George Soros doubles gold holdings, Intrawest gets an extension
Michael Babad
RTGAM






Today's top stories from Report on Business :

Barrick to spin off Tanzanian assets

Barrick Gold Corp. says it will spin off its African gold properties into a separate public company, a strategy it says will help it create more value from the low-cost, high-growth producing region. Barrick, the world's biggest gold producer, said it would continue to hold a significant stake in African Barrick Gold after an initial public offering on the London exchange, which would involve selling at least 25 per cent. African Barrick Gold, the biggest producer in Tanzania, would be the biggest gold producer on the London bourse. It has four mines and several exploration projects in the country. Barrick also today posted a fourth-quarter profit that beat analysts' estimates, earning $215-million (U.S.) or 21 cents a share, compared with a loss of $468-million or 53 cents a year earlier. Read the story.



Consumer prices rise 1.9 per cent

Today's inflation reading by Statistics Canada is all about cars. The federal statistics-gathering agency said this morning consumer prices rose 1.9 per cent in January from a year earlier, the fastest pace since November, 2008. While six of the eight components in the consumer price index rose, the increase in the overall, or so-called headline, rate was driven by prices related to vehicles. Gasoline prices rose 23.9 per cent from a year earlier, while insurance premiums jumped 7.7 per cent and the purchase price of the vehicles themselves rose 3.1 per cent. That's notable in that it marks the first time since June, 2007, that vehicle prices have increased on a year-over-year basis. Gas prices alone have had a dramatic regional effect as overall inflation rates are now highest in the eastern provinces.

The Bank of Canada's core inflation reading, meanwhile, which excludes volatile items and guides the central bank's policy, jumped to 2 per cent from 1.5 per cent in December. Economists don't believe that this will change Governor Mark Carney's pledge to hold interest rates at historic lows until mid-year at the earliest, although Scotia Capital noted that "for an inflation-targeting central bank, stickiness in core inflation readings have to be causing some policy angst." Read the story



Toyota chief asked to testify before U.S. panel

Pressure is mounting on the chief executive officer of Toyota Motor Corp. to appear before the U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee to discuss the auto maker's massive recalls. Akio Toyoda has said he won't attend U.S. hearings, though he might if invited. The chairman of the committee has now invited Mr. Toyoda, saying in a letter that "the public is unsure as to what exactly the problem is, whether it is safe to drive their cars, or what they should do about it." Toyota has stressed its commitment to safety and quality, and is working quickly to fix the problems. Read the story



Intrawest gets week extension

Intrawest ULC and its owner Fortress Investment Group have an extra week to satisfy lenders. Bloomberg News reported today that a foreclosure auction, originally scheduled for tomorrow, has been put off to Feb. 26. Fortress and Intrawest have been in talks with creditors since missing a final payment on a $1.4-billion (U.S.) loan late last year. While the extra week gives breathing room, it still means that Intrawest could face a foreclosure auction two days before the closing ceremony of the Vancouver Olympics, which is set for Feb. 28. Intrawest is said to be fighting to hold on to Whistler, its crown jewel. However, the resort may be the most attractive in the company's stable to buyers. Read Streetwise by Boyd Erman



Related : Vail tops list of bidders for Whistler



Britain takes steps on Falklands oil

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said today the country has "made all the preparations that are necessary" to protect its interests in the Falkland Islands region. Britain is again feuding with Argentina, its enemy in a 1982 war over the Falklands, over rights to explore for what are believed to be rich oil reserves off the islands. "It is perfectly within our rights to be able to do this," Mr. Brown told a radio interviewer. "Sensible discussions will prevail on this." Read the story



Fairfax acquires U.S. insurer

Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. has struck a $1.4-billion (U.S.) cash deal to acquire Zenith National Insurance, a U.S. group that specializes in workers compensation. Fairfax has long been interested in Zenith, and once actually held a significant stake in the U.S. insurer, but it sold that several years ago. "This will be probably the best company we've ever bought in our history," Fairfax chief executive officer Prem Watsa said. "We've never bought a company of this quality before." Read the story



Wal-Mart profit jumps, outlook weak

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. shares fell after the giant retailer said fourth-quarter profit rose 22 per cent but same-store sales in the United States fell. Analysts noted that its projections for the first quarter were weak. Wal-Mart's profit rose to $4.63-billion (U.S.) or $1.21 a share from $3.79-billion or 96 cents a year earlier. Sales at stores open at least a year, a key measure, fell 1.6 per cent. "The benefit they saw last year from the 'trade-down' effect seems like it's dissipating," one analyst told Dow Jones. Read the story



Is China secretly buying U.S. debt?

Some observers suggest China may be buying U.S. Treasury bills anonymously. Their comments follow U.S. data earlier this week showing China shed $34-billion (U.S.) in Treasury bills in December, putting Japan back on top as the leading holder of the debt. But analysts told The Associated Press they believe China's holdings are actually bigger because it is acquiring Treasuries anonymously through financial institutions overseas. "What they are doing is diversifying the channels through which they make these purchases so that it is much more difficult for the market to ascertain what they are doing," the managing director of a Beijing research firm told the news agency. Read the story



Related: China unloads $34-billion of U.S. government debt



Soros doubles gold holdings

George Soros more than doubled his holdings in gold late last year as the price of bullion surged. Soros Fund Management LLC became the fourth-biggest holder in the SPDR Gold Trust, the largest gold exchange-traded fund, in the fourth quarter of 2009, according to reports based on a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Bloomberg News said the Soros vehicle acquired 3.728 million shares worth $421-million (U.S.), bringing its total to $663-million. It was the fund's single biggest holding at the end of the year. The news agency pointed out that such quarterly SEC filings have a 45-day lag, and it's not known whether the fund is stilling holding all of that investment. Just last month, Mr. Soros said gold is the "ultimate asset bubble." Still, some central banks and others have been loading up on gold, and, one industry observer told Bloomberg, "we're going to see more people adding gold to their investment portfolio as they shift into safer stuff."



New computer virus spreading

A new virus is making the rounds of the world's computers, and it's a nasty one. The virus has now hit 75,000 computers in 2,500 organizations, security firm NetWitness reported, according to the Reuters news agency today. It's called "kneber botnet" and collects logins to e-mail, social networking sites and online financial systems, sending the data back to hackers. NetWitness said the botnet has hit commercial and government computers, gathering some 68,000 corporate logins.



Nexen swings to profit

Nexen Inc. posted a turnaround in fourth-quarter results today, reporting a profit of $259-million or 49 cents a share compared with a loss of $181-million or 35 cents a year earlier. Sales rose 22 per cent to $1.55-billion, while production, before royalties, averaged 265,000 barrels of oil equivalent daily, compared with 230,000. Read the story



Daimler posts surprise loss

Daimler AG posted a surprise fourth-quarter loss and killed its annual dividend. The German auto maker reported a quarterly loss of €352-million ($499-billion) and annual loss of €2.64-billion, largely for accounting reasons, the company said. Analysts had expected a fourth-quarter profit and were not expecting the dividend to be cancelled. "We assume that we will pay a dividend again for this year and the coming years," chief financial officer Bodo Uebber said. Read the story



Lovers of Abbey Road come together

Britain's National Trust is being urged to take over the Abbey Road recording studios. A campaign is spreading on Facebook and Twitter to save the London studio where the Beatles recorded many of their hits. Reports from London have suggested that EMI is shopping the property, immortalized on the cover of the Abbey Road album showing the four musicians on the crosswalk outside the studio. The idea that the charitable organization acquire the site was first suggested by Sir Paul McCartney on a radio show this week. The National Trust, which owns the Liverpool homes where Sir Paul and John Lennon were raised, said on its website that "it's not often that the public spontaneously suggests that we should acquire a famous building. If there is enough momentum, we may launch a campaign to save the studios." Read the story



French spirits exports suffer record drop

They're not exactly popping corks in France's spirit industry. The Federation of French Wine and Spirits Exporters said today that exports fell 17 per cent to €7.74-billion last year, a record drop, as demand fell and consumers switched to cheaper brands. According to the group, expensive Champagne and cognac suffered the most. Read the story



From today's Report on Business

Energy hunt spurs Alberta land grab



Real estate set for rise ahead of new rules and taxes



Clean, green and powered by cow patties