TORONTO, Feb 7 (Reuters) – The underperforming global
economy should not be allowed to delay financial system reforms,
a senior Canadian official said on Tuesday, adding that global
regulators will propose new rules for so-called shadow banking
by the end of this year.

Bank of Canada Senior Deputy Governor Tiff Macklem, who also
chairs a committee at the Financial Stability Board (FSB),
pushed back against bankers who argue now is not the time to
impose tougher new capital standards on lenders due to the
recession in Europe and a weak U.S. economy.

TORONTO, Feb 6 (Reuters) – Canada’s main stock index
finished lower on Monday as investors took some profits after a
four-session gain, while lower commodity prices on persistent
fears that Greece will not be able to avoid a messy debt default
also weighed.

The index’s key materials and energy sectors led the
decline, falling 0.5 percent and 0.1 percent respectively as oil
and gold prices dropped on the continued lack of progress in
Greece’s debt talks.

TORONTO, Feb 6 (Reuters) – Canada’s resource-heavy
main stock index was lower on Monday morning as oil prices
weakened on growing fears that Greece will not be able to avoid
a messy debt default.

The index’s key energy sector led the market lower, falling
0.2 percent as oil prices dropped as traders and investors
worried that a failure to agree on a new debt deal for Greece
would suppress demand in the euro zone.

TORONTO, Feb 3 (Reuters) – The Canadian dollar bounced
to its strongest level in just over three months on Friday as a
surge in U.S. job creation boosted investor confidence about the
outlook for the world’s biggest economy.

The currency surged to C$0.9928 to the U.S. dollar,
or US$1.0073, the strongest level since Oct. 31, after data
showed the American economy added 243,000 jobs, the most since
last April. The figure easily beat economists’ expectations for
a gain of only 150,000.

TORONTO, Feb 2 (Reuters) – Canadian regulators
introduced single-stock circuit breakers on Thursday that will
halt trading in the event of rapid, intense and unexplained
share moves like the one that occurred during the “flash crash”
on May 6, 2010.

The Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada

(IIROC) said the circuit breakers would be imposed for some 250
stocks listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite
index .GSPTSE. Circuit breakers are essentially designed to
slow or stop trading when markets become extremely volatile.

TORONTO (Reuters) – The group bidding for the Canada’s biggest stock exchange said on Tuesday it was trying to ease concerns about its $3.8 billion offer, but it is unclear if any concessions will appease regulators wary of endorsing a near monopoly.

The Maple Group of 13 Canadian financial institutions said it had spoken with regulators about stock trading and pricing at the Canadian Depository for Securities (CDS), which clears and settles all trades in Canada and which would be part of the new venture formed in the Maple bid for TMX Group (X.TO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).

TORONTO, Jan 31 (Reuters) – The Canadian consortium
that wants to buy exchange operator TMX Group (X.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) extended
the deadline on its C$3.8 billion ($3.8 billion) takeover bid
for a fourth time on Tuesday as regulators study the proposal
that would put the country’s dominant trading, clearing and
settlement services under one roof.

Maple Group, made up of 13 financial institutions, said it
extended its offer until Feb. 29.

TORONTO, Jan 26 (Reuters) – A weeks-long silence over
the regulatory fate of Maple’s C$3.8 billion ($3.80 billion) bid
for TMX Group is sapping investor confidence in the deal, which
would put Canada’s dominant financial markets operator under the
control of its big banks and pension funds.

More than a half-year after Maple Group offered to buy TMX
(X.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) for C$50 a share, the stock is trading at just C$42, and
some investors are shedding their investments for fear that
regulators will reject the proposal as anti-competitive.

TORONTO (Reuters) – Canadian housing starts climbed more than expected in December, lifted mostly by multiple-unit buildings like condominiums, the latest sign that low interest and mortgage rates are keeping the country’s property market buoyant.

Housing starts rose to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 200,200 units, up from an upwardly revised 185,600 units a month earlier, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp said on Tuesday.

TORONTO, Dec 15 (Reuters) – Canada’s financial trading
system would grow stronger under a plan that envisions the
country’s dominant exchange operator taking charge of Alpha
Group, its main competitor, according to Alpha’s chief
executive.

The Alpha takeover proposal is part of a sweeping plan by
Maple Group, a consortium of 13 Canadian financial institutions,
to buy TMX Group (X.TO: Quote, Profile, Research), the operator of the Toronto Stock
Exchange, for C$3.8 billion ($3.67 billion).