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The Canadian Press Business News Budget for Friday, Feb. 20, 2009(Canadian Press (delayed) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) BUSINESS EDITORS: Here are Canadian Press Business budget lines as of 9 p.m. ET. Plans may change as circumstances warrant. To contact Canadian Press Business by email, send messages to business(at)thecanadianpress.com. In addition to the following, stories slugged BC-Economy and BC-Autos-Bailout-Cda will move General (G) and Business (B). Please guard against duplication. OTTAWA _ Canada's inflation rate continued to slide toward zero last month as falling oil prices and waning consumer demand in the face of recession fears drove many prices lower, though food costs rose. 750 words. By Julian Beltrame. BC-Inflation, 3rd Writethru Bgt. Moved Business (B) and General (G); with BC-Inflation-Provs MONTREAL _ Boralex Power Income Fund's (TSX:BPT.UN) net loss rose in the fourth-quarter as the power company wrote down about one third the value of its Dolbeau co-generation power plant in Quebec. 600 words. By Ross Marowits. BC-Boralex, 1st Writethru Bgt. Moved. TORONTO _ Truck and car insurer Kingsway Financial Services Inc. (TSX:KFS) cut its dividend by 73 per cent Friday and reported a huge loss in the latest quarter after writedowns on its books and other red ink. 700 words. By John Valorzi. BC-Kingsway, 2nd Writethru, Bgt. Moved. TORONTO _ The recession will be ``long and deep'' but Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. (TSX:FFH) is investing avidly in U.S. tax-exempt bonds, beaten-down corporate bonds and cut-price common stocks, chairman and CEO Prem Watsa said Friday. 850 words. By Gary Norris. BC-Fairfax-Financial. Moved. TORONTO _ Barrick Gold Corp. (TSX:ABX) reported a large quarterly loss on a goodwill writedown, reversing a year-earlier profit, but said that with a strong balance sheet, low debt and three new projects poised to come online, the company is ``feeling very good''entering 2009. 702 words. By Kristine Owram. BC-Barrick, 2nd Writethru. Moved. TORONTO _ Tim Hortons Inc. (TSX:THI) says weaker results in the United States has caused the coffee shop chain to shutter some of its poorly performing stores south of the border, pulling down its profit. 600 words. By David Friend. BC-Tim-Hortons, 2nd Writethru. Moved. TORONTO _ Shares of Canwest Global Communications Corp. (TSX:CGS) tumbled 14 per cent following reports Friday that its media empire could be near collapse as its CEO searches for last-minute financing. 600 words. By David Friend. BC-Canwest, 4th Writethru. Moved CALGARY _ A group that represents Canadian oil and gas drillers is revising its already grim 2009 forecast to reflect an even bleaker outlook for the industry. The Canadian Association of Oilwell Drilling Contractors is predicting 22 per cent fewer wells will be drilled in Western Canada this year than it called for in its October forecast. 650 words. BC-Drilling-Outlook, Bgt, 1st Writethru. Moved. VANCOUVER _ Teck Cominco Ltd. (TSX:TCK.B) says it has agreed to sell to an affilate of Barrick Gold Corp. (TSX:ABX) 's Teck's fifty per cent interest in the Williams and David Bell mines in northern Ontario for US$65 million. BC-Teck-Cominco, 3rd Writethru, Bgt. Moved. VANCOUVER _ Canadian forestry companies are reporting some of their worst financial results in history with no turnaround in sight as the U.S. housing market continues its freefall. Two of Canada's largest lumber companies, Canfor Corp. (TSX:CFP) and West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (TSX:WFT) told investors Friday that more production will have to be cut as long as housing starts keep dropping and the global recession drags on. 900 words. By Brenda Bouw. BC-Forestry-Woes, Bgt. Moved. STOCKHOLM _ General Motors Corp.'s Swedish-based subsidiary Saab filed for bankruptcy protection Friday so it can be spun off or sold by its struggling U.S. parent, officials said. The move comes after Sweden turned down GM's request for government help for Saab. 650 words. By Karl Ritter. BC-Saab, 3rd Writethru. Moved. WASHINGTON _ U.S. consumer prices rose modestly in January, propelled by higher energy costs, but most economists and the government believe the recession will keep prices in check this year. 800 words. By Martin Crutsinger. BC-US-Economy, Bgt. Moved. CHICAGO _ The dismal housing market dragged down fourth-quarter profits at Lowe's Cos. Inc. by 60 per cent, and executives at the home improvement chain said they see little hope of a substantive fix from a federal effort aimed at helping struggling homeowners. 650 words. By Ashley Heher. BC-Lowe's, 2nd Writethru. Moved NEW YORK _ Oil prices fell Friday as traders watched Wall Street tumble and found little evidence that the global appetite for energy will increase any time soon. By Chris Kahn. BC-Oil-Prices, 3rd Writethru Bgt. Moved. LONDON _ Mining company Anglo American PLC plans to cut 19,000 jobs this year and suspend dividend payments after the British company reported a 29 per cent drop in 2008 profits Friday. 700 words. By Robert Barr. BC-Anglo-American-Cuts, Bgt, 1st Writethru. Moved. LONDON _ The euro zone economic downturn gathered pace in the early weeks of February, a closely watched survey revealed Friday, adding pressure on the European Central Bank to cut interest rates again in March. BC-Europe-Economy, 1st Writethru. Moved. MILAN, Italy _ Automaker Fiat cancelled some 8,000 layoffs thanks to government help, while Sweden wrestled Friday with how to save 4,500 jobs at Saab after the General Motors' unit sought protection from creditors. 650 words. By Colleen Barry. BC-Europe-Auto-Industry. Moved The Canadian Press is also following: TORONTO _ The Toronto stock market fell more than 200 points Friday as bank stocks sold off amid nationalization worries in the United States and energy stocks retreated along with oil prices. 750 words. By Malcolm Morrison. BC-Dollar-Markets, 10th Writethru. Moved. TORONTO _ The Medipattern Corp. (TSXV:MKI), a developer of medical software technology for managing workflow and patient records, widens its second-quarter loss as revenue plunges 54 per cent. Net loss for the fiscal second quarter increased to $1.06 million, from $907,468 a year earlier. Revenue recognized for the quarter ended Dec. 31 fell to $72,461, down from $158,524. The company said it signed a sales agreement for one software licence during the quarter but revenue won't be recognized until a later time. BC-Medipattern. MONTREAL _ Blue Note Caribou Mines Inc., the main operating unit of Blue Note Mining Inc. (TSX:BN), has been granted court protection from creditors, citing plummeting prices for lead and zinc from its mine operations near Bathurst, N.B. BC-Blue-Note. Moved. MONTREAL _ Komunik Corp. (TSX:KOM), which was operating under court protection from creditors, said Friday it has signed a deal to sell the business to an unidentified investment management company. BC-Komunik. Moved. MONTREAL _ AbitibiBowater said Friday it has sold 76,724 hectares of private timberlands in Quebec for $70 million in cash. BC-AbitibiBowater. Moved. MONTREAL _ Pebercan Inc. (TSX:PBC) says it's winding up all commercial activities, less than four weeks after Cuban government pulled out of a longstanding production sharing agreement with the Montreal-based company and its Toronto-based partner, Sherritt International (TSX:S). BC-Pebercan-Windup. BAIE COMEAU, Que. _ Cargill has reached a labour agreement with its 34 unionized employees at Baie Comeau, Que., who work at what the company says is the largest grain transfer terminal in North America. Terms of the five-year agreement weren't released by U.S.-based agribusiness. BC-Cargill-Baie-Comeau. Moved. OTTAWA _ A new study says Canada lost nearly 322,000 manufacturing jobs from 2004 to 2008, or more than one in seven. Statistics Canada reports more than 1.5 million jobs were created in the rest of the economy during the same period. BC-StatsCan-Manufacturing-Jobs. Moved. TORONTO _ Sears Canada (TSX:SCC) has laid off 300 employees to prepare for what a company spokesman calls a ``tough'' year. That represents less than one per cent of the company's workforce of 38,000. BC-Sears-Cda-Job-Cuts, 2nd Writethru. Moved. TORONTO _ Shares of SunOpta Inc. (TSX:SOY) fell more than 10 per cent on Friday after the company said its results for 2008 are expected to be considerably below its adjusted net earnings guidance. The stock closed down 27 cents or 13.1 per cent at $1.79 on the Toronto Stock Exchange. 177 words. BC-SunOpta, 1st Writethru. TORONTO _ Patheon Inc. (TSX:PTI) said Friday that a hostile takeover offer by New York firm JLL Partners Inc. said the offer is too low. JLL Partners has offered US$2 per share, however a special committee of independent directors said independent financial adviser BMO Capital Markets suggested a value between US$4.20 to US$5 per share. BC-Patheon. Moved. TORONTO _ Debt rating service DBRS has downgraded the City of Vancouver by one notch from AA (high) to AA, and said Friday the trend is negative because of the financial sinkhole at the Olympic Village. BC-Vancouver-Downgrade. Filed Business (B) and Regional (D). GUELPH, Ont. _ Co-operators General Insurance Company (TSX:CCS.PR.C) posted a $18.3-million loss in the fourth quarter, reducing the company's annual income last year by nearly 60 per cent compared with 2007. BC-Co-operators. Moved. CALGARY _ Chemical producer Canexus Income Fund (TSX:CUS.UN) reported a $16.9 million fourth-quarter loss at its operating unit, reversing a year-ago profit as the company took a big currency exchange loss. BC-Canexus, 2nd Writethru. Moved. VANCOUVER _ HSBC Bank Canada said Friday earnings for the fourth-quarter of 2008 fell due in part to an impairment charge related to its holdings of asset-backed commercial paper. BC-HSBC-Canada. Moved. VANCOUVER _ Teck Cominco Ltd. (TSX:TCK.B) has lost a battle in the Supreme Court of Canada to have a lawsuit stayed that was filed against the company by its insurers. BC-SCOC-Teck-Spill, 1st Writethru. Moved Business (B) and General (G) THE CANADIAN PRESS BUSINESS Copyright ? 2009 The Canadian Press |