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12/03/08

Oil steadies near $109 after record high

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil steadied near $109 a barrel on Wednesday, within sight of its record high, supported by a strong European gas oil market and renewed weakness in the U.S. dollar. ICE gas oil, the European benchmark for heating oil and diesel, has been boosted by a deficit of diesel and hit a record high of $994.25 a ton on Wednesday. The March contract expires later in the session.

BoC joins global effort to ease funding strain

OTTAWA (Reuters) - The Bank of Canada will lend a total of C$4 billion ($4 billion) to market players this month and next as part of a global effort by central banks to ease liquidity strains in stressed money markets. The bank, which said Canadian markets were experiencing less pressure than those in other countries, announced it would enter into 28-day term purchase and resale agreements for C$2 billion on March 20 and another C$2 billion on April 3.

Mobile firms seek India govt meeting on BlackBerry

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Mobile phone operators are seeking more talks to discuss Indian government security concerns which a newspaper said could lead to the termination of BlackBerry services in India, an industry official said on Wednesday. The Business Standard, citing unnamed sources, reported that Indian security agencies want BlackBerry-maker Research in Motion to give them access to algorithms needed to decrypt messages, or face a termination of the service at the end of March.

Government to push toward single securities watchdog

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Finance Minister Jim Flaherty pledged on Tuesday to press ahead with the idea of a single, national securities regulator, despite provincial foot-dragging and opposition from Quebec separatists. "We have a capital-markets regulatory system that is out of step with the Western world," Flaherty said during parliamentary debate on a Bloc Quebecois motion calling on the government to "immediately abandon" the concept.

Toronto stocks soar on central bank infusion

TORONTO (Reuters) - The Toronto Stock Exchange's main index jumped almost 340 points on Tuesday following co-ordinated moves by global central banks to pump liquidity into international credit markets. Toronto's benchmark regained all of Monday's losses and a bit more, after the Bank of Canada joined other central banks in boosting liquidity to ease credit market woes. That included a $200 billion injection by the U.S. Federal Reserve.

Canadian dollar gets boost from liquidity measures

TORONTO (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar pushed higher against a stronger U.S. dollar on Tuesday, as stock markets, which are being looked to as a barometer for the health of the U.S. economy, rallied on the back of a coordinated move by central banks to help ease liquidity strains. Domestic bond prices fell across the curve after the Bank of Canada joined the U.S. Federal Reserve and other central banks, in the liquidity boosting measures.

Canada's frigid north a diamond miner's paradise

DIAVIK MINE, Northwest Territories (Reuters) - Once a hotbed of gold mining, Canada's far north is now unearthing riches from a different precious commodity: diamonds. At the Diavik mine, just over 130 miles south of the Arctic Circle, a 650-foot deep crater pierces a frozen-white tundra, yielding some of the purest diamond deposits known.

Rio Tinto says to expand Canadian iron ore output

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Miner Rio Tinto Ltd said on Wednesday it has approved a $475 million project to boost iron ore concentrate production at its Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOC) unit to help meet strong global demand. Rio Tinto, which has rejected a hostile takeover bid by bigger rival BHP Billiton Ltd/Plc , said the investment would take annual production to 22 million tonnes, with a further increase to 25 million tonnes being considered.

Canada Jan trade surplus widens on export surge

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's trade surplus rebounded in January from a nine-year low in December as exports rose at their fastest pace in over a year due to high commodities prices, Statistics Canada said on Tuesday. But economists warned that export volumes were weak, suggesting a continued slowing of growth and more interest rate cuts by the Bank of Canada.

BCE buyers address regulator's board concerns

TORONTO (Reuters) - Representatives of the consortium that is taking BCE Inc private in a C$34.8 billion ($35.2 billion) buyout appeared briefly before Canadian telecom regulators on Tuesday to address concerns about the makeup of BCE's board of directors. In a morning hearing before the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Chief Executive Jim Leech answered questions about how BCE's board will be kept mainly Canadian, given that Teachers' partners in the purchase are large U.S. private equity firms.

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