HEADLINES

Lululemon Appoints a New Board Member Amid Calls for Change

Lululemon Athletica is adding former Levi Strauss Chief Executive Chip Bergh to its board as it faces off against its estranged founder, who has pushed for a board shake-up to reverse declining U.S. sales.

Bergh will succeed David Mussafer, the chairman and managing partner of private-equity firm Advent International. Mussafer has served as Lululemon's lead director since September 2014 and a board member from 2005 to 2010.

Lululemon also reported financial results for the period ended Feb. 1 that extended a string of disappointing results in the U.S. Net revenue increased 1% to $3.6 billion. But revenue in the Americas, its largest market, decreased 4%. By contrast, international revenue grew 17%.

Net income for the period fell 22% to $587 million from $748 million the prior year, hurt by higher levels of discounting.

Lululemon Continues Streak of Double-Digit International Growth

Telesat Shares Jump Following Narrower Fourth-Quarter Loss

Telesat's shares rallied Tuesday, extending the strong run this year after the Canadian satellite operator logged stronger-than-expected revenue in the latest quarter and flagged the prospect of what it calls a generational rise in global allied defense spending.

Shares rose 19.5% to C$58.12 in Toronto. On Nasdaq, the stock reversed a premarket drop and climbed 19.3% to US$42.34.

The company narrowed its fourth-quarter loss to C$433.2 million, or C$8.48 a share, from a year-earlier loss of C$447.2 million, or C$8.97 a share, which Telesat said was thanks largely to a foreign exchange gain in the latest period versus a loss the year before.

Existing Home Sales Dropped 1.3% in February

Canada's housing market continues to struggle, with sales and prices pulling back again in February and new supply erasing the growth notched in the first month of the year.

National sales of existing homes fell for a fourth straight month, declining 1.3% from the month before in February, the Canadian Real Estate Association said Tuesday. Sales for the month were 8.1% below year-earlier levels on an unadjusted basis.

Home resales have now retreated in five of the last six months and economists expect weakness could linger into spring, when activity traditionally picks up, given a recent downturn in the labor market and lingering worries about the economy.

Kraken Robotics Wins C$24 Million in New Contracts Amid Surge in Defense Demand

Kraken Robotics received C$24 million in new orders, including military-defense contracts, as demand for underwater surveillance and robotics systems accelerates alongside rising global defense spending.

The Canadian marine-technology company received orders from 10 customers across five countries, three of which are defense customers, it said.

Kraken shares rose 4.7% to C$10.05.

Canadian Solar Wins Battery Supply Contract in the U.S.

Canadian Solar has secured a contract to supply a battery energy storage system to a major U.S. utility.

The Kitchener, Ontario-based company, through its energy storage solutions business E-Storage, has entered into supply agreement with an unidentified U.S. utility for a 500 megawatt and 2,493 megawatt-hour DC battery energy storage system project.

No financial details were disclosed.

Tecsys Ups Share Buyback Program to 6.65% of Public Float

Tecsys said it almost doubled its share repurchase program limit to 6.65% of its public float.

The Canadian software company said the Toronto Stock Exchange has approved its plan to buy back up to 900,000 of its shares for cancellation, up from a previous 500,000 limit.

Tecsys shares ended Tuesday's session up 0.3% at C$27.23.

Canadian Financier to Buy Stake in Economist Magazine

Canadian investor Stephen Smith is set to take a 26.9% stake in the publisher of the Economist magazine, after reaching an agreement with Lynn Forester de Rothschild to buy her family's long-held shares in the storied publication.

The Economist Group said that Smith had agreed to buy the stake alongside his family's Smith Financial holding company, which has interests in various businesses including proxy adviser Glass Lewis.

Terms of the deal, which is subject to certain closing conditions including the approval of the Economist's trustees, weren't disclosed. Bankers had targeted a deal that would value the entire company at about $1 billion, according to a person familiar with the matter.

TALKING POINT

Bank of Canada Expected to Stand Pat on Rates, Await Fallout From Energy-Price Shock

By Paul Vieira

OTTAWA--The Bank of Canada is expected to keep its policy interest rate unchanged on Wednesday, choosing to take its time to judge the economic fallout from sharply higher energy prices.

Economists said the war in the Middle East and the accompanying jump at the gas pump threatens to lift inflation expectations among Canadian households and firms. The Bank of Canada's mandate is to keep expectations in check, and set rate policy to achieve and maintain 2% inflation.

All 12 economists surveyed last week by The Wall Street Journal predicted the Bank of Canada would hold its policy rate steady, and most believe there remains a good chance that Canada's central bank remains on the sidelines for all of 2026 because of broad-based economic weakness. The Bank of Canada has left the benchmark rate unchanged after the last two meetings among senior officials.

"There is now a tug-of-war on the direction of monetary policy," said Charles St-Arnaud, chief economist at Servus Credit Union, based in Calgary, Alberta. On one side are higher energy prices. The Canadian Automobile Association said the price of gas is roughly 30% higher from a month ago. Economists said total headline inflation is likely headed in the coming months toward 3% once higher fuel prices feed through the economy.

Higher oil prices will also boost Canadian income, given the country's position as a net exporter of crude oil. "Even with the windfall from higher oil prices flowing into the terms of trade, the economy needs to demonstrate that it can generate sustained, broad-based growth before the Bank of Canada can justify tightening," said Karl Schamotta, market strategist at foreign-exchange firm Corpay.

Offsetting the energy-price shock are data that point to labor-market weakness and ebbing pressure on core prices.

Employment in Canada fell in the first two months of this year, with February's drop the biggest since early 2009, excluding the Covid-19 pandemic period. The job losses so far in 2026 are mostly concentrated in the private sector and of the full-time variety. The jobs report for February indicates a notable level of spare capacity in the economy, "which makes it easier to look through incoming inflation," said Taylor Schleich, an economist at National Bank Financial. "Were it not for surging oil prices, we believe markets would be close to fully pricing a 2026 rate cut on the back of the latest jobs report."

Meanwhile, core inflation--which strips out volatile items like energy and food--weakened ahead of the energy-price jump, after the U.S. and Israel started military strikes against Iran on Feb. 28. The three-month annualized average of the Bank of Canada's preferred core-price measures eased to 1% in February, representing a 13-year low. Total inflation decelerated in February to 1.8%.

The Bank of Canada "will acknowledge new risks to its inflation forecast, but we don't look for them to lean into rate hikes," said Robert Both, economist at TD Securities.

Some economists, though, said a rate increase later this year remains possible. Bank of Canada deputy governor Sharon Kozicki said on March 2 that supply-side shocks might compel higher interest rates even in a struggling economy. She said under such circumstances, the rate increases required might be more modest relative to an economy where consumer demand is strong.

Sébastien Mc Mahon, a senior economist at iA Global Asset Management, said the central bank could lean on forward guidance--in which officials communicate the probable outlook for rates--to reinforce its commitment to maintaining the 2% target. Mc Mahon added interest-rate increases by the end of 2026 are likely should oil prices remain above $95 a barrel for most of the year.

Write to Paul Vieira at [paul.vieira@wsj.com]

Expected Major Events for Wednesday

08:59/JPN: Mar Monthly Economic Report

11:00/US: 03/13 MBA Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey

12:30/US: Feb PPI

12:30/CAN: Jan International transactions in securities

13:45/CAN: Bank of Canada interest rate announcement

14:00/US: Jan Manufacturers' Shipments, Inventories & Orders (M3)

14:30/US: 03/13 EIA Weekly Petroleum Status Report

18:00/US: Federal Reserve economic projections

18:00/US: U.S. interest rate decision

20:00/US: Jan Treasury International Capital Data

23:50/JPN: Jan Orders Received for Machinery

All times in GMT. Powered by Onclusive and Dow Jones.

Expected Earnings for Wednesday

AutoCanada Inc (ACQ.T) is expected to report $0.47 for 4Q.

Blink Charging Co (BLNK) is expected to report $-0.11 for 4Q.

Blue Foundry Bancorp (BLFY) is expected to report $-0.10 for 4Q.

Boyd Group Services Inc (BYD.T) is expected to report for 4Q.

CVD Equipment Corp $(CVV)$ is expected to report for 4Q.

Energous Corp (WATT) is expected to report for 4Q.

Five Below (FIVE) is expected to report $3.97 for 4Q.

General Mills Inc $(GIS)$ is expected to report $0.73 for 3Q.

Gossamer Bio Inc (GOSS) is expected to report $-0.18 for 4Q.

Itafos Inc (IFOS.V) is expected to report for 4Q.

JW Mays Inc $(MAYS)$ is expected to report for 2Q.

Jabil Inc $(JBL)$ is expected to report $1.80 for 2Q.

KalVista Pharmaceuticals Inc $(KALV)$ is expected to report $-1.00 for 4Q.

(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires

March 17, 2026 16:32 ET (20:32 GMT)

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