A Quebec Superior Court judge has authorized a class action lawsuit against Air Canada after the company allegedly used a surcharge to bill passengers for the cost of fuel and then some.The lawsuit, approved to proceed as a class action Monday, argues the country’s largest airline “illegally overcharged its customers” by more than 200 per cent — and more than the fuel cost itself — on some flights.Story continues belowREAD MORE: Air Canada raises Transat purchase offer, secures support of largest stakeholderMichael Vathilakis, the petitioners’ lawyer, said Air Canada misrepresented the stated purpose of the surcharge, which was to partially offset the fluctuating price of jet fuel.“What Air Canada did was represented to passengers that they were collecting this amount in order to offset volatility, when in fact the allegations are that they were in many cases actually reaping a real profit on it,” Vathilakis said in a phone interview.“In multiple cases, they charged an amount that was equal to or higher than the entire cost of fuel for the flight.”The lawsuit cites one example in which Air Canada allegedly charged business and economy passengers 105 per cent of the total fuel cost on a flight to Paris in January 2014.READ MORE: Is flying with Canada’s low-cost airlines worth the hassle?Each economy passenger on that flight allegedly paid $238 in fuel surcharges alone — $163 more than they should have, according to Air Canada’s definition of the charge. The airline took in $73,878 in fuel supplements on the flight, rather than the $23,164 it should have charged, according to the lawsuit.The suit states Air Canada’s contract with consumers allows it to charge them up to one-third of the cost of fuel.The class action concerns customers in Quebec who bought international tickets to destinations outside the U.S., Mexico and the Caribbean between April 2012 and November 2014.The plaintiffs, brothers George and David Itzkovitz, are requesting damages of $273 million for affected passengers.WATCH: What happens to your baggage after check-in
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August 14, 2019 at 04:34AM
Selasa, 13 Agustus 2019
UPDATE: CBS-Viacom Reunification Official, Star Trek Now Under One Roof - TrekNews.net
UPDATE: Sources say the deal between CBS and Viacom has indeed been reached, placing the value of the merged company at $30 billion.
The merger between CBS and Viacom (Paramount’s parent company), owners of the Star Trek television and film rights, respectively, is expected to be finalized in the very near future.
This would mean that for the first time since the two companies split in 2005, the Star Trek franchise – TV and movie rights alike – would be housed under one roof.
What does this mean for Star Trek, a franchise that for years has had to tiptoe around legal intricacies as its movie and TV offerings grew? Well, consider that Alex Kurtzman now leads Star Trek’s future on CBS All Access, with Discovery, Picard, Lower Decks, the untitled Section 31 series, and another unnamed animated TV show in the works. This merger of CBS and Viacom could mean Kurtzman and his production team could have sizable influence if and when Star Trek gets back on the big screen – such as the growing possibility of a Quentin Tarantino Star Trek movie. Of course, this is just an example.
The troubled merger has been in talks for more than three years, with former CBS CEO Leslie Moonves taking the lead on opposing the reunification. But Moonves was ousted last year, which reportedly opened the way for serious pro-merger discussion to continue.
It is reported now that both sides have agreed on a price for the merger – specifically, 0.59625 shares of CBS stock for each full share of Viacom – and that a management structure, including Viacom CEO Bob Bakish as CEO of the merged company, is mostly in place.
Whether the merger could happen this week, or potentially be delayed again, will be answered during a conference call with investors this afternoon.
Stay tuned to TrekNews.net for all the latest news on Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek: Lower Decks and Star Trek: Short Treks. Connect with us on social media: @TrekNewsNet on Twitter, @TrekNews on Facebook, and @TrekNews on Instagram.
Kyle Hadyniak has been a lifelong Star Trek fan, and isn’t ashamed to admit that Star Trek V: The Final Frontier and Star Trek: Nemesis are his favorite Star Trek movies.
You can follow Kyle on Twitter @khady93.
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August 14, 2019 at 12:30AM
Brookfield buying controlling stake in Genworth MI Canada for $2.4B - BNNBloomberg.ca
Genworth Financial Inc. (GNW.N) agreed to sell its Canadian unit to Brookfield Business Partners LP (BBU.N) for $2.4 billion as it works to win regulatory approval for its acquisition by China Oceanwide Holdings Group Co.
Brookfield Business Partners will purchase 48.9 million shares, or a 57 per cent stake, at $48.86 apiece in Genworth MI Canada Inc., giving it majority control of Canada’s largest private-sector residential mortgage insurer. That’s a 5.1 per cent discount to Genworth MI’s closing price Monday.
Genworth Financial is looking to “ultimately, moving forward with our long-awaited closing of our merger with Oceanwide,” Chief Executive Officer Tom McInerney said in a statement Tuesday. Oceanwide’s chairman Lu Zhiqiang said the company is “pleased with the quality of the buyer as well as the purchase price they have offered.”
Shares of Genworth Financial jumped as much as 16 per cent in U.S. trading Tuesday, while Genworth MI Canada traded ex-dividend in Toronto and fell slightly.
Genworth has been working since 2016 to close its US$2.7 billion buyout by China Oceanwide, a transaction McInerney called the “best option” as the Richmond-based insurer grappled with soaring costs on long-term care policies. The insurer said in July that it would seek to gauge interest in the Canadian mortgage insurance unit after lack of “any substantive progress” on talks with regulators in that country for the China Oceanwide deal.
Brookfield plans to fund about US$700 million of the purchase on its own and for some of its institutional partners to co-invest alongside it for the rest. Brookfield agreed to provide an US$850 million bridge loan to back the transaction, which is expected to close in the second half of the year. The deal is subject to approval from Canada’s minister of finance.
BFIN Securities LP, BMO Capital Markets, CIBC Capital Markets, RBC Capital Markets, and Scotiabank were among financial advisers to Brookfield Business Partners. Goldman Sachs and Lazard Freres & Co. are acting as financial advisers to Genworth.
Deadline Extended
Genworth and Oceanwide have agreed to extend their merger deadline until Dec. 31.
“Genworth is an industry-leading business that generates strong, consistent earnings and operates in a sector with high barriers to entry,” David Nowak, managing partner, Brookfield Business Partners, said in the statement
The Genworth deal with Oceanwide has been approved by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., but is pending a decision from Canadian authorities. It also still needs clearance in China for currency conversion, according to the statement Tuesday.
The sale of the Canadian subsidiary comes at a sensitive time for Canadian-Chinese relations. The government is currently studying whether to ban Huawei Technologies Co. from its 5G networks. U.S. charges late last year against the Chinese telco saw its chief financial officer detained in Vancouver at the request of the U.S. Since then, Beijing has detained two Canadians, halted imports of canola and is now turning away meat shipments from Canada.
Analyst Views
National Bank
The sale of the remaining 43 per cent interest isn’t entirely off the table. Deal sets near term floor for shares of Genworth MI Canada
Credit Suisse
Brookfield’s step into the Canadian residential mortgage insurance business is a little unexpected. The preliminary economics of Genworth MI Canada’s business is “quite attractive.”
BTIG
The deal should alleviate any near-term concerns about Genworth Financial’s holding company liquidity.
Home Sales
Genworth MI Canada competes with Canada Guaranty Mortgage Insurance Co. in providing mortgage insurance, alongside the federal government’s Canada Mortgage & Housing Corp. In Canada, homebuyers with less than a 20 per cent downpayment are required to get their mortgage insured through one of the three companies.
Alternative lenders have been reaping the benefits of Canada’s tighter mortgage regulations as homebuyers seek financing outside of the big banks in wake of new rules imposed last year. And home prices in big cities have remained lofty. Sales in the city of Toronto have been rebounding all summer from a slump earlier this year as housing supply remains limited, driving prices higher for most segments.
--With assistance from Aoyon Ashraf, Scott Deveau and Joshua Fineman
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August 13, 2019 at 05:46PM
TFSA Investors: 3 Red-Hot Stocks to Ride Into 2020 - The Motley Fool Canada
Hello, Fools. I’m back to quickly highlight three stocks trading at new 52-week highs. Why? Because after a given stock rallies over a short period of time, one of two things usually happens:
If you have ambitious goals of turning an average $27K TFSA into $1 million bucks in 20 years, you’ll need an annual return of at least 20% to do it. While momentum stocks are on the fickle side, they can often skyrocket for much further and longer than you might expect.
Let’s get to it.
Ante upped
Leading off our list is travel service specialist Transat A.T. (TSX:TRZ), which is up a whopping 82% over the past year and currently trades near 52-week highs of $16.75 per share.
Transat spiked a few months ago after Air Canada offered to acquire it for $13 per share, or $520 million. But in order to win the support of Transat’s largest shareholder, Letko Brosseau & Associates, as well as to fend off rival bidder Group Mach, Air Canada sweetened the deal yesterday: it upped the total offer to $18 per share, or $720 million.
“We are very pleased by the added stability brought about by Air Canada’s increased bid as supported by Transat’s largest shareholder, Letko Brosseau,” said Transat CEO Jean-March Esutache.
Transat shares are up 182% in 2019.
Pretty Pretium
Next up, we have gold explorer Pretium Resources (TSX:PVG)(NYSE:PVG), whose shares are up 42% over the past year and currently trade near 52-week highs of $13.49 per share.
The stock has soared in recent months on the surging price of gold, but company fundamentals are also improving greatly. Strong economics at its key Brucejack Mine has helped the company eliminate $65 million of debt over the first half of 2019, putting management well ahead of schedule in its debt reduction goal of $140 million.
Looking ahead, Pretium maintained its full-year production guidance of 390K-420K oz. of gold.
“We are successfully ramping up production and made additional progress since the first quarter of the year,” said President and CEO Joseph Ovsenek.
Pretium shares are up 49% in 2019.
Powerful choice
Rounding out our list is Algonquin Power & Utilities (TSX:AQN)(NYSE:AQN), which is up 31% over the past year and trades near 52-week highs of $17.28 per share.
Algonquin continues to offer investors an attractive combination of income and growth. In the most recent quarter, adjusted earnings improved 8%, adjusted EBITDA jumped 18%, and adjusted funds from operations (AFFO) increased 13% to $128.3 million. And currently, the stock offers a healthy dividend yield of 4.4%.
“We are pleased to report solid operating results for the second quarter of 2019 while at the same time making significant progress on the execution of our five year $7.5 billion capital plan,” said CEO Ian Robertson.
Algonquin shares are up 24% so far in 2019.
The bottom line
There you have it, Fools: three red-hot stocks worth checking out.
As always, they aren’t formal recommendations. Instead, look at them as a starting point for further research. Momentum stocks are especially fickle, so plenty of your own due diligence is required.
Fool on.
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This is the company we think you should strongly consider having in your portfolio if you want to position yourself wisely for the coming marijuana boom.
Fool contributor Brian Pacampara owns no position in any of the companies mentioned.
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August 13, 2019 at 07:16PM
Stay on standard time, readers say - Prince George Citizen
During the last Citizen poll we asked "More than 223,000 people participated in a government online survey about daylight savings time" and asked "What would you like the government to do?"
With 49 per cent and 816 votes online readers said they would like to stay on standard time all year while 35 per cent and 579 voters said they'd like to stay on daylight savings time all year and 16 per cent and 268 voters said keep the current system. There were a total of 1,663 votes. Remember this is not a scientific poll.
Trending Stories
The next question is "Should Canfor become a private company, wholly owned by Jim Pattison?"
To make your vote count visit www.pgcitizen.ca.
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August 13, 2019 at 10:37AM
Brookfield acquires mortgage insurer Genworth Canada in $2.4-billion deal - The Globe and Mail
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The private equity arm of Brookfield Asset Management has reached a $2.4-billion deal to acquire control of Genworth MI Canada Inc., the country's second-largest mortgage insurer.
Brookfield Business Partners LP, a publicly-traded subsidiary of the global asset manager, is buying a 57-per-cent stake in Genworth MI Canada from the mortgage insurer's American parent company, Genworth Financial Inc. Brookfield intends to draw on its balance sheet to pay about US$700-million of the purchase price, and to bring in institutional partners to fund the remainder.
Brookfield will pay $48.86 per share, acquiring nearly 49 million shares in Genworth MI Canada. At Monday's close on the Toronto Stock Exchange, the shares were trading at $51.46 - near the stock's all-time high.
The deal solves a headache for Richmond, Va.-based Genworth, which has waited years for regulators to approve a separate deal by which it is expected to be acquired for US$2.7-billion by a privately-held Chinese buyer, China Oceanwide Holdings Group Co. Ltd. That deal, which was first announced in October of 2016, had stalled while awaiting approval from Canadian regulators and federal officials, which held the deal up over national security concerns even after U.S. regulators gave it a green light.
Earlier this summer, Genworth Financial announced it was considering "strategic alternatives" for Genworth MI Canada, seeking to break the deadlock. After soliciting bids, Brookfield Business Partners emerged as the winning suitor.
"We are very pleased to make this investment in Genworth Canada, a high-quality leader in the mortgage insurance sector," said David Nowak, managing partner for Brookfield Business Partners, in a news release.
The deal is subject once again to regulatory approvals from Canada's banking regulator, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI), and the Minister of Finance. It is expected to close later this year, and Brookfield has agreed to provide Genworth Financial with a bridge loan of up to US$850-million if regulatory approvals have not been granted by October 31.
The Canadian arm of Genworth, which was partly spun out in an initial public offering in 2009 but remained under the control of the U.S. parent, is a rare asset. It is Canada's largest private sector mortgage insurer, providing insurance against default to residential mortgage lenders, trailing only the government-owned Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) in size. The only privately-owned competitor to Genworth in Canada is Canada Guaranty Mortgage Insurance Company, which is jointly owned by Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and a holding company controlled by financier Stephen Smith.
Genworth MI Canada reported profit of $110-million in its most recent quarter, which ended June 30, after earning $452-million in profit during the 2018 fiscal year.
"We are pleased to find such a high-caliber buyer for our interest in Genworth Canada," said Tom McInerney, president and CEO of Genworth Financial, in a statement.
Genworth's position in Canada's highly consolidated mortgage insurance market made it a logical target for Brookfield Business Partners, which seeks to acquire and manage companies that are hard to replicate and well established in industries where the barrier to entry is high. Brookfield also has extensive expertise in mortgages and housing: It is one of the largest residential real estate developers in North America, active in real estate financing, and owns the Royal LePage brokerage.
Brookfield is not currently looking to acquire the remaining 43 per cent of Genworth MI Canada shares that are publicly owned.
Under its agreement with Genworth, Oceanwide Holdings has the right to accept or reject the terms of the sale of Genworth's Canadian arm. But in a statement, Genworth said Oceanwide has consented to the transaction with Brookfield. Oceanwide chairman Lu Zhiqiang said he is "pleased with the quality of the buyer as well as the purchase price they have offered."
Genworth Financial and Oceanwide have extended the deadline to complete their own transaction until Dec. 31, 2019.
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August 13, 2019 at 05:37PM
Streetwise newsletter: Barrick eyes sale of share in mine; Pattison tables bid to take Canfor private - The Globe and Mail
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Here are the top reads on deals and financial services over the last 24 hours,
FINANCIAL SERVICES NEWS
Ontario financial services regulator details new syndicated-mortgage rules for retail investors: Ontario’s financial industry regulator has unveiled new rules to govern the sale of syndicated mortgage investments to ordinary investors in the wake of failures of high-profile projects affiliated with Fortress Real Developments Inc. The Financial Services Regulatory Authority is asking for public feedback on proposals that would require mortgage brokers to flag risk factors to retail investors who are funding syndicated mortgage loans. Story (Janet McFarland)
Desjardins spent $70-million in second quarter over data breach: Lender Desjardins Group said on Monday it spent $70-million in the second quarter related to a data-privacy breach earlier this year that exposed personal information of 2.9 million members. Story (Reuters)
The Capital One breach proved we must rethink cloud security: By all accounts, Capital One defended its customers’ data with the imposing array of cybersecurity tools that you’d expect from one of the largest banks in the United States. And yet a lone hacker managed to bypass those tools and obtain the sensitive personal information of more than 100 million people, a breach that will likely cost the bank well more than $100-million when all is said and done. Opinion (Justin Fier)
Canada’s anti-money laundering watchdog tripled cryptocurrency cases it has referred to law enforcement in past year: Cryptocurrency transactions and exchanges are increasingly coming under the microscope of regulators and law enforcement agencies as the popularity of virtual currencies grows. Canada’s anti-money laundering watchdog sent 61 cryptocurrency-related incidents to law enforcement agencies for investigation in the past fiscal year – more than triple the number of such disclosures it made in the previous year, according to data obtained by The Globe and Mail through an Access to Information request. The agency’s most recent fiscal year ran from April 1, 2018, to March 31, 2019. Story (Alexandra Posadzki)
DEALS NEWS: MERGERS, ACQUISITIONS, IPOs and FINANCINGS
Barrick Gold eyeing sale of 50-per-cent share in Australian mine: Barrick Gold Corp. is planning to sell its 50-per-cent share in the Kalgoorlie mine in Australia and has identified two Australian companies as possible buyers. “There’s a lot of very interested parties in that asset, whether it’s Northern Star or Evolution [Mining]. Those mid-cap Aussie guys are doing extremely well," Barrick CEO Mark Bristow said in an interview after the release of the company’s second-quarter results on Monday. Story (Niall McGee)
Jim Pattison tables $981.7-million bid to take Canfor private: A company controlled by B.C. billionaire Jim Pattison plans to take forestry firm Canfor Corp. private with a $981.7-million cash offer that comes during an industry slump. Great Pacific Capital Corp. is offering $16 a share for Vancouver-based Canfor’s stock that it doesn’t already own, or 82 per cent higher than the close of $8.80 on Friday. Story (Brent Jang)
Air Canada hikes Transat bid, wins support from biggest shareholder: Air Canada has raised its takeover offer for Transat A.T. Inc., bowing to pressure from large investors who were demanding more for their stakes in the Montreal airline and tour company. Air Canada said its new offer, worth $18 a share or $720-million, up from $13 or $520-million, has the support of Transat’s largest shareholder, Letko Brosseau and Associates Inc., the Montreal money manager that controls almost 20 per cent of shares and opposed the first bid. Story (Eric Atkins)
BlackRock becomes Authentic Brands’ biggest shareholder with US$875-million stake: BlackRock Inc.’s new private equity fund Long Term Private Capital (LTPC) has completed its maiden investment, taking up a US$875-million stake in Authentic Brands Group LLC, making it the largest investor in the U.S.-based entertainment and branding company, the fund said on Sunday. Story (Reuters)
The Streetwise newsletter is Tuesday to Saturday. If you’re reading this on the web, or if someone forwarded this e-mail to you, you can sign up for Streetwise and all Globe newsletters on our signup page.
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August 13, 2019 at 05:43AM
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