US stock indexes drift lower in early trading; oil up + MORE Aug 8th

EDMONTON – The Alberta Motor Association says it has fired one of its executives after an alleged fraud.
The AMA says in a statement released Monday that the dismissal took place after what it calls an exhaustive internal investigation that revealed alleged irregular financial activity.
The organization has not released the name of the executive or the amount of money involved, saying the matter is now before the courts.
It says insurance will cover the losses and customer information has not been compromised.
The AMA also says additional controls have been put in place to prevent any similar incidents in the future.
The Alberta Motor Association has more than 973,000 members and advocates for traffic safety, travel, consumer protection and crime prevention.
“We expect all our employees to perform their duties in a manner that maintains and enhances the public’s confidence and trust in our organization,” the organization’s statement read.
“AMA takes cases of improper conduct very seriously and when the matter was brought to senior management, we acted swiftly and decisively…

Q: I have two locked in LIRAs with my bank—one for $36,000 and another one for $18,000, each from past employers. I live in Nova Scotia and am 46 years old. I have been unemployed for two years now and am having trouble meeting my mortgage payments. Is there any way to access this money before age 55 and if so, what would be my best strategy?
—Blair Rudderham, N.S.
A: A Locked-In Retirement Account (LIRA) is an RSP with restrictions on accessing the funds before age 55. There are financial hardship provisions to access these funds early:

low expected income
payment of first and last months’ rent
arrears of rent or debt secured on a principal residence (such as a mortgage)
medical expenses

Blair would be eligible to unlock up to $36,600 in 2016 depending on his outlook for earning income. He would apply directly to the financial institution that is holding the LIRA(s). An application form can be found at Financial Services Commission of Ontario.
Once approved, applicable tax will be withheld as if Blair withdrew funds from an RSP…

U.S. stocks drifted lower in early trading Monday as investors sized up the latest company earnings and deal news. The major stock indexes were coming off new highs set last week following a strong U.S. jobs report. Energy stocks surged the most as oil prices rose, while health care companies were the biggest laggard.
KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average slipped two points to 18,541 as of 10:08 a.m. Eastern time. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index slid less than one point to 2,182. The Nasdaq composite index fell four points, or 0.1 per cent, to 5,216.
DASHED EXPECTATIONS: Allergan PLC slumped 3.5 per cent after the Botox-maker’s second-quarter revenue fell short of Wall Street’s forecasts. The stock lost $9.14 to $244.70.
ONLINE PLAY: Wal-Mart Stores slipped about 1 per cent after the retail giant agreed to buy fast-growing online retail newcomer Jet.com for $3 billion in cash and another $300 million in stock. The deal underscores how serious Wal-Mart is about challenging online leader Amazon…

NEW YORK, N.Y. – Wal-Mart has agreed to buy fast-growing online retail newcomer Jet.com, which had launched with a splash a year ago when it announced its intention to challenge online leader Amazon.
Wal-Mart is paying $3 billion in cash and another $300 million in stock.
The deal announced Monday underscores how serious Wal-Mart is about igniting its online business, which has been slowing even as it has been making big investments in new distribution centres and expanding services.
Buying Jet.com would let Wal-Mart compete more effectively with Amazon.com and other online retailers. The deal also reflects the difficulties for startups like Jet.com to make it on their own in a sphere dominated by Amazon.com with its network of distribution hubs and the powerful asset of its Prime membership program.
The acquisition is expected to close this year upon regulatory approval, Wal-Mart said.
Buying Jet.com will help Wal-Mart grab a higher-income customer who typically is younger. Jet.com has more than 400,000 new shoppers added monthly and an average of 25,000 daily processed orders…

OTTAWA – Statistics Canada is reporting that the value of building permits issued by cities in June was $6.4 billion, down 5.5 per cent from the previous month.
The federal agency says the decline was mainly because of reduced construction intentions for multi-family dwellings and institutional buildings.
It says the residential sector accounted for $4.1 billion of building permits, down five per cent.
Non-residential permits were down 6.2 per cent to $2.3 billion.
Ontario and British Columbia, which have two of Canada’s most expensive real estate markets, led the declines in June.
The relatively small market in Northwest Territories also fell about 91 per cent to $9.8 million while Saskatchewan posted a 72.4 per cent gain, rising to $288 million.
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