Russell 2000 small-company index surpasses 1,000
Small companies took the limelight Monday on a slow but choppy start to the week. The Russell 2000, an index of small-company stocks, rose above 1,000 for the first time. The index is outpacing the Dow Jones industrial average and the Standard & Poor’s 500 index this year. Small stocks are doing well because they [...]
Wealth management key for banks amid slow growth in retail
As Canada’s biggest banks prepare to report their second-quarter results, analysts say those that rely more heavily on wealth management and global markets will fare better amid slowing growth in Canadian retail banking. Scotiabank (TSX:BNS) and Royal Bank (TSX:RY) are expected to lead the pack this quarter because of their focus on wealth management and [...]
IRS’s integrity at stake in scandal over screening of conservative groups
The Internal Revenue Service is feeling the sort of heat that targeted taxpayers feel from the U.S. tax agency. It’s the sense that a powerful someone is breathing down your neck. Republicans in Congress are livid with the IRS over its systematic scrutiny of conservative groups during the 2010 and 2012 elections. Democrats agree that [...]
1 year later, Facebook stock remains below IPO price
A year after Facebook’s flashy IPO that valued the company at $104 billion, investors are skeptical about the company’s future. The company has seen a devastating drop in its stock price over the past 12 months. The shares were trading hands at just over $26 on Friday, a long way off form the $38 IPO [...]
GM shares trading back above IPO price
Shares of General Motors are trading above $33 for the first time in over two years. The automaker’s stock reached $33.58 Friday morning before pulling back to $33.50, up 3.4 per cent, at midday. It’s the first time the stock has risen above GM’s sh initial public offering price since May 4, 2011. GM sold [...]
AECL to cost $236M more than expected this year
A new report from the parliamentary budget officer shows Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. continues to be a drain on the public purse. The report says the government’s supplementary estimates ask for an additional $236 million for AECL, bringing the total for the 2013-14 fiscal year to $362 million. The budget watchdog says although Ottawa’s [...]
Bangladeshi garment factories reopen after 4-day shutdown
Several hundred garment factories near the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka, reopened Friday after a four-day shutdown caused by worker protests over pay and working conditions. The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association shut down factories in the Ashulia district after workers angry over recent deadly incidents highlighting unsafe working conditions in the country’s booming garment industry [...]
Google buys B.C. firm’s quantum computer for NASA lab
A quantum computer made by Burnaby, B.C.-based D-Wave Systems has been purchased by Google and installed at a NASA lab to solve problems requiring “creativity”—- something that conventional computers aren’t good at. The $15-million D-Wave Two is currently being installed at the new Quantum Artificial Intelligence Lab at NASA Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, [...]
EU moves to ban refillable olive oil bottles
The European Union wants to ban the refillable olive oil bottles that sit on so many restaurant tables across the continent. The European Commission, the EU’s executive, said Friday that restaurants will only by allowed to serve oil in non-refillable bottles with proper content labeling as of next year. EU spokesman Olivier Bailly said consumers [...]