CA-BUSINESS Summary

TSX advances as bank gains offset golds

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index rose on Tuesday, with strength in the financial sector offsetting a decline in gold miners and with the market taking some encouragement from mixed U.S. and European economic data. The positive investor sentiment also helped lift U.S. and European stocks, but lack of safe-haven interest sent the price of gold to a 2-1/2 week trough. That limited the gains of Toronto's stock market, which has a heavy weighing of gold miners.

Factory orders rise, boosted by aircraft

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New orders for factory goods rose in February but a gauge of planned business spending slipped, suggesting factory activity continued to expand at a modest pace. The Commerce Department on Tuesday said orders for manufactured goods climbed 3.0 percent. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast orders advancing 2.9 percent.

Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan gets 13 percent return for 2012

TORONTO (Reuters) - The Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, one of Canada's top investors, said on Tuesday it had a 13.0 percent rate of return on its investments in 2012, bringing net assets to a record high C$129.5 billion ($127.4 billion). With a fourth straight year of double-digit returns, the global dealmaker, which administers the pension plan for public-system teachers in Canada's most populous province, said it would expand its thrust into emerging markets as it seeks acquisitions across asset classes that will add long-term value and income to the underfunded pension plan.

TransCanada moves forward on West-East oil pipeline plan

CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - TransCanada Corp on Tuesday pushed ahead with plans to take Western Canadian crude to eastern refineries and Canada's busiest oil port as it seeks new markets beyond those it wanted from its stalled Keystone XL project. TransCanada said it will give shippers two months to sign contracts to use its proposed 4,400 kilometer (2,700 mile) Energy East Pipeline project, Canada's longest oil pipeline, which could take as much as 850,000 barrels per day to Montreal, Quebec City and Saint John, New Brunswick.

BofA settles for $165 million with credit union regulator

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp agreed to pay $165 million to settle charges by the U.S. credit union regulator involving sales of mortgage-backed securities to corporate credit unions that led them to fail, the regulator said on Tuesday. In February, the bank disclosed it had reached a preliminary agreement with the National Credit Union Administration, and said it would be covered by existing reserves, but did not disclose a value at the time.

Ford, Chrysler see Canadian sales climb in March

TORONTO (Reuters) - New vehicle sales in Canada at both Ford Motor Co and Chrysler accelerated in March, lifted by strong demand for pick-up trucks, the companies said on Tuesday. Ford said it was Canada's top auto-seller for the month, while Chrysler said year-to-date sales maintained its spot as the country's leading seller for 2013.

RBS lines up CFO van Saun to lead U.S. spin-off: source

LONDON (Reuters) - Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is preparing to appoint Finance Director Bruce van Saun as head of its U.S. arm Citizens ahead of its stock market listing, a person familiar with the matter said. The state-backed British bank could appoint Nathan Bostock, its head of restructuring and a former finance director of Abbey National, as van Saun's replacement. Bostock is highly regarded and is likely to be the front-runner if van Saun moves, though no decisions have been finalized, the source said on Tuesday.

Cyprus finance minister quits after bailout concludes, investigation begins

NICOSIA (Reuters) - Cyprus's finance minister resigned on Tuesday after concluding a 10 billion euro bailout deal with international lenders in which the country slashed its dominant banking sector and hit depositors with losses. Michael Sarris, a lead player in talks with International Monetary Fund and European Union lenders, said he had completed his task but also that he was likely to come under scrutiny in an investigation into the crisis.

Analysis: Big Pharma down, not out, after Indian patent blow

LONDON/MUMBAI (Reuters) - Stung by a landmark patent defeat, Western drugmakers will be wary about launching new products in India, but they cannot afford to quit a country tipped to be the world's eighth largest market for medicines by 2016. Makers of patented drugs will in future have to get more creative about doing business in India, including striking deals with local firms to sell cheaper versions of their drugs, industry experts believe.

European manufacturing ebbs further in March

LONDON (Reuters) - Manufacturing across Europe's major economies endured another month of mostly deep decline in March, dragging down even former bright spots, surveys showed on Tuesday. The slump among British manufacturers eased slightly, but overall purchasing managers indexes (PMIs) made gloomy reading.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ca-business-summary-031530416--finance.html

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