Toronto Stocks Flat; Gold Merger in Focus

Toronto Stocks Flat; Gold Merger in Focus

Monday, December 6, 2004, 10:15 AM EST (Thomson Financial Corporate Group): Bay Street is flat in the early going, pressured by weakness in financial, gold, material and consumer stocks. Higher oil prices and sliding gold prices are impacting trading. A major merger announcement in the gold sector is attracting some attention. Weakness on Wall Street is also keeping Toronto at unchanged levels.

* The S&P/Toronto Stock Exchange Composite Index is inching up 0.90
points, or 0.01%.

* On Friday, the S&P/Toronto Stock Exchange Composite Index advanced 10.33
points, or 0.11%.

* Topping headlines, Goldcorp said it had reached an agreement in
principal to buy Wheaton River Minerals in an all-stock deal valued at
about US$2 billion. Under the terms of the deal, Goldcorp will offer one
share for every four shares of Wheaton River, representing a 7% premium
to the company's average closing price for the last 30 days. Wheaton had
rejected a US$1.8 billion hostile bid from Coeur d'Alene Mine Corps.
this summer.

* Also in the sector, Placer Dome provided 2005 guidance, with production
for the year estimated at 3.7 million ounces, above 2004 levels, due to
the resumption of milling at the Golden Sunlight mine in Montana and
increased production at mines in Tanzania and Australia. Costs are
expected to be higher, based on currency and input cost movements.
Additionally, capital expenditures are expected to be US$250 million for
the year.

* Meanwhile, gold prices are weakening this morning, as the precious metal
continues to take its cues from the action in the foreign exchange
market, which is putting pressure on the broader sector. The modest
advance in the dollar is putting some pressure on bullion prices. Still,
the losses are being constrained by the bombings in Spain and the attack
on the U.S. Embassy in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

* Also, energy stocks are bouncing higher, as the price of crude recovers
from last week's sell-off. Some traders expect the Organisation of
Petroleum Exporting Countries to take action eventually to stem the
slide in prices. Oil prices fell about 14% in trading last week.

* On the corporate front, Western Oil Sands said it plans to double its
production volume over the next five years now that the start-up period
at the Athabasca Oil Sands Project and Scotford Upgrader is complete.
The company sees 2005 net earnings of C$1.24 a share, based on
production of 155,000 barrels from the project. Western Oil Sands also
announced a capital budget of C$110 million for 2005.

* In other news, Decoma International said it expects more than US$26
million in charges and write-downs related to the closing of an Ontario-
based plant and losses at its European operations. Decoma plans to close
its Anotech facility and transfer some of the programs to other plants.
Meanwhile, Magna International said that it would take a charge related
to the Decoma unit's plant closure. For the fourth quarter, Magna sees a
charge of US$0.22 a share.

* Out of the healthcare group, ID Biomedical announced that it has signed
long-term marketing, distribution and minimum purchase agreements with
three of the largest flu vaccine wholesalers in the U.S. Under the terms
of the agreement, the distributors have agreed to purchase a minimum
number of doses of Fluviral vaccine from ID Biomedical once it receives
U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval.

* On the economic front, Canadian construction recovered in October, as
building permits rose 2% to a seasonally adjusted C$4.6 billion.
Residential permits were up 3% due to strong demand for new single-
family dwellings.

-- Justin.Menza@thomson.com; Thomson Financial Corporate Group



This is Thomson Financial Corporate Group's Canadian Commentary, which is updated twice daily. The information herein is believed to be true and accurate, we take no responsibility for inaccurate information and reserve the right to update our reports. For more financial information at your fingertips, please visit http://www.irchannel.com/. If you have any questions please e-mail James Sang at james.sang@tfn.com or call 646.822.6233. For more information about Thomson Financial visit us on-line at http://www.thomsonfinancial.com/.

PRNewswire -- Dec. 6


Source: Thomson Financial Corporate Group

Web site: http://www.thomsonfinancial.com/
http://www.irchannel.com/


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