time adviser to Shawn Graham on taxation is calling the Liberal leader's election pledge to offer future royalty holidays to any company developing a mine in New Brunswick an "awful" idea.

The head of Corridor Resources Inc. says he is "disappointed" with the company's recent drilling efforts on Anticosti Island, but insists the island still holds potential for oil production.

Prince Edward Island's goal of becoming a sizeable energy exporter is not dead, says the province's energy minister, despite a string of recent setbacks to the government's energy agenda.

Repsol YPF SA's Brazilian unit, which Spain's biggest oil company plans to sell shares in, has been valued at US$8.3 billion by analysts at Morgan Stanley.

Plastics manufacturer IPL Inc. (TSX:IPI.A) announced Tuesday a plan to take the company private with a merger agreement that will see private-equity firm Novacap and Quebec provincial-capital investment fund Fonds de solidarité FTQ together buy the company for $94.2 million.

Canada's two biggest airlines both saw a bump in passenger traffic during August compared to a year ago, but the planes they have been flying haven't necessarily been fuller.

Bank of Nova Scotia said Tuesday it has shuffled its management deck, creating four new business lines and making a series of executive appointments in a bid to position itself for global growth.

Canadian stock market participants jumped off the bandwagon Tuesday, with the Toronto Stock Exchange's main index falling for the first time in nine business days as some headwinds emerged.

Groupe Videotron has the potential to start a price war and impact Bell Canada the most once the Quebecor TV and cellphone division launches its advanced wireless network in Quebec.

Marine Atlantic says it has made a number of changes to its controversial booking system to improve commercial reservations.

Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. has contacted other companies about creating an alternative to BHP Billiton's $38.6-billion US offer to acquire the fertilizer giant.

Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates and billionaire investor Warren Buffett plan to sell the art of giving to China's super rich in a visit later this month that's already sparked some soul searching among the world's second-largest number of billionaires.

Casey's General Stores Inc. said on Tuesday an unnamed second suitor has joined the chase for the Iowa convenience store chain with a US$2-billion bid, trumping a hostile offer from Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. and dimming the chances of the Quebec-based company succeeding in its months-long pursuit of the U.S. company.

Oracle Corp. has hired former Hewlett-Packard Co. CEO Mark Hurd to help lead the database software maker in a pivotal moment in Oracle's 33-year history as it tries to muscle in on more of HP's turf.

Atlantic Canada is heading toward a potential crisis, says Brad McRae, and at stake is the region's high standard of living.

New Brunswick exports continue to defy the gravitational effects of lower global demand, states a recent report from the Atlantic Provinces Economic Council. Meanwhile, the rest of Atlantic Canada is experiencing lower export activity.

FRANÇOIS - The Liberals and Progressive Conservatives are both pledging to solve what's become known as the chicken war, a complex year-long dispute involving two poultry companies that has pitted residents against one another and cost northwestern New Brunswick more than 150 jobs.

For years, Brunswick Mine has been a driving economic engine in the Bathurst area, providing roughly 1,000 jobs and hundreds more in related industries.

For decades, the New Brunswick government has been the primary engine for economic growth in the province. In this capacity, it developed the plans, drew up the blueprints, set out the operational models and provided financial and human resources to the effort.

Canada's jobs market for the final months of 2010 looks the brightest it has in almost two years, according to a quarterly survey released Tuesday.