Wed Feb 29, 2012 11:39am EST

* TSX down 107.69 points at 12,632.78

* Materials group falls 2.4 percent

* Six of 10 main sectors lower

By Jennifer Kwan

TORONTO, Feb 29 (Reuters) – Toronto’s main stock index
turned lower on Wednesday morning as materials issues faltered
on weak gold prices, which skidded after comments by U.S.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke helped to push up the U.S.
dollar.

The key materials sector, which accounts for some 20 percent
of the broader Toronto index, was down 2.4 percent to lead the
market lower. Barrick Gold fell nearly 3 percent to
C$47.79 and Goldcorp sank 3 percent to C$48.10 on weaker
gold prices.

Gold prices fell more than 3 percent on Wednesday as the
euro tumbled to a session low against the U.S. dollar after
Bernanke suggested the Fed was unlikely to engage in more
monetary easing in the short term.

“In our view, there had been a lingering perception that he
might announce or give a stronger hint toward quantitative
easing. Some of that probability filtered out of the market so
the (U.S.) dollar jumped when he didn’t make any further
reference towards that, gold pulled back and Treasury yields
moved higher,” he said.

“The fact that the (U.S.) dollar jumped at the time was
probably a negative factor for stocks.”

At 10:55 a.m. (1555 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange’s
SP/TSX composite index was down 107.69 points, or
0.85 percent, at 12,632.78, with six of its 10 main sectors
lower. The market had risen after the open, climbing as high as
12,788.63.

On the upside, the economy-linked financials sector, which
accounts for about a third of the broader Toronto index, gained
0.3 percent. Royal Bank of Canada rose 0.3 percent to
C$55.77, while Toronto Dominion Bank climbed 0.7 percent
to C$80.95. Bank of Nova Scotia gained 0.4 percent and
was at C$53.79.

Supporting the earlier move higher was data that showed the
U.S. economy grew slightly faster than initially thought in the
fourth quarter on firmer consumer and business spending, fueling
investor optimism.

As well, euro zone banks grabbed 530 billion euros at the
European Central Bank’s second offering of three-year funds,
fuelling expectations that credit will flow to businesses and
borrowing costs will ease for governments hit by the region’s
debt crisis.

“We got some pretty good news out of Europe and we’re
excited that the bond yields there continue to fall,” said Barry
Schwartz, portfolio manager at Baskin Financial Services. He
also noted that the market had responded positively to the
upward revision in fourth-quarter U.S. GDP figures.

In company news, publisher Torstar Corp, owner of
the Toronto Star newspaper, posted a fourth-quarter profit that
beat expectations, as cost cuts offset weak print advertising
revenue. However, it said the revenue outlook for the media unit
remains uncertain for the year.

Torstar shares added 4.3 percent to C$9.75.

Article source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/29/markets-canada-stocks-idUSL2E8DT2K020120229

Canada’s dollar rose to the highest
level in more than five months against its U.S. counterpart as
the European Central Bank awarded a record amount of loans to
euro-area banks to avert a credit crunch.

The currency rallied against all but one of its 16 most-
traded peers, Taiwan’s dollar, as portfolio managers sold the
U.S. dollar to rebalance holdings at month-end relative to stock
gains. It has risen 1.3 percent this month versus the greenback.
The U.S. economy grew last quarter more than forecast, data
showed, and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke damped bets
policy makers will provide more monetary stimulus.

“We seem to have seen a large amount of Canadian-dollar
buying related to month-end,” said Shaun Osborne, chief
currency strategist at Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD)’s TD Securities
unit in Toronto. “It may also reflect the fact that the market
is less leveraged to the Canadian dollar than say, the
Australian or New Zealand dollars. When times are good, the
Canadian dollar may not do as well, but when we hit a speed
bump, it holds up.”

Canada’s currency, nicknamed the loonie for the image of
the aquatic bird on the C$1 coin, appreciated 0.5 percent to
98.99 cents per U.S. dollar at 5 p.m. in Toronto. It
strengthened to as much as 1.1 percent to 98.45 cents, the
highest since Sept. 19. One Canadian dollar buys $1.0106.

The Canadian currency has gained 3.2 percent in 2012 versus
the U.S. dollar on increased demand for higher-yielding assets.
It fell 2.3 percent last year.

Euro, Yen

The loonie rose today versus the euro to its strongest in
more than a week as the 17-nation currency dropped versus most
major peers after 800 banks borrowed 529.5 billion euros ($712.2
billion) from the ECB. The central bank moved to boost liquidity
amid the region’s sovereign-debt crisis. The Canadian currency
gained as much as 1.7 percent to C$1.3163 per euro.

“European banks have borrowed more than expected and can
invest in riskier assets; are they really going to invest in
European equities or sovereign debt?” said Dean Popplewell,
head analyst in Toronto at the online currency-trading firm
Oanda Corp. “Eventually this excess liquidity is likely to
depress euro front-end rates, further allowing investors to
gravitate to the stronger U.S. equity market where the loonie is
winning by association.”

Canada’s dollar climbed to a more than six-month high
against Japan’s currency, strengthening as much as 1.8 percent
to 82.28 yen. It appreciated 0.9 percent to C$1.0619 per
Australian dollar and gained 1 percent to 82.53 cents to the New
Zealand dollar. Australia and New Zealand, like Canada, are
commodity exporters.

The Standard Poor’s 500 Index fell 0.5 percent, trimming
its monthly advance to 4.1 percent. The MSCI World Index of
stocks in developed nations slid 0.3 percent on the day while
gaining 4.7 percent in February.

‘Dreadful Range’

“The month-end flows into the Canadian dollar today have
been the story,” said Steve Butler, managing director in
Toronto at Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS)’s Scotia Capital unit. “We’ve
been stuck in a dreadful range all month, and we saw lots of
momentum players buying the Canadian dollar on the move under
support at 99.20 cents to 99.25 cents.” Support refers to the
lower boundary of a trading range, in this case for the U.S.
dollar against the loonie.

Before today, Canada’s currency had traded within a two-
cent range versus the greenback since Jan. 26, between 99.07
cents and C$1.0071.

Note Auction

The Canadian government sold C$3.5 billion ($3.5 billion)
of two-year notes due in May 2014, drawing an average yield of
1.116 percent, according to a statement on a Bank of Canada
website. The last auction of two-year debt on Feb. 8 drew an
average yield of 1.095.

Current two-year notes fell, pushing yields up three basis
points, or 0.03 percentage point, to 1.10 percent. Yields on
benchmark 10-year notes were little changed at 1.99 percent.

The Bank of Canada meets next week to determine interest
rates. Policy makers have held the benchmark at 1 percent since
September 2010 as concern that some European countries may face
default tempers an annual inflation rate that has exceeded the
central bank’s 2 percent target for 14 straight months.

“We still see gravity as the overriding influence in
dollar-Canada as long as global metrics vis-a-vis risk and
liquidity remain intact,” said Jack Spitz, managing director of
foreign exchange at National Bank of Canada (NA) in Toronto. “The
longer-term broader descending channel is intact,” he said,
referring to a chart pattern of the greenback.

Crude Oil

Crude for April delivery increased as much as 0.9 percent
to $107.43 a barrel in New York. It briefly dropped to $104.84
after the U.S. Energy Department said oil stockpiles rose last
week, before trading at $106.85, up 0.3 percent. Crude, Canada’s
biggest export, has advanced 8.7 percent in February, its first
monthly gain since November, as sanctions tighten against Iran,
OPEC’s second-biggest producer.

The commodity touched $109.95 a barrel on Feb. 24, the
highest since May.

Canada’s dollar remained higher as U.S. equities reversed
early gains after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke’s
testimony to Congress damped speculation the central bank would
buy more assets under quantitative easing.

While Bernanke told Congress that keeping monetary stimulus
is warranted, he said rising gasoline prices are likely to push
up inflation temporarily and the drop in the unemployment rate
has been more rapid than expected. The rate fell to 8.3 percent
last month from 9.1 percent in August.

U.S. gross domestic product climbed at a revised 3 percent
annual rate, the most since the second quarter of 2010, Commerce
Department figures showed today in Washington.

The Canadian dollar gained 0.4 percent over the past week
against nine developed-nation counterparts monitored by
Bloomberg Correlation Weighted Currency Indexes. The U.S. dollar
fell 0.8 percent, and the euro declined 0.1 percent.

To contact the reporter on this story:
Chris Fournier in Montreal at
cfournier3@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Dave Liedtka at
dliedtka@bloomberg.net

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Article source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-29/canada-dollar-rises-to-highest-since-september-on-ecb-loans-total-results.html

The Elections Canada investigation prompted by misleading calls to voters during the final days of last May’s election is spreading, CBC News has learned.

The growing probe will involve interviews with some employees of a call centre based in Thunder Bay, Ont., operated by Responsive Marketing Group. The company was hired by the Conservatives to reach out to voters.

It was not immediately clear whether the interviews in Thunder Bay are directly connected with the continuing investigation by Elections Canada in Guelph.

A former employee of the RMG call centre in Thunder Bay told CBC earlier this week that some staff were poorly trained and that could be one reason why voters may have been given false information about polling station locations.

Another RMG worker, who asked to remain anonymous, described to CBC Radio’s As it Happens Monday her discomfort with the way she felt her fellow employees were asked to influence voters on behalf of the Conservative Party. They weren’t allowed to say they worked for a call centre, she said.

The employee said she and other workers took their concerns to the RCMP, but “they said they didn’t want to listen, it wasn’t their area, and it was now all over and done with.”

Top Tory says story blown out of proportion

Earlier Wednesday, the man who ran the the Conservative Party’s 2006 and 2008 election campaigns said misleading robocalls in Guelph are an isolated case.

Doug Finley, who advised the Conservatives on the 2011 election and sits as a Conservative senator, says the case of the strange calls has been blown out of proportion.

Opposition MPs have a list of 45 ridings they say were targeted by automated robocalls or live calls wrongly telling voters their polling locations had changed, or harassing calls late at night or on religious holidays.

The controversy’s epicentre is in Guelph, Ont., where Elections Canada is investigating allegations someone from the Conservative campaign deliberately tried to suppress votes by impersonating the election agency in robocalls directing people to the wrong voting location.

It’s illegal to prevent a person from voting and to induce somebody to vote or not vote for a particular candidate.

Finley says the Conservatives are co-operating with Elections Canada.

“There hasn’t [been] so far, as far as I can determine, one single issue of voter suppression — not one,” he told CBC News. “To me it would appear it’s very isolated. If Guelph is where it is, it’s where it is.”

Robocalling and live campaign calls are legitimate methods of campaigning used by all parties, Finley said. The calls cost pennies and some call centres in Canada are capable of making 200,000 to 300,000 calls an hour, he said.

“Quite frankly, this thing is blown out of proportion. That’s number one,” said Finley. “Number two … if there was a particular attempt at this voter suppression, in Guelph or anywhere else, I have no idea.

“This is the whole point, is that central campaign does not know because they had absolutely no idea what was happening.”

The Conservatives use RMG, Finley said, not Racknine, the call centre through which the Guelph robocalls were placed. RMG does live calls only, he said.

‘Smear campaign’

In question period Wednesday, the Conservatives changed tactics, accusing the Liberals and NDP of being sore losers.

“This member and the members of his party have conducted a smear campaign against our party — a completely unsubstantiated smear campaign,” Del Mastro said to NDP MP Charlie Angus.

NDP MPs pointed out that only the Tories have had to pay a fine for breaking election laws. Charges against Finley and other party officials were dropped as part of an agreement that saw the party pay $52,000 in fines for moving money from the national campaign to local campaigns and back in 2006, a tactic that became known as “in and out.”

Conservative MPs had pointed to Guelph campaign worker Michael Sona, who stepped down from his job with MP Eve Adams last week, as being behind the robocalls. But in a statement Tuesday, Sona denied he had anything to do with it and said he resigned from his job because of the controversy over his involvement.

“I have remained silent to this point with the hope that the real guilty party would be apprehended,” he said. “The rumours continue to swirl and media are now involving my family, so I feel that it is imperative that I respond.”

Article source: http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2012/02/29/pol-robocalls-poor-losers.html?cmp=rss

AMMAN (Reuters) – Elite forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad pounded a rebel bastion in Homs on Thursday in what appeared to be a final push on the opposition stronghold after more than three weeks of siege and bombardment, activists said. A senior official in the rebel Free Syrian Army told Reuters rebels in …

Article source: http://news.yahoo.com/canada-release-trimmed-budget-one-month-214540449.html

TORONTO (Reuters) – Canada’s main regulator outlined a three-year plan to boost its ability to monitor a changing market on Wednesday, but provided few details on precisely what it would do differently and how the new regulatory regime would work.

Observers welcomed the Ontario Securities Commission’s new focus on investors, along with its promise to respond more quickly as the market changes. But the “proof will be in the pudding,” said Joe Groia, a Toronto-based securities lawyer.

“I’m not too interested in what they say they’re going to do. I’m always much more interest in assessing what they are doing,” he said.

“This is talking about what their intentions are. I think a regulatory agency like the OSC is judged much more by its actions than these kinds of statements of policy or principles of the future.”

The OSC is the main regulator in Canada, although it works alongside other provincial regulators in a patchwork system that has often been criticized for reacting too slowly and doing too little to respond to investor and market concerns.

It said its new plan would strengthen its oversight capabilities, and enable it to better understand the concerns of investors with a new Office of the Investor to engage the public.

The commission will also develop a report on its own performance to promote transparency and accountability and create a new committee looking at risks as they emerge.

“The OSC Strategic Plan is our road map for working in the best interests of the investors and market participants of Ontario and for making the regulatory system more efficient,” said the OSC’s Chair Howard Wetston in a statement.

In 2011, the OSC conducted a review of its internal organization in order to set priorities and objectives going forward. The plan will be implemented over the next three years.

Ilana Singer, deputy director at the Canadian Foundation for Advancement of Investor Rights, said the plans about the investor office lacks detail but does indicate regulators are making the investing public a top priority.

“There’s a clear focus and theme relating to investor protection and to the active seeking-out and incorporating the views of investors in policy initiatives,” she said.

“It’s important because many of the initiatives of the commission have a direct impact on investors.”

OSC rule changes often go through a lengthy public comment period, so having a unit specifically focused on facilitating investor concerns is welcome, added Singer.

The regulator came under heavy criticism for responding slowly last year after short-sellers issued a series of damaging reports about China-focused companies with listings in Canada.

Shares of Sino-Forest, once the largest forestry company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, collapsed in June after short-seller Carson Block and his firm Muddy Waters accused the company of fraudulently exaggerating the size of its assets.

But the OSC didn’t issue a cease-trade order until the end of August, and the stock remains halted as the probe continues.

(Additional reporting by Euan Rocha; Editing by Janet Guttsman)

Article source: http://news.yahoo.com/osc-outlines-securities-regulation-plan-163713170.html

QUEBEC – The federal government’s decision to commit to the International Space Station for another five years should mean Canadian astronauts will return to space sooner than expected.

Industry Minister Christian Paradis announced Wednesday in Quebec City that Canada will extend its commitment to the ISS from 2015 to 2020.

The announcement came as the heads of foreign space agencies were arriving in Quebec City for an international conference where they planned to discuss the future of the space station.

It also came amid a climate of heightened concern with the Canadian space community, with the federal government about to embark on a round of significant spending cuts.

The government already signalled in its annual spending estimates released Wednesday that the Canadian Space Agency’s budget would fall 14 per cent, to $363 million, with the expiry of previous short-term commitments. There could be even deeper cuts in the March 29 federal budget.

Given that a number of industry projects are supported by the Canadian Space Agency’s budget, its future funding decisions carry deep financial implications for the space sector.

So the delay in announcing a renewed commitment to the space station had some of them worried. Canada was the last of the five ISS partners to commit itself to the space station up to 2020, the end of the orbiting lab’s current projected lifespan.

Paradis defended the government’s delay.

“I think it was important to evaluate all of the factors,” he told reporters. “Things are changing. Who could have predicted years ago that NASA would cut its budget and stop launching space shuttles and then launching (its astronauts) from Russia?”

The federal industry minister said the government would share details later about the terms and conditions of its continued involvement, but he said Wednesday’s announcement signalled that, “Canada is there, Canada is on board from 2015 up to 2020.”

Steve MacLean, head of the Canadian Space Agency, called Canada’s continued commitment to the space station “a major milestone.” He suggested it would lead to another Canadian astronaut visiting the space station before 2020.

Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield will travel to the ISS for a six-month stay at the end of 2012, but there are currently no flights — beyond Hadfield — scheduled for Canadians before the end of the decade.

“The relationship is basically a mathematical formula,” MacLean explained. “If we are a member (of the ISS) we accumulate so many credits per year.

“We have credits until 2015 and now that we’ve extended our participation … we will accumulate credits for another five years and, yes, it does mean more Canadians will fly on the International Space Station before 2020.”

A spokesman for Paradis said the financial details of Canada’s extended commitment to the ISS will be included in the next federal budget.

MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates (TSX:MDA) which provided Canadarm2, a robotic arm that was critical in the construction of the space station, praised the extended government commitment.

“We see this as a strong signal from the government that it recognizes the strategic importance of space robotics,” said Craig Thornton, MDA’s general manager of robotics.

“This is the kind of decision that helps to support Canada’s high tech jobs, our worldwide leadership in space robotics as well as our competitiveness.”

MDA also provided Dextre, a sophisticated space robot that was involved in delicate assembly and maintenance work.

Iain Christie, president of the Neptec Design Group, had been particularly critical of the government’s delay in committing itself to the ISS beyond 2015. But in an email to The Canadian Press he said he was thrilled with the industry minister’s announcement.

“This clears up any lingering confusion over Canada’s intent to remain at the forefront of space exploration and exploitation,” Christie said.

“It is a welcome shot in the arm for all of us in the space business who are very proud of the work we have done in maintaining and advancing Canada’s reputation in the international community.”

Ottawa-based Neptec made the laser-camera system that was used to inspect for damage on the exterior of the recently retired U.S. space shuttles.

On Wednesday, MacLean met with NASA administrator Charles Bolden, who described Canada as an important part of the exploration team that’s now in place.

The meeting was one of a number of bilateral get-togethers that involved the five ISS partners.

“What we are telling each other is now we need to start thinking about where we go after 2020, how do we phase into a deep space exploration program, and take advantage of the capability that the international space station provides,” Bolden said in an interview with The Canadian Press.

The head of NASA said he and MacLean discussed several issues, including how Canada can provide a capability to analyse samples taken on Mars or on asteroids, using sensors it had developed or have in development.

Canada’s announcement Wednesday came nearly a year after member states of the European Space Agency decided, following some debate, to endorse continued support and financial assistance of the station until 2020.

Article source: http://ca.news.yahoo.com/canada-hosts-space-conference-amid-uncertainty-future-place-100011803.html

Article source: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=conewsstory&tkr=BA:US&sid=a_Mh7v2dP3Zw

Canada started brightly but eventually paid the price for some slack play as Brazilian-born Marcos Pizzelli scored twice to give Armenia a 3-1 win in a soccer friendly Wednesday.

Captain Kevin McKenna gave Canada a fifth-minute lead at Tsirio Stadium but the Armenians took control as the game wore on and had far more scoring chances.

More related to this story

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Armenia is ranked 41st in the world, compared to No. 71 for Canada.

“We still have a lot of work to do but I’m really happy we played this game because the quality of the opposition, the way they played, the speed at which they played at was fast,” coach Stephen Hart said. “Something we badly needed. We looked like a team that has not played in four months.”

The Canadians came into the match riding a seven-game unbeaten string. Their last loss was 2-0 to the U.S. in Detroit in June 2011.

“We started out quite well and I think we got a bit optimistic there. They were a lot better team than I personally thought,” admitted forward Iain Hume, who came on as a second half substitute. “I think 3-1 was a fair score.”

McKenna opened the scoring by taking advantage of some poor Armenia marking on a corner. A defender was late to notice McKenna, who rose and headed in the Julian de Guzman delivery past veteran goalkeeper Roman Berezovsky.

It was the 11th goal for Canada by the 32-year-old defender from Calgary, who has seen action as a forward in the past. It ties him with Carlo Corazzin for seventh place on the all-time national scoring list.

Pizzelli slotted the ball wide in the 11th minute after a raking cross found him unmarked in the Canadian penalty box.

Armenia tied it in the 23rd minute when Pizzelli’s left-footed shot from just outside the penalty box slotted inside the post past a diving Milan Borjan.

The goal came after Canada lost possession in midfield and capped a good run of play for the Armenians, who took their time getting into the match.

Armenia continued to press after tying the score. And another Canadian giveaway in the 30th minute forced Borjan to parry a shot on target away.

Borjan stopped a shot from Yura Movsisyan in the 38th after Armenia slashed through the Canadian defence. Atiba Hutchinson quickly looked to reply for the Canadians, banging a shot wide.

An onrushing Borjan had to stop a Movsisyan shot at the edge of the box late in the half.

The largely empty stadium was buffeted by wind and rain as the first half wore on.

Kenny Stamatopoulos replaced Borjan in goal for the opening of the second half as Hart began to rotate in players.

Movsisyan looked to test Stamatopoulos early but sent his shot wide.

Canada had a chance to go ahead in the 58th on a free kick but Tosaint Ricketts was unable to get his head on a de Guzman delivery.

Defender David Edgar had to clear the ball off the line in the 66th minute after Movsisyan took advantage of yet another giveaway and went around Stamatopoulos.

But Armenia scored on the ensuing corner. After Stamatopoulos cleared the ball with a punch, an Armenian fired a shot off the post and Pizzelli poked in the rebound in the 67th.

It was the seventh goal in 19 matches for Pizzelli, who plays his club soccer in Russia for FC Kuban Krasnodar.

Turkish-born Aras Ozbiliz, who plays for Ajax, made it 3-1 on an injury-time penalty after Mike Klukowski took down Artur Sarkisov as he drove at goal.

Canada offered little on offence other than on set plays.

Armenia failed to quality for Euro 2012 but still managed a 5-3-2 record in finishing third in its group behind Russia and Ireland. And the Armenians led the group in scoring with 22 goals.

Armenia showed flashes of its attacking skill against Canada, probing the defence with runs and passes. But its finishing was sub-par on the day.

Despite the score, Hart was pleased with the play of both his goalkeepers.

“Now you have decent competition in the goalkeeping department. We still have a lot of work to,” said Hart, who did not summon regular ‘keeper Lars Hirschfeld.

Armenia brought 31 players to its Cyprus camp, using a different lineup in a 2-0 loss to No. 25 Serbia on Tuesday. Hart’s 18-man squad featured 16 European-based players.

It was Canada’s first game since a November win over St. Kitts and Nevis in World Cup qualifying play.

Canada plays a friendly against the U.S. in Toronto in June before opening the next round of World Cup qualifying.

The weather in Toronto in June should certainly be much better than what the Canadian team faced over its three days in Cyprus.

“We’ve been here since Sunday in ridiculous conditions,” said Hume. “It’s been monsoon weather.

“It’s been tough to train in and tough to really get anything out of the training but we started really well tonight.”

NOTES: Hart’s record at Canada’s helm is 16-13-8 … Forward Simeon Jackson made an 18th consecutive appearance for Canada, the longest active streak and eighth-longest in national team history.

Article source: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/soccer/canada-falls-to-armenia-in-mens-soccer-friendly/article2354148/

Downtown Shanghai in haze. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

Having stirred up controversy in the United States, audit practices at China-based companies now are testing the patience of Canadian regulators.

In a special report, Canada’s audit regulator has come down hard on the quality of audits of Canadian-listed companies with operations in China, while voicing frustration at problems in getting documents.

“In too many instances auditors did not properly apply procedures that would be considered fundamental in Canada,” the Canadian Public Accountability Board said in its report last week.

Last year, amid accusations of fraud, market capitalization was decimated at Sino-Forest, a Canadian-listed company based in China.

The CPAB did not mention Sino-Forest in its report, nor did it name any of the China-based companies where it found problems. The agency said it looked at 24 “higher-risk” audits, 12 of them by national firms and 12 by regional or local firms.

Problems at one company were severe enough that a restatement will be required, and in seven instances, more audit work will have to be done, the CPAB said.

The report echoes problems that challenged U.S. regulators much of last year: subpar audits at a host of companies based in China and hurdles in getting evidence because of China’s state secrets laws.

As in the United States, the CPAB’s report highlights a blind spot in securities laws: companies in China can list on North American exchanges, but regulators have no way of reviewing the audit work that was done for them in China.

U.S. regulators still are trying to get their hands on documents to help them investigate possible fraud at Longtop Financial, a Chinese company under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The CPAB said it has asked the leadership of audit firms to find a solution to the problem of getting work papers, warning that lack of access was “unacceptable.”

Canada is not limiting its scrutiny to China. The CPAB said it is looking at audits of Canadian-listed companies in other parts of the world and will be coming out with more reports later this year.

Article source: http://blogs.reuters.com/taxbreak/2012/02/29/canada-warns-on-chinese-audit-problems/

By Paul Casciato

LONDON |
Wed Feb 29, 2012 6:01am EST

LONDON (Reuters) – Canada’s natural beauty, multicultural society, health care service and security made it the top place on the planet for UK expats, according to an annual index released on Wednesday.

The NatWest International Personal Banking Quality of Life Index also reported that despite a global economic malaise, more than two thirds of UK expats had not seen a reduction in their quality of life abroad and fewer planned to return home.

The fifth index by Britain’s Natwest bank (RBS.L) revealed most UK expats believe their decision to move abroad was right and that more than half of them have not had to reduce their spending significantly despite the economic backlash from a debt crisis that has depressed the global economy for years.

NatWest head of International Personal Banking Dave Isley said in a statement that the index showed expats had sailed through the most troubled global economic period since the end of World War Two.

“Our Quality of Life Index – which examines expats real life perceptions and experiences and gauges their personal assessments – shows the global financial crisis has failed to dampen the spirits of expats who seem to have adopted the ‘keep calm, carry on’ philosophy,” he said.

Expats living in China, UAE, Hong Kong and Singapore said their financial position had ‘improved dramatically’ since moving to the country. Those living in Australia, Canada and New Zealand assessed their financial position as having ‘improved significantly’.

Those living in Western Europe, South Africa and the United States were less enthusiastic about the improvement in their financial prospects and reported their financial position to have ‘improved moderately’.

The index also reported that those Britons who escaped to the sun in Spain, France and Portugal are counting the cost of their moves as their disposable income is eroded and the cost of living rises during a period of budget austerity ushered in by a euro zone crisis that has hit market confidence in several countries tied to the single European currency.

When the first Quality of Life Index was carried out in 2007, confidence around the world was high as the global economy was expanding, household prosperity was increasing and global GDP forecasts were positive, Isley said.

“Fast forward five years and it’s a very different picture however, it is the expats who are riding the storm with the majority planning to remain abroad,” he said. “Those who are most likely to return home are those who retired to France, Portugal and Spain as their disposable income diminishes and the cost of living rises.”

The number one country for the best quality of life experience for expats (82 percent) is Canada. It’s the third year since the index began that the country renowned for its natural beauty, Mounties and maple syrup has topped the list.

Nearly nine in 10 (88 percent) of expats said that multiculturalism was a factor, with 90 percent rating Canada’s healthcare system as key and 96 percent feeling that Canada’s human rights and freedoms allowed them to feel safe and secure in the country.

Canada also came top in The Well Being Index which comprises six self-assessment categories: state of health, degree of prosperity, sense of belonging and acceptance, life satisfaction, sense of achievement and overall level of happiness.

“The Quality of Life factors that contributed to its number one spot in the rankings yet again range from the culture, standard of living, sense of belonging, work/life balance, equality of opportunity to the state of the economy and financial security,” Isley said of Canada.

China came last in the list of 12 countries ranked by the index. The list follows: 1. Canada 2. New Zealand 3. Australia 4. France 5. South Africa 6. Portugal 7. Spain 8. United States of America 9. United Arab Emirates 10. Singapore 11. Hong Kong 12. China

(Reporting by Paul Casciato, editing by Patricia Reaney)

Article source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/29/uk-expats-lifestyle-survey-idUSLNE81S01320120229