U.S automobile sales ran out of gas in July as major American auto producers posted negative growth in the number of cars and trucks they pushed off the lot in the month.
And the carmakers were already warning that conditions in the industry could get even worse.
In the wake of growing consumer frustration over Canadian cellphone prices, the government is issuing veiled warnings to providers that increased regulation of the industry may be on the way.
Prairie farmers earned a record $7 billion from grain sold through the Canadian Wheat Board in 2007-08 — a 57 per cent increase over the previous year, the agency said Thursday in its annual report.
According to Larry Hill, chair of the Winnipeg-based grain marketer, the earnings worked out to more than $8.40 a bushel for high-quality spring wheat and more than $12 a bushel for high-quality durum, after freight and handling expenses are paid.
Nortel Networks Corp. shares retreated more than 15 per cent on Friday after the company reported a deeper-than-expected second-quarter loss.
Shares of the Toronto-based telecommunications company fell $1.19 to close at $6.66 on the TSX.
The failure to properly execute a handwritten buy-sell order on the floor of the largest options exchange in the United States will cost Belzberg Technologies $800,000, the company disclosed on Friday.
The U.S. economy picked up some steam in the second quarter, but still failed to meet the expectations of economists.
The U.S. Commerce Department reported Thursday that the gross domestic product hit an annualized rate of 1.9 per cent for the April-June quarter, an improvement from the weak 0.9 per cent rate posted in the first quarter.
Economists had been projecting a second-quarter growth rate of 2.4 per cent.
"It's not as good as we'd like it to be, but I want to remind you a few months ago there were predictions that the economy would shrink this quarter," said President George W. Bush.
Coffee giant Starbucks Corp. has posted its first quarterly loss due to poorer-than-expected sales and a large restructuring charge.
It lost $6.7 million US, or one cent a share, in the three months ended June 30. That compares to a profit of $158 million, or 21 cents per share, for the same period last year.
The company absorbed a restructuring charge of $168 million in its third quarter. These extra costs are associated with the company's plans to scale back its global operations.
