Answering audience questions after his inaugural speech, Poloz said the central bank was in “uncharted territory” and called for direct feedback from those doing business on the ground in order to better understand what is happening.

“The models that we use are not really equipped to deal with the situation that we find ourselves in,” he said.

“The biggest risk that we face today, I suppose, is still an external one, which is that the world may not recover with the same kind of vigor that, at the moment, we’re hoping for and actually seeing signs of.”

He said problems in Europe could take a long time to play out but he was upbeat about Japan’s “monetary experiment” and about the U.S. recovery.

“So right now, we’re thinking ‘Yeah, the glass is half full and off we go.’ But that doesn’t mean we couldn’t have a surprise, like we’ve had before.”

Poloz, who took over as central bank governor on June 3, was careful not to reveal any particular bias on monetary policy, saying the bank only signals its intentions at pre-scheduled announcement dates. The next one is July 17.

“Our broad takeaway is that this speech further reinforces our prolonged (rate) pause forecast into 2015,” said Scotiabank’ economists Derek Holt and Dov Zigler. They said Poloz’s remarks did not reinforce the bank’s mild rate-tightening leanings, nor did it support the view that a rate cut is in the pipeline.

Poloz’s speech and news conference were held slightly before the U.S. Federal Reserve’s policy announcement and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s news conference.

The Bank of Canada is an outlier among the Group of Seven industrialized nations for being the first to hike rates, in mid-2010, after the global recession. It lifted its overnight target rate to 1 percent at that time.

Since April 2012 it has signaled that the next move in rates will again be up, not down, although it has made clear it is in no rush given the disappointing economic backdrop.

A Reuters poll on May 23 showed most economists don’t expect the bank to raise rates until the fourth quarter of 2014.

FOCUS ON BUSINESS CONFIDENCE

In his speech, Poloz stressed the crucial role of business confidence in driving the economy’s return to health.

There are signs that confidence is returning, he said, but he called for patience in waiting for events to unfold, starting with greater foreign demand and stronger exports.

“We need business confidence to continue to heal. This matters very much to the Bank of Canada. Our understanding of these issues will be part of the rigorous distillation of information that drives our policy decisions,” he said.

Companies have healthy balance sheets and the capacity to invest, he said.

His predecessor, Mark Carney, got into hot water with business leaders for chiding them for sitting on what he called “dead money” instead of investing.

Business investment has been slower to rebound than after previous recessions and it slowed in the second half of 2012. In April, the central bank forecast a subdued pickup in business investment growth in 2013.

On the issue of soaring household debt, a top concern for Carney, Poloz said he was confident Canadians were heeding the bank’s message that “interest rates will rise at some point” and would manage their debt accordingly.

He noted “a constructive evolution of activity” in housing while acknowledging choppy data recently, which some believe suggests renewed strength.

(Writing by Louise Egan and Randall Palmer; Additional reporting by Solarina Ho, Alastair Sharp, Andrea Hopkins, Cameron French and John Tilak; Editing by Peter Galloway, Janet Guttsman and Leslie Gevirtz)

In his first speech after taking over as governor on June 3,
Poloz said there were signs that business confidence is
improving as export demand builds and he said what Canada needs
now is “stability and patience”.

“As our economy continues to expand, it will be the
performance of the business sector here and across Canada over
the coming while that we will be watching with great interest,”
Poloz told a business audience in Burlington, Ontario, in the
country’s manufacturing heartland.

“We need business confidence to continue to heal. This
matters very much to the Bank of Canada. Our understanding of
these issues will be part of the rigorous distillation of
information that drives our policy decisions,” he said.

Poloz’s speech will vie with the U.S. Federal Reserve’s
policy announcement for market attention on Wednesday, and
Poloz’s news conference overlaps one being held by Fed Chairman
Ben Bernanke.

Canada’s economy has long recovered from the 2008-09
recession but growth has largely been driven by household
spending, with exports and business investment lagging.

In the speech, Poloz played up his ties with the business
world as former head of the country’s export credit agency,
stressing the need to supplement the central bank’s analysis
with direct insights from industry. Companies have healthy
balance sheets and the capacity to invest, he said.

His predecessor, Mark Carney, got into hot water with
business leaders for chiding them for sitting on what he called
“dead money” instead of investing.

Business investment has been slower to rebound this time
than after previous recessions and it slowed in the second half
of 2012. In April, the central bank forecast a subdued pickup in
business investment growth in 2013.

Poloz did not repeat any of the language used by the bank in
its May 29 interest rate decision, which signaled a likely
modest withdrawal of monetary stimulus after a period of time.

On the issue of soaring household debt, a top concern for
Carney, Poloz said he was confident Canadians were heeding the
bank’s message that “interest rates will rise at some point” and
would manage their debt accordingly.

As for the heated housing market, Poloz noted “a
construction evolution of activity” in housing while
acknowledging choppy data recently, which some believe suggests
renewed strength.

The Bank of Canada is an outlier among the Group of Seven
industrialized nations for being the first to hike rates, in
mid-2010, after the global recession. It lifted its overnight
target rate to 1 percent at that time.

It resumed rate-hike talk in April 2012, signaling in all 10
rate decisions since then that the next move will be up, not
down, although it has made clear it is in no rush given the
disappointing economic backdrop.

A Reuters poll on May 23 showed most economists don’t expect
the bank to raise rates until the fourth quarter of 2014.

The Montreal-based company, which also makes strollers, car seats and home furnishings, said weather conditions have led to widespread discounting in the bicycle market by rivals. It no longer expects full-year earnings from the bicycle business to top 2012 results.

Dorel said that in response to market conditions it is now cutting roughly 50 positions worldwide from its recreational unit, or about 5 percent of the segment’s workforce.

While Dorel’s chief executive, Martin Schwartz, said in a statement that the weakness in the bicycle business is “mainly related to matters beyond our control,” investors indicated they were worried that other issues were also at play.

“The market is telling us that it believes that this is more a structural issue than just seasonal. And you see that with the sell-off in the stock,” said Kash Pashootan, a portfolio manager with Raymond James in Ottawa.

Pashootan, who said that Dorel is among his top 10 holdings, added that the company’s stock is more susceptible to bad news given its strong performance in the past 12 months.

When Dorel reported first-quarter results last month, it said it expected bicycle division earnings to top those from a year earlier, despite the unfavorable weather conditions.

But on Thursday, Schwartz said, “The reality is that we are now into mid-June and the weather has not improved sufficiently which means that we will be unable to make up the accumulated year-to-date sales shortfall.”

The company said it still expects results from its juvenile and home furnishings units to be in line with the expectations outlined last month.

The company’s warning prompted National Bank analyst Leon Aghazarian to cut his rating on Dorel to “underperform,” from “sector perform.”

“We continue to like Dorel’s dividend profile, but today’s announcement supports our cautious view on the stock given a challenging consumer environment in North America and Europe,” Aghazarian wrote in a note to clients. He also trimmed his price target on the stock to C$35.50 from C$41.

Shares of Dorel fell C$2.50 to C$36.27 in afternoon trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

The company said it expects the cost cuts will allow it to report double-digit earnings growth from its bicycle business in the second half of the year. Dorel is expected to report second quarter results on August 9.

(Editing by Jeffrey Hodgson and Leslie Adler)

The C$5.8 billion deal, Canada’s biggest so far this year,
resulted in generous premiums for Safeway, which said it would
use the proceeds to pay down debt and buy back shares, and its
shares shot up 30 percent in after-hours trade.

Empire will gain control of 213 full-service grocery stores,
cementing its position as Canada’s No. 2 grocer behind Loblaw
Companies Ltd at a time when competition from U.S.
retailers Wal-Mart Stores and Target is heating
up.

“We think it is a game changing deal for Empire,” said Barry
Schwartz, a portfolio manager with Baskin Financial, which owns
more than 100,000 shares in Empire.

“This is a huge win for (Empire’s) shareholders, and we
expect a significant uptick in the stock tomorrow” he said.

Safeway’s Canadian arm generated sales of C$6.7 billion and
over C$500 million in adjusted earnings before interest, taxes,
depreciation and amortization in the 12 months ended March 23.

The deal is expected to boost Empire’s earnings immediately
following the close of the transaction late this year.

The company expects roughly C$200 million in annual savings
within three years following the close of the deal by
integrating distribution networks and reducing procurement,
administration and marketing costs.

The all-cash transaction will be financed through equity and
debt offerings, along with a lease-back deal on some real estate
assets being acquired.

In addition to the grocery stores, it is acquiring about 200
in-store pharmacies, along with some liquor stores, fuel
stations and distribution centers as part of the deal.

Empire also said it has identified roughly C$1 billon in
non-core assets sales that could that potentially be used to
help pay back bridge facilities and other debt.

SUBSTANTIAL PREMIUM

Safeway Chief Executive Robert Edwards said on a conference
call that the company gained a substantial premium to the market
multiples of U.S. retailers. The deal was unsolicited and
Safeway did not conduct an auction for the assets.

Its shares jumped to $29.97 in trading after the closing
bell in the United States on Wednesday.

Joe Feldman, analyst at Telsey Advisory Group in New York,
said while Safeway trades at a multiple of about five times
enterprise value to EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes,
depreciation, and amortization), it was raking in more than
double that multiple for the Canadian assets.

Safeway’s Canadian assets historically accounted for
one-third of the company’s operating profit, he added.

Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Ajay Jain said the deal would help
deleverage Safeway’s balance sheet but was no cure-all.

“We expect that after the dust settles following the latest
announcement, Safeway will remain heavily levered and
profitability of U.S. operations will continue to decline.”

UNDER REVIEW

Empire, which has been in the food business for over a
century, already owns some 1,500 stores in 10 provinces with
retail banners that include Sobeys, IGA, Foodland, FreshCo,
Price Chopper and Thrifty Foods.

The takeover, subject to a review by the Competition Bureau,
is expected to close later this year. Empire declined to comment
on whether it expects the agency to compel it to divest certain
assets to win approval.

Canadian rating agency DBRS put its ratings on Empire under
review, highlighting concerns that the acquisition heightens its
financial risk profile, but it also said Empire credit risk
profile could remain consistent with an investment grade rating.

Scotiabank and Morgan Stanley acted as financial advisers to
Empire on the acquisition. Stewart McKelvey and Sullivan &
Cromwell LLP acted as its legal advisors.

Pecman was named Commissioner of Competition for a five-year
term.

The bureau is an independent law enforcement agency Set up
to ensure fair competition in Canada. It is responsible for the
enforcement of the Competition Act and investigates price
fixing, bid-rigging and mergers, among other matters.

Last week, the bureau charged Nestle SA and Mars
Inc with fixing chocolate prices in Canada.

It also won a dispute recently with Royal Bank of Scotland
Group Plc, forcing the bank to hand over key documents
in a global rate-rigging scandal. And after a
probe by the regulator, Japanese auto parts maker Yazaki Corp
was fined C$30 million ($29.5 million) earlier this year for
bid-rigging.

In March, the bureau approved telecommunications company BCE
Inc’s C$3 billion takeover of Astral Media Inc
after BCE agreed to divest more than a dozen channels
and a few radio stations. The deal is still being reviewed by
the country’s telecoms watchdog.

Under Pecman’s leadership, the Bureau recently unveiled a
new initiative designed to encourage whistleblowers to come
forward with information about potential violations of the
Competition Act.

Subrata Bhattacharjee, co-chairman of the national trade and
competition group at the Heenan Blaikie law firm in Toronto,
views Pecman as a strong appointment.

“Given his background, long history within the bureau and
some of the things he did as an acting commissioner, I would
expect that he will continue to pursue vigorous enforcement,
particularly in criminal cases, but also inject a more of a
policy-driven approach than we have seen in recent years,”
Bhattacharjee said.

Pecman has worked nearly 30 years at the bureau, spending
time in every enforcement branch of the agency. He is also an
economist with a masters degree from McMaster University in
Hamilton, Ontario.

Cal Goldman, the co-chairman of the Competition, Antitrust &
Foreign Investment Group at Blakes in Toronto, said Pecman would
enhance the understanding enforcement policy.

“He not only brings a wealth of case and policy experience
to the bureau, but he is also taking an approach that involves
increased transparency, increased predictability and greater
consultation with stakeholders, which is a welcome approach,”
said Goldman, the former head of the bureau, who has known
Pecman for over two decades.

Empire said the deal, one of the biggest in the Canadian
retail sector this year, will give it control of 213
full-service grocery stores under the Safeway banner in Western
Canada. It also includes nearly 200 in-store pharmacies, along
with some liquor stores, fuel stations and distribution centers.

“We think this is a huge win for (Empire’s) shareholders,
and we expect a significant uptick in the stock tomorrow” said
Barry Schwartz, a portfolio manager with Baskin Financial, which
owns more than 100,000 shares in Empire.

“We think it is a game changing deal for Empire, as it was
an Atlantic Coast-based grocery chain and it is making a huge
push into Western Canada.”

Safeway’s Canadian arm generated sales of C$6.7 billion and
had C$513 million of adjusted earnings before interest, taxes,
depreciation and amortization in the 12 months ended March 23.

“We believe this transaction maximizes the value of our
Canadian assets,” Safeway Chief Executive Robert Edwards said on
a conference call.

Edwards said there was no auction for the assets and the
deal was unsolicited and came at a “substantial premium to the
market multiples for U.S. retailers.”

The deal is expected to boost Empire’s earnings immediately
following the close of the transaction.

Sobeys’ Chief Executive Marc Poulin said in a statement he
expects to be able to capture roughly C$200 million in annual
savings within three years following the close of the deal. The
savings will come from integrating distribution networks and
reducing the cost of procurement, administration and marketing,
among other things.

The all-cash transaction will be financed through equity and
debt offerings, along with a lease-back deal on real estate
assets being acquired, the company said.

The takeover, which is subject to regulatory approval, is
expected to close later this year. Scotiabank and Morgan Stanley
acted as advisers to Empire on the acquisition.

Privately held Public Mobile, is based in Toronto and provides wireless coverage in Ontario and Quebec. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The announcement comes just two days after Canada refused to allow the transfer of wireless spectrum licenses to Telus Corp (T.TO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) from Mobilicity, another startup. The ruling effectively blocks Telus’ takeover of the struggling company.

The Canadian government, which wants to boost competition in the sector and reduce wireless phone bills, hopes investors other than industry leaders Telus, Rogers Communications (RCIb.TO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and BCE Inc’s (BCE.TO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) Bell will invest in the new entrants.

Public Mobile, Mobilicity and other new companies bought wireless spectrum during an auction in 2008 and have helped to lower wireless phone bills. But these companies have also struggled to turn profits, forcing them to explore alternatives.

TAKEOVER DEAL

“Circumstances in the Canadian wireless industry have created a window for Canada’s fourth wireless player to emerge,” Thomvest managing director Stefan Clulow said in a statement.

Thomvest is a Toronto-based investment vehicle backed by Peter Thomson. He is chairman of Woodbridge, the Thomson family investment company that owns a majority stake in Thomson Reuters Corp (TRI.TO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz). Cartesian is based in New York.

Privately held Public Mobile, which provides mobile coverage in Ontario and Quebec, also said it planned to take part in the government’s upcoming auction of 700 megahertz spectrum, which is bandwidth that can be used for calls and data transmission.

Telus had warned that Mobilicity might go bankrupt if the government blocked its proposed takeover.

Ruling against that proposal earlier this week, Industry Minister Christian Paradis said he believed that Mobilicity and other new industry entrants had many financing options, and bankruptcy was not foregone conclusion.

(Reporting by Euan Rocha; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn and Janet Guttsman)

The Calgary-based oil and gas producer said late on Tuesday
that it had appointed former Marathon Chief Operating Officer
David Roberts as president and chief executive officer,
effective June 19. He replaces Murray Nunns, who will retire
from the company on July 1.

Penn West is one of Canada’s largest conventional oil
producers with nearly 6 million acres (2.5 million hectares) of
exploration lands in Western Canada and 676 million barrels of
reserves. However, its shares have dropped by more than half
over the past two years as production declined while its rich
dividend drained the cash needed to boost output.

“The company has been struggling and it needed to take
decisive action,” said Jim Hall, chief investment officer at
Mawer Investment Management Ltd, which owns some 1.32 million
Penn West shares, according to the latest Thomson Reuters data.

“I’m happy they are doing so.”

Penn West said it plans to increase efficiency, starting
with a 10 percent workforce reduction over the next few weeks.
The company had about 2,130 employees at the end of 2012.

For the third quarter, the company is cutting its quarterly
payout to 14 Canadian cents a share from 27 Canadian cents to
increase its financial flexibility, it said. Shares of Penn West
were down 30 Canadian cents at C$10.60 by early afternoon in
Toronto.

“They need the cash to operate the business and invest in
the business so it makes sense to retain it rather than pay it
out when they couldn’t afford to do so,” Hall said.

The company will maintain the second-quarter dividend at 27
Canadian cents a share and pay it to shareholders of record on
June 28. It also said its outlook on full-year production and
capital spending remained unchanged.

STRATEGIC REVIEW

Penn West also said its board will form a special committee
to explore such options as strategic financing alternatives,
asset divestments, joint ventures and other business
combinations.

The changes come barely a month after the company named two
respected industry leaders to its board – former Suncor Energy
Inc head Rick George as chairman and former head of
Canadian Natural Resources Allan Markin as vice
chairman.

“We believe the announced CEO change signals a step forward
in the ongoing reorganization and restructuring of Penn West,”
BMO Capital Markets analyst Gordon Tait said in a research note.
“We are encouraged that the company appears to be making the
difficult organizational and financial changes needed.”

Tait and other analysts said, however, that Penn West was
not out of the woods and still needed to improve operational
efficiency, shed assets and strengthen its balance sheet.

“The company’s base operations are unsustainable today,”
said Barclays analyst Grant Hofer. This makes Penn West a
unattractive as a takeover target and joint venture partner, he
said.

Despite Penn West’s not so solid financial position, some
investors do not rule out the possibility of a takeover.

“We never buy anything based on take-out value, but if you
do look at some of the take-outs that have happened, it is not
necessarily the companies in the best financial position that
get taken out,” said Ryan Bushell, a portfolio manager for the
IA Clarington Canadian Conservative Equity Fund at Leon Frazer.

“I could see someone finding some value in (Penn West). We
certainly still think there is value in it,” said Bushell, whose
firm owns roughly 1.94 million Penn West shares, according to
Thomson Reuters data.

The government’s ruling is also a shot across the bow to companies like Rogers Communications Inc (RCIb.TO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and rival BCE Inc’s (BCE.TO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) Bell, indicating future deals will face tough obstacles.

However, Industry Minister Christian Paradis left the door open a crack to the idea of one of the big three wireless phone companies buying up spectrum from smaller players later as long as it did not result in “undue spectrum concentration.”

Telus said last month it would pay C$380 million ($367 million) for debt-laden Mobilicity, testing the resolve of a government keen to open the market to smaller players.

The government’s decision to block Telus’ application for the transfer of Mobilicity’s spectrum, or bandwidth used for phone calls and data transmission, effectively quashes that deal.

“Our government has been clear that spectrum set aside for new entrants was not intended to be transferred to incumbents,” Paradis said. “We will not waive this condition of license and will not approve this, or any other, transfer of set-aside spectrum to an incumbent ahead of the five-year limit.”

The government had put a five-year ban on the transfer to the big players of airwave spectrum that had been set aside for the small firms.

After the expiry of the ban early next year, Paradis said he would still frown on any license transfer that resulted in undue concentration of airwaves in the hands of a few players. However, he stopped short of extending the outright ban.

UNCERTAINTY AHEAD

Mobilicity said it was reviewing the government’s decision and would comment further after speaking with Telus and other stakeholders.

Mobilicity and other upstarts such as Wind, which bought spectrum during a 2008 auction process, have so far helped to lower the average wireless phone bills for Canadian consumers. But they have also struggled to build be profitable, a factor forcing them to explore alternatives.

Telus warned that Mobilicity faced bankruptcy if its deal was blocked. But Paradis said he believed Mobilicity had lots of options, and bankruptcy was not inevitable.

Telus will not challenge the government’s ruling, said Ted Woodhead, head of regulatory affairs at Telus.

“We’re disappointed, we worked hard to try and sort out something for the 250,000 customers and 150 employees at Mobilicity and the bondholders,” said Woodhead. “Those people are all in considerable uncertainty at the moment.”

However, Tuesday’s decision now opened up the possibility that Wind Mobile would combine with Mobilicity.

Anthony Lacavera, the entrepreneur behind the launch of Wind Mobile, told Reuters he was eager to enter into talks with Mobilicity about an acquisition.

“We are going to look very closely at Mobilicity again now that we have an opportunity to look at new entrant consolidation finally and (know) that incumbents are not going to be permitted to interfere with new entrant consolidation,” Lacavera said.

But analysts seemed skeptical that rival bids would emerge.

“It remains unclear to us who will invest in the new entrants without a clear exit strategy,” said BMO Capital Markets analyst Tim Casey, in a note to clients.

ROGERS DEALS

Paradis’ warning about not permitting proposed spectrum transfers that would result in undue concentration and diminished competition had potential implications beyond the Telus-Mobilicty deal.

Rogers last month announced a deal giving it an option to buy Quebecor Inc’s (QBRb.TO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) unused spectrum in the Toronto area. Quebecor’s wireless arm, Videotron, bought the airwaves during the 2008 auction in which the federal government set aside some airwaves for new entrants, including Videotron.

In January, Rogers struck a similar deal with rival Shaw Communications Inc (SJRb.TO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) for an option to buy Shaw’s spectrum licenses in the provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and parts of Ontario.

Paradis did not comment on the Rogers deals. The company has options in both cases and has not yet submitted an official application to transfer the licenses.

“This was not the intention of the government, to have the set-aside spectrum to be sold to incumbents,” said Paradis. “I cannot judge about some hypothetical proposals coming in, but the decisions will be based on the key parameters of the policy framework.”

The government also said it was delaying an auction for 700 megahertz spectrum to give companies additional time to finalize their approaches and consider its decision on spectrum license transfers.

(Additional reporting by Alastair Sharp in Toronto; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn, John Wallace and Jeffrey Benkoe)

The deal, which will give Vancouver-based New Gold control
of Rainy River’s namesake gold project in northwestern Ontario,
sent New Gold’s shares up 36 percent in midday trading.

Juniors in the sector have been hurt badly by the sharp
pullback in the price of gold along with budget blowouts and
other concerns at their larger peers.

This has prompted a huge exodus of investment from both the
overall mining sector and early-stage exploration players in
particular. It has led to a 53 percent drop in the last year of
the Thomson Reuters Canada Gold Index, which
includes a cross-section of large- and small-cap gold miners.

New Gold is offering 0.5 of its common share for each Rainy
River share tendered, or C$3.83 in cash. This represents a 42
percent premium over Rainy River’s closing price on Thursday on
the Toronto Stock Exchange.

But the offer is substantially below Rainy River’s all-time
high of C$13.50 a share in February 2011.

Stifel Nicolaus analyst Craig Stanley believes the offer is
a fair price and does not expect a rival bid to emerge.

“Though Rainy River shareholders will own just 5 percent of
the combined company, this dilution is somewhat offset by the
financing risk, and associated equity dilution, if the company
tries to develop Rainy River on its own,” Stanley said in a note
to clients.

Rainy River said the deal gives shareholders certainty about
the development of its project, and the equity component of the
deal gives them an opportunity to enjoy further gains when the
industry cycle turns and gold prices begin to rise again.

“This offer initially started as an all-cash offer and we
made it clear that would not even be considered by our board and
shareholders,” said Dale Peniuk, chairman of Rainy River’s
special committee of directors, who reviewed the deal.

“We have received some feedback from our shareholders, and
it has generally been very, very positive,” he added.

The deal was unanimously approved by Rainy River’s board.
The directors and management team have also agreed to tender
their shares in favor of the offer.

BMO Capital Markets, which co-led Rainy River’s C$58 million
equity offering late last year, acted as Rainy River’s financial
adviser, while the legal advisers are Bull, Housser & Tupper LLP
and Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP.

New Gold’s financial adviser was RBC Capital Markets and its
legal advisers were Cassels Brock & Blackwell in Canada and
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP in the United
States.

Shares of Rainy River were up 97 Canadian cents at C$3.67 in
mid-day trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange, while New Gold
was down 8 percent at C$7.05.