In order to access the archives on postbulletin.com, you must be a subscriber.
If you have a subscription (print or online), please login with your username and password below.
Click here if you’re a subscriber but don’t know your login information.
Article source: http://www.postbulletin.com/news/stories/display.php?id=1442517
VANCOUVER, British Columbia – (Business Wire) Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) today announced the launch of OLIMEL (Amino Acids, Dextrose and Lipids, with/without Electrolytes) emulsion for infusion in Canada at the American Society of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition’s (A.S.P.E.N.) Clinical Nutrition Week. OLIMEL is the country’s first triple-chamber bag for parenteral nutrition (PN) and provides adult patients with the essential ingredients of balanced nutrition: protein, carbohydrates and lipids (fats), in a single container, simplifying the preparation of PN for hospitalized patients.
OLIMEL – Baxter’s newest triple-chamber container – provides adult patients with the essential ingredients of balanced nutrition: protein, carbohydrates and lipids (fats), in a single container, simplifying the preparation of PN for hospitalized patients. (Photo: Business Wire)
The prevalence of malnutrition is especially high for hospitalized patients, who may not be able to ingest food orally or have impaired digestion, and PN, or intravenous (IV) nutrition, can help to restore optimal nutrition status. These patients often have different nutritional needs, based on disease severity and progression. The range of OLIMEL formulations, with various concentrations of protein and carbohydrates and an olive oil-based lipid emulsion, address the needs of specific patient groups, such as the critically ill, surgery patients and the chronically ill.
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to nutrition, said Paul Wischmeyer, MD, professor of Anesthesiology and director of Nutrition Support, University of Colorado at Denver School of Medicine. As healthcare practitioners, we need to be flexible in our approach to nutrition therapy to meet individual patient needs, and having a wide range of formulas in a convenient premixed bag gives us this enhanced flexibility.
When malnutrition is left unmanaged, it can increase morbidity, mortality, and complications such as poor wound healing.1 Studies have shown as many as 40 percent of hospitalized elderly patients and 45 percent of long-term care residents in Canadian institutions suffer from malnutrition.2,3
Malnutrition is a frequent and serious problem in the hospital, particularly as patients’ nutritional needs may be overlooked, said Donald Duerksen, MD, assistant professor, Department of Medicine, Section of Gastroenterology, University of Manitoba, Canada. The increased incidence of complications caused by malnutrition can lead to extended hospitalization and increased costs.
To help address malnutrition, OLIMEL is available in multiple formulations, offering the highest protein concentration in a multi-chamber bag and formulations that provide a proportionate amount of glucose. OLIMEL is unique in that it contains a lipid in the form of an olive oil-based IV fat emulsion, Baxter’s proprietary CLINOLEIC. The European Society of Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism (ESPEN) guidelines stress the need to adjust protein and energy formulas based on patients’ requirements,4,5,6 as is offered in the OLIMEL formulations. For example, patients who have undergone trauma (such as surgery) experience a breakdown in muscle mass to support healing, so they need protein to help replace the lost muscle mass. 7 Hospitalized patients also need energy supplied by carbohydrates, but supplying too much can lead to hyperglycemia (excessive sugar in the blood), and can impact clinical outcomes.8
The OLIMEL family of products enables clinicians to match the nutritional therapy to the patient, through a premixed bag that requires fewer steps from preparation to administration, said Scott Luce, general manager of Baxter’s global IV Therapy business. With this latest introduction, Baxter continues to advance IV nutrition for healthcare professionals and patients through ongoing improvements in both nutritional contents and in container technology.
OLIMEL contains the first new lipid introduced in Canada in more than three decades and represents a step forward in the preparation of parenteral nutrition for Canadian patients, said Barbara M. Leavitt, general manager for Baxter Corporation (Canada). We are pleased to add this important innovation to Baxter’s 70-year history in Canada and commitment to safe and effective therapies.
About OLIMEL
OLIMEL is indicated for parenteral nutrition for adults when oral or enteral nutrition is impossible, insufficient or contraindicated, and is approved by Health Canada and numerous European regulatory agencies. OLIMEL offers the flexibility to meet patients’ nutritional requirements while simplifying the order and preparation process. The availability of OLIMEL in Canada is the latest in a series of launches and builds upon widespread availability in Europe, where OLIMEL is already offered in Germany, France, Switzerland, Austria, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Ireland and Portugal. Baxter expects to introduce OLIMEL in several additional European countries, including Belgium, Spain and Italy, in 2011. Full Prescribing Information for OLIMEL is available at www.olimel.ca.
About Multi-chamber Bags
Parenteral nutrition formulations can be complex, involving numerous calculations, multiple ingredients, additive dosages and administration rates. Multi-chamber bags are a practical option for hospitals to provide standard premix PN for patients in a convenient and easy-to-activate system. The nutritional components are stored in different sections or chambers of a bag, separated by special seals. A clinician breaks the seal between the chambers and gently mixes the admixture or solutions. Maintenance, vitamins, additional electrolytes and trace elements are not included and should be administered as required. With multi-chamber bag technology, fewer steps from preparation to administration may reduce the opportunities for error and the potential for touch contamination of the contents.9 The A.S.P.E.N. guidelines support the use of standard formulations to help facilitate a standard process that reduces variation and promotes uniformity among clinicians and healthcare facilities.10
About Baxter
Baxter International Inc., through its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures and markets products that save and sustain the lives of people with hemophilia, immune disorders, infectious diseases, kidney disease, trauma, and other chronic and acute medical conditions. As a global, diversified healthcare company, Baxter applies a unique combination of expertise in medical devices, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology to create products that advance patient care worldwide.
Important Risk Information
Contraindications: Patients who are hypersensitive to any ingredient in the formulation or component of the container. Congenital abnormalities of amino acid metabolism, severe dyslipidemia, non-corrected metabolism disorders, severe sepsis, severe liver disease, blood coagulation disorders, thrombophlebitis, acute myocardial infarction, lipoid nephrosis, acute pancreatitis associated with hyperlipidemia, severe hyperglycemia. OLIMEL formulations with electrolytes must not be administered to patients with pathologically elevated plasma concentrations of sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium and/or phosphorus.
Adverse Reactions: Treatment related adverse events reported during clinical trials include abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea, tachycardia, hypertension, hypertriglyceridema and anorexia (3.57%).11
Baxter, Olimel and Clinoleic are trademarks of Baxter International Inc.
Note: OLIMEL will be displayed at the Baxter Corporation (Canada) exhibit booth at A.S.P.E.N.’s Clinical Nutrition Week 2011 Meeting, January 30-February 1, 2011.
This release includes forward-looking statements concerning the company’s expectations with respect to the introduction of OLIMEL in additional European countries in 2011. The statements are based on assumptions about many important factors, including the following, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements: satisfaction of regulatory and other requirements; actions of regulatory bodies and other governmental authorities; and other risks identified in the company’s most recent filing on Form 10-Q and other Securities and Exchange Commission filings, all of which are available on the company’s website. The company does not undertake to update its forward-looking statements.
1 Isabel M., Correia TD, Waitzberg D.The impact of malnutrition on morbidity, mortality, length of hospital stay and costs evaluated through a multivariate model analysis. Clin Nutr 2003;22 (3): 235-239.
2 Laporte M., Villalon, L., Payette H. Simple Nutrition Screening Tools for Healthcare Facilities: Development and Validity Assessment. Can J Diet Prac Res 2001; 62:26-34.
3Keller HH. Malnutrition in institutionalized elderly: how and why? J Am Geriatr Soc. 1993 Nov;41(11):1212-8.
4 Braga M, et al. ESPEN Guidelines on Parenteral Nutrition: Surgery. Clin Nutri. 28 (2009) 378-386.
5 Singer P, et al. ESPEN Guidelines on Parenteral Nutrition: Intensive Care. Clin Nutr. 28 (2009) 387-400.
6 Cano NJM, et al. ESPEN Guidelines on Parenteral Nutrition: Adult Renal Failure. Clin Nutr. 28 (2009) 400-414.
7 Rennie MJ. Muscle Protein Turnover and the Wasting Due to Injury and Disease. British Medical Bulletin (1985) Vol. 41, No. 3, pp. 257-264.
8 McCowen KC et al. Hypocaloric total parenteral nutrition: Effectiveness in prevention of hyperglycemia and infectious complications-A randomized clinical trial. Crit Care Med 2000; 28: 3606.
9 Flynn EA, et al. Observational study of accuracy in compounding IV admixtures at five hospitals. Am J Health-Syst Pharm. 1997;54:904-912.
10 A.S.P.E.N. Statement on Parenteral Nutrition Standardization, JPEN, 2007: Vol. 31, No. 5
11 OLIMEL Product Monograph.
Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=6590711lang=en
Baxter International Inc.
Media Contacts
Global
Christy Noland, 847-948-4380
Erin Gardiner, 847-948-4210
Canada
Heather MacDonnell, 905-281-6398
Investor Contacts
Mary Kay Ladone, 847-948-3371
Clare Trachtman, 847-948-3085
Article source: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/press/first-triple-chamber-bag-nutrition,1634866.html
Canadian energy explorers will drill
12,750 wells this year, up from 12,158 in 2010, according to the
Petroleum Services Association of Canada.
Drilling in Saskatchewan will jump 11 percent to 3,075
wells as producers seek to tap the Bakken shale formation,
according to the Calgary-based group, which represents oilfield
services companies. Alberta will see the most wells drilled at
8,390, a 3 percent gain over 2010, the association said in an e-
mailed statement.
Due to strengthening oil prices and innovations in
technology, we expect 2011 to see modest increases in
drilling, Mark Salkeld, president of the association, said in
the statement. The industry is still faced with weak natural- gas prices primarily related to oversupply in the market.
The organization used a price assumption of $85 a barrel
for benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude and a Canadian price
of C$3.85 per thousand cubic feet ($3.84 per million British
thermal units) for gas at the AECO C hub in Alberta.
More than 5,000 horizontal wells will be drilled, the
association estimated. Horizontal drilling is used in heavy oil
production and to tap deposits of gas trapped in shale.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Gene Laverty in Calgary at
glaverty@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Dan Stets at dstets@bloomberg.net.
Article source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-31/canada-oil-natural-gas-drilling-to-rise-group-says-update1-.html
31 January 2011
Last updated at 13:17 ET
A group of 65 US tourists arrived in Greece on Monday as countries sent planes to Egypt
The US and Canada are among a number of governments to begin bringing citizens out of Egypt amid continuing unrest.
The US and Canada said chartered flights would begin leaving for “safe havens” in Europe and Turkey on Monday.
The US state department said more than 2,400 Americans had requested assistance in fleeing the country.
Tens of thousands of people are protesting in Cairo for a seventh day, defying the start of a new curfew and calling for a general strike.
Both the US and Canada said evacuated citizens would be asked to reimburse them for the cost of the flights and would have to make their own arrangements to return home from airports in Cyprus, Germany, Greece, London and Paris.
In Washington DC on Monday, the US state department said more than 220 US citizens had already left the country, and said it expected to evacuate 900 on Monday and another 1,000 on Tuesday.
Continue reading the main story
The government of Canada’s priority is the safety of Canadian citizens in Egypt
End Quote
Lawrence Cannon
Canadian foreign minister
The US government warned of limited space on the first flights out of the country, saying priority would be given to people with serious medical conditions.
As of Monday morning, the Canadian foreign ministry said it was investigating ways to evacuate citizens from cities other than Cairo, the centre of unrest.
“Individuals located outside of Cairo are advised not to try to make their way to Cairo, for safety reasons,” Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon said in a statement.
“The government of Canada’s priority is the safety of Canadian citizens in Egypt.”
In London, Foreign Office minister Alistair Burt told MPs that most Britons who wanted to leave Egypt had managed to depart, but that about 30 would have to spend a night at Cairo airport before boarding flights.
Danish shipping line AP Moller-Maersk sent a plane to evacuate relatives of its Danish employees, and Air France cancelled its daily flight to Cairo but planned to add extra capacity out of Egypt, the Associated Press (AP) news agency reported.
China sent two planes to Egypt on Monday to evacuate its own citizens, Chinese state media reported. The aircraft would return on Tuesday if ground operations at Cairo’s airport were functioning smoothly, a spokesman said, according to Xinhua news agency.
Indonesia ordered its roughly 6,000 citizens to evacuate the country and promised to send military aircraft to bring them home, AFP news agency reported.
Japan and Thailand also said they were sending planes to repatriate tourists.
But Thai Airways warned poor working conditions at the airport, affecting operations including refuelling and plane servicing, could hinder the effort.
Airport ‘a zoo’
Meanwhile, Cairo’s international airport was a scene of chaos on Monday, as thousands of foreign nationals sought to leave the country.
AP reported would-be travellers getting into shouting matches and even fist-fights.
Airline counters were understaffed, with many personnel unable to reach work amid curfews and traffic congestion in the Egyptian capital.
“It’s an absolute zoo, what a mess,” Justine Khanzadian, a 23-year-old graduate student from the American University of Cairo, told AP.
“I decided to leave because of the protests, the government here is just not stable enough to stay.”
Article source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/world-us-canada-12327616
TORONTO (Dow Jones)–The Canadian dollar ended modestly lower in choppy trading Monday after it retreated on month-end flows and market reaction to some comments from Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty and then recovered most of its losses.
The U.S. dollar was at C$1.0014 at 3:42 p.m. EST (2042 GMT), from C$0.9994 at 8:00 a.m. EST (1300 GMT) and C$1.0005 late Friday, according to data provider CQG.
The U.S. dollar scrambled to a high of C$1.0060 in late-morning trading, its highest level since Dec. 28, according to data provider CQG, before ceding some of its gains.
The move was exacerbated by …
Article source: http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20110131-715652.html
WASHINGTON |
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Obama administration is divided over a proposed pipeline that would ease U.S. reliance on oil from politically unstable regions but boost dependence on crude from Canada’s environmentally unfriendly oil sands.
The State Department may begin deciding as early as next month whether the $7 billion Keystone XL pipeline would be necessary to bolster U.S. energy security. The oil would cut dependence on imports from Venezuela and Middle Eastern countries such as Saudi Arabia.
The Environmental Protection Agency, however, is worried about the greenhouse gas emissions from production of Alberta’s tarry oil sands and that the oil bounty could undermine U.S. plans to make cars more efficient and to electrify more vehicles in coming decades.
Calgary-based TransCanada Corp hopes the 510,000 barrels per day pipeline, which would bring oil from Canada to refineries in Texas and Louisiana, will be built and start in early 2013. It wants to build a link from the proposed line so that oil drilled in the northern U.S. could also be shipped to the huge Cushing, Oklahoma oil storage hub.
Here are some possible paths the plan could take if it is approved.
LIKELIEST: STATE COMPROMISES, EPA SATISFIED
In July, the EPA asked the State Department to revise its environmental impact statement on the pipeline to consider greenhouse gas emissions, other environmental concerns, and pipeline safety.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton hinted in October her department was “inclined” to approve the line on energy security grounds. Since then a senior State Department official said approval is not a foregone conclusion.
State could finalize a new environmental review of the project without taking public comment, but that could push the EPA to ask that the final decision be made by the White House.
Or more likely, State could revise the environmental review and open it to public comment before finalizing it.
That move could open up the planned pipeline to compromises, such as diverting the pipeline route away from environmentally sensitive areas, increasing pipeline safety measures, or reducing the proposed flow on the line. That could make the project more palatable to the EPA and the project could move ahead.
LESS LIKELY: EPA ASKS WHITE HOUSE TO DECIDE
If EPA is unhappy about revisions to the environmental review after public comment, or if State finalizes it without opening up to public discussion, the regulators could ask that the final decision be referred to the White House’s Council on Environmental Quality.
The CEQ is headed by Nancy Sutley who has said that clean energy and emissions reductions could help break the country’s dependence on foreign oil.
Presumably State and the EPA would want to work out their differences before it gets to this stage.
Article source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/01/31/us-pipeline-keystone-idUSTRE70U6XZ20110131
Canadas dollar weakened against
most of its major counterparts on speculation that Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carneys statement that the currencys
strength is a threat to economic expansion indicates recent
strength was overdone.
The loonie, as Canadas currency is nicknamed, earlier
strengthened the most in a week against the greenback after the
nations gross domestic product expanded in November at the
fastest pace in eight months. It touched the weakest level since
Dec. 28 against the U.S. dollar as crude oil, Canadas largest
export, swung between losses and gains.
The initial reaction to GDP was to buy a little bit of
Canada, said Steve Butler, director of foreign-exchange
trading in Toronto at Bank of Nova Scotias Scotia Capital unit.
It looks like the market got caught a little short. A short
position is a bet that an asset will decline in price.
Canadas currency was little changed at C$1.0012 per U.S.
dollar at 4:14 p.m. in New York, from C$1.0013 Jan. 28. The
loonie was down 0.3 percent for January. One Canadian dollar
buys 99.87 U.S. cents.
Canadas gross domestic product grew at a 3 percent annual
rate in November on increased oil production, wholesaling and
retailing.
Faster Output
Output rose 0.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual
rate of C$1.24 trillion ($1.24 trillion) in November following a
0.2 percent expansion in October, Statistics Canada said today
in Ottawa. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News forecast a 0.3
percent gain, based on the median of 23 forecasts.
The Standard Poors 500 Index added 0.7 percent as
Canadian stocks advanced toward a seventh-straight monthly gain,
which would be the longest streak since September 2009. The
Thomson Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index of 19 raw materials extended
a rally today to the highest point since October 2008, as
commodities headed for the fifth straight monthly gain, the
longest period since March 2000.
Crude oil rose as much as 3.9 percent to $92.84 per barrel
amid concern that protests in Egypt might spread to major oil-
producing parts of the Middle East. It also fell as much as 1.1
percent.
The average daily turnover of foreign exchange in Canada,
which includes spot transactions, outright forwards and foreign-
exchange swaps, increased 1.4 percent to $57.8 billion in
October, compared with $57 billion in April, according to the Bank of Canadas Canadian Foreign Exchange Committee. Octobers
turnover totaled $1.2 trillion.
Currency Trading
On an average daily basis, the volume of spot and foreign
exchange swaps fell by 4 percent and 1 percent, respectively,
the committees Foreign Exchange Volume Survey said today.
Outright forwards increased 30 percent.
Trader demand for financial contracts insuring against
depreciation in the currency has more than tripled since Oct.
14, signaling investors are wary the Canadian dollar may weaken.
There have been more option plays, people protecting
their long Canada positions buying U.S. dollar calls, said John Curran, a senior vice president in Toronto at CanadianForex
Ltd., an online foreign-exchange dealer.
The loonie has strengthened 23 percent versus the greenback
since March 2009. Its surge against the U.S. currency has become
such a threat to the economy that central bankers and chief
financial officers are encouraging the loonie to weaken.
Hedging Risk
Montreal-based Bombardier Inc., the worlds third-biggest
aircraft maker, expects to have hedged 81 percent of its
Canadian dollar costs at its aerospace unit in the fiscal year
ending today, up from 78 percent two years earlier, according to
company reports.
One of the risks to the Canadian economy is persistent
strength to the Canadian dollar, Carney said in a Bloomberg
Television interview at the World Economic Forums annual
meeting in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 28. We have a
competitiveness problem in Canada.
The loonie caused Canadas current-account deficit — the
broadest measure of trade — to widen to a record C$17.5 billion
($17.5 billion) in the third quarter of 2010, Statistics Canada
said Nov. 29. The Canadian central bank said Jan. 18 that a
gradual reduction of monetary stimulus through 2012 will
keep inflation under control as it held the target rate for
overnight loans between commercial banks at 1 percent, where
its been since September.
The tone in the data this morning certainly doesnt
change the Bank of Canadas monetary view, said Dean Popplewell, an analyst in Toronto at the online currency-trading
firm Oanda Corp. On the back of most traders minds is the
rhetoric by Governor Carney on the loonie strength and the
threat of the loonie to the Canadian economy.
The yield on Canadas benchmark 10-year note increased
three basis points to 3.27 percent. The price of 3.5 percent
bond due in June 2020 fell 21 cents to C$101.84.
The Bank of Canada plans to sell C$3 billion of 10-year
notes on Feb. 2. The 3.25 percent securities mature in June
2021, according to the BOC website.
To contact the reporter for this story:
Charles Mead in New York at
cmead8@bloomberg.net;
Catarina Saraiva in New York at
asaraiva5@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Dave Liedtka at
dliedtka@bloomberg.net
Article source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-31/canada-s-dollar-strengthens-before-report-on-economic-pace-as-oil-advances.html
Canadas gross domestic product grew
at the fastest pace in eight months in November on increases in
oil production, wholesaling and retailing.
Output rose 0.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual
rate of C$1.24 trillion ($1.24 trillion) in November following a
0.2 percent expansion in October, Statistics Canada said today
in Ottawa. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News forecast a 0.3
percent gain, based on the median of 22 forecasts.
The Bank of Canada said earlier this month that weaker-
than-expected growth means slack in the economy wont be
used up until the end of 2012, even with a boost linked to U.S.
stimulus measures. The central bank kept its key interest rate
at 1 percent Jan. 18 and said future increases would be
carefully considered, with a strong currency and poor
productivity restraining exports.
I cant see too much to complain about, said Jacqui Douglas, senior economics and currency strategist at TD
Securities in Toronto by telephone. The Bank of Canada does
have plenty of time to wait before hiking rates again, she
said, predicting a move in July.
The Canadian dollar rose 0.4 percent to 99.79 cents per U.S. dollar at 9:29 a.m. in New York, from C$1.0013 Jan. 28. One
Canadian dollar buys $1.0022.
Oil Output
Oil and gas extraction grew 2.4 percent in November after
the completion of refinery maintenance, Statistics Canada said,
while temporary automobile plant shutdowns lowered factory
output by 0.8 percent. Wholesaling rose 1.5 percent led by
machinery and equipment and retailing gained 1.4 percent.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the worlds largest retailer, said
Jan. 26 it will open 40 supercenters in Canada by the end of
January 2012, creating 9,200 construction and store jobs.
Construction output declined 0.4 percent in November on new
residential projects. Gains in existing home sales led to a 7.6
percent increase in output from real estate agents and brokers,
while the finance and insurance sector gained 0.7 percent on
increased stock trading and mortgages and personal loans.
Gross domestic product expanded 3 percent in November from
a year earlier, Statistics Canada said today, down from a 3.4
percent pace in October.
The Bank of Canada has predicted that output likely
expanded at a 2.3 percent annualized pace between October and
December, lower than its prior 2.6 percent forecast. The growth
rate will accelerate to 3 percent in the second half of this
year, the bank said.
Tightening Conditions
Todays report shows the economy is set to grow by about
2.3 percent in the fourth quarter, said Paul Ferley, assistant
chief economist at Royal Bank of Canada in Toronto.
Once the Bank of Canada becomes reassured about
strengthening growth in both Canada and the U.S., we expect it
to return to gradually tightening monetary conditions,
possibly in the second quarter, he wrote in a note to clients.
Consumer spending in the U.S. rose a more-than-forecast 0.7
percent in December, capping its strongest quarter in more than
four years, Commerce Department figures showed today in Washington.
A separate Statistics Canada report showed that factory
prices and raw materials costs both rose faster than economists
predicted last month, led by petroleum and metals.
The industrial product price index rose 0.7 percent in
December from November. The median estimate in a Bloomberg
survey of 16 economists was for a 0.6 percent increase.
The raw-materials price index rose 4.2 percent, Statistics
Canada said, versus economist predictions for a 4 percent
increase, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey
with 14 responses.
On a yearly basis, industrial price gains lagged behind raw
materials cost increases. The industrial price index rose 2.9
percent in 2010, while the raw materials index rose 13.2
percent, the report said.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Greg Quinn in Ottawa at
gquinn1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Christopher Wellisz at
cwellisz@bloomberg.net;
David Scanlan at dscanlan@bloomberg.net.
Article source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-31/canada-economy-expands-the-fastest-since-march-with-0-4-november-growth.html
Toronto -(Dow Jones)- Canada’s six largest banks will not be better capitalized than their major U.S. counterparts under Basel III, Canaccord Genuity analyst Mario Mendonca said in a research report Monday.
Under the anticipated Basel III rules, common equity Tier 1 ratios for the Canadian banks are, on average, 160 basis points lower than the U.S. banks that disclosed their pro forma common equity Tier 1 ratios in fourth-quarter reports, he said. Canada’s top banks come in at 5.7%, compared to 7.3% for U.S. banks.
Mendonca included in his U.S. bank sample J.P. Morgan (JPM), BBT Corp. (BBT), PNC Financial Services Group Inc. (PNC), Regions Financial Corp. (RF), SunTrust Banks Inc. (STI), U.S. Bancorp (UBS) and Wells Fargo Corp. (WFC). But Citigroup Inc. (C) and Bank of America Corp. (BAC) were not included since they didn’t disclose their pro forma ratios.
Canada’s financial system has been highly touted since the 2008 financial crisis as the world’s safest, best-capitalized and the best regulated.
“We do not believe it is appropriate to make the claim that Canada banks are better capitalized,” Mendonca said.
The Basel III rules will force banks worldwide to hold thicker capital cushions and deeper pools of liquidity to guard against potential losses and potentially crippling bank runs. Under the new rules, banks must hold a minimum common equity Tier 1 ratio of 7% by 2019. The Basel Committee calculated that the world’s 94 largest banks will need to raise 600 billion euros of equity to lift their core Tier 1 ratios to 7%, based on December 2009 balance sheets.
In Canada, the big six have all stated that their Tier 1 capital ratios will be at 7% by the end of 2012, when the phase-in period of Basel III begins, without raising new capital or changing their business.
And, while Mendonca believes they will have little or no difficulty reaching the required minimum capital ratios according to the Basel III schedule, he said the six largest banks “can clearly be broken up in two camps – the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots.’
The ‘haves’ include National Bank of Canada (NA.T), Bank of Montreal (BMO) and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM). They have “significant excess capital,” he says.
The ‘have-nots’ — Royal Bank of Canada (RY), Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD) and Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS) — are seen to “limp into 2013 just barely meeting the 7% threshold,” the report said. The gap between the high and low bank, National Bank and TD, respectively, is about 300 basis points.
“Reaching a 7% common equity Tier 1 ratio by 2012 is not as easy as we originally thought,” Mendonca said.
Adjusting for excess common equity, the ‘have’ banks are trading at “even greater” discounts to the ‘have not’ lenders than a simple comparison would suggest, he wrote.
He doesn’t believe the market is making a distinction between the banks in terms of capital strength measured on a Basel III pro forma basis likely because a lot can change in two years before the self-imposed fourth-quarter 2012 deadline. He pointed out that counterparty and market risk-weighted assets mitigation and/or a major misstep from one or more banks could change the picture materially.
Mendonca said each of the Canadian banks reviewed his work and provided varying amounts of guidance and correction. He also noted the banks could not confirm his final Tier 1 calculations because he simplified his assumptions on market and counterparty risk. As a result, his precise pro forma result is “almost certainly wrong” but he believes the conclusions “are appropriate and fair,” the report said.
Canaccord Genuity has a hold recommendation on five of Canada’s six banks, with the exception of TD, which is rated a buy and has a price target of C$83.
Copyright 2011 Dow Jones Newswires
Article source: http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2011/01/31/canadas-banks-better-capitalized-rivals-basel-iii-analyst/
Canada said Friday it will try to comply with the new Tunisian government’s request to extradite the brother-in-law of ousted President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
Belhassen Trabelsi, a billionaire Tunisian businessman and brother of former first lady Leila Trabelsi, reportedly arrived in Canada last week with his family.
“He is not welcome. We will seek to find, obviously within the context of existing legislation, the fastest possible methods which will permit us to comply with the Tunisian government’s request,” said Canadian Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon, speaking in French to reporters in Val-d’Or, Quebec.
<!– NEW Ad placement inside of wires story well START.
This is a new ad position: 300×250 but I'm using the Ad_Right position for the mock-up
which is occasionally 300×600. The spec in Google Wave calls for this ad to be placed
inside a story at 'X' amount of words. Not sure how that will be accomplished programmatically,
but if for example the ad is placed in the middle of a paragraph, it should be smart enough to
add a
as well as a
to preserve formatting of the story paragraphs.
//–>
Canada is also freezing the assets of Trabelsi, who is in Montreal with his family. Cannon said every effort will be made to track down accounts belonging to Trabelsi.
Cannon said authorities are in constant contact with Trabelsi’s lawyer in Montreal. Under Canadian law, it could take years to extradite Trabelsi if he applies for asylum and appeals the extradition request.
Tunisia’s government issued an international arrest warrant Wednesday for the president, accusing him of taking money out of the North African nation illegally. It also is seeking six of Ben Ali’s relatives but their names haven’t been made public.
Nejmeddine Lakhal, a spokesman at Tunisia’s embassy in Ottawa, said the arrest request was sent to Canada’s foreign affairs department. He said Trabelsi’s diplomatic passport has also been canceled.
Huge street protests forced Ben Ali to flee to Saudi Arabia on Jan. 14 after 23 years in power.
Belhassen Trabelsi reportedly used his Canadian permanent resident status to enter the country last week. It was not clear where he went first after fleeing Tunisia. France had said some Ben Ali relatives went there, but were “not welcome” to stay.
Leila Trabelsi, a one-time hairdresser, rose to become Tunisia’s most influential woman. Leila and her 10 siblings are said to have operated like a mafia, extorting money from shop owners, demanding a stake in businesses large and small, and divvying up plum concessions among themselves.
As her oldest brother, Belhassen, was known as the clan chieftain and is said to have ruled over the family’s many mafia-style rackets. The Trabelsi and Ben Ali families were said to have a stake in Tunisian banks and airlines, car dealerships, Internet providers, radio and television stations, industry and big retailers.
——
Associated Press writer Charmaine Noronha in Toronto contributed to this report.
(This version CORRECTS Replaces 3rd graf to correct foreign minister’s quote based on English-language translation provided by minister’s spokeswoman.)
Article source: http://www.salon.com/wires/world/2011/01/28/D9L1LODO0_cn_canada_tunisia_president_s_family/index.html