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Reuters Canada Business Summary

10/09/08

Lehman plans sales, posts $3.9 billion quarterly loss

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc said it plans to sell a majority stake in its investment management unit and spin off commercial real estate assets, but failed to announce specific transactions and posted a third-quarter loss of $3.93 billion. Shares of Wall Street's fourth-largest investment bank gave up some of their overnight gains as investors expressed disappointment that Lehman, whose business model and outlook face wide scrutiny, did not announce more concrete actions.

Ford cuts 500 more Ontario jobs U.S. sales slide

TORONTO (Reuters) - Ford Canada said on Wednesday it will cut another 500 jobs at its Oakville, Ontario, assembly plant as U.S. sales continue to deteriorate. Ford will scrap the third shift in the paint and body areas of the plant, where it makes the Ford Edge, the Lincoln MKX and the Ford Flex.

Toronto stocks jump on resource rebound

TORONTO (Reuters) - The Toronto Stock Exchange's main index rose on Wednesday, snapping a nearly 4 percent percent rout in the previous session, led by strength in the energy sector as oil stabilized following a surprise decision by OPEC to cut production. Shortly after the open, the S&P/TSX composite index <.GSPTSE> was up 272.03 points, or 2.2 percent, at 12,418.79, with all 10 of its main groups higher.

Transat reports quarterly loss as high fuel hits

TORONTO (Reuters) - Transat AT Inc said on Wednesday it fell to a third-quarter loss as the holiday travel firm was hurt by rising fuel costs. The parent company of Air Transat lost C$2.4 million, or 7 Canadian cents a share, in the period ended July 31, down from a profit of C$16.1 million, or 47 Canadian cents a share in the same period last year.

Canadian bank shares look more appealing: Dundee

TORONTO (Reuters) - Shares of Canadian banks are oversold and now would be a good time load up on the stocks even though bank earnings may remain under pressure through 2009, Dundee Capital Markets said on Wednesday. Following a fall in bank share prices over the past year, Dundee analyst John Aiken views most of them as oversold on a relative basis and expects them to continue to outperform the market as they have in recent weeks.

Productivity sags amid slowdown

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's labor productivity has fallen for a third straight quarter, the longest decline since 1990, and a track record that analysts said shows businesses are on unsteady footing as the economy flirts with recession. Productivity, measured as the amount produced by a worker per hour, fell 0.2 percent in the second quarter after declining 0.6 percent in each of the previous two quarters, Statistics Canada said on Wednesday.

Disappointing Lehman results hit world stocks

LONDON (Reuters) - World stocks fell on Wednesday while safe-haven government bonds and the yen rose after U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers disappointed investors with a bigger-than-expected quarterly loss. Lehman, a casualty of the credit crunch, posted a preliminary quarterly loss of $5.92 a share, compared with Reuters Estimates of a loss of $3.43.

CIBC World Markets cuts S&P/TSX year-end target

(Reuters) - CIBC World Markets lowered year-end target for the S&P/TSX composite index <.GSPTSE>, the Toronto Stock Exchange's main index, on soft global growth prospects and selling pressure on the markets. "With Europe in recession, and Japan and the U.S. economy in borderline status, world growth outlook is the weakest in years," CIBC World Markets chief economist Jeff Rubin said.

OPEC says to trim excess output and talk to Russia

VIENNA (Reuters) - OPEC on Wednesday deepened its links with major non-OPEC producer Russia and said it was cutting back output by around half a million barrels per day. Analysts said the group was seeking to support prices at around $100 after prices have plunged from a record of more than $147 in July to a five-month low below $102 on Tuesday.

RIM launches its first BlackBerry flip phone

TORONTO (Reuters) - Research In Motion Ltd is launching a flip version of its popular BlackBerry Pearl smartphone, a move that reasserts its push into the retail consumer market. Like RIM's original Pearl model, the first-ever flip BlackBerry comes loaded with multimedia features such as a video and music player and a 2-megapixel camera with flash, as well as a Web browser and an abridged keyboard.

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