Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - May 30, 2001, Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg pro my 200 2 Al 3 o 36 to lease James Audi Una Lite in Milinn 7881100 305 Madison at Ness b3 rate Cut dangerously cautious Banks move not enough to boost say critics by Sandra cordon Ottawa the Bank of Canada cautiously trimmed another Quarter Point off its trendsetting interest rates but critics said its moving too slowly to give the econ omy a needed Central Bankers sounded optimistic about the prospects for economic recovery As they reduced the Bank rate to they also reduced the key policy rate the Central Banks target for overnight rates to per As Central Bankers made their fourth interest rate Cut so far this they warned they must guard against rising which jumped last month to per cent from per cent in that prevented the Bank from cutting rates inflation is not really the problem a sluggish Economy poses much greater countered some Ana a Quarter Point Cut is a dangerously cautious strategy that the Bank could regret if the current slowdown tips Over into outright said economist Avery Shenfeld of Cir world risks of continued weakness remain added Marc senior economist with Toronto Dominion in Light of the economic storm Clouds that could still lie a bolder half Point move would not have been difficult to said the Bank seemed to be searching for a lowering rates enough to stimulate growth without going too far to trigger a rate Cut was widely expected by analysts and will affect All kinds of con Sumer borrowing from mortgages to credit card and personal loan major Banks immediately reduced their prime also by a most investors still have Confidence the Bank is on the right track and does it need to Cut too said Rob analyst with Standard and poors inflation is expected to fall Back below two per cent by but of course you cant be certain of that and i to be the Bank probably Felt that Only going 25 basis Points was the appropriate thing to said finance minister Paul Martin endorsed the i have enormous Confidence in the governor of the Bank and the Bank of Martin said following yester Days regular meeting of in certainly not going to second guess what they the Dollar appeared mildly interested in the rate which keeps Canadian overnight rates a half percentage Point above the comparable the loonie traded at cents is by up of a cent from mondays in a the Bank noted that Domestic consumer demand remains reasonably healthy and that helping to offset weak demand for Canadian exports by the United when first Quarter growth num Bers Are released analysts say Likely come in at about per cent not Strong but not the main risk to Canadas economic recovery remains just How Long it will take the United states our largest trading partner to the Bank in these today reduction in interest rates will support aggregate demand in the Economy con new study looks at Industry groupings info needed to draw new business mayor by Martin Cash the Federal government and eco nomic development Winnipeg Are working on a major study to determine How related industries in Winnipeg Are that the sort of information that was needed to attract the israeli avionics company Elbit systems mayor Glen Murray told the development groups annual meeting you cant attract companies like Elbit without having other aerospace companies in the the mayor the study Hopes to generate detailed information on a number of such Industry clusters in the City and their relationships with suppliers and Cus George the economic development groups director said the Cluster theory was developed by Michael of Harvard who did an important study on competitiveness in Canada 10 years we will apply the theory on a local Skinner Murray said there Are about a half dozen Core and emerging clusters in Klaus president of said the first phase of the project is expected to be completed by septem we have to Stop looking Over our Thiessen we have to concentrate on our Jeff de free press Mark Chipman chats with Klaus Thiessen at the annual meeting of economic development momentum and especially regarding downtown were the general themes at the meet Murray also reminded the audience of senior business and government officials that there Are Seri Ous challenges to overcome if the City is to retain its role As an economic Murray held meetings last week in Winnipeg with other big City mayors talking about changing the Structure of municipal governance for Canad an Winnipeg generates billion in net taxes per but about 40 per cent of that is exported to the rest of the he told the he showed charts indicating dra Matic increases in Federal and Provin Cial taxes collected in every category Over the past five years in but a 13 per cent net decline in Revenue for the City from property taxes and Only a two per cent increase in Busi Ness taxes our capacity to reinvest in the City is he that one of the reasons Why Mur Ray favours the kind of economic development Model being employed by the True North group the entity that is poised to develop a new million sports and entertainment Cen tre on the site of the old downtown Eaton Mark chairman and founder of True told the meeting it took him four years of private discussions to put the Deal together rather than a lot of Public it gave us time to understand the project he the timing had to be right and four years ago the timing was not this project has no Chance for Success without a Community Jean Manitoba Deputy pre Mier and minister of intergovernmental listed a series of projects the province has supported in Down town most notably Ivule North and the new downtown Campus for red River Community economic development is a collaborative Thiessen a Good partnership will help identify opportunities and Edw is the economic development Arm of the City and is jointly funded by the province and the City to the tune of about million per tse May be Public company by 2002 exchanges shareholders of cdx takeover by Wojtek Dabrowski Toronto shareholders gave the Green Light yesterday to the Toronto Stock exchanges i omillion takeover of the Wester based Canadian venture the uses next move to Start issuing shares As a Public company within a at the Toronto Stock markets annual general the current share holders mainly brokerage houses passed two resolutions amending rules to allow the Board of directors to buy the Junior those moves came just hours after the Western markets shareholders overwhelmingly approved the Deal at a meet ing in approximately 95 per cent of the votes cast were in favour of the trans cdx Board chairman Scott Paterson told a news of the 127 votes 120 were in favour of the tse chairman Daniel Sullivan said it want necessary for the senior exchanges shareholders to vote directly on the its up to the Board of directors to make a decision on an acquit Sullivan he also outlined to tse shareholders the Long awaited timetable for the uses Public we believe the tse should be and will be a publicly owned company and May just be the first publicly owned Stock Exchange in North America within six to 12 Sullivan who will become Vic chairman of the tse if the takeover clears regulatory hurdles As expected at the end of said he was delighted by the Strong support for the tse i think that great news for the he and i think that As a putting the two exchanges under the ownership group is an example of real Progress taking place in the Canadian capital the cdx was formed in after the merger of the Junior Alberta and Vancouver Stock while the Montreal Exchange started focusing on futures and leaving senior Canadian equities to the Toronto mar the Winnipeg Stock Exchange was also recently absorbed by the asked whether smaller securities issuers will suffer because of the creation of a joint Exchange and the less ening of cdx chief executive Bill Hess said that int a con the cdx and the tse have never competed for he we list the Junior issuers and they list the senior so there wont be any lessening of Competition at there will be More investor interest in cdx and the issuers will have the Opportunity to Start on the cdx and perhaps move More quickly to the since the takeover was announced in observers have speculated there could be Job losses at both the cdx and cd nudism Piess Conoho buys Gulf Canada in record by Carol Harrington Calgary Gulf Canada resources is being sold to american Oil and Gas giant Conoho in a whopping Deal that Marks the costliest takeover Ever for Canadas the blockbuster transaction endorsed by the two companies boards allows Conoho to buy Gulf Canadas shares for for a total of Houston based Conoho will also assume billion in Gulf Canada the announced rep resents a Premium of More than a third on gulfs share value and is the biggest takeover of a Canadian Oil company said the Canadian association of Petroleum the previous biggest Oil Patch deals were the 1987 takeover of dome Petro Leum by Amoco Worth Bil and 1989s Purchase by Imperial Oil of Texaco Canada for Conoho chief executive Archie Dun Ham was Quick yesterday to Point out the Gulf takeover will make his com Pany a key player in the Northwest territories and Southeast the acquisition increases con cos North american natural Gas production and reserves by 50 per to billion cubic feet a Day and trillion cubic continued please see Gulf Canada b8 Bank rate the Bank of Canadas Bank rate fell a Quarter of a per cent to per May 29 1998 1999 2000 01 Tirc up Sis tent with keeping Intuit inn close to the Banks inflation control the Bank superstore to accept Mastercard for groceries grocery Chain to Cash in on credit Byg Eoll Kirbyson starting shoppers at real Canadian superstore locations will be Able to pay for their groceries with a credit but not just any credit card will be Only including the newly launched presidents Choice financial will were in the credit card business said Geoff Vic president Industry and investor relations for Toronto based Loblaw companies superstores Parent until Loblaw owned locations did not accept credit cards because the com Pany Felt it could offer lower prices by not having to pay the credit card issuer usually Between one and three per cent of the total by having our own the dynamics were Able to defray some of the costs of accepting credit cards in Wilson adding that the stores will also accept non branded Mastercard the main feature of the pc financial Mastercard is a loyalty Points program designed specifically for pc financial customers can earn Points on Pur chases made anywhere and redeem them for free groceries in any Loblaw owned including the seven super seven extra foods and one real Canadian wholesale club locations in David spokesman for Cal Gar based said of the Loblaw Only superstore would accept the credit extra foods shoppers will continue to pay by Cash and debit Wilson said by adding credit card capability at most Loblaw the company Hopes to grow both its grocery and financial services Wilson noted while three Earold pc financial is a partnership Between Loblaw and ubic a member of the visa credit card family lob Laws pc Bank division will serve As the issuer of the new credit we did a Pilot with a tic and visa but Mastercard offered us some very attractive the Overall pack age was much More he noting the card will offer All the Bene fits of a Platinum such As product extended warranty for Pur chases and Roadside assistance without an annual Cibic will remain a partner with pc financial other banking including chequing and savings Glucs and lines of Wilson the new which was launched in British Columbia and the maritime provinces at the end of is being launched simultaneously across the Prairies Ana Wilson said the makeup rate thus far has been Treen he said pc financial is gaining More than customers per but he declined to give specific details of How Many credit cards had been issued since the i i ;