Stocks sputter

Market News:
After the BellThe close: Stocks sputterRTGAMNorth America's modest rally turned south in the afternoon on Monday, leaving major indexes down slightly for the day.The S[amp]amp;P/TSX composite index closed at 14,085.85, down 18.02 points, or 0.1 per cent, sunk by the materials sub-index. Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc., a materials stock, was the biggest single drag on the composite index:

Its shares fell 7.1 per cent, to $195.55, as part of a wider selloff among agriculture-themed stocks. Agrium Inc. fell 6.6 per cent.These steep losses were offset by Research In Motion Ltd., which rose 1.4 per cent, and Manulife Financial Corp., which rose 2.1 per cent. Royal Bank of Canada, which was downgraded to a "sell" recommendation by an analyst at Citigroup, fell 0.4 per cent.

The analyst believes Royal Bank will suffer another $4.2-billion in writedowns this year.After markets closed, Canadian Oil Sands Trust reported that its cash from operating activities doubled in the first quarter, to 92 cents a unit. The trust raised its quarterly distribution by 33 per cent. Its units closed at $46.32, up 91 cents.The Dow Jones industrial average closed at 12,871.75, down 20.11 points or 0.2 per cent. Microsoft Corp. fell 2.8 per cent after the deadline for Yahoo Inc. to accept its takeover offer came and went on the weekend.The broader S[amp]amp;P 500 closed at 1396.37, down 1.47 points or 0.1 per cent. Ford Motor Co. rose 9.5 per cent and Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. rose 23.2 - the result of superstars Kirk Kerkorian and Warren Buffett, respectively, moving in on the stocks.

However, Monsanto Co. fell 2.8 per cent amid rising volatility in agriculture stocks. Visa Inc. reported after markets closed that its first-quarter profit rose 28 per cent. Its adjusted net income during the quarter - the first as a publicly traded company - beat expectations by a wide margin.[amp]nbsp;[amp]nbsp;Copyright 2001 The Globe and Mail

Post says Timminco will want to avoid Ceramic's fate

Post says Timminco will want to avoid Ceramic's fate
2008-04-25 08:20 ET - In the News
Also In the News (C-CEP) Ceramic Protection Corp


The Financial Post reports in its Friday edition that Timminco will want to avoid Ceramic Protection's tribulations. The Post's Barry Critchley, writing in Off the Record, says Timminco's chairman and chief executive officer is Heinz Schimmelbusch, the former CEO of Metallgesselschaft. He was fired in 1993 after the company's $1.2-billion (U.S.) in trading losses.

In September, 2004, Mr. Schimmelbusch was the chairman of Allied Resource when that company sold Alanx Wear Solutions to Alberta's Ceramic Protection. At the time, John Walsh was Alanx's CEO. As part of the deal, he joined Ceramic Protection. In December, 2006, Mr. Walsh moved on to became president and CEO of Timminco.

In August, 2007, Mr. Walsh became president of Timminco's magnesium division. Two weeks ago, Timminco said Mr. Walsh "had resigned to pursue other opportunities." Ceramic's problems started in September, 2006, when Arizona-based ArmorWorks, a customer of Alanx, cancelled a supply agreement. Ceramic sued. ArmorWorks countersued.

Thirteen months later, Ceramic and ArmorWorks settled. During that period, Ceramic's shares fell from $23.98 to $6.50 the day before the resolution was announced. The stock closed Thursday at $2.35.

Globe says Timminco shares rebound

Globe says Timminco shares rebound

2008-04-24 07:44 ET - In the News

The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday edition the shares of Timminco rebounded sharply in a volatile trading session Wednesday. The Globe's Andy Hoffman writes Timminco shares closed at $21.60 up $3.37 on the Toronto Stock Exchange after the company said there were no material developments to explain the wild movements in its stock.

The shares were battered by short sellers and questions about the economics of its process to purify silicon over the past week. Volume topped 12 million shares, making it the most heavily traded TSX issue.

The company said "it is not aware of any corporate developments to account for the recent trading activity." Timminco has not permitted analysts or independent experts to view its "breakthrough" process to produce silicon pure enough for use in solar cells. Executives from leading German cell maker Q-Cells AG, with which Timminco has won a supply contract, have visited Timminco's facilities. A Q-Cells spokesman said the material delivered by the company has been "very good." Heinz Schimmelbusch, Timminco's chief executive officer, told Dow Jones he could not say whether customers had witnessed the production process.

Oil prices, gasoline costs to double: CIBC report

The close: Commodities beaten, Microsoft beats

RTGAM

Everything that was cold turned hot (and vice-versa) on Thursday after investors bet that the worst of the U.S. economic decline could be over. The new attitude could have to do with reports that the U.S. Federal Reserve is nearly done with its rate-cutting campaign, which is giving investors the feeling that the economy is nearing a turn - and, indeed, the previous rate cuts could be taking effect.

This sudden switch was bad news for the S[amp]amp;P/TSX composite index, among the best-performing indexes in the world this year and one of just a few that is above water. It closed at 13,966.33, down 103.47 points or 0.7 per cent.Investors ran away from what the benchmark index does best - provide exposure to commodities - and into the arms of previously beaten up stocks as they embraced riskier parts of the market.

The materials sub-index fell 3.5 per cent, partly a response to the fact that gold fell below $900 (U.S.) an ounce, well off its $1,000 level last month. The energy sub-index fell 2.9 per cent, with crude oil falling more than $2 a barrel, to $116.Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. fell 4.7 per cent, marking its second consecutive day of steep losses as it tumbles from a record high. EnCana Corp. fell 3.8 per cent, Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. fell 4.5 per cent and Goldcorp. Inc. fell 5.7 per cent.

Together, these four stocks alone accounted for 87 points of the index's 103-point dip.In the United States, the Dow Jones industrial average closed at 12,848.95, up 85.73 points or 0.7 per cent. Here, commodity producers, too, were thrown out the window as investors bought stocks that should benefit from a stronger - or at least more stable, economy. American International Group Inc. rose 7.1 per cent, General Motors Corp. rose 5.6 per cent and Citigroup Inc. rose 4.6 per cent.The broader S[amp]amp;P 500 closed at 1388.82, up 8.89 points or 0.6 per cent.

There, Ford Motor Co. surged 11.8 per cent, bond insurer MBIA Inc. rose 11.5 per cent and Apple Inc. rose 3.7 per cent.Microsoft Corp., which reported first-quarter results after trading ended, rose 1.1 per cent. It reported earnings, though down 11 per cent, that beat analyst expectations and also forecast higher than expected sales for the rest of the year.[amp]nbsp;Copyright 2001 The Globe and Mail

Oil prices, gasoline costs to double: CIBC report

SHAWN MCCARTHY
Thursday, April 24, 2008

OTTAWA — Crude oil prices will soar to more than $200 (U.S.) per barrel over the next five year – driving Canadian pump prices to $2.25 a litre and forcing a fundamental transformation in the North American economy, says Jeff Rubin, chief economist with CIBC World Markets Inc.
In a new report, Mr. Rubin forecast a continued run-up in crude prices, despite a slowing world economy and slumping petroleum demand in United States, the world's leading oil consumer.

He said he expects crude prices – now trading at above $116 (U.S.) a barrel - to average $150 by 2010, and more than $200 by 2012. That would translate into pump prices of $7 (U.S.) per gallon in the United States, and $2.25 per litre in Canada, double the current levels.

“Whether we are already at the peak of world oil production remains to be seen, but it increasingly clear that the outlook for oil supply signals a period of unprecedented scarcity,” the economist said.

World oil production has essentially stagnated at about 85-million barrels per day over the last two years, with growing demand met by increases in natural gas liquids, a fuel source that is used by the petrochemical industry but is of little use for transportation.

Mr. Rubin said he expects crude oil production to grow by about 1-million barrels per day over the next several years.
Meanwhile, growing demand in China, India, Russia and the Middle East will more than offset declines in the industrialized world.

“Millions of new households will suddenly have straws to start sucking at the world's rapidly shrinking oil reserves,” he wrote.

He said the sharply higher oil prices will prove devastating for the North America's industrial base, particularly the auto industry. But Canadians will benefit from the spinoffs, in terms of jobs, tax revenues and procurement, from the country's oil-rich provinces.

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