newsstockmarket

2006-05-01T08:23:00.000-07:00

Yellow Pages buys Trader Canada for $760M
Mon 9:50am CBC.ca
Yellow Pages Group said Monday it is buying Classified Media (Canada) Holdings Inc., which is also known as Trader Canada, for $760 million in cash...
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Nortel announces $2.6B US loss for 2005, after restatements
Mon 9:50am CBC.ca
Nortel Networks Corp. has released its results for 2005, and they are far worse than financial analysts had expected.
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U.S. consumers spent more freely in March as incomes grew
Mon 8:50am Canadian Press
WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S. consumers spent more freely in March as their incomes grew at the fastest pace in six months, another sign the economy is fl...
Shoppers Drug Mart reports higher quarterly profit (Reuters - Mon 11:32am)
Pharmacy chain Shoppers Drug Mart reported higher first-quarter profit on Monday, lifted by strong prescription and front-store sales.
Royal Group Technologies reports Q4 loss of $271.1M after writedowns (Canadian Press - Mon 11:06am) Royal Group Technologies Ltd. (TSX:RYG), a maker of plastic building products that is seeking a buyer after being hammered by crimin...

Toronto stock index climbs on robust commodities (Reuters - Mon 10:47am)
The Toronto Stock Exchange's main index remained strong after jumping more than 100 points in early trading on Monday, buoyed by surging gold and ...
North American markets rise while many countries mark May Day holiday (Canadian Press - Mon 10:09am)
The Toronto stock market had a strong start early Monday, while crude-oil prices topped $72 US a barrel in New York and investors

CV Technologies jumps 20 percent after FDA nod (Reuters - Mon 10:03am)
Shares of CV Technologies jumped more than 20 percent on Monday after the U.S. Food and
Drug Administration granted its key Cold-fX remedy New Die...

First Quantum buys Adastra in a deal worth C$275 mln (Reuters - Mon 9:56am)
First Quantum Minerals said on Monday it has acquired control of Adastra Minerals in a cash and stock deal valued at about C$275 million, ending a..

.Canada Backpedals on Kyoto Promises (By Stephen Leahy)BROOKLIN, Canada, Apr 28 (IPS) - Canada's top climate scientists are calling for action on climate change after the new government said it will not try to meet its emissions cuts commitments under the international Kyoto Protocol treaty.

Canada's new Conservative government recently cut 40 percent of the budget for state-run programmes to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

"We're already suffering badly from the effects of climate change in the Canadian Arctic," said Gordon McBean of the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction at the University of Western Ontario, and a spokesperson for the scientists. ......
..However, Prime Minister Harper has said that Canada will not pull out of the Kyoto agreement.

2006-04-27T07:37:00.000-07:00

MARKET BRIEFS APRIL27.

Stocks Retreat Ahead of Bernanke(by Robert Holmes) Stocks were poised for some fairly significant weakness early Thursday as traders leaned to the short side ahead of congressional testimony from Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke.

Bell Tolls for Big Ben( by Liz Rappaport) How much negative reinforcement can an investor or its finger-wagging parent, the Federal Reserve, take before it decides that the discipline technique isn't working?

ConocoPhillips, the third-largest U.S. oil and gas producer, said Wednesday profit rose 13 per cent as stronger exploration and production results yielded the best first-quarter earnings since Phillips Petroleum Co. and Conoco Inc. combined in 2002

CGI Group Inc. says it is actively recruiting 500 new employees in the United States as it expects its business there to continue to grow, especially for contracts in the public sector.

The European Union executive said Wednesday it will take Greece to the EU's highest court for failing to recover millions of dollars in illegal aid to the Olympic airline.

TSX Group Inc., owner of Canada's two main stock exchanges, said first-quarter profit rose 50 per cent as trading and listing fees climbed. The shares fell the most in seven months after the company failed to introduce a special dividend as some investors expected.

EnCana Corp., Canada's largest natural-gas company, reported first-quarter net income of $1.47 billion US on a gain from hedging the price of its production.

PepsiCo Inc., the world's second-largest soft-drink maker, said first-quarter profit rose 12 per cent on demand for soda in Asia and Europe and Sun Chip snacks in the U.S

Shares of Moody's Corp., whose founder created credit ratings, fell the most in almost seven years after the company said first-quarter profits rose at the slowest pace since December 2004.

Imperial Tobacco Group PLC, Europe's second-largest cigarette maker, said fiscal first-half profit increased 14 per cent as the company gained market share in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

Reader's Digest Association Inc., publisher of the world's best-selling magazine, posted third-quarter profit of $1 million US, dragged down by its struggling book-fair business.

Anheuser-Busch Cos., the world's largest brewer, reported better-than-expected first-quarter profit on its biggest sales gain in more than a year. The shares rose as much as 4.6 per cent

Nova Chemical Corp., the largest Canadian chemical maker, reported a net loss for the fourth straight quarter on delays in opening a plant in Ontario and expenses for shutting one in Virginia

Viacom Inc. has agreed to license characters from its Paramount Pictures films and Nickelodeon children's network for a planned theme park in Tianjin in Northern China.

Monster Worldwide Inc., owner of the most-used website for help-wanted advertising, said its first-quarter profit more than doubled as the company expanded in Europe and picked up market share from competitors.

Microsoft Corp. outlined plans to spend $900 million US in China by purchasing local computer hardware and forming joint ventures and partnerships to boost the software maker's sales in the No. 2 computer market.

Maple Leaf Foods Inc., Canada's largest food processor, said first-quarter net income rose 36 per cent on improved performance from its bakery division.

British Airways PLC pilots rejected a company proposal to tackle a retirement-fund deficit and said Europe's third-largest airline should pay more toward closing the one billion-pound ($2 billion Cdn) shortfall.

GM drives Dow to a 6-year high
Shares of carmaker jump 8%

Steer Clear of Incredible Shrinking IBM(By william Gabrielski) is stuck at $82, and I don't expect shares to move higher anytime soon, regardless of products cycles or gross-domestic-product growth....

METALS SPOT MARKET CLICK HERE

GOLD SILVER SPOT MARKET CLICK HERE

Stocks update

2006-04-25T09:35:00.000-07:00

Market update:
SEATTLE -- Amazon.com Inc. said Tuesday that earnings fell nearly 35 percent in the first quarter, compared to a period last year in which the online retailer had a big one-time gain.

For the three months ending March 31, the Seattle-based company earned $51 million, or 12 cents per share, compared with $78 million, or 18 cents per share, in the same period a year ago.

In the year-earlier period, Amazon.com said it recorded a one-time gain of $26 million, or 6 cents per share, because of an accounting change.

Sales increased nearly 20 percent, to $2.28 billion, from $1.9 billion in the first quarter of 2005. The company said sales would have grown 25 percent if not for a $94 million impact from foreign exchange rates. Net sales increased 20% to $2.28 billion in the first quarter, compared with $1.90 billion in first quarter 2005. Excluding the $94 million unfavorable impact from year-over-year changes in foreign exchange rates throughout the quarter, net sales grew 25% compared with first quarter 2005.

Operating income decreased 2% to $106 million in the first quarter, compared with $108 million in first quarter 2005. Excluding the $8 million unfavorable impact from year-over-year changes in foreign exchange rates throughout the quarter, operating income grew 6% compared with first quarter 2005.

Net income was $51 million in the first quarter, or $0.12 per diluted share, compared with net income of $78 million, or $0.18 per diluted share in first quarter 2005. First quarter 2005 includes a $26 million, or $0.06 per diluted share, gain for the cumulative effect of a change in accounting principle related to the Company's early adoption of SFAS 123(R).

"We're pleased to see strong quarter-to-quarter sequential growth for new Amazon Prime subscriptions," said Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com. "This sequential growth comes off our biggest holiday season ever, and one where new subscriptions to Amazon Prime more than doubled from November to December."

Boeing Co. reported a better-than-expected 29 percent jump in first-quarter profits Wednesday, benefiting from continuing momentum in its commercial airplane business that produced a surge in deliveries.

Honda has good news, and bad

Honda reported record quarterly profit and predicted sales would rise 7 percent this year, as U.S. demand rises for its fuel-efficient Civic and Fit compacts. (Bloomberg.com) But rising gasoline prices will cut into sales of more profitable SUVs and trucks, so profits for coming quarters won't be close to the $1.9 billion the No. 3 Japanese automaker made in the quarter that ended March 31. "It's going to be a tough year for Honda," said analyst Koji Endo of Credit Suisse First Boston Securities, "especially in North America." (AP in Yahoo! Finance)