Monday, September 11, 2006, 4:15 PM EST (Thomson Financial Corporate
Services): As their Wall Street counterparts opened trading with a moment
of silence, Bay Street also commemorated the victims of 9/11/01. Trading
was low- key and nearly flat in New York, but the TSX plunged three digits
on lowered commodities. News that Telus (and possibly Bell Canada) were
forming income trusts lifted the telecom sector, but not enough to offset a
day-long tumble as oil declined, gold finally travelled below the US$600
threshold, and base metals slumped.
* The S&P/TSX Stock Exchange Composite Index tumbled 213.02 points, or 1.79%.
* Telus has decided to become an income trust, the largest one in
Canada. Its stock shot up, as did that of Bell Canada in hopes it will
follow Telus' example. Telus also announced it would invest C$600 million
to improve its broadband connections in the West and Quebec between
2007-2009. It will be the first large Canadian telecom to reorganize itself
in this form.
* Barrick Gold plans to sell its 50% stake in South Africa's South Deep
Mine to Gold Fields Ltd. for US$1.5 billion, US$1.2 billion of it in cash.
The Deep Mine was part of Barrick's Placer Dome purchase of last year.
* Steelmaker Ipsco has purchased the NS Group of Kentucky for US$1.5
billion, all in cash. Since NS specializes in steel tubes, Ipsco is now
positioned to supply the booming energy sector of the West.
* As the dust settles in the merger battles of the mining giants,
mid-size Skye, the nickel miner, is next on the list to be courted.
Companies such as CVRD, BHP Billiton, and Xstrata have started to make
offers; with a capitalization of only C$477 million, Skye will be a small
but strategic acquisition.
* OPEC, at its meeting in Vienna, decided to leave its production
targets unchanged at 28 million barrels per day, easing any fears of
undersupply in the face of weather or geopolitical problems. Oil slipped
under US$66 and stayed there, closing down US$0.64 at US$65.61, a 5-1/2
month low.
* Gold prices dropped US$20 to end at US$597.30, as traders unloaded
their reserves when prices dropped below the US$600 sell-off point.
* The annual Canadian housing start rate fell to 213,700 in August,
down from 236,500 the previous month. This is the first time it has been
down in three months; the drop was mostly in urban multiple units, with
single-family homes declining only slightly, according to the Canadian
Mortgage and Housing Corp.
-- Carolyn.Crapo@contractor.Thomson.com; Thomson Financial Corporate
Services
This is Thomson Financial Corporate Services Canadian Commentary, which
is updated twice daily. The information herein is believed to be true and
accurate, we take no responsibility for inaccurate information and reserve
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SOURCE Thomson Financial Corporate Group
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