XPost: can.taxes, soc.culture.canada, soc.culture.quebec 
 From: abc@123.cl 
  
 Markets higher on positive economic data 
  
  
 September 29, 2009 
  
  
 The Toronto Stock Exchange€s benchmark index, the S&P/TSX composite, 
 was up 35.69 points, or by 0.31 per cent, to 11,374.41 points in early 
 trading. 
  
 The Toronto Stock Exchange€s benchmark index, the S&P/TSX composite, 
 was up 35.69 points, or by 0.31 per cent, to 11,374.41 points in early 
 trading. 
 Photograph by: CNS, Canwest News Service 
  
 Markets opened higher Tuesday, as data continued to show improving 
 economic conditions, in U.S. housing markets and in Canadian consumer 
 confidence. 
  
 The Toronto Stock Exchange's benchmark index, the S&P/TSX composite, 
 was up 35.69 points, or by 0.31 per cent, to 11,374.41 points in early 
 trading. 
  
 The price of oil fell to $66.37 U.S. a barrel on weak demand, following 
 Monday's close of $66.84 U.S. a barrel. Inventory figures from the 
 American Petroleum Institute due later Tuesday and from the U.S. 
 Department of Energy Wednesday are expected to be weak. 
  
 Gold fell to $991.70 U.S. an ounce after its previous close of $994.10 
 U.S.. 
  
 The Canadian dollar was trading around 91.71 cents U.S., down from 
 Monday's close of 91.95 cents U.S.. 
  
 Canadian consumer confidence jumped to 90.9 in September € the highest 
 level since April 2008 € according to the Conference Board of Canada. 
 The figure is up for the seventh-straight month and compares to its 
 late-2008 low when the index plunged to just 67.7. 
  
 In the U.S., the Dow Jones industrial average was up 19.5 points, or 
 0.21 per cent, to 9,808.86 and the Nasdaq composite index rose 3.37 
 points, or 0.16 per cent, to 2,134.24. 
  
 The S&P/Case-Shiller composite index of housing prices in 20 
 metropolitan areas in the U.S. rose a much higher-than-expected 1.6 per 
 cent in July from the previous month. Market consensus was for a more 
 modest 0.5 per cent increase after a 1.4 per cent increase in June. The 
 10-city index gained 1.7 per cent in July. 
  
 "To the degree that the housing market was the culprit behind the 
 entire credit crunch, it is encouraging to see another monthly 
 improvement in the headline index. However, the U.S. housing market 
 still has a long way to go before fully cleansing itself," said Ian 
 Pollick, economics strategist for TD Securities. 
  
 Overseas markets were mixed Tuesday. The Office for National Statistics 
 reported Tuesday that Britain's economy shrank 0.6 per cent in the 
 second quarter of 2009, mainly due to improvements in the construction 
 industry. The figure was less than the 0.7-per-cent decline estimated 
 in August. 
  
 London's FTSE 100 index was up 15.05 points, or 0.29 per cent, to 
 5,150.65 at midday. Frankfurt's DAX was up 25.82 points, or 0.45 per 
 cent, to 5,710.49 and the Paris CAC gained 12.94 points, or 0.34 per 
 cent, to 3,812.06. 
  
 In Asia, official data in Japan released Tuesday showed consumer prices 
 fell 2.2 per cent in August compared with the same month a year 
 earlier, while core prices were down 2.4 per cent € the steepest 
 decline in 38 years. Tokyo's Nikkei stock average closed up 90.68 
 points, or 0.91 per cent, to 10,100.2. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index 
 closed up 424.76 points, or 2.06 per cent, to 21,013.17. 
  
 On Monday, the S&P/TSX rose 126.33 points, or 1.13 per cent, to 
 11,338.72. The Dow ended down 42.25 points, or 0.4 per cent, to 
 9,665.19 and the Nasdaq was at up 39.82 points, or 1.9 per cent, to 
 2,130.74. 
  
 --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05 
  * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)