TORONTO (Reuters) – The high-flying Canadian dollar could slide before it climbs again, hurt by dovish central bank language and traders’ reluctance to test near-record highs.

Analysts said the rise in Canadian bond yields above U.S. levels and commodity price gains, which helped drive the currency’s 2011 rally to 2-1/2 year highs, may also lose their ability to push the resources-linked currency higher.

TORONTO (Reuters) – Nunavut Iron hiked its bid for Baffinland Iron Mines (BIM.TO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) late on Friday, refusing to back down in a fight with steel giant ArcelorMittal (ISPA.AS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) for control of the junior miner and its vast undeveloped iron ore deposit in Canada’s Arctic.

Nunavut Iron — backed by U.S. private equity firm Energy & Minerals Group and formed solely to bid for Baffinland — raised its offer by 5 Canadian cents a share to C$1.45 a share, valuing the company at about C$570 million ($570 million). But it is still seeking to buy just 60 percent of its common shares.

TORONTO, Nov 21 (Reuters) – A post-crisis boom in sales of
Canadian corporate bonds looks set to extend into 2011,
delighting fee-hungry bankers and companies looking to lock in
borrowing costs near historic lows.

Debt market watchers say high demand from income-seeking
investors is behind the surge, as are interest and inflation
rates that are expected to stay low for a long time.

TORONTO (Reuters) – Canada said on Sunday it blocked BHP Billiton’s (BHP.AX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) bid for fertilizer giant Potash Corp (POT.TO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) partly because BHP, the world’s top miner, lacked expertise in mining and marketing the crop nutrient.

Industry Minister Tony Clement said he was also not satisfied that the proposed $39 billion takeover would create a significant improvement in the level and nature of economic activity in Canada.

TORONTO (Reuters) – Canada’s surprise decision to block BHP Billiton’s(BHP.AX: Quote, Profile, Research) $39 billion hostile bid for Potash Corp(POT.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) will curb foreign investment and lower the odds of successful offers for resource giants like Suncor Energy Inc(SU.TO: Quote, Profile, Research).

But fund managers and analysts said the fallout will affect just a few major companies, and Canada remains mostly “open for business”. The deal’s rejection could also prompt much needed clarity to existing rules on foreign investment.

TORONTO (Reuters) – Canada’s surprise decision to block BHP Billiton’s $39 billion hostile bid for Potash Corp will curb foreign investment and lower the odds of successful offers for resource giants like Suncor Energy Inc.

But fund managers and analysts said the fallout will affect just a few major companies, and Canada remains mostly “open for business”. The deal’s rejection could also prompt much needed clarity to existing rules on foreign investment.

TORONTO (Reuters) – Canada on Wednesday blocked BHP Billiton’s $39 billion bid for Potash Corp, the world’s biggest producer of a key crop nutrient, throwing its reputation as a business-friendly country deeply into question.

* The decision shows that after waving through hundreds of takeovers, Canada is not entirely “open for business”. Like many countries, it has become more wary about allowing foreign investors to gain control of companies that hold strategic resources.

TORONTO, Oct 28 (Reuters) – The Canadian government and the
Bank of Canada should be ready to provide more stimulus to the
economy if the downside risks it now faces come to pass, the
International Monetary Fund said on Thursday.

The multinational agency said authorities were taking the
right steps by winding down Canada’s fiscal stimulus plan and
halting an interest rate hike campaign started in June.

TORONTO (Reuters) – Canada’s dollar looks set to bounce back above its U.S. counterpart for the second time this year, but a slowing economy and flat Canadian interest rates suggest a short-lived rally with little underlying strength.

The Canadian dollar hit 99.89 U.S. cents on Wednesday, its highest level against the greenback since April 27.

TORONTO (Reuters) – The United States must preserve confidence in the dollar even as it looks at a variety of ways to combat the economic slowdown, Paul Volcker, special adviser to President Barack Obama, said on Wednesday.

The former Federal Reserve Chairman said it is difficult to find any sector of the U.S. economy that has any “spark”, so authorities should be examining what fiscal and monetary tools they have available.