UBC policy addresses fossil fuel ‘divestment’ + MORE Apr 17th

A demonstration against the Northern Gateway pipeline in Vancouver, B.C. in Nov. 2013 (Darryl Dyck/CP)
Sustainability is part of the University of British Columbia’s brand so it’s not surprising its $1.1-billion endowment fund is a target of the international movement demanding public institutions “divest” from fossil fuel companies. Divestment, a tactic used to fight South Africa’s racist Apartheid policy, means taking money out of entities perceived to be creating a social ill, in this case climate change. UBC is estimated to have $100 million in companies whose products lead to greenhouse gas emissions.
The movement, organized on campus by the group UBCC360, got a boost in January when the student body voted 77 per cent in favour of urging divestment.
This week, UBC’s Board of Governors approved a new policy that responds to the divestment debate but UBCC360 says the new rules won’t go far enough.
The Endowment Responsible Investing Policy expands the school’s commitment to environmentally and socially-minded investment, “within the limits faced by an investor in externally managed pooled funds…

TORONTO – Some of the most active companies traded Thursday on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the TSX Venture Exchange:
Toronto Stock Exchange (14,500.39 up 53.87 points):
Bombardier Inc. (TSX:BBD.B). Aerospace. Down six cents, or 1.47 per cent, to $4.01 on 16.4 million shares.
Osisko Mining Corp. (TSX:OSK). Miner. Up six cents, or 0.76 per cent, to $8 on 11.6 million shares.
Touchstone Gold Ltd. (TSX:TCH). Miner. Unchanged at 0.5 cents on 6.6 million shares.
B2Gold Corp. (TSX:BTO). Miner. Unchanged at $3.01 on 4.9 million shares.
Twin Butte Energy Ltd. (TSX:TBE). Oil and gas. Up one cent, or 0.41 per cent, to $2.47 on 4.6 million shares.
Yamana Gold Inc. (TSX:YRI). Miner. Down seven cents, or 0.79 per cent, to $8.76 on 4.4 million shares.
Toronto Venture Exchange (998.77 up 0.80 points):
Vanoil Energy Ltd. (TSXV:VEL). Oil and gas. Up two cents, or 44.44 per cent, to 6.5 cents on 9.6 million shares.
Diagnos Inc. (TSXV:ADK). Application software. Unchanged at seven cents on seven million shares…

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China factories face new challenge as growth slows
HONG KONG (AP) — Chinese manufacturers are discovering that being an efficient low-cost producer is no longer enough to prosper in the face of the country’s slowing growth.
Government priorities are changing, labour costs are rising and global demand is still weak. This puts pressure on manufacturers to move into more advanced production, consolidate into bigger entities or shift to cheaper inland regions to survive.
Growth in the world’s second-largest economy eased to 7.4 per cent last quarter, the lowest since a mini-downturn in late 2012, government figures showed Wednesday. Last year’s expansion of 7.7 per cent tied 2012 for the weakest since 1999.
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Wal-Mart jumps into the money transfer biz, loudly
NEW YORK (AP) — Wal-Mart is delving deeper into financial services at its stores and shaking up the money transfer business.
The world’s largest retailer introduced a new money transfer service Thursday that it says will cut fees for its low-income customers by up to 50 per cent compared with similar services elsewhere…

NORTHERN DANCER: THE LEGENDARY HORSE THAT INSPIRED A NATION
By Kevin Chong
In 1964, Canada didn’t yet fly the Maple Leaf. Instead, the Red Ensign, which included the Union Jack, served as the country’s flag. Caught between the influence of Britain and the U.S., Canadians felt an “uncertain sense of patriotism,” Chong writes, finding a dearth of icons to call their own. So when a plucky, Ontario-born colt won two of the world’s biggest horse races that year, the country naturally latched onto him.
Chong structures his story around the characters that orbited Northern Dancer, starting with owner E.P. Taylor. The tycoon is described as an affable man of integrity, though unpopular with many Canadians, who saw his ubiquitous business ventures—as a beer baron, a real estate magnate, president of a huge holding company—as a sign of greed. But the public warmed to Taylor as Northern Dancer won the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes, and made a bid for the Triple Crown (he came in third at the Belmont Stakes)…

The investment arm of OMERS has become one of the country’s most important venture capital sources for small companies