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18/08/08

Toronto stocks to open higher as commodities eyed

TORONTO (Reuters) - Toronto Stock Exchange's main index is expected to open higher on Monday, buoyed by oil and gold after a slump in commodity prices last week. Oil backed off to around $113 a barrel as supply fears related to Tropical Storm Fay eased, while gold and some base metals firmed.

Q2 foreign buys of Canada securities hit record

(Reuters) - Foreign purchases of Canadian securities hit a record C$27.64 billion ($26.08 billion) in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said on Monday. Second quarter bond purchases of C$19.56 billion were the highest since the fourth quarter of 2001's C$23.76 billion. For June, foreigners bought C$7.25 billion of Canadian securities. Canadians sold C$9.50 billion of foreign securities in June in the face of lackluster global equity markets and a deteriorating U.S. credit market, the government agency said. ($1=$1.06 Canadian)

Crude eases to $113, storm threat subsides

London (Reuters) - Oil eased to $113 a barrel on Monday as worries of a supply threat from Tropical storm Fay to oil and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico subsided. Shell and Marathon pulled non-essential workers from the eastern and central Gulf of Mexico due to the storm threat, but offshore production was unaffected, the companies said on Sunday.

Analysts expecting large loss from Lehman: report

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Some analysts are girding for a third-quarter loss of $1.8 billion or more from U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc , instead of the modest profit they had previously expected, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday. If losses keep piling up, Lehman could need to raise additional capital beyond the $6 billion it got in June, the paper said.

Canadian dollar flat ahead of key inflation data

TORONTO (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar was flat versus the U.S. dollar on Monday as higher commodity prices were not enough to trigger a sustained rally given the slate of key data due out later this week. At 8:35 a.m. (1235 GMT), the Canadian unit was at C$1.0587 to the U.S. dollar, or 94.46 U.S. cents, up from C$1.0590 to the U.S. dollar, or 94.43 U.S. cents, at Friday's close.

Flaherty says expects solid growth

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said on Friday he expects solid growth in the Canadian economy despite a contraction in May. "(We're) staying on our economic plan, looking for solid economic fundamentals, solid growth for the Canadian economy, none of the bubbles that we've seen in the U.S., particularly in the housing sector," Flaherty told reporters in televised comments.

Scotiabank could be investor safe haven: report

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bank of Nova Scotia could offer a safe haven for investors because it is not afflicted with hard-to-value credit assets and huge subprime write-downs, Barron's reported in its August 18 edition. "It's a well-run bank with almost zero exposure in the U.S., a 4.2 percent dividend yield -- recently raised -- and is not widely followed by the Street," Barron's cited Matthew McCormick, a portfolio manager at Bahl & Gaynor Investment Counsel, as saying.

Wal-Mart Canada workers obtain rare union contract

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Employees at a Wal-Mart Stores Inc. outlet in Canada won an arbitrator-imposed contract on Friday, becoming the giant retailer's only location in North America with a collective agreement in place. The contract, imposed after binding arbitration ended in June, affects only eight employees at Wal-Mart's tire and lube garage in Gatineau, Quebec, across the river from Ottawa.

Oil's fall, dollar's rise key to gains

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bolstered by falling oil prices and a rising dollar, stocks could extend their modest gains this week, even in the face of still troubling consumer- and housing-related data. Oil's downward trend helped boost consumer spending slightly in the past month, with crude hitting a three-month low below $114 a barrel on Friday. But its path remains volatile, prompting some investors to remain cautious about the market.

Pain levels rise as economic ills spread

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's weakened economy, hit by the slowdown in the United States and dampened world demand for commodities, could push the country's biggest stock market to retest this year's lows, given its heavy reliance on oil and gold. Investors have long feared the slowing U.S. economy would rub off on Canada and show up in a depressed S&P/TSX composite index <.GSPTSE> on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Now the economic signals are not good and the market lethargy has arrived.

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