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Seeding nearing completion across Sask.: crop report

Seeding nearing completion across Sask.: crop report

CTV News2 days ago

Seeding across Saskatchewan is now 97 per cent complete, according to the latest provincial crop report.
The southwest, west-central, and northeast parts of the province are 99 per cent complete, the northwest is 98 per cent complete, while the southeast and east-central regions are 95 per cent complete.
Overall, seeding for field peas, spring wheat, durum, barley, triticale, canola, lentils, mustard, flax and oats is complete or nearly complete, while seeding progress for chickpeas, canary seed, soybeans, and perennial forage are the furthest behind.
During the reporting period from May 27 to June 2, producers in the province saw minimal rain, with the highest rainfall reported in the Eldon area at 11 millimetres. The Meadow Lake area received eight millimetres, but most areas did not report any rainfall, the province said.
While topsoil moisture continued to decline during the reporting period, producers across the province reported mostly good crop emergence with some reports of spotty emergence in later seeded crops, the report said.
Of the crops that have emerged, most have been reported in good to fair condition, with minor crop damage reported overall due to dry conditions, wind, and heat. Some producers also reported some minor crop damage from flea beetle, cutworm, grasshopper, and wireworm pressure, as well as wildlife.
Producers are now busy with seeding and spraying, rock picking, land rolling, and moving cattle out to pasture, the province said.
For the full crop report, click here.

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What it would take to convert a jet from Qatar into Air Force One to safely fly Trump
What it would take to convert a jet from Qatar into Air Force One to safely fly Trump

CTV News

time33 minutes ago

  • CTV News

What it would take to convert a jet from Qatar into Air Force One to safely fly Trump

WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump really wants to fly on an upgraded Air Force One — but making that happen could depend on whether he's willing to cut corners with security. As government lawyers sort out the legal arrangement for accepting a luxury jet from the Qatari royal family, another crucial conversation is unfolding about modifying the plane so it's safe for the American president. Installing capabilities equivalent to the decades-old 747s now used as Air Force One would almost certainly consign the project to a similar fate as Boeing's replacement initiative, which has been plagued by delays and cost overruns. Air Force Secretary Troy Meink told lawmakers Thursday that those security modifications would cost less than US$400 million but provided no details. Satisfying Trump's desire to use the new plane before the end of his term could require leaving out some of those precautions, however. 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The first aircraft to get the designation was a propeller-powered C-54 Skymaster, which ferried Franklin D. Roosevelt to the Yalta Conference in 1945. It featured a conference room with a bulletproof window. Things are a lot more complicated these days. Boeing has spent years stripping down and rebuilding two 747s to replace the versions that have carried presidents for more than three decades. The project is slated to cost more than $5.3 billion and may not be finished before Trump leaves office. A 2021 report made public through the Freedom of Information Act outlines the unclassified requirements for the replacement 747s under construction. At the top of the list — survivability and communications. The government decided more than a decade ago that the new planes had to have four engines so they could remain airborne if one or two fail, said Deborah Lee James, who was Air Force secretary at the time. That creates a challenge because 747s are no longer manufactured, which could make spare parts harder to come by. Air Force One also has to have the highest level of classified communications, anti-jamming capabilities and external protections against foreign surveillance, so the president can securely command military forces and nuclear weapons during a national emergency. It's an extremely sensitive and complex system, including video, voice and data transmissions. James said there are anti-missile measures and shielding against radiation or an electromagnetic pulse that could be caused by a nuclear blast. 'The point is, it remains in flight no matter what,' she said. Will Trump want all the security bells and whistles? If the Qatari plane is retrofitted to presidential standards, it could cost $1.5 billion and take years, according to a U.S. official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide details that aren't publicly available. 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After all, Boeing has already scaled back its original plans for the new 747s. Their range was trimmed by 1,200 nautical miles, and the ability to refuel while airborne was scrapped. Paul Eckloff, a former leader of protection details at the Secret Service, expects the president would get the final say. 'The Secret Service's job is to plan for and mitigate risk,' he said. 'It can never eliminate it.' If Trump does waive some requirements, James said that should be kept under wraps because 'you don't want to advertise to your potential adversaries what the vulnerabilities of this new aircraft might be.' It's unlikely that Trump will want to skimp on the plane's appearance. He keeps a model of a new Air Force One in the Oval Office, complete with a darker color scheme that echoes his personal jet instead of the light blue design that's been used for decades. What happens next? Trump toured the Qatari plane in February when it was parked at an airport near Mar-a-Lago, his Florida resort. 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Even so, the aircraft will have to be tested and flown in real-world conditions to ensure no other issues. James said it remains to be seen how Trump would handle any of those challenges. 'The normal course of business would say there could be delays in certifications,' she said. 'But things seem to get waived these days when the president wants it.' AP writer Lolita C. Baldor in Washington contributed to this report. Tara Copp And Chris Megerian, The Associated Press

Bank of Canada head Tiff Macklem says mandate should evolve in a ‘shock-prone' world
Bank of Canada head Tiff Macklem says mandate should evolve in a ‘shock-prone' world

CTV News

time34 minutes ago

  • CTV News

Bank of Canada head Tiff Macklem says mandate should evolve in a ‘shock-prone' world

Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem takes part in an interview at the Bank of Canada in Ottawa on Wednesday, June 4, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick OTTAWA — Tiff Macklem is wearing an Edmonton Oilers pin as he reflects on coming very close to beating big odds. It's a significant day for the governor of the Bank of Canada: he's just laid out his reasons to the entire country and a global audience for keeping the central bank's benchmark interest rate steady for a second straight time. That night is also Game 1 of the NHL's Stanley Cup finals; Macklem ends his press conference with a hearty 'Go Oilers!' It's a rematch from last year's heartbreak, when the Oilers came oh-so-close to mounting a seemingly impossible four-game comeback against the Florida Panthers, only to fall short by a single goal in Game 7. Macklem, too, was almost safe to declare victory last year. He had just about secured a coveted 'soft landing' for Canada's economy — a rare feat that sees restrictive monetary policy bring down surging levels of inflation without tipping the economy into a prolonged downturn. 'We got inflation down. We didn't cause a recession,' Macklem said in an interview with The Canadian Press after the rate announcement Wednesday. 'And, to be frank, until President (Donald) Trump started threatening the economy with new tariffs, we were actually seeing growth pick up.' Fresh out of one crisis, the central bank now must contend with another in U.S. tariffs. Five years into his tenure as head of the Bank of Canada, Macklem said he sees the central bank's role in stickhandling the economy — as well as Canada's role on the world stage — evolving. Many Canadians have become more familiar with the Bank of Canada in recent years. After the COVID-19 pandemic recovery ignited inflation, the central bank's rapid tightening cycle and subsequent rate cuts were top-line news for anxious Canadians stressed about rising prices and borrowing costs. That was all in pursuit of meeting the central bank's inflation target of two per cent, part of a mandate from the federal government that's up for review next year. Macklem said the past few years have led the Bank of Canada to scrutinize some of its metrics, like core inflation and how it responds to supply shocks in the economy. But he defends keeping the bank's inflation target, particularly at a time of global upheaval. 'Our flexible inflation targeting framework has just been through the biggest test it's ever had in the 30 years since we announced the inflation target,' he said. 'I'm not going to pretend it's been an easy few years for anybody. But I think the framework has performed well.' Macklem said, however, that he sees room to build out the mandate to address other areas of concern from Canadians, such as housing affordability. Whether it's the high cost of rent or a mortgage, or surging prices for groceries and vehicles, Macklem said the past few years have been eye-opening to Canadians who weren't around the last time inflation hit double digits in the 1980s. 'Unfortunately, a whole new generation of Canadians now know what inflation feels like, and they didn't like it one bit,' he said. Monetary policy itself can't make homes more affordable, he noted — in a nutshell, high interest rates make mortgages more expensive while low rates can push up the price of housing itself because they stoke demand. But Macklem said one of the things he's reflecting on is that inflation can get worse when the economy isn't operating at its potential or when it's facing great disruption. 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'International co-operation, to be honest, has never been easy. It is particularly difficult right now, but that doesn't make it less important. That makes it more important,' he said. 'I do think Canada, as the chair of the G7, has a leadership role to play.' The Bank of Canada is also changing the way it has conversations with Canadians and the kind of data it considers. A day after the June interest rate decision, deputy governor Sharon Kozicki told a Toronto business crowd how the central bank is using data more nimbly, relying heavily on surveys and more granular information to make monetary policy decisions in an uncertain time. These sources offer a faster way to see what's happening on the ground in the economy than traditional statistical models allow. Macklem said the central bank would previously have dismissed most supply shocks as transitory — likely to pass without the need for central bank adjustments, such as rising and falling oil prices. But he said the Bank of Canada needs to be running a more 'nuanced playbook' now to respond to some increasingly common shocks: supply chain disruptions, trade conflicts and extreme weather to name a few. An overheating economy running up against a supply disruption is the kind of inflationary fire Macklem is trying to avoid in this latest crisis. 'The economy does not work well when inflation is high,' he said. 'And the primary role of the Bank of Canada is to ensure that Canadians maintain confidence in price stability. That's all we can do for the Canadian economy. That's what we can do for Canadians. And that's what we're focused on.' Later in the day on Wednesday, the Edmonton Oilers took Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals. The Canadian team was down but roared back to win 4-3 in overtime. It's still early in the Bank of Canada's response to the latest global shock. But with any luck, Macklem's team might also get a leg up with lessons learned the last time they faced big odds. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 7, 2025. Craig Lord, The Canadian Press

Is American Express Worth Buying Right Now?
Is American Express Worth Buying Right Now?

Globe and Mail

timean hour ago

  • Globe and Mail

Is American Express Worth Buying Right Now?

American Express (NYSE: AXP) is one of the stocks owned by Warren Buffett within Berkshire Hathaway 's stock portfolio. That fact alone is enough to get some investors to buy the stock. However, you really need to consider other factors, like the business behind the stock, as well as its price tag. Here's a look at whether American Express is worth buying right now. American Express has a great business American Express is a financial giant, acting largely as a payment processor. The company's logo adorns credit cards that get used in retail establishments and online. Each transaction generates fee income for American Express. It issues its own cards, too, so it generates card/membership fees directly from customers there, as well. One differentiation between American Express and its peers is that Amex, as it is often called, focuses on more affluent customers. Wealthier consumers tend to be more resilient during economic downturns. Basically, they have the money to keep spending even as less affluent consumers hunker down. That means that Amex's business will usually perform relatively well during recessions and other periods of economic uncertainty. So far, 2025 has been filled with uncertainty. From tariff fights to stock market corrections, the news has been filled with negative headlines. In fact, American Express' stock price fell along with the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) earlier in the year. And it has recovered along with the index as well, as investors regained confidence. What's notable, however, is that American Express' price moves have been more dramatic than the market's moves. AXP data by YCharts American Express is still below its high-water mark That's an interesting sign, since it could mean that Amex's stock has more recovery potential ahead of it. Given the strength of its business model, that isn't an unreasonable assessment. However, there's also a negative way to view the price swing. It could very well be that investors got overly enthusiastic about the business and bid the price up to unrealistic levels earlier in the year. And the return toward those levels just indicates that investors are, again, being overzealous with their expectations. A look at traditional valuation metrics, perhaps unfortunately, suggests the second explanation is the more likely one. American Express' price-to-sales ratio is currently around 3.1, compared to a five-year average of 2.6. The price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio is currently about 20.5, versus a longer-term average of just under 19. And the price-to-book value ratio is 6.6 today, compared to a five-year average of roughly 5. All three metrics suggest that American Express is expensive today. And they are buttressed by a nontraditional valuation tool: dividend yield, which falls as share price rises. American Express' dividend yield is about 1.1% today. Not only is that less than the already miserly 1.3% yield you could collect from the S&P 500 index, but it is also near the lowest levels of the past decade. Again, the direction is pretty clear: Amex looks expensive. American Express is a great business There's a reason Warren Buffett owns American Express. It is a well-run business with some clear advantages over its peers. Buffett didn't just buy Amex -- he's owned it for many years. And sticking with a good company is part of Buffett's investment approach. However, Buffett's mentor, Benjamin Graham, made an important observation that investors looking at American Express today should heed: Even great companies can be bad investments if you pay too much for them. And it looks like American Express is too expensive right now. Should you invest $1,000 in American Express right now? Before you buy stock in American Express, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and American Express wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $674,395!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $858,011!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor 's total average return is997% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to172%for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 2, 2025

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