Prep Business Report – CP

The Toronto stock market finished higher yesterday, driven by mostly stronger commodity prices.

Toronto’s S-and-P/T-S-X composite index rose 32 points, to close at 14,871.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average advanced nearly 19 points, to 16,943.

The Nasdaq composite index rose 14.8 points, to 4,336.

In Tokyo this morning, the Nikkei index lost 129 points, to 14,994.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index rose 198 points, to 23,315.

And our dollar is trading overseas this morning at 91.70 cents U-S — up two basis points from yesterday’s close of 91.68.

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(World Markets)

Asian stock markets drifted today as a string of Wall Street record highs instilled caution about further gains despite signs of an improving economy.

Since late last week, investors have digested a raft of positive news.

There`s been additional monetary stimulus in Europe, a solid U-S jobs report for May, stronger growth in Japan and an improvement in China’s exports.

Japan’s Nikkei index fell 0.85 per cent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.85 per cent. (Associated Press)

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(Lookahead)

C-A-E president and C-E-O Marc Parent speaks to the Canadian Club of Montreal about the aerospace industry.

The Montreal Economic Forum discusses various global economic issues through tomorrow. (The Canadian Press)

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(Montreal-Economic-Forum)

Finance Minister Joe Oliver says he’s concerned that provinces and Canada’s allies will reverse five years of gains if they relax efforts to cut deficits and debts.

He told an economic conference in Montreal that Ottawa has projected a six-billion-dollar surplus in 2015-16 — while the average budgetary deficit among G-7 countries is 5.9 per cent of G-D-P.

Oliver says the global economy is at a pivotal moment in which the recovery remains weak and the outlook is uncertain.

But he’s optimistic that weak Canadian exports and stagnant capital investments will recover. (The Canadian Press)

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(Manpower-Hiring)

A survey by human resources firm Manpower suggests about 20 per cent of Canadian companies expect to add to their payrolls in the third quarter.

But it says the net figure falls to 10 per cent when seasonal variations are factored in, along with the four per cent of firms that expect to shed workers in the July-September period.

That’s still one percentage point higher than the third quarter of 2013.

Most of the companies surveyed — 74 per cent — say they plan on keeping staffing levels the same. (The Canadian Press)

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(First-Nations-Energy)

Leaders of the three most powerful aboriginal organizations in British Columbia say they’re still opposed to the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline.

And they’re warning Ottawa not to ram the project through First Nations objections.

Natural Resources Minister Greg Rickford met with the aboriginal leaders in Vancouver yesterday.

The federal government has one more week to decide whether to approve the 6.8-billion-dollar Enbridge-led project to carry crude from Alberta to B-C. (The Canadian Press)

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(Mba-Railway-Line-Reopens)

The company that operates the port of Churchill in northern Manitoba says its Hudson Bay Railway line has reopened.

Merv Tweed, president of Omnitrax Canada, says full freight service is expected to resume soon.

The line was shut down a week ago when 13 cars of a 50-car train carrying grain derailed south of Churchill, and bad weather delayed the re-railing.

Tweed thanks his customers for their patience during the service suspension and apologizes for the inconvenience. (The Canadian Press)

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(Air-Canada-Embraer)

Air Canada has chosen Premier Aviation Overhaul as exclusive provider of heavy maintenance support for the airline’s fleet of 45 Embraer E-190 regional jets.

The work will be done in Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, where Premier has its headquarters.

The financial terms of the five-year contract have not been disclosed. (The Canadian Press)

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(US-GoDaddy-IPO-Filing)

Web hosting company GoDaddy wants to go public.

It has filed for an initial public offering with U-S regulators in hopes of raising up to 100-million dollars, although that’s likely to change as bankers gauge investor interest.

GoDaddy, known for its racy Super Bowl commercials, says it has 12-million customers and is the largest provider of website domain names.

The Scottsdale, Arizona company has posted losses the last three years, with a deficit of just under 200-million dollars in 2013.

Its annual revenue came in at 1.1-billion. (The Associated Press)