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TORONTO, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Canada's plan to bring down food prices by tightening regulation could backfire and fail, raising the cost of doing business in the country without providing relief to consumers, lawyers and economists said. Canada's weak competition law has been long blamed for allowing a few players to dominate industries ranging from banks to telecoms and groceries. The proposed amendment will drop the so-called efficiencies defense provision, giving Canada's antitrust regulator - the Competition Bureau - the power to block deals it deems as increasing market concentration, irrespective of any cost efficiencies. Trudeau's move comes as many Canadians reel under an affordability crisis with food prices jumping 25% since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Food inflation stood at around 35% in Germany and the United Kingdom - well above the 25% level of food inflation in Canada since the start of the pandemic, Scotiabank research showed.

Persons: Justin Trudeau, Pierre Poilievre, Omar Wakil, Torys, Wakil, Derek Holt, Denny Thomas, Deepa Babington Organizations: Competition, Liberal, Conservative, Loblaw Co, Co, Metro Inc, Scotiabank, Antitrust, Rogers Communications, Shaw Communications, Thomson Locations: Canada, Ukraine, Germany, United Kingdom

ET (1413 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index (.GSPTSE) was up 26.71 points, or 0.13%, at 20,591.2. The heavily-weighted financials sector (.SPTTFS) added 0.4%, mirroring gains in big U.S. banks. "The read through to Canada is largely from the banks (in the U.S.) because the banks comprise about 20% of the weight of the Toronto Stock Exchange," said Brian Madden, chief investment officer at First Avenue Investment Counsel. "It is good news for the Canadian banks in general because they have operations in the United States, so that should bode well for their results in their US operations." Reporting by Shristi Achar A in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi MajumdarOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Loblaw forecasts annual profit above estimates on strong grocery demand
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 23 (Reuters) - Canadian retailer Loblaw Cos Ltd (L.TO) forecast annual earnings above analysts' expectations on Thursday, helped by strength in its pharmacy business and as demand holds up for groceries. Loblaw expects full-year 2023 adjusted earnings per common share to grow in low double-digits compared with the average analyst estimate of 9.64%, according to Refinitiv IBES data. The company's fourth-quarter revenue rose about 10% to C$14.01 billion ($10.35 billion), topping the average estimate of C$13.75 billion. On an adjusted basis, Loblaw earned C$1.76 per share, beating analysts' expectations of C$1.71 per share. ($1 = 1.3533 Canadian dollars)Reporting by Aatrayee Chatterjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi MajumdarOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Jan 4 (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) is in advanced talks to invest in Gatik, a California-based autonomous driving startup, as part of its cloud partnership with the company, two people familiar with the discussions told Reuters. Microsoft plans to invest over $10 million in a financing round that values Gatik at more than $700 million, the sources added. As part of the deal, Gatik will use Microsoft's cloud and edge computing platform Azure in developing autonomous delivery technology for trucks. Like other big tech companies, Microsoft has recently been putting funds into self-driving technology. In November, Ford and Volkswagen shut down their self-driving technology unit, Argo AI, saying that creating self-driving "robotaxis" would be "harder than putting a man on the moon."

☆ TSX dips as lower oil prices pressure energy shares
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Fergal Smith | Simon Jessop | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SummarySummary Companies TSX ends down 36.82 points, or 0.2%, at 19,957.96Energy falls 2.3%; oil settles 1.5% lowerMaterials sector loses 1.3%Restaurant Brands gains 7%TORONTO, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index fell on Wednesday as lower oil prices weighed on energy shares but gains for consumer-related stocks helped limit the index's decline. The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index (.GSPTSE) ended down 36.82 points, or 0.2%, at 19,957.96. The Toronto market's energy sector fell 2.3% as oil prices settled 1.5% lower at $85.59 a barrel concerns over rising COVID-19 cases in China. The materials group, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, lost 1.3%, while technology ended 0.7% lower. Shares of Restaurant Brands International Inc (QSR.TO) ended 7% higher, helping drive the consumer discretionary sector to a 1.3% gain.

☆ Toronto stocks slip on oil drag, inflation data
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Johann M Cherian | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SummarySummary Companies Annual inflation remains unchangedRestaurant Brands International rises on CEO changeLoblaw up after Q3 sales beatNov 16 (Reuters) - Canada's commodity-heavy stock index fell on Wednesday as oil prices declined, while investors digested data showing domestic annual inflation rate held steady in October. ET (1537 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index (.GSPTSE) was down 51.55 points, or 0.26%, at 19,943.23, after closing higher in the previous session. Canada's annual inflation rate held steady at 6.9% in October, as gasoline prices rose after OPEC+ countries announced production cuts, while higher interest rates pushed up mortgage costs by 11.4%, the largest jump since February 1991. "There is a 40% chance of a 50 basis points of tightening if inflation doesn't show more evidence of easing as we've seen in the United States," he added. The BoC has hiked its benchmark rate by 350 basis points since March to 3.75%, one of its fastest tightening cycles ever.

☆ Canadian watchdog to study impact of competition on soaring food prices
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Oct 24 (Reuters) - Canada's competition watchdog said on Monday it would examine factors impacting soaring food prices and whether more competition in the grocery stores sector could help lower costs for Canadians. This is especially true when buying groceries," the Competition Bureau Canada said in a statement. Last week, the Canadian parliament supported an NDP proposal asking the government to make grocery store operators more accountable, tougher penalties for price-fixing and stronger competition laws. The Competition Bureau said it would study whether competition factors were impacting the price of food on top of other factors including Russia's invasion of Ukraine and supply chain disruptions, but it was not investigating specific allegations of wrongdoing. ($1 = 1.3705 Canadian dollars)Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Ismail Shakil in Ottawa Editing by Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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