CA-CANADA Summary (Reuters)

LSE, TMX abort their merger, leaving both in play

TORONTO/LONDON (Reuters) – The London Stock Exchange's C$3.6 billion ($3.7 billion) plan to buy its Toronto counterpart collapsed on Wednesday in the face of a competing bid led by Canadian banks, leaving the UK exchange itself vulnerable to takeover. The failure, which follows Singapore Exchange Ltd.'s scuttled bid for Australia's ASX Ltd, is the latest sign of nationalist pride frustrating cross-border deals for highly symbolic capital markets.

Ontario government spending plans optimistic: auditor

TORONTO (Reuters) - Ontario's latest spending forecasts are optimistic and aggressive, the province's auditor general said on Tuesday, which may make it difficult for the government to meet its fiscal targets. The auditor's report comes just three months ahead of an October election. The governing Liberals are trailing the main opposition Progressive Conservatives in recent polls.

Inflation hits 8-year high, pressures Bank of Canada

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadian inflation rose to its highest level in more than eight years in May, boosting the Canadian dollar and raising the prospect the central bank will raise interest rates sooner than previously expected. Annual inflation hit 3.7 percent, well above expectations and far above the Bank of Canada's 2.0 percent target, according to Statistics Canada data on Wednesday.

Government may fund Wheat Board's move to open market

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (Reuters) - The government would consider giving the Canadian Wheat Board short-term capital to help it adjust to an open market once Ottawa removes its grain monopoly, Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz said on Wednesday. Ritz, speaking to reporters in Winnipeg, said funding would depend on the board presenting a suitable business plan.

Canada privatizes nuclear unit; sells to SNC

TORONTO/VANCOUVER (Reuters) - The Canadian government is selling the nuclear reactor division of AECL to SNC-Lavalin Group, ending the flood of money it has pumped into the loss-making unit over the past six decades. In a long-awaited announcement, the two parties said on Wednesday SNC-Lavalin will pay state-owned Atomic Energy of Canada (AECL) C$15 million ($15.4 million) plus royalties for the unit, which designs and builds nuclear reactors for generating electricity.

Analysis - Nationalism casts shadow over Canada after TMX deal

TORONTO (Reuters) - When Canada's big banks and pension funds needed sizzle to combat the steak offered by the London Stock Exchange's bid for the Toronto Stock Exchange, they looked only as far as the Canadian flag. The iconic red maple leaf -- and sweet syrup from the trees -- conveyed in a word what the Maple Group consortium of big financial firms wanted to tell TMX shareholders: We don't want foreigners controlling our markets, do we?

Home-resale price index jumps in April

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canadian home resale prices rose in April from March, marking the biggest of five straight month-on-month increases and gaining right across the country, a report on Wednesday said. The Teranet-National Bank Composite House Price Index, which measures price changes for repeat sales of single-family homes in six metropolitan areas, showed overall prices were up 1.1 percent in April from March.

BCE pays $10.2 million to settle with watchdog

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's Competition Bureau said on Tuesday that BCE Inc's Bell Canada unit had agreed to pay C$10 million ($10.2 million) and to stop making what the watchdog called "misleading representations" about its prices. Bell, which sells telephone, television and Internet services, said it "fundamentally disagrees" with the bureau's position on its advertising but paid the penalty, the maximum allowed, to resolve the issue.

Canada set to sell AECL unit to SNC-Lavalin: report

TORONTO (Reuters) - The Canadian government is set to announce the sale of Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd to SNC-Lavalin Group Inc, the Globe and Mail newspaper said on Tuesday. SNC-Lavalin, Canada's biggest engineering and construction firm, was the sole bidder for AECL's commercial nuclear power division and had said it was still interested in the deal despite losing its bidding partner in May.

NDP concerned by LSE-TMX bid

OTTAWA (Reuters) - New Democratic Party has concerns about the London Stock Exchange's takeover offer for TMX, operator of the Toronto Stock Exchange, the party said on Tuesday. The left-leaning NDP said it would "outline concerns" about the deal on Wednesday morning, a day ahead of a TMX shareholder vote on the LSE offer.