OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canada’s main opposition party on Tuesday urged the Conservative government not to rubber-stamp a bid by China’s CNOOC Ltd to buy oil company Nexen Inc without public consultations, saying opinion had hardened against the deal.

Peter Julian, energy critic for the left-leaning New Democratic Party (NDP), said the party had not yet formally decided whether to oppose the $15.1 billion takeover bid. NDP leader Thomas Mulcair said last month he had “grave concerns” about it.

OTTAWA, Oct 1 (Reuters) – The premier of the oil-rich
province of Alberta said she sees benefits from the proposed
$15.1 billion sale of Canadian oil producer Nexen Inc
to a Chinese state-owned company, but a survey published on
Monday showed half the country’s executives would oppose a
no-strings deal.

“At the end of the day, our view is that if this is in
Alberta’s interest, it should go ahead. And we think there’s a
lot of benefit for Alberta and Canada in this deal,” Premier
Alison Redford told the Calgary Herald newspaper.

MEXICO CITY, Sept 20 (Reuters) – Mexican retail sales fell
by the most in seven months in July as shoppers took a breather,
underscoring expectations for slower growth ahead in Latin
America’s second-largest economy.

Sales dropped 1.4 percent in July from June,
double forecasts in a Reuters poll for a 0.7 percent fall and
partly correcting a 1.8 percent jump in June, the national
statistics office said on Thursday.

MEXICO CITY, Sept 19 (Reuters) – Belize will not make a
crucial Wednesday deadline for making a payment on its sovereign
bond, the head of the government’s debt restructuring team said
on Tuesday, effectively paving the way for a formal default on
$550 million in debt.

The tiny Central American nation in August missed a $23.5
million interest payment on its so-called superbond, saying it
could not afford the rate, which had increased to 8.5 percent
from 6 percent. That move set the clock ticking on a 30-day
grace period that ends Sept. 19.

OTTAWA, Sept 11 (Reuters) – Canada had its biggest trade
deficit on record in July as both exports and imports fell in an
unexpectedly dismal performance that raised doubts about the
economy’s resilience in the face of persistent weakness in the
United States and Europe.

The deficit bulged to C$2.34 billion ($2.36 billion) from a
revised C$1.93 deficit in June, according to Statistics Canada
data released on Tuesday, surpassing by a hair the previous
record deficit of C$2.33 billion in September 2010.

OTTAWA, July 31 (Reuters) – Economic growth in Canada
shifted into low gear in May on unexpected weakness in the
manufacturing sector, casting doubt on the country’s ability to
distance itself from the disappointing performance plaguing the
United States.

The weaker-than-expected 0.1 percent monthly gain in gross
domestic product in May, following a healthy 0.3 percent jump in
April, puts the second quarter on track for annualized growth of
less than 2 percent.

OTTAWA, July 24 (Reuters) – Canadian retail sales rose by a
weaker-than-expected 0.3 percent in May, but a healthy jump in
sales volume and heavy shopping for food, beverages and clothing
ignited hopes that consumers would help keep the economy out of
the doldrums.

The robust sales in supermarkets, general merchandise and
clothing stores offset a drop in auto and gasoline sales,
Statistics Canada data on Tuesday showed. Six of 11 subsectors
tracked by the agency reported gains, representing 53 percent of
total retail trade.

OTTAWA, July 20 (Reuters) – Canadian inflation climbed in
June from a two-year low in May, but the weaker-than-expected
report looked unlikely to spur the Bank of Canada to act any
time soon on its warning that it could raise interest rates.

Annual inflation rose to 1.5 percent last month from 1.2
percent in May, well below the Bank of Canada’s 2 percent
target, according to Statistics Canada data on Friday. A drop in
gasoline and natural gas prices partially offset higher prices
for passenger vehicles and electricity.

OTTAWA, July 18 (Reuters) – Canadian households will see
their debt burden worsen further in coming months even after the
government stepped in to tighten mortgage rules, the Bank of
Canada said on Wednesday, pointing to signs of “overbuilding” in
the housing market.

The warning came as the central bank downgraded all its
quarterly economic growth forecasts until the second quarter of
2013 to reflect weaker-than-expected domestic demand. On
Tuesday, the bank held its benchmark interest rate at 1 percent
but signaled it may need to raise rates.

OTTAWA, July 17 (Reuters) – The Bank of Canada left interest
rates unchanged on Tuesday, but made clear it was still weighing
an eventual move higher, even as other central banks ease
monetary policy to cope with damaging economic slowdowns.

The bank repeated mildly hawkish interest rate language it
used in June, surprising many economists who thought it would
dilute or possibly even eliminate talk of possible higher rates
because of slower growth and worse global prospects.