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Reuters Canada Business Summary

28/03/08

Iamgold profit falls 9 percent

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Iamgold Corp said on Friday its fourth-quarter profit dipped 9 percent, as charges related to its Cambior acquisition and resource development costs at its Doyon mine hurt results. The mid-tier Canadian gold producer earned $8.5 million, or 3 cents a share in the three months ended December 31, down from $9.4 million, or 4 cents a share, in the same period a year earlier.

TSX slides as gold miners weaken

TORONTO (Reuters) - The Toronto Stock Exchange's main index slipped early on Friday, undercut by falling gold stocks and other mining issues as the prices of the underlying metals tumbled. The S&P/TSX composite index <.GSPTSE> was up 24.43 points, or 0.2 percent, at 13,381.35.

Oil falls after Iraq pipeline flows again

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil fell more than $1 to near $106 a barrel on Friday as crude flows though Iraq's pipeline system were restored after disruption by a bomb attack a day earlier. U.S. crude dropped $1.48 to $106.10 a barrel by 1311 GMT (9:11 a.m. EDT), after settling $1.68 higher on Thursday.

RBC raises RIM price target to $150

(Reuters) - BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd is expected to post strong share gains against rivals Motorola Inc and Palm Inc , RBC Capital Markets said, raising its price target on RIM stock to $150 from $140. Motorola's recent struggles are expected to further assist RIM's share gains, analyst Mike Abramsky said in a note to clients. He kept his "outperform" rating on RIM stock.

Loonie flat ahead of next week's key data

TORONTO (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar was flat versus its U.S. counterpart on Friday as investors awaited key domestic data due out next week that could help the currency break out of the range it has been locked in all week. Domestic bond prices were pinned lower across the curve as dealers pocketed some of the gains made earlier this week given the lack of any Canadian data to consider.

Canadian regulator sets conditions for BCE deal

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's telecom and broadcasting regulator has approved the C$34.8 billion ($34.1 billion) buyout of BCE Inc by a group of private-equity investors led by the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, but subject to a number of conditions. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission said on Thursday that it approved the deal, but added that BCE's board must have 13 directors, Canadian investors must at all times nominate six directors and that the company's chairman must be Canadian.

Citigroup to name U.S. consumer chief in shuffle: report

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Citigroup Inc , the largest U.S. bank, plans to hire an outsider to take over its flagging U.S. consumer business, the Wall Street Journal said on Friday. Terri Dial, who runs Lloyds TSB Group Plc's U.K. retail banking business, will replace Steven Freiberg at the helm of U.S. consumer operations, the newspaper said, citing people familiar with the matter.

Sen. Schumer urges new financial regulation: report

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Sen. Charles Schumer on Friday called for a rethinking of the U.S. financial regulatory system, perhaps moving toward a single regulator, following the collapse this month of Bear Stearns Cos . In an opinion published in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Democrat and Senate Banking Committee member said the creation of a global financial market and slew of new financial instruments had left commercial banks, investment banks, broker-dealers, traders, insurers, hedge funds and private equity firms increasingly linked to each other's fate.

IMF board to back overhaul of members' voting power

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund board on Friday will recommend a landmark overhaul in the voting power of member countries, with emerging economies saying they will settle for less than they wanted. The proposed changes have won the support of key large emerging economies China, India, South Korea, Mexico and Brazil, which will gain voting power according to a new formula for calculating each country's so-called quotas, or membership subscriptions.

Countrywide exec gets $28 million from Bank of America

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp said it has agreed to pay $28 million to Countrywide Financial Corp Chief Operating Officer David Sambol to induce him to run the merged companies' consumer mortgage operations. The amount, which vests over three years, is 37 percent higher than the $20.4 million that Bank of America Chairman and Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis was compensated in 2007 to run the second-largest U.S. bank.

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