Jan 22 2020 — David Paddon — TORONTO — Rogers Communications Inc. plans to spend nearly $3 billion on capital investments this year but its chief executive warned Wednesday that amount could be reduced if Canada's government or telecom regulator adopt the wrong policies. The Toronto-based company — owner of one of Canada's biggest wireless and internet businesses — issued 2020 guidance that includes […]
Jan 20 2020 — David Paddon — TORONTO — TekSavvy Solutions Inc. is appealing to Canadian consumers for support in a politically charged battle between Canada's independent internet service providers and the big phone and cable companies. Bell, Rogers and Canada's other major phone and cable companies asked the federal cabinet in November to overrule a 2019 regulatory decision that slashes how much they can […]
Jan 10 2020 — David Paddon — The Canadian Press — TORONTO — Corus Entertainment Inc. is calling on the newly elected federal government to give the domestic media industry more freedom to invest where it wants in order to thrive in a world that's increasingly dominated by foreign multinationals. Chief executive Doug Murphy said Friday after Corus released its latest quarterly report, that there's an opportunity to create […]
Jan 9 2020 — David Paddon — TORONTO — Postmedia Network Canada Corp. had a $3-million loss in its first quarter as overall revenue declined 8.5 per cent from a year earlier due to lower print advertising and circulation revenue, the company announced Thursday. The owner of Canada's largest newspaper group, including the National Post, says overall revenue was $156.7 million for the three […]
Jan 7 2020 — David Paddon — TORONTO — The federal government's tax information call centres have received a D grade on a new report card from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. The group says overall quality of service was lower and wait times were longer than in previous analysis of the Canada Revenue Agency's call centres, although callers no longer encountered busy signals. It […]
Jan 4 2020 — David Paddon — TORONTO — A battle for control of the company that owns the Hudson's Bay and Saks Fifth Avenue retail chains seems to have ended with a victory for the Catalyst Capital Group, which has fought for months to get a better price from a shareholders group led by HBC executive chairman Richard Baker. Based on […]
Dec 24 2019 — David Paddon — TORONTO — Canada's main stock index showed some pre-Christmas spirit Tuesday, with a modest gain and a record close ahead of a two-day holiday. The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index closed up 51.44 points at 17,180.15 at 1 p.m. Strength came from the gold stocks, as futures prices for bullion rose. The February gold contract gained $15.40 to US$1,504.10 […]
Dec 19 2019 — David Paddon — TORONTO — The official arrival of a system designed to block certain types of nuisance calls was greeted Thursday by telecom professionals as a good move — but only a partial solution to a complex problem that bedevils Canadian consumers. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission gave carriers until Dec. 19 to put in place universal call blocking' or […]
Dec 19 2019 — David Paddon — TORONTO — For those planning a sunny getaway, it may be more important than ever this winter to pack the right travel insurance before departure. Ontario's provincial health coverage for most types of out-of-country medical expenses will end as of Jan. 1. That may not be top-of-mind for most people but it's a reason for them to […]
Dec 15 2019 — David Paddon — TORONTO — The weeks before Christmas 2017 were especially frenzied for Canada's telecom industry, which waged a brief price war that overloaded selling systems during one of the year's busiest weekends. Fast-forward to Christmas 2019, when many Canadians are free of the two-year wireless contracts they signed to get the smartphone of their choice for themselves or […]
Dec 10 2019 — David Paddon — TORONTO — Canada's federal banking regulator is increasing the amount of capital that Canada's biggest financial institutions must hold as a protective buffer against vulnerabilities, but the effects of the change are expected to be limited as industry analysts say the banks already exceed the criteria. The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions said Tuesday it's necessary to increase […]
Dec 5 2019 — David Paddon — TORONTO — Canada's banking sector closed out its fourth-quarter earnings season Thursday with CIBC and TD providing more evidence of a challenging economic environment. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reported $1.19 billion of net profit in the fourth quarter, down six per cent from the comparable period of 2018, while its adjusted earnings of $2.84 per share […]
Dec 5 2019 — David Paddon — TORONTO — TD Bank Group's profit slipped in the fourth quarter compared with a year ago as it recorded restructuring charges and increased provisions for credit losses compared with last year. As with most of its peers during this year's fourth-quarter earnings season, TD's message was that lower interest rates and more normal credit loss provisions created a more difficult […]
Dec 4 2019 — David Paddon — TORONTO — Royal Bank of Canada expects to face a challenging environment in the coming year amid uncertainty about where interest rates are headed but believes it's well-prepared to gain market share, RBC officials said Wednesday after the bank announced a slightly lower fourth-quarter profit compared with a year ago. The decline in RBC's fourth quarter profit […]
Dec 3 2019 — David Paddon — TORONTO — The Bank of Montreal's fourth-quarter profit fell to $1.19 billion as it was hit by a restructuring charge related primarily to severance that will affect about five per cent of its global workforce. The bank said Tuesday the quarter ended Oct. 31 included a $357-million restructuring charge as a result of a decision to accelerate delivery of digitization […]