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08/06/08

Gasoline rises above $4 a gallon for first time

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The U.S. average price for a gallon of regular gasoline topped $4 for the first time, a survey issued on Sunday by the travel group AAA showed. AAA's survey showed a national average price of $4.005 per gallon, up from $3.67 a month ago and $3.10 a year ago.

GM Canada workers step up protests at Oshawa plant

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canadian autoworkers on Saturday stepped up protests against plans to close a General Motors truck plant in Oshawa, Ontario. They drove hundreds of cars slowly around the factory in an action they said disrupted parts deliveries and briefly shut down production.

Oil slips 0.5 pct after record $11 surge to new high

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil edged lower on Monday after its biggest surge ever, as OPEC's resistance to pumping more crude kept prices near their record high from Friday, when the falling dollar and Middle East jitters fuelled an unprecedented $11 jump. U.S. light, sweet crude for July delivery fell as much as $1.42, or over 1 percent, to $137.12 a barrel in opening trade, but stood at $137.79 by 2319 GMT (7:19 p.m. EDT on Sunday), down 75 cents.

Lehman close to raising more than $5 bln: paper

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc is close to raising more than $5 billion and set to report a loss of more than $2 billion in the second quarter, The Wall Street Journal reported on its Web site on Sunday. The fresh capital would come from investors including the New Jersey Division of Investment, the paper reported, citing an unnamed source.

OPEC sees no need to pump more after price surge

DUBAI (Reuters) - OPEC members saw no need on Sunday to pump more oil in response to last week's double-digit surge in oil prices to over $139 a barrel that top exporter Saudi Arabia described as unjustified. More pain was coming for consuming economies hurting from record fuel costs as prices were likely to climb further, officials from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said.

No carefree summer for Toronto stocks

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canadian equities investors can expect few lazy, carefree days this summer as North American economic concerns and volatility in commodity prices look likely to buffet Toronto stocks. Analysts are bracing for further signs of weakness in Canada after news that the economy shrank for the first time in five years during the first quarter, while May job growth came in at the weakest pace so far in 2008.

Job growth slows, rate cut expected

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadian job growth slowed in May to its weakest since December on a sharp drop in full-time employment, a sign of a cooling economy that may spur the Bank of Canada to cut interest rates again this month. Statistics Canada reported on Friday the economy added 8,400 jobs in the month as employers hired 40,600 part-time workers and dropped 32,200 full-time staff -- the biggest loss of full-time jobs since June 2006.

Oil, CPI may give stocks a rough ride

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street may be in for a rocky ride this week as investors recall Friday's triple threat -- oil at a record above $139 a barrel, a troubling unemployment report and the stock market's 3 percent drop -- while they await inflation data for May. The Consumer Price Index is set for release on Friday.

Toronto stocks slide as oil fuels economic worries

TORONTO (Reuters) - The Toronto Stock Exchange's main index ended lower on Friday after the crude price shot up by more than $10 a barrel, spurring worries about its impact on the economy and erasing a big market gain made early in the day. The key S&P/TSX composite index <.GSPTSE> jumped to a record high shortly after the opening bell as resource issues rose with surging commodity prices.

Flaherty wants "sustainable auto sector"

TORONTO (Reuters) - Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, speaking just days after General Motors announced plans to close a truck plant in Oshawa, Ontario, said on Friday he wants a "sustainable auto sector." Flaherty, speaking to reporters in Toronto, also said the domestic economy is proving resilient amid global credit turmoil and the U.S. economic slowdown,

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