CA-BUSINESS Summary

Banks lift TSX on Cyprus hopes; BlackBerry falls

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index advanced on Friday as hopes that Cyprus will strike a bailout deal before a looming deadline boosted financial shares and helped offset an 8 percent fall in BlackBerry . Shares of BlackBerry stumbled as it faced a difficult challenge launching the sale of its new smartphone in the United States.

Canada's Flaherty sees substantial tax avoidance by the wealthy

VANCOUVER (Reuters) - Some wealthy Canadians are hiding "substantial" amounts of revenue offshore, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said on Friday, a day after unveiling a new plan to crack down on tax cheats and pay individuals who come forth with information on them. Flaherty's budget on Thursday proposed a series of measures to close tax loopholes and reduce international tax evasion and avoidance, part of a broader effort to boost revenues and eliminate the country's budget deficit by 2015.

BlackBerry shares dive on reports of muted U.S. debut for Z10

TORONTO (Reuters) - Shares of BlackBerry fell nearly 8 percent on Friday after reports of a flat response to the launch of its new Z10 smartphone in the vitally important U.S. market. The well-reviewed device, whose success is essential if BlackBerry is to reestablish itself as a power in the smartphone industry, finally hit U.S. store shelves early on Friday, nearly two months after being formally unveiled.

First Quantum wins $5 billion battle for copper rival Inmet

TORONTO/LONDON (Reuters) - First Quantum Minerals Ltd said on Friday it had won enough shareholder support to take over Inmet Mining Corp , winning a C$5.1 billion hostile battle for control of one of the world's largest untapped copper deposits. The deal - the latest in an industry that has concentrated to leave ever fewer pure copper miners behind - creates one of the world's biggest producers of the red metal.

Fitch poised to cut UK's AAA rating soon

LONDON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Britain looked poised to lose its AAA rating from a second ratings agency after Fitch Ratings warned on Friday it was likely to downgrade the country in the coming weeks, citing high government debt levels and weak growth. A month since Britain was downgraded by Moody's, Fitch put the country on review and said a downgrade was a heightened possibility. A decision is due by the end of April, Fitch said in a statement.

Kinross Gold fails to end to U.S. shareholder lawsuit

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Kinross Gold Corp failed on Friday to win dismissal of a U.S. lawsuit accusing the Canadian gold miner of defrauding shareholders over a mine in Mauritania, in West Africa, that has contributed to more than $6 billion of company writedowns. The decision by District Judge Paul Engelmayer in Manhattan stems from Kinross's $7.1 billion acquisition of Red Back Mining Inc in 2010, which gave it control of the Tasiast gold mine in Mauritania and the Chirano gold mine in Ghana. The suit relates to the Tasiast mine.

Canada union cancels contract vote at GM Ontario plant

TORONTO (Reuters) - The Canadian Auto Workers has canceled a Sunday ratification vote on a new contract for union members at a General Motor Co assembly plant in Ingersoll, Ontario, after negotiations hit a snag. The CAW, which represents about 2,500 workers at CAMI Automotive Inc, have been bargaining over a new contract months ahead of the current deal's September expiration.

Mondelez, PepsiCo shares up after report of Peltz stake

(Reuters) - Shares in top U.S. packaged food companies Mondelez International Inc and PepsiCo Inc jumped on Friday on speculation that they could merge, after a report that activist investor Nelson Peltz has taken stakes in each. Citing sources familiar with the matter, Britain's Daily Telegraph reported that Peltz had spent $2 billion on shares of the companies through his investment vehicle, Trian Fund Management. The paper speculated that Peltz could then push for a merger of the two companies.

Total approves $10 billion Congo project, sees 2015 startup

PARIS/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Total and its partners have committed $10 billion to a development off the coast of Congo, expected to produce 140,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day by the time full output is reached in 2017, the French oil company said on Friday. The Moho Nord joint development is one of a string of African projects that Total is banking on to help it boost its oil production by 25 percent over the next five years, with growth accelerating after 2015 to top 3 million barrels of oil and gas a day for the first time.

JPMorgan board "strongly endorses" dual role for Dimon

(Reuters) - The board of directors of JPMorgan Chase & Co said on Friday it "strongly endorses" keeping Jamie Dimon as both their chairman and chief executive of the company. The comment, contained in the opening pages of the company's proxy filing ahead of its annual meeting on May 21, is a more vigorous affirmation of the same view the panel took last year when it opposed an unsuccessful shareholder proposal to split the roles.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ca-business-summary-070705083--finance.html

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