National Business

Ottawa sounds alarm over Greece

OTTAWA — Finance Minister Jim Flaherty is warning the Canadian economy stands to feel the tremors from the political and financial quake in Greece.

The increased alarm over possible after shocks from Europe follows a decision by the European Central Bank to cut off some troubled Greek banks over reports of a flight of deposits from the under-capitalized institutions. READ

LNG Canada

The decommissioned Methanex ammonia plant is seen at Kitimat, B.C. on Tuesday. Royal Dutch Shell PLC and three Asian partners plan to build a liquefied natural gas export terminal in Kitimat, B.C., that would connect Canada’s vast supplies with energy-hungry markets on the other side of the Pacific. The Anglo-Dutch energy giant announced Tuesday that it will have a 40 per cent stake in the project, called LNG Canada. PetroChina, Mitsubishi Corp. and Korea Gas Corp. will each hold a 20 per cent interest. READ

Rule changes won’t force workers to take unsuitable jobs, or relocate: Finley

The Harper government sent confusing signals Tuesday about coming changes to employment insurance rules, declaring in favour of a hardline approach while indicating the new measures will be moderate. Human Resources Minister Diane Finley told the House of Commons there’s no plan to force jobless workers receiving EI benefits to take any job available, as the finance minister seemed to suggest the day before. READ

Canada’s largest housing markets exert opposite effects on national average

The Canadian housing market gained momentum in April as strong sales in the Toronto offset weakness in Vancouver, the Canadian Real Estate Association said Tuesday. April seasonally-adjusted home sales on CREA’s Multiple Listing Service gained 0.8 per cent compared with March. READ

Value of PC software piracy in Canada totals more than $1.1B

The value of computer software piracy in Canada totalled just more than $1.1 billion last year with 40 per cent of computer users admitting they acquired software illegally, according to a study released Tuesday. READ

Trade tribunal to investigate allegations of pipe dumping

The Canadian International Trade Tribunal has launched a preliminary injury inquiry into allegations of dumping of carbon steel welded pipe. The tribunal said Tuesday that Montreal-based Novamerican Steel Inc. and Bolton Steel Tube Co. Ltd., of Bolton, Ont., have complained that they have been hurt by the dumping of carbon steel welded pipe from Chinese Taipei, India, Oman, South Korea, Thailand, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. READ

Job satisfaction takes a dive

A new survey of employees suggests tough economic times are taking a toll on career paths and job satisfaction. The survey conducted by Harris-Decima Research on behalf of Ceridian Canada suggests there are significantly more workers than last year who believe they will not be getting a pay boost, bonus or promotion in the next year. READ

Plans to build $50M pasta plant hit a snag

Plans to build a $50-million pasta-processing plant in Regina have been put on the back burner. Alliance Grain Traders says the project announced last October by Prime Minister Stephen Harper has been put on hold until 2013. READ

WestJet Airlines adds Korean Air to list of code-share partners

WestJet Airlines Ltd. said Monday it has added South Korea’s largest airline as its newest code-share partner. The agreement will allow Korean Air customers to seamlessly transfer onto more than 70 WestJet-operated flights. Tickets are currently available for flights beginning May 31. “We are very pleased to announce our agreement with Korean Air, a high quality, world-class airline,” said John MacLeod, vice-president of network management and alliances for WestJet. READ

Olymel to relocate employees at plant damaged by fire

The Olymel meat processing company plans to temporarily relocate employees at a Quebec bacon production plant ravaged by fire. About 180 workers at the Princeville, Que., plant will be offered the chance to work at one of the five other company facilities located within 100 kilometres. The May 6 fire, which killed one employee, did not completely destroy the Princeville facility but it caused significant enough damage that there is no short-term plan to reopen it. READ

Changes won’t force workers to take unsuitable jobs, relocate

OTTAWA — The human resources minister says unemployed workers receiving EI benefits will not be forced to relocate or take jobs outside their skill set. READ

Hot Toronto, cold Vancouver have competing effects on housing

TORONTO — The Canadian housing market gained momentum in April as strong sales in the Toronto offset weakness in Vancouver, the Canadian Real Estate Association said Tuesday. READ

No such thing as a bad job, Flaherty tells the unemployed

OTTAWA — The Harper Conservatives are signalling they are preparing to get tough with unemployed Canadians who refuse jobs they consider below them or too far away. READ

Veterans board chairman billed taxpayers to attend U.K. lectures

OTTAWA — The chairman of an embattled veterans review board billed taxpayers on two occasions to attend high-brow lectures in Britain where his wife was a participant. READ

Canada Post arbitration hearings delayed

OTTAWA — Arbitration hearings to settle a lingering dispute between Canada Post and its biggest union have been delayed again after the union won a stay of proceedings from the Federal Court. READ

Stocks facing pressure

The Toronto stock market looks set for another tepid showing this week with buyers discouraged by data showing further deterioration in economic conditions and rising uncertainty from the eurozone. READ

Stocks facing pressure

The Toronto stock market looks set for another tepid showing this week with buyers discouraged by data showing further deterioration in economic conditions and rising uncertainty from the eurozone. READ

Canada has best two-month jobs gain in April; politicians urge caution

OTTAWA — Canada booked its best two-month employment gain in three decades with news Friday that the economy churned out 58,200 new jobs in April, the strongest signal in some time the economic recovery may be coming out of a mid-winter stall. READ

Canadian Tire posts higher Q1 revenue, net income

Canadian Tire reported a big bump in first-quarter profits Thursday — beating market expectations — as last year’s acquisition of sporting goods retailer Forzani Group boosted its revenues. READ

Globe and Mail to charge for online content

The Globe and Mail will soon move to an online pay-per-view model, the newspaper told employees Thursday as it also asked them to take unpaid leave in moves that will help the newspaper improve its bottom line. READ

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