MORNING NEWS CALL

TOP NEWS

• Exchange operator CME Group to buy Britain's NEX for $5.5 billion

U.S. exchange operator CME Group has made a $5.5 billion offer to buy NEX Group to create a cross-border powerhouse for inves-

tors trading in the multi-trillion dollar foreign exchange and government debt markets.

• Dollarama's profit beats estimates as shoppers spend more

Canada's Dollarama reported a better-than-expected profit, driven by an increase in comparable sales as shoppers spent more at its

discount stores.

• Facebook cuts ties to data brokers in blow to targeted ads

Facebook said on Wednesday it would end its partnerships with several large data brokers who help advertisers target people on the

social network, a step that follows a scandal over how Facebook handles personal information.

• Lured by rising SUV sales, automakers flood market with models

Demand for sport utility vehicles in the United States is booming, but the number of new models vying for a share of that market is

growing even faster, threatening the fat profits automakers have enjoyed.

• Tesla returned to German subsidies list, ending row

Tesla buyers in Germany can apply for subsidies again because a government agency has ended its dispute with the U.S. carmaker

over whether its Model S was too expensive to qualify for the incentives scheme.

BEFORE THE BELL

Canada's main stock index futures were little changed as investors awaited a report on gross domestic product for January to

gauge the health of the economy. Also on the economic radar are producer prices and federal budget data. U.S. stock futures were

higher as investors’ anxiety over tech stocks abated. European equities rose on recovery among cyclical sectors and Japan's Nikkei

ended on a high. The U.S. dollar steadied as trade war fears receded. Oil prices stumbled as optimism over OPEC's commitment to

controlling its output was partly offset by another rise in U.S. crude inventories. Gold was little changed.

STOCKS TO WATCH

Results

• Dollarama Inc (DOL). The company reported a better-than-expected profit, driven by an increase in comparable sales as shoppers

spent more at its discount stores. Same-store sales rose 5.5 percent in the quarter and the retailer maintained its gross margin at 41.4

percent. Dollarama also raised its capital expenditure outlook for fiscal 2019 to C$150 million to C$160 million from its previous guid-

ance of C$110 million to C$120 million. The Montreal-based company's net earnings rose to C$162.8 million, or C$1.45 per share, in

the quarter ended, from C$146.1 million, or C$1.24 per share, a year earlier. Analysts on average had estimated the company to earn

C$1.40 per share. Sales rose 9.8 percent to C$938.1 million.

Other News

• Asanko Gold Inc (AKG). South Africa's Gold Fields will buy a near 50 percent share of Asanko Gold's Ghana subsidiary and take

a stake in the Canadian miner in a $202.6 million deal announced. Investors were cautious, questioning whether the African joint ven-

ture would make a return any time soon and sending Gold Fields' shares down, in an already weak bullion sector. Gold Fields said in

a statement that as well as acquiring half of Asanko Gold Ghana's 90 percent interest in the Asanko Gold Mine, its Ghana subsidiary

will also acquire associated properties and exploration rights in the African country. "The Asanko joint venture will give immediate

access to low cost production ounces, increasing the quality of the Gold Fields' portfolio," the South African miner said.

INSIGHT

How a data mining giant got me wrong

I'm 57, with a 30-year-old wife, a fairly new hot water boiler, an old-style television, a petrol car and no kids. Actually, none of that is

REUTERS Canada Edition Thursday, March 29, 2018

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MORNING NEWS CALL - CANADIAN EDITION March 29, 2018

true. But that is what you might believe if you purchased access to my data from the world's largest information broker by market val-

ue. The recent revelation that data miner Cambridge Analytica Ltd. improperly accessed 50 million Facebook users' personal data has

heightened public concern about the way companies harvest and use our personal data. I asked Arkansas-based Acxiom Corp.,

which earns over $800 million a year selling consumer profiles to the world's largest companies, what data and insights it held on me.

In Europe and the U.S., companies like Acxiom are allowed to collect data from public and other sources about us. European privacy

rules, which are due to be strengthened in coming months, require all data gatherers to disclose to any European who asks what in-

formation they hold on them. U.S. law doesn't give Americans the right to this level of disclosure.

ANALYSTS' RECOMMENDATION

• AGF Management Ltd (AGFb). RBC cuts target price to C$7.50 from C$8, reflecting their estimate of the impact weaker equity

markets this month has had on AGF’s assets under management.

ECONOMIC EVENTS

0830 GDP mm for Jan: Expected 0.1 pct; Prior 0.1 pct

0830 Producer prices mm for Feb: Prior 0.3 pct

0830 Producer prices yy for Feb: Prior 2.0 pct

0830 Raw materials prices mm for Feb: Prior 3.3 pct

0830 Raw materials prices yy for Feb: Prior 7.7 pct

1100 Budget balance, for Jan: Prior C$ 0.57 bln

1100 Budget, year-to-date, for Jan: Prior C$-8.55 bln

COMPANIES REPORTING RESULTS

Mar 29:

Dollarama Inc (DOL). Expected Q4 earnings of C$1.40 per share

Mar 30:

No major companies are scheduled to report for the day.

CORPORATE EVENTS

0800 Prometic Life Sciences Inc (PLI). Q4 earnings conference call

0930 Park Lawn Corp (PLC). Q4 earnings conference call

0930 Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD). Annual Shareholders Meeting

1000 Dundee Corp (DCa). Q1 earnings conference call

1030 Dollarama Inc (DOL). Q4 earnings conference call

1100 Roxgold Inc (ROXG). Q4 earnings conference call

1100 Symbility Solutions Inc (SY). Q4 earnings conference call

1300 Tidewater Midstream and Infrastructure Ltd (TWM). Q4 earnings conference call

EXDIVIDENDS

AGT Food and Ingredients Inc (AGT). Amount C$0.15

Canlan Ice Sports Corp (ICE). Amount C$0.02

KP Tissue Inc (KPT). Amount C$0.18

Laurentian Bank of Canada (LB). Amount C$0.63

(All analysts' estimates are according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S)

(Morning News Call - Canada edition will not be published on Friday, March 30, as markets are closed for Good Fri-day)

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MORNING NEWS CALL - CANADIAN EDITION March 29, 2018

(Compiled by Samrhitha Arunasalam and Shradha Singh in Bengaluru) To subscribe for The Morning Newscall newsletter click here To un-subscribe for this newsletter click here For questions or comments about this report, contact: morning.newscall@thomsonreuters.com To launch a Co-branded Morning News Call from your firm, contact: morning.newscall@thomsonreuters.com For more information about our products: https://www.thomsonreuters.com/en/products-services.html Or send us a sales enquiry at: https://www.thomsonreuters.com/en/contact-us.html

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PICTURE OF THE DAY

A statue of The Beatles sports "tickling sticks", comedian Ken Dodd's quintessential prop, ahead of Dodd's funeral in his home town

of Liverpool, Britain, March 28. REUTERS/Phil Noble