Amazon.com Inc. reported quarterly net profit today, which rose an astonishing 250 percent, as sales in its home market jumped. Consequently, shares were sent up nearly 13 percent. It was indeed an amazing performance. Net income in the second quarter rose to $78 million, or 19 cents per share, compared with $22 million, or 5 [...]

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Vancouver’s civic strike of 1,800 outside workers escalated Monday. At about 8 a.m., 2,500 inside workers (CUPE 15 members) took to the picket lines across 124 city sites. Later in the day, almost 800 librarians also poised to walk off the job. The strike revokes the ability to run city fitness centers, pools, rinks, day [...]

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Canada’s Department of National Defense hit the news Monday as accused Paul Champagne pleaded guilty to fraud and breach of trust. During his term as bureaucrat, a course of nearly a decade, Champagne had funneled more than $100 million into his controlled bank accounts. Champagne’s scheme was complicated, and it built over time. He supposedly [...]

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Shares of AMR Corp., parent company of American Airlines, rose more than 7 percent Monday on the basis of possible, but persistent takeover of the company. American was among several US airlines, earlier this year, said to have been looking for merger partners. There were also speculations of major airlines like American, to be potential [...]

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Pratibha Patil, 72,  will become India’s first female PM. She won almost two-thirds the votes by state assemblies and the country’s parliament. Patil will be sworn in as president for a five-year term on July 25. Patil’s victory is more iconic, and a boost to all Indian women, who still today confront widespread discrimination.

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A temporary retail tax exemption begins today for Ontario residents who purchase certain Energy Star household products (refrigerators, dishwashers, washing machines, freezers, etc.). The Ontario provincial sales tax will be waived on products purchased, rented, or leased before July 20, 2008. This one-year tax break is expected to save us, consumers, a total of $51-milion [...]

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The People’s Bank of China, China’s central bank, raised interest rates once again today in their continous attempt to keep inflation under control, and prevent one of the largest economies in the world from busting. The Chinese government yesterday reported annual growth at 11.9 percent in the second quarter. The hike was much anticipated by [...]

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Prosecutors’ requests to have Conrad Black’s bail privileges revoked, has been denied today by a Chicago judge. Lord Black was convicted three counts of fraud and one count of obstruction of justice – crimes that will probably result in a sentence of 30 years. I think Black forced himself to a dead end on this [...]

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Canadian stocks jumped their highest since January on speculations of a Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. takeover, as the company confirmed it received a bid earlier this year from Brookfield Asset Managment Inc. (one of Canada’s largest investment companies). Brookfield, along with American investment bank Goldman Sachs and Quebec’s Caisse de Depot pension fund, is in [...]

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Waterloo, ON based Research in Motion yesterday promised further growth to its shareholders. RIM cheifs sounded very confident about the release of a new BlackBerry spartphone that can access both Wi-Fi and cellular networks. The new BlackBerry 8820 will be RIM’s first dual-mode smartphone, and its thinnest with a keyboard. Sure the BlackBerry will have [...]

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