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Reuters Canada Business Summary

13/05/08

Wal-Mart profit up, but shares fall

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc , the world's largest retailer, reported a 7 percent rise in quarterly profit on Tuesday as discounts drew U.S. shoppers looking for bargains on necessities like food and pharmacy items. While Wal-Mart said the year was off to a "solid start," it indicated results for the current quarter could miss Wall Street estimates as it faces a tough economic environment, higher transportation costs and customers who are running out of money between paychecks.

Toronto bourse eyes China office to boost listings

BEIJING (Reuters) - Canada's biggest stock market operator, TSX Group Inc, said on Tuesday it was considering opening an office in China, its fastest growing source of new listings. It would join a small group of global exchanges that have come to China, seeking to attract lucrative Chinese share offerings. The London Stock Exchange opened a Beijing office in January, following U.S. rivals the New York Stock Exchange, a unit of NYSE Euronext, and the Nasdaq Stock Market Inc

Oil falls below $124 after IEA demand downgrade

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil fell below $124 a barrel on Tuesday after the International Energy Agency cut its forecast for world oil demand growth and investors took profits after a rally to record highs the previous day. A decline in China's oil imports in April, the first year-on-year drop in 18 months, and the fallout from the worst earthquake in three decades also raised questions over demand in the world's second-largest oil consumer.

HP in talks to buy EDS to compete with IBM

NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Hewlett-Packard Co is in talks to buy technology outsourcing company Electronic Data Systems Corp for $12 billion to $13 billion in a deal which would vault it to a close second to IBM in technology services. The acquisition would be HP's biggest since its $19 billion acquisition of Compaq in 2002. Shares of EDS rose nearly 28 percent, taking its market value to about $12 billion.

Microsoft software gives free tours of space

SEATTLE (Reuters) - Any Star Trek fan knows that space travel is not always easy, but Microsoft Corp wants to make traveling the "final frontier" as simple as turning on your computer. The world's largest software maker launched a free software application called WorldWide Telescope on Monday that allows everyone from space novices to astronomy professors to easily explore galaxies, star systems and distant planets.

Split plan sends EnCana shares soaring

CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - EnCana Corp shares surged nearly 7 percent on Monday after Canada's biggest energy company said it plans to split into a natural gas firm and an integrated oil sands producer to boost its market value. Shares of the Calgary-based independent producer jumped C$5.68 to close at a new high of C$92.20 on the Toronto Stock Exchange, after climbing as high as C$94.27. In New York, they gained $5.80 to $91.93.

MDA posts higher profit despite stronger dollar

TORONTO (Reuters) - Data-processing and space technology firm MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd reported a higher first-quarter profit on Monday, even as a stronger Canadian dollar ate into the company's results. The company, which recently saw the planned sale of its space robotics and satellite technology business blocked by the Canadian government, said it earned C$26.1 million ($26.1 million), or 64 Canadian cents per share, in the three months ended March. 31.

GM to shut Windsor plant, CAW warns on buyouts

TORONTO (Reuters) - The Canadian Auto Workers union has set a Wednesday deadline to reach a deal with General Motors Corp on buyouts and early retirement packages for about 1,200 unionized workers who will lose their jobs when GM closes a Windsor, Ontario, transmission plant in 2010. "We could end up setting aside bargaining here on Wednesday and coming back in September with a strike deadline if we don't come together on these issues," CAW President Buzz Hargrove told reporters in Toronto.

Group urges court to okay ABCP restructuring plan

TORONTO (Reuters) - The group spearheading a $32 billion restructuring plan for Canada's nonbank asset-backed commercial paper market said in court on Monday that overwhelming approval should be enough to see the plan through. The plan still needs the approval of Ontario Superior Court Judge Colin Campbell, who will hear challenges from those who oppose the plan during a two-day sanction hearing expected to wrap up on Tuesday.

Canada dollar inches higher in lackluster session

TORONTO (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar rose slightly against the U.S. dollar on Monday, but remained stuck in a tight range, while bonds rose as traders took advantage of lower prices after last week's big selloff. The Canadian dollar closed at C$1.0044 to the U.S. dollar, or 99.56 U.S. cents, up from C$1.0056 to the U.S. dollar, or 99.44 U.S. cents, at Friday's close.

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