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Energy stocks help lift S&P/TSX composite, U.S. stock markets also up

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:09:53 GMT

TORONTO — Strength in energy stocks helped Canada’s main stock index close slightly higher Monday, while U.S. stock markets also ended up to start the week.Gains in oil and gas stocks, however, were offset by losses in financials, telecoms and utilities to leave the S&P/TSX composite index up only 20.64 points on the day at 19,800.61.“There’s a lot of mixed messaging in today’s market,” said Stephen Duench, vice-president and portfolio manager for AGF Investments Inc.High bond yields continue to weigh on markets, amid increasing signs that interest rates will remain higher for longer.Last week, the U.S. Federal Reserve left its key interest rate unchanged, but signalled it could hike one more time this year and halved its projections for cuts next year. The news helped set Wall St. on its worst week in six months.U.S. markets were mixed during the trading day Monday but managed to make gains. The Dow Jones industrial average ended up 43.04 points at 34,006.88. The S&P ...

Canadian auto workers to target General Motors after deal with Ford is ratified

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:09:53 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — Canadian auto workers say General Motors will be their next target after members ratified a new three-year labor contract with Ford.Unifor, which represents about 4,300 workers at three GM facilities in Canada, said Monday it reached a strong deal with Ford and now will try to negotiate a pattern agreement with GM.President Lana Payne said the union has a lot of bargaining leverage with GM because a factory in Oshawa, Ontario, is working around the clock to build profitable Chevrolet Silverado pickup trucks. “I don’t expect this to be an easy round of talks, and I want to make sure our union is best positioned to move this pattern forward for the benefit of all members, active and retired,” she said in a statement.Workers at Ford of Canada ratified a new deal on Sunday that raises base hourly pay for production workers by almost 20% over three years, and by more than 25% for trade workers. It also gives permanent workers a $10,000 bonus and adds a cost-of-living adjus...

CP NewsAlert: Quebec police say three fishers are dead after boat sinks

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:09:53 GMT

MONTREAL — Quebec provincial police say three people are dead after a fishing boat sunk off the province’s Lower North Shore.Police say six people were aboard the boat out of Blanc Sablon, Que., when it ran into trouble around midnight.More coming.The Canadian Press

CP NewsAlert: Regulator rules in favour of Trans Mountain route deviation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:09:53 GMT

CALGARY — The Canada Energy Regulator has approved Trans Mountain Corp.’s application to modify the pipeline’s route.More coming.The Canadian Press

Container shipments drop 14% at Port of Vancouver as consumer demand falls

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:09:53 GMT

The number of shipping containers passing through Canada’s largest port fell sharply in the first half of the year, as consumer demand weakened amid a sputtering economy.Container volumes at the Port of Vancouver fell 14 per cent in the first six months of 2023 compared with the same period a year earlier, the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority said Monday.In a phone interview, interim CEO Victor Pang said the figures reflected a weaker economy, which contracted slightly in the second quarter.“There’s some economic softness, overall and for Canada. And you’re seeing that through our container numbers,” Pang said, noting that the decline was not unique to Canadian ports.Consumer goods volumes fell 12 per cent year-over-year, a decrease driven mainly by lower demand but also overstocked inventories, he added.Shipments of construction materials and auto parts also slumped, while movement of finished vehicles revved up as supply chain kinks smoothed out.Grain ...

Stock market today: Wall Street recoups some of last week’s loss but still on pace for an ugly month

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:09:53 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street clawed back some of its steep losses from last week, but September is still on track to be its worst month of the year despite Monday’s gains.The S&P 500 rose 17.38, or 0.4%, to 4,337.44, coming off its worst week in six months. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up by 43.04, or 0.1%, to 34,006.88, and the Nasdaq composite gained 59.51, or 0.5%, to 13,271.32.Oil-related stocks led the way, as Exxon Mobil rose 1.1% and ConocoPhillips gained 1.6%. As a group, energy stocks in the S&P 500 climbed nearly twice as much as any of the other 11 sectors that make up the index. While crude oil prices were mixed Monday, they’ve leaped sharply since the early summer.Oil’s jump has helped to hurt Wall Street broadly, where the realization is sinking in that the Federal Reserve will likely keep interest rates high well into next year. The Fed is trying to ensure high inflation gets back down to its target, and it said last week it will likely cu...

AP Interview: US aims to create nuclear fusion facility within 10 years, Energy chief Granholm says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:09:53 GMT

VIENNA (AP) — The Biden administration hopes to create a commercial nuclear fusion facility within 10 years as part of the nation’s transition to clean energy, U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said Monday.Calling nuclear fusion a pioneering technology, Granholm said President Joe Biden wants to harness fusion as a carbon-free energy source that can power homes and businesses.“It’s not out of the realm of possibility” that the U.S. could achieve Biden’s “decadal vision of commercial fusion,” Granholm said in a wide-ranging interview with The Associated Press in Vienna.Fusion works by pressing hydrogen atoms into each other with such force that they combine into helium, releasing enormous amounts of energy and heat. Unlike other nuclear reactions, it doesn’t create radioactive waste. Proponents of nuclear fusion hope it could one day displace fossil fuels and other traditional energy sources. But producing carbon-free energy that powers homes and businesses from fus...

8 hospitalized after 'sudden severe turbulence' on Florida-bound flight

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:09:53 GMT

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (WFLA) -- Eight people were hospitalized Monday after being injured during rough skies on a flight to Florida. Passengers and crew aboard the JetBlue flight experienced "sudden severe turbulence" as the plane approached Florida from Guayaquil, Ecuador, according to a statement from the airline.Medical crews responded to the plane after it landed at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. Seven passengers and one flight crew member were taken to the hospital. In a statement, a JetBlue spokesperson said the airline is working to support their customers and crew members. The plane involved in the incident is out of service pending an inspection. Flying soon? Airplane turbulence may be worse than usual. Here’s why The National Transportation Safety Board will be investigating, the agency told ABC.Last month, 11 people were hospitalized after their Delta Air Lines flight encountered turbulence. The flight from Milan, Italy was traveling to Atlanta when t...

Megan Rapinoe has her soccer farewell in Chicago

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:09:53 GMT

CHICAGO — Fans in the "Windy City" were witness to the end of a remarkable international career in the sport of soccer from one of the greatest players in the history of the United States women's national team. Megan Rapinoe made the most of her final match in the place where he professional career began. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)The midfielder took the pitch for the last time at Soldier Field on Sunday as the USWNT faced South Africa in an international friendly. It was her 203rd and final appearance for the United States, completing a career where she helped the team to two Women's World Cup titles.Rapinoe will end her overall soccer career when her season with the OL Reign of the National Women's Soccer League concludes.(Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)Before the match, she was honored with a ceremony that included the presentation of a jersey in tribute to her time with the national team from 2006-2023. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)Rapinoe was in the ...

Feds draft rule to remove medical debt from credit reports

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:09:53 GMT

WASHINGTON (NEXSTSAR) — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is drafting a rule that would remove nearly all medical debt from credit reports, a practice the federal agency says unfairly harms 1 in 5 Americans."Credit decisions should be based on somebody's ability to repay a debt, not based on an unexpected medical emergency," CFPB senior counsel Kiren Gopal said.The CFPB says nearly $90 billion in medical bills is currently in collections. The three major credit bureaus — TransUnion, Equifax and Experian— recently took steps to voluntarily remove some medical debt from credit reports. The new rule from the feds would remove virtually all of it."A lot of this information is just junk data. It's not accurate," Gopal said.Christine Hines of the nonprofit National Association of Consumer Advocates said the proposal would benefit millions of low-income households."It affected their ability to get credit, get jobs, affected their interest rates and housing, so it's just going to mak...