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CA-BUSINESS Summary

25/09/08

Toronto stocks open lower on weaker commodities

TORONTO (Reuters) - The Toronto Stock Exchange's main index opened lower on Thursday due to weakness in energy and materials stocks, which fell along with slumping commodity prices. The S&P/TSX composite index <.GSPTSE> was down 71.06 points, or 0.57 percent, at 12,422.30.

Corus issues 2009 free cash flow, profit forecasts

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadian media and entertainment company Corus Entertainment Inc is targeting free cash flow of C$70 million ($67.3 million) to C$90 million and consolidated profit between C$270 million and C$280 million. Free cash flow refers to earnings before depreciation and amortization, but includes capital expenditures.

Bombardier scraps Russian train maker deal: report

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Aerospace and transport technology firm Bombardier has pulled out of talks to acquire a stake in Russian railway engineering firm TransMashHolding, Kommersant newspaper reported on Thursday. Citing the head of Russian Railways, a state-owned rail monopoly and a major shareholder of TransMashHolding, the paper reported that Bombardier's board had balked at the asking price of the Russian firm.

Medtronic to buy CryoCath for $380 million

(Reuters) - Medtronic Inc agreed to buy Canada's CryoCath Technologies Inc for about C$400 million ($380 million) to strengthen the U.S-based medical device maker's presence in treating abnormal heart rhythms, or cardiac arrhythmias. The offer price of C$8.75 a share is almost twice that of CryoCath's close price of C$4.44 Wednesday on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Dollar rises vs broadly weaker greenback

TORONTO (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar rose against a broadly weaker U.S. dollar on Thursday as U.S. weekly jobless claims data painted a bleaker picture of the economy and investors worried about delays to the U.S. rescue package for the financial sector. Canadian bond prices were mixed as the market waited for news on the U.S. plan, which is working its way through Congress.

Bush pushes bailout plan

LONDON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - President George W. Bush will press for agreement on a massive bailout of U.S. financial firms on Thursday in an emergency meeting with lawmakers, including the two men battling to succeed him. The emergency White House meeting takes place after top U.S. industrial conglomerate General Electric Co cut its earnings forecast, citing "unprecedented weakness and volatility" in the financial services market, and new data added to concerns about the weak U.S. economy.

Oil falls on bailout concerns, demand

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil fell on Thursday on lingering uncertainty about the proposed U.S. $700 billion bank bailout plan plus further evidence of a slump in oil demand in top consumer nations. U.S. crude traded down $1.62 to $104.11 a barrel by 8:05 a.m. EDT, adding to losses of 88 cents on Wednesday. London Brent crude fell $1.67 to $100.78.

Flaherty urges spending control

OTTAWA (Reuters) - The government must control the rate of spending growth if it is to keep within its expenditure targets, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said on Wednesday. Flaherty's Conservative government concedes it has not managed to keep a promise to keep the rate of spending growth at the same level, or lower, than the rate of growth of nominal gross domestic product.

Cineplex says it takes a pass on U.S. assets

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Cineplex Entertainment, Canada's biggest movie exhibitor, said on Wednesday it is being bombarded with offers to buy cheap U.S. assets, but that it does not want to get distracted from home-grown growth opportunities. Majority owned by Cineplex Galaxy Income Fund , the company said it will spend between $8 million and $10 million in 2008 to expand its loyalty program and Internet operations.

CN Rail CFO see no need for railway price wars

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) - North America's railroads are unlikely to turn to predatory pricing to maintain revenue growth, Canadian National Railway Co's chief financial officer said on Wednesday. Railways have been winning business from trucks because of high fuel prices, and the increased demand means there is not a lot of excess capacity in the track networks," Claude Mongeau told a CIBC World Markets conference in Montreal.

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