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Business News as of 6 p.m. ET(Canadian Press DataFile Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Monday, Feb. 11 6 p.m. ET BUSINESS NEWS ADVISORY Here are the top Business News stories from The Canadian Press as of 6 p.m. ET. All times are Eastern unless otherwise stated. Coverage plans are included when available. Entries are subject to change as news develops. Queries should be addressed to the business desk at 416-507-2138. To reach CP Business by email, send messages to business(at)thecanadianpress.com. ____ TOP BUSINESS NEWS THIS HOUR ___ Sharp differences in CRTC wireless hearings CRTC-Wireless-Code GATINEAU _ Consumer groups and a cellphone industry with starkly opposed views about contracts for handheld devices began to make their cases Monday as the CRTC opened public hearings on a proposed wireless code.Representatives of three consumer groups urged the national telecom regulator to do away with three-year terms in favour of capping contracts at two years. PHOTO. Moves National and Business ___ Tough questions await Carney for second week Carney-Hearings OTTAWA _ Following the grilling in London last week, outgoing Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney may be in for a second round of tough questioning Tuesday, this time from Canadian MPs.Canada's federal finance committee has traditionally tended to be respectful, even deferential, to Bank of Canada governors, but analysts say Tuesday's two-hour session may see a different tone since it's the first time the MPs will be speaking with Carney since he announced he's leaving for the Bank of England in June. Moves Business and National ___ Chinese investment to shift: ambassador China-Ambassador EDMONTON _ Canada's ambassador to China says money from the Asian country is likely to keep pouring into Canadian resource projects.But Guy Saint-Jacques also says he thinks those dollars will increasingly flow into mining and forestry as well as energy development. PHOTO. Moves on national and business wires. Guard against duplication. ___ WestJet to launch regional service in June WestJet Canadian passengers flying in Western Canada will see some relief from rising airfares this summer as WestJet's new Encore regional service takes flight in June, analysts say.The airline will add Fort St. John, B.C. to its network and use the first two 78-seat Bombardier Q400s on routes between Vancouver and Victoria, and Calgary to Nanaimo, B.C. PHOTO. Moves Business, West ___ Genivar confirms inquiry allegations Genivar MONTREAL _ Engineering firm Genivar confirmed Monday that it engaged in "inappropriate conduct" several years ago in the financing of political parties in Quebec and the awarding of municipal contracts as outlined in recent allegations to the province's corruption inquiry.The Montreal-based company said an unnamed person is on a leave of absence until an internal review is completed. Moves National and Business ___ Ex-SNC head Duhaime charged with fraud CRIME-Duhaime-Fraud MONTREAL _ Pierre Duhaime, the former chief executive of Canada's biggest engineering firm, has been granted permission to travel within the country pending a criminal trial on fraud charges.Duhaime, once the head of engineering powerhouse SNC-Lavalin (TSX:SNC), was formally charged with fraud on Monday. PHOTO. Moves Business and National; guard against duplication ___ Cameco shares down following $168M write down Cameco SASKATOON _ Cameco has confidence in the long-term value of its Kintyre project but it's not economically viable at current uranium prices and had to be written down by $168 million, CEO Tim Gitzel said Monday. He said uranium would have to be at least US$67 per pound "to make that project interesting." ___ PERSONAL FINANCE ___ Young people worry they will out-live savings Poll-Youth-Retirement MONTREAL _ Young people apparently aren't optimistic that they'll enjoy a comfortable retirement, with 80 per cent of Canadians between the ages of 18 and 34 not very confident they can save enough money, a new poll suggests.Many young people are focusing on paying down debt rather than saving for their golden years, said the BMO study released Monday. ___ Canadians plan to save, but likely won't CIBC-Retirement-Poll TORONTO _ A majority of Canadian respondents to a recent poll say they plan on putting money away for retirement this year, but the likelihood of that actually happening is considered slim.The study, released Monday by CIBC (TSX:CM), found that 60 per cent of those polled say they want to contribute to their RRSP, tax-free savings account or both, in 2013. ___ ALSO IN THE NEWS ___ Gold stocks lead Toronto stock market lower Dollar-Markets TORONTO _ The Toronto stock market closed lower Monday amid falling commodity prices, while traders looked to a heavy week of earnings news from corporate Canada.The S&P/TSX composite index dropped 53.08 points to 12,748.15, led by falling gold stocks as bullion prices closed at a five-week low, while the TSX Venture Exchange slipped 9.5 points to 1,196.31. ___ Loonie moves down on poor economic data Loonie TORONTO _ The Canadian dollar continued to lose ground Monday amid lower commodities and disappointing economic data.The loonie fell 0.16 of a cent to 99.57 cents US on top of a loss of about half a cent Friday that followed the release of disappointing readings on employment and housing starts for January. PHOTO. ___ Oil above US$97 a barrel on euro gains Oil-Prices NEW YORK _ The price of oil rose more than US$1 a barrel Monday as the euro strengthened against the American dollar. The euro rose to $1.3415 against the dollar from $1.3363 late Friday in New York. ___ Romania: Slaughterhouses did not commit fraud EU-Europe-Horsemeat BUCHAREST _ A maze of trading between meat wholesalers has made it increasingly difficult to trace the origins of food _ enabling horsemeat disguised as beef to be sold in frozen meals across Europe.Finger-pointing has grown by the day, involving more countries and more companies. On Monday, Romanian officials scrambled to defend two plants implicated in the scandal, saying the meat was properly declared and any fraud was committed elsewhere. PHOTO. ___ Boeing wraps up 787 test flights for now US-Boeing-787-Test-Flight Boeing conducted a second test flight of its 787 on Monday as it looks for the cause of battery problems that have grounded the planes. It said no more tests are currently planned.Boeing said Monday's flight lasted one hour and 29 minutes and was uneventful. Flight-tracking service FlightAware showed that the plane flew from Boeing Field in Seattle, east over Washington State, and back. ___ Toromont posts 31% gain in Q4 net profit Toromont TORONTO _ Toromont Industries Ltd. (TSX:TIH) is boosting its dividend by eight per cent after the heavy equipment dealer and industrial refrigeration company reported a 31 per cent increase in fourth-quarter profits. "We are very pleased with our results for the quarter and year," president and chief executive Scott Medhurst said in announcing the company's earnings on Monday. ___ Brookfield buys U.S. apartment portfolio Brookfield NEW YORK _ Brookfield Asset Management Inc. (TSX:BAM.A) is buying 19 apartment building in three eastern U.S. states from Babcock & Brown Residential for US$414 million.The Toronto-based company said Monday that most of the 4,892 units included in the deal are concentrated in Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham, N.C., but some are also in the neighbouring states of South Carolina and Virginia. ___ Onex group to sell its half-interest in RSI Onex TORONTO _ Onex Corp (TSX:OCX) and its affiliates have agreed to sell their 50 per cent interest in a California-based cabinetry maker for approximately US$323 million.The Onex Group invested $318 million to buy preferred equity of RSI Home Products in October 2008. The Toronto-based group says it will have received US$471 million, including prior distributions, when the sale closes. ___ Valener reports big jump in Q1 net income Valener MONTREAL _ Utility company investor Valener Inc. (TSX: VNR) is reporting a big increase in fiscal 2013 first-quarter net earnings, mainly due to higher income from its investment in Gaz Metro, Quebec's largest natural gas distributor. Valener, which is also invested in wind power projects in the province, says net income attributable to common shareholders rose to $17.5 million or 47 cents per share in the three months ended Dec. 31. That was up from $10.1 million or 27 cents per share in the same prior-year period. ___ Hanfeng CEO raises bid for company Hanfeng-Evergreen TORONTO _ The CEO of Chinese-Canadian fertilizer producer Hanfeng Evergreen Inc. (TSX:HF) is offering C$2.25 per share to take the company private _ five cents per share more than his initial bid. The latest offer from Xinduo Yu, who already owns about one-fifth of Hanfeng's stock, is also above Friday's closing price of $2.16 and above the Jan. 7 closing price of $1.59, prior to the initial announcement ___ UK watchdog launches investigation into Autonomy EU-Britain-Autonomy-HP LONDON _ Britain's accounting watchdog announced Monday that it is investigating the books of British business software maker Autonomy Corporation in the period before it was bought by Hewlett-Packard Co. in 2011.In a brief statement, the Financial Reporting Council said it had launched an investigation "into the published financial reporting of Autonomy for the period between 1 January 2009 and 30 June 2011." ___ FAM to sell Winnipeg office property to Artis FAM-REIT RICHMOND _ FAM Real Estate Investment Trust (TSX:F.UN) is preparing to sell an office property in Winnipeg to Artis Real Estate Investment Trust (TSX:AX.UN) for $41 million.Under a two stage process announced Monday, FAM said it has exercised its right to buy 50 per cent of the building at 220 Portage Ave. from the current owner at a price of $20.5 million and assign that right to Artis. ___ Bombardier Recreational re-signs CGI for IT CGI-BRP MONTREAL _ CGI Group Inc. (TSX:GIB.A) will continue to provide IT services for Bombardier Recreational Products Inc. for another decade under a renewed and expanded contract awarded by the maker of the iconic Ski-Doo snowmobiles.CGI estimates it will receive $74 million over 10 years from the deal, announced Monday. ___ Dell looks to calm shareholder concern over buyout US-Dell-Acquisition NEW YORK _ Dell is trying to reassure shareholders about its proposed $24.4 billion acquisition by a group led by its founder, saying it considered a number of strategic options before agreeing to the deal.Dell Inc. laid out the advantages of the transaction in a regulatory filing Monday, three days after a major shareholder ridiculed the buyout as a rotten deal that undervalues the business. ___ MDA signs US$4.3M deal with U.S. Army MDA-Army RICHMOND _ MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (TSX:MDA) said Monday it has signed a US$4.3 million contract with OGSystems to develop a surveillance prototype for the U.S. Army Geospatial Center.The Richmond, B.C., firm says the deal will see them build a small, mobile ground station that can receive and process images from satellites and can be quickly deployed anywhere in the world. ___ Andrew Peller boosts Q3 sales 4.2% Andrew-Peller GRIMSBY _ Ontario-based wine producer Andrew Peller Ltd. (TSX:ADW.A) says natural sales growth was the predominate factor behind a 4.2 per cent increase in third-quarter sales to $79.9 million.Net earnings were also higher in the three months ended Dec. 31, rising to $6.6 million or 47 cents per class A share, compared with year-earlier profits of $6.3 million or 46 cents on sales of $76.6 million. Moved Business and Ontario/Quebec regional ___ (c) 2013 The Canadian Press |