Canadian bank headquarters stand on Bay Street in TorontoBrent Lewi
Jerome Powell was not on President Donald Trump's early radar as a possible successor to Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen and was angling instead for a job as the U.S. central bank's vice chair for supervision. But when he was passed over for that position last summer, it was one in a chain of events that left the 64-year-old Fed governor and investment banker on the cusp of taking over as head of the world's most powerful central bank. Trump on Thursday nominated Powell to replace Yellen when her term expires in early February. Story
Digital currency bitcoin took another leap higher on Thursday, rocketing above $7,000 for the first time after a more than tenfold increase in its value over the past year. Story
DAILY DEALS
The U.S. Department of Justice is considering seeking to block AT&T Inc's merger with Time Warner Inc as it continues talks with the two companies, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. Story
Japan's SoftBank Group Corp said on Thursday it has secured a 2.65 trillion yen ($23.3 billion) senior loan agreement to refinance the acquisition loans for U.S. telco Sprint Corp (S.N) and British chip designer ARM. Reuters
Volkswagen could list its trucks business as a way to achieve its goal of turning the unit into a "global champion", a board member for the carmaker was quoted as saying in an interview. Reuters
ELSEWHERE IN FINANCE
Bank of England Governor Mark Carney has pulled a major prop from underneath the value of the pound by slapping a dovish line on the first interest-rate hike for a decade. Bloomberg
China's controls on capital outflow are putting a chill on some global commercial real-estate markets. The Wall Street Journal (subscribers)
President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed a bill repealing a regulation designed to make it easier for consumers to sue banks, handing the financial industry one of the biggest victories of his term. The Wall Street Journal (subscribers)
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Forward, faster: BMO's new CEO charts his course Story James Bradshaw (subscribers)
On his first day in office as Bank of Montreal's chief executive officer, Darryl White promoted a key lieutenant, giving retail banking head Cam Fowler new authority over some U.S. operations. Story James Bradshaw (subscribers)
Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. moved into global renewable-energy markets on Wednesday with the purchase of a portfolio owned by troubled Spanish energy company Abengoa S.A. Story Andrew Willis (subscribers)
The revival in Canadian mining initial public offerings (IPOs) is a boon not only for investment bankers, but Bay Street lawyers, too, who are coming off a few years in the wilderness. Story Niall McGee (subscribers)