Financial Post - Top Stories

Future of TransCanada’s Mainline could spur Canada’s next great energy debate

Sat, 26 May 2012 01:08:51 Z

Claudia Cattaneo: With TransCanada looking to switch its namesake pipeline from gas to oil, this country could be heading for its own Keystone-XL-sized controversy

Maybe debt isn't so bad after all

Fri, 25 May 2012 18:25:38 Z

Debt is what keeps the economy going, economist says, and borrowing from the future to pay for something you need now is actually quite legitimate

Why you shouldn’t become a condo speculator

Fri, 25 May 2012 19:05:23 Z

David Kaufman: Buying a condo as a speculative investment is gambling. And the odds are not always in your favour

Why Facebook hype never made sense to me

Fri, 25 May 2012 23:56:09 Z

Diane Francis: I bought Google in its early days because I had figured out the business model. I did not buy Facebook stock because I have never understood it

CP Rail says striking workers have more generous pensions than most

Sat, 26 May 2012 00:12:11 Z

The pension offer being made to the union representing some 4,800 striking railway employees is better than the industry standard, the firm said Friday as negotiations continued ahead of looming back-to-work legislation

Bankia seeks US$24-billion bailout as debt worries mount

Fri, 25 May 2012 23:42:54 Z

The Spanish lender, which was nationalized earlier this month, will seek US$23.8-billion of government funds as it provisions against real estate and non-property loans

Ottawa to raise foreign takeover review threshold to $1-billion

Fri, 25 May 2012 17:01:44 Z

The federal government is raising the monetary threshold for a review of a foreign takeover of a Canadian company to $1-billion from $330-million over four years

RBC still dogged by school lawsuit over sale of toxic investments

Fri, 25 May 2012 22:58:20 Z

In 2008, a group of Wisconsin school districts launched a lawsuit alleging that RBC improperly sold them US$200-million of “ultra-risky” investments. The legal battle remains ongoing

Facebook IPO fiasco deepens investors’ fear of stock market

Fri, 25 May 2012 19:12:35 Z

Facebook’s IPO, plagued by trading errors and a 16% drop in share price, will push more investors out of a stock market they already distrust after the financial crisis

If Canadian bank stocks fall, it’s time to buy: Rosenberg

Fri, 25 May 2012 16:41:25 Z

Noted bear David Rosenberg said Friday he would become a buyer of Canadian bank stocks if they sell off due to the fallout from the eurozone debt crisis

Lower financials leave TSX little changed, market snaps three-week losing run

Fri, 25 May 2012 21:56:29 Z

Lower financials leave TSX little changed, market snaps three-week losing run

Conservatives on track to eliminate federal deficit ahead of schedule

Fri, 25 May 2012 16:26:04 Z

The federal government’s budget deficit was nearly $1.5-billion less than forecast last year, putting Ottawa on track to eliminate its total shortfall well ahead of schedule

Japan is key for oil prices

Fri, 25 May 2012 15:57:48 Z

Oil bulls battered by a recent slump in crude prices can take heart: Japanese utilities are still buying sweet crude heavily, propping up Asian oil prices even as Western benchmarks stumble

Consumer confidence in Canada gets big boost in May: Conference Board

Fri, 25 May 2012 18:04:37 Z

Consumer confidence is surging across the country, according to the latest survey by the Conference Board of Canada

Canadian dollar hits four-month low against greenback as euro woes weigh

Fri, 25 May 2012 18:27:55 Z

The Canadian dollar tumbled to a four-month low against its U.S. counterpart on Friday as investors fretted about Spain’s deteriorating finances and a possible Greek exit from the euro

Toronto, Calgary lead home price gains in April: CREA

Fri, 25 May 2012 15:44:08 Z

Toronto had the biggest year-to-year jump in home prices while Calgary led the country on a month-to-month basis in April, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association

Spain suspends Bankia shares ahead of rescue plea

Fri, 25 May 2012 12:28:48 Z

Shares in Spain’s fourth-biggest lender Bankia SA were suspended on the Madrid stock exchange today, ahead of an evening announcement when the bank is expected to ask the state for a rescue of more than $19-billion

Bad press aside, Facebook still the second biggest IPO in Wall Street history

Fri, 25 May 2012 13:57:32 Z

Can you guess the first? Check out the top 25 market debuts and how the companies have fared since

Garda World profit rises on growth in emerging markets

Fri, 25 May 2012 12:26:39 Z

Garda World profit rises on growth in emerging markets

Fidelity facing 'thousands' of clients hit by Facebook woes

Fri, 25 May 2012 02:06:00 Z

Fidelity Investments said it was working with “thousands” of brokerage clients affected by trading issues that have engulfed the social network‘s IPO, according to a source

Héroux-Devtek profit rises on higher industrial sales

Fri, 25 May 2012 12:43:38 Z

Héroux-Devtek profit rises on higher industrial sales

Canadian firms lag international peers in emerging markets growth

Thu, 24 May 2012 22:59:07 Z

When it comes to developing markets in overseas emerging economies, some Canadian companies are still missing the boat

Here's another indicator that China’s economic slowdown is real

Thu, 24 May 2012 19:23:57 Z

An exclusive Bloomberg report says China’s biggest banks could miss their loan targets for the first time in seven years, as China’s slowdown is affecting demand for credit

How Harper’s hardline on labour disputes hurts business

Thu, 24 May 2012 18:13:29 Z

Analysis: Prime minister Stephen Harper’s hardline approach to labour disputes may help bring a quick end to a strike at CP Rail. But it may also keep the company from cutting labour costs

Former RIM global sales head left to join audio firm: sources

Fri, 25 May 2012 00:09:46 Z

Patrick Spence, who resigned this week as global head of sales at struggling the BlackBerry maker, has been hired as chief commercial officer at wireless home audio company Sonos

GoldQuest shares pop 313% thanks to Dominican Republic drill discovery

Thu, 24 May 2012 21:36:30 Z

As global economic volatility increased and investors lost their appetite for risky stocks, juniors have struggled to get any attention — making the bump in GoldQuest shares all the more impressive

U.S. investment firm may have lost $35-million on Facebook trades

Thu, 24 May 2012 22:27:04 Z

Citadel said it lost money on Facebook trades in its broker-dealer unit that may be as much as US$35-million, according to a person with knowledge of the firm

Mortgage debt 'stretching Canadian households thin'

Thu, 24 May 2012 14:46:30 Z

Canadian credit rating agency DBRS adds its voice to the growing chorus of concern over Canada's housing market

Governments, corporations preparing contigency plans for Greek eurozone exit

Thu, 24 May 2012 17:06:13 Z

At least half of eurozone governments as well as banks and large companies like International Airlines Group and BMW are making contingency plans in case Greece leaves the single currency area

Closing Bell: Toronto stock market closes flat after two days of bargain hunting

Thu, 24 May 2012 21:06:22 Z

The Toronto stock market closed flat as a third day of bargain hunting fizzled, trumped by uncertainty about the future of the eurozone

CP Rail strike may impact Imperial Oil supply capacity

Thu, 24 May 2012 19:50:38 Z

Imperial Oil said its refineries rely on Canadian Pacific Railway, which has suspended Canada’s second-largest freight train network because of a Teamsters strike

Intervention by auditor forced Nortel to disclose accounting reserves, court told

Thu, 24 May 2012 20:03:51 Z

A defence lawyer for former Nortel CEO Frank Dunn clashed with a company auditor Thursday over whether Nortel sought to conceal accounting reserves that padded profits and triggered bonus payments.

Google-backed report says Microsoft tops requests to remove search content

Thu, 24 May 2012 19:51:57 Z

The owner of the world’s most popular Internet search engine said a new report shows that Microsoft makes the most requests among copyright owners to remove content from Google’s search service

Timken to shut down 150-employee Ontario auto parts plant

Thu, 24 May 2012 19:12:08 Z

Auto parts producer Timken Co. says it is closing a plant in St. Thomas, Ont. in about a year, which will result in job losses for some 150 active employees

13% of Canadian youth unemployed: StatsCan

Thu, 24 May 2012 16:33:28 Z

Canada’s youth are more likely to be working or seeking an education than many of their counterparts in other G7 nations, the country’s leading statistical agency suggests

Goldman plans $40-billion in clean energy investments over next decade

Thu, 24 May 2012 19:58:55 Z

Goldman Sachs Group plans to channel investments totaling US$40-billion over the next decade into renewable energy projects

Astral Media shareholders back BCE takeover, reject bonus for CEO

Fri, 25 May 2012 14:51:53 Z

Shareholders of Astral Media signed off on telecom company BCE’s acquisition of the Montreal-based content provider on Thursday, leaving only regulatory hurdles in the way of the $3-billion deal

Why RBC's 'unspectacular' capital markets performance is a good sign

Thu, 24 May 2012 13:31:54 Z

Analysis: Solid but unspectacular results from Canada's biggest bank look pretty good considering some of the unpleasant surprises we've recently seen from the sector

Sweeping EI crackdown to target repeat benefit claimants

Thu, 24 May 2012 16:37:20 Z

Canadians receiving EI benefits could be forced to commute up to an hour to their workplace and accept jobs with wages ranging between 70% and 90% of their previous income, under new EI reforms announced Thursday

Interest in Facebook IPO plummeted after first day of trading

Thu, 24 May 2012 15:35:11 Z

Data by media monitor FPinfomart show the volume of Facebook IPO-related mentions on Twitter dropped from 280,000 last Friday, the first day of trading, to 85,000 on Monday