Leaders TSX

Volume Leaders

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Symbol	Name	Last Trade	Change	Volume	Related Info
TGA-UN.TO	TRANSGLOBE APARTMENT REIT	14.273:59PM EDT	1.98 (16.14%)	9,618,123	Chart, Profile, More
G.TO	GOLDCORP INC	38.054:00PM EDT	2.44 (6.03%)	6,675,532	Chart, Profile, More
LUN.TO	LUNDIN MINING CORP.	4.954:00PM EDT	0.38 (8.32%)	6,000,659	Chart, Profile, More
BBD-B.TO	BOMBARDIER INC., CL. B, SV	4.154:18PM EDT	0.11 (2.72%)	5,268,368	Chart, Profile, More
ECA.TO	ENCANA CORP.	19.444:00PM EDT	1.08 (5.88%)	4,309,645	Chart, Profile, More
K.TO	KINROSS GOLD CORP.	8.764:00PM EDT	0.13 (1.46%)	4,024,136	Chart, More
SU.TO	SUNCOR ENERGY INC.	31.484:23PM EDT	0.01 (0.03%)	3,885,105	Chart, Profile, More
MFC.TO	MANULIFE FIN	13.324:00PM EDT	0.06 (0.45%)	3,303,454	Chart, Profile, More
ATH.TO	ATHABASCA OIL SANDS CORP	10.444:00PM EDT	0.22 (2.06%)	2,832,283	Chart, Profile, More
ABX.TO	BARRICK GOLD CORPORATION	39.334:00PM EDT	0.00 (0.00%)	2,627,814	Chart, Profile, More
CLL.TO	CONNACHER OIL	0.823:59PM EDT	0.01 (1.20%)	2,624,708	Chart, Profile, More
POT.TO	POTASH CORP OF SASK INC	42.254:17PM EDT	1.40 (3.21%)	2,545,809	Chart, Profile, More
ELD.TO	ELDORADO GOLD	13.994:00PM EDT	0.21 (1.52%)	2,512,615	Chart, Profile, More
TLM.TO	TALISMAN ENERGY INC.	13.034:00PM EDT	0.29 (2.28%)	2,497,166	Chart, Profile, More
BSX.TO	BELO SUN MINING CORP	1.004:15PM EDT	0.05 (5.26%)	2,314,853	Chart, More
RCI-B.TO	ROGERS COMMUNICATIONS INC. CL B	36.544:19PM EDT	0.27 (0.73%)	2,298,979	Chart, Profile, More
BNK.TO	BANKERS PETROLEUM LTD.	3.583:59PM EDT	0.06 (1.70%)	2,181,028	Chart, Profile, More
BNS.TO	BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA	53.974:21PM EDT	0.32 (0.59%)	2,143,773	Chart, Profile, More
YRI.TO	YAMANA GOLD INC	14.364:00PM EDT	0.02 (0.14%)	2,116,528	Chart, Profile, More
NXY.TO	NEXEN INC.	19.104:16PM EDT	0.00 (0.00%)	2,084,297	Chart, Profile, More
LSG.TO	LAKE SHORE GOLD CORP.	0.904:00PM EDT	0.09 (11.11%)	2,081,701	Chart, Profile, More
CVE.TO	CENOVUS ENERGY INC.	34.004:00PM EDT	0.20 (0.59%)	2,067,930	Chart, Profile, More
RY.TO	ROYAL BANK OF CANADA	56.594:52PM EDT	0.31 (0.54%)	1,999,202	Chart, Profile, More
CR.TO	CREW ENERGY INC	7.644:00PM EDT	0.71 (10.25%)	1,956,988	Chart, Profile, More
TCK-B.TO	Teck Resources Limited	36.754:00PM EDT	0.08 (0.22%)	1,956,846	Chart, Profile, More

Apple did it again $$$

The chase by Marty Cej:

For market direction today earnings may get the nod. Apple topped expectations by a wide margin (My breathless style of reportage was honed at Bloomberg) last night, reporting a near-doubling in second-quarter profit to $11.6 billion US, or $12.30 a share, more than $2 above analysts' average expectation. The result appears to have put to rest recent concern that growth is slowing and may make the two-week 12-percent slide by the stock look a little silly. The stock is up almost 8 percent in the pre-market.

But it's not all about Apple, no. Rogers Communications reported after the close yesterday as well, and its take on Apple's success may be a little different than the financial markets'. Profit and revenue fell short of expectations even as it activated 35 percent more iPhones in the quarter. Trouble is, retention costs such as subsidies for longer-term contracts also rose as wireless data growth slowed. The battle for dominance in the Canadian smartphone and tablet market won't be cheap.

Canadian energy heavyweights EnCana, Nexen and Cenovus reported this morning with EnCana looking to be the market standout. The company reported first-quarter earnings per share, ex-items, of $1.33. The average estimate? Three cents! (insert smug snort here) Analysts who cover the sector put more emphasis on cashflow per share, however, which provides a better metric for the companies' ability to put more money into the ground to get oil and gas out of it. EnCana reported cashflow per share of $1.39 vs. an estimate of $1.12; Nexen say cashflow per share hold steady at $1.27, still topping the $1.22 estimate, and Cenovus saw cashflow per share rise to $1.19, exceeding the average forecast by 7 cents. The energy sector will be one to watch today.

Caterpillar will be one to watch today as well after the company topped first-quarter expectations and raised its forecast for the full year on the back of growing demand for construction equipment in the U.S. As it stands, U.S. companies are topping expectations at the highest rate in two years, according to Bloomberg data, thanks in large part to an improving U.S. economy. We are also watching earnings today from Boeing, Harley-Davidson, Sprint-Nextel, Delta Airlines, Nasda OMX, and Eli Lilly.

Other Canadian names to keep an eye on include Methanex, Goldcorp, CGI Group and Bell Aliant.

While U.S. companies have plenty good to say about the U.S. economy, the Fed is likely to be a little more circumspect when it releases a statement on interest rates at 12:30 p.m. ET, then provides more details on its economic forecasts at 2:00 p.m. and sits Ben Bernanke down in front of a room full of journalists at 2:15 p.m. Some say that the Fed's increased transparency and rate forecasts are forcing the central bank into a corner that it can't escape, like Rocky Balboa trapped on the ropes by a furious Clubber Lang (get outta there, Rock!!!), but Bernanke may surprise with his bobbing and weaving this afternoon.

We may even see a bit of offense.

Facebook SEC and IPO info

Facebook on Monday filed an amendment to its S-1 documents originally submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on February 1. With its IPO date reportedly set for May 17, the social networking giant has published new stats that reflect growth and revenue over the last fiscal quarter, which ended on March 31.

In addition, Facebook recently announced plans to acquire photo-sharing app Instagram and to purchase a large number of AOL patents from Microsoft. Here are some key stats from the amendment:

Monthly active users now total 901 million (up from 680 million a year ago). Daily active users are up to 526 million (up from 372 million last year). Monthly mobile users now total 488 million. 300 million photos are uploaded to the site each day. 3.2 billion Likes and Comments are posted daily. 125 billion friendships are forged per day.

Facebook will pay $300 million in cash, plus 23 million shares of common stock for photo-sharing app Instagram. If the Instagram deal falls through, Facebook will pay $200 million. Revenue for the first quarter of 2012 was $1.058 billion, up from $731 last year. Net income dropped to $205 million for the quarter, down from $233 last year.

(As pointed out by TechCrunch, the total value of Facebook's Instagram deal -- cash and shares included -- totals $1,010,470,000.) The company also added some new risk factors to its S-1, including one outlining the inherent risks of Facebook's ongoing patent battle with Yahoo. From the filing: [O]n March 12, 2012,

Yahoo filed a lawsuit against us in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California that alleges that a number of our products infringe the claims of ten of Yahoo’s patents that Yahoo claims relate to “advertising,” “social networking,” “privacy,” “customization,” and “messaging.” Yahoo is seeking unspecified damages, a damage multiplier for alleged willful infringement, and an injunction.

We intend to vigorously defend this lawsuit, and on April 3, 2012, we filed our answer with respect to this complaint and asserted counterclaims that Yahoo’s products infringe ten of our patents. This litigation is still in its early stages and the final outcome, including our liability, if any, with respect to Yahoo’s claims, is uncertain.

If an unfavorable outcome were to occur in this litigation, the impact could be material to our business, financial condition, or results of operations. Facebook expects to raise $5 billion in its IPO, which may value the company at close to $100 billion.

The company will trade on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol "FB."

Upheaval in European politics

The chase by Marty Cej:

European stocks are falling and U.S. stock index futures are pointing to early declines after reports showing manufacturing contracted in April in China and Europe, French voters handed Socialist Francois Hollande a win in the first round of the presidential election and the Dutch Prime Minister failed to reach an accord with a coalition party over proposed austerity measures that might help the country avoid being pulled into the region's debt crisis. Late Friday, the IMF confirmed it had won $430 billion US in new funding commitments. A good thing since it looks like Europe is gonna need it.

Austerity in Peril! We'll need to focus on budgets today; not the details of this budget or that, but the fact that some tough-talking budgets are in question as elections and votes take place. French President Nicolas Sarkozy yesterday became the first incumbent since 1958 to lose the first round of the presidential election, putting the crisis-fighting team of Merkozy in jeopardy. His opponent, Hollande, wants to renegotiate the European fiscal compact. In the Netherlands, the prime minister's calls for additional budget cuts have met with resistance from a parliamentary ally, which may mean he'll need to gamble on early elections to shore up additional support. In Canada, Alberta chooses a new leader today and Ontario's budget goes to a vote Tuesday.

Wal-Mart Stores found itself on the front page of The New York Times yesterday and vying for the Top Story slot everywhere else today. In a lengthy feature, the Times yesterday alleged that the world's biggest retailer bribed local officials in Mexico more than six years ago to speed the opening of stores and that executives probed those allegations as far back as 2005 but then covered them up. Today, Wal-Mart said it is "committed to getting to the bottom of this matter… Unfortunately, we realize that, at this point, there are some unanswered questions. We wish we could say more."

Among the angles we need to pursue are the questions of governance and oversight. We need to understand the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and how it is applied. We need to look at the Canadian equivalent and how it is applied and whether it has been successful or not. I'd like to hear from a company CEO with operations abroad about how difficult it can be at times to apply Canadian governance rules to business done where the rules are different. And we need to be clear that we are talking about allegations.

With the proxy vote to determine the fate of CP Rail inching closer, Headline gets an update with Bill Ackman, CEO, Pershing Square Capital Management, at 12:30 p.m. ET.

There are some big deals we need to consider today. Nestle has agreed to buy Pfizer's (pronounced "Pfizer") baby food unit for almost $12 billion. That's a lot of pablum. AstraZeneca has agreed to buy Ardea Biosciences for $1.3 billion, giving AstraZeneca a new drug to combat gout. Henry IIIV is most pleased with the transaction.

In earnings, we are watching numbers from ConocoPhillips, Hasbro and Xerox. CN Rail reports after the close, as does Texas Instruments.