Business
Markets tumble amid auto fears
Markets tumble amid auto fears
About this update from Fnx Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"\nMarkets tumble amid auto fears\n\nOld uncertainty returns\n Mar. 30, 2009 (Baystreet.ca) -- 04:30 pm EST\nStock markets were plunging as the March rally that has sent equities surging for most of the month ground to a halt amid worries that General Motors and Chrysler may be forced into bankruptcy.The U.S. government has told the two companies that the plans they've submitted are not acceptable to receive more federal bailout money, forcing out GM CEO Rick Wagoner and giving Chrysler a 30-day window to complete a proposed partnership with Italian automaker Fiat.The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 280.20 points Monday to 8,540.86. Today's decline in the S&P/TSX trimmed its advance since March 9 to 12%. Royal Bank of Canada, the country's largest bank by assets, slid 4.9% to $35.17. Toronto-Dominion fell 5.3% to $41.52. Manulife lost 11% to $13.37. Among oil stocks, Suncor slumped 6.1% to $27.58. EnCana fell 3.9% to $49.96. Abu Dhabi National Energy Co., the Persian Gulf petroleum and power producer known as Taqa, is hunting for acquisitions in Canada's tar sands, home of the world's second-largest crude deposits outside Saudi Arabia, according to two people involved in the search. Research In Motion lost 3.7% to $53.74. Efforts to attract more buyers through advertising and improved devices have eaten into the company's gross profit margins, which have fallen to 40% from about 50% in the past six months, the Wall Street Journal said. FNX Mining Company Inc. sank 17%, the most in the S&P/TSX, to $4.02. The copper and nickel explorer reported a fourth-quarter loss of 49 cents a share, worse than the average analyst estimate from a Bloomberg survey. Magna International Inc., North America's largest auto- parts maker, tumbled 5.4% to $32.99. The Obama administration ousted General Motors Corp. Chief Executive Officer Rick Wagoner and ordered GM and Chrysler LLC to overhaul their recovery plans if they are to get further taxpayer aid. Bankruptcy may be the best option for the automakers, an administration official said.The deepening global recession requires the use of "everything necessary" to spark growth, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said in an interview from Washington. The recession is deepening and outweighs concerns that steps taken now could fuel inflation, Harper said. He didn't rule out additional fisca...