News from Reuters

CA-BUSINESS Summary

02/07/09

Ford sales jump, rest of Canada auto sector slumps

TORONTO (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co of Canada was the number one selling automaker in the country for the first time in 50 years as it posted a 25 percent jump in sales in June over a year earlier, the company said on Thursday. Overall auto sales in Canada fell by 13.2 percent in June to 138,500 units, according to data from DesRosiers Automotive Consultants Inc. It was the eighth month in a row of year-over-year sales declines.

Magna board set to approve Opel plans: sources

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Magna's board of directors is scheduled to approve on Tuesday a business plan for the acquisition of German carmaker Opel, two sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday. The Canadian auto parts supplier and Opel parent General Motors have already clarified most of the major issues in weeks of tough negotiations and they expect to resolve the last few issues holding up the takeover by July 7, the sources said.

TSX slides on weak oil, U.S. jobs data

TORONTO (Reuters) - Toronto's main stock index finished lower on Thursday as oil prices slid and a gloomy U.S. jobs report dimmed hopes for a quick economic recovery. U.S. employers cut more jobs than expected in June and the unemployment rate rose to 9.5 percent, the highest level in 26 years.

Canada's recession losses to be long term: report

OTTAWA (Reuters) - More Canadians will be out of work in 2014 than prior to the recession, even if the economy recovers quickly and expands at a healthy clip for the next five years, a prominent economist forecast on Thursday. Canada's economy appears set to stop shrinking in the third quarter of 2009 and begin to grow by year-end. But consumers and businesses should not count on recouping the losses from three quarters of recession for years to come, according to a study by Dale Orr, an independent economist and formerly one of Canada's leading forecasters at Global Insight.

Quebecor World reorganization plans approved

TORONTO (Reuters) - Bankrupt commercial printer Quebecor World Inc said on Thursday that its U.S. and Canadian plans of reorganization have been approved by a U.S. bankruptcy court and the Quebec Superior Court. The approvals follow hearings held jointly in Quebec and New York on June 30 that sanctioned Quebecor's reorganization plans.

Fate of GM in hands of bankruptcy judge

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A federal bankruptcy judge will decide the immediate fate of General Motors Corp's effort to quickly sell its best assets to a group funded by the U.S. government, after a three-day court hearing concluded on Thursday. The iconic U.S. automaker wrapped up the final day of its sale hearing in U.S. bankruptcy court in Manhattan by asking Judge Robert Gerber for approval to sell its best assets to a "New GM" funded by the U.S. government.

Flaherty says has no plans to add to stimulus

SANTIAGO, Chile (Reuters) - Canada has no immediate plans to increase the size of its two-year stimulus plan, which is designed to pump an extra C$46 billion ($40 billion) into the economy, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said on Thursday. The minority Conservative government has consistently said it would be prepared to boost the plan if necessary.

J&J buys $1 billion Elan stake, gains Alzheimer's R&D

BOSTON (Reuters) - Johnson & Johnson has agreed to pay $1 billion for an 18.4 percent stake in Irish drugmaker Elan Corp , and will acquire a major stake in Elan's portfolio of experimental drugs to treat Alzheimer's disease. The transaction, announced on Thursday, will, among other things, give J&J a 25 percent interest in a closely watched Alzheimer's drug called bapineuzumab, which Elan is developing in a 50-50 partnership with Wyeth. Wyeth is being acquired by Pfizer Inc .

Air Canada union gears up for new talks on Friday

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Negotiators for Air Canada's biggest bargaining unit are meeting in Toronto on Thursday to review their options before holding talks with the cash-strapped airline on Friday to try to forge a contract that union members will accept. A slim majority of the technical, maintenance, and operational services workers at Air Canada -- members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers -- voted against a tentative 21-month deal that would have frozen wages and pension funding.

U.S. marshals seize Madoffs' $7 million NY apartment

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. marshals seized the luxury $7 million New York City penthouse apartment of imprisoned fraudster Bernard Madoff and his wife, Ruth, officials said on Thursday. A spokesman for the U.S. Marshals Service said Mrs. Madoff was present when agents took possession of the four-bedroom apartment on Manhattan's East Side under court orders and then she left. It was not known where she would live and her lawyer could not be reached for comment.

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