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10/10/07

Greenspan: Loonie rise reflects demand for Canadian goods

TORONTO (Reuters) - Former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said on Wednesday that not all of the Canadian dollar's rise to parity with the U.S. dollar was caused by U.S. dollar weakness. "There has been some fall in the U.S. dollar, but nothing even remotely related to how rapidly the Canadian dollar has surged," Greenspan said in an interview broadcast on CBC radio.

Toronto stocks dragged down by energy issues

TORONTO (Reuters) - The Toronto Stock Exchange's main index was broadly lower on Wednesday morning, hit by a fall in energy shares due to weaker oil prices. The S&P/TSX composite index <.GSPTSE> was down 70.44 points, or 0.5 percent, at 14,192.67.

Chrysler, UAW contract talks near strike deadline

DETROIT (Reuters) - The United Auto Workers union and automaker Chrysler LLC remained locked in contract talks on Wednesday morning just hours before a strike deadline set by the union that could trigger the industry's second major work stoppage in as many weeks. The UAW has warned it will go out on strike at 11 a.m. ET Wednesday if the two sides fail to agree on a new deal on wages and benefits for 49,000 U.S. factory workers and more than 77,000 families of Chrysler retirees.

Ineos Nova to shut Montreal polystyrene operation

CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - Ineos Nova will shut its Montreal polystyrene operation by the end of the year to cut costs and slash its production of the plastic by 6 percent, the joint-venture firm said on Wednesday. Ineos Nova, controlled by Nova Chemicals Corp and Britain's Ineos, said the facility can produce up to 120 million pounds (55,000 tons) of polystyrene a year. It said in a release the operation has high costs and that it will move production to more efficient sites.

Canada dollar rises with commodities, bonds mixed

TORONTO (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar rose against a weak U.S. dollar on Wednesday, supported by higher commodities prices. Canadian bond prices were mixed, with no major domestic data to influence their moves.

Menu Foods raises recall costs, to cut staff

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Menu Foods Income Fund said on Wednesday it will cut between 10 and 15 percent of its staff as it raised the cost of its tainted pet food recall to C$55 million from $45 million. Menu Foods said the volume of customer returns and associated costs had been greater than anticipated. The company halted shipments of many of its pet foods in March after discovering they contained Chinese vegetable proteins that were contaminated with melamine or related compounds.

Natus Medical to acquire Excel-Tech

(Reuters) - Natus Medical Inc on Wednesday said it agreed to acquire Canadian medical technology company Excel-Tech Ltd for C$3.25 a share to broaden its product offerings in neurology. The purchase price is at more than 80 percent premium over Excel-Tech's closing price on October 9, and the transaction is valued at about C$62.5 million, or $63.6 million.

Yellow Pages says in pact with Google

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Yellow Pages Group , Canada's largest phone book publisher, said on Tuesday said it had a deal with Google Inc. to market its customer advertisements on-line through Google AdWords. AdWords will allow Yellow Pages customers to be associated with certain keywords so that their adverts will appear beside search results for Google and Google Maps Internet searches.

Costco shares jump on quarterly results

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Costco Wholesale Corp reported a better-than-expected rise in quarterly profit on Wednesday, helped by improved margins, and the No. 1 U.S. warehouse club operator said September sales at stores open at least a year were stronger than Wall Street forecasts. The September sales results marked a rebound from August, when Costco reported weaker-than-expected sales, hurt by a decline in store traffic that it attributed to extremely high temperatures in California.

Daimler open to cooperation but silent on Fiat report

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Daimler AG is ready in principle to work with other carmakers on projects of mutual interest, a spokesman said on Wednesday, but he declined comment on a report it could develop compact cars with Fiat . Speculation has swirled for weeks that Daimler could seek a partner to work on the next generation of Mercedes-Benz A-Class and B-Class compact cars, whose importance is being highlighted by the debate on cars' contribution to global warming.

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