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TORONTO Long convinced the country’s housing boom would never end in a crash, Canadians have watched this autumn as a sharp slowdown in real estate spreads across the country, leaving would-be home buyers hopeful and sellers scared. “The power is in the hands of the buyer – that’s what I’m feeling,” said Andria Petrillo, 32, as she and her husband toured a quiet open house in the heart of Toronto, where crowds and chaos once reigned over weekend home showings. But like most people shopping for a new home, Petrillo has to sell her old one first. And that’s where [...]

OTTAWA This weekend’s meetings of the Group of 20 leading nations are likely to keep pushing Europe and the United States to confront their debt troubles, Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said on Tuesday. The Mexico City meetings of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors follow talks in Tokyo more than two weeks ago, which endorsed a checklist of policy reforms aimed at pressuring Europe and the United States to tackle their debt troubles. “I hope we will continue the discussions that we had in Tokyo to encourage our European colleagues to get on with the structural reform that [...]

CALGARY Canada still welcomes foreign direct investment despite the federal government’s refusal late last week to approve the C$ 5.17 billion ($ 5.17 billion) acquisition of Progress Energy Resources Corp by Malaysian state oil company Petronas [PETR.UL}, the country's finance minister said on Sunday. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty told CTV's "Question Period" program proposed acquisitions needed to be correct and that Canada's industry minister can impose conditions on any transactions. However, he said in the transcript of the interview that Industry Minister Christian Paradis and the companies were continuing discussions on satisfying the government's concerns with the deal. ($ 1 [...]

CALGARY Canada said on Saturday it still invites foreign investment in natural resources despite its surprise rejection of a C$ 5.17 billion ($ 5.2 billion) takeover of Progress Energy Resources Corp by Malaysia’s Petronas, a deal that had been expected to pass muster easily. The rejection late on Friday of the buyout of Progress, a natural gas producer, has sparked criticism from some investors about perceived protectionism and raised questions whether the larger and more controversial bid for Nexen Inc by China’s CNOOC Ltd has a chance of being approved. “Canada has one of the best investment climates in the [...]

TORONTO/KUALA LUMPUR Canada has blocked Malaysian state oil firm Petronas’s C$ 5.17 billion ($ 5.2 billion) bid for gas producer Progress Energy Resources, throwing the country’s energy sector into turmoil. The surprise move could signal problems for Chinese oil group CNOOC’s C$ 15.1 billion offer for oil producer Nexen and, longer term, weigh on other Canadian firms hoping for foreign investment to tap their vast energy reserves. Also, any rejection of the CNOOC bid would likely damage trade ties Canada has been trying to build with China, and would underline political sensitivity to Chinese corporate expansion in North America. The [...]

TORONTO Canada blocked Malaysian state oil company Petronas’ C$ 5.17 billion ($ 5.22 billion) bid for gas producer Progress Energy Resources Corp on Friday, a surprise ruling that could have implications for a much bigger offer by China’s state-owned CNOOC for oil producer Nexen Inc. “I can confirm that I have sent a notice letter to Petronas indicating that I am not satisfied that the proposed investment is likely to be of net benefit to Canada,” Christian Paradis, Canada’s minister of industry, said in a late-night statement. Petronas has up to 30 days to make additional representations that could make [...]

SAINT-HUBERT, Quebec – Canada declined to say on Friday whether it had approved Malaysian state oil company Petronas’ C$ 5.2 billion ($ 5.3 billion) bid for gas producer Progress Energy Resources Corp , even as a midnight eastern (0400 GMT) deadline approached. Earlier this month, Industry Minister Christian Paradis extended the review period for the bid to Friday. Officials said he would not make an announcement while markets were open. “I won’t comment on any specifics. When the decision is … made, I will announce it properly,” Paradis told reporters in the town of Saint-Hubert, Quebec, outside Montreal. Contacted after [...]

OTTAWA Canada tentatively backed on Thursday the International Monetary Fund’s call for giving debt-burdened Greece and Spain more time to reduce their budget deficits. The IMF said this week too much austerity, too quickly could make it harder for an economy to get out from under a heavy debt burden. “I think it’s certainly worth considering,” Finance Minister Jim Flaherty told reporters on a conference call from Tokyo when asked if he backed the IMF view. “The challenge is the European economy is in recession, and there is some interest in trying to create some economic growth in the euro [...]

NEW YORK/HOUSTON Oil major BP Plc has secured U.S. government permission to ship U.S. crude oil to Canada, and Royal Dutch Shell has applied for an export license, as rising production in the world’s top oil consumer upends global energy flows. A surge in output from shale oil reserves in the Bakken of North Dakota and Eagle Ford of Texas has raised U.S. domestic production to the highest level since 1995, light, sweet crude that could fetch better prices on international markets. The United States still imports more than 8 million barrels per day, making it the world’s biggest importer. [...]

OTTAWA Indian companies are lagging behind when it comes to investing in Canada’s giant oil sands but could well start making deals within the next five years, Canadian Energy Minister Joe Oliver says. Oliver, speaking to Reuters before a visit to Delhi and Mumbai, said Canadian energy industry needs C$ 650 billion ($ 663 billion) in investment over the next decade. Ottawa concedes much of it will have to come from abroad. To some political consternation in Canada, China is rapidly buying up assets in the tar sands of northern Alberta, one of the world’s biggest crude oil deposits. But [...]