Nobody wants to be the one lured onto the bandwagon to start up a business at the very top of a market. There's only one direction from there: down.
Quebec-based Laurentian Bank of Canada can't be accused of that as it makes its first foray into investment banking in the downtrodden oil patch.
The veteran energy banker leading the effort says it's countercyclical. Boy, he's not kidding. The move has raised a few eyebrows in energy and finance circles.
The last two years of low oil prices have been painful, not just for the producers and oilfield service providers forced to auction off assets, cancel dividends and cut staff, but also for the investment dealers that make their livings from them. Story
Analysts fret over Amaya's ability to grow amid cancelled merger talks
Shares in Amaya Inc. fell the most in nearly six months on Tuesday after the Montreal-based online gambling company announced that talks with potential suitor William Hill PLC had been abruptly called off.
The aborted merger talks raised doubts about the company's ability to grow as a standalone business. Some in the analyst community fretted about slowing growth in the online poker market, as the company grapples with a heavy debt load, legal woes and the uncertainty of a continuing insider trading controversy.
On Tuesday, Amaya shares fell by more than 8 per cent to $18.65 a share on the Toronto Stock Exchange, as the company shut down its strategic review, effectively closing the door on the prospect of an imminent sale. Story
Fairfax nabs a bundle of AIG insurance businesses
Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. is picking up pieces of American International Group Inc. in a move that recalls the aftermath of the financial crisis.
After making money betting that financial services companies would struggle ahead of the 2008 financial meltdown, the Toronto-based insurance and investment company is buying some of New York-based AIG's businesses as it continues to restructure.
Fairfax said Tuesday that it would acquire property and casualty insurance businesses in several countries in Latin America and Eastern Europe for about $240-million. Fairfax has been drawn to these regions where there's more room to grow the amount of insurance bought by individuals and businesses than in other parts of the world where the market is more mature. The deal broadens Fairfax's base in two parts of the world where it has said it wants to expand. Story
DAILY DEALS
Yamana Gold Inc. has adopted a new, unique initiative to spin out its Brazilian assets: Take them public through a rights offering. Story
Dick's Sporting Goods Inc. is preparing a bid for the U.S. business of bankrupt Golfsmith International Holdings Inc., challenging an offer by rival retailer Worldwide Golf Shops, people familiar with the matter said. Story
Suncor Energy Inc. is selling another stake in an oil-storage terminal to an Alberta First Nation as the company seeks stronger ties with aboriginal groups in the northern oil-sands region. Story
ICYMI
Jacqueline Nelson on Teachers' $1.03-billion acquisition of Constellation's Canadian wine business. Story
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