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Business News as of 6 p.m. ET(Canadian Press Broadcast Wire (Canada) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) THURSDAY, MAY 9, 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 Canadian Tires plans $3.5B REIT; Q1 profit up Canadian-Tire-REIT TORONTO _ Canadian Tire Corp. Ltd. (TSX:CTC.A) announced Thursday that it will create a $3.5-billion real estate investment trust to unlock the value of its property holdings, with an initial public offering expected later this year. The move, which helped send Canadian Tire shares up more than 10 per cent, follows on the heels of a similar plan by grocer Loblaw Companies Ltd. (TSX:L). PHOTO. DHX signs paid content deal with YouTube DHX-Media HALIFAX _ Canadian children's show producer DHX Media is bringing some of its most famous cartoon series to the Internet, as part of a revenue sharing agreement with Google's YouTube. The Halifax-based company says shows like ``The Busy World of Richard Scarry,'' ``Inspector Gadget'' and ``Super Mario'' will appear on three paid-content channels _ DHX Kids, DHX Junior and DHX Retro. Moves Business and Entertainment; Will be updated. Netflix can be an opportunity: Telus CEO Telus MONTREAL _ Instead of being viewed as only a threat, online movie service Netflix could be bundled in with TV packages, Telus CEO Darren Entwistle said Thursday. Telus has ``no regrets'' about not owning any media or broadcast assets to provide the telecommunications company with content for TV, smartphones and tablets, Entwistle said after the company's annual meeting. PHOTO. Quebecor slams Bell-Astral deal as unfair CRTC-BELL-ASTRAL MONTREAL _ Quebecor's new president and CEO blasted the proposed Bell-Astral merger on Thursday, saying it would create a ''monster'' that would have an unfair competitive advantage. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission initially killed the Bell-Astral merger last fall, arguing it wasn't in the best interests of Canadians. PHOTO. Moves Business and National; guard against duplication BCE looks to trim costs by $170 million BCE-Rslts TORONTO _ BCE Inc. (TSX:BCE) is looking to trim its costs by $170 million this year amid a fiercely competitive wireless industry. At its annual general meeting, the company said it will put pressure on vendors and improve efficiency by switching more customers to electronic billing and offering them more self-serve options. PHOTO. Bombardier shares surge on results, outlook Bombardier-Rslts MONTREAL _ Bombardier reassured investors Thursday that its ``game-changing'' CSeries remains on schedule for its maiden flight next month unless unforeseen events prompt a short delay. ``We're still feeling very good about flying in June,'' Bombardier Aerospace president Guy Hachey said after the company's annual meeting. PHOTO. Loonie could hit 90 cents US by end of year Loonie-Forecast OTTAWA _ The shine is about the come off the Canadian dollar. TD Bank says in a new forecast the loonie, which has been hovering around parity with the United States, could hit as low as 90 cents US by the end of the year and early 2014. Agricultural issues stalling trade deal Cda-EU-Trade OTTAWA _ The Canada-European Union free trade talks are nearing an end with agriculture issues the last major stumbling block to an agreement both sides say will boost economic growth, the EU ambassador Matthias Brinkmann said Thursday. In a free-wheeling discussion with Canadian reporters, Brinkmann suggested that most other issues in the four-year talks have been resolved or are close to being resolved, and that two specific sticking points _ how much Canadian beef to Europe and how much European cheese to Canada _ is keeping the sides from a deal. PHOTO. Agrium hit by late spring in North America Agrium-Rslts CALGARY _ Agrium Inc. says spring's late arrival to North America could be a major challenge, as farmers who buy fertilizers, seeds and other agricultural products from the company have less time to get their crops in the ground. ``The weather has clearly not been conducive to farmers preparing and feeding their fields across North America so far this spring,'' said chief operating officer Chuck Magro on a conference call with analysts Thursday. Is renting your property a good investment Money-Monitor TORONTO _ Even years after her first tenants moved out, Donna Grimshaw still remembers the damage the they did to her townhouse. She rhymes it off like a shopping list, starting with bedroom carpets that were destroyed, water damage from an overflowed toilet, and a junk car that spilled oil down the driveway. US jobless aid applications fall to 5-year low US-Unemployment-Benefits WASHINGTON _ The number of Americans who applied for unemployment benefits fell by 4,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 323,000, a five-year low. Layoffs have returned to pre-recession levels, a trend that could lead to more hiring. The Labor Department said Thursday that the less volatile four-week average dropped 6,250 to 336,750. That the fewest since November 2007, one month before the Great Recession began. PHOTO. Fannie Mae posts record $58.7B net income for Q1 US-Earns-Fannie-Mae- WASHINGTON _ Mortgage giant Fannie Mae earned a record $58.7 billion from January through March, benefiting from a one-time accounting move that allowed the company to lower its tax liability. Fannie reported Thursday that $50.6 billion of its first-quarter net income came in part from losses on delinquent mortgages incurred during the housing crisis that Fannie applied to its 2013 taxes. That helped reduce what the company owed in taxes, and boosted its profit. PHOTO. Retailers report modest gains for April US-Retail-Sales NEW YORK _ Shoppers, encouraged by signs of an improving economy, picked up their spending in April from March despite cold weather that stopped them from buying spring clothes. According to a preliminary tally of 11 retailers by the International Council of Shopping Centers, released Thursday, revenue at stores open at least a year rose 3.4 per cent in April from last year. That's up from a 2.2 per cent gain in March but still shows modest growth. APNewsNow. House passes bill to prioritize US debt payments US-Debt-Showdown WASHINGTON _ The GOP-controlled House has passed a bill to put U.S. bondholders and people on Social Security at the front of the line to be paid if the government hits its borrowing limit. The idea behind the legislation is to lessen the consequences of a U.S. default on its debt obligations. That's if Congress and President Barack Obama can't find a way to lift the government's borrowing limit later this year, in hopes of salvaging the government's credit rating and ability to borrow to pay its bills. APNewsNow. Sony back in black on cheap yen, healthier sales AS-Japan-Earns-Sony TOKYO _ Sony Corp. is back in the black for its fiscal fourth quarter, recording a 93.9 billion yen ($948 million) profit, with big help from a weaker yen that boosts overseas earnings. The Japanese electronics and entertainment company also dragged itself back to profit for the fiscal year ended March 31, following four straight years of red ink. PHOTO. Oil drifts lower on jobs, stronger US dollar Oil-Prices NEW YORK _ The price of oil fell Thursday, as the U.S. dollar strengthened against some foreign currencies and concerns grew about inflation in China. Benchmark oil for June delivery lost 23 cents to finish at US$96.39 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. PHOTO. ALSO IN THE NEWS Markets drop amid positive U.S. jobs data Dollar-Markets TORONTO _ North American markets lost some ground Thursday even though the U.S. reported rosier-than-expected unemployment insurance numbers, a sign that the world's largest economy may be continuing with its recovery. The S&P/TSX composite index was down 41.15 points to 12,543.90. PHOTO. Loonie loses ground after recent gains Loonie TORONTO _ The Canadian dollar made a small gain Thursday after enjoying a recent uptick from rising oil and gold prices. The loonie was down 0.41 of a cent at 99.26 cents US. PHOTO. Poor weather cuts into Dorel Q1 profit Dorel-Rslts MONTREAL _ Dorel Industries Inc. (TSX:DII.B) says poor weather in North America and Europe helped put a damper on what was already expected to be a soft first quarter. The manufacturer of infant car seats, bicycles and furniture said Thursday revenue fell 4.3 per cent in its most recent period to US$594.2 million from US$621.1 million in the same 2012 period. Canadian Radarsat-1 no longer operational Cda-Radarsat1-End LONGUEUIL, Que. _ The Canadian Space Agency has given up trying to get the Radarsat-1 satellite back into operation. On March 29, Canada's first Earth Observation satellite experienced a technical problem. Moves Business and National; guard against duplication Cascades reports first-quarter loss, sales up Cascades KINGSEY FALLS, Que. _ Cascades Inc. (TSX:CAS) said Thursday it lost $8 million in its latest quarter compared with a profit a year ago despite an increase in revenue, but signalled the second half of the year should be better.``As we expected, the first quarter of 2013 was similar to what we experienced towards the end of 2012,'' Cascades executive chairman Alain Lemaire said in a statement. New home prices rose in March: StatsCan StatsCan-House-Prices OTTAWA _ Statistics Canada says its price index for new houses rose 0.1 per cent in March, after a 0.2 per cent increase in February. The agency says month-over-month gains in the index have ranged from 0.1 per cent to 0.3 per cent for the last 12 months. Moves Business and National Canadian investment abroad rose in 2012 StatsCan-Investment OTTAWA _ Statistics Canada says Canadian direct investment abroad increased 5.5 per cent in 2012, led by growth in investments in the United States. The agency says the level of foreign direct investment in Canada grew at a similar rate of 5.8 per cent, mainly on higher investment from Europe and the United States. Gluskin Sheff reports Q1 profit of $6.7 mil Gluskin-Sheff TORONTO _ Investment manager Gluskin Sheff and Associates Inc. (TSX:GX) reported a first-quarter profit of $6.7 million, up from $5 million a year ago, as it grew its assets under management by more than 10 per cent. The company said Thursday the profit amounted to 23 cents per share for the quarter ended March 31, up from 17 cents per share a year ago. Extendicare to divide U.S. and Canadian biz Extendicare-Divided MARKHAM, Ont. _ Extendicare Inc. (TSX:EXE) said Thursday it plans to separate its Canadian and U.S. businesses due to the complexity of operating on both sides of the border and the changing nature of the operations. The company said the U.S. and Canadian health care businesses are expected to become more different over time with regulatory reform in the U.S. and the related federal and state spending cuts. Crescent Point narrows Q1 loss to $1.6M Crescent-Point-Rslts CALGARY _ Crescent Point Energy Corp. (TSX:CPG) narrowed its net loss in the first quarter as revenues improved almost $90 million on higher production volumes. The Western Canada-focused oil and natural gas producer said the net loss in the three months ended March 31 was $1.6 million or less than a penny per share. That was an improvement over the net loss of $3.9 million or a penny per share it reported in the same 2012 quarter. Oil and gas revenue rose to $642.7 million from 553.1 million. Boston Pizza sales up from year ago Boston-Pizza VANCOUVER _ Boston Pizza Royalties Income Fund (TSX:BPF.UN) narrowed its loss to $752,000 in its latest quarter as sales at its franchise restaurants gained more than five per cent. The restaurant trust said the loss amounted to five cents per unit for the quarter ended March 31 compared with a loss of $6.9 million or 47 cents per unit a year ago. Premium Brands Q1 profit holds steady Premium-Brands VANCOUVER _ Speciality food company Premium Brands Holdings Corp. (TSX:PBH) reported Thursday its first-quarter profit held about steady compared with a year ago as sales improved. The company said it earned nearly $1.2 million or six cents per diluted share in the quarter ended March 30 compared with a profit of nearly $1.2 million or five cents per diluted share a year ago. THE CANADIAN PRESS (The Canadian Press) (c) 2013 The Canadian Press |