Business News

Commodity stocks and earnings likely to pressure TSX this coming week

TORONTO - The Toronto stock market is likely to see more declines in the coming week as commodity stocks drift lower and investors look to a second-quarter earnings season that is likely to be a letdo...

BioBag Canada benefits from environmentally conscious consumers

VANCOUVER - With standard plastic bags now considered the enemy of environmentally conscious consumers, alternatives to polyethylene are becoming increasingly popular including biodegradable bags that...

EFT Canada agrees to buy privately owned California company Secure Payment Systems

TORONTO - Toronto-based electronic payment services firm EFT Canada Inc (TSXV:EFT) said Friday it has agreed to buy U.S. company Secure Payment Systems Inc. for an undisclosed amount. Trading of EF...

American Airlines to cutting 1,500 maintenance jobs around the U.S.

DALLAS - American Airlines will cut 1,500 jobs in its maintenance division as it reduces its fleet of aircraft. The largest U.S. airline told employees of the cuts in memos this week. American didn...

Peruvian government issues emergency decree near Gold Hawk plant

VANCOUVER - Gold Hawk Resources Inc. (TSXV:CGK) said Friday the Peruvian government has issued an emergency decree for a hillside near its Coricancha processing plant and tailings area and called for ...

Most actively traded companies on Canadian stock markets

TORONTO - Some of the most active companies traded Friday on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the TSX Venture Exchange: Toronto Stock Exchange (up 55.71 points at 13,515.96): Eastern Platinum ...

TigerTel annual income doubles to $1.1 million in fiscal 2008

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. - TigerTel Communications Inc. (TSXV:TTL) had net income of $1.1 million for the financial year ended April 30, double what it had in fiscal 2007 as revenue increased nearly 16 per c...

Citigroup posts $2.5B quarterly loss, but beats Wall Street expectations

NEW YORK - Citigroup has become the latest big bank to quell Wall Street's worries about a financial sector implosion, posting a $2.5 billion second-quarter loss that was smaller than expected. Cit...

General Properties strikes deal to acquire Yarnell gold mine in Arizona

CALGARY - General Properties Ltd. (TSXV:GPL), a Calgary-based mineral developer with holdings in northern Alberta, has struck a joint venture deal with CaNev Resources Corp. and Yarnell Mining Co. Inc...

Freddie Mac chief executive gets US$19.8 million in 2007

NEW YORK - Freddie Mac chairman and chief executive Richard Syron pocketed nearly US$19.8 million in compensation last year, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing Friday, even ...

Avery Resources changes name to Bengal Energy, consolidates shares 5:1

CALGARY - Avery Resources Inc. (TSX:ARY), a junior Calgary oil and gas company, says it has received shareholders approval to change the name of the company to Bengal Energy Ltd. and to consolidate it...

Federal prosecutors eye more charges for Bear Stearns executives

NEW YORK - Federal prosecutors in the United States confirmed Friday that they expect to bring more criminal charges against two former Bear Stearns hedge fund managers already accused of lying to inv...

Oil markets looking for signs of bubble burst as crude ends week at US$128.88

NEW YORK - Prices at the pump in the United States pulled back from record highs Friday as another slide in oil capped crude's biggest one-week drop in more than three years. Gasoline dropped by ne...

Teva to buy Barr Pharma for more than US$7 billion in generic drug combination

TRENTON, N.J. - Teva Pharmaceutical said Friday it will buy rival generic drugmaker Barr Pharmaceuticals for nearly US$7.5 billion in a move that will boost Teva's dominance as the world's biggest gen...

Wilkins resigns as president and CEO of Barrick, named executive vice-chairman

TORONTO - Barrick Gold Corp.'s (TSX:ABX) Greg Wilkins, who has been on medical leave since March, resigned as president and chief executive on Friday and was named executive vice-chairman of the gold ...

More General Motors factory closures likely, analysts say

ROMULUS, Mich. - At a General Motors Corp. factory just west of Detroit, about 1,000 workers are still cranking out mighty-but-thirsty V-8 engines that go into pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles...

MDS cutting 210 employees, taking $28M restructuring and writedown hit

TORONTO - Life sciences company MDS Inc. (TSX:MDS) expects to notch up $28 million in charges as it cuts 210 jobs and records an asset impairment charge related to its troubled MDS Pharma Services bus...

Energy, financials boost TSX;NY closes mixed on earnings reports

TORONTO - Financials led the way to a modest gain on the Toronto stock market Friday as investors felt more confident about bank stocks following good news from Citigroup and energy stocks lent some s...

Canadian Pacific and CN plan to improve efficiency at Deltaport terminal

VANCOUVER - Canada's two national railways announced Friday they are implementing a plan to improve the flow of freight traffic at the Deltaport marine container terminal, a transportation gateway to ...

Federal goverment invests $25 million in Suncor ethanol plant in Ontario

ST. CLAIR, Ont. - Suncor's (TSX:SU) ethanol plant in St. Clair, Ont., has received $25 million from the federal government to double its ethanol production from 200 million to 400 million litres per y...

Mattel profit falls sharply to US$11.8 million but tops Wall Street view

NEW YORK - Toy making giant Mattel Inc. said Friday its second-quarter profit fell by nearly half as higher costs offset strong sales of toys related to summer movies like Kung Fu Panda and the latest...

Economic woes engulf Europe as inflation begins to slow consumer spending

MILAN, Italy - It took a few months. But the economic woes touched off by soaring oil prices and the subprime mortgage crisis in the United States are finally engulfing Europe. While each country h...

WTO makes public ruling against China on foreign auto parts restrictions

GENEVA - The World Trade Organization made public its first official condemnation of Chinese commercial practices on Friday, releasing a February ruling that sided with the U.S., the EU and Canada in ...

U.S. oil and gas rig count rises by six this week

HOUSTON - The number of rigs actively exploring for oil and natural gas in the United States rose by six this week to 1,928. Of the rigs running U.S.-wide, 1,534 were exploring for natural gas and ...

Canadian pension plans overcome global credit concerns on higher energy stocks

TORONTO - Canadian pension plans finally got a reprieve in the second quarter as soaring energy and material group stocks pushed investment returns into positive territory after three consecutive nega...

B.C. judge gives potential buyers of Mackenzie pulp mill until Sept. to make bids

VANCOUVER - Workers at the Mackenzie pulp mill in northern B.C. gained renewed hope Friday that a buyer can come along this summer and buy their shut-down operation. B.C. Supreme Court Chief Justic...

Rising energy, financials send TSX higher;NY uneven on mixed earnings

TORONTO - The Toronto stock market jumped about 100 points mid-afternoon Friday with financial stocks again getting lift from the U.S. financial sector while energy stocks started to revive at the end...

Equinox says it will take to December to fix mine's fire-damaged power equipment

TORONTO - Equinox Minerals Limited (TSX:EQN) says it currently expects the contractor building the Lumwana copper project in Zambia will hand over the project in December, months after the company had...

Hammond Power Solutions sales rise 33 per cent; company spends to grow

GUELPH, Ont. - Hammond Power Solutions Inc.'s net profit rose sharply and revenue increased by 33 per cent from a year earlier to $54.9 million in the second quarter, as the manufacturing company (TSX...

B.C. judge gives potential buyers of Mackenzie pulp mill until Sept. to bid

VANCOUVER - More than 200 workers at the Mackenzie pulp mill in northern B.C. got renewed hope Friday that a buyer could come along and buy their shut down operation. B.C. Supreme Court Chief Justi...