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Reuters Canada Business Summary

18/04/08

GM Canada plans to slash labor costs: report

TORONTO (Reuters) - General Motors of Canada is set for a battle with its unions as it plans to regain its competitive advantage by cutting back on paid time off, allowing temporary workers, and getting rid of strict work rules, according to a Canadian national newspaper on Friday. A background paper released by the automaker details plans to eliminate a $30-an-hour labor cost advantage versus U.S. plants operated by Japanese-based competitors, the Globe and Mail said.

TSX pares early gains as golds weigh

TORONTO (Reuters) - The Toronto Stock Exchange's main index jumped early but quickly fell back on Friday morning as a sharp dip in mining stocks offset bullish banks and other financial institutions. Energy stocks were also lower as resource sectors were undercut by a broad fall in commodity prices.

Wholesale trade sags on autos

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadian wholesale trade unexpectedly tumbled 1.8 percent in February, erasing all of January's gains as sales of automotive products fell to their lowest level since July 2005, Statistics Canada said on Friday. Market expectations were for a 0.4 percent rise in wholesale activity in the month, according to a Reuters poll. Statscan revised downward the increase in January to 1.8 percent from an earlier estimate of 2.6 percent. In the year to February, sales fell 1.5 percent, it said.

Citigroup to cut 9,000 jobs after posting loss

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Citigroup Inc posted its second straight quarterly loss on Friday, hurt by more than $16 billion of write-downs and costs related to credit losses, and said it will cut another 9,000 jobs. Though the $5.11 billion first-quarter loss was larger than expected, analysts and investors expressed optimism that the largest U.S. bank and its new chief executive, Vikram Pandit, were taking necessary steps to move past credit problems and drive down costs.

Loonie erases early fall and moves higher

TORONTO (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar bounced back from an earlier low to move higher versus the U.S. dollar on Friday despite weaker commodity prices and data that showed wholesale trade in Canada unexpectedly fell in February. Domestic bond prices all but ignored the Canadian data and were pinned lower across the curve as the market has started to believe that the worst of the credit crisis may be over, which has sapped demand for more secure assets.

Oil falls $2, focus on China

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil fell more than $2 a barrel on Friday after a surge to new record highs this week, pressured partly by worries about a possible slowdown in China, the world's second biggest energy consumer. U.S. light crude fell $2.07 to $112.79 a barrel by 8:30 a.m. EDT. It set a record high of $115.54 on Thursday.

March leading indicator flat

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's composite leading indicator was unchanged in March after falling 0.2 percent in February, as consumer spending continued to fuel growth, Statistics Canada said on Friday. Analysts in a Reuters poll had predicted the indicator would be flat.

Caterpillar profit beats expectations

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Caterpillar Inc reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit on Friday as strong international sales more than offset what the company characterized as a "recessionary storm in the United States." The news sent shares of Caterpillar -- the world's largest maker of construction and mining equipment, a component of the Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> and a U.S. business bellwether -- up as much as 4.7 percent in premarket trade.

Wilbur Ross plans to raise $4 billion to buy banks: report

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Billionaire investor Wilbur Ross is looking to raise $4 billion to buy troubled banks and is hoping investors in the Middle East will join him, according to a report on Fox Business News. Via telephone, Ross told the news station he believes the current mortgage crisis will be bigger than the 1980s savings and loan crisis for small and regional depositary institutions.

Google tops profit target, stock jumps

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Internet leader Google Inc said on Thursday it saw no impact from a weakening U.S. economy as it posted a better-than-expected quarterly profit and waved off fears of an online advertising slump. Google's hard-hit shares surged 18 percent above $500 -- a level last seen in February -- as the company showed signs of better cost control and earned more revenue abroad than at home for the first time, partly because of the weak dollar.

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