RIM to buy back $1.2B of own stock November 5, 2009
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Research In Motion Ltd. will pay $1.2 billion to buy back 21 million of its common shares, the wireless device company said Thursday.
Three-month stock chart for Research in Motion Ltd. on the TSX.(CBC)
The purchase would represent roughly 3.6 per cent of the company’s current float of shares. RIM hasn’t bought back any of its own shares during the past year.
The plan will take effect starting Nov. 9.
“RIM?s board of directors believes that a share repurchase program at this time is in the best interests of RIM and its shareholders,” the company’s board of directors says in a release. “[It] will not impact RIM?s ability to execute its growth plans given the strength of RIM?s balance sheet and expected cash flow generation over the next several quarters.”
Stock markets reverse recent slide November 3, 2009
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The Toronto stock market closed above 11,000 on Thursday as investor relief over U.S. economic growth helped claw back losses racked up during a four-day tumble.
After four days of declines, the Toronto Stock Exchange was sharply higher on Thursday.(CBC)
The S&P/TSX composite index surged 269.9 points to 11,075.2 after the U.S. Commerce Department reported that the country’s gross domestic product rose at a 3.5 per cent annualized pace during the July to September period, slightly better than the 3.3 per cent growth that economists had expected.
It was the first time the U.S. economy has grown since early 2008 and a sign the recession there has ended.
“I don’t know that it was convincing enough to make everyone feel good again,” said Ted Whitehead, vice-president and senior portfolio manager at MFC Global Investment Management, an asset-management firm with offices in Canada and the United States.
“We can’t keep stimulating the economy [and] with the consumer still strapped, people are kind of questioning what’s next.”
The Toronto market lost 248 points Wednesday, adding to a 728-point loss over four straight sessions after a disappointing report on sales of new U.S. homes helped ignite worries about the pace of a recovery.
The Canadian dollar closed up 1.00 cents to 93.72 cents US.
The December crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose $2.41 to finish trading at $79.87 US a barrel. On Tuesday, a report in the Financial Times newspaper suggested Saudi Arabia is moving to abandon the West Texas Intermediate oil contract as the benchmark for pricing its oil.
New York indexes also charged ahead, with the Dow Jones industrial average up 199.89 points to 9962.58.
The Nasdaq composite index climbed 37.94 points to 2097.55, while the S&P 500 index was up 23.48 points to 1066.11.
With files from The Canadian Press (more…)
Investors in Western Canada warned of stock-repurchasing scam September 30, 2009
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Securities regulators issued an alert to investors Tuesday about a scam that might be operating in all four provinces of Western Canada.
The Alberta Securities Commission (ASC) described it in a news release as a “recovery room” scheme in which individuals contact the owners of thinly traded stocks that have lost value. The scammers offer to buy the shares at inflated prices, ask for a fee to handle the transaction and keep the fee but do not repurchase the stock.
The ASC’s warning is specifically aimed at Alberta investors of York-Rio Resources Inc. and TLC Explorations Inc.
The Saskatchewan Financial Services Commission has halted trading in shares of the Castleton Group, Beltway M&A and by several individuals operating under the names Joshua Stevens, Patrick Thompson, Vick Newman, Daniel Greco and Jim Young.
Similar alerts have been issued by securities regulators in Manitoba and B.C., which said a company called Penn Capital Management Ltd had contacted York-Rio Resources Inc. investors in those provinces about repurchasing their shares at inflated prices for a fee.
The ASC is asking anyone who has been approached with such repurchase offers to contact its public inquiries number at 1-877-355-4488.
Lululemon stock falls on 1st quarter report June 15, 2009
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Lululemon TSX trading over the past month
Shares of Lululemon Athletica Inc. fell from the market opening Thursday after the yoga-focused clothing company reported weak first-quarter results and warned that sales would fall in the current quarter.
Lululemon stock fell $2.26, or 13.4 per cent, to $14.56 in TSX trading.
The company said revenue for the first quarter rose, but profit fell and sales-per-comparable store — a key statistic for retailers — also dropped.
The Vancouver-based company said profit for the 13 weeks ending on May 3 was $6.5 million US (nine cents a diluted share), down from $8.5 million (12 cents) a year earlier.
Revenue was $81.7 million, compared with $77 million a year earlier.
But comparable-store sales fell eight per cent, Lululemon said.
The sales gain of about $4.7 million was swamped by costs that surged by $10.8 million.
For the second quarter, the company said it expects a comparable-store sales drop “in the middle-single digits,” compared with the second quarter of 2008. Revenue will be around $85 million to $90 million and share profit will be eight or nine cents, half the 18 cents reported in the 2008 second quarter.
“Given the troubled outlook for the economy in early 2009 when we began the quarter, we are pleased with the current pace of our business and our ability to continue to bring our customers through our doors to make full price purchases,” chief executive officer Christine Day said in the company’s news release.
The stock-price drop reclaims the gains made since June 3, when shares closed at $14.74 (Cdn). It was as low as $12.65 on May 22.
The 52-week range is $5.60 to $30.50.
The company went public at $18 US in July 2007.
Epcor to sell stock in power operation May 10, 2009
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The municipally owned water and power utility in Edmonton plans to sell investors a quarter of its energy arm.
Epcor Utilities Inc. said Friday that it will form a new unit to hold its power operations and initially sell a 25 per cent stake to the public. It may sell more later, the company said in a news release.
The new company, Capital Power Corp., will fund its growth through capital markets.
“Over the past 10 years, Epcor has grown from operating five power and water plants to more than 50, and both lines of business are continuing to develop growth opportunities that require significant capital,” said Don Lowry, president and CEO.
Capital Power will hold Epcor’s 30.6 per cent stake in Epcor Power LP and be responsible for about 3,300 megawatts of owned and/or operated generation capacity at 31 plants in Canada and the United States.
It plans to build power plants across North America and continue to commercialize near-zero-emission generation technologies.
Based in Edmonton, Capital Power will include about a third of Epcor’s 3,000 employees.
There will be no changes for Epcor’s regulated power and water customers, the company said.
Epcor, which operates as a company and not as a municipal utility, said Friday that it made $104 million profit on revenue of $890 million for the three months ended March 31, compared with $68 million on revenue of $799 million in the same period a year earlier.
The Capital Power spinoff was approved by Edmonton council on April 17. The new company will be headed by Brian Vaasjo, Epcor executive vice-president and chief operating officer.
Epcor expects the Capital shares will be sold before the summer.
CIBC stock drops after bank issues notes paying 10% March 7, 2009
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One-month CIBC trading in Toronto
Shares of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce fell sharply Thursday after it announced it was raising $1.6 billion of new capital by issuing notes paying nearly 10 per cent interest on one series and 10.25 per cent on another.
The bank’s stock was down 4.5 per cent, falling $1.77 to $37.86 in trading on the TSX.
The bank is not the only one to issue high-priced debt. The Toronto-Dominion Bank raised $1 billion in January with interest rates of 9.523 to 10 per cent.
CIBC announced that a wholly-owned subsidiary, CIBC Capital Trust, had agreed to sell $1.3 billion of CIBC Tier 1 Notes-Series A paying interest of 9.976 per cent. It also agreed to sell $300 million worth of Series B notes paying 10.25 per cent.
Tier 1 is a key level of capital required by bank regulators. Currently, the Tier 1 requirement is seven per cent.
CIBC said its Tier 1 level would have been about 11.5 per cent on Jan. 31 if the notes had been sold then. The actual rate on Jan. 31 was 9.8 per cent.
That 11.5 per cent ratio also includes recent sales of preferred shares.
Canadian banks have raised over $15 billion in Tier 1 capital, Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of Canada, said in January.
ING Canada shares retreat on stock sale by Dutch parent February 5, 2009
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Shares of home insurance company ING Canada Inc. fell almost 15 per cent on Wednesday, a day after its Dutch parent firm said it was selling majority control of the company.
ING Canada shares closed down $4.97 cents at $28.82 on the TSX.
The retreat in the stock comes as investors reacted to the announcement Tuesday that ING Insurance International B.V., an indirect subsidiary of ING Groep N.V., plans to sell more than $2 billion worth of shares of ING Canada.
ING International said it is selling $905 million in shares to institutional investors in a private placement deal at $25 a share.
The company will sell another $1.12 billion in a public offering at $26.35 a share. Underwriters of the public offering have also been granted the option to buy up to 5.1 million ING Canada shares at the offer prices within 30 days of the close of the offering.
The move would cut ING Groep’s stake in its Canadian unit from 70 per cent to about 13 per cent. That could be reduced to as little as 8.9 per cent if the over-allotment for the underwriters is fully exercised.
ING Groep has been battered financially recently, losing more than $5 billion in its most-recent quarter. The company is also cutting 7,000 jobs.
The share sale will not affect ING Groep’s ownership of ING Bank of Canada, which is more commonly known as ING Direct. That firm is separate from ING Canada.
NB Liquor will stock own brand of beer in fight for sales January 17, 2009
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NB Liquor is going to introduce its own brand of beer as the corporation attempts to stop New Brunswick consumers from crossing the border into Quebec to buy cheap suds.
The new brand will be available by the spring and cost less than regular beer at NB Liquor outlets. However, it will still be more expensive than that in the neighbouring province.
Nora Lacey, spokeswoman for NB Liquor, said there will be two types of the new beer available in 12-can packages and they will be brewed in-province.
“There’s no other liquor jurisdiction in Canada that has a private-label beer,” she said.
But who’s doing the brewing and what the products are will not be revealed until the brand goes on sale this spring.
Lacey said the NB Liquor beer will be of top quality and cheaper than the $21 cost for 12 cans of regular beer.
Lacey said the pending brand of beer will always be sold at a discount.
“We are going to guarantee that these 12-pack of cans will be available at the lowest possible price, $18.67,” she said.
Dana Clendenning, the company’s president and chief executive officer, told a legislative committee recently that NB Liquor is bleeding sales to Quebec because of its cheap beer. Even with this new brand of beer, NB Liquor said it won’t be able to beat Quebec’s price of $10.82 for 12 cans of beer before taxes and deposit.
Lacey said that’s because grocery and convenience stores sell beer in Quebec and each of those individual outlets can negotiate with breweries and set its own price.
Apple stock retreats as Jobs takes medical leave January 16, 2009
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Apple 3-month Nasdaq chart
Shares of Apple Inc. retreated on Thursday, a day after company CEO Steven Jobs said he was taking a leave of absence until June due to health issues.
Apple’s stock finished down $1.95 at $83.38 after earlier getting as low as $80.05.
Jobs, 53, told employees in a letter last week that he was suffering dramatic weight loss due to a hormone deficiency. He said at the time he had begun treating the condition and wished to remain at his post.
But in an email to Apple employees on Wednesday, Jobs said his current health issues are more complex than he thought.
The New York Times, citing two unnamed sources, said Jobs is not suffering from cancer, but from a condition in which his body has difficulty absorbing food.
Jobs is being replaced by Apple’s chief operating officer, Tim Cook. Jobs said he will remain involved in major strategic decisions.
In the wake of the Jobs announcement, RBC Capital Markets cut its rating on Apple’s stock to “underperform” from “sector perform.” RBC also cut its price target on the stock back to $70 US from $125 US.
Fronteer stock tumbles after bid for Aurora December 23, 2008
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Shares of Fronteer Development Group Inc. lost nearly a third of their value Monday after the company announced an all-stock offer for the 58 per cent of Aurora Energy Resources Inc. it doesn’t already own.
Fronteer stock fell 94 cents to $2.19 in trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange. It has ranged between $1.55 and $11.50 in the past year.
Before the market opened Monday, the Vancouver-based company announced it would offer 0.825 of its shares for each Aurora share.
Aurora stock jumped 59 cents to $1.56. It has traded for between 83 cents and $13.96 in the past year.
Fronteer said the offer is a 166 per cent premium for the Aurora shares, based on Friday’s closing prices of the two companies’ stock.
It said the deal would give it access to Aurora’s cash, about $99 million, which combined with Fronteer’s $81 million cash would mean Fronteer would not have to sell stock or borrow to explore and develop projects.
Newfoundland-based Aurora said it had not received a formal offer, and will respond when it gets one, expected before Jan. 30.
Aurora is a uranium exploration company with projects in coastal Labrador and the Baker Lake Basin property in Nunavut. Fronteer has gold and copper projects in Nevada and Turkey.
