At the open: TSX falls as materials stocks retreat with commodities + MORE May 18th

Ivanhoé Cambridge and Claridge setting up business alliance with the goal of investing together with private property developers in mid-sized real estate projects in and around Montreal

We asked Madeleine Aston, 19, a student at Wilfrid Laurier University, to take a few robo-advisors for a run. Here’s what she found.
I looked into robo-advisors as a way to invest for someone young like myself who might only have $5,000. I went to the websites of five robo-advisors in the table “Which Robo-Advisor Is Right For You?” and tried each of their sign-up processes. I stopped short of opening an account.
What did I think? These services have lots to offer people who want the process of investing to be fast and easy. I liked how simple it was to get a diversified portfolio composed of ETFs that matches the level of risk I’m comfortable with. While some might prefer to be more involved in day-to-day investment decisions, I like the idea of turning it over to someone else.
Which robo-advisor is right for you? »
Robo-advisors let you do pretty much everything online through your computer or through an app on your smartphone. You can communicate with human advisors via chat, email or phone…

TORONTO – The CRTC says the CBC wants to extend for another two years its ruling that allows the public broadcaster to play paid national advertising on two of its radio networks.
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommications Commission ruled in favour of the CBC’s request in 2013 for paid advertising on CBC Radio 2 and Espace Musique, now called ICI Musique, until the end of this August.
However, the CRTC said the ruling was met with heavy opposition from listeners and industry insiders.
The CRTC said at the time that the CBC would have to prove the decision did not negatively impact advertising markets or excessively disrupt listeners if it wanted to continue broadcasting ads past August 2016.
The broadcaster also had to maintain its level of investment in radio and continue to offer variety and diversity on the two services.
The CBC, which said in its application that it had abided by all these conditions over the two-year period, said the two services brought in $1…

NEW YORK, N.Y. – Charter Communications is closing on its $67 billion acquisition of Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks. The deals make Charter the second-largest home Internet provider and third-largest video provider in the U.S.
Charter, which is based in Stamford, Connecticut, says it now has 24 million subscribers in 41 states. It agreed to buy Time Warner and Bright House last year, but the deals weren’t cleared by antitrust regulators and other government agencies until the last few weeks.
Charter says its Spectrum brand will replace the Time Warner Cable and Bright House brands over the next 18 months or so. The company’s stock rose 33 cents to $225.24 in midday trading.
The name Time Warner will eventually be phased out and the company will be known as Charter Communications.
The post Time Warner name will vanish; Charter closes acquisition appeared first on Canadian Business – Your Source For Business News.

U.S. retailers sink after Target's earnings miss