*TOP NEWS* Canada

Reuters: [2008-05-09 23:13:00]

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TOP STORIES 
> No infectious outbreak on Canadian train-officials  [nN09496954] 
> Canada blocks Alliant Tech's satellite purchase     [nN09414895] 
> Canada jobless rate rises unexpectedly to 6.1 pct   [nN09168649] 
> Canada March trade surplus widens on energy prices  [nN09478230] 
    
BUSINESS 
> ACE launches C$500 mln buyback as net income falls  [nN08414708] 
> Air Canada adds fuel surcharge as oil prices soar   [nN09506040] 
> Manitoba Telecom profit gets wireless lift          [nN09464359] 
> Power Corp of Canada net income rises on gain       [nN09484001] 
> GMP Capital first-quarter profit drops 53 pct       [nN09458976] 
> Cott delays US regulatory filing, cites tax issue   [nN09473960] 
> Canadian shoppers see some gains as C$ holds firm   [nN09174071] 
    
MARKETS 
> Toronto stocks hit by profit-taking despite oil     [nN09516009] 
> Canadian dollar up over a cent, bonds rally         [nN09282110] 
> Big banks may get bruised again                     [nN09479276]    
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UPDATE 3-No infectious outbreak on Canadian train-officials

Reuters: [2008-05-09 23:11:00]

(Updated throughout)

By Frank Pingue and David Ljunggren

TORONTO/OTTAWA, May 9 (Reuters) - Canadian health officials said on Friday that a death and reported outbreak of flu-like symptoms aboard a cross-Canada train were not due to an infectious disease and in fact were likely not related at all.

About 290 passengers and crew aboard the Vancouver-Toronto train were still being held in quarantine near the tiny northern Ontario town of Foleyet, but would likely be able to continue their journey later on Friday, Ontario's top medical official told a news conference.

"While the cause of death continues to be under investigation, it has been determined that the deceased did most likely not have an infectious disease," said Dr. David Williams.

Early reports of the death and of emergency workers in hazardous materials suits swarming the train had brought back grim memories of the 2003 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in Toronto, which killed dozens and put the medical community on edge.

Williams said one woman -- reported to be in her 60s -- had died suddenly aboard the VIA Rail train, while another had displayed shortness of breath, most likely due to a pre-existing medical condition. She was airlifted to a hospital in nearby Timmins,

Five others traveling in a group had displayed flu-like symptoms, but health officials determined they had been feeling ill before boarding the train, and one had earlier visited a clinic.

"It happened to be a confluence of three (events) at the same time," Williams said.

The remaining passengers and crew are being screened as a precaution, he said.

VIA Rail's trans-Canada services are popular with tourists, many of whom board the train in the Pacific Coast city of Vancouver, British Columbia, or in Jasper, Alberta, for the spectacular journey through the Rocky Mountains. (Additional reporting by Reuters correspondents in Toronto, Ottawa and Vancouver; writing by Janet Guttsman and Cameron French; editing by Rob Wilson) ((janet.guttsman@reuters.com; +1 416 941 8100; Reuters Messaging: janet.guttsman.reuters.com@reuters.net))

Keywords: CANADA TRAIN/

UPDATE 3-Toronto stocks hit by profit-taking despite oil

Reuters: [2008-05-09 23:08:00]

(Adds details)

By Wojtek Dabrowski

TORONTO, May 9 (Reuters) - The Toronto Stock Exchange's main index finished in the red on Friday as profit-taking cooled the energy sector even though oil prices hit another record high.

The S&P/TSX composite index <.GSPTSE> dropped 86.80 points, or 0.59 percent, to close at 14,521.19.

"We had such a very good day yesterday and this market is still a very tricky market, so we probably ran into some profit-taking today," said John Kinsey, portfolio manager at Caldwell Securities Ltd. The index rose more than 200 points on Thursday.

Eight of the 10 main subgroups on the benchmark ended lower, including the key energy and materials sectors, which dropped 0.52 percent and 1.83 percent, respectively. Financials inched 0.06 percent lower.

The S&P/TSX 60 index of Canadian large-cap stocks lost 5.99 points, or 0.69 percent, to end at 863.46.

Oil shares fell even though crude jumped to a record high above $126 a barrel, extending its gains on fuel supply concerns and speculator buying.

Canadian Natural Resources Ltd <CNQ.TO> was among the energy companies that fell, losing C$1.85, or 1.9 percent, to C$94.15 a day after it reported a surge in quarterly profit because of rocketing oil prices.

Oil and gas powerhouse EnCana Corp <ECA.TO> fell 96 Canadian cents, or 1.1 percent, to end at C$86.52.

"The stocks are down for a change, they're not following their commodity," Kinsey said.

Gold prices moved higher on the back of oil on Friday -- an increase not reflected in the shares of gold producers such as Barrick Gold <ABX.TO>, which fell C$1.49, or 3.6 percent, to finish at C$39.51.

Among companies reporting results, ACE Aviation Holdings <ACEa.TO>, parent of airline Air Canada <ACa.TO>, posted a first-quarter loss on Friday because of one-time charges and said it would buy back about 42 percent of its stock. Its shares spiked C$1.41, or 7 percent, to C$21.46.

In the United States, the Dow Jones industrial average shed 120.90 points, or 0.94 percent, to close at 12,745.88. There, a dismal set of results from insurance behemoth American International Group <AIG.N> raised doubts that the end of the credit crisis was near. The tech-heavy Nasdaq moved lower by 5.72 points, or 0.23 percent, to 2,445.52.

($1=$1.02 Canadian) (Reporting by Wojtek Dabrowski; editing by Peter Galloway) ((wojtek.dabrowski@reuters.com; +1-416-941-8009; Reuters Messaging: wojtek.dabrowski.reuters.com@reuters.net)) Keywords: MARKETS CANADA STOCKS

Argentine stocks rise on safe-haven buying

Reuters: [2008-05-09 23:07:00]

BUENOS AIRES, May 9 (Reuters) - Argentine stocks bucked the downward regional trend on Friday because of safe-haven buying triggered by a prolonged farming conflict and a further weakening of the peso, traders said.

The MerVal index <.MERV> of leading stocks closed up 0.59 percent to 2,114.44 points, accumulating a gain of 0.32 percent over the course of the week despite jitters over renewed anti-government protests.

"The MerVal steered away from the global losses because a variety of rumors drove investors to look for refuge in stocks," said Ruben Pascuali, a trader at the Mayoral Bursatil brokerage.

Volume on the broad market swelled to a moderate $32 million and of active issues, 47 advanced, 24 declined and 11 were unchanged.

"Against the backdrop of uncertainty, investors found the best refuge in Petrobras Energia Participaciones <PCH.BA>," Pascuali said.

Stock in the energy firm, the Argentine arm of Brazilian state oil company Petrobras, closed up 3.83 percent to 4.33 pesos per share after it reported a higher first-quarter net profit.

Farmers lined highways for a second day on Thursday in fresh protests against a sliding-scale of grains export taxes that triggered a three-week farm strike in March.

Jitters over the dispute fueled dollar purchases, sending the Argentine peso lower for a fourth straight session. In informal trade between foreign exchange houses, as measured by Reuters, it depreciated by 0.46 percent to 3.265/3.27 per dollar <ARSB=.

However, in formal interbank trade -- where the central bank intervenes in the market to keep the currency stable -- the peso firmed by 0.08 percent to 3.175/3.1775 per dollar <ARS=RASL>.

Fresh farming protests continued to feed the cautious mood in the debt market, with locally traded bonds <AR/BONOS> falling by 0.2 percent on average due to profit-taking of gains racked up earlier in the session.

Peso-denominated Discount bonds fell 0.4 percent in over-the-counter trade while the same bond in dollars rose by the same margin.

Expectation over the release of the April inflation figure -- 0.8 percent -- also caused caution. More than 40 percent of Argentina's debt load is indexed to inflation. (Reporting by Walter Bianchi; Writing by Helen Popper; Editing by Diane Craft) ((helen.popper@thomsonreuters.com; +54-11-4318-0655; Reuters Messaging: helen.popper.reuters.com@reuters.net))

Keywords: MARKETS ARGENTINA/

Canadian dollar up over a cent, bonds rally

Reuters: [2008-05-09 22:52:00]

    By John McCrank 
    TORONTO, May 9 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar rose more 
than a cent against the U.S. dollar on Friday, a move 
attributed to technical factors as well as domestic jobs data, 
against a positive backdrop of record-setting oil prices. 
    Domestic bond prices rallied, playing catch-up with the 
larger U.S. market. 
    The Canadian dollar closed at C$1.0056 to the U.S. dollar, 
or 99.44 U.S. cents, up from C$1.0171 to the U.S. dollar, or 
98.32 U.S. cents, at Thursday's close. 
    It was a choppy week for the currency, bouncing from C$1.02 
to the U.S. dollar to parity over two days, and then back to 
C$1.0170 in two days, but ultimately it ended 1.4 percent 
higher. 
    "I don't think there is anything really in terms of data 
releases that would have spurred that level of volatility," 
said Gareth Sylvester, senior currency strategist at HIFX in 
San Francisco. 
    "So that would lead us to suggest it was more of a 
technical-style move rather than anything else," he said. 
    The Canadian dollar shot higher early in the session after 
a report showed the economy performed better than expected in 
April. The currency then gave back some of its gains as details 
of the data were digested. 
    The Statistic Canada report showed 19,200 jobs were created 
in April, while 10,000 had been expected. 
    Other details, however, showed the unemployment rate edged 
higher to 6.1 percent from 6.0 percent in March, the wage 
measure component eased, and private-sector employment 
declined. 
    "The continuing shedding of manufacturing jobs is really a 
concern," Sylvester added. "You're sitting at 111,000 jobs lost 
year-to-date (in manufacturing), so that's still a concern." 
    With the mixed reading, the week's most anticipated piece 
of data did nothing to alter the outlook for domestic interest 
rates. The Bank of Canada is still expected to lower its key 
rate by 25 basis points to 2.75 percent at its next scheduled 
announcement date on June 10. 
    A rise in oil prices to a new high above $126 a barrel 
provided a positive backdrop for the Canadian dollar. However, 
concerns about the sustainability of prices at that level, in 
light of slowing global growth, prevented crude from being a 
rallying point for the currency, Sylvester said. 
    Other domestic data showed the rising prices for oil and 
natural gas exports boosted Canada's trade surplus to C$5.53 
billion in March. 
    
    BONDS RISE 
    Bond prices rose, ignoring the higher headline numbers in 
the economic data, as they were not seen altering the interest 
rate outlook. 
    "You had a big move down in U.S. yields this week that 
Canada really was somewhat insulated from, and I think it's 
just a bit of a  catch up for that," said Mark Chandler, fixed 
income strategist at RBC Capital Markets. 
    Bond yields in prices move in opposite directions. 
    The two-year bond was up 5 Canadian cents at C$102.02 to 
yield 2.731 percent. The 10-year rose 39 Canadian cents to 
C$103.16 to yield 3.587 percent. 
    The yield spread between the two- and 10-year bonds was 
85.6 basis points, down from 87.8 at the previous close. 
    The 30-year bond added 98 Canadian cents to C$115.53, for a 
yield of 4.082 percent. In the United States, the 30-year 
treasury yielded 4.527 percent. 
    The three-month when-issued T-bill yielded 2.62 percent, up 
from 2.60 percent at the previous close. 
 ((john.mccrank@thomsonreuters.com; +1 416 941 8083; Reuters 
Messaging: john.mccrank.reuters.com@reuters.net)) 
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  <CA/MMKT1> <CA/MMKT2> <CA/DEBT> <BONDS> <TREASURY> For 
related news, double click on one of the following: 
 [CAN]  Canadian news 
 [NAT]  North American Treasuries news 
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 [D]    Debt news 
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Keywords: MARKETS CANADA DOLLAR BONDS