16 Money WWW.PGCITIZEN.CA | WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 201 7 MONEY IN BRIEF Currencies These are indicative wholesale rates for foreign currency provided by the Bank of Canada on Tuesday. Quotations in Canadian funds. Australia dollar 0.9754 Brazil real 0.3907 China renminbi 0.1864 Euro 1.4580 Hong Kong dollar 0.158336 India rupee 0.01890 Indonesia rupiah 0.0000920 Japan yen 0.01103 Malaysia ringgit 0.2941 Mexico peso 0.06881 N.Z. dollar 0.8903 Norway krone 0.1568 Peruvian new sol 0.3786 Russia rouble 0.02139 Saudi riyal 0.3298 Singapore dollar 0.9128 South Africa rand 0.09250 South Korean won 0.001087 Sweden krona 0.1523 Switzerland franc1.2745 Taiwanese dollar 0.04088 Thailand baht 0.03724 Turkey lira U.K. pound U.S. dollar Vietnam dong 0.3489 1.6620 1.2370 0.000054 Financial highlights Highlights at the close Tuesday at world financial market trading. Stocks: S&P/TSX Composite Index -15,474.12, down 42.11 points Dow - 22,284.32, down 11.77 points S&P 500- 2,496.84, up 0.18 of a point Nasdaq - 6,380.16, up 9.57 points Currencies: Cdn - 80.84 cents US, down 0.19 of a cent Pound - C$1.6620, down 0.20 of a cent Euro - C$1.4580, down 0.54 of a cent Euro - US$1.1787, down 0.71 of a cent Oil futures: US$51.88, down 34 cents (November contract) Gold futures: US$1,301.70 per oz., down $9.80 (December contract) Canadian Fine Silver Handy and Harman: $21.772 per oz., down 10.8 cents $699.97 per kg., down $3.47 The markets today (CP) — The Toronto Stock Exchange's main index shed 42.11 points in a broad-based retreat as investors closely watched Bombardier's stock awaiting a legal ruling from the U.S. "There's not a lot of movement out there today," said Norman Levine, managing director of Portfolio Management Corp. The S&P/TSX composite index closed at 15,474.12, with all but one subsector in the red. On Wall Street, the markets were mixed. The Dow Jones industrial average retreated 11.77 points to 22,284.32. The S&P 500 index advanced 0.18 of a point to 2,496.84 and the Nasdaq composite index rose 9.57 points to 6,380.16. In currency markets, the loonie was trading at an average price of 80.84 cents US, down 0.19 of a U.S. cent. The November crude contract fell 34 cents to US$51.88 per barrel and the November natural gas contract rose 1.2 cents to US$3.00 per mmBTU. The December gold contract lost US$9.80 to US$1,301.70 an ounce and the December copper contract declined about 1.9 cents to roughly US$2.92 a pound. HANDOUT PHOTO Bombadier's CS100 commercial jet. Bombardier hit with hefty duties The Canadian Press OTTAWA — The U.S. Department of Commerce has clobbered aerospace giant Bombardier with a hefty 219 per cent countervailing duty on the sale of its CS100 commercial jets to a U.S. airline following a trade complaint from an American rival. The department ruled that Bombardier benefited from improper government subsidies, a finding that deals a blow to the Montreal-based company’s chances in its ongoing dispute with U.S. rival Boeing. Boeing had complained that Bombardier inked a deal with Delta Air Lines for up to 125 of the jets by offering the planes at below-market price. The financial penalties aren’t officially due until Bombardier delivers the first CS100 to Delta some time in the spring. The key will be whether U.S. officials find that the deal between Bombardier and Delta actually hurt Boeing’s business, an issue that’s not expected to yield a finding for at least six months. But today’s ruling does give Boeing momentum as the dispute drags on, and more leverage in any future talks between the Trudeau government and Boeing to reach a negotiated settlement. Tuesday’s ruling was a stunning turn in the dispute, as Boeing had been asking for an 80 per cent duty. The list price for the planes is around $6 billion. But the actual amount of money involved in the deal has not been made public, and Boeing has alleged that it is much less. The case has major implications for Bombardier as it could not only endanger its deal with Delta, but also hinder future sales in the U.S. and hurt those Canadian aerospace companies that work with Bombardier. Speaking before the ruling, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised to continue to stand with Bombardier and Canada’s aerospace industry. He also once again threatened to cut government ties with Boeing. “Certainly we won’t deal with a company that’s attacking us and attacking thousands of Canadian jobs,” Trudeau said outside the House of Commons. With one preliminary ruling out of the way, the Commerce Department will now turn its attention to whether Bombardier “dumped” its CS100s into the U.S. market by selling them below cost. That finding is scheduled on Oct. 4, but could be delayed. But the real question is whether the deal between Bombardier and Delta hurt Boeing. That question is being tackled by the U.S. International Trade Commission, whose ruling likely won’t come out until spring. The commission’s ruling will be the key to whether any duties slapped on the CS100s become permanent, or whether the case is dismissed, all duties paid are refunded and the Bombardier-Delta deal can go ahead as planned. Even then, however, either side can appeal the entire case to the U.S. Court of International Trade, bring it before NAFTA dispute bodies, or even take the matter to the World Trade Organization. That could not only drag the case out, but also leave a cloud of uncertainty hovering over Bombardier, and affect its ability to sell more planes into the U.S. market or overseas. Quebec Finance Minister Carlos Leitao, whose government invested US$1 billion for a 49.5 per cent stake in the CSeries commercial jet program last year, said he was confident that Bombardier would beat Boeing. But he tempered his optimism by noting that it could take a long time to resolve the case, which Leitao said could hurt Bombardier - and which is why Quebec will continue to support the company. “At the end of the day, as often happens in this type of dispute, the Canadian side will win,” he told The Canadian Press in New York. “Now that day could be a very long day, so that’s where the risks come from.” It was the second bit of bad news for Bombardier on Tuesday, after two European railway manufacturers announced they were merging and would present a united front against the Montreal-based company. But there was also a glimmer of good news, after a senior Bombardier official said the firm was hoping to close several deals with Chinese airlines. Border wall prototypes in San Diego The Associated Press SAN DIEGO - The federal government says contractors have begun building prototypes of President Donald Trump’s proposed border wall with Mexico. The contractors are erecting eight prototypes in San Diego - four made of concrete and four of other materials. Construction will last about 30 days. U.S. Customs and Border Protection may pick several designs, or none. The agency says in a press release that the designs will inform standards for future construction. Prototypes will be up to 30 feet high and 30 feet long. Construction begins three months behind schedule after losing bidders lodged protests that were ultimately unsuccessful. Deal to create European champion in trains David MCHUGH And Sylvie CORBET The Associated Press FRANKFURT - German industrial equipment maker Siemens AG said Tuesday it has signed a memorandum of understanding to merge its train-building business with French rival Alstom, creating a “new European champion” in the face of growing competition from China. The deal is a sign of renewed French-German co-operation just days after Chancellor Angela Merkel won a fourth term in office. Siemens said would have 50 per cent of the shares in the combined entity, with the chance to buy two per cent more. The deal skirted political sensitivities on the French side. The new group’s headquarters will be in the Paris area, and Alstom CEO Henri Poupart-Lafarge will lead the entity, which will be called Siemens Alstom. The deal is seen as an effort by the European companies to head off tougher competition from massive Chinese railmaker CRRC Corp., which is competing for global infrastructure deals, and has annual sales of about $36 billion (over 30 billion euros). The Alstom-Siemens comes on the same day that French President Emmanuel Macron called for deeper European Union integration through a joint budget, shared military force and harmonized taxes. “This Franco-German merger of equals sends a strong signal in many ways,” Siemens CEO Joe Kaeser said in a statement. “We put the European idea to work and together with our friends at Alstom, we are creating a new European champion in the rail industry for the long term.” Siemens’ news release said the Alstom board supported the transaction, and that the French government added its support in return for employment protections and an agreement to hold the Siemens stake to 50.5 per cent for four years. The announcement comes just weeks after the French government put on hold another heavy industry deal. In August, it had frozen the promised sale of a majority stake in the Saint-Nazaire shipyard to Italy’s state-controlled Fincantieri. The French government said it wanted to protect jobs and proposed limiting Italy’s stake to 50 per cent. The two countries later said they would try to find a solution, with a decision potentially to be announced when Macron meets his Italian counterpart, Paolo Gentiloni, today.