Canadian dollar declines, oil prices off slightly after 3 days of gains + MORE Feb 10th

TORONTO – The Toronto stock market was set to advance Tuesday as oil prices declined after three days of advances and traders looked past another round of weak Chinese data.
Traders also digested a variety of earnings reports and kept an eye on the fiscal standoff between Greece and its eurozone creditors.
The Canadian dollar was down 0.3 of a cent to 80.19 cents US.
New York futures signalled a higher open as the Dow Jones industrial futures jumped 100 points to 17,781, the Nasdaq futures gained 4.5 points to 4,218.8 while the S&P 500 futures were ahead 12.1 points to 2,054.5.
March oil in New York was down 46 cents to US$50.02 a barrel after running ahead nine per cent since last Wednesday. Oil prices seemed to find support around the $50 a barrel level after dropping sharply since the end of November. That is when OPEC refused to cut production in order to support prices that had already fallen sharply from the US$107 highs of last June as markets cope with a huge supply/demand imbalance…

MONTREAL – Molson Coors Brewing (NYSE:TAP) says its fourth-quarter profit fell nearly 32 per cent to US$94.1 million, including discontinued operations — down from $137.2 million a year earlier.
The company says its profit was hit by a higher tax rate, unfavourable changes to currency values and lower volumes of beer sold in the United States and Canada.
Net sales dropped 5.3 per cent to US$973.8 million, but would have been up 0.9 per cent if currency values were constant.
On a per-share basis, the profit fell to 50 cents US, down from 74 cents.
Still, the American-Canadian beer company will be raising its dividend by 11 per cent, beginning in the first quarter.
The new quarterly dividend will rise to 41 cents US per share on March 16, up from 37 cents per share.
Molson Coors Canada (TSX:TPX.B) will pay a similar dividend in Canadian funds.
The company also announced a new share buyback program, which enables Molson Coors to spend up to US$1 billion over four years to repurchase and cancel its class A and B common stock…

(Getty Images/Hero Images)

Getty Images/Hero Images

Q: What are the benefits and/or drawbacks to using more than one financial adviser at the same time? —Donna, via email
A: Investing 101 suggests that you should diversify your investments. I can see an argument for diversifying your advisers as well and in practice, Donna, it happens regularly.
Some people do it by accident because they contribute to an RRSP at their bank branch, they have investments with their insurance agent and they have a group retirement plan. If you end up with multiple accounts and more than one financial adviser as a result of happenstance, rather than on purpose, I’d be inclined to consider what you really want.
Some of the drawbacks of using multiple advisers are:
1. Higher fees: You may qualify for fee discounts on higher investment balances. If you have investments with multiple advisers, you might not be paying the lowest fees possible due to multiple small balances.
2. Poor asset allocation: If you or your advisers are not monitoring your overall asset allocation across all of your accounts, you might end up with duplication or over or underweighting that is unintentional…

TORONTO – The Canadian dollar was slightly lower Tuesday as oil prices declined after a series of solid gains while traders took in another round of weak Chinese data and kept an eye on the financial standoff between Greece and its eurozone creditors.
The loonie declined 0.05 of a cent to 80.17 cents US.
March oil in New York was down 45 cents to US$50.03 a barrel after running ahead nine per cent since last Wednesday. Oil prices seemed to find support around the $50 a barrel level after pretty much going straight down since the end of November. That is when OPEC refused to cut production in order to support prices that had already fallen sharply from the $107 highs of last June as markets cope with a huge supply/demand imbalance.
“The intraday range in oil prices is stabilizing and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) has attempted but so far failed to break above its 50-day moving average (of $53.01),” noted Camilla Sutton, Chief FX Strategist, Managing Director Scotiabank Global Banking and Markets…

RICHMOND, Va. – Cigarette maker Reynolds American Inc. says its fourth-quarter profit fell 49 per cent on pension charges and other costs.
The nation’s second-biggest tobacco company said Tuesday it earned $148 million, or 28 per share, in the period ended Dec. 31, compared with $292 million, or 54 cents per share, a year ago.
Adjusted earnings were 87 cents per share, meeting Wall Street expectations, according to Zacks Investment Research.
Reynolds American said its revenue excluding excise taxes increased more than 5 per cent to $2.13 billion on higher cigarette and smokeless tobacco prices.
The maker of Camel and Pall Mall cigarettes said the number of cigarettes sold by its R.J. Reynolds Tobacco subsidiary fell about 5 per cent during the quarter to 14.9 billion, compared with an industry decline of 2 per cent.
Volumes for Pall Mall fell about 5 per cent and volumes for Camel fell less than one per cent. The brands account for nearly 75 per cent of the company’s total cigarette volume…