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CA-BUSINESS Summary

29/10/09

Barrick Gold posts net loss on $5.7 billion charge

TORONTO (Reuters) - Barrick Gold Corp reported a third-quarter net loss on Thursday, as it absorbed a $5.7 billion charge to unwind gold hedges, but the Canadian miner said core earnings rose, helped by higher gold prices. The company, the world's largest gold producer, posted a loss of $5.4 billion, or $6.07 a share, compared with a year-earlier profit of $254 million, or 29 cents a share.

Global stocks hit three-week low on recovery jitters

DUBAI (Reuters) - World stocks hit a three-week low on Thursday, following a sharp fall on Wall Street, as disappointing European corporate results and weak U.S. data fanned concerns about the strength of the economic recovery. Oil major Royal Dutch Shell fell more than 3 percent after its third quarter net profits fell 73 percent and Chief Executive Peter Voser warned of a slow recovery.

Shell cuts 5,000 jobs as profits tumble

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil majors Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Eni dashed hopes of an imminent turnaround for the industry, as sluggish economic recovery weighs on energy demand and prices, contributing to a big drop in profits. Shell, Europe's largest oil company by market value, said on Thursday it was cutting 5,000 jobs, after net profit dropped 73 percent in the third quarter to $2.99 billion.

Oil rises near $78 on expected U.S. economic growth

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil rose toward $78 on Thursday as the United States, the world's biggest energy consumer, was expected to return to economic growth, but gains were limited by the weakness of prompt fuel demand. U.S. crude oil futures rose 28 cents to $77.74 a barrel by 0941 GMT (5:41 a.m. EDT). London Brent crude rose 42 cents to $76.28.

Bank of Canada says China FX policy "great risk"

OTTAWA (Reuters) - China's foreign exchange policy poses a great risk and it is a top priority of global policy makers to work toward a change, Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney said on Wednesday. "They are running a great risk with this policy. It is a cause of some of the imbalances in the global economy. It is a contributing factor to some of the vulnerabilities that have existed and were realized," Carney told a Senate committee.

Insider trading and suicide in Canada: a buddy story

TORONTO (Reuters) - The phone call on Christmas Eve 2007 was like all the others. Gil Cornblum, a respected Toronto lawyer, told his law school buddy, an unemployed consultant named Stanko Grmovsek, that a corporate merger was about to take place -- and to start buying stock. The old friends had turned a profit that way dozens of times already, using confidential information garnered on deals by Cornblum to invest in companies ahead of major market moving news like mergers and acquisitions.

Canadian Oil Sands profit falls with prices, output

CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - Canadian Oil Sands Trust , which has the biggest stake in Syncrude Canada Ltd, said on Wednesday its third-quarter earnings fell 59 percent as oil prices tumbled from last year's heights and production dipped. Still, Canadian Oil Sands increased its quarterly distribution by 10 Canadian cents to 35 Canadian cents a unit, a move it said reflected recent gains in oil prices and in production at Syncrude, which averaged 312,000 barrels a day in the third quarter.

Resale home prices rise in August: survey

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canadian home resale prices rose for a fourth straight month in August and there were gains in all six major metropolitan areas surveyed, according to a report on Wednesday. The Teranet-National Bank Composite House Price Index, which measures price changes for repeat sales of single-family homes, showed overall prices were up 2.0 percent on the month.

Hydro-Quebec to take over NB Power-report

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) - New Brunswick said it would make an "energy related" announcement on Thursday, amid a report that the Atlantic coast province had struck a deal to sell its electric utility. The Canadian Broadcasting Corp reported on Wednesday that Hydro Quebec, one of North America's biggest power utilities and an exporter to the United States, had agreed to take over New Brunswick Power. The CBC did not identify the source of its information.

Maple Leaf Foods posts profit, listeria crisis past

TORONTO (Reuters) - Maple Leaf Foods Inc , one of Canada's largest food processors, returned to profit in the third quarter on strong performances at its bakery and prepared meats divisions as it recovered from the effects of a costly tainted meat recall last year. Maple Leaf said on Wednesday it earned C$22.5 million ($21 million), or 17 Canadian cents a share, in the third quarter, ended September 30, compared with a loss of C$12.9 million, or 10 Canadian cents a share, in the same period a year earlier, when it was reeling from the effects of the deadly meat scandal.

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