At midday: TSX falls with gold, oil; Amaya slumps after CEO charges + MORE Mar 23rd

Stock and energy markets were lower Wednesday, dragged down by enough worries over terror attacks in Belgium to offset a federal budget released Tuesday that should be a shot in the arm for the economy.

The federal budget made some important tax changes for families.  The good news is that the much rumoured increase to the capital gains inclusions rate did not come to fruition in this budget,  and the anticipated changes to stock option benefits have been deferred for now. But if you’ve invested in corporate class mutual funds, you’ll want to do any switching between funds on a tax-free basis now until September as that special tax-free treatment will disappear.
Charities will also wince at the cancellation of a provision expected to begin in 2017, introduced in the last budget. That is, the donation of sales proceeds from a qualifying private corporate or real estate dispositions will no longer qualify for a capital gains exemption if proceeds are donated to charity.
Families will be happy with the introduction of the Canada Child Benefit (CCB), which is a refundable credit based on family net income. Specifically, the new CCB provides a maximum benefit of $6400 per child under age of six and $5400 per child age six to 17…

U.S. stocks edged broadly lower in morning trading Wednesday as lower prices for oil and metals weighed on energy and mining companies. Investors were poring over the latest batch of company earnings news, including disappointing results from Nike.
KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average fell 36 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 17,546 as of 11:16 a.m. Eastern Time. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index lost seven points, or 0.4 per cent, to 2,042. The Nasdaq composite dropped 33 points, or 0.7 per cent, to 4,788.
THE QUOTE: Trading has been muted this week ahead of the Easter holiday. Investors also are looking ahead to first-quarter earnings reports, which start to come out in a couple of weeks, noted Bill Northey, chief investment officer at U.S. Bank Private Client Group.
“The market is taking a little bit of a ‘now what?’ approach,” Northey said. “We’re going to be trading sideways for a bit of time until we get some market-moving information or change in the trajectory of corporate earnings…

DETROIT – If you’re in the market for a Japanese car, March is a good time to buy.
Unlike U.S., European and Korean automakers, which end their financial year on Dec. 31, Japanese companies such as Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. close their books on March 31. In order to hit their annual sales targets, Japanese automakers usually ramp up the promotions and deals in March.
Honda’s “Dream Garage” ads are currently running between college basketball games. Lexus will make your first month’s lease payment. Nissan is promising bonus cash. Subaru’s “Love Spring” sale promises zero-per cent financing on Impreza and Legacy sedans. Toyota is offering $1,000 cash on a 2016 Corolla.
“March tends to be a strong sales month for the auto industry, but is particularly strong for the Japanese makes as shoppers flock to these sales,” says Jeremy Acevedo, an analyst with the car buying site Edmunds.com.
Among the current deals:
— The 2016 Toyota Camry SE is currently selling for as much as 11 per cent off the manufacturer’s suggested retail price, or MSRP, according to car buying site TrueCar…

Canada’s main stock index fell on Wednesday as gold miners and other materials stocks weighed with lower gold and other commodity prices, and insider trading charges sunk Amaya shares