2007

Sunday 26 August 2007 New Democrats take aim in Quebec, tackle Arctic and Afghanistan at policy retreat
OTTAWA -- Arctic sovereignty and a push to withdraw Canada's troops from their combat mission in Afghanistan are among the issues at the top of the agenda for the New Democrats as they kick off a caucus retreat in Montreal on the eve of three federal by-elections, says NDP leader Jack Layton.
The ridings at stake are all in Quebec, including the Montreal riding of Outremont where former provincial environment minister Thomas Mulcair is trying to steal the federal Liberal stronghold for the NDP.

Wednesday 18 July 2007 A suicide bomber attacked a political rally in Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, on Tuesday, killing 15 people. Another 40 were injured. The rally was awaiting the arrival of Iftikhar Chaudhry, the country's former top judge who was removed from his post this year by President Pervez Musharraf. The Supreme Court will decide within the next few days whether to reinstate Mr. Chaudhry. Pakistan has been the scene of a series of suicide attacks following the government's deadly attack earlier this month on Islamist extremists in the Red Mosque.

12 July 2007 June sales: Not to worry
By Andy Dodge
Prices appeared to be easing off in the Westmount real estate market in June, but in fact they are still among the highest the city has ever seen, as volume remained strong moving into the summer months. The city saw 13 sales in June, including one over $3 million and five others between $1 and $2 million

Wednesday 18 July 2007 WESTJET AIRLINES(WJA)$16.41 – Q2 PREVIEW; PUTTING THE HAMMER DOWN. RATING: OUTPERFORM (WAS SECTOR PERFORM). TARGET: $20.00 (WAS $18.00). RISK RATING: ABOVE AVERAGE.
On the back of three straight months of record load factors, strong capacity growth, and solid RASM performance, we once again expect a strong quarter from WestJet. We are forecasting $510 million in revenue, EBITDAR of $121 million, EBITDA of $100 million, and EPS of $0.21, up sharply from $0.14 last year (Street sits at $0.25). While fuel costs came in above our previous forecast, given the strong Loonie, continued cost control and the robust revenue environment, our estimate remains unchanged at $0.21. In light of continued fuel inflation, we are lowering our 2007e EPS to $1.10 (was $1.14), while we have increased our 2008e EPS slightly to $1.32 (was $1.29). Given the passage of time, we are rolling our valuation forward. We are increasing our target price to $20.00 (was $18.00), based on 15x 2008e EPS, in line with its LCC peers, and further justified by EPS growth, ROE, and its standing as a premium operator, in our view. Given ~22% upside to our target, we are upgrading WestJet shares to Outperform (was Sector Perform).

Wednesday 18 July 2007 RESEARCH IN MOTION(RIMM)US$230.07 – ANOTHER CATALYST FOR THE ENTERPRISE. RATING: OUTPERFORM. TARGET: US$255.00. RISK RATING: ABOVE AVERAGE. INDUSTRY RATING: UNDERWEIGHT.
RIM’s rapid pace of new product introductions continued last night as it announced the dual mode 8820, a WiFi and cellular enabled version of the enterprise oriented 8800 device launched in February 2007. The device is important as it is the first handheld from RIM to offer access to WiFi networks in the home, hotspots or corporate campuses in addition to cellular. Orange UK and France have already launched the device and AT&T Wireless will offer it later in the summer. Orange France is offering the 8820 for 159 euros. We expect pricing for the 8820 at AT&T to be around $300-$350 or a slight premium to the current 8800 price of $299. Other carriers around the world are expected to offer it in the coming weeks. While several other devices that combine WiFi and cellular have been launched, RIM’s 8820 is clearly one of the more important launches and clearly our opinion the biggest on the enterprise side given RIM’s penetration on that front. Basically under certain operator conditions (these have yet to be clarified), the 8820 will seamlessly allow phones calls, emails to be transferred back and forth between a carriers cellular and WiFi network. Initially it appears that phone calls and emails will be transferred via UMA (unlicensed mobile access) if the carrier supports the protocol. UMA is currently supported by Orange (UK, France, Poland, Holland and Spain), Telecom Italia, BT and T-Mobile USA. The device also supports Virtual Private Networks (VPN) gateways for major vendors like Cisco to allow access to corporate networks over WiFi. With respect to RIM’s enterprise business, we believe the launch of the 8820 could spur an acceleration in the enterprise replacement cycle and push further BlackBerry adoption. Beyond this launch, we believe RIM has a number of new product launches set for the summer and Fall. We maintain our Outperform and US$255 target. A detailed note will be available later this morning on our website.

Wednesday 18 July 2007 nfb CANADIAN PACIFIC(CP)$77.05 – UPDATE ON COMPANY. RATING: SECTOR PERFORM. TARGET: $76.40. RISK RATING: AVERAGE.
The Globe & Mail reported today that a private equity consortium led by Brookfield Asset Management Inc. (BAM) is preparing a takeover offer for Canadian Pacific RailwayLtd. (CP). Sources said Brookfield, in partnership with Goldman Sachs & Co. and the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec had expressed interest in a possible acquisition bid in April, but those advances were rebuffed. Instead, the board of the Calgary-based railway operator authorized a massive buyback of up to 10% of its stock that some observers interpreted as an attempt to thwart a takeover, but the paper reported that the stock repurchase program has not deterred Brookfield from pushing ahead, according to a handful of people close. We believe that CP could likely be taken private between a 21% to 25% premium from current levels.

Wednesday 18 July 2007 Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD) announced yesterday that the C$500 million agreement to buy a stake in BCE Inc. (BCE) is within the bank's normal risk-taking appetite.

Wednesday 18 July 2007 MONTREAL: DIPLOMATIC IMBROGLIO AWAITS PM IN HAITI
Mr. Harper will arrive in Haiti on Friday after stopping in Barbados. The Montreal newspaper Le Devoir reports he'll have to deal with a delicate diplomatic matter when he meets his Haitian counterpart, Jacques Édouard Alexis. According to the newspaper, the Canadian government declared Mr. Alexis persona non grata in 2003 because of human rights offenses committed by Haitian police between 1999 and 2003 and because of acts of intimidation against opponents of the Lavalas movement of ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. As a result of the Canadian foreign affairs department's evaluation of his past, Mr. Alexis couldn't accompany President René Préval to Canada in May 2006. The Montreal lawyer who represents Mr. Alexis says he's still seeking an official apology.

Wednesday 18 July 2007 rbc Nortel Networks (NT)- $24.33 – Short Term Beta Parking Sector Perform, Above Average Risk, Target Price: $30.00
Shares of NT have underperformed over the year, and RBC CM believes there is limited downside to current levels. In addition, the telecom equipment outlook is displaying firming trends, leading to a reasonable risk/reward scenario. RBC CM believes challenges remain for the company, and expects a pause in CDMA wireless spending during Q2, however remains encouraged by the company’s attempts to streamline operations and bring its financial model closer to its peer group. RBC CM continues to rank Nortel Sector Perform, Above Average Risk with a $30.00 price target.

Market News Thursday 26 April 2007
	Six reasons the Dow will stay above 13,000
	Timing right for sour crude futures - but for whom?

Friday 20 April 2007 Critics blast draft plan on climate change
A secret draft version of the Conservative government's new climate change plan is even weaker than its original approach from last fall which received disastrous reviews from numerous critics, opposition parties and environmentalists said on Tuesday.

Friday 20 April 2007 Dion contends Harper 'antagonistic' toward Charter
Liberal Leader Stephane Dion accused Prime Minister Stephen Harper of "a pattern of antagonism" toward some of Canada's basic judicial precepts in a Tuesday speech commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Friday 20 April 2007 Mother donates eggs to infertile daughter
In what is considered a world first, Melanie Boivin has donated her eggs to her daughter who is sterile because of a genetic condition called Turner’s syndrome.

Friday 20 April 2007 Police, opposition blast Tory move to cripple gun registry
The Conservative government’s latest move to cripple the long-gun registry is being blasted by a national police group and all federal opposition parties.

Mental Health
Will fruit juice keep Alzheimer's at bay?

TORONTO: U.S. BORDER INSPECTIONS DENOUNCED

Doctors See Way to Cut Suffering in Executions Medical experts say the current method of lethal injection could easily be changed, but no state has moved to do so.[best to stop executions]

. . more GWBush

always blog.Foreign Policy : Brutal dictator, welcome WASHINGTON

ts Green thumbs up for Mulroney

IDENTITY THEFT/credit cards

ts Flu pandemic `catastrophe' for Canada
A bird flu pandemic could paralyze Canada's manufacturing sector for more than a year and cost the country hundreds of millions of dollars in medical costs, the Conference Board of Canada says.

see wn Realestate

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