Why we continue to chase the next new thing

NEIL REYNOLDS 

Standing in an attic room in a house in Boston, Alexander Graham Bell made his first telephone call on March 10, 1876. Thomas A. Watson, his associate, took the call in an adjacent room. Less than 40 years later (January 25, 1915), calling from New York, Bell phoned Watson again - this time across 5,500 kilometres of phone line that stretched to San Francisco. By 1915, more than 30 per cent of American households had telephones. It took another 60 years to reach 90 per cent.

He smelled trouble a long time ago

DAVID PARKINSON 

Don Reed is humble and experienced enough to admit two things:1. He's not always right.2. Even when he is proven right, no one wants to hear ''I told you so.''

Balance sheet sleight of hand means U.S. banking crisis far from over

HARRY KOZA 

Last week U.S. bank IndyMac went bust and mortgage companies Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae were revealed to be essentially insolvent and in need of vast infusions of taxpayer money. But U.S. bank stocks rallied like crazy. Unless I am missing something here, this is utter madness.

Suncor's coke solution? Ahoy, Port Alberta

PATRICK BRETHOUR 

The massive pyramids of coal on Prince Rupert's Ridley Island are anonymous, but one has a story to tell.The coal pile in question belongs to oil sands giant Suncor Energy Inc., which is already shipping a half-million tonnes a year through Prince Rupert to Asian and Mexican ports. Suncor hasn't decided to branch out into the coal mining business. The coal - to be more precise, petroleum coke - comes from its upgrading operations in Fort McMurray, Alta.

Ad nauseam

JENNIFER WELLS 

In Monday's instalment of Canadian Idol, as contestants Theo Tams, Earl Stevenson et al. reprised the greatest hits of dead artists (No Woman No Cry; Light My Fire), viewers would not have been surprised to see the Subway logo prominently displayed on the water bottles in front of Sass Jordan and her fellow judges.

The strange case of the superheroes, the geeks and the studios

RICHARD SIKLOS 

A funny thing happened on the way to the annual comic book get-together going on right now in San Diego, where the geeks and fans gather to talk about and dress up like their favourite characters and meet the people who create them: What is known as Comic-Con, now co-opted by Hollywood, has turned into what is arguably - in this age of films like Iron Man and The Dark Knight - the studios' biggest marketing event of the year.

UBS hit with fraud suit over auction-rate sales

SINCLAIR STEWART 

New York Attorney-General Andrew Cuomo launched a multibillion-dollar fraud suit against UBS AG yesterday, the first legal salvo to result from a wide-ranging probe of how Wall Street marketed a popular investment known as auction-rate securities.

TNK-BP CEO leaves Russia amid dispute

Robert Dudley, the chief executive officer of BP PLC's Russian venture, left the country yesterday because of ''sustained harassment'' amid a shareholder dispute.Mr. Dudley, a U.S. citizen, has no plans to step down and has a legal right to continue running TNK-BP from abroad, he said in an e-mailed statement. Mr. Dudley, who called his relocation temporary, had problems renewing his visa as TNK-BP's billionaire shareholders demanded his dismissal.

Cellphone users skyrocket in China; fixed lines down

The number of mobile users in China now tops 600 million, the government said, as subscribers increasingly abandon fixed lines. Mobile phone users in the country increased to 601 million at the end of June, up by 8.6 million from the end of May, the Ministry of Information Industry said in a statement. From January to June, the nation of 1.3 billion recorded 53.5 million new cellphone users, it said. By contrast, fixed-line subscribers fell by 9.3 million in the first six months to 356 million, it said. Mobile service is becoming more popular after operators lowered tolls in March for making phone calls outside a user's local service area.

U.K. June sales slump the biggest in 20 years

Retail sales in the United Kingdom slumped in June by the biggest margin in more than 20 years, indicating that consumers are cutting back spending amid accelerating inflation and slowing economic growth. The Office for National Statistics reported yesterday that sales volumes fell 3.9 per cent last month, the largest decrease since records began in January, 1986. The drop more than wiped out an unexpected 3.5-per-cent surge in May. Global Insight chief economist Howard Archer said that spending over the coming months ''continues to look pretty bleak'' as consumers face rising utility bills and elevated food prices, increased mortgage payments, falling house prices, major concerns over the economy and muted income growth.

Pernod predicts demand will remain strong

In tough times, consumers need their tipple, Pernod Ricard SA said yesterday as it forecast demand for wines and spirits would remain strong in the year to June, 2009, in spite of the spending downturn. ''Even in difficult years, the consumer protects what, for him, holds pleasure value,'' Pernod Ricard finance director Emmanuel Babeau said. For the year just ended, Pernod lifted its growth forecast for operating profit to 13 per cent from the 12 per cent forecast in April. The group's positive outlook comes after it posted full-year sales that missed forecasts. Full-year sales rose 2 per cent to €6.589-billion ($10.480-billion) in the year to June 30, below expectations of €6.67-billion based on Reuters Estimates. RI (Paris) rose €1.73 to €58.68.

EasyJet cuts winter flights; chops profit forecast

Budget airline easyJet PLC said it will cut flights over the winter to trim costs as it revealed yesterday it expects full-year pretax profit to fall as much as 45 per cent because of higher fuel expenses. The carrier said the increase in oil prices over the past few months have added about & 185-million ($373-million) to its fuel bill this year. EasyJet said the higher charges will result in a full-year pretax profit of between & 110-million and & 120-million - nearly half of what it reported last year. In a bid to keep costs down, easyJet announced a slimmer winter flying schedule, cutting capacity at London's Stansted Airport by 12 per cent. EZJ (London) fell 37.5 pence to & 3.33.

Credit Suisse recovers from subprime losses

Swiss banking giant Credit Suisse Group returned to the black for the second quarter as it posted a marked recovery from losses sustained due to the U.S. subprime crisis. Switzerland's second-biggest bank posted a profit of 1.215 billion Swiss francs ($1.189-billion) for the quarter and ''immaterial'' asset writedowns of 22 million Swiss francs. The results marked a sharp turnaround from a first-quarter loss of 2.15 billion francs and writedowns of 5.85 billion francs. Credit Suisse said its risk exposure to the housing market was further cut, down 31 per cent in leveraged finance and 22 per cent in commercial mortgages from the first quarter this year. CSGN (Zurich) rose 2.65 Swiss francs to 52.55 francs.

Regulators reach deal to back Sirius-XM merger

U.S. regulators reached an agreement to conditionally approve Sirius Satellite Radio Inc.'s purchase of XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. as the companies said they would pay about $19-million (U.S.) to settle compliance issues. The three Republicans on the five-member Federal Communications Commission have agreed in principle to vote in favour of letting the deal proceed as long as the companies agree to conditions to protect consumers and settle the FCC enforcement matters, a source familiar with the agency review said yesterday. The agreement would allow XM and Sirius to clear the final regulatory hurdle since the merger was announced in February, 2007.

Southwest beats odds and posts profit - again

Hasbro sues Indian makers of Scrabulous

T-R-O-U-B-L-E could be looming for a Scrabble knockoff that has become one of the most popular activities on Facebook. Hasbro Inc., the company that owns the word game's North American rights, is suing the creators of the Scrabulous program. The lawsuit comes less than two weeks after the release of an authorized version of Scrabble for Facebook. Hasbro says in its lawsuit that Scrabulous violates its copyright and trademarks. Hasbro asked Facebook to block the game. Scrabulous has attracted some half-million users daily. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in New York, named as defendants Rajat and Jayant Agarwalla, the brothers in Calcutta, India, who created the program, along with their Web design and technology company, RJ Softwares. The Agarwallas did not immediately respond to an e-mail request for comment. HAS (NYSE) rose 3 cents to $39.85.

NOTED: SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DECORATE?

Jennifer Wells 

This is hot. Coincident with the release of the IKEA catalogue and the Swedish retailer's latest line of home furnishings - say ''Ljusas Ysby'' to a store clerk and you should be directed to a white lamp with shade, we think - Zig has come up with a multiplatform ad campaign featuring the Popper, aka Mr. Fantastic, aka Robert Muraine, above left.

CREATED: CHEERS TO THE IPINT

Grant Robertson 

Here at Persuasion, we like our beer. So when Apple Inc. launched the iPhone in Canada last week, along with hundreds of downloadable tools for the device, one in particular caught our eye: the iPint.

Record prices put Arctic oil within reach

BARRIE McKENNA 

Global warming and record high oil prices could put Arctic oil and gas into play much sooner than many people think, analysts and industry officials say.The significance of this week's groundbreaking U.S. Geological Survey report on the Far North's untapped potential is that it stretches the bounds of just how much crude may still be out there, said Kevin Book, an analyst at FBR Capital Markets in Arlington, Va.

30 SECOND SPOT: DISPATCHES FROM THE WORLD OF MEDIA AND ADVERTISING

5The share of ad spending soaked up by interactive media worldwide is expected to hit 15 per cent in 2009, almost double that of just four years ago, according to a new study by WPP Group.

30 SECOND SPOT: DISPATCHES FROM THE WORLD OF MEDIA AND ADVERTISING

4 They call it bait and click. A group of major marketers are cracking down on the practice of ''piggybacking,'' a type of search advertising in which small operators use the names or logos of the big guys.

30 SECOND SPOT: DISPATCHES FROM THE WORLD OF MEDIA AND ADVERTISING

3We can all rest easy knowing that geniuses are coming up with easier ways for us to buy the things we see on TV. TiVo, the video recording company, has teamed with Amazon to enable viewers to buy such items as books and DVDs using the TiVo remote. Customers can pause a program while they make a purchase, then continue the show afterward.

30 SECOND SPOT: DISPATCHES FROM THE WORLD OF MEDIA AND ADVERTISING

2You can guess which celebritiesare the most well-known, but who are the most trusted? Culinary personalities run away with the spoon, apparently. In a ranking of the top 25 most trusted celebs compiled by market researcher NPD Group, nine are chefs. At No. 3 is Mario Batali; No. 5 is Paula Deen, right. Rachael Ray also made the top 25.

30 SECOND SPOT: DISPATCHES FROM THE WORLD OF MEDIA AND ADVERTISING

1It's been a big gamble for thetelevision networks, posting prime-time shows on their websites. Would they poach viewers from the TV screen and its high-paying advertisers?

Traders accused of manipulating oil prices

PAUL WALDIE 

Faced with mounting criticism about its regulation of U.S. energy markets, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission came out swinging yesterday, announcing ''dozens and dozens'' of investigations into alleged price manipulation and unveiling charges against a group of traders in Chicago at Optiver Holding BV, a Dutch-based hedge fund.

Global car makers flash their brake lights

DAIMLER AGSecond-quarter profit fell 25 per cent and the company cut its 2008 earnings outlook. The company said that ''the influence of high raw material prices, rising inflation rates, falling purchasing power and tight capital markets are likely to prevent a significant revival from taking place in the coming months.'' Daimler did, however, see a 6-per-cent rise in revenue and it sold 566,500 vehicles worldwide, an increase of 10 per cent. Daimler said 2008 profit would likely exceed €7-billion ($11.1-billion), down from €7.7-billion.

Air Canada, Continental join forces

BRENT JANG 

Air Canada is expanding its access to overseas destinations by forming a strategic alliance with Houston-based Continental Airlines Corp., firing a salvo against WestJet Airlines Ltd.'s recent pact with Southwest Airlines Co. of Dallas.

Soaring Potash looks overseas

STEVE LADURANTAYE 

Demand for fertilizer remains strong despite recent price hikes, Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. said yesterday as it reported record profits.''Higher prices have not had an impact on demand, as farmers realize they still realize significant returns on their potash investments,'' chief executive officer Bill Doyle said. ''The long-term fundamentals that underpin our success are very clear and show no signs of abating.''

'Surprise' surpluses questioned

KEVIN CARMICHAEL 

More than a decade of ''surprise'' budget surpluses have eroded the federal government's credibility and obscured debate of the proper use of taxpayers' money, a national accountants association says in a report.

Energy boom masking gloomy trade picture, EDC says

DAKSHANA BASCARAMURTY 

A big drop in the price of oil during the next year will reveal weakness behind what appears to be a robust export picture, Export Development Canada says. High prices for the country's oil and natural gas will raise the nominal value of exports by 4.2 per cent during the last half of this year but that will likely be followed by a 1-per-cent slump next year as the anomaly of high energy prices is removed. When price effects are taken out of the picture, Canadian exports are actually on track to fall 4 per cent this year, EDC chief economist Peter Hall said.

Teck eyes wind to rescue bottom line at zinc mine

Teck Cominco Ltd., Canada's largest diversified mining company, may use wind or natural gas to power its biggest zinc facility as rising diesel costs curb profit from the unit.

Total woos Synenco with higher bid

Norval Scott 

Panel to examine Canada's labour trends

Tavia Grant 

Maple Leaf monitoring pace of rising costs

Virginia Galt 

Maple Leaf Foods Inc. is gauging consumer reaction to the price of bread, which has risen sharply in the past year, and the company has no immediate plans for further price increases. However, if energy costs take off again, the food-processing company will again have to consider passing on the costs to restore its margins, company executives said in a conference call yesterday. Maple Leaf Foods, which specializes in meat and bakery products, passed on soaring energy and grain costs to consumers in the first half of 2008. Even so, its second-quarter loss widened to $9.4-million, or 7 cents a share, from $1.7-million, or 1 cent, a year earlier. The company expected the period to be tough ''due to extreme inflation and volatility of commodity markets,'' chief executive officer Michael McCain said. MFI (TSX) fell 31 cents to $9.69.

Celestica posts profit by cutting costs

Contract electronics maker Celestica Inc. said yesterday it swung to a second-quarter profit as further cost cuts offset slumping demand. Celestica said it earned $39.8-million (U.S.), or 17 cents a share, in the three months ended June 30. That was up from a loss of $19.2-million, or 8 cents, in the same period a year earlier. Revenue fell to $1.88-billion from $1.94-billion in the quarter. In the second quarter, Celestica said it reduced its cost of sales to $1.75-billion from $1.85-billion a year earlier. To deal with a slump in the products it makes under contract, the company has taken on new consumer business and aggressively cut costs to try mitigate those declines. CLS (TSX) rose 22 cents to $8.63 (Canadian).

Airfare index shows rising summer prices

Brent Jang 

Raymond James Ltd.'s domestic airfare index, released yesterday, shows that a WestJet Airlines Ltd. basket of ticket prices, booked July 15 for late August travel, was up 10 per cent from the same period in 2007. The airfare index at Air Canada increased 3 per cent, according to the sampling. To take away some of the sting of new fuel surcharges, ''the airlines appear to be resorting to more aggressive base fare tactics,'' notably summer seat sales to entice consumers, Raymond James analyst Ben Cherniavsky said in a research report. He lowered his forecast for the airlines' yield, which measures average ticket prices collected to fly one passenger one mile. WJA (TSX) fell 69 cents to $15. AC.B (TSX) fell 18 cents to $5.16.

Nerd power: Hooray for unconventional

BARBARA MOSES 

Remember that boy in high school who was so socially awkward? He always said the wrong things, was painfully self-conscious, had few friends and was maladroit at every activity. In a word, he was a loser.

QUOTED: NIKE STILL JUST DOING IT

''You can't explain much in 60 seconds,but when you show Michael Jordanyou don't have to. It's that simple.''Nike Inc. founder Phil KnightIn the countdown to the Beijing Olympics - and in recognition of the 20th anniversary of the ''Just do it'' brand slogan - Nike has unveiled a 60-second spot titled ''Courage'' featuring a fast parade of exceptional athletes. There's Michael Jordan kissing his first NBA trophy in 1991 and Steve Prefontaine reminding us of how darned cute he was. Just view it at: www.nike.com/courage

ET CETERA

''For now, investors should remain in high quality assets until - until, well - until the prospect for [U.S.] home prices points skyward or until the cows come home, whichever one's first.'' Pimco's Bill Gross. Page 10

CORRECTION

A new report on Arctic oil and gas reserves was prepared by the U.S. Geological Survey. The organization was incorrectly identified in an article in yesterday's paper.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

''The reality is we've got to get it done.'' Former Liberal senator Michael Kirby,on the new mental-health charity he is championing. A4

Global stock market plunge leaves nowhere to hide

ANGELA BARNES 

Precious few countries have escaped the wave of selling that has swept through global markets this year and those fortunate enough to have done so are generally quite small, showing that this year there is almost nowhere for investors to hide.

Balance sheet sleight of hand means U.S. banking crisis far from over

HARRY KOZA 

Last week U.S. bank IndyMac went bust and mortgage companies Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae were revealed to be essentially insolvent and in need of vast infusions of taxpayer money. But U.S. bank stocks rallied like crazy. Unless I am missing something here, this is utter madness.

He smelled trouble a long time ago

DAVID PARKINSON 

Don Reed is humble and experienced enough to admit two things:1. He's not always right.2. Even when he is proven right, no one wants to hear ''I told you so.''

Seeing opportunity in energy-exposed small caps

SHIRLEY WON 

WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR?For do-it-yourself investors, checking out what the pros are buying in their mutual funds can be a way to get stock tips. It can also help understand a manager's strategy if you want to invest in a sector fund.

U.S. housing losses pegged at $1-trillion

JOHN PARRY 

The best way to help the ailing U.S. housing market recover from the $1-trillion (U.S.) of losses it faces will be to cut the cost of mortgages via the U.S. housing bill and rescue package for mortgage finance giants, the manager of the world's biggest bond fund said yesterday.

EYE ON EQUITIES: STOCKS THAT SHOULD BE ON YOUR RADAR SCREEN

ALLAN ROBINSON 

VITRAN CORP.: (VTNC-Nasdaq)Yesterday's close: $17.12 U.S. down 80centsVitran Corp., a North American transportation and logistics company, reported a better-than-expected second quarter as it uses its ''new information technology platform to generate additional cross-border and inter-regional revenue,'' said Tom Varesh, an analyst with Canaccord Capital.

U.S. capital spending slows

ALLAN ROBINSON 

Capital spending by U.S. corporations is on the decline and that was the stimulus investors had been hoping would help offset the weakness in consumer spending.The durable goods orders scheduled for release today are forecast to have declined 0.3 per cent during June, compared with May's unchanged level, according to a survey of economists by Bloomberg. Excluding transportation, orders are forecast to have fallen 0.2 per cent in June, compared with the 0.8 per cent drop in May.

Qualcomm raises outlook

SINEAD CAREW 

Qualcomm Inc. raised its fiscal-year outlook yesterday after announcing a legal settlement and a technology licensing deal with Nokia Corp. Wireless technology license and chip supplier Qualcomm, said it was raising its outlook on the strength of growth in phones with high-speed Web links, even before adding new royalties and an upfront payment from Nokia.

THURSDAY'S MARKETS: WHAT HAPPENED

DOWNBay Street hit by housing fears, commodities pulloutCanadian stocks were hammered after investors renewed their fears of the U.S. housing market and ditched commodities at the same time, creating a double whammy for Canada's benchmark index. The SandP/TSX composite tumbled 2.3 per cent, with all 10 subindexes down. CIBC and Royal Bank fell 5.9 per cent and 4.6 per cent, respectively.

COMMODITIES

Copper prices tumbled to a five-week low on expectations that falling demand from China and a slowdown in the U.S. housing market will lead to a surplus of the metal. Corn and wheat futures rose, and crude oil rebounded slightly. Gold, silver and soybean prices dropped.

TIP SHEET

David Berman 

When a company's employees go on strike, its stock is in trouble. But when a company's credit rating is upgraded to investment grade status - oh, the horrors! - then the real problems begin.

BONDS

Canadian government bond prices rose as floundering North American stock markets and weak U.S. economic data enabled the market to shake off the sluggish tone that has persisted for most of the week.

FOREIGN EXCHANGE CROSS RATES

The dollar ended slightly lower against U.S. currency in narrow range-trading as renewed global stability for the greenback diminished sentiment toward the loonie a little further. The greenback held steady against the euro, rose against the pound but fell against the yen.