The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday, Feb. 21, edition that Scotia Capital analyst Meny Grauman anticipates that discussions about a potential tariff war with the United States will overshadow first quarter earnings for domestic banks, starting next week. The Globe's David Leeder writes that Mr. Grauman has reaffirmed his "sector outperform" rating for Bank of Montreal. Mr. Grauman, however, trimmed his share target by a loonie to $159. Analysts on average target the shares at $146.40. Mr. Grauman says in a note: "Canadian bank stocks can never veer too far from the country's economic prospects, which is why we are concerned about the sector right now. Canada is at an unprecedented economic crossroads even if the threat of tariffs never materializes, and yet the shares do not appear to be reflecting the seriousness of moment given that the group is down just 3 per cent since Q4 reporting. ... The silver lining in all of this uncertainty is that the gravity of the situation can (and should) provide the impetus to drive significant changes in Canadian economic policy that will finally address the country's lagging productivity and usher in a period of renewed prosperity even in the face of US trade uncertainty."