by The Canadian Press - Story: 97572
Sep 3, 2013 / 8:27 am
Photo: The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
People walk in Toronto's financial district in Toronto, on Oct. 29, 2012. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
TORONTO - The Toronto stock market headed for a strong start to September trading amid improved manufacturing data from China while the chances of a military strike against Syria faded.
The tech sector should also be supportive for the TSX after Microsoft Corp. announced it was buying Nokia Corp.’s lineup of smartphones and a portfolio of patents and services. BlackBerry (TSX:BB) stock was up 3.6 per cent in pre-market trading in New York.
Also, telecoms are likely to advance after U.S. telecom giant Verizon Communications Inc. said it is no longer interested in entering the Canadian wireless market.
The Canadian dollar was little changed, down 0.03 of a cent to 94.94 cents US.
U.S. futures were also higher as traders weighed the chances of president Barack Obama getting congressional approval for punishing Syria for the alleged sarin gas attack outside Damascus Aug. 21 that U.S. intelligence says killed 1,429 people, including more than 400 children.
A vote could come once Congress returns from its summer break, which is scheduled to end Sept. 9.
The Dow Jones industrial futures ran ahead 83 points to 14,878, the Nasdaq futures gained 20 points to 3,093.5 and the S&P 500 futures were up 13 points to 1,644.25.
Microsoft is paying €5.44 billion (US$7.2 billion) in an attempt to strengthen its fight with Apple Inc. and Google Inc. to capture a slice of the lucrative mobile computing market.
The proposed price consists of €3.79 billion for the Nokia unit that makes mobile phones, including its line of Lumia smartphones that run Windows Phone software. Another €1.65 billion will be paid for a 10-year licence to use Nokia’s patents, with the option to extend it indefinitely.
The deal came down a day after Verizon said it was paying US$130 billion for the 45 per cent stake in Verizon Wireless owned by British cellphone carrier Vodafone.
Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam also suggested in an interview with Bloomberg that speculation Verizon might try to compete in Canada was "way overblown."
The spectre of competition in the Canadian wireless market from the big U.S. telco had pushed Canadian telecom stocks well off their 52-week highs over the last few of months.
It also became a political hot potato, pitting the Conservatives against the three big Canadian telcos. Rogers Communications (TSX:RCI.B), BCE Inc. (TSX:BCE) and Telus Corp. (TSX:T) argued that the upcoming spectrum auction process was set up to favour foreign competitors and disadvantage Canadian incumbents.
They have complained that foreign companies are given advantages since under the auction rules they’re treated like a new player entering the Canadian market.
On the commodity markets, oil prices backed away for a third day as the chances of an immediate U.S.-led punitive strike against Syria faded. The October crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange was down 35 cents to US$107.30 a barrel.
Copper prices ran ahead following two reports — both released Monday — that showed China’s manufacturing sector improved last month after prolonged weakness. China is the world's biggest consumer of copper, which itself is an economic barometer as it is used in so many applications.
The HSBC purchasing managers’ index rose to 50.1 points in August, a level that indicates expansion as output and new orders edged up slightly and order backlogs rose at the fastest pace in two years. The official China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing PMI showed increasing expansion, rising to 51 from July’s 50, which was the highest level in 16 months.
December copper gained five cents to US$3.29 a pound.
Gold bullion edged lower, with the December contract fading $1.30 to US$1,394.80 an ounce.
European bourses slipped lower as London's FTSE index moved down 0.1 per cent, Frankfurt's DAX declined 0.33 per cent and the Paris CAC 40 dipped 0.18 per cent.
Earlier in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index jumped three per cent, South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.5 per cent, Australia’s S&P ASX/200 added 0.2 per cent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng advanced one per cent.
by The Canadian Press - Story: 97583
Sep 3, 2013 / 7:22 am
Photo: The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam speaks in a Jan. 8, 2013 photo in Las Vegas. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Julie Jacobson
Shares in Canada's big three telecom companies are surging on news that U.S. giant Verizon said it's no longer interested in entering Canada's wireless market.
Stock in Rogers (TSX:RCI.B) soared the most in early trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange, up 10.3 per cent, or $4.28, to $45.87.
Telus (TSX:T) bounced up 6.4 per cent, or $2.17, to $34.86, while BCE (TSX:BCE) was up 5.6 per cent, or $2.41, at $45.60.
Rogers, Telus and Bell say they've had a cumulative loss of $14.7 billion on the capital markets since the news broke in June that Verizon was considering entering Canada.
But with Verizon no longer interested in moving north, it leaves the federal Conservatives with no obvious source of serious competition to the existing big three players.
Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam said on the weekend that speculation that his company might try to compete in Canada was "way overblown." His remarks came after Verizon announced it was spending US$130 billion to buy out a big stake held in the company by U.K.-based Vodafone.
by The Canadian Press - Story: 97570
Sep 3, 2013 / 6:50 am
HELSINKI - Microsoft Corp. is buying Nokia Corp.'s line-up of smartphones and a portfolio of patents and services in an attempt to mount a more formidable challenge to Apple Inc. and Google Inc. as more technological tasks get done on mobile devices instead of personal computers.
The 5.44 billion euros ($7.2 billion) deal announced late Monday marks a major step in Microsoft's push to transform itself from a software maker focused on making operating systems and applications for desktop and laptop computers into a more versatile and nimble company that delivers services on any kind of Internet-connected gadget.
Microsoft, which is based in Redmond, Wash., is being forced to evolve because people are increasingly pursuing their digital lives on smartphones and tablet computers, causing the demand for PCs to shrivel. The shift is weakening Microsoft, which has dominated the PC software market for the past 30 years, and empowering Apple, the maker of the trend-setting iPhone and iPad, and Google, which gives away the world's most popular mobile operating system, Android.
Nokia, based in Espoo, Finland, and Microsoft have been trying to make inroads in the smartphone market as part of a partnership forged in 2011. Under the alliance, Nokia's Lumia smartphones has run on Microsoft's Windows software, but those devices haven't emerged as a popular alternative to the iPhone or an array of Android-powered devices spearheaded by Samsung Electronics' smartphones and tablets.
Microsoft is betting it will have a better chance of narrowing the gap if it seizes complete control over how the mobile devices work with its Windows software.
"It's a bold step into the future — a win-win for employees, shareholders and consumers of both companies," Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said in a statement.
Investors in Nokia welcomed the deal and its price, sending shares in the company over 38 per cent higher to 4.10 euros in early trading Tuesday in Helsinki.
The acquisition is being made at the same time that Microsoft is looking for a new leader. Just 10 days ago, Ballmer, 57, announced he will relinquish the CEO reins within the next year in a move that many analysts regarded as Microsoft's tacit admission that the company needed an infusion of fresh blood to revitalize itself.
The deal could fuel speculation that Nokia's CEO, former Microsoft executive Stephon Elop, a Canadian, will emerge as a top candidate to succeed Ballmer.
Elop, a graduate of McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont., will step aside as Nokia's president and CEO to become executive vice-president of Nokia devices and services in preparation for joining Microsoft once the acquisition closes. Chairman Risto Siilasmaa will stay in his current role and assume the duties of interim CEO.
Microsoft hopes to complete the deal early next year. If that timetable pans out, about 32,000 Nokia employees will transfer to Microsoft, which currently has about 99,000 workers.
The proposed price consists of 3.79 billion euros ($5 billion) for the Nokia unit that makes mobile phones, including its line of Lumia smartphones that run Windows Phone software. Another 1.65 billion euros ($2.2 billion) will be paid for a 10-year license to use Nokia's patents, with the option to extend it indefinitely.
It will represent the second most expensive acquisition in Microsoft's 38-year history, ranking behind an $8.5 billion purchase of Internet calling and video conferencing service Skype. Tony Bates, who ran Skype, is also regarded as a potential successor to Ballmer.
The money to buy Nokia's smartphones and patents will be drawn from the nearly $70 billion that Microsoft held in overseas accounts as of June 30.
Microsoft expansion into mobile devices hasn't fared well so far. Last year, the company began selling a line of tablets called Surface in hopes of undercutting Apple's iPad. The version of Surface running on a revamped version of Microsoft's Windows operating system fared so poorly that the company absorbed a $900 million charge in its last quarter to account for the flop.
Nokia plans to hold a news conference in Finland on Tuesday morning to discuss the deal. Microsoft executives will elaborate on their rationale for the deal shortly after Nokia wraps up its presentation.
— With files from The Canadian Press
by The Canadian Press - Story: 97579
Sep 3, 2013 / 6:39 am
Photo: The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Canadian dollars (loonies) are pictured in Vancouver, Sept. 22, 2011. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
The Canadian dollar was higher Tuesday with nervousness receding somewhat on markets as it appeared that military action against Syria is not imminent.
The currency advanced 0.04 of a cent to 95.01 cents US after President Barack Obama said during the Labour Day weekend that Congress would be asked to vote on authorizing a strike to punish Syria for an alleged sarin gas attack outside Damascus on Aug. 21 that U.S. intelligence says killed 1,429 people.
A vote could come once Congress returns from its summer break, which is scheduled to end Sept. 9.
The key event for the week that could affect the dollar is the Bank of Canada's interest rate announcement on Wednesday.
The bank is widely expected to leave its key rate unchanged at one per cent, where it has been since September 2010. As usual, traders will look to any change in language in the accompanying statement that would change the consensus that the central bank won't move on rates until late 2014.
Jobs data will also weigh on markets this week.
Statistics Canada is expected to report Friday that the economy created about 30,000 jobs in August.
But markets are especially anxious to see how U.S. job creation fared in August. The consensus calls for the American economy to have cranked out about 180,000 jobs but recent data showing continuing declines in the numbers of people applying for jobless benefits have led some to think that number could be much higher.
In any event, traders hope the data will provide another clue as to whether the U.S. Federal Reserve will start to pare its monthly US$85 billion of bond purchases, which have kept long term rates low and fuelled a strong rally on many stock markets.
by The Canadian Press - Story: 97569
Sep 3, 2013 / 4:00 am
OTTAWA - It's a coming war of words between Ottawa and the Quebec government that you can take to the bank.
Premier Pauline Marois's Parti Quebecois government introduced a bill in the spring that would create an economic development bank for the province, offering loans and seed money for new businesses.
But the proposed legislation, still stuck in the national assembly, has stirred a linguistic tempest in the federal Finance Department because the new entity is to be called a "banque" — or "bank" in English.
Federal law forbids provinces or territories from calling development agencies or any other such institutions "banks," reserving that term for federal institutions and banks certified under the Bank Act.
The minority PQ government floated the plan last November, promising to consolidate existing investment and development activity into a "Banque de developpement economique du Quebec," introducing the enabling Bill 36 in April.
The troublesome word "banque," however, set off alarm bells in the federal Finance Department, which has since been gingerly tip-toeing through linguistic and political minefields — especially fraught now with a sovereigntist party ruling Quebec.
"There is a long-standing prohibition in the Bank Act on using the terms 'bank,' 'banker' or 'banking' and their equivalent in other languages," says one of several briefing notes on the issue for Finance Minister Jim Flaherty.
"The legislation prohibits any entity from using the term 'bank,' except for banks and affiliated entities created by a federal Act of Parliament ... and non-financial entities, e.g., The Toronto Daily Bread Food Bank."
Says another note: "Provincial financial services providers are not permitted to use the term."
Flaherty's advisers said Ottawa's banking czar — the superintendent of financial institutions — does have the power to grant some exemptions, but only to federally recognized banks that want to establish related entities.
"Contravention is a criminal offence that is punishable by either fine or imprisonment," the notes warn.
Heavily censored copies of the Flaherty briefing materials, dating from January to May this year, were obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act.
A spokesman for Flaherty's department said the issue remains unresolved, but that Ottawa has contacted the Marois government about the matter.
"The Department of Finance is aware of the proposal and discussions have occurred with the provincial government," David Barnabe said in response to questions.
"No exemption from the Bank Act requirements has been granted by the superintendent of financial institutions."
A spokeswoman for Quebec Finance Minister Nicolas Marceau confirmed that federal officials have contacted the office about the prohibition.
But Melanie Malenfant says the Marois government is more focused on finding a way to pass Bill 36 in the minority assembly than on sorting out an acceptable name.
Provincial officials have previously questioned why Ottawa can create an equivalent agency — the Business Development Bank of Canada — using the word 'bank' while the provinces are forbidden to do so for their own regional-development funds or holding companies.
The Parti Quebecois' proposed "Charter of Quebec Values," which would include a ban on religious headwear for public employees, also appears to be stoking tensions with the federal government.
Asked about the charter in Toronto last week, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said "we know that the separatist government in Quebec would love to pick fights with Ottawa."
"But that's not our business. Our business is the economy. Our business is job-creation for Canadians — all Canadians, including Quebecers."
At the same time Harper said the federal government also has a responsibility to defend minorities. "Our job is social inclusion."
by The Canadian Press - Story: 97568
Sep 3, 2013 / 3:51 am
Photo: The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
In this photo taken on Thursday, Aug. 15, 2013, employees set up signs outside the flagship store of Finnish mobile phone manufacturer Nokia in Helsinki, Finland. Microsoft Corp. is buying Nokia Corp.'s devices and services business, and getting access to the company's patents, for a total of 5.44 billion euros ($7.2 billion) in an effort to expand its share of the smartphone market, the companies announced late Monday, Sept. 2, 2013. (AP Photo/Lehtikuva, Mikko Stig) FINLAND OUT
REDMOND, Wash. - Microsoft is buying Nokia's line-up of smartphones and a portfolio of patents and services in an attempt to mount a more formidable challenge to Apple and Google as more people pursue their lives on mobile devices.
The 5.44 billion euros ($7.2 billion) deal announced late Monday marks a major step in Microsoft's push to transform itself from a software maker focused on making operating systems and applications for desktop and laptop computers into a more versatile and nimble company that delivers services on any kind of Internet-connected gadget.
Microsoft, which is based in Redmond, Wash., is being forced to evolve because people are increasingly pursuing their digital lives on smartphones and tablet computers, causing the demand for PCs to shrivel. The shift is weakening Microsoft, which has dominated the PC software market for the past 30 years, and empowering Apple, the maker of the trend-setting iPhone and iPad, and Google, which gives away the world's most popular mobile operating system, Android.
Nokia, based in Espoo, Finland, and Microsoft have been trying to make inroads in the smartphone market as part of a partnership forged in 2011. Under the alliance, Nokia's Lumia smartphones have run on Microsoft's Windows software, but those devices haven't emerged as a popular alternative to the iPhone or an array of Android-powered devices spearheaded by Samsung Electronics' smartphones and tablets.
Microsoft is betting it will have a better chance of narrowing the gap if it seizes complete control over how the mobile devices work with its Windows software.
"It's a bold step into the future — a win-win for employees, shareholders and consumers of both companies," Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said in a statement.
The acquisition is being made at the same time that Microsoft is looking for a new leader. Just 10 days ago, Ballmer, 57, announced he will relinquish the CEO reins within the next year in a move that many analysts regarded as Microsoft's tacit admission that the company needed an infusion of fresh blood to revitalize itself.
The deal could fuel speculation that Nokia's CEO, former Microsoft executive Stephon Elop, will emerge as a top candidate to succeed Ballmer. Elop will step aside as Nokia's president and CEO to become executive vice-president of Nokia devices and services in preparation for joining Microsoft once the acquisition closes. Chairman Risto Siilasmaa will stay in his current role and assume the duties of interim CEO.
Microsoft hopes to complete the deal early next year. If that timetable pans out, about 32,000 Nokia employees will transfer to Microsoft, which currently has about 99,000 workers.
The proposed price consists of 3.79 billion euros ($5 billion) for the Nokia unit that makes mobile phones, including its line of Lumia smartphones that run Windows Phone software. Another 1.65 billion euros ($2.2 billion) will be paid for a 10-year license to use Nokia's patents, with the option to extend it indefinitely.
It will represent the second most expensive acquisition in Microsoft's 38-year history, ranking behind an $8.5 billion purchase of Internet calling and video conferencing service Skype. Tony Bates, who ran Skype, is also regarded as a potential successor to Ballmer.
The money to buy Nokia's smartphones and patents will be drawn from the nearly $70 billion that Microsoft held in overseas accounts as of June 30.
Microsoft expansion into mobile devices hasn't fared well so far. Last year, the company began selling a line of tablets called Surface in hopes of undercutting Apple's iPad. The version of Surface running on a revamped version of Microsoft's Windows operating system fared so poorly that the company absorbed a $900 million charge in its last quarter to account for the flop.
Nokia plans to hold a news conference in Finland on Tuesday morning to discuss the deal. Microsoft executives will elaborate on their rationale for the deal shortly after Nokia wraps up its presentation.
by The Canadian Press - Story: 97567
Sep 3, 2013 / 12:11 am
REDMOND, Wash. - Microsoft Corp. is buying Nokia Corp.'s devices and services business, and getting access to the company's patents, for a total of 5.44 billion euros ($7.2 billion) in an effort to expand its share of the smartphone market, the companies announced late Monday.
Microsoft will pay 3.79 billion euros ($5 billion) for the Nokia unit that makes mobile phones, including its line of Lumia smartphones that run Windows Phone software.
Microsoft is also paying 1.65 billion euros ($2.2 billion) for a 10-year license to use Nokia's patents, with the option to extend it indefinitely.
"We are very excited about the proposal to bring the best mobile device efforts of Microsoft and Nokia together," Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said in a memo to employees. "We are receiving incredible talent, technology and IP (intellectual property)."
Microsoft said it is acquiring Nokia's Asha brand of low to mid-level smartphones and will license the Nokia brand for current Nokia mobile products.
"This element provides Microsoft with the opportunity to extend its service offerings to a far wider group around the world while allowing Nokia's mobile phones to serve as an on-ramp to Windows Phone," the companies said in a joint statement.
Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft said it will draw from its overseas cash resources to fund the transaction. When the deal closes in early 2014, about 32,000 Nokia employees will transfer to Microsoft, the companies said.
Nokia, based in Espoo, Finland, said Stephen Elop will step down as president and CEO as the deal moves forward. The companies said he is expected to transfer to Microsoft, along with several Nokia vice-presidents.
Nokia said Chairman Risto Siilasmaa will stay in his current role and assume the duties of interim CEO.
Nokia plans to hold a news conference in Finland on Tuesday morning to discuss the deal.
by The Canadian Press - Story: 97564
Sep 2, 2013 / 11:43 pm
REDMOND, Wash. - Microsoft says it is buying Nokia's devices and services business, and getting access to the company's patents, for a total of 5.44 billion euros ($7.2 billion) in an effort to expand its share of the smartphone market.
Nokia confirmed the deal in a joint news release from the two companies Monday night.
In the statement, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer says the deal will bring Nokia's capability and talent in hardware design, engineering, manufacturing, sales, marketing and distribution to Microsoft.
The companies say that when the deal closes in early 2014, about 32,000 Nokia Corp. employees will transfer to Microsoft Corp.
Nokia plans to hold a news conference in Espoo, Finland, on Tuesday morning.
by The Canadian Press - Story: 97566
Sep 2, 2013 / 8:54 pm
Photo: Contributed
Microsoft says it is buying Nokia's devices and services business, and getting access to the company's patents, for a total of 5.44 billion euros ($7.2 billion) in an effort to expand its share of the smartphone market.
Nokia confirmed the deal in a joint news release from the two companies Monday night.
In the statement, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer says the deal will bring Nokia's capability and talent in hardware design, engineering, manufacturing, sales, marketing and distribution to Microsoft.
The companies say that when the deal closes in early 2014, about 32,000 Nokia Corp. employees will transfer to Microsoft Corp.
Nokia plans to hold a news conference in Espoo, Finland, on Tuesday morning.
by The Canadian Press - Story: 97560
Sep 2, 2013 / 8:10 pm
TORONTO - If you've opened a newspaper or turned on a radio in the past month or two, you've probably caught the barrage of ads bought by Canada's big wireless companies ominously warning about the perils of a potential move by U.S giant Verizon up north.
The Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association industry group also bought ads suggesting that consumers wouldn't benefit from an American competitor opening shop here. The ads quoted two independent reports that claim our prices are lower than what consumers pay in the U.S.
"Wireless rates in Canada are typically lower than in the U.S., in some cases up to 40 per cent lower and smartphone monthly plans are actually less expensive in Canada than in the U.S.," read the ads.
Bell, Rogers and Telus got good news on Sunday, when Verizon said it currently has no interest in moving to Canada.
But are the claims of low Canadian prices true? The Canadian Press compared the prices currently being promoted by the larger mobile providers on both sides of the border to see how the numbers stacked up. The comparison omits pre-paid packages and does not account for activation costs and other fees, which are sometimes waived by promotions. But keep in mind many carriers do charge $35 as a setup fee, which amortizes to just under $1.50 a month on a two-year contract. All prices are before taxes.
Phone only
It may be difficult for web-obsessed users to imagine, but some consumers still see their mobile device as a telephone first. For them, the cheapest rate offered by both Rogers and Bell is $30 for 200 minutes of talk time. In the U.S., it doesn't get cheaper than $40 for a basic voice plan.
Cheapest data package
It'll cost you at least $45 to $50 to get a package that includes an allotment of megabytes to use for mobile web browsing, with Bell currently offering the best deal: 150 minutes of talk time and 400 megabytes of Internet activity for $45. U.S. pricing is no cheaper, although T-Mobile offers a plan for just $5 more that includes unlimited calling and 500 megabytes of data.
Unlimited calling, two gigabytes of data
Here, Americans get a better deal. Bells and Rogers have promotions at this tier for $75 a month. A similar plan with T-Mobile in the U.S. is $60 and it comes with 2.5 gigabytes of data.
All-you-can-download data plan
The U.S. companies win this one by default, since Bell, Rogers and Telus don't offer unlimited data plans. T-Mobile charges $70 for unlimited calls and data while Sprint bills $80 for that plan. Meanwhile, a Bell promo is currently offering unlimited calling and six gigabytes of data for $105.
Shareable plans
Most mobile carriers are encouraging consumers to round up their family members on a single bill to get group savings. With Rogers, for example, two users can get unlimited calling and share an allotment of six gigabytes at a cost of $80 each. If three users are on the same plan sharing those six gigabytes, the price drops to about $72 each. In the U.S. with Sprint and T-Mobile, unlimited data and calling for two users on a shared account is $75 each. It's just $50 apiece for three users on T-Mobile.
What's Verizon's best deal?
More competition is always a good thing but there's not much about Verizon's current pricing down south to really get Canadian consumers excited — even if the company was interested in moving here. Verizon is heavily pushing the shared-plan concept, to the detriment of individual customers. The cheapest voice and data plan is $80 for unlimited calling and 500 megabytes to surf with. Rogers and Bell are currently charging $60 for the same package. The shared plans offer better value, especially with three or more users on the same account, but are still pretty close to Canadian pricing.
So who's got the better prices?
There is no definitive answer as to whether there's better mobile pricing in Canada or the U.S.; consumers in both countries win some and lose some. We get the best deals on cheaper, low-end plans. Consumers who are willing to give the smaller mobile providers a shot in some cases they're owned by the big three mobile companies anyway can sometimes find better pricing with those upstarts. But Americans do seem to enjoy more economical access to the mobile web and can burn through gigabytes at a lower cost.
by The Canadian Press - Story: 97559
Sep 2, 2013 / 7:59 pm
NEW YORK, N.Y. - TV network CBS and cable provider Time Warner Cable have ended their monthlong dispute and resumed broadcast programming in millions of homes in New York, Dallas and Los Angeles.
The agreement ends a blackout of CBS and CBS-owned channels that included Showtime Networks, CBS Sports Network and the Smithsonian channel. The contract disagreement started Aug. 2 and affected more than 3 million homes. Broadcasting resumed Monday evening on the East Coast.
The companies were in dispute over how much Time Warner Cable Inc. would pay for CBS Corp. programming. Terms of the deal haven't been disclosed.
The agreement includes retransmission fees the cable operator pays to CBS per subscriber, which had been a sticking point.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
TV network CBS and cable provider Time Warner Cable have ended their payment dispute and expect programming to resume in millions of homes Monday night.
The agreement ends a monthlong blackout of CBS and CBS-owned channels including Showtime Networks, CBS Sports Network and the Smithsonian channel that affected more than three million homes in Dallas, Los Angeles and New York and began Aug. 2.
The companies were in dispute about how much Time Warner Cable Inc. would pay for CBS Corp. programming. Specific terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The disagreement comes at a touchy time for networks and cable companies as more and more Americans are turning to alternative ways to watch TV including online or via Roku boxes or Apple TV.
The agreement includes retransmission fees that the cable operator pays to CBS per subscriber, which had been a sticking point.
Added pressure was on the two companies to reach an agreement since the start of football season and the U.S Open tennis tournament had begun in New York.
The blackout affected about 1.1 million of New York's 7.4 million television households that get CBS. An estimated 1.3 million of 5.6 million households in Los Angeles were blacked out, along with 400,000 of Dallas' 2.6 million TV homes, CBS said. Those are three of the nation's five most populous television markets.
CBS estimates the blackout cuts the network's national viewership by about 1 per cent.
The talks were being closely watched beyond these companies and their customers because of the idea that a retransmission agreement will set a precedent for future negotiations between different networks and cable or satellite companies. Another point of contention was the cable operator's access to CBS material for on-demand or mobile device viewing.
"While we certainly didn't get everything we wanted, ultimately we ended up in a much better place than when we started," said Time Warner Cable's CEO Glenn Britt in a statement.
by The Canadian Press - Story: 97555
Sep 2, 2013 / 5:56 pm
TORONTO - The head of Verizon Communications Inc. says the company is no longer interested in entering the Canadian market.
Spokesman Bob Varettoni says Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam made the announcement Monday after Verizon agreed to pay US$130 billion for the 45 per cent stake in Verizon Wireless owned by British cellphone carrier Vodafone.
Varettoni says McAdam said Verizon doesn't have an interest in going to Canada, adding "at this point in time we're not interested in entering the Canadian wireless market."
The prospect of Verizon entering the Canadian market had caused a stir among Canadian wireless carriers.
The big wireless providers argued that big foreign players like Verizon would be given an unfair advantage under the current wireless rules.
They also launched a media campaign to warn that they would be at a disadvantage if Verizon were allowed into the market under the current set of rules.
by The Canadian Press - Story: 97550
Sep 2, 2013 / 5:41 pm
NEW YORK, N.Y. - CBS and Time Warner Cable have ended their payment dispute and expect programming to resume in millions of homes by 6 p.m. ET on Monday.
The agreement ends a monthlong blackout of CBS and CBS-owned channels including Showtime Networks, CBS Sports Network, the Smithsonian channel that affected three million homes in Dallas, Los Angeles and New York and began Aug. 2.
Specific terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The agreement includes retransmission fees that the cable operator pays to CBS per subscriber, which had been a sticking point.
Added pressure was on the two companies to reach an agreement since the start of football season, plus the U.S Open tennis tournament, are slated for next weekend.
by The Canadian Press - Story: 97552
Sep 2, 2013 / 2:52 pm
Photo: Contributed - possiblebypopculture.com
CBS and Time Warner Cable have ended their payment dispute and expect programming to resume in millions of homes by 6 p.m. ET on Monday.
The agreement ends a monthlong blackout of CBS and CBS-owned channels including Showtime Networks, CBS Sports Network, the Smithsonian channel that affected three million homes in Dallas, Los Angeles and New York and began Aug. 2.
Specific terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The agreement includes retransmission fees that the cable operator pays to CBS per subscriber, which had been a sticking point.
Added pressure was on the two companies to reach an agreement since the start of football season, plus the U.S Open tennis tournament, are slated for next weekend.
by The Canadian Press - Story: 97546
Sep 2, 2013 / 12:57 pm
Photo: Contributed - getmoneyenergy.com
The Toronto stock market is in for a volatile week as traders deal with uncertainty surrounding intervention in Syria's civil war and speculation about whether the latest jobs data will further persuade the U.S. Federal Reserve to start winding up a key stimulus program.
On top of that, September has a well-deserved reputation of being a negative month for equity markets.
"You have seasonality, uncertainty with the Fed, uncertainty with Syria, the economic impact to what’s going on in the Mideast," said Philip Petursson, director of institutional equities at Manulife Asset Management.
"Syria will influence or impact oil prices, which could impact gasoline prices, which is a drag on economic growth in the back half of the year. There’s a lot of uncertainty."
The TSX closed last week lower but registered a 1.33 per cent gain for the month of August led by gains in gold stocks as investors bought up oversold gold miners while gold prices hit US$1,420 an ounce this week, a 3 1/2 month high amid escalating tensions in the Middle East and volatile currency markets.
Base metal miners also had a strong month on improving economic data out of China, the world's biggest consumer of copper.
The TSX actually outperformed U.S. markets, with the Dow industrials and the S&P 500 both falling away from recent highs that left the Dow up about 20 per cent for the year.
The Dow ended the month down 4.44 per cent, partly because of profit taking.
Markets were volatile last week as traders tried to assess whether the U.S. will lead a military strike to punish the Syrian government after an alleged chemical weapons attack. The international aid group Doctors Without Borders says at least 355 people were killed in the Aug. 21 attack in a suburb of the Syrian capital of Damascus.
"It seems like the U.S. is determined to make a strike in absence of UN support and that will create a fair bit of uncertainty in the marketplace," said Petursson.
Traders will also look ahead to mid-September and the Federal Reserve's next interest rate meeting.
Suspense has been building since late May when Fed chairman Ben Bernanke first mentioned the possibility that the central bank might cut back on its monthly US$85 billion of bond purchases, which have kept long term rates low and encouraged a rally on many stock markets this year.
Some analysts think that traders have accepted the strong possibility that the Fed will start cutting back on those asset purchases this month and wrap them up by mid-2014. The big question is the pace of that tapering.
"I think it has been priced into the markets," said Andrew Pyle, Senior Wealth Advisor and Portfolio Manager at ScotiaMcLeod in Peterborough, Ont.
"So unless they do something completely outside of that, like cutting the bond purchases in half, or if the Syrian situation continues to push oil prices higher and higher so the gasoline price is a negative for the economy then they could turn around in September and say, OK, not this month."
The Fed takes in one more major economic report prior to its meeting Sept. 18 — the non-farm payrolls report for August.
Investors are looking for the government to report that the economy created 180,000 jobs, up from 162,000 in July.
But data showing falling numbers of Americans filling for jobless benefits has persuaded some traders that the number could come in much higher.
"I’m hearing a lot of whisper numbers of 320,000 or 330,000," said Pyle.
"Maybe this is the month we get the real pop."
But he cautioned that such a strong read would roil markets because in addition to cementing the decision to start tapering, the data would raise concerns that the Fed will wind up its stimulus program sooner than thought.
Canadian employment data for August also comes out on Friday and economists expect that the economy created 20,000 jobs and that the jobless rate will stay steady at 7.2 per cent.
Such a positive showing would follow dismal jobs data for July when 39,000 jobs were lost.
Currency traders will also look to see the effect of the Bank of Canada's interest rate announcement on the beaten-down Canadian dollar.
The Bank of Canada is widely expected to leave its key rate unchanged at one per cent, where it has been since Sept., 2010. As usual, traders will look to any change in language in the accompanying statement that would change the consensus that the central bank won't move on rates until late 2014.
The loonie has tumbled about 2 1/2 cents during August on speculation about the Fed tapering its asset purchases. The greenback has also gained against many other currencies on worries about fighting in the Mideast spreading.
by The Canadian Press - Story: 97533
Sep 2, 2013 / 12:34 pm
NEW YORK, N.Y. - Verizon will own its wireless business outright after agreeing to a $140 billion deal to buy the 45 per cent stake of Verizon Wireless owned by British cellphone company Vodafone.
The deal announced Monday would give Vodafone PLC additional cash to pursue its expansion ambitions in Europe. It would also give Verizon Communications Inc. the opportunity to boost its quarterly earnings, as it would no longer have to share a portion of Verizon Wireless' proceeds with Vodafone.
The change isn't expected to have much of an effect on Verizon consumers or on its operations. Vodafone had little influence on Verizon Wireless' operations.
Verizon has had a long-standing interest in buying out its partner, but the two companies couldn't agree on a price until now.
by The Canadian Press - Story: 97532
Sep 2, 2013 / 11:55 am
OTTAWA - The prime minister's advisers have dismissed a warning by a respected think tank that ultra-low interest rates need to start rising now to avoid damage to the Canadian economy.
In a paper for the C.D. Howe Institute, economist Paul Masson argued in May that the Bank of Canada should nudge rates higher to forestall real-estate bubbles, excessive household debt, pension-fund woes and other dangers.
But a May 31 briefing note requested by Stephen Harper's office on the controversial paper notes that Masson's arguments are "at odds" with the views of most economists.
And it says the central bank cannot act as if Canada is an island while the United States, Europe, Japan and England continue to hold rates down to help prime their anaemic economies.
The note, signed by the clerk of the Privy Council, advises Harper that the costs of raising Canada's interest rates would outweigh the benefits.
A heavily censored copy of the document was obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act.
"The (C.D. Howe) report has captured some attention in the media, as the call for raising interest rates immediately stands at odds with the views of most economists and market players," says the five-page analysis.
"The costs of raising interest rates well ahead of other major economies would likely outweigh the benefits."
Harper, who has a master's degree in economics from the University of Calgary, is frequently briefed on think-tank publications focusing on the economy.
Masson is a widely respected economist, employed at various times by the Bank of Canada, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, the International Monetary Fund and elsewhere. He was special adviser to Canada's central bank in 2007-2008.
Now a research fellow at Toronto's Rotman School of Management, Masson argued in his May 15 paper that Canada's economy suffered less of a downturn than did other industrial nations after the 2008-09 meltdown, and low rates are now harming rather than helping.
"Short-term rates are ... too low in Canada, a situation that is starting to build in pervasive problems for the economy," he wrote.
"Below-equilibrium interest rates for an extended period distort investment decisions, leading to excessive risk taking and inefficient and ultimately unprofitable investments.
"They also encourage the formation of asset bubbles whose collapse could lead to a recurrence of the recent financial crisis."
Key sections of the Harper briefing note are censored under provisions of the Access to Information Act that protect advice given to ministers.
The note also highlights a May 29 announcement by the Bank of Canada that low rates will remain in place with the continued slack in the economy and low inflation, suggesting Masson's view is an outlier.
Masson says the briefing note does not rebut his main arguments, merely asserts that Canada will suffer consequences if the Bank of Canada goes alone in raising rates.
And he says that since his article appeared, "financial markets seem to be agreeing with me, pushing up interest rates on traded securities, and the banks have also raised their mortgage rates."
"Central banks may be led to raise rates earlier than was thought likely, especially if the good economic news coming out of the U.S. persists," Masson said in an email.
The Bank of Canada is set to announce its next policy interest rate on Wednesday.
by The Canadian Press - Story: 97523
Sep 2, 2013 / 6:00 am
TORONTO - If you've opened a newspaper or turned on a radio in the past month or two, you've probably caught the barrage of ads bought by Canada's big wireless companies ominously warning about the perils of a potential move by U.S giant Verizon up north.
Other print ads paid for by the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association industry group suggested that consumers wouldn't benefit from an American competitor opening shop here. The ads quote two independent reports that claim our prices are lower than what consumers pay in the U.S.
"Wireless rates in Canada are typically lower than in the U.S., in some cases up to 40 per cent lower and smartphone monthly plans are actually less expensive in Canada than in the U.S.," reads the ad.
Is that true? The Canadian Press compared the prices currently being promoted by the larger mobile providers on both sides of the border to see how the numbers stacked up. The comparison does not account for activation costs and other fees, which are sometimes waived by promotions. But keep in mind many carriers do charge $35 as a setup fee, which amortizes to just under $1.50 a month on a two-year contract. All prices are before taxes.
Phone only
It may be difficult for web-obsessed users to imagine, but some consumers still see their mobile device as a telephone first. For them, the cheapest rate offered by both Rogers and Bell is $30 for 200 minutes of talk time. In the U.S., it doesn't get cheaper than $40 for a basic voice plan.
Cheapest data package
It'll cost you at least $45 to $50 to get a package that includes an allotment of megabytes to use for mobile web browsing, with Bell currently offering the best deal: 150 minutes of talk time and 400 megabytes of Internet activity for $45. U.S. pricing is no cheaper, although T-Mobile offers a plan for just $5 more that includes unlimited calling and 500 megabytes of data.
Unlimited calling, two gigabytes of data
Here, Americans get a better deal. Bells and Rogers have promotions at this tier for $75 a month. A similar plan with T-Mobile in the U.S. is $60 and it comes with 2.5 gigabytes of data.
All-you-can-download data plan
The U.S. companies win this one by default, since Bell, Rogers and Telus don't offer unlimited data plans. T-Mobile charges $70 for unlimited calls and data while Sprint bills $80 for that plan. Meanwhile, a Bell promo is currently offering unlimited calling and six gigabytes of data for $105.
Shareable plans
Most mobile carriers are encouraging consumers to round up their family members on a single bill to get group savings. With Rogers, for example, two users can get unlimited calling and share an allotment of six gigabytes at a cost of $80 each. If three users are on the same plan sharing those six gigabytes, the price drops to about $72 each. In the U.S. with Sprint and T-Mobile, unlimited data and calling for two users on a shared account is $75 each. It's just $50 apiece for three users on T-Mobile.
What's Verizon's best deal?
More competition is always a good thing but there's not much about Verizon's current pricing down south to really get Canadian consumers excited. The company is heavily pushing the shared-plan concept, to the detriment of individual customers. The cheapest voice and data plan is $80 for unlimited calling and 500 megabytes to surf with. Rogers and Bell are currently charging $60 for the same package. The shared plans offer better value, especially with three or more users on the same account, but are still pretty close to Canadian pricing.
So who's got the better prices?
There is no definitive answer as to whether there's better mobile pricing in Canada or the U.S.; consumers in both countries win some and lose some. We get the best deals on cheaper, low-end plans. Consumers who are willing to give the smaller mobile providers a shot in some cases they're owned by the big three mobile companies anyway can sometimes find better pricing with those upstarts. But Americans do seem to enjoy more economical access to the mobile web and can burn through gigabytes at a lower cost.
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