Here are five things you need to know this morning:

Earnings bonanza continues: We’re smack dab in the middle of earnings season, and as befitting the general uncertainty out there right now, the numbers from major Canadian companies like Canadian Tire, Nutrien, Manulife, and many more paint a mixed picture of the health of Canada’s economy. Among them, Canadian Tire is probably the most interesting as the retailer managed to eke out a slight profit increase despite lower revenue and most notably, a decline on the closely-watched retail metric of same-store sales.

Another day, another capital gains tax complaint: It’s been almost a month since Ottawa unveiled its plan to raise the inclusion level on capital gains, and the furor over the move doesn’t seem to be dissipating. Six of the country’s leading business groups penned a letter published Thursday to Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, urging her to scrap the “ill-advised” increase. It’s perhaps not surprising to see business groups opposed to a plan that will raise taxes, but what is surprising is that such a move doesn’t even appear to be having a corresponding uptick in favour with voters. A survey by Nanos Research Group for Bloomberg News published this week found that 38 per cent of respondents thought the tax move was fair and helpful for closing the income gap, but a slightly higher number — 45 per cent — thought it would end up weakening the economy.

Succession planning underway at Apple: It still feels like Tim Cook took the reins at Apple not that long ago, but as noted in an excellent Bloomberg feature on the company this morning, he’s actually been CEO since 2011. When someone has been in charge that long, it’s often more than enough to start talk about succession planning, but given the success the company’s had during his tenure, there hasn’t been much talk of it – until now. Calls are growing inside and outside of the company that it’s time for the technology giant to start thinking about the future. A number of Apple insiders are reportedly under consideration internally, and while there’s no clear front-runner, it’s fascinating to see the topic even being discussed at all. If nothing else, the best part of the story might be that the main source of commentary from Tim Cook on the topic came from an interview he did with pop star Dua Lipa on her podcast.

Bank of Canada set to release Financial Stability Report: We’ll get an interesting report from the Bank of Canada this morning, in the form of the annual Financial Stability Report. While it’s not exactly a beach read, it’s an interesting one nonetheless as it lays out the central bank’s high level view of the economy and the risks that could threaten the financial system. Last year, issues in the U.S. banking sector were noted, along with the rising risk of cybercrime and climate change.

Bank of England stands pat: Speaking of central banks, the Bank of England did the expected on Thursday and held its benchmark lending rate steady at 5.25 per cent. But as is the case in Canada and elsewhere, while holding the rate steady the bank signalled to the market that is moving closer toward a rate cut, possibly as soon as next month. Deputy governor Dave Ramsden and others called for an immediate cut, while governor Andrew Bailey was a little more cautious, suggesting one may be necessary at the next meeting in June. That matches the expected timeline in Canada, where as of Thursday morning, the market was pricing about a 66 per cent chance of a rate cut when the central bank next meets on June 6.