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CA-BUSINESS Summary

11/01/09

Conservatives plan C$40 bln budget: CTV

TORONTO (Reuters) - The Conservative Party plans to present a $40 billion (US$ 34 billion) deficit, the highest since 1993, in the federal budget to be unveiled this month, CTV television reported. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said on Thursday that Canada will run a "substantial" budget deficit in the next fiscal year as it enacts stimulus measures to help shelter the economy from the effects of the global economic downturn.

GM says could seek further U.S. loans

DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Corp Chief Executive Rick Wagoner said the struggling automaker had enough funding to last through March but could still seek additional U.S. government loans beyond the $13.4 billion it has already been pledged. Wagoner, speaking to reporters at the Detroit auto show, also said GM was still seeking a potential buyer for its Saab brand. "We're still looking," he said.

Takeover talk returns to oil patch

CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - Shares of Canadian oil producers, hard hit by crashing commodity prices and the credit crunch, have staged a quiet comeback since bottoming out in November and observers say the takeover chatter that roiled the market late last year may return as conditions improve. Plunging oil prices, which have retreated by more than $100 a barrel since peaking above $147 last July, have forced oil producers to retrench as their cash flows dwindle and credit markets remain tight.

Canada sees big job losses, need for more credit

TORONTO (Reuters) - Finance Minister Jim Flaherty warned on Friday of significant Canadian job losses in 2009 and said he was not ruling anything out as he prepares a stimulus package for a budget that he said would run a large deficit. "We're in for a very difficult year," the Conservative government minister said. "We are going to have substantial job losses. We need to respond to the needs of people who will lose their jobs this year."

AIG close to deal for Canadian life unit: source

NEW YORK (Reuters) - American International Group Inc is close to a deal to sell its Canadian life insurance business, a source close to the transaction said on Friday. The two sides are still in negotiations and a deal has not been finalized, but an announcement could come next week, the source said.

Daimler CEO says to invest throughout crisis

DETROIT (Reuters) - Daimler Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche on Saturday said he would not jeopardize the automaker's long-term success by cutting spending on product planning and research and vowed to roll out at least one new hybrid vehicle per year. "Despite the enormous pressures that our entire industry is under these days, we are facing the year 2009 with measured confidence," Dieter Zetsche was quoted in a copy of a speech to be delivered ahead of the Detroit auto show.

TSX closes lower as crude retreats

TORONTO (Reuters) - Toronto's key stock index closed sharply lower on Friday as employment data from Canada and the United States provided more evidence of a global recession, undercutting oil prices and shaking the resource-heavy TSX. After charging out of the gate in 2009 with a string of solid gains that had the index up 5.76 percent earlier this week, a few losing sessions, mostly at the hands of lower oil prices, have left the market up just 1 percent on the year.

India installs new Satyam board

HYDERABAD, India (Reuters) - The Indian government installed a new board at Satyam Computer Services Ltd on Sunday as authorities stepped up efforts to limit the damage from a fraud that has become India's biggest corporate scandal. The three-member board will meet at Satyam headquarters in the southern city of Hyderabad at about 0400 GMT on Monday to lay out a roadmap for restoring confidence of clients and staff following revelations of a massive accounting fraud.

Ottawa defers first batch of auto aid to mid-January

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Ottawa has agreed to a request by the Canadian arms of General Motors Corp and Chrysler LLC to defer their first emergency loans until mid-January, a government official said on Friday. "We have agreed to this request," said Pierre-Luc Poisson, a spokesman at Industry Canada.

Oil falls 2 percent on U.S. unemployment data

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices fell 2 percent on Friday after data showing a big rise in U.S. unemployment deepened the gloomy outlook for the world's biggest oil consumer. U.S. crude for February delivery settled down 87 cents at $40.83, with late short-covering pulling prices above earlier lows below $40. London Brent crude settled down 25 cents at $44.42.

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