Business News Headlines - Canadian Press

CARACAS, Venezuela - President Hugo Chavez's government has taken control of the country's third largest bank - Banco de Venezuela.

TORONTO - The union representing 2,500 Bell installation and repair technicians in Ontario said Friday the workers have voted to accept a new five-year contract.

TORONTO - Net redemptions of mutual funds for June were estimated to be between $1.3 billion and $1.8 billion, according to the Investment Funds Institute of Canada.

TORONTO - General Motors Corp. confirmed Friday it has received a non-binding offer from a Chinese concern for its Opel division.

MONTREAL - Talks between Air Canada (TSX:AC.B) and the union representing its mechanics and technical staff will likely continue through the weekend as the airline tries to obtain a wage freeze and pension relief it says it needs to survive the recession.

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

TORONTO - The Toronto stock market ended the week flat as investors weighed weak oil prices with good news out of the base metals sector.

MONTREAL - Adaltis Inc. (TSX: ADS) received court protection under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act on Friday, providing some hope that the life sciences company can continue operating while it works out a survival plan.

LONDON - PVM Oil Associates, the world's biggest over-the-counter oil brokerage, says it lost nearly $10 million this week because of unauthorized trades that caused a temporary spike in Brent crude markets.

ABUJA, Nigeria - Nigeria, Algeria and Niger have signed an agreement to create a $10 billion pipeline that would ship gas across the Saharan desert to Europe, Nigeria's state oil company said Friday.

LONDON - British Airways PLC announced Friday it will ground aircraft, slash seat numbers and postpone taking delivery of a dozen new Airbus A380 superjumbos as it faces a recession-driven decline in passengers.

CALGARY - Crescent Point Energy Corp. says its expects its 2009 production to average the equivalent of 42,000 barrels of oil per day, and expects to end the year producing more than 44,500 boe/d following a series of asset purchases and sales.

VANCOUVER, B.C. - Mining giant Teck Resources Ltd. (TSX:TCK.B) has struck a $1.74-billion private placement designed to lighten its debt load, and its CEO says he hopes the deal will also boost the Canadian company's relationship with China.

OTTAWA - Finance Minister Jim Flaherty now expects Canada's economic recovery to be modest and for job losses to mount into 2010 even after growth has begun.

CALGARY - BG International will exercise its right to buy a 45 per cent stake in a natural gas property off the coast of Trinidad from Canadian Superior Energy Inc. (TSX:SNG), the two companies announced Friday.

BERLIN - Austrian transport operator Linz Linien has placed a US$93-million order for another 23 trams from Bombardier Inc. (TSX:BBD.B), the Montreal-based rail and aerospace equipment maker.

TORONTO - A generally positive performance in world equity markets and a weakening Canadian dollar were key factors in producing solid returns for most Canadian equity funds in June for a fourth consecutive month, Morningstar Canada says.

TORONTO - The Globe and Mail and 480 unionized employees reached a tentative contract agreement late Thursday, averting a strike at one of Canada's oldest and most influential newspapers.

CALGARY - Petro Andina Resources Inc. (TSX:PAR) said Friday its board is urging shareholders to reject an unsolicited takeover bid from a private Dutch company.

Oil prices hovered above US$66 a barrel Friday in light holiday trading a day after grim unemployment numbers from the U.S. and Europe sent prices tumbling.

HONG KONG - Most Asian markets fell Friday as a weaker-than-expected U.S. jobs report signalled more pain ahead for the world's largest economy. European stocks also weakened in early trade.

SEATTLE - Billionaire Warren Buffett has donated $1.25 billion in Berkshire Hathaway Inc. stock to the Bill&Melinda Gates Foundation.

MONTREAL - Groupe Aeroplan Inc. (TSX:AER) said Thursday that a group is seeking to file a class action lawsuit against the company in Quebec seeking the reinstatement of expired miles.

NEW YORK - Federal marshals seized disgraced financier Bernard Madoff's US$7-million Manhattan penthouse on Thursday and forced his wife to move out and leave her possessions behind, including a fur coat she asked to take with her, an official told The Associated Press.

WASHINGTON - Three Illinois banks were shuttered Thursday as government regulators proposed new rules for private equity firms seeking to take over failed banks.

Ford (NYSE:F) drove its Canadian auto and light truck sales higher in June as most of its major competitors retreated, resulting in the company rising to the industry's top spot for the first time in decades.

TORONTO - The future of the Navistar truck plant in Chatham, Ont., is in limbo following a rejection of the company's latest offer by members of the Canadian Auto Workers union.