February 28, 2011, 4:55 PM EST

By Greg Quinn

(Updates markets in fifth and sixth paragraph.)

Feb. 28 (Bloomberg) — Canadas economy accelerated more than forecast from October to December on the biggest jump in exports since 2004 and faster consumer spending.

Gross domestic product in the worlds 10th-largest economy expanded at a 3.3 percent annual pace in the fourth quarter following a 1.8 percent expansion in the previous three months that was higher than initially estimated, Statistics Canada said today in Ottawa. Economists predicted a 3 percent fourth-quarter gain, according to the median of 23 estimates gathered by Bloomberg News.

The countrys dollar reached the highest in more than three years as the report boosted confidence that Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney will raise interest rates later this year. Economists predict the key rate will remain 1 percent at tomorrows announcement and rise in the second quarter according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.

There is pretty nice momentum going into the first quarter, said Jacqui Douglas, a senior economics and currency strategist at TD Securities in Toronto. It looks like global growth is starting to help Canada, said Douglas, who predicts a July rate increase.

Canadas dollar appreciated 0.6 percent to 97.18 cents per U.S. dollar at 4:43 p.m. in Toronto, from 97.74 on Feb. 25. It touched 97.10 cents, the strongest level since Nov. 19, 2007. One Canadian dollar purchases $1.0291.

Faster Growth

The June bankers acceptance contract yield, which is tied to forecasts about the central bank rate, rose to 1.49 percent today from 1.45 percent on Feb. 25. Government 10-year bonds fell for the first time in seven days.

Carney told reporters at a G-20 meeting in Paris Feb. 19 that fourth-quarter growth could be faster than the 2.3 percent rate the bank had forecast in January.

Statistics Canada also reported today that the countrys fourth-quarter current account deficit narrowed to C$11 billion from a revised record C$17 billion shortfall. Economists predicted a C$9.7 billion deficit the measure of trade in goods, investment and services. The trade balance swung to a C$523 million surplus from a record deficit of C$6.42 billion in the third quarter, as exports rose and imports fell.

On a monthly basis, gross domestic product rose 0.5 percent in December, the fastest pace in nine months, as oil and gas companies boosted production. Economists forecast a 0.3 percent gain based on the median of 21 responses to a Bloomberg survey.

Clock Ticking

The clock is beginning to tick down on the banks ability to hold off interest-rate hikes, said Avery Shenfeld, chief economist at CIBC World Markets in Toronto. Another strong quarter and the Bank of Canada has to start moving, said Shenfeld, who said the January-to-March expansion will match the fourth quarter increase.

Companies such as Suncor Energy Inc. and Canadian National Railway Co. are boosting investment as the recovery takes hold. Rio Tinto Group, the worlds third-largest mining company, approved a $277 million expansion at its Iron Ore Co. of Canada unit on Feb. 8, to increase output as prices rise.

Exports, which equaled 32 percent of Canadas economy in 2009, rose 4 percent in the fourth quarter — the biggest percentage gain since the second quarter of 2004. Crude oil shipments rose 30 percent to a record.

Imports of goods and services advanced 0.1 percent, slowing from the third-quarter pace of 1.9 percent, todays report said.

The gains in trade helped Canada exceed the U.S. fourth- quarter growth rate of 2.8 percent that was reported by the Commerce Department in Washington Feb. 25. The increase also comes as the Canadian currency traded close to parity with the U.S. dollar.

Regain Competitiveness

Carney has said companies must boost investment to regain lost competitiveness and predicts Canadas recovery will be led by exports and business investment over the next two years as government stimulus spending wanes and consumer spending slows.

Business investment in plant and equipment rose 2.5 percent between October and December, the fourth straight increase. Inventories fell by C$5.34 billion in the fourth quarter, versus a C$18.7 billion increase in the third quarter.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harpers government is scheduled to present a budget next month, and Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said Feb. 25 he will avoid major new spending measures and focus on keeping taxes low as a two-year stimulus package expires. The Conservatives lack a majority of seats in the House of Commons and need support of at least one opposition party to pass the budget and avoid an early election.

Gaining Momentum

The report shows Canadas recovery is gaining momentum, Industry Minister Tony Clement told reporters in Ottawa today, adding the economy remains fragile given international factors.

Consumer spending rose 1.2 percent in the fourth quarter, the fastest in three years and up from the third-quarter pace of 0.7 percent. Purchases of new and used cars rose 3.8 percent and furniture spending rose 0.9 percent after two prior declines.

Housing investment fell 0.2 between October and December, the second straight decline. Government spending rose 0.8 percent.

Canadas output grew 3.1 percent last year, versus a decline of 2.5 percent in 2009.

–Editors: Paul Badertscher, Christopher Wellisz

To contact the reporter on this story: Greg Quinn in Ottawa at gquinn1@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: David Scanlan at dscanlan@bloomberg.net; Christopher Wellisz at cwellisz@bloomberg.net

Article source: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-02-28/canada-4th-qtr-economic-growth-quickens-to-3-3-on-exports.html

OTTAWA (Reuters) Canada’s economy revved back to life in late 2010 on the back of surging exports, raising expectations its central bank will hike interest rates by mid year and pushing the Canadian dollar to a three-year high.

The growth rate rose to 3.3 percent annualized in the fourth quarter, beating the U.S. growth of 2.8 percent and exceeding the 3 percent market estimate.

Statscan’s revision of third-quarter expansion to 1.8 percent from 1.0 percent provided an extra lift to sentiment as markets look ahead to the Bank of Canada’s interest rate decision on Tuesday. The central bank is expected to keep rates unchanged, but may toughen language to prepare the market for tighter policy in coming months.

An impressive comeback for exports also helped narrow Canada’s current account deficit to C$11.05 billion in the same quarter from a record C$16.98 billion, the government statistics agency said.

“It’s a stunning gain in exports,” said Sal Guatieri, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets. “It’s a fairly solid report and (there’s) plenty of momentum heading into the new year, given the strong gain in December.”

The economy advanced 0.5 percent in December on strength in oil and gas extraction and wholesale trade, again outperforming the market forecast of 0.3 percent growth.

The Canadian dollar rose to C$0.9718 to the U.S. dollar, or $1.0290, after the data, its highest level since February 2008. Money market rates and bond yields rose as traders priced a higher likelihood that Canadian interest rates will rise within months.

The reports show Canada’s recovery is gaining steam after a sluggish period last year when anemic U.S. demand and a strong currency hit exports.

Canada sells most of its exports to the United States and the economy normally grows and shrinks in tandem with its giant neighbor. However, the country set itself apart during the global financial crisis as its housing and banking sectors emerged largely unscathed.

Strong consumer spending fired the subsequent recovery in Canada and the jobless rate dropped to below U.S. levels in a break with historical patterns.

STRONG LANGUAGE

Lawmakers from the minority Conservative government immediately boasted that the growth placed Canada at the front of the pack of the Group of Seven advanced economies. But with many political observers predicting a spring election over the budget, the government also attacked opposition calls to cancel corporate tax cuts as an economic threat.

“How incredibly stupid it would be to undermine (the recovery) through tax hikes,” wrote Immigration Minister Jason Kenny on his Twitter feed.

Investors are now looking to the Bank of Canada’s rate announcement on Tuesday at 9 a.m.. While nobody predicts a near-term rate hike, some economists believe the fourth-quarter gains may prompt the Bank of Canada to adopt a more hawkish tone in its statement.

“While we still believe that the Bank will wait until the Fed is done easing before it begins to raise rates … we do admit that further strong data like today’s GDP report … raises the odds of the Bank hiking a little sooner,” said Jacqui Douglas, a currency strategist at TD Securities.

The bank raised borrowing costs three times between June and September last year, bringing its key rate to the current 1 percent level. Analysts polled by Reuters last week saw May 31 as the most likely date for the next increase.

The Bank of Canada, which has a mandate to keep inflation low, is under little pressure on that front. Canada defied a global trend of rising price in January, reporting a tame 2.3 percent annual inflation rate and 1.4 percent core inflation.

The GDP price deflator, a broad measure of price gains in the economy, showed inflation picking up with a 0.9 percent quarter-on-quarter gain in the fourth quarter compared with a 0.4 percent increase in the previous quarter.

The strong currency could continue to dampen inflation, analysts say, but there is also a risk that the global commodity price pressures could spill over into the domestic economy.

“Just as the second wind is picking up steam, a new set of headwinds is emerging in terms of the recent spike in crude oil, food and energy prices,” Brian Bethune and Arlene Kish of IHS Global Insight wrote in a research note.

CURRENT ACCOUNT SHRINKS

Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney had flagged the record current account deficit in the third quarter as a top concern, blaming it partly on the sharp currency appreciation.

But exports once again saved the day in the fourth quarter, shrinking the gap by C$5.93 billion.

The balance in trade in goods swung to a C$523 million surplus from a C$6.42 billion deficit in the third quarter, as exports of industrial goods and energy products surged.

Nonetheless, 2010 as a whole saw a record current account deficit of C$49.98 billion, up from a record C$43.52 billion in 2009.

(Additional reporting by Ka Yan Ng, Solarina Ho and Howaida Sorour; editing by Jeffrey Hodgson)

Article source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110228/wl_canada_nm/canada_us_economy_12

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (Reuters) Canada’s monopoly wheat exporter maintained its forecast for a small rise in production from the world’s No. 3 seller this year, but offered a slightly more upbeat forecast for global output.

The outlook from the Canadian Wheat Board, one of the world’s biggest grain marketers, offers modest relief for millers who have been hurt this year by an acute shortage of higher-quality wheat following excessive moisture in Western Canada last year and flooding in Australia.

It also underscores the intense competition among cash crops this year, with wheat still struggling to take acres from canola, corn and soybeans. Production of durum, used to make pasta, is expected to rise by about a quarter in Canada, but will remain flat globally at about 35 million tonnes.

Wheat prices have surged nearly 80 percent since the summer, but corn prices have doubled and remain near post-2008 peaks; wheat is down 7 percent this month.

Canada will harvest about 23.8 million tonnes of all-wheat in 2011, up less than 3 percent from the three-year low of 23.2 million tonnes harvested last year and virtually the same estimate the board released in January, CWB said Monday at its annual Grain World conference in Winnipeg.

The Wheat Board pegged global wheat production at 653.5 million tonnes in 2011, up from 647.5 million tonnes last year, but sharply lower than last week’s International Grains Council forecast of 672 million tonnes.

The board’s global wheat estimate is the mid-point in a range from 638 million tonnes to 672 million tonnes as uncertainty hangs over Russia’s crop this year after severe drought a year ago.

(Graphic:http://r.reuters.com/vuk38r)

Minneapolis new-crop December spring wheat futures ended higher on Monday, trading not far below the 2-1/2-year peak scaled in mid-February.

QUALITY KEY

The key to shoring up dwindling premium milling supplies will be the quality of the Canadian wheat crop, said CWB North American market analyst Neil Townsend, after it suffered last year from both too much moisture and untimely frost. Canada is the biggest grower of spring wheat.

“A lot of it depends on the planting conditions,” he said. “I would say (quality supplies) are not in doubt is we assume average conditions.”

The increase in Canadian wheat production will largely come from Ontario’s winter wheat crop, which farmers planted last summer in good conditions, while western farmers will plant and produce less of Canada’s prized Western Red Spring wheat, Townsend said.

One private analyst said the CWB’s modest forecast increase to Canadian all-wheat production looked conservative.

“I would expect CWRS (Canada Western Red Spring wheat production) higher because of the way things look today,” said Jonathan Driedger, market analyst with FarmLink Marketing Solutions in Winnipeg. “Wheat still stands up pretty good (against other crops).”

While the board expects farmers to manage to plant more land this year, soaked ground and heavy snowfall make serious spring flooding likely in Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

A second straight year of serious flooding could switch some acres from spring wheat to later-planted cereals like oats and barley, Driedger said.

The Wheat Board pegged Canadian barley production at 8.35 million tonnes, up about 10 percent from last year but still well below the five-year average. World production looks to climb 8 percent to 132.5 million tonnes.

A recovery in production by Black Sea barley exporters Russia and Ukraine looks to limit Canadian sales opportunities to Saudi Arabia, the board said.

(Reporting by Rod Nickel; Editing by John Picinich and Sofina Mirza-Reid)

Article source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110228/wl_canada_nm/canada_us_wheat_canada_3

February 28, 2011, 12:17 PM EST

By Greg Quinn

(Updates markets in fifth and sixth paragraph.)

Feb. 28 (Bloomberg) — Canadas economy accelerated more than forecast from October to December on the biggest jump in exports since 2004 and faster consumer spending.

Gross domestic product in the worlds 10th-largest economy expanded at a 3.3 percent annual pace in the fourth quarter following a 1.8 percent expansion in the previous three months that was higher than initially estimated, Statistics Canada said today in Ottawa. Economists predicted a 3 percent fourth-quarter gain, according to the median of 23 estimates gathered by Bloomberg News.

The countrys dollar reached a three-year high as the report boosted confidence that Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney will raise interest rates later this year. Economists predict the key rate will remain 1 percent at tomorrows scheduled announcement and rise in the second quarter according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.

There is pretty nice momentum going into the first quarter, said Jacqui Douglas, a senior economics and currency strategist at TD Securities in Toronto. It looks like global growth is starting to help Canada, said Douglas, who predicts a July rate increase.

Canadas dollar appreciated 0.5 percent to 97.24 cents per U.S. dollar at 12:09 p.m. in Toronto, from 97.74 on Feb. 25. It touched 97.28 cents, the strongest since Feb. 28, 2008. One Canadian dollar purchases $1.0284.

Faster Growth

The June bankers acceptance contract yield, which is tied to forecasts about the central bank rate, rose to 1.5 percent today from 1.45 percent on Feb. 25. Government 10-year bonds fell for the first time in seven days.

Carney told reporters at a G-20 meeting in Paris Feb. 19 that fourth-quarter growth could be faster than the 2.3 percent rate the bank had forecast in January.

Statistics Canada also reported today that the countrys fourth-quarter current account deficit narrowed to C$11 billion from a revised record C$17 billion shortfall. Economists predicted a C$9.7 billion deficit the measure of trade in goods, investment and services. The trade balance swung to a C$523 million surplus from a record deficit of C$6.42 billion in the third quarter, as exports rose and imports fell.

On a monthly basis, gross domestic product rose 0.5 percent in December, the fastest pace in nine months, as oil and gas companies boosted production. Economists forecast a 0.3 percent gain based on the median of 21 responses to a Bloomberg survey.

Clock Ticking

The clock is beginning to tick down on the banks ability to hold off interest-rate hikes, said Avery Shenfeld, chief economist at CIBC World Markets in Toronto. Another strong quarter and the Bank of Canada has to start moving, said Shenfeld, who said the January-to-March expansion will match the fourth quarter increase.

Companies such as Suncor Energy Inc. and Canadian National Railway Co. are boosting investment as the recovery takes hold. Rio Tinto Group, the worlds third-largest mining company, approved a $277 million expansion at its Iron Ore Co. of Canada unit on Feb. 8, to increase output as prices rise.

Exports, which equaled 32 percent of Canadas economy in 2009, rose 4 percent in the fourth quarter — the biggest percentage gain since the second quarter of 2004. Crude oil shipments rose 30 percent to a record.

Imports of goods and services advanced 0.1 percent, slowing from the third-quarter pace of 1.9 percent, todays report said.

The gains in trade helped Canada exceed the U.S. fourth- quarter growth rate of 2.8 percent that was reported by the Commerce Department in Washington Feb. 25. The increase also comes as the Canadian currency traded close to parity with the U.S. dollar.

Regain Competitiveness

Carney has said companies must boost investment to regain lost competitiveness and predicts Canadas recovery will be led by exports and business investment over the next two years as government stimulus spending wanes and consumer spending slows.

Business investment in plant and equipment rose 2.5 percent between October and December, the fourth straight increase. Inventories fell by C$5.34 billion in the fourth quarter, versus a C$18.7 billion increase in the third quarter.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harpers government is scheduled to present a budget next month, and Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said Feb. 25 he will avoid major new spending measures and focus on keeping taxes low as a two-year stimulus package expires. The Conservatives lack a majority of seats in the House of Commons and need support of at least one opposition party to pass the budget and avoid an early election.

Gaining Momentum

The report shows Canadas recovery is gaining momentum, Industry Minister Tony Clement told reporters in Ottawa today, adding the economy remains fragile given international factors.

Consumer spending rose 1.2 percent in the fourth quarter, the fastest in three years and up from the third-quarter pace of 0.7 percent. Purchases of new and used cars rose 3.8 percent and furniture spending rose 0.9 percent after two prior declines.

Housing investment fell 0.2 between October and December, the second straight decline. Government spending rose 0.8 percent.

Canadas output grew 3.1 percent last year, versus a decline of 2.5 percent in 2009.

–Editors: Paul Badertscher, Christopher Wellisz

To contact the reporter on this story: Greg Quinn in Ottawa at gquinn1@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: David Scanlan at dscanlan@bloomberg.net; Christopher Wellisz at cwellisz@bloomberg.net

Article source: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-02-28/canada-4th-qtr-economic-growth-quickens-to-3-3-on-exports.html

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Article source: http://www.prlog.org/11339742-canada-to-brazil-and-around-the-world-fall-call-cuts-costs-while-providing-protection.html

Mon Feb 28, 2011 9:57am EST

Article source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/28/markets-canada-dollar-bonds-idUSN2824930620110228?feedType=RSS

Leader of the Government in the House of Commons John Baird speaks to media in the Foyer of the House of Commons February 28, 2011.

Sean Kilpatrick/THE CANADIAN PRESS

OTTAWACanada is warning that the desire for freedom in Libya and across the region will overwhelm leaders who withhold democracy and abuse their citizens.

After criticism of its reluctant embrace of the pro-democracy rebellion that toppled Egypts longtime ruler, Prime Minister Stephen Harpers government is now positioning itself squarely behind Libyan rebels who are massing on Tripolis doorstep and preparing for battle with their dictator.

In Ottawa, Government House Leader John Baird tabled sanctions in the House of Commons and spoke openly of regime change to end Col. Moammar Gadhafis 41-year rule. At a meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva Monday, Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon spoke hopefully of a tide of change sweeping through the Middle East and North Africa.

He was speaking of the successful revolts in Tunisia and Egypt, which both ousted their longtime leaders, but also of Bahrain, Yemen and Jordan, where autocratic rulers have promised political reforms and freedoms in a bid to snuff out the flame of full democracy.

While the United States and other western nations tried to encourage Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak to renounce his throne, Canada seemed preoccupied with the security risk to Israel of a politically volatile Egypt.

Cannons remarks were also aimed squarely at Iran, where the countrys theocratic leadership crushed post-election protests in 2009 and have used force to put down more recent copycat demonstrations inspired by protests in Egypt and Tunisia.

Leaders who try to defy or repress this tide, like Gadhafi or the leadership in Iran, will eventually be overwhelmed, he said.

Cannon advised governments facing an unruly citizenry to listen to the people, offer them genuine dialogues and respect their rights and freedoms.

The resounding response to Gadhafis series of military and mercenary attacks on Libyan protesters, which the dictator has shrugged off in recent interviews, is designed not only to cripple his regimes ability to finance the repression but to set a precedent for other leaders who may fear theirs is the next country to erupt in violence.

The clampdown began on Friday with coordinated announcements of economic sanctions and trade embargoes against Libya. Canada took United Nations Security Council sanctions, passed Saturday, one step further after the federal government learned of an attempt by the regime to withdraw a huge sum of money from a Canadian bank, reportedly tens of millions of dollars.

We are aware of specific financial dealings of the Libyan regime in financial institutions in Canada and the actions taken by our government have blocked those, Baird said Monday, refusing to reveal any specific details.

The Canadian sanctions are also expected to ban the operations of Canadian companies SNC Lavalin, which was building a prison, irrigation system and airport, and Suncor, which produces oil, in the country.

The sanctions apply to the provision of assistance, goods and services to named members of the Libyan regime, said a government official.

Both companies have evacuated the bulk of their foreign employees from Libya and suspended operations because of the unrest. Baird said that even without the new sanctions no company in their right mind would consider a continued activity in Libya until a peace is achieved.

Even as governments take the administrative steps to implement sanctions, world leaders are examining the next steps they can take to cripple Gadhafi and hasten his ouster. British Prime Minister David Cameron told lawmakers Monday that he had instructed his defence officials to look at the logistics of enforcing a no-fly zone over Libya, something that Canadian defence sources say is not yet happening in Ottawa.

The UN would have to give its approval to any plan before foreign fighter jets started policing the countrys airspace to prevent Libyan military aircraft from firing on the advancing rebels.

Still, foreign forces are already diving in and out of the country from airbases in Malta in order to rescue their citizens, often from remote Libyan oilfields. A Canadian C-17 transport plane made one such run Monday morning, bound for an oilfield southwest of Tripoli, government officials said.

The flight picked up one Canadian as well as German, Vietnamese, Filipino and Thai citizens and dropped them in Malta at 7:30 a.m. EST. Another 33 Canadians were evacuated aboard a British military ship, HMS Cumberland.

As of Monday morning, 151 Canadian citizens were remaining in Libya.

Article source: http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/946152--stand-down-or-be-overwhelmed-canada-warns-libya-s-gadhafi

The shot was low and from the bottom of the left circle. Ryan Miller aggressively came out of his net to challenge, but Sidney Crosby still saw a small opening between the goalie’s legs, so he let loose a shot.

Crosby swears he never saw the puck go in. He didn’t have to because an entire nation told him it did. Miller learned the hard way as well.

“I just heard the screams,” Crosby said following Canada’s 3-2 overtime win in the gold medal game at Canada Hockey Place.

Exactly one year has passed since that memorable, frozen-in-time moment in Vancouver, and they still are telling him he scored, still screaming, still celebrating.

Canada’s Olympic Games already were considered a success worldwide, but inside the nation of 32 million, no one would have been OK with silver in the Men’s Ice Hockey Tournament, especially if it came in a loss to the United States.

The streets of Vancouver would have taken on a different feel. The closing ceremonies would have had an undertone of sadness. The last 365 days would have been epically frustrating as Canadians would have been subjected to watching Americans celebrate and claim the game of hockey as their own.

Canadians needed an overtime goal from anyone to lock down what they truly felt was rightfully theirs and to satisfy their four-year quest for redemption from the failure in Torino. That they got it from Crosby, the face of Canada’s hockey future since he was a teenager doing amazing things in the Maritimes, made this one of the most historic moments in hockey.

Crosby’s goal put him right up there with Paul Henderson (‘72 Summit Series) and Mario Lemieux (‘87 Canada Cup) in Canadian sports lore. The gold medal put the Canadian national team, always the odds-on favorite to win the tournament on its own soil despite an early loss to the U.S., into the same spotlight as the ‘02 team that won in Salt Lake.

Jarome Iginla, Chris Pronger, Scott Niedermayer and Martin Brodeur were the only four players left from that dream team that snapped Canada’s 50-year gold drought. Back then, Crosby was 14 years old and playing for the Dartmouth Subways, his Midget AAA team. He was still a few months away from leaving for Shattuck-St. Mary’s prep school in Minnesota.

“Yeah, I did dream about it — probably a thousand times,” Crosby was saying after the Canadian players finished their impromptu celebration on the ice, passing around a Canadian flag as if it was the Stanley Cup after the receiving their gold medals. “You never know if it’s going to come true. You never know if you’re going to be in this position.”

Crosby first beat USA defenseman Brian Rafalski to the puck near the left boards and poked it to Iginla. Crosby then got an inside step on Rafalski and Iginla found him with a perfect pass for the winning shot through Miller’s legs.

Miller said he saw Crosby with his head down so he came out aggressively, but just as he was hoping to force Crosby into making a decision on where to go with the puck, Crosby lifted his head and saw the small opening.

“He beat Miller to the deck with a quick release,” winning coach Mike Babcock said.

Crosby’s winning goal was the culmination of one of the finest hockey games we may ever see played. Barely 25 minutes separated Crosby’s epic goal and Zach Parise’s historic tying goal for Team USA. He sent Americans into a tizzy and gave Canadians a collective coronary when he scored with 24.4 seconds remaining in regulation.

Patrick Kane’s shot from the right circle hit Jamie Langenbrunner’s skate in the high slot. Parise, who was in his customary spot right in front of the net, had the puck come right to him and he wrapped it into the net, setting off a wild celebration by the Americans.

“We showed a lot of heart; scoring that goal with 20 seconds to go to force overtime,” Langenbrunner, the U.S. captain, told NHL.com. “We really believed this was going to happen for us, but great players do great things and that is what happened.”

Great players littered the ice that day at Canada Hockey Place and they did great things for 77 minutes and 40 seconds before time felt like it stood still.

The buzz outside the building was palpable. The noise inside the building was deafening. The speed of the game was at a ridiculous pace from the outset. Jonathan Toews and Corey Perry gave Canada a 2-0 lead, but Ryan Kesler cut it in half late in the second period. The speed only picked up from that point, and chances were at a premium on both sides.

Canada had two shots ring off the posts early in the third period. Crosby had perhaps Canada’s best chance to take a commanding two-goal lead when he got loose on a breakaway with 3:15 left, but Kane backchecked hard and got there just in time to thwart Crosby’s deke before he was going to shoot on Miller.

Crosby said later he thought about his missed opportunity when he witnessed Parise’s goal.

Time bled away during what felt like an endless intermission after the third period. The machines cleaned the historic ice while the teams settled back into their dressing rooms, waiting for their cues to come back to start skating at blurring speeds.

“It’s a tough one with 24 seconds left, but we’re in overtime and next goal wins so you have to refocus right away,” winning goalie Roberto Luongo told NHL.com after making 34 saves. “Once we got into the locker room guys started thinking about overtime right away. This is just a game of hockey and obviously it was going into overtime, but you have to play the same way.”

And they did, Canada with the pressure of an entire nation set squarely on its collective shoulders and the United States with the belief that it could accomplish the unthinkable.

There were only enough gold medals for one team. They needed to make one more for an entire nation.

“That’s really what you dream of, to win it in overtime,” Canada defenseman Dan Boyle told NHL.com. “We had the right guy scoring the goal.”

And that guy had one thing in mind when it was all said and done.

“Enjoy it with the rest of Canada,” Crosby said through his smile.

Follow Dan Rosen on Twitter at: @drosennhl

Article source: http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=554502

BY NIRMALA MENON

OTTAWACanada’s economy grew significantly faster than expected in the final three months of 2010driven by the largest export gains in more than six years and the strongest pace of consumer spending in threegiving Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s minority government a boost ahead of a possible election this year.

Gross domestic product grew at a 3.3% annualized rate in the periodup from 1.8% for the previous three monthsCanada’s statistics agency reported Monday. The report of better-than-expected growth sent the …

Article source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703749504576172563855613684.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

NAGPUR, India (AP)Zimbabwe bowled out Canada for 123 on Monday to comfortably
win their World Cup Group A match by 175 runs and land a dispiriting blow on its
lowly opponent.

With his side defending a healthy 298-9, Zimbabwe spinner Ray Price opened
the bowling and took three wickets in the first six overs to reduce the ICC
Associate nation to 7-3.

That was too weak a position even on a good wicket at Nagpurs VCA Stadium
and Zimbabwe secured victory with 7.5 overs remaining. Price finished with 3-16,
with fellow spinner Graeme Cremer taking 3-31.

Zimbabwe takes on out-of-form New Zealand next with a quarterfinal berth now
a possibility.

Weve shown on the batting side we now have a bit of confidence going into
that game, captain Elton Chigumbura said. Some guys put some runs on their
bat so hopefully we just carry on from that and work on those weaknesses we have
shown in todays game.

Zimbabwe too had struggled early and slipped to 7-2 after losing its openers
but Tatenda Taibu hit 98 and added 181 for the third wicket with Craig Ervine
(85).

Indian-born legspinner Balaji Rao took 4-57 as Zimbabwe slipped from 188-2
to 240-7 but Taibus 99-ball knock meant Canada needed a bright start to its
inningsopened by the oldest and youngest players in the tournamentto have
any chance of a second win in 15 World Cup matches.

That didnt happen.

The 40-year-old John Davison misjudged a straightening delivery that clipped
offstump and Nitish Kumar, the World Cups youngest ever player at 16 years, 283
days, was caught and bowled for just 1 by Price.

Price, who troubled Australias batsmen in Zimbabwes opening 71-run loss,
then had captain Ashish Bagai caught next ball when he swept straight to Sean
Williams at square leg.

It wasnt a threatening attack by any means, Bagai said. Its us with
the batting thats failing, not so much the bowlers taking wickets. A good
attack and blowing us over, I wouldnt mind it so much, but its our own
mistakes going over and over again.

It definitely was not a 120 wicket.

Zimbabwes attack was weakened by a side injury to Chris Mpofu that forced
the pace bowler off the field for treatment in the dressing room. But Taibu
stumped Jimmy Hansra off the bowling of Prosper Utseya and Greg Lamb bowled
Ruvindu Gunasekera for 24.

Rizwan Cheema and Tyson Gordon fell to leave Canada on 78-7 and although
Zubin Surkari topscored with 26 and helped put on 21 and 25 for the eighth and
ninth wickets, Lamb had him stumped as Cremer cleaned up the rest of the tail.

Canada has four more group matches left, against Pakistan, Kenya, defending
champion Australia and New Zealand.

Were going to need to find a way to get through those four games, Bagai
said. Were not going to lie down and take it.

With Canada never having scored more than 265 in a one-day international
against a test nation, Zimbabwes total was always likely to be too much for the
ICC Associate side.

Chigumbura won the toss and opted to bat first on what has been a good
wicket in the two previous matches played on it.

Brendan Taylor, who scored 37 when Zimbabwe cruised to a 143-run win in the
teams only previous one-day international five years ago, was hit on the pad by
an inswinger from Khurram Chohan that was hitting middle. And Charles Coventry
was back in the dressing room halfway through the fourth over, swinging across a
delivery by Baidwan.

Zimbabwe hit back but Rao broke the partnership with a ball that spun back
from outside off and took an inside edge before spooning up off Ervines pads.

Bagai, another of the wicketkeeper-captains at the World Cup, ran from
behind the stumps in front of the batsman to take the catch and did the same in
the following over, diving to get rid of Chigumburathis time off a delivery
by Raos fellow spinner Cheema.

Taibu had progressed serenely with Ervine alongside him, rotating the strike
and selecting his shots well, but with the pressure back on and partners
changing he slipped up and hit Rao straight to Davison just inside the deep
midwicket boundary.

Greg Lamb dragged Rao onto his stumps and the spinner got his fourth wicket
when Bagai again sprang forward to take a catch off the back of Williams bat.
Prosper Utseya holed out to Chohan for 22 and Baidwan bowled Cremer for 26,
leaving Price unbeaten on 10 and Mpofu on 3.

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Article source: http://sports.yahoo.com/top/news?slug=ap-wcup-canada-zimbabwe