Talking Points:
- Canadian dollar Outperforms While Other Leading Currencies Lag vs. US Dollar
- Burger King Worldwide Inc. Officially AnnouncesAcquisition of Tim Hortons Inc.
- Loonie Strength May Reflect Expected Pickup in US-Canada M&A Capital Flows
The Canadian Dollar traded higher against its US counterpart today after rising 0.29 percent against the greenback in the prior session. Interestingly, this came against the backdrop of better-than-expected US Durable Goods Orders data and a strong Consumer Confidence report, which might have been expected to drive the US unit higher. Indeed, though some major currencies like the Australian dollar and the Japanese yen remained relatively unchanged, most top currencies (NZD, CHF, GBP, EUR) moved lower, making the Loonie something of an outlier.
The Canadian Dollar may have found strength on the back of the announcement of a US$11 billion acquisition of Tim Hortons Inc., a company based in Canada, by US-based Burger King Worldwide Inc. The announcement’s supportive implications for the Canadian unit may go beyond expectations of deal-specific capital flows. The transaction could be perceived as a poster child for further such M&A activity as US-based firms look to move abroad in search of favorable corporate tax policies (a practice known as “tax inversion”).
On the technical front, Currency Strategist Ilya Spivak sees a near-term USD/CAD support at 1.0946, marked by a rising trend line. Spivak argues that a break below this boundary on a daily closing basis may open the door for a decline below the 1.09 figure.
