy Has Two Quarterly Contractions But It's "Not Out", Says TD
Canada's gross domestic product has now contracted for two consecutive quarters and the recession word is making the rounds again, said TD after Friday's Q1 GDP data. TD noted.Defining a recession in Canada isn't as straightforward as the popular "two consecutive quarters of negative GDP" rule of thumb, writes the bank in a note to clients.In Canada, recession is determined by the C.D. Howe Institute's Business Cycle Council (BCC), which evaluates economic downturns through three lenses: duration, amplitude, and scope. Its definition of a recession is "a pronounced, persistent, and pervasive decline in aggregate economic activity." That means even a single quarter of GDP contraction could ultimately be judged a recession if weakness is pronounced and becomes broad-based.Conversely, two quarters of contraction do not automatically qualify, TD pointed out.The last time the BCC weighed in on the issue, in September 2025, it concluded that the economy had not met the threshold for a recession despite a quarterly decline in GDP.Today, the Canadian economy is clearly operating below capacity, which is not surprising given the uncertainty surrounding CUSMA negotiations and broader trade tensions, stated the bank.However, the details matter, added TD. Aside from a surge in imports, the weakness in Q1 GDP was driven by a pullback in government spending and a decline in investment in structures. On the industry side, the softness is most evident in trade-exposed industries.At the same time, several factors point in the opposite direction. Given Canada's population decline, GDP per capita is growing, consumer spending, while soft, is still expanding, and investment in machinery and equipment and intellectual property products increased at a healthy clip, noted the bank. Government spending is also likely to recover, as policymakers increasingly focus on supporting domestic growth and investing in defense and infrastructure.Indeed, Bank of Canada Deputy Governor Carolyn Rogers struck a similar note during her appearance in a parliamentary hearing on Monday, suggesting that applying the recession label in the current cycle is more challenging than in the past. Structural factors are increasingly constraining Canada's potential growth in both GDP and employment, blurring the line between expansion and recession.Taken together, the picture is more nuanced than the headline GDP figures would suggest, according to TD. The unweighted diffusion index of GDP by industry has yet to breach the recessionary threshold, while the flash industry GDP estimate points to growth in April.Given the two-quarter contraction in GDP, the BCC is likely to meet soon to make a more official assessment. But in the meantime, the term "technical recession' remains a media-friendly rule of thumb, rather than an accurate description of the broader economy, concluded the bank.
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Treasury
SocGen's EU Governments Weekly Bond Postioning Report
The weekly analysis of flows into eurozone government bonds shows that, for the week ended last Friday, investors were net buyers of Germany's Bunds, Italy's BTPs and Spain's SPGBs sovereign bonds, while net sellers of France's OATs, said Societe Generale.Bunds saw net buying over the week, continuing the trend of the previous 14 weeks, driven by non-domestic investors. Domestic investors were net sellers, extending the selling trend from the previous two weeks, with activity concentrated in the 20y+ sector, where banks and asset managers were the most active participants. Non-domestic investors were net buyers for the 15th consecutive week, primarily in the 5-10y and 20y+ sectors, led by asset managers.OATs experienced net selling, reversing the buying trend observed in the previous week and driven by non-domestic investors. Domestic investors were net buyers for the 19th consecutive week, with activity concentrated in the 10-20y and 2-5y segments, led mainly by asset managers. Meanwhile, non-domestic investors were net sellers, reversing the prior week's buying trend, driven by hedge funds and banks, with activity focused mainly in the 5-10y maturity segment.BTPs saw net buying, continuing the buying trend from the previous two weeks and driven by non-domestic investors. Domestic investors were net sellers, reversing the prior week's buying trend, with activity concentrated mainly in the 20y+ segment and led by asset managers. Non-domestic investors remained net buyers for the fifth consecutive week, driven primarily by hedge funds and asset managers, with activity focused on the 2-5y and 10-20y segments.SPGBs saw net buying, extending the buying trend of the previous seven weeks, driven by domestic investors. Domestic investors were net buyers for the third consecutive week, with activity concentrated in the 10-20y and 5-10y sectors and driven primarily by banks, insurers, and asset managers. Non-domestic investors were net sellers, reversing the buying trend from the previous seven weeks, with activity focused mainly in the 20y+ segment, driven largely by asset managers and banks.
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