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The Toronto stock market ended the day with a triple-digit loss today as disappointing earnings from usually reliable General Electric Co. cast a shadow over stock markets and made investors fret over the quality of upcoming quarterly results.

"It caps a week of downbeat earnings results from U.S. companies – this really was the opening face-off for the first-quarter earning season and it’s been definitely a disappointing story," said Doug Porter, deputy chief economist at BMO Nesbitt Burns.

"The other factor that’s also hammered stocks has been a weaker-than-expected reading on consumer sentiment in the U.S.

"The market’s become well aware that the U.S. consumer is under serious pressure, but the pace of declines in consumer confidence is quite notable."

GE said its financial services businesses were hit by the slowing U.S. economy and uproar in financial markets. The company – with operations ranging from personal loans to nuclear power plants and NBC television – said net income fell six per cent from a year earlier to $4.3 billion. GE also lowered its projections for the full year.

The results from GE, whose size and diversity make it an economic indicator, stoked fear that other companies will fall short of expectations.

They also came as U.S. consumer confidence sunk to its lowest level in 26 years, falling to 63.2 in early April from 69.5 in March, making investors worry that nervous consumers will pare their spending – an unwelcome prospect as consumer spending accounts for about 70 per cent of U.S. economic activity.

Toronto’s S&P/TSX composite index closed down 226.55 points to 13,683.03 today.

It was up 61.98 points on the week.

The TSX Venture Exchange was down 10.11 points at 2,557.34

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 256.56 points to 12,325.42 points. The Nasdaq composite closed down 61.46 points to 2,290.24 and the S&P 500 index took a 27.72-point drop to 1,332.83.

The Canadian dollar was off 0.44 cent at 97.71 cents US as crude oil rose three cents to settle at $110.14 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It fell to an intraday low of $108.92 earlier.

Gold for June delivery fell $4.80 to end at $927 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The TSX energy sector closed down 1.4 per cent as the International Energy Agency said demand for oil will slip in the coming months amid a global economic downturn, but prices may remain high because of uncertainty over supply.

The technology and metals sectors led the declines, both off around 2.3 per cent, while financials suffered a 1.7 per cent drop.

There were no sectors in positive territory.

Bank of Nova Scotia (TSX: BNS) is reportedly offering to buy at least part of shaky U.S free credit report.com. Midwest lender National City Corp. Scotiabank shares closed down 2.6 per cent to $45.54.

In earnings news, TV and newspaper conglomerate CanWest Global Communications Corp. (TSX: CGS) missed Street expectations with a nine per cent rise in quarterly revenue to $702 million but a net loss of $34 million, hit by long-term liabilities, foreign currency items and restructuring costs. CanWest shares fell more than seven per cent to $4.40.

Shaw Communications Inc. (TSX: SJR.B) reported an 11 per cent rise in quarterly revenue to $763 million, and net income of $299 million on lower tax rates. Its shares rose 78 cents to close at $21.05.

Alberta has relented somewhat on its oil and gas royalty changes, offering breaks worth about $237 million annually to encourage drilling of new deep oil and gas wells and placate an irate industry.

Shares in EnCana (TSX: ECA) traded at $80.15, down $1.09.

And MI Developments Inc. (TSX: MIM.A) said controlling shareholder Frank Stronach planend to sue his voting power to defeat a proposal by Greenlight Capital Inc., a New York investment firm that’s calling for changes at the land development company.

Its stock fell two per cent to close at $27.41.

Also today, Statistics Canada said growth in new house prices slowed in February, but was still running well above the inflation rate and was in double digits in parts of the West and on the East Coast.

In the U.S., Frontier Airlines has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, but unlike other airlines filing for court shelter from creditors in recent weeks, it plans to keep flying while it reorganizes.

Shares of Cintas Corp. fell to a fresh annual low as a Lehman Brothers analyst downgraded the corporate uniform maker, predicting it is likely to suffer from the weakening U.S. economy.

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Canadian investors were contemplating the federal government’s squelching of a major corporate takeover Thursday, while U.S. stock index futures were slack, overseas equity markets were generally lower and oil hit new highs.

Industry Minister Jim Prentice confirmed early Thursday he has told Alliant Techsystems Inc. he is not satisfied that the proposed sale of MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (TSX: MDA) is likely to be of net benefit to Canada.

The most valued asset in the proposed $1.325-billion transaction is the taxpayer-subsidized Radarsat 2 satellite, and the deal has hit a storm of controversy over national security and sovereignty anxieties.

The Canadian dollar opened at 98.30 cents US, up 0.16 cent, as the American dollar fell to new lows against the euro. The 15-nation euro rose as high as $1.5912 (U.S.), topping its previous March 17 record of $1.5904.

Crude oil was up 56 cents at US$111.43 a barrel after settling up $2.37 at a record $110.87 Wednesday on word of falling American oil inventories.

London’s FTSE 100 index was down 0.75 per cent after the Bank of England trimmed its policy interest rate by a quarter-point to five per cent. The German DAX was down 1.3 per cent and the Paris CAC-40 lost 1.4 per cent.

Tokyo’s Nikkei index closed with a decline of 1.3 per cent, while the Hong Kong Hang Seng edged up 0.8 per cent.

In Canadian corporate news, Agrium Inc free credit report online. (TSX: AGU) is buying a 70 per cent interest in Common Market Fertilizers S.A., a European fertilizer distribution company with annual sales of more than US$500 million. Agrium said the price is $16 million plus working capital of $50 million.

Forzani Group Ltd. (TSX: FGL) reported a 13 per cent rise in holiday-quarter same-store sales, capping a year in which profit grew 35 per cent. Canada’s largest specialty sporting-goods retailer said it earned $47.5 million in the year ended Feb. 3, up from $35.2 million in the previous year, as revenue increased to $1.33 billion from $1.26 billion.

Corus Entertainment Inc. (TSX: CJR.B) reported a two per cent increase in quarterly revenue to $178.7 million, as TV and radio revenue rose four per cent but the Corus Content segment suffered a 24 per cent drop. Consolidated net income was $35.4 million in the second quarter ended Feb. 29, up from $19.5 million a year earlier. The latest quarter benefited from $13.2 million in recoveries related to income tax changes.

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OTTAWA – Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. reports the annual rate of housing starts was 254,700 units in March, down slightly from 255,600 units in February.

For the first quarter of 2008, actual starts, in rural and urban areas combined, were up about 12.8 per cent compared to the same period last year.

CMHC's chief economist Bob Dugan says the strong showing in March is largely due to construction of multiple-family dwellings, particularly condominiums.

Dugan says construction starts among single-detached homes, usually a strong trend indicator, decreased slightly.

CMHC predicts the housing market will moderate gradually throughout 2008.

Urban starts edged down by 0.4 per cent to 221,500 units in March.

Urban multiples were up 1.1 per cent to 141,000 units, while singles decreased 2.9 per cent to 80,500 units.

Rural starts were estimated at an annual rate of 33,200 units in March payday loan.

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OTTAWA – Canada further diversified its trade portfolio last year, as overseas advanced largely on the strength of growing trade with Britain, Norway and China.

Statistics Canada says overseas exports continued five years of growth, rising 17.4 per cent last year, but Canada's merchandise trade surplus nevertheless fell to its lowest level since 1999.

Merchandise exports increased 2.1 per cent to $465.2 billion, while imports rose 2.8 per cent to $415.8 billion; Canada's annual merchandise trade surplus with the world fell to $49.5 billion.

Countries other than the United States represented more than a fifth of Canada's export market in 2007.

Exports to China were responsible for nearly 20 per cent of the total growth in Canada's exports in 2007, as China overtook Japan as the country's third-largest export market.

Imports from countries other than the United States also rose to more than 45 per cent of Canada's total imports last year, largely due to growth in shipments from China and Mexico.

In total, Canada's merchandise imports and exports reached record highs in 2007 following the rapid appreciation of the dollar, the housing slowdown in the United States, and rising energy prices spurred by the soaring price of crude oil no fax payday advances.

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PLYMOUTH, Minn.–Shares of potash maker Mosaic Co. jumped more than 10 per cent yesterday after fiscal third-quarter profit leaped more than tenfold, thanks to higher prices.

The stock rose $10.55 (U.S.) to close at $113.49 on the New York Stock Exchange as the quarterly results also topped Wall Street expectations.

The company’s strong results also helped send Canadian potash and fertilizer companies higher on the Toronto Stock Exchange yesterday.

Shares in Saskatchewan-based Potash Corp. rose $3.90 (Canadian), or more than 2 per cent, to $172.57 on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Feed and fertilizer company Agrium Inc. jumped $3.26, or almost 5 per cent, to $70.01. Migao Corp., a Chinese-based specialty potash fertilizer producer that trades on the TSX, rose 35 cents, or almost 5 per cent, to $7.40.

Goldman Sachs analyst Edlain Rodriguez forecast even higher prices for potash because of strong international demand for food, animal feed and fuel.

"With strong demand in the international markets, more discipline from global producers, solid agricultural commodity prices and extremely tight inventories, global prices should continue moving higher," Rodriguez wrote in a client note bad credit payday loans.

Rodriguez forecast higher earnings in the next two years and advised investors to buy the stock.

Pricing for potash, a fertilizer, has been supported by factors that include rising demand for ethanol, a fuel made from corn.

The company also announced it plans to expand its potash operations in Saskatchewan, raising annual capacity to mine the fertilizer component to 15.1 million tonnes.

Mosaic, headquartered in Plymouth, Minn., said the expansion is a response to "continuing robust global demand for potash."

"We believe the global demand and supply fundamentals support this growth in our capacity and will allow us to fulfil our growing customer needs," said president and chief executive officer Jim Prokopanko.

Expansions at mines near Esterhazy, Belle Plaine and Colonsay are expected to take place over the next 12 years, with first production coming on line in 2009.

The Canadian Press

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Realtor Jim Common has been riding high on one of the most bullish markets in Canadian history. Just don’t ask him about this year.

"It’s been miserable," the ReMax agent said. "Buyers just seem stopped dead in their tracks."

Toronto Real Estate Board data that were released yesterday showed the first quarter of the year was one of the worst in recent memory, with sales falling for three consecutive months. Only 6,631 transactions were recorded during March, down 22 per cent from the 8,518 sales recorded in the same month last year.

The market has been on a downtrend since the beginning of the year. Sales fell a more moderate 2 per cent in January, before experiencing an 11 per cent plunge in February.

While the market was expected to slow moderately this year, no one expected it to dive this rapidly.

Realtors attributed the slowdown to one of the snowiest winters on record that kept people at home, a new City of Toronto land-transfer tax and fewer listings on the market.

"Record snowfall in Toronto left many city streets and sidewalks virtually inaccessible to potential home buyers during the first quarter," Royal LePage senior vice-president Gino Romanese said yesterday. "As a result, many sellers held off listing their homes, choosing to wait for more conducive weather for open houses."

While weather was definitely a factor, Common said he is concerned the drop may signal the beginning of a longer-term trend.

"The economy obviously has a huge impact on this," Common said. "I’ve had cases where the wife is saying yes to the sale and the husband is holding off and saying, `Let’s wait till Friday to see whether my bank stocks are okay.’"

Yesterday, the Royal Bank of Canada released a forecast for Ontario, saying the province was "teetering" on recession as certain sectors of the economy, particular manufacturing, are hit hard by the soaring Canadian dollar.

A report by the bank last month also noted a "significant shift," with the proportion of Canadians planning to buy a home in the next two years falling to 23 per cent, down 5 percentage points compared with 2007.

"The last quarter does imply we are seeing negative growth numbers for the Toronto housing market," said Paul Ferley, assistant chief economist of the bank payday loans. But he cautioned that monthly statistics are often volatile, especially coming off record sales in 2007. Ferley said it will take another quarter to substantiate a trend.

Despite the drop in activity, Royal LePage said listing periods are shorter on average this year than last. Listings were also down about 6 per cent from a year earlier. Average prices in the GTA rose to $380,338, up 4 per cent from March 2007.

To assuage fears of a market downturn, Toronto Real Estate Board president Maureen O’Neill said in a release that March’s performance "isn’t disquieting given that Canadian economic fundamentals are holding steady."

However, she said the board remains concerned about the impact of the controversial land-transfer tax Toronto implemented this year.

"Home sales in the City of Toronto spiked toward the end of 2007 probably in a bid to avoid the tax, but have since dropped off since the introduction of the tax," O’Neill said.

Meanwhile, realtor Common said the spring market that’s just underway should give a clearer view of the economy’s direction.

"If you don’t see good house sales with 14-degree weather and sunshine this weekend, then you know we’re in trouble," Common said.

Home prices in Toronto are still forecast to go up moderately by the end of the year, but much depends on what happens with the closely linked Ontario and U.S. economies.

According to a Royal LePage house-price study released yesterday, average prices appreciated in the first quarter, but not in all neighbourhoods.

In North Toronto, for example, two-storey homes appreciated 28 per cent to $775,000, but in the Annex the price of a similar house dropped 6 per cent to $759,000.

On average, a standard two-storey property in Toronto is up 8 per cent year-over-year to $544,150, while condominiums are up 6.9 per cent to $298,662. The biggest winners were owners of bungalows, which increased 11.3 per cent to $432,679.

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Energy stocks still haven’t factored in the value of $100 (U.S.) per barrel for oil, and that may be a hidden opportunity for investors, the chief economist for CIBC World Markets said in his latest research report.

That’s among the reasons Canadian investors don’t need to run for cover from the U.S. economic slowdown, economist and chief strategist Jeff Rubin wrote.

"Although even a modest U.S. recession would ordinarily be a sign for investors north of the border to hunker down, we do not believe that a shift to a completely defensive posture is as warranted today as it might once have been," according to Rubin’s monthly “Canadian Portfolio Strategy Outlook” report, released yesterday.

Rubin has a year-end target of 14,500 points for the S&P/TSX composite index and he thinks it will hit 16,200 by the end of 2009.

That means the TSX would continue to beat the U.S. S&P 500 index with a return of 7.7 per cent this year and 14.1 per cent in 2009.

The stock market strength will come from mostly the energy and materials sector, which has been driving most of the gains for the past five or six years, Rubin said.

"I think we’re going to see new all-time highs in the energy and materials sector, particularly the energy sector."

That’s despite the recession in the United States, Rubin added.

While some economists say the slowdown south of the border will dampen demand for oil and commodities, Rubin pointed out prices are already at record highs, despite the current economic turmoil, largely because of massive demand from Asia.

"The U.S. isn’t as decisive to those markets as it once was," Rubin said.

These higher commodity prices aren’t being fully reflected in energy stock valuations, he said.

"In oil stocks, for example, they’re pretty well pricing in $75 oil and oil is over $100."

Look for stock prices to rise as the remaining increase is factored in, he added guaranteed cash advance.

Rubin’s model portfolio is "overweight" in energy and material stocks, he said in his report. He said he expects firm prices for a range of commodities as supplies remain stretched for many minerals and industrial metals.

He said he remains "overweight" in bonds as well, expecting a 1 percentage point cut in interest rates by the U.S. Federal Reserve this year and a reduction of three-quarters of a percentage point by the Bank of Canada.

Rubin is "underweight" in financials, and he is expecting more asset writedowns resulting from the U.S. subprime mortgage market. U.S. commercial banks start to report their earnings in the third week of April, "raising the spectre of a further deluge of writedowns, which could affect valuations on both sides of the border," Rubin stated.

"Some Canadian banks now have significant stakes in U.S. banking."

He said he also believes gold’s recent retreat to below $900 an ounce will be temporary, given the weak U.S. dollar, worries about inflation and more interest rate cuts by the U.S. Fed.

"I think gold is going to recover," Rubin said. "I think the Fed still has quite a bit more interest rate cuts to do, and in an environment of rising U.S. inflation, I think that’s probably going to see gold top $1,000 an ounce."

Rubin and his team of economists see a "modest" downturn in the U.S. economy, with signs of recovery starting to show in the second half.

Still, Rubin believes Canada will be able to avoid a recession.

"Parts of the Canadian economy, like southern Ontario, are going to be affected, but I don’t think the Canadian economy as a whole is going to see a recession," he said.

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Several of the foreign players eager to gain a toehold in Canada’s booming wireless sector were revealed by Ottawa yesterday – except for the one mystery firm that many had been talking about.

Industry Canada late yesterday released a list of "qualified bidders" and their financial partners for an upcoming auction of wireless spectrum that is to be held in May.

The updated list, which includes 27 different bidders, revealed that XM Canada founder John Bitove’s efforts to gain entry to the industry will be backed by Microsoft co-founder and billionaire Paul Allen through his private investment fund Vulcan Inc.

Bitove’s Data & Audio-Visual Enterprises Wireless Inc. has put down a $106 million deposit and will also have the financial backing of Quadrangle, a U.S. private equity fund.

Last November, Industry Minister Jim Prentice revealed the government’s plan to set aside spectrum, or airwaves, in an upcoming auction in an attempt to lower the barrier to entry for new wireless providers, setting the stage for more competition and lower prices.

The auction comes amid rising concern about the state of wireless competition in Canada, where the three major national players – Rogers Communications Inc., BCE Inc. and Telus Corp. – collectively control about 95 per cent of the market.

Some studies have suggested that a lack of competition means Canadians pay more, on average, for cellphone services than their counterparts in the U.S. and other countries and that innovation is being stifled in a key growth sector.

The auction’s major bidders include the usual suspects – Rogers, Bell and Telus, which will be able to bid in an open auction, but not on the reserved spectrum – and regional operators such as Shaw Communications Inc., Quebecor Inc. and MTS Allstream.

As well, Globalive Communications Corp., the parent of Yak Communications, has received the backing of Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris and Icelandic billionaire Bjorgolfur Thor Bjorgolfsson for a bid.

 

Both billionaires control investment firms with holdings in the telecommunications sector.

Edmonton’s Ghermezian brothers, who head a conglomerate that owns the West Edmonton Mall and the Mall of America, have also submitted an application to bid on spectrum through a company called Triple Five Universal Enterprises Inc.

Other foreign players bidding on the airwaves include a Boston-based investment firm called M/C Ventures and Virginia’s Columbia Capital, which are working with a Canadian investment firm called Novacap.

Under Canadian rules, foreigners are limited to owning a minority stake in a telecom company.

One notable absence on Industry Canada’s updated list was a company called Niagara Networks Inc., a mysterious firm that had initially applied to participate and promised to throw down a whopping $881.4 million deposit to demonstrate its commitment.

The size of the deposit – nearly double that of Rogers’s – led several to believe the firm was working with a major foreign telecom such as T-Mobile or AT&T Inc.

"There was some conjecture late last week that one or two of the proposed independent bidders may fail to meet the bidding criteria," Greg MacDonald, an analyst at National Bank Financial, said in a note yesterday before the details about the auction’s bidders were released.

"If this is the case, it could be a positive for Rogers, as the market has justifiably been concerned over the prospect that a large carrier (particularly AT&T) may be backing one of these proposed bidders," MacDonald said.

But others speculated that whomever was behind Niagara Networks may not have been a serious contender in the first place.

"Nobody had knowledge on who these guys were, so it’s not a big surprise that they’re no longer here," said Amit Kaminer, an analyst at the SeaBoard Group no qualifying payday advance.

 

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The government agency that manages the supply and demand of electricity in Ontario is preparing for an 800-megawatt drop in power consumption during Earth Hour – the equivalent of turning off eight million household light bulbs or shutting down a medium-sized coal plant.

It also works out to about 4.25 per cent of total electricity consumption in the province, compared with what we consumed last Saturday between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m.

But Paul Murphy, chief executive officer of the Independent Electricity System Operator, said it’s impossible to predict with precision exactly how much electricity consumption will be cut as Ontarians voluntarily go dark tonight.

"We haven’t had anything like this before in the province," said Murphy, though he assured that it’s part of his agency’s job to anticipate hour-to-hour changes in electricity use. "The difference here is that it won’t follow the normal Saturday night pattern."

Following patterns plays a huge role in forecasting, but just as important is keeping an eye on special events that could lead to sudden spikes – or unexpected drops – in electricity demand.

A classic example is Tiny Tim’s Dec. 17, 1969, wedding on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. What amounted to a publicity stunt unexpectedly attracted 40 million viewers, causing an abnormally high number of power-hungry television sets to be turned on and a spike in electricity demand.

The final episode of M*A*S*H in the late 1980s and the funeral of Princess Diana in the late 1990s also caused power swings. Television events such as these commonly lead to anomalies in power use, which can amount to as much as 100 megawatts during commercial breaks when viewers open and close their fridges to get a drink.

A million fridge lights going on, or a million toilets flushing, can collectively suck up a lot of electricity – the latter at pumping stations no fax payday loan. Playoff games in professional sports are also disruptive of typical power-consumption patterns. "At least when the Leafs are in the running," said Murphy.

And it’s not just TV – weather is also an important consideration. Something as simple as a large cloud moving over the GTA can potentially, during the day, shed tens of megawatts in demand from the system.

There are two general approaches to balancing power needs as Earth Hour kicks in, Murphy explained. If the drop in electricity consumption is gradual, as it was in Sydney, Australia, when it participated in Earth Hour last year, then it’s possible that less coal-fired power will need to be dispatched.

If the drop is sharp, then the system operator may have to rely on its hydroelectric plants, which, compared with other sources of generation, can be called into action or taken offline much more quickly. The same reasoning applies at the end of Earth Hour, when there could be a sudden spike in lights going back on.

Murphy assured that the system is designed to accommodate any scenario, and that beyond keeping a closer eye on Earth Hour itself, he expects tonight to be a typical evening for his staff. As for making a more accurate prediction in 2009, he said, "after this year we’ll have a better idea."

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