FP SUMMARY
D A V I D R A D L E R Former Chicago Sun- Times publisher David Radler pleaded guilty to a U.S. federal fraud charge yesterday, agreeing to cooperate with a Justice Department probe. Radler, the former publisher of the Chicago Sun- Times and long-time business associate of Conrad Black, agreed to a 29-month prison term and a US$250,000 fine. See Page FP1
H U G O C H A V E Z Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said yesterday the country intends to create a national mining company, counting Las Cristinas, one of the largest undeveloped gold deposits in the world, among its assets. A Canadian company, Crystallex International Corp., is planning to build the Las Cristinas gold mine, but said the remarks don’t change the company’s situation. Mr. Chavez said foreign investors are “expendable” to Venezuela’s political and economic model. Crystallex shares fell 48% to $1.65 in Toronto. See Page FP1
S T E L C O I N C . Insolvent steelmaker Stelco Inc. announced yesterday that it reached an agreement on employee pension compensations with the province of Ontario, which will invest $100-million in the plan. The company said it would double its upfront contribution to $400-million. Stelco, which is still negotiating with bondholders, also said company stock would be cancelled, causing shares to fall as much as 86%. See Page FP1
E N E R G Y P R I C E S Some of Canada’s top energy producers are telling governments to resist implementing measures to protect consumers from high energy prices. The group said direct rebates mask price signals that prevent consumers from changing their behaviour and becoming more efficient.
See Page FP4
T E C H N O L O G Y
F U N D
The federal government
announced yesterday that a
heavily-criticized loan program
for technology companies will be replaced as of April 1. The Technology Partnerships Canada agency will be replaced by the Transformative Technology Program, which is supposed to have a broader mandate. TPC has only collected $115-million from the more than $2-billion in funds it has dispersed to companies.
See Page FP4
U . S . I N T E R E S T R A T E S The U. S. Federal Reserve called the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina a “near-term” setback as it hiked its key overnight lending rate for the 11th straight time to 3.75%. The move puts pressure on the Bank of Canada to hike rates when it meets next month. See Page FP5
W E S T J E T A I R L I N E S L T D . Calgary-based WestJet Airlines Ltd. announced yesterday that it will add its first major overseas route on Dec. 9. The airline will immediately begin selling tickets for a fiveflightsservice between Vancouver, Honolulu and Maui. Clive Beddoe, WestJet’s CEO, said the airline will explore opportunities in other international markets, likely on a seasonal basis. See Page FP7
I N C O M E T R U S T S Following Ottawa’s announcement that it will stop issuing advance tax rulings for potential income trusts for the time being, investors bailed on several income trust candidates as the market realized some conversions may not happen. Mutual fund giant CI Fund Management, oil field mammoth Precision Drilling Corp. and TSX Group Inc. all lost ground.
See Page FP13