BloggingStocks http://www.bloggingstocks.com BloggingStocks http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/media/feedlogo.gif BloggingStocks http://www.bloggingstocks.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Canadian markets halted due to a glitch -- can it happen in the U.S.?]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/12/17/canadian-markets-halted-due-to-a-glitch-can-it-happen-in-the/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/12/17/canadian-markets-halted-due-to-a-glitch-can-it-happen-in-the/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/12/17/canadian-markets-halted-due-to-a-glitch-can-it-happen-in-the/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

You can imagine my surprise when I checked the Canadian markets and saw them totally unchanged. After several refreshes when the zeroes didn't budge, I even panicked. Then I saw the headline (how did I miss it before) that trading was halted on the Toronto Stock Exchange and TSX Venture Exchange due to a computer glitch. Not only that, but there's also no estimate when trading will resume.

The exchanges have actually failed to open at the regular time of 9:30 a.m. EST, and as one reporter put it "have been dead in the water since." If this is frustrating and stressful for me, I can't imagine what the mood is like on Bay Street; how traders and other market professionals must feel.

I'm not sure what could be done if there are big swings and news out of the U.S. While it's true the Canadian markets don't totally track their American counterparts, as they're heavily weighted in oil and commodities and react to news from those sectors often, they are still affected by what's going on at Canada's biggest trading partner to the south.

Still, it may not be the end of the world as the Canadian holidays also don't exactly follow the American ones and there are days when the TSE is closed while the American markets are open. Also, there are four alternative trading systems in Canada, two at least have reported to be functioning and operational. While volumes there were higher than usual for these system, they were hardly normal for the market as a whole. No doubt, though, these systems will get a boost following this fiasco.

Continue reading Canadian markets halted due to a glitch -- can it happen in the U.S.?

Canadian markets halted due to a glitch -- can it happen in the U.S.? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 17 Dec 2008 15:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>abxbcecanadainthenewspotrimmtdtoronto stock exchangeTorontoStockExchangetsxWed, 17 Dec 2008 15:36:00 EST<![CDATA[Investing in Ontario: Royal Bank of Canada (RY), Manulife Financial (MFC), Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD)]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/10/12/investing-in-ontario-royal-bank-of-canada-ry-manulife-financ/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/10/12/investing-in-ontario-royal-bank-of-canada-ry-manulife-financ/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/10/12/investing-in-ontario-royal-bank-of-canada-ry-manulife-financ/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Its abundance of resources and location on the Great Lakes have made Ontario an economic powerhouse. Canada's capital, Ottawa can be found there, as well as its largest city, Toronto, which is also Canada's financial hub. Seven of Ontario's eight largest companies are financial institutions, and Toronto is also the home of one of the largest stock exchanges in the world. When the Motley Fool took a look at stock investment opportunities in Ontario this past June, three of the companies they focused on were financial institutions: Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE: RY), Manulife Financial Corp. (NYSE: MFC) and Toronto-Dominion Bank (NYSE: TD). Considering the credit crunch and the weakness of the U.S. dollar, I thought it might be interesting to see how those companies are faring now.

The Royal Bank of Canada, also known as RBC Financial Group, is Canada's largest financial institution. It has 1,300 domestic locations and offices in 30 countries. In September, RBC's Gord Nixon won Canada's Outstanding CEO of the Year award for 2007. More recently, RBC announced the acquisition of a Caribbean bank, and it was one of four Canadian banks affected by restructuring at VISA. With RBC's five-year earnings per share growth rate of 26.5% (better than the S&P 500), the consensus recommendation of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial is to buy RBC, despite missing earnings expectations for the past two quarters. RBC's share price is near an all-time high on the NYSE, closing Thursday at $57.09 on the NYSE. RBC will release its next quarterly report on November 30.

Continue reading Investing in Ontario: Royal Bank of Canada (RY), Manulife Financial (MFC), Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD)

Investing in Ontario: Royal Bank of Canada (RY), Manulife Financial (MFC), Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 12 Oct 2007 14:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Bank of CanadaCanadaCEO of the YearCharles GrassleyCommerce BancorpfeaturedGord Nixonlong-term care complaintsManulifeManulife FinancialMFCMotley FoolOntarioOttawaRBCRoyal Bank of CanadaRYSenator GrassleyTDTD BankTD BanknorthTD Financial GroupTorontoToronto Stock ExchangeToronto-Dominion BankU.S. dollarVISAFri, 12 Oct 2007 14:25:00 EST<![CDATA[KKR eyes deal for Bell Canada owner]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/03/29/kkr-eyes-deal-for-bell-canada-owner/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/03/29/kkr-eyes-deal-for-bell-canada-owner/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/03/29/kkr-eyes-deal-for-bell-canada-owner/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , , ,

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., reportedly has BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE), the owner of Bell Canada, in its sights.

A deal for the telecom company would be worth about CAD$30 billion (over USD$25 billion), making it the largest acquisition in Canadian history and one of the largest buyouts ever, according to the Globe and Mail newspaper. KKR is looking for Canadian partners such as the Ontario Teachers' Fund since foreign firms are prohibited from owning more than 46% of a telecom company's voting shares.

Shares of BCE were up 12% pre-market trading. They have dropped about 4% this year.

KKR already has its hands full:

The New York-based buyout firm is part of the $45 billion TXU Corp. (NYSE: TXU) deal, the largest buyout ever. KKR also is among the companies in the hunt for Australian retailer Coles Group Ltd. Last month, it agreed to buy Dollar General Stores Corp. (NYSE: DG).

Apparently, there's no limit to the number of multi-billion acquisitions that KKR can juggle at the same time.

KKR eyes deal for Bell Canada owner originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 29 Mar 2007 09:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>australiaBCEBell CanadaBellCanadadgglobe and mailGlobeAndMailontario teachers fundOntarioTeachersFundtakeoversToronto stock exchangeTorontoStockExchangetxuUKThu, 29 Mar 2007 09:40:00 EST