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Reuters Canada Business Summary

05/07/08

BCE buyers finalize funding

TORONTO (Reuters) - Announcing what it said were "essential milestones" allowing the world's largest leveraged buyout to go ahead, BCE Inc said on Friday that its buyers had finalized funding and were sticking to their C$34.8-billion ($34.1 billion) purchase price. In an announcement that was in stark contract to news of buyouts that have crumbled in the United States, the Canadian telecom giant said it expected its going-private deal to close by December 11.

Toronto stock index falls on resources, BCE climbs

TORONTO (Reuters) - The Toronto Stock Exchange's main index retreated on Friday as softer commodity prices pulled down energy and materials issues, while telecoms giant BCE provided an upward push. With U.S. markets closed, many Toronto traders started their weekend early, leading to thin volumes that accentuated the market's volatility, analysts said.

Business group pushes Harper to back WTO farm deal

OTTAWA (Reuters) - A powerful Canadian business group wants Prime Minister Stephen Harper to change his stance on agricultural trade to help achieve a breakthrough in the Doha Round of world trade talks. The Canadian Chamber of Commerce on Friday published a letter it sent to Harper this week that said the Conservative government's defense of protectionist measures for certain farm sectors is "untenable" and a possible barrier to global economic growth and poverty reduction.

TD Bank hit by UK derivatives charge; trader leaves

TORONTO (Reuters) - Toronto-Dominion Bank , Canada's second-largest bank, said on Friday it will take a pretax charge of about C$96 million ($94 million) for the mispricing of derivatives by a senior trader who has left the London office of its investment dealer unit. TD Bank said that the charge in its TD Securities unit was tied to credit derivatives that were not properly priced, and said the unnamed trader left the bank on June 23.

IEA sees oil easing, then tightening to 2013: paper

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The situation on the oil market is likely to ease in 2009/2010 as more production comes on-stream, then tighten again through 2013 as output falls and demand rises, the head of the International Energy Agency said. "The market situation will certainly remain tight until 2013," Nobuo Tanaka told German business daily Handelsblatt in an interview released ahead of publication on Monday.

Canadian dollar ends session, and week, lower

TORONTO (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar limped to a lower close versus the U.S. dollar on Friday and capped off its first losing week in three after a thin, quiet session in which moves were amplified because U.S. markets were closed for Independence Day. Canadian bond prices, which underperformed the U.S. Treasury market all week, continued to benefit from pared expectations for U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate hikes and ended higher across the curve.

Canadian miners could still shine

TORONTO (Reuters) - The slump this week in mining and raw materials stocks, one of Canada's top performing sectors, is likely to be just a hiccup unless the global economy takes a long and lasting turn for the worse. The materials index <.GSPTTMT>, which makes up nearly 20 percent of Toronto Stock Exchange's main S&P/TSX composite index <.GSPTSE>, fell 4.9 percent in a holiday-shortened week, with Canadian markets closed on Tuesday and U.S. ones closed early on Thursday and all day Friday.

Ivey index rises more than expected

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canadian business purchasing activity increased more than expected in June, according to the Ivey Purchasing Managers Index released on Friday, but the Ivey figures also signaled the Canadian jobs market may be weakening. The purchasing index, the joint project of the Purchasing Management Association of Canada and the Richard Ivey School of Business, rose to 69.6 in June from 62.5 in May. That was better than market expectations for a reading of 62.0.

Viterra's Saskatchewan union plans for strike

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) - Unionized workers will begin a limited strike at Viterra Inc , Canada's largest grain handler, on Monday, the day the company says it will impose terms of a contract offer that was rejected by the employees. The Grain Services Union said the action will involve a walkout by unionized employees at Viterra's Regina, Saskatchewan, headquarters, and a refusal of workers at other facilities in the province to work overtime or do other additional duties.

Oil falls below $144 as Iran responds to nuclear offer

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil dropped below $144 a barrel on Friday, but was still within sight of record highs reached in the previous session when traders bought into the market ahead of a holiday weekend in the United States. U.S. crude oil was down $1.44 at $143.85 a barrel by 1:00 p.m. EDT, below an all-time high of $145.85 hit on Thursday. The contract has risen more than 50 percent this year.

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