Canada

Hexo Corp. said Monday it had a net loss of C$298.2 million ($210.8 million) in its fiscal second quarter to Jan. 31, far wider than the loss of C$4.3 million posted in the year-earlier period. The Ottawa-based Canadian cannabis company did not offer a per-share figure. Revenue net of excise taxes came to C$17.0 million, up from $13.4 million a year ago. Revenue from sales of adult-use cannabis rose to C$16.3 million from C$12.2 million a year ago. The company said it wrote down surplus cannabis trim and milled products valued at C$3.1 million, due to an excess of supply related to its short-term demand for cannabis distillate production. It also wrote down a concentrated bulk purchase of C$11.8 million that was partly due to oversupply in the market. The bulk product was acquired through a supply agreement that is currently the subject of litigation. The company booked an impairment loss of C$138.3 million relating to its Niagara faility which is up for sale and on intangible assets acquired from Newstrike Brands. It also booked a goodwill impairment charge of C$111.9 million. The company said its manufacturing facilities remain open during the coronavirus outbreak but it has introduced working-from-home policies and cleaning measures to protect staff. Shares fell 2.8% premarket and are down 31% in the year to date.

Conagra Brands Inc. said Friday that it will give a $500 bonus to all U.S. employees at its production and distribution facilities, and a $250 bonus to part-time employees. Staff at facilities in Canada and Mexico will receive similar bonuses. The bonus is in recognition of the work done during the coronavirus outbreak. Workers sickened by Covid-19 would continue to receive pay, and are eligible for the bonus. Conagra's portfolio of brands includes Dunkin Hines, Healthy Choice and Birds Eye. Conagra stock is down 1.3% in Friday premarket trading, but up 2.7% for the last year. The S&P 500 index is down 6.3% over the past 12 months.

Gap Inc. and Canada Goose Holdings Inc. have both committed to leveraging their partners in order to make scrubs and masks for hospital workers, and gowns for patients. In a tweet, Gap said it was bringing together large hospital networks in California with factories to produce gear for medical professionals on the front line of the coronavirus. And Canada Goose is using its manufacturing facilities in Toronto and Winnipeg, to start, to produce medical gear and patient gowns. Production at the Canada Goose facility will begin next week with 50 workers in each facility. The goal is to create 10,000 units initially. Gap stock is up 15% in Wednesday trading, but down more than 62% over the last year. Canada Goose shares are up 7.5% on Wednesday and down 56.5% for the past 12 months. The S&P 500 index has slumped 8.6% over the last year.

Bombardier Inc. said Tuesday that it will suspend all non-essential work at most of its Canada-based operations until April 26, including its aircraft and rail production activities in Quebec and Ontario. The Montreal-based planes and trains maker said employees impacted by the suspensions will be furloughed, as will some corporate office employees in less-critical support functions. Bombardier's chief executive and senior leadership team will forgo pay during the suspensions, and Chairman Pierre Beaudoin and other board members will forgo compensation for the rest of the year. The company said it is suspending its 2020 financial guidance, and said it has cut all discretionary spending and is pursuing additional measures to enhance liquidity. Bombardier's U.S.-listed shares have tumbled 66.8% over the past month, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has dropped 33.5%.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has sent an inquiry to Cronos Group Inc., one of the largest cannabis producers in Canada, requesting the company retain records related to how it recognizes certain revenue, according to internal Cronos communications reviewed by MarketWatch.

Gold futures head lower on Monday as stocks and the U.S. dollar made some tentative steps higher against the backdrop of rapidly moving developments in the coronavirus pandemic and President Donald Trump extend guidelines on measures intended to mitigate the infection’s spread.

The question investors must now ask themselves is whether or not the market has already hit the bottom of this bear market, or whether investors should prepare themselves for worse to come.

Oil futures finish lower on Friday,with a huge drop in demand as result of the global COVID-19 pandemic sending prices down for a fifth week in a row.

Gold futures settle with a loss on Friday, but still score the biggest one-week rise since December 2008.

A market-wrecking surge by the U.S. dollar is giving way to weakness as efforts by the Federal Reserve and global central banks to sate world-wide demand for the greenback appear to bear fruit.