Winnipeg Free Press

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Consumer price index down one per cent in October; headline inflation 2.6 per cent

OTTAWA - Sharply falling energy prices took the steam out of inflation last month, cutting the overall rise in Canadians' cost of living to 2.6 per cent, down from 3.4 per cent in September. Updated 6:40 AM

1. Survey shows euro-zone economy shrinking in November

   LONDON - The downturn in the euro-zone economy, particularly within the manufacturing sector, gathered pace in November amid mounting recession fears and the deepening financial crisis, a closely watched survey showed Friday. Updated 5:55 AM

2. Most Asian markets rebound after Wall Street rout

   BANGKOK, Thailand - Most Asian and European markets rebounded Friday after sharp declines in recent days as investors scooped up battered financial and technology shares. Updated 3:40 AM

3. Japan's central bank keeps interest rates on hold despite global chaos

   TOKYO - Japan's central bank has decided to keep its key interest rate unchanged despite further signs of rapidly deteriorating conditions at home an in the global economy. Updated 10:10 PM 11/20/08

4. The U.S. is calling a meeting of world regulators amid global crisis

   WASHINGTON - The chairman of the U.S. securities regulator has convened a meeting of international regulators for next week to deal with urgent regulatory issues stemming from the global financial crisis. Updated 9:50 PM 11/20/08

5. Argentine Senate approves pension nationalization

   BUENOS AIRES, Argentina - Argentina's Senate passed a bill to nationalize US$23 billion in private pension funds on Thursday in a move that analysts say could protect retirees from short-term stock market chaos but also limit their long-term retirement income. Updated 9:10 PM 11/20/08

6. Economist: Alberta headed for big economic slowdown amid falling oil prices

   CALGARY - Alberta is headed for a dramatic economic slowdown as the province's vital energy sector ratchets down exploration, drilling and expansion in the face of US$50-a-barrel oil, an economist said. Updated 6:40 PM 11/20/08

7. JPMorgan Chase & Co. to cut 10 per cent of investment bank staff

   NEW YORK - JPMorgan Chase & Co. is shedding about 10 per cent of its investment bank staff in an effort to better weather the global economic slowdown. Updated 6:30 PM 11/20/08

8. Major bank stocks plunge for second day in a row on TD's $350M credit-trading loss

   TORONTO - Canada's major financial stocks were pummelled again Thursday, with Royal Bank (TSX:RY) taking one of the biggest hits - falling more than- per cent in heavy trading. Updated 6:30 PM 11/20/08

9. Honda Motor Co. to cut production by another',000 vehicles

   NEW YORK - Honda Motor Co. said Thursday it will cut its North American production by another',000 vehicles, citing the industry wide drop in demand for new vehicles. Updated 5:00 PM 11/20/08

10. Citi shares sink despite Saudi prince's investment

    NEW YORK - Citigroup Inc. shares tumbled below US$5 a share Thursday to their lowest level in more than 15 years, a sign that a Saudi prince's decision to boost his stake in the bank has failed to galvanize confidence among increasingly anxious investors. Updated 5:00 PM 11/20/08

11. Enbridge issues $500 million in long-term debt to fund growth projects

    CALGARY - Enbridge Inc. (TSX:ENB), a major pipeline and energy services company, has managed to raise $500 million by issuing corporate debt in a tough credit environment, which the chief executive says will be used to finance a raft of growth projects. The Calgary-based company said Thursday its wholly owned subsidiary Enbridge Pipelines Inc. has completed an issue of $300 million worth of 10-year bonds. The bonds carry an annual interest rate of 6.62 per cent and were sold to 30 institutional investors. Updated 4:50 PM 11/20/08

12. Gap's third-quarter profits edge up 3.4 per cent on cost cuts

    NEW YORK - Apparel chain Gap Inc. reported Thursday that its third-quarter profit rose 3.4 per cent as cost-cutting efforts like inventory control offset a sales slump. The company also affirming its profit guidance for the full year. Updated 4:50 PM 11/20/08

13. Restructuring expert to replace Fuld at Lehman Brothers

    NEW YORK - A restructuring expert overseeing the liquidation of Lehman Brothers will replace Richard Fuld as chief executive on Dec. 31, Lehman lawyer Harvey Miller said Thursday. Updated 4:45 PM 11/20/08

14. Anti-NAFTA groups prepare wish list for Obama at Ottawa gathering

    MONTREAL - Not everybody in Canada is terrified by the prospect of U.S president-elect Barack Obama reopening the North American Free Trade Agreement. Updated 4:30 PM 11/20/08

15. OPEC grapples with production cuts, credibility amid recessionary fears

    CAIRO, Egypt - When OPEC announced late last month it was cutting crude oil output by 1.5 million barrels per day, the market barely hiccuped. Updated 3:20 PM 11/20/08

16. TSX slides more than 750 points near close on weaker oil, bad financial news

    TORONTO - Stocks faced another brutal day across North America, but it was the Toronto Stock Exchange which was hardest hit - plunging more than 750 points Thursday to its lowest level in five years. Updated 4:55 PM 11/20/08

17. Activists say U.S. tobacco settlement is being wasted

    In 2006, Alaska desperately needed cash to complete a museum featuring a mummified bison and other natural wonders of the frozen north. Updated 2:50 PM 11/20/08

18. Fiscal update set for next Thursday

    OTTAWA - The federal finance minister will deliver his fiscal update next Thursday. Updated 2:05 PM 11/20/08

19. CAE hiring 250 skilled workers in the Montreal and Mirabel area

    MONTREAL - CAE Inc. (TSX:CAE) is looking to hire 250 engineers, technicians and skilled workers in the Montreal area despite an economic slowdown that is affecting airlines, the flight simulator maker said Thursday. Updated 5:05 PM 11/20/08

20. Saudi prince increasing stake in Citigroup

    NEW YORK - Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal said Thursday he plans to increase his stake in Citigroup Inc. to five per cent, and expressed support of the bank's management. Updated 2:05 PM 11/20/08

21. Economist: Alberta headed for big economic slowdown amid falling oil prices

    CALGARY - With crude prices dipping below US$50 Wednesday, an economist says oil-rich Alberta is headed for a dramatic economic slowdown as oil and gas companies scale back to cope with lower revenues. Updated 1:50 PM 11/20/08

22. Paulson: crisis happens once or twice in 100 years

    WASHINGTON - U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson called the financial crisis plaguing the world economy a once or twice in a 100 years event, even as he warned Thursday against imposing too-strict regulations to prevent a repeat calamity. Updated 1:35 PM 11/20/08

23. Fairfax ends hedging on equity investments, sees 'incredible opportunities'

    TORONTO - Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. (TSX:FFH) disclosed Thursday that it has stopped hedging its equity portfolio investments. Updated 12:00 PM 11/20/08

24. Oil at three-year lows; U.S. gasoline below US$2 a gallon in 23 states:

    VIENNA, Austria - A rebound in world stock markets supported oil prices Friday, with crude creeping off a 3-year low to trade above $50 a barrel. Updated 6:20 AM

25. Oilexco scraps convertible bond and common share offering, seeeks other alternatives

    CALGARY - Oilexco Inc. (TSX:OIL), a Calgary-based international oil producer with operations in the North Sea, has cancelled a planned offering of US$150 million of convertible bonds and up to 20 million common shares because the financings would be too dilutive to current shareholders. Updated 1:45 PM 11/20/08

26. Enbridge issues $500 million in long-term debt, sign of company strength, says CFO

    CALGARY - Enbridge Inc. (TSX:ENB), a major pipeline and energy services company, says it has raised $500 million by issuing corporate debt, a development the chief financial officer says reflects the Calgary company's financial strength in a tough credit environment. Updated 11:15 AM 11/20/08

27. THE CANADIAN PRESS

    LONDON, Ont. - A new report says Ontario's export growth is expected to rise by a moderate three per cent in 2009 after a forecasted-- per cent decline this year. Updated 10:10 AM 11/20/08

28. U.S. jobless claims jump unexpectedly to 16-year high

    WASHINGTON - New claims for unemployment benefits in the United States jumped last week to a 16-year high, the Labour Department said Thursday, providing more evidence of a rapidly weakening job market expected to get even worse next year. Updated 10:10 AM 11/20/08

29. Detroit automakers' rescue plan stalls in Senate

    WASHINGTON - The US$25-billion rescue plan for the auto industry, desperately sought by Detroit's beleaguered Big Three, collapsed Thursday as the U.S. Congress drew the line at one more bailout and Democrats said they wouldn't even consider it until the companies produced a convincing plan for rebuilding their once-mighty industry. Updated 7:50 PM 11/20/08

30. TD Bank to report $350 million in fourth-quarter credit losses

    TORONTO - TD Bank (TSX:TD) will book a $350-million loss on its wholesale banking operations in its fourth quarter, but will still have an overall profit thanks to offsetting gains and its retail banking operations. Updated 4:15 PM 11/20/08

31. Court ruling means airlines must make room for disabled

    OTTAWA - Three of the country's major airlines are finally being forced - after a six-year-legal battle - to make additional seats available at no charge to disabled or obese passengers who need the extra room. Updated 3:40 PM 11/20/08

32. IKEA recalls window blinds following strangulation of girl in the U.S.

    WASHINGTON - About 670,000 IKEA window blinds were recalled in the United States on Thursday after a young child was strangled. Updated 9:15 AM 11/20/08

33. European Union joins the lineup, staking claim to Arctic resources

    BRUSSELS, Belgium - The European Union gave notice Thursday it is keen to have a share of the much sought after oil, gas, mineral and fish resources in the Arctic region as the polar ice cap melts. Updated 3:50 PM 11/20/08

34. Taco Bell lawyers get tough with rapper 50 Cent over lawsuit

    NEW YORK - Rapper 50 Cent is facing a challenge to his street cred - from Taco Bell. Updated 9:45 AM 11/20/08

35. Clement in Washington on fact-finding mission about automaker bailout

    WASHINGTON - As U.S. legislators ordered the chief executives of North America's biggest automakers back to Detroit to come up with a business plan to justify a US$25 billion bailout, Canada's industry minister arrived in town hoping for more information on a rescue package that was possibly doomed before his plane landed. Updated 10:00 PM 11/20/08

36. Flint says its FT Services unit wins $50 million maintenance contract

    CALGARY - Flint Energy Services Ltd (TSX:FES) says the company's 50 per cent owned joint venture company, FT Services, has won a $50 million contract to provide turnaround management and execution services to Shell Canada Ltd.'s Scotford oilsands refinery at Fort Saskatchewan, Alta. Updated 8:25 AM 11/20/08

37. Canadian corporations' pre-crisis profits eclipse $77b in Q3

    OTTAWA - The economy may be in crisis but you'd never know it by third-quarter profits posted by Canadian corporations. Updated 8:25 AM 11/20/08

38. British engine maker Rolls-Royce plans up to 2,000 job cuts in 2009

    LONDON - Rolls-Royce Group PLC said Thursday it plans to cut up to 2,000 jobs next year as demand for its products slumps amid the global economic downturn. Updated 8:20 AM 11/20/08

39. American jobless claims jump unexpectedly to 16-year high

    WASHINGTON - The U.S. government says new claims for unemployment benefits jumped last week to a 16-year high, providing more evidence of a rapidly weakening labour market. Updated 8:10 AM 11/20/08

40. Kinross buys Lobo-Marte in Chile from Teck and Anglo American for US$250M

    TORONTO - Kinross Gold Corp. (TSX:K) is paying about US$250 million to buy Minera Santa Rosa SCM, owner of the Lobo-Marte gold project in northern Chile, from Teck Cominco Ltd. (TSX:TCK.B) and Anglo American PLC. Updated 8:00 AM 11/20/08

41. Inmet to buy rest of Petaquilla copper project from Teck Cominco for

    TORONTO - Inmet Mining Corp. (IMN-TSX) says it has acquired the rest of the Petaquilla copper project in Central America for US$30 million from Teck Cominco Ltd. (TSX:TCK.B). Updated 7:55 AM 11/20/08

42. Partial automotive recovery boosts wholesale trade in September

    OTTAWA - Surprisingly robust sales in the automotive sector drove Canadian wholesale sales up 1.5 per cent to $46.3 billion in September, offsetting a sharp decline in the previous month. Updated 11:10 AM 11/20/08

43. Teck Cominco suspending dividends, cutting capital spending by $730 million

    VANCOUVER, B.C. - Teck Cominco Ltd. (TSX:TCK.B) is suspending dividends, slashing capital spending and selling assets to save more than a billion dollars as it struggles under a massive debt load. Updated 4:10 PM 11/20/08

44. Romney adamantly against proposed $25-billion auto industry bailout

    WASHINGTON - Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney is standing firmly behind those opposing a $25-billion "bridge loan" for struggling Detroit auto manufacturers. Updated 7:30 AM 11/20/08

45. GMAC files with Federal Reserve for bank holding status

    NEW YORK - GMAC Financial Services has applied to the Federal Reserve to become a bank holding company, which would allow General Motors' financing arm to be eligible for aid under the Treasury's $700 billion bank rescue plan. Updated 7:30 AM 11/20/08

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