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Business News as of 6 p.m. ET(Canadian Press Broadcast Wire (Canada) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) TUESDAY, MAY 7, 6 p.m. ET BUSINESS NEWS ADVISORY Here are the top Business News stories from The Canadian Press as of 6 p.m. All times 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 Rogers still opposes Bell buying Astral CRTC-Bell-Astral MONTREAL _ Bell should be forced to sell Astral's Movie Network pay TV service if the CRTC is going to allow the $3.4-billion revised merger of the two companies to go ahead, Rogers Communications Inc. said Tuesday. And, the cable, wireless and Internet giant told the CRTC hearing reviewing the deal, if it were for sale Rogers would consider buying Astral's Movie Network for itself to add it to its own services. Moves Business and National WestJet profits soar, stock plummets WestJet-Rslts CALGARY _ WestJet Airlines Ltd.'s ``best ever'' quarterly earnings were overshadowed Tuesday by a major stock drop, as investors worried whether the carrier will be able to profitably fill its new capacity. Shares fell as much as 13 per cent to $21.45 on the Toronto Stock Exchange, but by early afternoon had recovered to $22.55, 8.8 per cent lower than the previous close. PHOTO. Molson Coors Q1 profits plummet to US$36.5M Molson-Coors MONTREAL _ Molson Coors Brewing Co. missed expectations Tuesday as its net profit plummeted in the first quarter due to weakness in core North American markets and additional costs in Europe. The Denver and Montreal-based brewer, which reports in U.S. dollars, said its profits decreased by more than half to US$36.5 million. Will be updated. George Weston net profit rises to $162M in Q1 George-Weston-Rslts TORONTO _ George Weston Limited (TSX:WN) reported an almost 34 per cent increase in is first-quarter earnings, driven mostly by strong sales at its supermarket chain Loblaw Companies Ltd (TSX:L). Performance at Weston Foods was consistent with the previous year, although benefits from investments in marketing and innovation are expected to materialize over the course of the year. Husky's Liwan project enters home stretch Husky-Energy CALGARY _ Husky Energy Inc. said Tuesday it's getting ready to assemble its massive Liwan offshore platform in the South China sea, with natural gas expected to start flowing late this year or early next. ``The Liwan gas project gets into the home stretch this year,'' said CEO Asim Ghosh on a conference call with analysts. PHOTO. Boomers stretching finances to help children Boomerang-Kids-Costs OTTAWA _ Along with reduced pensions, low returns on their savings and high debt, Canada's boomer generation is facing an additional burden as they ease into their retirement years _ their ``boomerang kids.'' A report from TD Canada Trust suggests boomers are taking on more of the responsibility for their adult children struggling to attain financial self-sufficiency in the post-recession years of high youth unemployment and low wage gains. Moves Business and National. Will be updated. US job postings fell in March; hiring slowed US-Job-Openings WASHINGTON _ U.S. employers posted fewer job openings in March compared with February and slowed overall hiring, underscoring a weak month of job growth. The Labor Department said Tuesday that job openings fell 1.4 per cent to a seasonally adjusted 3.8 million jobs. Total hiring declined 4.3 per cent to 4.3 million. Disney 2Q results beat Street; shares rise US-Earns-Disney LOS ANGELES _ Revenue gains at Disney's parks and movie studio led to a 32 per cent increase in net income during the January-March quarter. The results, which topped analyst expectations Tuesday, showed that the company's record-setting investments in a new cruise ship and multiple theme park upgrades last year are starting to pay off. Net income grew to $1.51 billion, or 83 cents per share. Factoring out one-time items, adjusted earnings came to 79 cents per share, beating the 77 cents expected by analysts surveyed by FactSet. Diplomats: Brazil wins race for next WTO director EU-WTO-Next-Director GENEVA _ World Trade Organization diplomats say a Brazilian ambassador has been selected to serve as the organization's next director general. The diplomats told journalists that Ambassador Roberto Azevedo narrowly defeated Mexican former trade minister Herminio Blanco of Mexico on Tuesday to lead the agency for the next four years. APNewsNow. Lower bad loans give HSBC a big Q1 profit boost EU-Britain-Earns-HSBC LONDON _ HSBC PLC, Europe's biggest bank by market value, saw its profits more than double in the first quarter as it booked fewer bad loans than in the same period last year and reaped the benefits of recent restructuring measures. The bank, which has a big presence in many parts of the world including China, said Tuesday that its net profit rose to $6.35 billion in the first three months of the year from $2.58 billion in the same period of 2012. Oil price slips on supply expectations Oil-Prices NEW YORK _ The price of oil fell Tuesday on expectations of another increase in U.S. oil supplies. West Texas Intermediate, the benchmark crude in the U.S., fell 54 cents to finish at US$95.62 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. ALSO IN THE NEWS TSX closes high amid low commodity prices Dollar-Markets TORONTO _ The Toronto Stock Market closed higher Tuesday despite falling commodity prices and disappointing earnings reports from several big-name companies, including food distributor George Weston Ltd., WestJet Airlines and Husky Energy. The S&P/TSX composite index was ahead by 10.19 points at 12,464.11, while the Canadian dollar climbed 0.24 of a cent to 99.51 cents US. Loonie climbs amid strong overseas news Loonie TORONTO _ The Canadian dollar lifted Tuesday after Australia announced it was slashing its interest rate by a quarter percentage point. The loonie climbed 0.24 of a cent to 99.56 cents US at the close, surpassing a level not seen in more than two months. Fortis Inc. posts Q1 net income of $151M Fortis-Rslts ST. JOHN'S, N.L. _ Fortis Inc. (TSX:FTS) says a settlement of claims against the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador made a significant contributed to its bottom line in the first quarter. The St. John's-based electricity and natural gas distributor and power generation company says it earned net income of $151 million or 76 cents per diluted common share in the most recent period. That was up from $121 million or 62 cents in the first quarter of 2012. Emera reports Q1 profit of $122.8 million Emera HALIFAX _ Emera Inc. (TSX:EMA) reported Tuesday a first-quarter profit of $122.8 million in its latest quarter, up from $80.2 million a year ago, helped by a 12 per cent jump in revenue. The utility company said the profit amounted to 93 cents per share for the quarter, up from 65 cents per share a year ago. High Liner Foods profit up from year ago High-Liner LUNENBURG, N.S. _ High Liner Foods Inc. (TSX:HLF) has reported an increase in its first-quarter earnings compared with a year ago when it was hit by costs related to its acquisition of Icelandic USA. The frozen seafood company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, said Tuesday it earned US$5.3 million or 34 cents per share for the quarter ended March 30 compared with a profit of $1.7 million or 11 cents per share a year ago. Yellow Media reports Q1 profit of $53.5 M Yellow-Media-Rslts MONTREAL _ Yellow Media Ltd. (TSX:Y) has reported a big turnaround in its first-quarter bottom line compared with a year ago when the publisher of print and digital media directories took a massive $2.9-billion goodwill impairment charge. Montreal-based Yellow media says its net income in the three months ended March 31 was $53.5 million or $1.91 per share, compared with a net loss of $2.87 billion or $102.93 per share in the same 2012 period. CGI awarded US$50 million contracts CGI-Group MONTREAL _ CGI Group has been awarded US$50 million worth of contracts to implement a voter registration system in California and to manage invoices for telecom company Tele2.The Californian contract will provide the state with a single, official system for voter registration in a four-year deal worth nearly $39 million. NRC to focus on industry, not raw science NRC-Refocused OTTAWA _ The Harper government is telling the National Research Council to focus more on practical, commercial science and less on fundamental science that may not have obvious business applications. The government says the council traditionally was a supporter of business, but has wandered from that mandate in recent years _ and will now get back to working on practical applications for industries. PHOTO. PSP Investments buying Hochtief airports PSP-Investments TORONTO _ The Public Sector Pension Investment Board is buying the airports division of German construction company Hochtief AG for 1.4 billion euros. PSP Investments spokesman Mark Boutet says the fund is looking more to private assets like infrastructure and real estate in a bid to diversify its portfolio. Aecon Group reports Q1 loss of $29.9 million Aecon TORONTO _ Aecon Group Inc. (TSX:ARE) said Tuesday it lost $29.9 million in its latest quarter compared with a loss of $19.6 million a year ago due to a one-time hit to its infrastructure and energy business. The construction and engineering firm said the loss amounted to 56 cents per share for the quarter ended March 31 compared with a loss of 37 cents per share a year ago. Kinross first-quarter profit up from year ago Kinross TORONTO _ Kinross Gold Corp. (TSX:K), which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, said Tuesday it earned US$160.5 million or 14 cents per share for the quarter ended March 31 compared with a profit of $105.7 million or nine cents per share a year ago. Revenue was $1.06 billion, up from $1 billion. Fund urges Sherritt to buy back shares Sherritt-Takota TORONTO _ Investment fund Takota Asset Management issued an open letter Tuesday calling on the board of directors of Sherritt International (TSX:S) to buy back shares and review the work at its Ambatovy project.In the letter, Takota principal Scott Leckie said the value of buying back shares would be hard to beat for the company Canadian Pacific bumps up capital spending Canadian-Pacific CALGARY _ Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. (TSX:CP) is bumping up this year's capital spending program as it projects higher-than-expected cash flow. Between $75 million and $100 million will be added to the railway's $1.1-billion 2013 budget as some projects that had been planned for 2014 will be moved forward. Bombardier gets US$137M London rail order Bombardier-Transportation LONDON _ Bombardier Transportation has received a US$137-million order to provide 57 additional rail cars for the London overground network. The new Electrostar rail cars will increase passenger capacity by adding one car to existing four-car trains. THE CANADIAN PRESS (The Canadian Press) (c) 2013 The Canadian Press |