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Women arrested for suspected 'ambush' marketing One can only imagine what this much publicity would have cost had it been a planned marketing campaign. The issue of "ambush" marketing today sparked the arrest of two women, headlines around the world, and the anger of Dutch politicians. The women were arrested after what is suspected to have been a stunt by 36 women dressed in orange miniskirts at Monday's Netherlands-Denmark game. It was said to be a marketing push by Dutch brewer Bavaria NV. FIFA, soccer's governing body, said it was going after the two women who organized the move, but not the 34 others it considered "innocent local girls."
The Dutch brewer flew two women to South Africa, one of the women told Bloomberg News, and they in turn got the 34 other women to join them, all wearing the orange dresses. Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen slammed the police, according to Agence France-Presse.
"It is absurd that the two women have a jail term hanging over their heads for wearing orange dresses in a football stadium," Mr. Verhagen said. "If South Africa or FIFA wants to take a company to task for an illegal marketing action, they should start judicial procedures against the company and not against ordinary citizens walking around in orange dresses."
The brewer, according to Bloomberg, said it commissioned the dresses but they had no company branding. And a spokeswoman told the news agency that the women's wellbeing was its priority.
Budweiser is the official brewer of the World Cup, and, reports said, FIFA has so far filed more than 2,500 cases overall against those it accuses of ambush marketing. Whatever the genesis, and whatever the outcome, the publicity surrounding Bavaria has been huge given the headlines over miniskirts flashing around the world today. Read the story
BP cancels dividend BP PLC bowed to unrelenting pressure in the United States today and said it would not pay dividends for the rest of the year. The energy giant also said it was putting $20-billion (U.S.) into a fund over the next few years to meet compensation claims related to the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, caused by an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in April. BP chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg announced the dividend move after a meeting between executives of the company and President Barack Obama in Washington. BP is also setting up a $100-million fund to help oil rig workers hurt by Mr. Obama's six-month moratorium on deep sea drilling. Read the story
Related
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Magna responds to OSC Magna International Inc. said today it will work with the Ontario Securities Commission on concerns over the proposal to collapse the auto parts giant's dual-share structure, but that it believes everything was in order. The OSC yesterday argued the proposal to buy control from Frank Stronach should be blocked, saying certain elements of the deal are "contrary to the public interest." Magna responded today that while it will work with the regulator, it believes its "existing disclosure is complete, that Magna's board undertook a proper process, and that our shareholders should not be denied the opportunity to decide the outcome of the proposed transaction." Read the story
Related: OSC challenges Magna's Stronach buyout
Russia buys Canadian dollars Russia has made good on a plan to add the Canadian dollar to its international reserves. Alexei Ulyukayev, the first deputy chairman of the country's central bank, said after an event hosted by Bloomberg News last night that "we have added the Canadian dollar but haven't yet begun operations" with the loonie. He told the news agency the central bank is also considering adding the Australian dollar.
Russia has said it is overhauling the makeup of its reserves amid extreme volatility of currencies such as the U.S. dollar and euro. At the same time, the Canadian currency is gaining in stature and popularity given the country's strong economic and fiscal standings relative to its peers. There has been talk of the loonie gaining reserve currency status, though observers say it can't truly hold that position given the limited nature of its trading.
"This continues the very logical shift in the strategy of sovereign reserve managers as not only do the commodity currencies remain supported by a positive outlook for emerging market growth ... but also the fiscal positions of Australia, Canada, Norway, and New Zealand are extremely solid in comparison to the rest of their Western economy counterparts," Scotia Capital currency strategist Sacha Tihanyi said this morning. "As we have pointed to in the past however, the size of these economies relative to other major reserve currency countries like the U.S. and the euro zone ... limits the ability for currencies like [those of Australia, Canada, Norway and New Zealand]to absorb large diversification-driven flows without an inordinate amount of appreciation. However, there is no doubt that these currencies have, and will continue to benefit from foreign sovereign diversification flows."
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Carney hedges on rate hike Another quick hike in the Bank of Canada's benchmark lending rate isn't a sure bet, Governor Mark Carney hinted today, citing Europe's debt crisis among other issues weighing on the global economy. "The Bank must balance the competing influences on Canadian activity and inflation, of momentum in domestic demand and the increasingly uneven global recovery,'' Mr. Carney said in the text of a speech to the Greater Charlottetown Area Chamber of Commerce. ``In light of the scale and volatility of these conflicting forces, it should be evident that no particular path for monetary policy is preordained.'' Read the story
Quadra deal falls through Quadra FNX Mining Ltd. shares slipped today after the newly merged mid-tier copper producer said a $1-billion (U.S.) joint venture agreement it made with a Chinese state-owned power company fell through. Vancouver-based Quadra FNX said its agreement with State Grid International Development Ltd. to help develop its assets in Chile has expired after the two sides weren't able to finalize their agreement made in March. However, chief executive officer Paul Blythe said the company continues to talk to other parties interested in its copper assets in Chile, in particular its $2-billion Sierra Gorda project. Read the story
GM aims for number 1 General Motors of Canada Ltd. wants to return to market leadership this year, but will be content with second place if it's highly profitable, the auto maker's new president says. "I've challenged our team to end this year at the No. 1 position in the marketplace," Kevin Williams told a group of reporters today in his first session with the media since taking over as president of GM Canada earlier this year. "If that doesn't happen we are not going to fall out and think the world has collapsed. If you're the most profitable No. 2, it may be a position in the marketplace." Read the story
FedEx forecast disappoints FedEx Corp. put a bit of damper on the markets today, projecting an annual profit shy of what analysts had been expecting. FedEx, the biggest air cargo courier in the world, forecast per-share profit for its latest fiscal year of $4.40 (U.S.) to $5, below the $5.07 projected by analysts. This quarter's profit is forecast by the courier to be between 85 cents and $1.05, while analysts project $1.02. Chief executive officer Fred Smith told analysts today that he expects strong growth in India, China and Brazil.
Market Blog: Is FedEx really a bellwether?
France raises retirement age France has broken faith with more than 25 years of the Mitterand legacy. Labour Minister Eric Woerth today unveiled plans to raise the country's retirement age to 62 in 2018 from the current 60. The move is aimed at helping cut the country's debt, though France's plans to get its finances under more control fall far shy of measures taken in other countries. Germany is boosting its retirement to 67 from 65, and other governments have also made plans to bring down pension costs through such moves. "We cannot at the same time promise to work less long and not have a deficit," Mr. Woerth said. The retirement age, reports said, was a major move in 1983 by France's late president Francois Mitterand. Read the story
Analysis: French reforms substantial but insufficient
Home construction falls in U.S. Home construction in the United States is on the decline after the expiry of a federal tax credit program that had spurred the sector. Construction starts in the U.S. fell 10 per cent in May to 593,000 on an annualized basis, driven by a 17-per-cent plunge for single family homes. Applications for new building permits also fell, dropping 5.9 per cent to their lowest level in a year, the government said. After being supported by the government's tax credit, the expected buckling in housing activity has now begun," said BMO Nesbitt Burns senior economist Jennifer Lee. "There is no question that the underlying tone in housing remains weak." Read the story
Canada's housing market slips Canada's residential real estate market stalled in May, ending more than a year of hefty gains, at least temporarily. The Canadian Real Estate Association said today sales fell 9.5 per cent from April while average prices rose just 0.5 per cent. Still, the average price of $346,881 remains more than 8 per cent above the level of a year earlier. "An early and frequent contributor to the overall economic recovery, the housing market is cooling its jets in response to a number of factors where, on balance, headwinds are becoming stronger than tailwinds," said Toronto-Dominion Bank senior economist Pascal Gauthier. "...Nonetheless, the housing market slowdown should be cushioned by an improving employment and income picture." Read the story
Money managers to merge Sceptre Investment Counsel Ltd. is merging with Fiera Capital Inc., a marriage that will form a money manager with $30-billion in assets under management. The deal is valued at more than $70-million based on Sceptre's stock price. The new firm will be named Fiera Sceptre, and, the companies said, will be "one of only a handful of independent, full service, multi-product investment firms in Canada." Read the story
Nokia cuts forecast Nokia Corp. shares slumped today as it cut its outlook for the second quarter and full year, continuing to face mounting competition from the likes of the iPhone from Apple Inc. and the BlackBerry from Research in Motion Ltd. Nokia, the biggest mobile phone manufacturer in the world said it expects revenues in its handset unit will now be below its earlier forecast of €6.7-billion to €7.2-billion in the quarter.
From today's Report on Business:
As slick spreads, oil sands beckon
How burritos and cupcakes helped British bankers slip their 'golden handcuffs'
And, read Kevin Carmichael's G/8 G20 Global View summit blog