Prime Minister Stephen harper receives two cases of beer from U.S. Ambassador David Jacobson in mid-March after winning a bet with President Barack Obama when Canada's men's hockey team won the Olympic gold medalChris Wattie/Reuters
Stories Report on Business is following today:
Greece seeks bailout
Greece's embattled government gave in to unrelenting pressure today and sought a bailout estimated at €40-billion to €45-billion. Until now, Prime Minister George Papandreou has watched hopelessly as investors pounded Europe's common currency and drove Greece's borrowing costs to prohibitive levels.
"It is a national and pressing necessity for us to officially request from our partners the activation of the support mechanism," Mr. Papandreou said, speaking from an Aegean island before heading to Washington for meetings of the International Monetary Fund.
Markets have been under extreme pressure as Greece began this week to work out details of an emergency rescue from the EU, the European Central Bank and the IMF. While his move calmed markets somewhat, much lies ahead, The Globe and Mail's European correspondent Eric Reguly reports today.
The bailout will not be in place immediately, though Greek officials said it could come within days. Most importantly, some of the EU governments will need parliamentary approval to kick in money. In Germany, which is heading into state elections, sentiment is running strongly against giving aid, though a government spokesman today pledged support. And in other debt-burdened countries, such as Portugal, Spain and Ireland, there may be trouble because their own treasuries are tapped out.
"Even if there is a short-term solution, there is still uncertainty," Philippe Gijsels, the chief of research at BNP Paribas Fortis Global Markets in Brussels, told the Reuters news agency. "It still has to go through national parliament and we do not know what the reaction of Germany will be. Does this mean it stops here or will it spread to Portugal and Spain? I think it will still weigh on markets and it is not a done deal."
Read
Euro recovers on Greece request
Inflation tame in March
Inflation eased in March, taking some pressure off Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney as he heads toward his first interest rate hike since before the financial crisis began. Overall annual inflation dipped last month to 1.4 per cent from 1.6 per cent in February, Statistics Canada said this morning. More importantly, the core inflation rate, which factors out volatile items and is the measure that guides Mr. Carney's monetary policy, fell to 1.7 per cent from 2.1 per cent in February.
Much of the easing was related to prices for hotels and travels, after a spike in February related to the Vancouver Olympics. "The dollar's march to par last month had little impact, at least not yet - apparently, the price cuts at Porsche don't carry much weight," added BMO Nesbitt Burns deputy chief economist Douglas Porter. "However, clothing and furniture prices - both with a big import content - remained well down from year-ago levels."
Mr. Carney has signalled that interest rates could rise as early as June, given a faster-than-expected rebound in the economy. But just yesterday, he was still pointing to risks ahead, which could temper the pace of rate hikes going forward.
"All told, March's inflation report provides additional evidence that inflation is well under control in Canada and, as a result, upcoming rate hikes will likely be gradual," said economist Krishen Rangasamy of CIBC World Markets.
The Canadian dollar dipped after the Statistics Canada report.
Read
Inflation falls to 1.4 per cent
Bank of Canada expects economic growth to slow
Canadian dollar will stay strong, Bank of Canada projects
Cat:e528746c-3414-401a-b14b-50247e3bdf01Forum:2d13dc33-9921-4d4a-815f-e809277631e4
Parent boosts stake in Sears Canada
Sears Holdings Corp., which has tried unsuccessfully in the past to take its Canadian subsidiary private, has struck a deal to buy 17 per cent of the unit's stock to bring its ownership above 90 per cent.
Sears Holdings, which runs both Sears and Kmart in the United States, bought the additional stake in Sears Canada Inc. for $560-million, or $30 a share, from Bill Ackman's hedge-fund group Pershing Square. Read the story
Related: Investors to cash-flush Sears: Use it or lose it
Retail sales rise for third month
Canadians appear to have enjoyed the Vancouver Olympics with a beer in hand. Or maybe wine. Or even something stronger.
Retail sales in Canada increased in February for the third consecutive month. And while that was led by auto and parts sales, Statistics Canada noted this morning that sales at beer, wine and liquor stores rose 3.7 per cent from January, reflecting "higher sales of alcoholic beverages across the country in the month of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games."
More importantly, the federal statistics gathering agency also pointed out that sales at auto and parts dealers rose 2.9 per cent for the first gain since October. Notable was the 3.8-per-cent climb among new car dealers after three months of sinking sales. Read the story
Finance officials meet in Washington
Finance ministers and central bank chiefs from the G20 meet in Washington today ahead of a weekend gathering of the International Monetary Fund and World Banks. The officials head into today's meeting divided on the issue of regulatory reform amid a growing call for some type of global tax on banks, which Canada strongly opposes.
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has said repeatedly he will not adopt such a measure in Canada, and stressed again yesterday he would not "impose a tax on our banks that performed well during the crisis." Many other countries and groups, however, favour such a levy.
Read
IMF throws weight behind bank tax
Canada rejects IMF bank tax plan
It is time to press on with bank reform
Earnings recovery under way
A look at U.S. companies that have reported results so far early in this quarter's earnings season shows "the profit recovery continues," BMO Nesbitt Burns says. With 25 per cent of S&P 500 results in, 85 per cent have topped expectations, a level far better than the historical norm, says BMO Nesbitt Burns economist Robert Kavcic.
"Importantly, he adds, "companies in a wide range of sectors continue to see improving economic fundamentals and many are increasing their 2010 earnings guidance."
SEC staffers surfed for porn
Lloyd Blankfein could have a field day with this one: The Associated Press reports that the Securities and Exchange Commission's inspector general found that senior SEC staffers spent hours surfing for pornographic websites during the past five years, most of the time during the period of the crash.
Mr. Blankfein, the chief of Goldman Sachs Group Inc., has been fighting back against SEC allegations of civil fraud. Read the story
From today's Report on Business
Oil sands awash in excess pipeline capacity
Fairfax's Watsa 'once bitten' but not twice shy