Loonie jumps to mid '08 level, jobs data beats expectations; stocks to open up

TORONTO - The Canadian dollar surged to its highest level since July 2008 on Friday, following the release of jobs data for February that came in better than expected. Statistics Canada said 21,000 jobs were created last month, better than the 15,000 that had been expected by many economists, while the unemployment rate fell by one percentage point to 8.2 per cent from 8.3 per cent. - Read more...

Canada adds another 21,000 net jobs as unemployment rate slides to 8.2 per cent

OTTAWA - Canada's recovering economy continued to churn out new jobs last month, adding 60,000 full-time positions - mostly in the public sector and many filled by men aged 55 or more. It's the February unemployment rate of 8.2 per cent was the lowest reported by Statistics Canada since last April, before the country began to recover froma major recession. - Read more...

Retail sales post surprising 0.3 pct February increase raising hopes economy gaining momentum

WASHINGTON - The U.S. government says retail sales posted a surprising increase in February, as consumers kept buying despite major snowstorms that hit eastern states. The biggest retail advance since November when sales were boosted by U.S. Thanksgiving, provided hope that the economic recovery is gaining momentum. - Read more...

Oil moves above $82 in Europe after IEA forecasts a rise in Asian demand

Oil prices moved above US$82 a barrel Friday after the International Energy Agency brightened its outlook for world demand, predicting a surge in Asian economic activity will make up for a fall in developed countries. By early afternoon in Europe, benchmark crude for April delivery was up 57 cents to $82.68 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose two cents to settle at $82.11 on Thursday. - Read more...

First Uranium shareholders provide capital lifeline

TORONTO - First Uranium Corp. (TSX:FIU) is getting a much-needed infusion of capital from a major shareholder and a new chief executive. The Toronto-based gold and uranium company had warned last month that its financial condition had been "severely compromised" by problems getting government environmental approval for a future storage site in South Africa. - Read more...

Vale Inco workers in Sudbury, Ont., reject offer to end 8-month strike

SUDBURY, Ont. - Vale Inco workers in Sudbury, Ont., have voted 88.7 per cent to reject the company's latest contract offer. Their colleagues at the nickel miner's operation in Port Colborne, Ont., cast their votes today. The offer was presented to the union bargaining committee on Sunday during exploratory talks with a mediator in Toronto. - Read more...

Emera Inc. to acquire Maine & Maritimes Corp. for about $75.7 million

HALIFAX, N.S. - Canadian power and pipeline company Emera Inc. (TSX:EMA) says it has reached an agreement to acquire Maine & Maritimes Corp. (NYSE:MAM) for about US$75.7 million in cash. The acquisition, announced Friday by the Halifax-based company, is worth $45 per share in cash, a 40 per cent premium over the closing price on Thursday. - Read more...

IEA lifts 2010 oil demand forecast as Chinese growth offsets lower OECD demand

PARIS, France - World oil demand will rise this year due to surging economic activity in Asian countries, especially China, the International Energy Agency said Friday as it bumped up its forecasts. The Paris-based IEA, which advises oil-consuming countries, predicted in its monthly report that oil demand will average 86.6 million barrels a day this year, or 1.6 million barrels a day more than in 2009. - Read more...

Norwegian fertilizer group Yara won't up bid for Terra after higher CF offer

OSLO, Norway - Norwegian fertilizer company Yara International ASA says it will not increase its offer to acquire U.S. competitor Terra Industries after Terra's board chose to favour a higher bid from CF Industries. Yara CEO Joergen Ole Haslestad said Friday that while Terra is "a perfect fit" for Yara at the original price of $4.1 billion the Oslo-based company would not increase its offer. - Read more...

Alberta cuts royalty rates for oil and gas industry in bid to win investment

CALGARY - The Alberta government said Thursday it will slash its royalty take from oil and gas producers, many of whom responded to a new regime introduced a year ago by moving their investment elsewhere. "We can't pretend that oil and gas investment levels haven't eroded or that we don't have a responsibility to current and future generations of Albertans to address that," Energy Minister Ron Liepert said. - Read more...

Agrium drops hostile takeover offer for U.S. company CF Industries

CALGARY - Canadian fertilizer giant Agrium Inc. is dropping its US$5.5-billion takeover bid for U.S. company CF Industries Holdings Inc., which this week came one step closer to winning a hostile acquisition of its own. The Calgary-based company said Thursday it will let its offer for CF expire on March 22 after being rebuffed for more than a year. - Read more...

UBS says US tax service has info on cross-border activities of 20 Swiss banks

GENEVA - UBS AG says the U.S. Internal Revenue Service has collected information on the cross-border activities of about 20 Swiss banks in the course of its amnesty program for American tax evaders. The claim is contained in a letter sent to Swiss parliamentarians urging them to approve a treaty between Switzerland and the United States on improving co-operation on tax evasion matters. - Read more...

Transat stock hammered after Q1 loss turns out to be deeper than expected

MONTREAL - Transat A.T. Inc. said it's model as one of Canada's largest vacation companies isn't broken even though poor results and the prospect of a loss for the key winter travel period caused its shares to plunge Thursday. Transat's class B shares (TSX:TRZ.B) fell $5.80 to close at $13.70 on the Toronto Stock Exchange, a decline of nearly 30 per cent. - Read more...

MPs accuse Transport Canada of inaction over Toyota safety concerns

OTTAWA - Transport Canada came under fire from MPs on Thursday over its handling of safety concerns with Toyota vehicles after disclosing that authorities had received 17 acceleration-related complaints before last fall's recall. Department officials were called on the carpet by opposition MPs at a committee meeting to answer why they did not respond more quickly to the problems. - Read more...

Positive trade, housing data suggest economic recovery taking hold

TORONTO - There are more signs that the Canadian economy is getting healthier and stronger, with housing and trade data adding to recent reports that suggest a recovery is indeed taking hold. Statistics Canada reported Thursday that the country posted a trade surplus with the world of $799 million in January, compared with a surplus of $75 million in December. - Read more...

India industrial output surges in Jan, fourth month of double digit expansion

MUMBAI, India - India's factory output surged 16.7 per cent in January from a year earlier - its fourth month of double-digit expansion - as government measures to stimulate demand give way to a deepening economic rebound, official figures showed Friday. The Ministry of Statistics also revised up its industrial production growth figure for December, from 16.8 per cent to 17.6 per cent, which is the sharpest monthly rise in at least five years. - Read more...

17th case of mad cow disease delays Canada's movement into better risk status

EDMONTON - The president of Canada Beef Export Federation says the country's 17th case of mad cow disease has not affected markets. The beef cow was born in 2004 in Alberta, and the fatal degenerative brain disease was confirmed on Feb. 25, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency reported on its website. - Read more...

Mont. governor seeks federal permission to import cheaper drugs from Canada for state programs

HELENA, Mon. - Gov. Brian Schweitzer said Thursday that he is seeking U.S. government permission to import cheaper drugs from Canada for use in state insurance programs. Schweitzer said he thinks the move could chop 40 per cent off the $100 million the state spends each year on prescription drugs for Medicaid, the children's health insurance program, state employees, and inmates at the prison. - Read more...