News from Reuters

Reuters Canada Business Summary

02/10/07

TD Bank to buy Commerce Bancorp in $8.5-bln deal

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's Toronto-Dominion Bank will buy Commerce Bancorp Inc in a cash-and-stock deal worth $8.5 billion which will expand its footprint in the United States, the banks said on Tuesday. The transaction, involving 75 percent stock and 25 percent cash, will see TD, Canada's second-biggest bank, take a one-time pretax restructuring charge of about $490 million.

Broad rally sees Toronto stocks jump

TORONTO (Reuters) - The Toronto Stock Exchange's main index kicked off the fourth quarter with a 100-point gain on Monday, as strength in resource and financial issues led a broad-based rally. The S&P/TSX composite index <.GSPTSE> closed up 101.69 points, or 0.7 percent, at 14,200.58. The composite has finished higher in six of the last seven sessions.

Nortel finds new CFO in seasoned executive

TORONTO (Reuters) - Pavi Binning, an executive with more than 25 years of financial experience, has been handed the top finance job at Nortel Networks Corp , as the company continues to struggle to restore investor faith and become profitable in the face of fierce competition. North America's biggest maker of telephone equipment said on Monday that Binning, who has been CFO of building materials firm Hanson Plc and telecom group Marconi Plc in the past, will take over as Nortel's chief financial officer on November 12.

Loonie extends rise above U.S. dollar parity

TORONTO (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar shrugged off lower oil prices to rise against the U.S. greenback on Monday, including a stint at a fresh multi-decade highs above parity, as fundamentals for the currency remained strong. Domestic bond prices, with no Canadian data to consider until later in the week, mirrored the movement in the bigger U.S. treasuries market and finished higher.

Union reps in Chrysler talks uneasy on GM deal: report

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Union negotiators for workers at Chrysler LLC have signaled reluctance to tacitly approve a deal that mirrors the tentative one with General Motors Corp , the Wall Street Journal said on its Web site, citing people familiar with the negotiations. United Auto Workers officials on the Chrysler bargaining team met on Sunday to discuss the GM deal, and most members decided against supporting the agreement because of a provision for lower wages and benefits for newly hired workers, the report said.

Global stocks hit record, eye end to credit woes

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Global stocks hit a record high on Tuesday, lifted by financial companies after subprime losses detailed by big banks, including Citigroup Inc, raised hopes that the worst of the credit squeeze may be over. The beaten-down dollar found brief respite from its lifetime lows reached on Monday, which tugged gold back from 28-year highs also reached on Monday.

Alberta government hid royalty-hike advice: auditor

CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - Alberta's government sat on internal reports showing it should increase its take from energy companies by as much as C$2 billion a year, the oil-rich province's spending watchdog said on Monday in a scathing assessment of its royalty system. Staff at Alberta's energy department advised the province to boost oil and gas royalties in reviews which date back at least three years, but which were not made public, Alberta auditor general Fred Dunn said in his annual report.

Detroit-area UAW local backs UAW-GM contract

DETROIT (Reuters) - United Auto Workers members at a local headquartered near Detroit voted overwhelmingly on Monday to approve the union's tentative contract with General Motors Corp in one of the first tests for the new labor pact. Members of UAW Local 174 voted to approve the proposed contract by an 80 percent to 20 percent margin at one GM facility and by 70 percent to 30 percent margin in the other, Local President Doug Grima said.

ACE Aviation sells part of Aeroplan, Jazz stakes

CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - Ace Aviation Holdings Inc , which controls Canada's largest airline, said on Monday it will spin off part of its stake in the Jazz Air Income Fund and the Aeroplan Income Fund to raise C$756.9 million ($764 million). ACE, which has been selling off bits of its holdings since last year, including a minority piece of Air Canada , said it will sell the stakes to a group of underwriters led by RBC Capital Markets and CIBC World Markets.

Syncrude Canada output cut after unit outage

CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - A key processing unit at the Syncrude Canada Ltd. oil sands operation in Alberta has gone off line, cutting output at the sprawling facility by 20 percent, its biggest owner said on Monday. Canadian Oil Sands Trust , which has a 37 percent interest in the oil sands mining venture, said coker 8-3 suffered an operational upset on Sunday, reducing output by 70,000 barrels of synthetic crude a day.

© Reuters Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Reproduction or redistribution of Reuters content, including framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.