CA-BUSINESS Summary

BlackBerry, Valeant pace TSX rise as Fed keeps stimulus

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index rose on Wednesday as the U.S. Federal Reserve stuck with its bond-buying stimulus plan, and as higher oil prices pushed up energy shares. The index also got a lift from a 7.2 percent jump in BlackBerry after Morgan Stanley raised its rating on the smartphone maker's stock, and from a 2.5 percent rise in Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc after the drugmaker said it would make an acquisition.

Cyprus scrambles to avert meltdown, EU threatens cutoff

NICOSIA (Reuters) - Cyprus considered nationalizing pension funds and ordered banks to stay shut till next week to avert financial chaos after it rejected the terms of a European Union bailout and turned to Russia for aid. Crisis talks among the political leadership in Nicosia are set to resume on Thursday after late-night meetings to discuss a "Plan B" broke up on Wednesday without result.

SAC Capital up 4 percent this year as probe continues

BOSTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Hedge fund titan Steven A. Cohen's SAC Capital Advisors has gained about 4 percent this year, beating the industry average at a time the $15 billion fund is still very much in federal investigators' crosshairs. An investor with the Stamford, Connecticut-based fund said the firm's flagship portfolio had risen about 4 percent through early March. Another person familiar with SAC Capital's performance confirmed the 4 percent figure.

Blackstone asks Oracle's Hurd if he wants to run Dell: source

(Reuters) - Blackstone Group LP , which is weighing an offer for Dell Inc , is making an aggressive push to recruit Oracle Corp President Mark Hurd to be chief executive of the world's No. 3 PC maker, a person familiar with the situation said on Wednesday. The New York-based private equity firm is carrying out due diligence on Dell ahead of the March 22 expiration of a so-called "go-shop" period that offers interested parties the opportunity to outbid a consortium led by founder Michael Dell and Silver Lake Partners that has agreed to take the company private for $24.4 billion.

Insight: Desperate for bailout, Cyprus plays risky geopolitical game

LONDON (Reuters) - As it tries to play Russia off against Europe to salvage its economy, Cyprus has embarked on a high-stakes poker game that could see almost everyone lose. Its banks shattered by exposure to Greek debt, the island state urgently needs a way of bailing out its financial system.

Boeing plans 787 battery test flights for end of week: sources

SEATTLE/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Boeing Co plans to conduct two flight tests of its revamped 787 battery system, possibly as soon as the end of the week, according to three sources familiar with the matter. The 787 flights, the first since February, would mark another step toward Boeing's recently announced goal of returning the grounded jet to service in a matter of weeks, not months.

Shareholders signal dissatisfaction with HP's board

MOUNTAIN VIEW, California (Reuters) - Hewlett-Packard Co Chairman Ray Lane and several other directors narrowly kept their seats on the board as shareholders conveyed their displeasure over the botched $11 billion acquisition of British software firm Autonomy Plc. Lane, a managing partner at high-powered Silicon Valley venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins, fellow venture capitalist Marc Andressen and other board members have come under fire from shareholders for one of the company's costliest acquisition mistakes in years.

Michigan oil spill cleanup may exceed insurance -Enbridge

CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - Enbridge Energy Partners LP said on Wednesday that the costs of additional cleanup from a huge Michigan oil spill three years ago may push the total bill past the limit of its insurance coverage, hampering its financial results. Enbridge Energy Partners, the U.S. unit of Calgary-based Enbridge Inc , received an order from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency earlier this month requiring more containment and recovery of oil from its Line 6B, which ruptured in the summer of 2010.

Sprott, Zijin Mining to set up $500 million mining fund

(Reuters) - Canadian asset manager Sprott Inc and Chinese gold miner Zijin Mining Group Co Ltd said on Wednesday they have agreed to set up an offshore mining fund with a target size of $500 million. Under the agreement, Zijin will contribute $100 million, while Toronto-based Sprott will pay $10 million. The rest will come mostly from investors in China, Sprott said in a statement.

Canadian aboriginals sue Rio Tinto unit for C$900 million

(Reuters) - Two Canadian aboriginal communities have filed a C$900 million ($877 million) lawsuit against a subsidiary of Rio Tinto , saying on Wednesday that more than a half century of iron ore mining has disrupted their traditional way of life. The Innu communities of Uashat Mak Mani-Utenam and Matimekush-Lac John have asked a Quebec court for an injunction against the operations of Rio's Iron Ore Company of Canada unit in Quebec and Labrador, as well as an estimated C$900 million in damages.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ca-business-summary-002840062--finance.html

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