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Reuters Canada Business Summary

24/07/08

Ford posts $8.8 billion loss as SUV sales fall

DETROIT (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co posted a wider-than-expected $8.7 billion quarterly net loss on Thursday amid declining sales of large pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles in North America. It also vowed to add new smaller vehicles to its lineup as part of a sweeping realignment in response to high gas prices. Shares fell 9 percent in premarket trading.

Potash Corp boosts outlook as profit soars

TORONTO (Reuters) - Potash Corp of Saskatchewan said on Thursday its second-quarter earnings soared 217 percent and it boosted its 2008 outlook as record world grain prices boosted demand for fertilizer amid tight supplies of the nutrients, sending fertilizer prices skyward. The world's largest fertilizer company said it earned $905.1 million, $2.82 a share, for the quarter ended June 30, up from $285.7 million, or 88 cents a share, a year earlier.

Kinross to buy Aurelian in C$1.2 billion friendly deal

TORONTO (Reuters) - Kinross Gold Corp said on Thursday it planned to buy Aurelian Resources Inc in a friendly deal worth C$1.2 billion ($1.19 billion), giving the Canadian mid-tier gold miner ownership of the Fruta del Norte discovery in south-eastern Ecuador. Kinross said it would offer Aurelian shareholders 0.317 of a Kinross common share, plus 0.1429 of a warrant, valuing it at C$8.20 per Aurelian common share. This is a 63 percent premium over the 20-day volume-weighted average price of Aurelian common shares.

Suncor Q2 profit jumps on oil prices, natural gas

(Reuters) - Suncor Energy Inc , Canada's biggest oil producer and refiner by market value, posted a higher-than-expected 12 percent rise in second-quarter profit, boosted by record crude prices and the strong performance of its natural gas operations. The company reported second-quarter net earnings of C$829 million, or C$0.89 a share, compared with C$738 million, or C$0.80, a year earlier.

Petro-Canada Q2 profit rises 77 pct

(Reuters) - Oil producer and refiner Petro-Canada posted a 77 percent rise in second-quarter profit on Thursday, and tightened its production outlook for 2008. The company reported net income of C$1.5 billion, or C$3.10 a share, in the quarter, compared with C$845 million, or C$1.71 a share, a year ago.

EnCana's profit slips, ups 2008 cash flow forecast

TORONTO (Reuters) - EnCana Corp said on Thursday its second-quarter fell 16 percent due mostly to a $235 million after-tax loss related to risk management activities, but boosted its 2008 cash flow outlook buoyed by soaring natural gas production. EnCana, which is preparing to split into two separate oil and gas producers, earned $1.22 billion, or $1.63 a share for the quarter ended June 30, down from year-earlier $1.45 billion, or $1.89 a share.

TSX battered by falling commodities

TORONTO (Reuters) - The Toronto Stock Exchange's main index tumbled for a second session in a row on Wednesday, knocked 130 points lower as resource issues fell along with commodity prices. The materials sector led the way down as shares of gold producers were battered by a 3 percent drop in bullion prices while the U.S. dollar rose. Barrick Gold was down 7.9 percent.

Visa Canada probes reports of fraud at airport

TORONTO (Reuters) - Visa Canada on Wednesday said it was investigating possible fraud tied to air travel, with news reports specifying that there may be problems at self-service check-in kiosks at Toronto's Pearson International airport. "Visa Canada is currently investigating isolated reports of fraud that have a correlation with air travel, in particular at a Canadian airport," the company said in a statement.

CIBC faces lawsuit over subprime exposure

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce is the first Canadian bank to face legal action over investments tied to plunging U.S. subprime mortgages, after a Toronto law firm revealed a proposed class action on Wednesday, claiming the bank and some executives failed to fully disclosure its exposure. The lawsuit, filed in an Ontario court, alleges that the bank, President and Chief Executive Gerald McCaughey and other officers and directors, did not disclose the extent of CIBC's total exposure, through various structured-credit securities, to the sliding U.S. subprime mortgage market.

China's Zhongxing in talks with GM, FAW: sources

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Chinese pickup truck maker Hebei Zhongxing Automobile Co is in talks with General Motors and major Chinese automaker FAW Group to explore opportunities for cooperation, including possible equity ties, a source close to the situation said on Thursday. "Consolidation is inevitable in the Chinese auto market, which now has more than 100 players, and a company of Zhongxing's size makes a good takeover target or joint venture partner," the source told Reuters.

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