These are stories Report on Business is following Thursday, May 22, 2014.

Follow Michael Babad and The Globe's Business Briefing on Twitter.

Debt and taxes

Moody's Investors Service is warning some of Canada's provinces to get their act in gear lest their credit ratings face further pressure.

Story continues below advertisement

Moody's, one of the world's major agencies, didn't single out any province in a new report released yesterday, pointing out that seven are in deficit.

But its debt-to-revenue measure puts Ontario at the top of the naughty list.

Ontario, of course, is in the midst of an election campaign that pits the Liberals against the Conservatives as to who forms the next government.

The governing Liberals have presented a credible budget for these uncertain times, though it misses their original short-term target, forecasting a $12.5-billion shortfall, while still pledging to balance the books in line with the longer-term plan.

They also plan a jobs fund, billions in infrastructure spending and a focus on social services.

The Tories, on the other hand, promise to balance the books far earlier, slash public sector positions and create a million jobs over an eight-year period, the latter being a wonderful catch-phrase but about as unrealistic as election promises come.

Both parties should take note of the latest from Moody's, which puts net debt as a percentage of revenue at 237.7 in the 2014-15 fiscal year, the highest in the country.

Story continues below advertisement

Not only the highest, actually, but far and away above the next in line, Quebec, at 189.5.

The lowest is Alberta, at 31.9.

Alberta and British Columbia are alone among the provinces in holding a triple-A rating with Moody's, the former deemed "stable" and the latter "negative."

"Most Canadian provinces maintained their ratings and stable credit outlook through the financial crisis and subsequent slow recovery," Moody's said in its report.

"However, the continued accumulation of debt and difficulty in returning to balanced budgets is increasing negative credit pressure for some provinces."

Moody's noted that several of the provinces are reluctant to cut spending growth much more. Health care, in particular, is going to be a big issue.

Story continues below advertisement

"With populations aging in many provinces, health care will continue to be an expense that we will monitor carefully in terms of pressure it applies on fiscal outcomes."

RBC posts solid results

Royal Bank of Canada today reported a solid second-quarter profit of $2.2-billion, with earnings climbing in all three of its biggest units.

RBC benefited from big boosts to the bottom line of its wealth management and capital markets arms, as well as better results in personal and commercial banking, The Globe and Mail's Tim Kiladze reports.

The bank's $2.2-billion profit amounted to $1.47 per share, 15 per cent more than the same period in 2013. Adjusted for non-cash items, earnings per share of $1.49 beat analyst expectations of $1.44.

TD profit climbs

Toronto-Dominion Bank reported its second straight $2-billion quarterly profit, with strong earnings from both its Canadian and U.S. operations.

Instead of relying on one unit to drive earnings growth, TD benefited from boosts to many bottom lines, including its Canadian retail operations, its wealth management business and its U.S. personal and commercial banking arm, Mr. Kiladze writes.

Story continues below advertisement

TD's core earnings amounted to $1.99-billion, or $1.04 per share, up 17 per cent from the year prior. After stripping out one-time items, TD made $1.09 per share, handily beating analyst expectations of $1.02 per share.

Sales slip

Canadian consumers pulled in their horns in March, putting the retail sector on hold as the first quarter ended.

Retail sales inched down 0.1 per cent across the country, Statistics Canada said today, largely because of declines at car dealerships and clothing stores.

Gas stations and food outlets posted gains, however.

In straight volume terms, sales slipped by 0.2 per cent, falling in seven of the sectors measures, or 59 per cent of across all of them.

The March decline put a stop to the overall increases seen in January and February.

Story continues below advertisement

"Note that both building material sales (-0.4 per cent) and clothing (-1.4 per cent) were down significantly, suggesting cooler-than-normal weather in March may have played a role," said Nick Exarhos of CIBC World Markets.

Streetwise (for subscribers)

Real estate

ROB Insight (for subscribers)

Business ticker