Business
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May 16, 2008
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Sunlight shines on Hydro tower
By Larry Kusch Manitoba Hydro's grand contribution to downtown Winnipeg is nearing completion, and the utility says it will begin a phased-in move of 2,200 employees into the new Portage Avenue head office as early as October.
Take a tour of the Hydro tower <Continued>
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City on a roll, says development boss
By Martin Cash The boss of Winnipeg's economic development agency says the city is on an economic roll -- and he expects the good times to continue. <Continued> -
City's housing market facing mini-slump
By Murray McNeill Winnipeg's robust housing market is about to catch the sniffles, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. <Continued> -
Boyd Group on growth trajectory
By Martin Cash The Boyd Group Income Fund says it intends to add four-to-six new collision repair shops every year for the foreseeable future and to do so without adding new debt or raising new equity. <Continued> -
Start thinking about your legacy
Dollars and Sense / David Christianson Most of us think from time to time, in reflective moments, about the ways we will have left the world a better place after we are gone. <Continued> -
Canadians tighten belts as economy cools down
By Misty Harris Forget the nuances of the stock market. The future of the Canadian economy may be reflected in something as basic as our morning coffee. <Continued> -
Business Watch
Air Canada lowers fees
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CRTC gives new media a close look
OTTAWA -- The CRTC has launched a major review of the impact the Internet is having on Canadian broadcasting and whether it should try to govern content on new digital media. <Continued> -
Industries see sharp drop in sales
OTTAWA --Weakness in the auto sector and the troubled U.S. economy led to a sharp and broad decline in manufacturing sales in March, which pulled backed 1.6 per cent to $49 billion after advancing in the two previous months, Statistics Canada reported Thursday. <Continued> -
Financials, metals lead to record
What the brokers say... dTORONTO -- The Toronto stock market surged to a record-high close Thursday in a broad-based advance led by solid gains in financial and metals stocks even as investors took in data that showed a weakening U.S. economy was hurting manufacturers. <Continued> -
May 15, 2008
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Store paints itself a winner
By Larry Kusch Canadian Tire store owners have fought city hall -- and won -- over a new graffiti-control bylaw restricting the way retailers display and sell spray paint. <Continued> -
Labour productivity growth on roll
By Murray McNeill Manitoba was one of the country's leaders in labour productivity growth for the third straight year in 2007, new Statistics Canada figures show. <Continued> -
Organization celebrating 125th anniversary
Martin Cash When Dave Bears started out in business 55 years ago, his father told him one of the first things he needed to do was join the North West Commercial Travellers Association. <Continued> -
We're taking a turn for the... better?
By Julian Beltrame OTTAWA -- The loonie once again worth about the same as the U.S. greenback, employment, exports and consumer spending continuing strong -- what is happening to Canada's year of economic discontent? <Continued> -
Metals dampen TSX gain
What the brokers say... TORONTO -- The Toronto stock market failed Wednesday to make a convincing breakout to fresh record territory as early triple-digit gains melted away in the face of rising losses in base and precious metal stocks. <Continued> -
Business Watch
Sidetrack lands L.A. contract
Winnipeg's Sidetrack Technologies has installed its first LED digital advertising display in North America in the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority Metro Red Line subway. <Continued> -
May 14, 2008
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Gas prices hurt leisure travel
By Ross Marowits MONTREAL -- Canadians may vacation closer to home this summer as soaring gas prices for their cars and new airline fuel surcharges prompt a change in travel patterns, industry experts say. <Continued> -
Rain helps some, misses others
By Larry Kusch The rain that fell on Monday boosted the fortunes of a lot of Manitoba farmers, but it missed the growers who needed it the most. <Continued> -
Tech provider HP in $13.2-B deal
By Michael Liedtke SAN FRANCISCO -- Hewlett-Packard Co. is buying Electronic Data Systems Corp. for US$13.2 billion in a deal that will create the second largest technology services provider behind IBM. <Continued> -
Rona shares take Q1 beating
By Ross Marowits MONTREAL -- Shares of Canadian home renovation leader Rona Inc. (May 14 2008, 12: 55 am CDT) sank to their lowest level in nearly five years Tuesday after weak consumer confidence and a slowdown in new home construction punished the company's first-quarter results. <Continued> -
Art of the North now on the Net
By Murray McNeill The lure of the Internet has a northern co-operative rethinking the way it markets its Inuit and Dene arts and crafts. <Continued> -
Arctic Ice posts loss, but hot weather to boost sales
By Martin Cash Arctic Glacier Income Fund racked up $1 million in expenses during the first month of the antitrust investigation into the packaged ice industry. <Continued> -
Wal-Mart lessons for Red Cross?
By Martin Cash WHEN Duha Color Services became a supplier of paint chips to Ikea stores, the Swedish retailing and furniture making giant came to Winnipeg to do an audit. <Continued> -
Soaring fuel prices drive GM to shift focus to cars
DETROIT -- Conceding that the U.S. auto industry is in a recession and high gas prices are changing which vehicles people buy, General Motors Corp. said Tuesday it is shifting its marketing to focus more on cars and less on trucks. <Continued> -
Business Watch
Employment gap widens OTTAWA -- Immigrant employment, seen as a way to offset projected labour shortages, increased sharply last year in Canada, easily outpacing that of native-born workers, Statistics Canada reported Tuesday. <Continued> -
Market fails to keep up its sizzle
What the brokers say... TORONTO -- The Toronto stock market closed lower Tuesday, unable to capitalize on a solid gain in the previous session that sent the TSX to a record high despite another spike in oil prices. <Continued> -
May 13, 2008
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Hog ban draws fire from pork producers
By Larry Kusch Manitoba hog producers are finding Manitoba a less-than-friendly place to be these days, and they're spending close to $200,000 to tell you why. <Continued> -
Toronto market hits record high
By David Friend TORONTO -- After starting the year in a slump and despite a nearly constant stream of warnings about how a slowdown south of the border would dampen investor confidence, Canada's main stock market roared to a new all-time high on Monday. <Continued> -
Business Watch
Business booming at New Flyer Order books at Winnipeg bus-maker New Flyer Industries are bulging and company officials say that is likely to continue at least until the end of the year. <Continued> -
New home prices still soaring in Winnipeg
By Murray McNeill The rising cost of land, labour and building materials drove up new-home prices in Winnipeg at a faster clip than in most other parts of the country in March, according to new figures released Monday. <Continued> -
GM closing Windsor transmission plant
TORONTO -- In the latest blow to the country's struggling auto industry, General Motors said Monday it will close its transmission plant in Windsor, Ont., by mid-2010 in a move that will affect 1,400 people. <Continued> -
Plan to hike hydro rates for big, new users delayed
By Martin Cash A controversial proposal to raise hydro rates for large industrial users coming into the province is likely to be postponed for several months. <Continued> -
EnCana, RIM send TSX to new highs
What the brokers say... TORONTO -- Major announcements from Toronto stock market heavyweights EnCana Corp. (May 13 2008, 12: 55 am CDT) and Research In Motion Ltd. (TSX:RIM) helped send the TSX to a record close, besting the level set July 19 last year before the credit crisis washed over global markets. <Continued> -
May 12, 2008
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Exchange stoked for a big Switch
Murray McNeill When Nick Van Seggelen and his business partners gaze out the massive front windows of their soon-to-be-opened Exchange District skateboard shop, they can't help but smile. <Continued> -
EnCana split creates new oil giant
By Lauren Krugel CALGARY -- Canada's energy capital will have to make room for another huge player, as EnCana Corp. (May 12 2008, 12: 40 am CDT), one of the country's most prominent oil and gas producers, splits itself off into two separate Calgary-based companies. <Continued> -
Canadian productivity weak: study
By Eric Beauchesne OTTAWA -- The slump in labour and business productivity growth in Canada this decade has been in part due to a shift in the job market from a surplus of workers to a shortage but is likely temporary, concludes a study by an economic think-tank being released today. <Continued> -
Manitoba Movers
PEOPLE Barry Rempel <Continued> -
Business Calendar
This morning's opening numbers: S&P/TSX Dow Jones Nasdaq C$ <Continued> -
May 11, 2008
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Retire wisely
Darcy Keith If you're nearing retirement and lucky enough to have a defined benefit pension plan, brace yourself for some difficult decisions. <Continued> -
May 17, 2008
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Manitobans tire of gas-guzzlers
By Larry Kusch Manitobans are responding to high fuel prices by buying smaller, more fuel-efficient cars, but there's been no mass ditching of gas-guzzling SUVs, as has been reported in the United States, local car dealers say. <Continued> -
Sky's the limit forunmanned aerial vehicles
By Joe Paraskevas The search for an 84-year-old man near Teulon this week could provoke worldwide changes in the use of auto-piloted planes, also called unmanned aerial vehicles (May 17 2008, 10: 36 am CDT). <Continued> -
Horse-slaughter ban closely watched in U.S.
Laura Rance Are horses livestock or pets, tools or toys? <Continued> -
TSX high...3rd record this week
TORONTO -- The Toronto stock market racked up its third record close for the week on Friday as investors continued to pile into energy and metals stocks and oil prices cruised to new highs. <Continued> -
Settlement clears way for Biovail
TORONTO -- A subsidiary of Biovail Corp. (May 17 2008, 12: 00 am CDT) has agreed to pay US$24.6 million to settle U.S. criminal allegations related to the launch of Cardizem LA heart drug in 2003, part of the Canadian drug company's push to expand in the American market. <Continued> -
Airline flunks PR test
By Ross Marowits MONTREAL -- Air Canada (May 17 2008, 12: 00 am CDT) failed the test of transparency by not being up front enough in informing the public about new fuel surcharges, industry observers said Friday. <Continued> -
Cancer ward nurses find rewards in job
By Stephanie Whittaker MONTREAL -- Patients in the cancer-care ward at St. Mary's Hospital often acknowledge the nurses who care for them as "angels," says Christiane Morin, the nurse in charge of the unit. <Continued> -
Risky car loans work for lenders
By Sarah Schmidt OTTAWA -- Ottawa dental surgeon Robert Bouclin knew his friend was in trouble when he saw her riffling through the Yellow Pages, looking for financial advisers specializing in clients in a credit crisis. <Continued> -
Oil prices up despite U.S., Saudi efforts
NEW YORK -- Oil prices advanced Friday as traders, unimpressed by U.S. and Saudi efforts to boost supply, kept buying on the expectation that prices would keep setting new records. <Continued>
