News from Reuters

CA-BUSINESS Summary

03/07/09

Teck to sell 17 percent stake to China for C$1.7 billion

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's Teck Resources will sell a 17.2 percent equity stake to state-owned China Investment Corp through a private placement that will raise C$1.74 billion ($1.5 billion) and help the miner pay down debt, it said on Friday. Teck, a top producer of zinc, copper, and metallurgical coal, will sell 101.3 million shares at C$17.21 each, a 7 percent discount to Thursday's closing price of C$18.50 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

China moves on Opel with BAIC bid

FRANKFURT/MUNICH (Reuters) - A Chinese automaker has offered to buy a stake in General Motors unit Opel, challenging a deal from Canadian auto parts supplier Magna, sources said on Friday. State-owned Beijing Automotive (BAIC) has submitted an indicative, non-binding offer for Germany's Opel, sources familiar with the situation told Reuters, and would make a binding offer by mid-July.

Teck helps lead TSX higher in quiet session

TORONTO (Reuters) - Toronto's main stock index rose on Friday morning, boosted in part by Teck Resources Ltd's equity sale to China Investment Corp. Teck said on Friday it will sell a 17.2 percent stake to state-owned CIC through a private placement that will raise C$1.74 billion ($1.5 billion).

Oil falls near $66 after bleak U.S. jobs data

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil fell toward $66 a barrel on Friday, adding to a drop of nearly 4 percent the previous day, as unemployment data hardened views economic weakness would sap energy demand further and that last month's rally was overdone. In the latest sign the economy of the world's top consumer was still struggling, data on Thursday showed U.S. employers cut 467,000 jobs in June and the jobless rate rose to a 26-year high. Euro zone unemployment climbed to a 10-year high.

Bombardier gets $97 million Austria tram order

(Reuters) - Rail technology provider Bombardier Transportation, a unit of Canada's Bombardier Inc , said it received an order valued at about $97 million to supply 23 trams to Austrian transport operator Linz Linien GmbH. Delivery for the first vehicle under the order is planned for the beginning of 2011, Bombardier said.

Dollar edges higher in thin market

TORONTO (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar rose against the greenback on Friday morning in thin trading with the U.S. markets closed for a holiday, extending slim gains the previous session on weak U.S. jobs data. The Canadian dollar finished slightly higher against the greenback on Thursday, but well off its session peaks, as a gloomy U.S. jobs report dimmed optimism about the pace of economic recovery and dulled risk appetite.

Major nations should back dollar as key currency: Japan

TOKYO (Reuters) - Major countries should support the dollar as the key international currency, although emerging nations may discuss a new global reserve currency on the sidelines of the G8 summit next week, a Japanese official said on Friday. China has asked for debate on a new global reserve currency when leaders from the Group of Eight (G8) meet with the G5 emerging economies next week in Italy, G8 sources told Reuters. News of the Chinese request pushed the dollar down to a three-week low on Wednesday.

Viterra to insure for crop disaster in ABB deal

SASKATOON, Saskatchewan (Reuters) - Viterra plans to insure against weather-related crop disasters in South Australia if it completes its acquisition of Australia's ABB Grain Ltd , the Canadian grain handling and farm supply company said on Thursday. The grain volume insurance, contingent on the ABB acquisition, would begin to pay out in case of a 33 percent drop in average annual South Australian grain production and would be fully paid out with a 65 percent drop in production. The maximum payout would be A$27 million ($21.7 million).

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.

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.

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