These are stories Report on Business is following Thursday, April 14. Get the top business stories through the day on BlackBerry or iPhone by bookmarking our mobile-friendly webpage.
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Greece should throw in the towel Greek bond yields went through the roof today as concerns mounted that the embattled country will have to restructure its debts, with a hefty hit to credits.
Fresh concerns were fuelled by comments from Germany's finance minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble, who said in a newspaper interview that Greece may have to restructure, depending on the results of an audit in June. Greece has already received a bailout from the International Monetary Fund and Europe's rescue fund, but a permanent bailout mechanism for the ailing members of the euro zone won't be in place until 2013.
"Talk about a restructuring of Greece's economy is now out in the open at the IMF meetings in Washington as well as amongst euroland policy makers," Carl Weinberg, chief economist at High Frequency Economics, said as 10-year Greek debt yields topped 13 per cent.
Greece, he added, has "taken on so much more additional debt from the EFSF and the IMF that a haircut is probably needed now."
Whatever the European Union and the IMF are trying to do to "fix" the mounting debt crisis in the 17-nation monetary union are failing, he added.
"No 'solution' to the problems of an over-borrowed nation can be realized without the participation of the creditors," Mr. Weinberg said in a research note.
"Multi-year restructuring is required to 'fix' Greece and Portugal, by which we mean to recontextualize their payment burden and profile over time so they can return to capital markets again. Getting each borrower through its next principal or interest payment does not fix them."
European officials rejected the idea that Greece is getting close to restructuring.
At the same time today, Greece's statistics agency reported that the country's jobless rate climbed to 15.1 per cent in January, spelling even deeper trouble for the country.
The skinny on the PlayBook Reviewers are less than kind today in their first look at the PlayBook tablet from Research In Motion Ltd. , though there are strong points. The BlackBerry maker's shares dipped.
They do cite several good features of the challenger to the popular iPad from Apple Inc. - the look, the feel, the weight of the seven-inch touch screen device - but they're down on several of its important bits.
"I got the strong impression RIM is scrambling to get the product to market, and that it will be adding other features already offered on competing devices for months, through software patches," The Wall Street Journal's Walter Mossberg wrote of the tablet, which goes on sale next week.
Jim Balsillie, the co-chief executive officer of RIM, said in a TV interview with Bloomberg that it's not fair to suggest the company rushed to market, noting that tens of millions of BlackBerry users can mate their devices and their BlackBerrys.
"I like our chances for a lot of share," he said. "We're very excited about where we are."
Here are some views out there today:
Mr. Mossberg writes that there's much to like on the Playbook, including the user interface of the operating system. It's "smooth and fast, and makes excellent use of multi-touch gestures." The browser is "highly capable," he added, the hardware is sturdy, it's light and it's smaller overall than the iPad.
But, he said after testing it for five days, "this first edition of the PlayBook has no built-in cellular data connection and lacks such basic built-in apps as an e-mail program, a contacts program, a calendar, a memo pad and even RIM's popular BlackBerry Messenger chat system." For those features, you have to use it with a BlackBerry.
David Pogue of The New York Times, however, is far kinder, at the beginning anyway: It "looks and feels great," has a "super-responsive multi-touch screen," and comes with certain features competing products can "only dream about," such as the ability to hook it, with a HDMI cable, to a TV.
But he has complaints similar to those of Mr. Mossberg, though he noted RIM promises many, many apps. Still, he said, "in its current half-baked form, it seems almost silly to try to assess it, let alone buy it."
Here, though, is what one reviewer posted on Cnet.com:
"I was skeptical of the entire package before I was able to get my hands on it and learn about it in depth. This is the tablet to beat this year ... With all the positive notes and few, but manageable negative notes, the PlayBook will be the tablet to beat in 2011 and it will set a foundation for a line of products who could threaten Apple's iPad."
Other news services were also more flattering.
"Who would have thought that the maker of some of the world's least exciting smartphones would have produced a product this slick?," said Rich Jaroslovsky of Bloomberg. "The PlayBook makes BlackBerry relevant again."
According to Associated Press writer Rachel Metz, it's an "impressive tablet" RIM is poised to sell.
"It has to be, considering the iPad's head start," she said. "And if RIM can ramp up its app offerings, it will be an even heartier contender."
So what do the analysts think?
The first take today from Phillip Huang, Amitabh Passi and Maynard Um of UBS Securities was to not change their "neutral" rating on RIM stock, or their 12-month price target of $63 (U.S.). But they do have questions.
"While 'feeds and speeds' are impressive specifications to compare various tablets, we believe ultimately uptake will be determined by how extensive and seamless the ecosystem is, apps availability and support, and consumer appeal," they said in a research note.
"We believe the ultimate test for [RIM]and its Playbook tablet will commence April 19 when retail store sales commence in U.S./Canada (available now for pre-order)."
Analyst Mike Abramsky of RBC Dominion Securities said the PlayBook is expected to "stake its own ground" in the market after a modest start. And he cited a proprietary RBC survey that showed "strong" buying interest.
"Of 1,400 surveyed, 12 per cent of BlackBerry users are planning to buy a PlayBook," he said.
"This may affirm RIM's strategy of first focusing on its BlackBerry base. Attractive features cited: Rich Browsing/Flash (84 per cent), personal email (76 per cent), Office integration (54 per cent). Sixty-two per cent see see Android app compatibility as important. Tethering for BlackBerry users is a non-issue. Fifty-two per cent of surveyed PlayBook buyers plan to buy two to six months out; BlackBerry users and businesses are typically slower to adopt, and some may wait for 3G/4G and more available apps. Thus, while retail store checks show modest pre-orders, in our view uptake over the first six months (including 3G/4G, Android compatibility) may be a better measure of PlayBook's success."
Price gap grows A price gap between Canadian and U.S. products has widened sharply with a surge in the loonie that should lower prices on this side of the border.
Prices on a selection of goods studied by BMO Nesbitt Burns today are now an average 20.4 per cent higher than those of the same products in the United States, compared to a spread of less than 7 per cent in the summer of 2009.
The high dollar can do many things, Mr. Porter said in his report, which looked at what the loonie will buy in terms of U.S. currency, but it cannot equalize prices across the border.
- Canadian-U.S. price gap surges
- High-flying loonie can't hold rate rise back
- Strong loonie casts shadow over recovery
Panel wants changes to TMX-LSE deal An all-party committee of the Ontario legislature is urging major changes to a proposed deal between TMX Group Inc. and London Stock Exchange Group PLC, in a bid to address concerns that control would reside overseas, The Globe and Mail's Karen Howlett and Janet McFarland report today.
The committee's recommendations address widespread concerns that majority control of the combined entity would reside outside Canada, said sources close to the situation.
The committee does not suggest the Ontario and federal government block the proposed transaction. Gilles Bisson, the New Democrat member on the committee, has written his own report on behalf of his party, disagreeing with his Liberal and Conservative colleagues.
Manufacturers take a hit Sales among Canadian manufacturers slipped 1.5 per cent in February, retreating from a 4.4-per-cent gain in January, Statistics Canada said today.
Fifteen of 21 industries measures reported lower sales, the agency said, though the decline was primiarly in the transportation equipment sector, meaning cars, auto parts and aerospace products and parts.
On a regional basis, the hit was largely in Ontario, home of the auto industry, and Quebec, home to the aerospace sector.
Overall, inventories dipped 0.3 per cent in February, marking the first decline in five months, while unfilled orders climbed 0.4 per cent.
"More importantly, real shipments were down 2.3 per cent, which will act as a drag on GDP for the month of February," said CIBC World Markets economist Krishen Rangasamy.
"Nonetheless, thanks to the good start to the quarter, we continue to anticipate Q1 growth near 4 per cent annualized."
In Economy Lab today
After the election, financial markets should be preparing for a sustained round of interest hikes, and for it to start before July, Stephen Gordon writes.
In Personal Finance today
The Your Money program being taught in schools is a good start, but the task is something parents really need to take on, Rob Carrick writes.
Even though 2010 is long gone, there are still two things you can do to offset your income. Tax Matters columnist Tim Cestnick explains.
Angela Self explains how online tools can help consumers analyze their fees and stop wasting money on the wrong services.
From today's Report on Business