UPDATE 3-Polar bears listed as US threatened species

Reuters: [2008-05-14 23:45:00]

(Adds U.S. Chamber of Commerce comment, paragraphs 15-16)

By Deborah Zabarenko, Environment Correspondent

WASHINGTON, May 14 (Reuters) - Polar bears were listed on Wednesday as threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act because their sea ice habitat is melting away.

However, this new protection does not aim to reduce climate change -- which environmentalists see as the cause of the bears' disappearing habitat -- or Arctic drilling for the fossil fuels that spur the climate-warming greenhouse effect.

In announcing the government's decision one day ahead of a court-ordered deadline, Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne acknowledged that human-caused greenhouse gas emissions contribute to the global warming that is damaging the polar bears' habitat.

However, he stressed that the threatened status could not properly be used to regulate greenhouse emissions.

"While the legal standards under the Endangered Species Act compel me to list the polar bear as threatened, I want to make clear that this listing will not stop global climate change or prevent any sea ice from melting," he said at a briefing.

"Any real solution requires action by all major economies for it to be effective," Kempthorne said. He also noted he was taking administrative and regulatory action to ensure this decision is not "abused to make global warming policies."

The proper forum for combating climate change is among the world's major economies, Kempthorne said. The Bush administration has convened the world's worst greenhouse polluting nations in a series of international meetings.

Polar bears live only in the Arctic and depend on sea ice as a platform for hunting seals. The U.S. Geological Survey said two-thirds of the world's polar bears -- some 16,000 -- could be gone by 2050 if predictions about melting sea ice hold true.

This is the first time climate change has been a factor in proposing a threatened status for any U.S. species, and was spurred on by environmentalists who claimed a limited victory in Kempthorne's announcement.

"MAJOR STEP FORWARD" WITH "LOOPHOLES"

"Protecting the polar bear under the Endangered Species Act is a major step forward, but the Bush administration has proposed using loopholes in the law to allow the greatest threat to the polar bear -- global warming pollution -- to continue unabated," Andrew Wetzler of the Natural Resources Defense Council said in a statement.

John Kostyack of the National Wildlife Federation, while gratified at the listing, saw little practical effect given the limits of Kempthorne's regulations.

"By denying a direct link between the sources of global warming pollution and the loss of the polar bears' sea ice habitat, and by denying that the polar bear will be protected from oil and gas development, they're willing to sit by and let the polar bear go extinct," Kostyack said by telephone.

The Endangered Species Act requires that decisions to protect wildlife be based solely on science, not on economic factors.

Kempthorne said his administrative rule aims at defining the scope of the decision, and at "limiting the unintended harm to the society and the economy of the United States."

Bill Kovacs of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce praised the decision and its accompanying regulations, calling is a "common sense balancing" between environmental and business concerns.

Without the limiting regulations, Kovacs said, all carbon-emitters in the contiguous United States would have to go through a consultation process, which he said would have literally shut down federal activity overnight.

Wednesday's decision was one day ahead of a court-ordered deadline. The U.S. government was initially supposed to decide in January but postponed its decision, citing the volume of scientific data to be considered.

In February, the Interior Department sold oil and gas rights across some 29.7 million acres (12.02 million hectares) of the Chukchi Sea off the Alaskan coast -- including prime polar bear habitat -- for a record $2.66 billion.

Canada, home to two-thirds of the world's polar bears, will not for now follow the U.S. lead in listing the animals as threatened, Environment Minister John Baird indicated.

The government of Nunavut, a territory that is home to most of Canada's Inuit people and which manages or co-manages some 15,000 polar bears, expressed disappointment in the U.S. decision.

"It is unfortunate the (U.S. government) has decided to disregard facts collected by those who have the greatest contact and longest history with polar bears," Nunavut Premier Paul Okalik said in a statement. "The truth is that polar bear populations are at near record levels."

(Reporting by Deborah Zabarenko in Washington, David Ljunggren and Louise Egan in Ottawa, editing by David Alexander and Sandra Maler)

(For more Reuters information on the environment, see http://blogs.reuters.com/environment/) ((deborah.zabarenko@thomson reuters.com;+1 202 898 8388; Reuters Messaging:deborah.zabarenko.reuters.com@reuters.net)) Keywords: POLARBEAR/

UPDATE 3-Toronto stocks give up early gains to end flat

Reuters: [2008-05-14 23:04:00]

(Adds details, quotes)

*Index trims gains to close little changed

*Soft resource shares offset stronger in financials

*Royal Bank of Canada rises after says will take writedown

By Leah Schnurr

TORONTO, May 14 (Reuters) - The Toronto Stock Exchange's main index gave up nearly all its gains on Wednesday, as weak resources undermined a rally by financial issues after Royal Bank of Canada <RY.TO> said it would take a smaller second-quarter writedown than had been expected.

Miners were among the companies that led the retreat, including Inmet Mining <IMN.TO>, as the start date of its Las Cruces copper project was put in doubt after Spain's water authority suspended a water permit. Inmet gave up C$9.49, or 12.3 percent, at C$67.50.

The financial sector pushed higher, with shares of Royal up C$1.23, or 2.5 percent, at C$49.85 after Canada's largest bank said it will see a pretax writedown of C$855 million amid liquidity pressures on its assets.

"There's so many rumors floating around on what (banks') exposures are," said Sal Masionis, stockbroker at Brant Securities. "So obviously it's quite nice to have a rally."

The S&P/TSX composite index <.GSPTSE> closed up 9.61 points, or 0.07 percent, at 14,626.31 with half of the 10 main sectors higher.

The banking group, which has been battered by global losses and writedowns stemming from the credit crunch and deteriorating U.S. housing market, rose 1 percent.

The sector had earlier helped the benchmark jump to a record high of 14,737.18, surpassing the 14,695.75 mark that was reached on Monday.

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce <CM.TO> added 76 Canadian cents, or 1 percent, to C$74.01, and Toronto-Dominion Bank <TD.TO> rose 57 Canadian cents, or 0.9 percent, to C$67.57.

Gold producers fell 1.7 percent, while the price of bullion slid slightly. Agnico-Eagle Mines <AEM.TO> was down C$1.50, or 2.3 percent, at C$63.91, while the broader materials sector was off 0.9 percent.

"I would suggest on an intermediate trend, it looks like gold wants to rally," said Andrew Martyn, portfolio manager at Davis-Rea.

"So I think from an entry point of view, gold is looking extremely good, and you've got some quality stocks that have traded off here."

The small health care sector was down 1.1 percent, while Cardiome Pharma <COM.TO> lost 37 Canadian cents, or 3.8 percent, to C$9.30.

The industrials sector put on 1.3 percent, helped by a gain in plane and train maker Bombardier <BBDb.TO>, which was up 20 Canadian cents, or 3.1 percent, at C$6.67.

Economic data out of the United States had helped set an upbeat tone earlier in the day after consumer prices rose less than expected last month, which calmed fears of inflation.

Market volume was 405 million shares worth C$7.5 billion. Decliners outpaced advancers 817 to 776. The blue chip S&P/TSX 60 index <.TSE60> eked out a gain of 0.82 point, or 0.09 percent, at 871.59.

In New York, stocks were heartened by the tame inflation data, as well as stronger than expected results from retailers Macy's <M.N> and mortgage company Freddie Mac <FRE.N>.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> closed up 66.20 points, or 0.52 percent, at 12,898.38, while the Nasdaq composite index <.IXIC> inched up 1.58 points, or 0.06 percent, at 2,496.70. ($1=$1.00 Canadian) (Editing by Rob Wilson) ((leah.schnurr@thomsonreuters.com; +1 416 941 8056; Reuters Messaging: leah.schnurr.reuters.net@reuters.com))

Keywords: MARKETS CANADA STOCKS

. Keywords: MARKETS CANADA STOCKS

*TOP NEWS* Canada

Reuters: [2008-05-14 23:02:00]

For news and data, double-click on the codes in brackets. 
Access to some items may depend on subscription level. 
.................................................................. 
BUSINESS 
> Royal Bank of Canada to take C$855 mln writedown    [nN14461834] 
> Big Three automakers, CAW nearing talks deadline    [nN14499060] 
> Inmet takes reins at $3.5 bln Petaquilla project    [nN14285403] 
> Imperial fails to reinstate oil sands permit        [nN14506509] 
> When times get tough, Sun Life may go shopping      [nN14501876] 
> CAE profit and sales rise, dividend tripled         [nN14480352] 
> CN Rail warns delays endanger its EJ&E purchase     [nN14503428] 
> Boardwalk REIT funds from operations up 25 percent  [nN14383053] 
> Vector Aerospace profit rises slightly              [nN14489751] 
> Atco wants higher returns from Alberta regulators   [nN14550977] 
 
GENERAL 
> US lists polar bears as threatened species          [nN14521190] 
> Canada says won't follow U.S. move on polar bears   [nN14522910]    
> Carbon tax offers risk, reward for Canada Liberals  [nN13428741] 
> Canada's ruling Conservatives slip in poll          [nN14473690] 
> Canada says no guarantee it will buy F-35 fighters  [nN14506994] 
> Kenyan student killed in freak Canadian crash       [nN14525494] 
 
MARKETS 
> Weak resources take gains out of Toronto stocks     [nN1494583] 
> Canadian dollar falls with oil prices, bonds mixed  [nN14515249] 
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Kenyan student killed in freak Canadian crash

Reuters: [2008-05-14 22:52:00]

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 14 (Reuters) - A Kenyan exchange student killed on the ground in a freak Canadian helicopter crash may never have heard the doomed aircraft as it fell out of the sky.

Police on Wednesday identified Isaiah Otieno as one of four people killed on Tuesday in the accident in Cranbrook, British Columbia, where the 20-year-old business student was attending college.

Witnesses told local media that Otieno had gone out for a walk and was listening to music with earphones or headphones, so he may not have heard the stricken aircraft coming down on a busy street until it was too late.

The cause of the accident was not known, and Transportation Safety Board investigators were removing the badly burned wreckage for further examination. Cranbrook is located along the Rocky Mountains about 50 km (31 miles) from the U.S. border.

The other victims were all aboard the small helicopter and included two employees of BC Hydro, the provincial electricity utility, which has temporarily suspended the use of helicopters to inspect its power lines. (Reporting Allan Dowd, Editing Peter Galloway) ((allan.dowd@thomsonreuters.com; 1+604 664 7314; Messaging: allan.dowd.reuters.com@reuters.com)) Keywords: CANADA CRASH/

Canadian dollar falls with oil prices, bonds mixed

Reuters: [2008-05-14 22:48:00]

    * Canadian dollar eases against stronger greenback 
    * Oil prices slide, reversing currency's early gains 
    * Bonds mixed with no key data 
    
    By John McCrank 
    TORONTO, May 14 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar fell 
against a stronger U.S. dollar on Wednesday, as oil prices 
dropped from their record highs, thwarting the currency's bid 
above parity with the greenback. 
    Domestic bond prices, with no domestic data to influence 
direction, ended mixed. 
    The Canadian dollar closed at US$1.0043, valuing a U.S. 
dollar at 99.57 Canadian cents, down from C$1.0028 to the U.S. 
dollar, or 99.72 U.S. cents, at Tuesday's close. 
    "It's still very much in this range, and not a lot has 
changed, even though we did try to break through parity," said 
Camilla Sutton, currency strategist at Scotia Capital. 
    The currency muscled its way above parity early in the 
session, hitting a high of US$1.0036, valuing a U.S. dollar at 
99.64 Canadian cents. 
    Much of the recent strength in the Canadian dollar has been 
attributed to higher oil prices, as Canada is a major exporter. 
But with the price of U.S. crude <CLc1> off its recent record 
high of nearly $127 a barrel, the currency lost momentum. 
    Adding to the Canadian dollar's weakness was renewed 
strength in the U.S. dollar, as softer than expected U.S. 
inflation data was not seen altering the U.S. Federal Reserve's 
interest rate outlook. See [ID:nN14521634] 
    The Canadian dollar was markedly higher against most other 
major currencies, however, as the market is taking the view 
that what is good for the United States is good for Canada, 
said Sutton. 
    "When we have the strong U.S. dollar day, we tend to have 
very strong Canada days as well in terms of how Canada performs 
on the crosses." 
    The United States buys over 75 percent of Canadian 
exports. 
    
    BONDS MIXED 
    Canadian bond prices ended mixed as there was no key data 
to influence direction. 
    "The markets are looking ahead to manufacturing sales 
tomorrow, but I think the real important releases start to come 
next week," said Max Clarke, economist at IDEAglobal in New 
York. 
    Inflation data for April will be released next Wednesday, 
with retail sales data for March the due following day. 
    The two-year bond fell 5 Canadian cents to C$101.83 to 
yield 2.824 percent. The 10-year rose 5 Canadian cents to 
C$103.08 to yield 3.596 percent. 
    The yield spread between the two- and 10-year bonds was 
77.7 basis points, down from 80.1 at the previous close. 
    The 30-year bond climbed 34 Canadian cents to C$116.06 for 
a yield of 4.054 percent. In the United States, the 30-year 
treasury yielded 4.614 percent. 
    The three-month when-issued T-bill yielded 2.68 percent, 
down from 2.69 percent at the previous close. 
 ((john.mccrank@thomsonreuters.com; +1 416 941 8083; Reuters 
Messaging: john.mccrank.reuters.com@reuters.net)) 
    For Reuters bond and money market pricing information 
double click on one of the following: 
 <CAD=>      Canadian dollar live quote, high/low 
  <FXNEWS>  Headlines from global forex markets 
 <CDBN>      Canadian bond prices 
 <CDMM> <CDMN> <0#CAMMKT=> Canadian money market prices 
 <CABONEA>   Canada-U.S. spreads (live) 
 <YLDS1>     World yield index 
 <CA30YT=RR> 30 year benchmark 
 <0#CGB:> <CGBc1> <CA/FACTOR1> <MEIRP> - Montreal Exchange 
   bond futures pricing information 
 <CAMCI=>    Bank of Canada monetary conditions index (Reuters 
calculation) 
 <CACALL=>   Canada's call loan or overnight lending rate 
 <=CAD>      Canadian dollar G10 trade-weighted index. 
 
   For the fixed-income market speed guides, double click on 
one of the following: 
  
  <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 
 [M]    Money news 
 [D]    Debt news 
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Keywords: MARKETS CANADA DOLLAR BONDS