The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday, July 14, edition that CIBC is taking a more conservative view of the engineering and construction sector in light of soaring inflation and the increasingly likely prospect of recession. The Globe's Darcy Keith writes that CIBC analyst Jacob Bout said he is expecting project delays or even cancellations in the sector because of higher prices of materials, and the construction sector is particularly vulnerable. He cut price targets on several stocks he covers and downgraded ratings on two them: Aecon Group and Bird Construction. Both are now rated "neutral" down from "outperformer." Aecon's share target went to $16 from $20. Bird's share target fell to $9 from $12. Mr. Bout says in a note: "Heading into the second half of 2022, the prospect of an economic recession seems increasingly likely. While E&C and dealership firms are indicating that backlog remains robust, it seems more probable that projects in the pipeline will need to be reworked because of inflationary pressures (i.e., 'sticker shock') and hence delayed (or canceled). To reflect this risk, we are reducing our estimates (primarily for 2023) and target valuation multiples for most companies under coverage."