Winnipeg Free Press

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Glacier White Moonlight Blue Volcano Red Brilliant Red Monsoon Grey Scuba Blue Glacier White Monsoon Grey Ice Silver 235 234 142 143 Audi Certified Pre- Owned warranty Ask us about 0.9% with APR financing! 51 8,090 13,680 51 L ONDON - Standard & Poor's rating agency on Monday downgraded Russia's credit grade by one notch to junk status, citing a weakened economic outlook. The agency dropped the rating to BB+ from BBB- as it sees the country's financial buffers at risk amid a slide in the country's currency and weakening revenue. " In our view, the Russian Federation's monetary policy flexibility has weakened, as have its economic growth prospects," it said. Russia's economy has been hit hard by the double impact of weaker prices for its energy exports as well as Western sanctions. The Russian currency tumbled, dropping some seven per cent to about 68.5 rubles to the U. S. dollar. Standard & Poor's said Russia's financial system is weakening, limiting room for manoeuvre for Russia's Central Bank. It said the bank " faces increasingly difficult monetary policy decisions," while also trying to preserve incentives for growth. The Russian economy is expected to contract by four to five per cent this year for the first time since President Vladimir Putin took the helm in 2000. Capital outflows, which averaged $ 57 billion annually during 2009 to 2013, soared to $ 152 billion last year. " Stresses could mount for Russian corporations and banks that have foreign currency debt service requirements without a concomitant foreign currency revenue stream," the rating agency said. Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov sought to play down the anticipated move, saying it reflected the rating agency's " excessive pessimism." - The Associated Press TORONTO - Sears Canada has appointed Ronald Boire as its president and CEO, a position he has held on an interim basis since he was moved in last October by the company's U. S. parent. Boire had previously been chief merchandising officer and president of the Sears and Kmart stores in the United States. During his career he has also held senior positions at Toys " R" Us, Best Buy and Sony Electronics. Boire stepped in after Douglas Campell announced in September he would leave for personal reasons. Since then, Target has announced it will close all its 133 Canadian stores - which have been competing against Sears Canada, Walmart and other retailers since the Minneapolis- based company made its first international move in early 2013. Sears Canada responded to its rival's retreat by offering discounts to about 17,600 Target Canada employees for 16 weeks from Jan. 21 and announcing they'll be invited to special events such as job fairs across the country. - The Canadian Press SAN FRANCISCO - Calling it " ridiculous" and " baseless," IBM on Monday dismissed a report that said the technology giant plans to lay off one in four of its workers, or 100,000 people. The company " flatly denies" the Forbes report, IBM spokesman Ian Colley said in a phone interview. IBM previously has announced layoffs affecting " several thousand people," only " a small fraction" of the number predicted last week by a blogger on Forbes. com, IBM said in a statement. Employees may be relieved, but investors appeared to have welcomed the idea of big changes at Big Blue. Between Thursday, when the report was posted online and Monday morning's denial, IBM shares rose about four per cent to peak at US$ 159.46. The stock closed up just 49 cents at $ 156.36. Investors may be looking for IBM to make some significant changes, said Morningstar stock analyst Peter Wahlstrom, although 100,000 job cuts is more than he would expect. These kinds of rumours come up periodically, Wahlstrom said, though they get " snuffed out pretty quickly" if there's no weight to them. BlackBerry investors got excited earlier this month when Reuters, citing an unnamed source, reported Samsung was in talks to buy the Canadian smartphone maker. Shares spiked 30 per cent but the surge stalled after both companies denied the report. Some analysts said that rumour was plausible because a tie- up could be the boost both companies need. However, laying off a quarter of IBM's workforce would be " off the charts," said Daniel Morgan, senior portfolio manager at Synovus Trust Company, which holds about 300,000 IBM shares. " I can't see that. But I wouldn't be surprised if we did hear of some more layoffs." IBM has had three big reorganizations in previous decades, he noted. " They do let people go. I think that's why this is gaining some traction." - The Associated Press Sears names Boire as CEO IBM denies layoffs noted in report Russia's credit grade dropped to junk level B_ 08_ Jan- 27- 15_ FP_ 01. indd B8 1/ 26/ 15 8: 14: 30 PM ;