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Reuters Canada Business Summary

02/10/07

TD Bank to buy Commerce Bancorp for $8.5 billion

TORONTO (Reuters) - Toronto-Dominion Bank said on Tuesday it plans to buy New Jersey-based Commerce Bancorp Inc in a friendly $8.5 billion deal that would nearly double the scale of the Canadian bank's U.S. business. The cash-and-stock transaction offered a 7 percent takeover premium to Commerce's closing share price on Monday, but the premium shrank as TD's stock declined on Tuesday.

1 million Canadians victims of investment fraud: study

TORONTO (Reuters) - An estimated 1 million Canadians have been victims of investment fraud at some point in their lives and most think the crooks get away with their crimes, a new study has found. The study by the Canadian Securities Administrators also found that the way fraud is handled by authorities in Canada -- which has long been criticized as lax when it comes to securities enforcement -- is having a significant impact on investor confidence.

Bank of Canada injects C$855 mln to add liquidity

OTTAWA (Reuters) - The Bank of Canada injected C$855 million in overnight money into the markets on Tuesday to lower the overnight interest rate toward the central bank's target and improve liquidity. The bank intervened regularly in August during a credit crunch, but stayed out of the money market from mid-August until late September.

Poorest show of IPOs in decade: survey

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's initial public offerings market appears to be chugging along to its worst year in a decade, unless activity suddenly picks up this quarter, a survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers showed on Tuesday. In the third quarter, there were 22 new issues worth a total of C$337 million ($337 million), the survey said, bringing the year's total so far to 63 IPOs worth C$1.2 billion.

RBC buys Caribbean bank RBTT for $2.2 billion

TORONTO (Reuters) - Royal Bank of Canada said on Tuesday it will buy Caribbean bank RBTT Financial Group for a total of about $2.2 billion (C$2.2 billion), building on the Canadian bank's modest presence in the region. Shareholders of Trinidad and Tobago-based RBTT will receive about $6.33 per share, payable in a combination of 60 percent cash and 40 percent Royal Bank of Canada common shares. The offer represents an 18 percent premium to RBTT's closing price on September 28, before a local news report over the weekend pegged RBC as the buyer.

Toronto stocks drop on commodities, TD Bank

TORONTO (Reuters) - Toronto's main stock index fell more than 100 points at midmorning on Tuesday on retreating oil and gold-mining prices and after Toronto-Dominion Bank said an $8.5-billion acquisition would dent its earnings. The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index <.GSPTSE> was down 128.45 points, or 0.9 percent, at 14,072.13.

Rallying U.S. dollar hurts loonie, bonds dip

TORONTO (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar weakened against the U.S. dollar on Tuesday, as the rallying greenback took a bite out of commodity prices. Domestic bond prices, lacking incentives from fresh Canadian economic data, followed the larger U.S. Treasuries market lower.

Montreal Exchange to boost BOX ownership

TORONTO (Reuters) - Montreal Exchange Inc said on Tuesday it was in talks to boost its ownership in the Boston Options Exchange (BOX) by almost 70 percent, giving it a majority interest in the U.S.-based equity options exchange. Montreal Exchange, which is a founding partner and the technical operator of BOX, plans to boost its position to the maximum 53.2 percent, from a current 31.4 percent.

Aeterna seeks partner for BPH treatment

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canadian biotechnology company AEterna Zentaris unveiled a new strategic plan on Tuesday that includes commercialization of its key Cetrorelix drug and the sale of some non-core assets. The company said it will seek a commercialization partner for Cetrorelix, a treatment for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).

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.

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