Good TSX Stocks

Chinese back King Island scheelite mine

2008-09-10T08:36:00.001-07:00

The redeveloped scheelite mine on King Island has passed its final hurdle, after the project received the backing of the Chinese Government.

Construction of the mine at Grassy has been delayed by months, while its Chinese investors awaited official approval.

The Chief Executive of King Island Scheelite, Nick Lambert, says the company will meet investors in coming weeks to finalise the construction timeline.

"We're a little bit disappointed with the amount of time it's taken to get to this stage, but now it's here we're pretty excited and we're ready to go."

Under the deal, Hunan Nonferrous Metals Corporation will cover half the project's $110million construction pricetag.

Mr Lambert says the company is confident it has not missed the mining boom as a result of the delay.

"The price of tungsten has been holding up pretty well over the past few months where some other commodities have slid a litte bit, so we're still pretty confident that the margins are there," he said.

The mine is expected in full production by mid 2010.

Market closes for Thursday, Aug. 28, 2008:

2008-08-29T08:50:00.000-07:00

Close Change YTD
Dow Jones 11,715.18 +212.67 or +1.85% -11.68%
S&P 500 1,300.68 +19.02 or +1.48% -11.42%
NASDAQ 2,411.64 +29.18 or +1.22% -9.07%
TSX COMP 13,750.48 +219.83 or +1.62% -0.60%
TSX VENT 1963.85 +13.03

BoC Close Today Previous
Canadian $ 0.9507 0.9553
US $ 1.0519 1.0468

Euro Spot Rate Today Previous
Cdn 0.6469 0.6489
Euro 1.5458 1.5410
Gold AM PM
London Gold Fix (US) $832.00 $838.25

Spot Crude Oil Future(US$) $115.59 -$2.56 or -2.17%
Silver 13.71 +0.11
Copper 3.40 -0.04
Nat Gas 8.08 +0.03

News Summary

Bank stocks were responsible for a triple-digit advance on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Thursday as the latest series of earnings reports from the country's big banks encouraged investors, despite dramatically lower profits for most of them.

New York markets also made strong headway thanks to revised figures showing greater than expected U.S. economic growth in the second quarter.

Toronto's S&P/TSX composite index moved up 219.83 points to 13,750.48 on top of Wednesday's 232-point surge. The financial sector was up 4% on hopes that the worst of the writedowns that have slashed profits are over -- a view not shared by all.

"I think that some people are trying to figure out some bottoming process and they might have come in here and come in early -- or they may feel a trading stance is warranted," said Andrew Martyn of Davis Rea Ltd.

"Sometimes it just takes a lack of horrendous news to allow something to fall back up. If you push a spring down hard enough, it will snap back at you almost every time, even one that's pretty rusty and old."

TD Bank shares moved ahead $3.22 to $62.56, despite a huge decline in profitability. Lower net income at its wholesale banking operations -- due to turmoil in the financial markets -- cut its third-quarter profit by 9.6% to $997 million. TD also raised its quarterly dividend to 61 cents from 59 cents per common share.

Royal Bank says its net income in its third quarter fell 10% or $133 million from a year ago to $1.26 billion. Profit was reduced primarily by writedowns at RBC's capital markets arm and by provisions for bad loans and writedowns in its U.S. banking arm. Its shares were $2.83 higher to $48.13.

And National Bank of Canada shares jumped $1.93 to $50.43 after it said its third quarter net income rose to $286 million, up 18% from a year earlier -- a company record for the period.

The TSX Venture Exchange index rose 13.93 points to 1,963.85 while the Canadian dollar was down 0.46 cent to 95.07 cents U.S. as Statistics Canada reported that the country's current account surplus with the rest of the world expanded to $6.8 billion in the second quarter, led by exports of goods.

New York's Dow Jones industrials ran ahead 212.67 points to 11,715.18. The Nasdaq composite index climbed 29.18 points to 2,411.64 while the S&P 500 index added 19.02 points to 1,300.68.

The U.S. Commerce Department reported that gross domestic product increased at a 3.3% annual rate in the April-June quarter. The revised reading was much better than the government's initial estimate of a 1.9% pace and beat economists' expectations for a 2.7% growth rate thanks to higher U.S. exports and tax rebates.

But analysts cautioned the pace will likely slow dramatically later in the year.
"Weighing together likely slowdowns in export growth and consumer spending, and the continued troubles in the banking and housing sectors, forecasters expect GDP growth to slow to about 1.5% in the third quarter and to near zero in the fourth," observed Peter Morici, a business professor at the University of Maryland.

The TSX energy sector finished off earlier lows, about 0.25% despite worries that tropical storm Gustav could threaten oil and natural gas infrastructure in the Gulf of Mexico.

The October crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange slid $2.56 to US$115.59 a barrel. But oil prices had moved up for the last three sessions, rising 7% during that time to US$120.50 a barrel earlier in the morning.

Some oil market watchers attributed Thursday's drop to speculation that the U.S. government could release supplies from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to counter any drop in production from Gustav.

On the TSX, advances beat declines 944 to 586 with 243 unchanged as 354.4 million shares traded worth $6.2 billion. (The Canadian Press)

TSX
Most Active

PTC Petaquilla Copper ltd 2.18 0.00 0.00% 14,182,627
GBS GBS Gold International Inc 0.20 -0.17 -45.95% 13,983,545
HEG Homeland Energy Group 1.31 +0.36 +37.89% 12,113,162
UUU Uranium One Inc 4.31 +0.16 +3.86% 11,638,650
BBD.B Bombardier Inc 7.97 +0.35 +4.59% 8,266,846
RY Royal Bank of Canada 48.13 +2.83 +6.25% 7,736,702
BWR Breakwater Resources ltd 0.36 +0.07 +24.56% 4,664,896
ELR Eastern Platinum Ltd 1.57 +0.03 +1.95% 4,405,056
TD Toronto-Dominion Bank 62.56 +3.22 +5.43% 3,864,183
S Sherritt International Corp 9.43 +0.08 +0.86% 3,726,305
BMO Bank of Montreal 46.15 +0.59 +1.29% 3,691,815
YRI Yamana Gold Inc 11.46 +0.01 N/A 3,458,808
ECA EnCana Corp 79.17 +0.49 +0.62% 3,440,095
K Kinross Gold Corp 17.76 +0.31 +1.78% 3,403,990
BCE BCE Inc 40.21 +0.24 +0.60% 3,324,525

TSX Venture
Most Active

KWG KWG Resources Inc 0.04 -0.01 -11.11% 6,704,500
CGK Gold Hawk Resources Inc 0.08 +0.02 +23.08% 4,200,410
HAT Hathor Exploration Ltd 4.04 +0.43 +11.91% 2,638,187
NWT NWT Uranium Corp 0.08 -0.01 -5.88% 1,798,000
VRB VRB Power Systems Inc 0.06 -0.02 -21.43% 1,691,170
SGX Sage Gold Inc 0.16 +0.02 +10.34% 1,667,500
BUK Bridge Resources Corp 0.93 -0.02 -2.11% 1,486,525
MAA MagIndustries Corp 1.96 +0.04 +2.08% 1,353,080
CQV Canadian Imperial Venture Corp 0.05 0.00 0.00% 1,340,800
FOS Phoscan Chemical Corp 1.01 +0.06 +6.32% 1,116,600
TAS Terra Ventures Inc 0.94 +0.02 +2.17% 1,063,825
RPT RPT Uranium Corp 0.23 +0.02 +9.52% 1,059,000
ELE Excelsior Energy Ltd 0.19 -0.01 -2.63% 1,001,008
LGO Largo Resources Ltd 0.43 -0.02 -4.44% 979,100
IBI IBI Corp 0.03 +0.01 +25.00% 870

Trading Halts/Resumptions
Trading Halt - Axmin Inc. - AXM - Company Request Pending News
Trade Resumption - Terra Ventures Inc. - TAS
Trade Resumption - Hathor Exploration Ltd. - HAT
Trade Resumption - Birch Mountain Resources Ltd. - BMD, BMD.DB

New Listings:

Active Growth Capital Inc To Trade On TSX Venture Exchange,CPC, ACK.P , 3,750,250 common shares at 20 cents per share, At the opening Friday, Aug. 29, 2008, the common shares will commence trading on the TSX Venture Exchange

Market closes for Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2008:

2008-08-28T08:57:00.000-07:00

        Close Change YTD
Dow Jones       11,502.51       +89.64 or +0.79%        -13.29%
S&P 500 1,281.66        +10.15 or +0.80%        -12.71%
NASDAQ 2,382.46        +20.49 or +0.87%        -10.17%
TSX COMP        13,530.65       +231.58 or +1.74%       -2.19%
TSX VENT     1949.92   +7.92
BoC Close       Today   Previous
Canadian $      0.9553 0.9538
US $    1.0468 1.0484

Euro Spot Rate Today   Previous
Cdn     0.6489 0.6515
Euro    1.5410 1.5349

Gold    AM      PM
London Gold Fix (US)    $833.50 $827.00

Spot Crude Oil Future(US$)      $118.25 +$1.98 or +1.70%
Silver                    13.52          +0.05
Copper                   3.44           +0.03
Nat Gas                  8.39           +0.12

News Summary

The Toronto stock market finished sharply higher Wednesday as banks reacted positively to CIBC's earnings report and investors snapped up energy stocks on stronger crude oil prices.

Financials also helped take New York indexes higher, as did a much better showing in durable goods orders in July. Toronto's S&P/TSX composite index moved up 231.58 points to 13,530.65.

The financial sector ran ahead 2.5% after CIBC reported that net income fell to $71 million for the third quarter, down from $835 million for the same period last year as the bank was hit with more losses connected with the American housing sector. Diluted earnings per share were 11 cents, down from $2.31 a year ago.

Still, it was a big improvement from CIBC's $1.1-billion loss in the previous quarter. The bank recorded an after-tax loss of $596 million or $1.56 per share from its structured credit run-off activities and its shares improved $3.04 to $60.10.

"First of all, it's CIBC's first profit in three quarters," said Fred Ketchen, manager of equity trading at Scotia Capital. "It's a lot of relief on the fact that it looks like they have written down almost everything they had to write down. You can assume -- maybe, I hope -- that the worst is perhaps behind CIBC now. And they can move on and get into a profitable business."

The results came on the heels of disappointing earnings reports from Bank of Montreal and Scotiabank on Tuesday. Scotiabank moved up $1.05 to $47.50 and BMO ran ahead $1.62 to $45.56.

The TSX Venture Exchange was up 7.32 points to 1,949.92 while the Canadian dollar moved up 0.15 to 95.53 cents US.
The Dow Jones industrials rose 89.64 points to 11,502.51 after the U.S. Commerce Department reported that durable goods orders jumped a bigger-than-expected 1.3% in July, led by gains in aircraft. Economists had expected a gain of just 0.1%.

Outside of transportation, orders posted a 0.7% increase, surpassing the 0.3% decline analysts had expected.
The Nasdaq composite index moved up 20.49 points to 2,382.46 while the S&P 500 index was up 10.15 points to 1,281.66.
The Toronto energy sector rose almost 2% as the October crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange moved up $1.88 US$118.15 a barrel on worries that Tropical Storm Gustav may disrupt oil and gas operations in the Gulf of Mexico.

The price also found support from data showing that U.S. crude supplies fell unexpectedly last week.
Petro-Canada said it has restarted a key piece of equipment at an Edmonton refinery that had been shut down in early August, resulting in fuel shortages at gas stations across British Columbia and Alberta and its shares rose 89 cents to $46.99.

Transeuro Energy Corp. and Questerre Energy have announced they are testing the natural gas potential of deep shale the Liard Basin, in northeastern British Columbia.

The two companies are each half-owners of two existing shale gas well, which have been operated by Questerre over the past two years, and plant to drill even deeper wells in the area. Transeuro shares jumped 12.5 cents to 39.5 cents while Questerre shares gained 60 cents to $3.05.

The base metals sector was up 2.2% as Teck Cominco Ltd. advanced $1.11 to $42.50 and Sherritt International headed up 44 cents to $9.35.

The gold sector was also a support, up 2.2% as the December bullion contract on the Nymex rose $5.90 to US$834 an ounce. Barrick Gold Corp. moved up $1.02 to $37.02.

On the TSX, advances beat declines 872 to 622 with 226 unchanged as 336.7 million shares traded worth $6 billion. (The Canadian Press)

TSX

Most Active

PTC     Petaquilla Copper ltd   2.18    0.00    0.00% 12,053,107
UUU     Uranium One Inc 4.15    +0.29 +7.51% 11,136,790
S       Sherritt International Corp     9.35    +0.44 +4.94% 7,542,768
BCE     BCE Inc 39.97 +0.08 +0.20% 6,550,947
BBD.B   Bombardier Inc 7.62    +0.11 +1.46% 6,157,293
GEA     Gold Eagle Mines Ltd    11.94 +0.11 +0.93% 5,283,662
OPC     OPTI Canada Inc 18.16 +0.27 +1.51% 4,878,843
HEG     Homeland Energy Group Ltd       0.95    0.00    0.00% 4,369,700
CM      Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce      60.10 +3.04 +5.33% 4,161,255
NEM     Neo Material Technologies Inc 3.15    +0.20 +6.78% 4,022,340
CTI     Chemokine Therapeutics Corp     0.07    -0.01 -6.67% 3,638,265
MFC     Manulife Financial Corp 36.76 +0.81 +2.25% 3,537,258
YRI     Yamana Gold Inc 11.45 +0.23 +2.05% 3,523,324
BNS     Bank of Nova Scotia     47.50 +1.05 +2.26% 3,499,192
G       Goldcorp Inc    35.79 +0.64 +1.82% 3,193,963
QEC     Questerre Energy Corp   3.05    +0.60 +24.49%         3,134,804

TSX Venture

Most Active

GEL     Glass Earth Gold Ltd    0.05    +0.01 +25.00%         5,720,200
OM      OneMove Technologies Inc        0.07    +0.01 +7.69% 4,451,000
TSU     Transeuro Energy Corp   0.40    +0.13 +46.30%         3,873,255
CMM     Century Mining Corp    0.05    +0.01 +25.00%         3,453,385
CNS     Canoro Resources Ltd    0.72    +0.09 +14.29%         2,867,989
PIO     Pioneering Technology Inc       0.02    +0.01 +100.00%        2,722,552
ADD     Arctic Star Diamond Corp        0.12    +0.02 +20.00%         2,109,300
KWG     KWG Resources Inc       0.05    -0.01 -10.00%         1,898,350
LGO     Largo Resources Ltd     0.45    -0.03 -6.25% 1,482,800
WPX     Western Potash Corp     0.71    -0.07 -8.97% 1,375,625
RSG     Searchgold Resources Inc        0.06    +0.01 +9.09% 1,356,500
FGT     Forest Gate Resources Inc       0.04    -0.01 -22.22%         1,260,000
PCQ     Petrolympic Ltd 0.52    +0.10 +23.81%         1,224,800
CCZ     CriticalControl Solutions Corp 0.15    -0.01 -6.25% 1,089,000
SOR     Solana Resources Ltd    4.70    +0.10 +2.17% 1,035,129

Trading Halts/Resumptions

Trade Resumption - SCHNEIDER POWER INC. - SNE (formerly 'Water Capital Inc.' - 'WCP.P')
Trade Resumption - BOWMORE EXPLORATION LTD - BOW (formerly 'Peterborough Capital Corp.' - 'PEC')
Trading Halt - Birch Mountain Resources Ltd. - BMD, BMD.DB - Pending News
Trading Halt/ Trade Resumption - Rusoro Mining Ltd. - RML
Trading Halt/ Trade Resumption - Gold Reserve Inc. - GRZ
Trading Halt - Terra Ventures Inc. - TAS - Pending News
Trading Halt - Hathor Exploration Ltd. - HAT - Pending News
Trade Resumption - Gammon Gold Inc. - GAM

Sources include Advisors.ca, tmxmoney.com, Canadian Press, Yahoo Finance,
Stockhouse.com , Canoe.ca

Market closes for Tuesday, Aug 26, 2008

2008-08-27T08:17:00.001-07:00

        Close Change YTD
Dow Jones       11,412.87       +26.62 or +0.23%        -13.96%
S&P 500 1,271.51        +4.67 or +0.37% -13.41%
NASDAQ 2,361.97        -3.62 or -0.15% -10.95%
TSX COMP        13,299.07       +10.11 or +0.08%        -3.86%
TSX VENT       1942.60    +2.59

BoC Close       Today   Previous
Canadian $      0.9538 0.9516
US $    1.0484 1.0509

Euro Spot Rate Today   Previous
Cdn     0.6515 0.6450
Euro    1.5349 1.5505

Gold    AM      PM
London Gold Fix (US)    $809.75 $827.00

Spot Crude Oil Future(US$)      $116.25 +$1.14 or +0.99%
Silver                   13.56             -0.02
Copper                  3.42             -0.05
Nat Gas                  8.29             EVEN

News Summary:

The Toronto stock market closed little changed Tuesday as energy stocks advanced alongside oil prices, but bank stocks softened following earnings disappointments from two of Canada's big banks.

Meanwhile, New York markets were mainly higher following Monday's sharp losses despite the pop in oil prices, more dreadful housing news and indications from the U.S. Federal Reserve that interest rates could be headed higher.

Toronto's S&P/TSX composite index rose 10.11 points to 13,299.07 while investors also considered indications of yet lower economic growth.

The Bank of Nova Scotia shares fell $1.19 to $46.45 as profits fell by 2% to $1.01 billion in the third quarter on credit losses and lower capital markets revenue. Its shares

And shares in Bank of Montreal closed down 12 cents to $43.94 after the bank reported that profit fell 21% from a year ago to $521 million. CIBC reports Wednesday and its shares gave back 85 cents to $57.06.

Elsewhere in the sector, National Bank of Canada said it would sell its majority stake in Asset Management Finance Corp. to Credit Suisse Group. It expects a $65-million gain on transaction. National shares backed off 66 cents to $46.86.

The TSX Venture Exchange edged up 2.59 points to 1,942.6 while the Canadian dollar was up 0.22 cent to 95.38 cents US.
New York's Dow Jones industrials moved up 26.62 points to 11,412.87 after concerns about U.S. banks took the blue chip index down 242 points.

The Nasdaq composite index was off 3.62 points to 2,361.97 while the S&P 500 index up 4.67 points to 1,271.51 after minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve's August meeting indicated that most Fed officials didn't believe that the central bank's key interest rate was too low given harder-to-get credit conditions straining consumers and businesses alike.

And looking ahead, the next direction for rates is probably up, according to the documents.
On the economic front, the U.S. Commerce Department reported that sales of new homes posted an unexpected gain in July as heavily discounted properties enticed cautious house hunters to become home buyers. Sales rose by 2.4%.

At the same time, the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index tumbled a record 15.4% during the quarter from the same period a year ago.

In Canada, the Bank of Canada suggested that second-quarter growth will now be even weaker than the tepid 0.8% projection it made last month.

The TSX energy sector rose 1.4% as oil prices climbed on concerns Hurricane Gustav may disrupt oil operations in the Gulf of Mexico.

The October crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange moved up $1.16 to US$116.27 a barrel and EnCana Corp. climbed $2.45 to $77.60 and Canadian Natural Resources advanced $1.45 to $87.55. In New York, ExxonMobil advanced $1.24 to US$79.95.

The information technology sector also weighed on the TSX, losing 1.5% with Nortel Networks down 39 cents to $5.85.
The Toronto base metals sector was down slightly even as Australia-based mining giant Rio Tinto Ltd. said Tuesday that half-year profit more than doubled to a record US$6.91 billion on strong demand from China for iron, aluminum and other metals.

On the TSX, declines beat advances 778 to 724 with 216 unchanged as 298 million shares traded worth $4.9 billion. (The Canadian Press)

TSX
Most Active

PTC     Petaquilla Copper ltd   2.18    +0.29 +15.34%         16,188,075
UUU     Uranium One Inc 3.86    +0.34 +9.66% 11,279,233
ELR     Eastern Platinum Ltd    1.51    -0.07 -4.43% 7,553,468
GEA     Gold Eagle Mines Ltd    11.83 -0.01 N/A     7,256,339
NT      Nortel networks Corp    5.85    -0.39 -6.25% 5,207,680
BBD.B Bombardier Inc 7.51    +0.15 +2.04% 4,640,098
S       Sherritt International Corp     8.91    -0.34 -3.68% 4,210,059
YRI     Yamana Gold Inc 11.22 -0.18 -1.58% 3,953,832
BMO     Bank of Montreal        43.94 -0.12 -0.27% 3,624,543
CJB     ConjuChem Biotechnologies Inc   0.11    -0.01 -4.35% 3,562,440
BCE     BCE Inc 39.89 +0.01 N/A     3,121,268
BNS     Bank of Nova Scotia     46.45 -1.19 -2.50% 3,050,295
G       Goldcorp Inc    35.36 -0.01 N/A     2,913,993
RY      Royal Bank of Canada    44.13 -1.01 -2.24% 2,637,079
SU      Suncor Energy Inc       59.15 -0.17 -0.29% 2,579,286

TSX Venture
Most Active

CMM     Century Mining Corp    0.04    -0.01 -11.11%         8,780,750
PLL     Palladon Ventures Ltd   0.67    +0.07 +11.67%         2,701,666
BBP     Bayou Bend Petroleum Ltd        0.31    -0.02 -4.62% 1,666,875
GEL     Glass Earth Gold Ltd    0.04    -0.03 -38.46%         1,629,800
HAT     Hathor Exploration Ltd 3.58    +0.23 +6.87% 1,381,058
KWG     KWG Resources Inc       0.05    0.00    0.00% 1,302,500
FGT     Forest Gate Resources Inc       0.05    0.00    0.00% 1,181,000
LEC     Lignol Energy Corp      0.31    -0.06 -16.22%         1,175,000
NRS     Norwood Resources Ltd   1.00    0.00    0.00% 1,116,500
FO      Falcon Oil & Gas ltd    0.83    0.00    0.00% 1,077,358
BOB     Global Hunter Corp      0.07    -0.03 -26.32%         1,068,000
ROI     Route 1 Inc     0.04    -0.01 -12.50%         1,067,500
SOR     Solana Resources Ltd    4.60    +0.30 +6.98% 997,455
LST.H   Landmark Global Financial Corp 0.01    -0.01 -66.67%         971,889
SLG     Sterling Resources Ltd 2.20    +0.19 +9.45% 876,034

Trading Halts/Resumptions:

Trade Resumption - PANDA CAPITAL INC. - PDA.P
Trade Resumption - PROSPECTOR CONSOLIDATED RESOURCES INC. - PRR
Trade Resumption - AXIOTRON CORP. - AXO (formerly 'Vendome Capital Corp.' - 'VCC.H')
Trade Resumption - 540 CAPITAL CORP. - FA.P
Trading Halt/ Trade Resumption - Rubicon Minerals Corp. - RMX
Trade Resumption - Lomiko Res Ltd. - LMR
Trade Resumption - Kingsway Financial - KFS

New Listings
Claymore Global Infrastructure ETF To Trade On Toronto Stock Exchange,ETF, CIF CIF.A , 100,000 common units (the “Common Units”) and 50,000 advisor class units (the “Advisor Class Units”) of the Claymore ETF (collectively, the “Units”), all of which will be issued and outstanding, upon the completion of an initial public offering. The Units will be posted for trading at the opening on August 27, 2008.

Alston Ventures Inc. To Trade On TSX Venture Exchange, CPC, ALO.P , 1,217,500 common shares at $0.20 per share, At the opening August 27, 2008, the Common shares will commence trading on TSX Venture Exchange.

Sources include Advisors.ca, tmxmoney.com, Canadian Press, Yahoo Finance,
Stockhouse.com , Canoe.ca

Market closes for Monday, Aug. 25, 2008:

2008-08-26T08:54:00.001-07:00

        Close Change YTD
Dow Jones       11,386.25       -241.81 or -2.08%       -14.16%
S&P 500 1,266.84        -25.36or -1.96% -12.00%
NASDAQ 2,365.59        -49.12 or -2.03%        -10.81%
TSX COMP        13,288.96       -158.33 or -1.18%       -3.93%
TSX VENT     1940.01     -11.62
BoC Close       Today   Previous
Canadian $      0.9516 0.9537
US $    1.0509 1.0486

Euro Spot Rate Today   Previous
Cdn     0.6450 0.6455
Euro    1.5505 1.5491

Gold    AM      PM
London Gold Fix (US)    $830.00 $824.00

Spot Crude Oil Future(US$)      $115.17 +$0.58 or +0.51%
Silver                  13.46            +0.09
Copper                  3.46            EVEN
Nat Gas                7.91            +0.09

News Summary:

Worries about the financial sector helped send North American stock markets sharply lower Monday. Toronto's S&P/TSX composite index dropped 158.33 points to 13,288.96 as the TSX financial sector was down 1.77% ahead of quarterly earnings coming out this week from the big Canadian banks.

New York's Dow Jones industrial average fell 241.81 points to 11,386.25. The Nasdaq composite index moved down 49.12 points to 2,365.59 while the S&P 500 index gave back 25.36 points to 1,266.84.

"I think the key here of course is that the retail banking operations of these banks at least remain stable because that, to me, is the backbone of these banks," said Gareth Watson, associate director and Canadian equity adviser at Scotia Capital. "A lot of the problems that have occurred have been more on the investment banking side and so retail banking is going to be something which should be focused on."

Bank of Montreal fell 88 cents to $44.06 while Scotiabank gave back 96 cents to $47.64. Both banks report earnings Tuesday.

The TSX Venture Exchange slipped 11.62 points to 1,940.01 while the Canadian dollar drifted 0.21 of a cent lower to 95.16 cents US.

In New York, AIG was the steepest decliner among the 30 stocks that make up the Dow industrials after a Credit Suisse analyst cut his price target on the huge insurer. Also, Fitch Ratings warned last week that it might cut its ratings on the company. AIG shares were down $1.09 to US$18.78.

Falling oil stocks also kept a lid on the TSX as oil prices steadied after tumbling almost US$7 on Friday.
The energy sector receded 0.6% as the October crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange gained 52 cents to US$115.11 a barrel with Petro-Canada down 60 cents to $46.15 while Suncor Energy fell $1.04 to $59.32.

Precision Drilling Trust units fell 99 cents to $21.24 after the company said it has reached a deal to buy Houston-based gas driller Grey Wolf, Inc. in exchange for the equivalent of C$2.1 billion in cash and equity.

The deal gives Precision land drilling operations in virtually every oil and gas basin in the lower 48 United States and Canada, and an emerging presence in Mexico.

The TSX industrial sector stepped back 1.2% with Canadian National Railway off 40 cents to $52.78. The railway said Monday it has addressed the local concerns of one of the communities along the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway line that it wants to buy in order to improve its operations in the Chicago area.

CN says that its deal with Joliet will include a significant investment in track improvements and roadway features along the route through the city -- so long as the deal goes through.

On the TSX, declines beat advances 867 to 616 with 222 unchanged as 226.6 million shares traded worth $3.9 billion. (The Canadian Press)

TSX
Most Active

Q       Q9 Networks Inc 16.73 +3.71 +28.49%         5,957,615
ELR     Eastern Platinum Ltd    1.58    0.00    0.00% 4,430,929
BBD.B   Bombardier Inc 7.36    -0.29 -3.79% 4,201,624
CJB     ConjuChem Biotechnologies Inc   0.12    +0.02 +21.05%         4,127,500
YRI     Yamana Gold Inc 11.40 +0.03 +0.26% 3,635,505
GEA     Gold Eagle Mines Ltd    11.84 +0.08 +0.68% 2,996,169
CSM     Central Sun Mining Inc 0.67    +0.07 +11.67%         2,990,126
G       Goldcorp Inc    35.16 +0.08 +0.23% 2,913,246
UUU     Uranium One Inc 3.52    -0.05 -1.40% 2,830,079
VT      Viterra Inc     11.15 -0.20 -1.76% 2,677,952
ELD     Eldorado Gold Corp      8.09    +0.07 +0.87% 2,536,834
BCE     BCE Inc 39.88 -0.01 N/A     2,431,697
PD.UN   Precision Drilling Trust        21.24 -0.99 -4.45% 2,386,323
K       Kinross Gold Corp       17.18 -0.20 -1.15% 2,289,940
ABX     Barrick Gold Corp       36.08 -0.23 -0.63% 2,277,149

TSX Venture:
Most Active

KWG     KWG Resources Inc       0.05    +0.01 +25.00%         5,912,000
GNO     Genoil Inc      0.21    -0.01 -2.33% 2,558,445
BDO     Bordeaux Energy Inc     0.03    +0.01 +25.00%         1,657,000
LGO     Largo Resources Ltd     0.50    -0.04 -7.41% 1,588,892
ADD     Arctic Star Diamond Corp        0.11    +0.02 +16.67%         1,368,000
VRB     VRB Power Systems Inc   0.08    -0.02 -21.05%         1,344,900
VGN     Greencastle Resources Ltd       0.35    -0.02 -4.11% 1,286,980
AAM     Atacama Minerals Corp   0.91    -0.04 -4.21% 1,266,800
DOT     DOT Resources Ltd       0.03    -0.02 -33.33%         902,478
BBP     Bayou Bend Petroleum Ltd        0.33    +0.01 +1.56% 868,234
HAT     Hathor Exploration Ltd 3.35    -0.15 -4.29% 786,166
VCG     VenCan Gold Corp        0.05    +0.01 +11.11%         719,300
SPQ     Spider Resources Inc    0.07    -0.01 -6.67% 709,900
AAE     AAER Inc        0.19    -0.03 -11.63%         699,800
MAA     MagIndustries Corp      1.96    -0.06 -2.97% 645,96

Trading Halts/Resumptions
Trading Halt - Kingsway Financial Services Inc. - KFS - Pending News
Trading Halt/ Trade Resumption - Falcon Oil & Gas Ltd. - FO
Trading Halt/ Trade Resumption - Terra Ventures Inc. - TAS
Trading Halt/ Trade Resumption - Hathor Exploration Ltd. - HAT
Trading Halt - Lomiko Res Ltd. - LMR - Pending News
Trading Halt - Chrysalis Capital VII Corporation - SEV.P - Pending News

Sources include Advisors.ca, tmxmoney.com, Canadian Press, Yahoo Finance,
Stockhouse.com , Canoe.ca

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2008-08-22T07:51:00.000-07:00

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