News from Reuters

CA-BUSINESS Summary

07/01/09

Intel warns again on fourth-quarter revenue

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Microchip maker Intel Corp issued its second revenue warning on the fourth quarter since November, as demand for personal computers weakens worldwide, and its shares fell 3.25 percent. The world's biggest maker of the central processing units (CPUs) at the heart of every PC dropped its fourth-quarter revenue forecast to $8.2 billion, down from $9 billion in November. In October, the company had expected a range of $10.1 billion to $10.9 billion.

Canada to see "pretty terrible" start to '09: panel

TORONTO (Reuters) - The Canadian economy is in for a rough ride through the first half of the year and will see little or no growth in 2009 as the recession takes hold, top economists from Canada's largest banks said on Wednesday. The economy will also continue to shed thousands of jobs and the unemployment rate will move higher as fallout from the global financial crisis takes its toll.

TSX drops 2.6 pct as oils, gold drag

TORONTO (Reuters) - Toronto's main stock index was 2.6 percent lower at midday on Wednesday, led down by oil and gold shares as commodity prices dropped and as a bout of profit-taking set in after six straight sessions of gains. The energy sector was down 4.7 percent as the price of oil slumped more than $3 a barrel after a U.S. government inventory report showed supplies rose more than expected. Oil company EnCana , the index's biggest mover, shed 4.8 percent to C$57.93.

Rogers stock drops after analyst's downgrade

TORONTO (Reuters) - Shares of Rogers Communications Inc fell more than 3 percent on Wednesday after an analyst downgraded the stock following the release of weaker-than-expected cable-TV subscriber results. David Lambert, an analyst at Canaccord Adams, cut his rating on the shares to "hold" from "buy" and reduced his 12-month target to C$35 from C$38.

Accounting scandal at Satyam could be India's Enron

BANGALORE (Reuters) - The head of Indian outsourcing company Satyam Computer Services resigned on Wednesday, disclosing that profits had been falsely inflated for years and sending its shares plunging nearly 80 percent. India's biggest corporate scandal in memory threatens future foreign investment flows into Asia's third-largest economy and casts a cloud over growth in its once-booming outsourcing sector.

Air Canada, WestJet say planes fuller in December

CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - Canada's two major airlines said on Wednesday their planes flew with higher passenger loads in December as Air Canada cut capacity and smaller rival WestJet Airlines Ltd attracted more travelers despite a weak economy. Air Canada, the biggest national carrier, said its load factor, a measure of how crowded its planes flew, rose to 82.7 percent in December, up 3.4 percentage points from 79.3 percent in December 2007.

Union gears up for negotiations with GM and Chrysler

DETROIT (Reuters) - United Auto Workers bargaining teams are arriving this week in Detroit as the union gears up for negotiations with General Motors Corp and Chrysler LLC, which are mandated to cut labor costs under a $17.4 billion federal bailout. UAW leaders were converging for a series of internal meetings to prepare for talks with the automakers, who have until March 31 to wrangle steep labor-cost concessions from the UAW.

RBC expands in Brazil with asset firm

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Royal Bank of Canada , Canada's biggest bank, plans to hire 40 people as it opens an asset management company in Brazil on expectations Latin America's largest economy will grow in years ahead despite the global crisis, a top executive said. The bank decided to enter the Brazilian market two years ago and stuck to the plan even after rethinking its international expansion in 2008 because of the global market turmoil, said Jose Luiz Sa de Castro Lima, RBC's general manager for Latin America.

Oil drops largest percentage in 7 years on crude build

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices slid 12 percent on Wednesday, the largest percentage drop in seven years, after a U.S. government report showed crude inventories rose much more than expected in the world's top energy consumer. Crude oil stocks swelled by 6.7 million barrels, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said, more than seven times the 900,000-barrel increase analysts had expected.

GM says government loans cover worst scenario: report

(Reuters) - General Motors Corp has adequate government loans pledged to cover the worst-case scenario it outlined in December to Congress and will not need more unless the economy worsens, a Bloomberg report said. "The U.S. Treasury's $13.4 billion bridge loan to GM, coupled with the separate transaction for (lender) GMAC, meets our liquidity needs under the scenarios outlined in our December plan to Congress," GM spokesman Greg Martin told the agency.

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