News from Reuters

CA-BUSINESS Summary

25/11/09

TSX pushes higher on golds, financials

TORONTO (Reuters) - Toronto's main stock index was higher on Wednesday morning, as red-hot gold prices boosted shares of resource issues, while financials were helped by mostly healthy U.S. economic data. Gold prices surged to record highs above $1,180 an ounce, boosted by reports India may be interested in buying more bullion from the International Monetary Fund, and by a weaker U.S. dollar that fell against most major currencies .

Canadian dollar at 1-week high on Russia central bank comments

LONDON (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar rose to a one-week high against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday after the Russian central bank said it was preparing to invest some of its foreign exchange reserves in the Canadian currency. "Technical preparations are underway for operations with Canadian dollars. Then there could be a couple of other currencies and this will be it," Russian central bank official Sergei Shvetsov said.

GM to build 2011 Buick Regal in Oshawa, Ontario

TORONTO (Reuters) - General Motors Co said on Wednesday it will build the 2011 Buick Regal in Oshawa, Ontario, as part of a commitment with governments in Canada in exchange for billions in aid money. Canada and the province of Ontario provided GM with $9.5 billion in loans earlier this year to help the company avoid liquidation during the steep downturn in the auto industry.

CN Rail engineers give 72 hours' strike notice

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadian National Railway Co said on Wednesday it has received 72 hours' notice that its 1,700 locomotive engineers in Canada plan to strike on November 28. Canadian National, the country's biggest railway, said it is urging the Teamsters union, which represents the engineers, to resume negotiations immediately to reach a settlement or submit disputed issues to binding arbitration before the strike deadline.

Ericsson, Kapsch win bid for Nortel's GSM assets

TORONTO/STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Sweden's Ericsson and Austria's Kapsch CarrierCom AG will acquire certain wireless technology assets from Nortel Networks Corp , the bankrupt Canadian telecom equipment maker said on Wednesday. The $103 million deal is the latest in a series of asset sales announced by Nortel, which filed for bankruptcy protection in January. Instead of restructuring its businesses, the company has opted to auction off assets and pay back debt holders.

Canada resale home prices rise in September: report

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canadian home resale prices rose for a fifth straight month in September on gains in five of six major metropolitan markets 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 1.3 percent in September from August, the smallest rise in four months.

Russia c.bank to add Canadian dollar to reserves

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's Central Bank said on Wednesday it is preparing to invest some of its foreign exchange reserves in Canadian dollars to diversify its portfolio, which helped push the U.S. dollar to its lowest in over a year. Moscow also continued its push for less reliance on the U.S. currency in international trade, saying on Wednesday that Brazil was interested in settling bilateral trade in roubles and real.

QLT shares jump on Visudyne settlement

TORONTO (Reuters) - QLT Inc's shares jumped more than 12 percent on Wednesday after the Canadian eye care company reached a settlement with Massachusetts General Hospital related to QLT's Visudyne anti-blindness treatment. Under the terms of the settlement, QLT will pay $20 million to MGH for royalty obligations. In exchange, the hospital has agreed to drop its lawsuit against the Vancouver-based company.

Cossette rejects Cosmos's new takeover offer

TORONTO (Reuters) - Cossette Inc , Canada's largest home-grown advertising company, urged shareholders on Wednesday not to tender shares to a takeover bid from Canada's Cosmos Capital that matches a rival offer from U.S. private equity group Mill Road Capital. Earlier this month, Mill Road reached an agreement with Cossette to acquire the company for C$7.87 a share, trumping Cosmos's earlier bid of C$5.25 a share. Last week, Cosmos said it would match Mill Road's C$131.5 million ($125.3 million) offer.

Germany takes brunt of Opel job cuts, Saab in limbo

RUESSELSHEIM/STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - General Motors targeted Germany on Wednesday for the bulk of 9,000 planned job cuts at European arm Opel, turning the tables on the country that lobbied hardest for an Opel sale to Canada's Magna. At the same, the U.S. automaker cast around for fresh options for Sweden's loss-making Saab after the collapse of its sale to luxury carmaker Koenigsegg added a new dimension to its tortuous European restructuring plans.

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