Associated Press ~ Bailout AP foreign, Saturday October 25 2008

BC-Meltdown-Evolving-Bailout Business News Bush says financial rescue plan showing results, but urges patience WASHINGTON - President George W. Bush says steps the government has taken to stabilize the economy are beginning to show results, but "it will take time for their full impact to be felt."

He used his weekly radio message to discuss public concerns about the financial meltdown.

Uses for $700 billion bailout money ever shifting Full Story

WASHINGTON - First, the $700 billion rescue for the economy was about buying devalued mortgage-backed securities from tottering banks to unclog frozen credit markets.

Then it was about using $250 billion of it to buy stakes in banks. The idea was that banks would use the money to start making loans again.

Stock markets close lower on growing economic worries;C$ also down sharply TORONTO - The Toronto stock market suffered through another volatile session amid deepening gloom about failing economies around the world but ended the day only slightly lower Friday than the day before.

Toronto’s S&P/TSX composite index closed down 37 points to 9,294 - well off initial lows that saw the market plunge 700 points in the opening minutes of trading, as energy sector losses narrowed and gains in the gold group advanced.

Flaherty refuses to speculate on deficit spending; says feds on track for surplus NIAGARA FALLS, Ont. - Finance Minister Jim Flaherty wouldn’t rule out deficit spending over the next few years Friday, but sent strong signals that the newly re-elected Conservative government would be loathe to follow provinces that are dipping into the red to cope with global economic troubles.

The federal government remains on track to deliver a "modest" surplus of $1.2 billion this fiscal year which ends next March despite posting a $1.7-billion deficit in August, Flaherty told the chamber of commerce in Niagara Falls, Ont.

Oil prices plunge despite OPEC production cut, gas prices follow Full Story

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Crude tumbled Friday and the price for gasoline in the United States fell below year-ago levels for the first time in 2008, even as OPEC announced a huge production cut in an attempt to halt the declines.

Crude prices have now fallen 56 per cent from the highs reached in July, and more than US$41 per barrel in just the last month.

Chrysler slashing 5,000 jobs as sale talk goes on Full Story

DETROIT - As talks over the potential sale of Chrysler LLC continued, the struggling automaker said Friday that it will slash 25 per cent of its salaried work force and make further cuts to deal with a continued downward spiral in U.S. auto sales.

Negotiations for Chrysler’s sale or merger, which involve majority owner Cerberus Capital Management LP, General Motors Corp. and the combined Nissan Motor Co.-Renault SA, were to continue into the weekend. But they are snagged on items such as tax liabilities, tight credit and the slowing economy, according to a person briefed on the talks.

World market losses rattle U.S. investors; Dow drops, but only 300 points Full Story

NEW YORK - If ever a 300-point loss on Wall Street could be a good thing, it was Friday.

U.S. stock traders started the day with a nervous eye on how far stocks would have to fall before triggering emergency trading halts. They ended the session relieved, even though the Dow Jones industrial average closed down four per cent.

AP source: Taxes, tight credit and economy slow Chrysler sale talks Full Story

DETROIT - Negotiations about the sale of Chrysler LLC will continue into the weekend but are running into obstacles such as tax liabilities, tight credit and the slowing economy, according to a person briefed on the talks.

The person, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private, said multiple parties remain involved in the complex talks, which involve several configurations that could include the sale of Chrysler in its entirety, or a partial sale of the company, the person said Friday.

Most actively traded companies on Canadian stock markets Full Story

TORONTO - Some of the most active companies traded Friday on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the TSX Venture Exchange:

Toronto Stock Exchange (9,294.09 down 37.26 points):

Lawsuit wanting BCE to pay dividend filed in Saskatchewan court Full Story

MONTREAL - A lawsuit was filed Friday against BCE Inc. (TSX:BCE) and the investor group buying the telecommunications giant demanding the company pay the dividend that was suspended as part of a deal in the summer with the lenders backing the deal.

"By amending the definitive agreement without seeking approval of class members, BCE violated the terms, restrictions and conditions of the bylaws and articles of BCE," the suit by Rosetim Investments Inc. and Nathalie Pawlachuk alleged.

Report says Canada still safe from recession, but going won’t be smooth Full Story

TORONTO - Although there seems to be no end in sight to the carnage on financial markets, Canada’s finance minister isn’t wavering from the message that Canada is uniquely positioned to weather the global economic storm.

"The World Economic Forum assessed Canada’s economic performance to be the most sound in the world," Flaherty told the chamber of commerce Friday in Niagara Falls, Ont.

Report: General Electric will cut costs as it braces for 2009 Full Story

NEW YORK - The chief executive of General Electric Co. said Friday that the company is cutting costs as it braces for a difficult 2009, the Wall Street Journal reported on its website.

Jeff Immelt, in an interview at a conference at Columbia University in New York, said costs will be lower in 2009 than in 2008.

Mexican investors in Inverlat file amended suit against Scotiabank in U.S. court Full Story

TORONTO - A group of about 100 former investors in the Mexican bank Inverlat have filed an amended suit in the United States against Bank of Nova Scotia (TSX:BNS), alleging it failed in its contractual duties to them.

In essence, the group alleges they collectively should have received more than the nine per cent ownership stake in Inverlat that they received in 2004 under a restructuring of Inverlat that was managed for them by Scotiabank.

As economy tanks, small West Virginia car dealer in a slow slide Full Story

HARMAN, W.Va. - When times were good, Linda Teter kept 30 Chevrolet trucks on the narrow roadside show lots at Midway Motor Co. Today, fewer than 10 gleam under the autumn sun.

Next month, when snow comes to the Allegheny Mountains, there will be even fewer.

$17M class-action suit filed over E. coli outbreak linked to Ontario Harvey’s Full Story

TORONTO - A multimillion-dollar class-action lawsuit has been launched against the company that owns the Harvey’s fast-food chain over an E. coli outbreak stemming from a restaurant in North Bay, Ont., that’s suspected of sickening more than 200 people.

The restaurant was closed Oct. 12 after officials linked it to the outbreak, which includes one child in critical condition in hospital.

Georgia closes Alpha Bank and Trust in Alpharetta, 16th bank to fail this year Full Story

ALPHARETTA, Ga. - Georgia has shut down a failed suburban Atlanta bank.

The Georgia Department of Banking and Finance closed the two branches of Alpha Bank and Trust in Alpharetta on Friday. The U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has transferred all accounts to Stearns Bank, based in St. Cloud, Minn.

GM extends shutdown of Delaware assembly plant for three more weeks Full Story

DETROIT - General Motors Corp. said Friday it will extend the temporary shutdown of its Wilmington, Del., assembly plant for three more weeks because of slow demand for the vehicles it makes.

The factory’s 1,500 workers make the Saturn Sky, Pontiac Solstice and Opel GT two-seat roadsters.

PowerComm withdraws takeover offer for Unified Valve after due diligence Full Story

EDMONTON - PowerComm Inc. (PCG:TSX) said Friday it was cancelling its planned takeover of Unified Valve Ltd. after completing its due diligence.

"Although our strategic plan is for continued growth we must be cognizant of delivering accretive solutions to our shareholders and in the case of Unified Valve Ltd., our companies were unable to agree on revised terms based on the recent economic situation," said Wayne Rutherford, PowerComm’s President and CEO.

Distributed by the Associated Press