MONTREAL - The head of the CBC says he's anxious to find out just how much of his budget is about to be slashed.

Hubert Lacroix says he's wondering whether the looming cuts will keep the CBC from fulfilling the objectives set out in its latest strategic review.

In a speech to the Montreal Board of Trade today, the CBC president also said he doesn't know how many jobs will have to be eliminated.

The comments come as the Harper government prepares deep spending reductions in its upcoming budget, with departments preparing for clawbacks of five to 10 per cent.

CBC/Radio-Canada receives $1.1 billion a year. The Crown corporation already cut $171 million from its budget two years ago and eliminated 800 jobs at the time.

In his speech, Lacroix said Canadian broadcasting - even the private sector - couldn't survive without government support.

He also expressed frustration with all the criticism being levelled against the CBC by the Quebecor media chain.

The Toronto stock market appeared set for a sharply lower open Friday amid doubts as to when Greece will get a much-needed bailout in order to avoid bankruptcy.

The Canadian dollar was down sharply as traders avoided risky investments and bought into the safe haven status of U.S. Treasuries. The loonie fell 0.68 of a cent to 99.76 cents US.

U.S. futures also signalled a negative start to the session with the Dow Jones industrial futures down 88 points to 12,574, the Nasdaq futures fell 21 points to 2,540 and the S&P 500 futures declined 11 points to 1,337.3.

Eurozone finance ministers are insisting that Greece has to save an extra $325 million in order to get a crucial $130 billion second bailout in time to avoid a bankruptcy next month that could send shockwaves around the financial markets.

A deal appeared to be secured on Thursday after Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos and heads of the three parties backing his government agreed to deep private sector wage cuts, civil service layoffs, and significant reductions in health, social security and military spending.

The finance ministers also insist that Greece pass the cuts through a restive parliament and guarantee in writing that they will be implemented even after planned elections in April.

Sentiment was also depressed Friday morning by data showing that China's trade suffered its biggest decline in January since the 2008 financial crisis in a new sign of weak global demand and a slowing domestic economy.

Exports fell 0.5 per cent from a year earlier to US$149.9 billion, while imports were down 15 per cent at $122.7 billion.

The import decline was sharper than expected, suggesting that even the world's second-largest economy is slowing markedly.

The new year got off to a good start for home builders in Kelowna and Vernon.

Photo: Kelly Hayes - File photo

Housing starts are up in Kelowna and Vernon.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) reports 49 new homes were being built in January 2012,  compared to 33 homes the same month in 2011.

Both detached home and multi-family starts were up from a year ago but single detached homes remained the focus of new home construction in January.

“Lower construction costs and lot prices have enabled builders to better compete with the existing home market and attract price sensitive buyers,” says CMHC Market Analyst Paul Fabri.

Multi-family starts in January included semi-detached units and townhouses.

“Builders continue to favour smaller housing projects rather than larger apartment condominium projects.”

Vernon housing starts also moved higher compared to January 2011 levels. Both Kamloops and Penticton recorded fewer housing starts in January 2012 than in the previous year.

As Canada's national housing agency, CMHC provides reliable, impartial and up-to-date housing market reports, analysis and knowledge to support and assist consumers and the housing industry in making informed decisions.

For more information, visit their website or call 1-800-668-2642.

As well, CMHC Market Analysis standard reports are also available free for download

Photo: The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

A WestJet plane takes off from the international airport in Calgary, Thursday February 13, 2003. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

WestJet said Wednesday it will launch a low fare, no frills regional airline, intensifying competition in smaller domestic markets with rival Air Canada (TSX:AC.B) for business and leisure class travellers.

"It's the next logical step in WestJet's evolution," president and CEO Gregg Saretsky said on a conference call Wednesday.

WestJet is considering Bombardier's Q400 NextGen 70 to 80-seat aircraft designed for short hauls and Italian-French company ATR's 72-600 series, Saretsky said after the airline reported profits fell 4.3 per cent in its fourth quarter.

Saretsky said he expects that WestJet's regional airline will be up and running before the end of 2013 and the Calgary-based airline will place an order with either Bombardier (TSX:BBD.B) or ATR later this year.

"Both are excellent aircraft that would fit seamlessly into our current fleet. I want to emphasize that the regional fleet will consist of just one type of aircraft to maintain operational efficiencies and flexibility similar to the successful single-fleet approach we use in our current operations."

Saretsky said he couldn't yet say when the fleet will be delivered, nor announce market destinations or an exact launch date.

"We believe the short-haul turbo prop aircraft combined with WestJet's brand, strong balance sheet and low-cost structure will allow us to strengthen our domestic network for both leisure and business guests."

Saretsky said employees of WestJet (TSX:WJA) voted 91 per cent in favour of launching the regional carrier.

"We're trying to the degree possible to replicate exactly the way WestJet was started in 1996-single fleet, low cost, highly productive, good utilization, a seating configuration that provides us a cost advantage over other operators of similar aircraft."

Air Canada has said it wanted to introduce a low-cost carrier to help trim costs but hasn't been able to get it in the air yet.

Chorus Aviation's Jazz operates regional flights for Air Canada under contract.

WestJet also announced Wednesday that it's raising its dividend by 20 per cent. The Calgary-based company said the quarterly dividend will climb a penny to six cents per share, to be paid on March 30.

In its financial results, WestJet posted lower profits of $35.6 million, or 26 cents per share, compared to $37.2 million, or 26 cents per share in the comparable period of 2010.

The results beat average analyst expectations of 20 cents per share, according to a poll by Thomson Reuters.

Revenue grew 12.9 per cent to $721.5 million from $692.2 million.

"We managed to cover the elevated fuel costs with our revenue growth and improve our profit margin on a full-year basis," Saretsky said.

WestJet's 737s can't make long-haul journeys to Asia or Europe. So the company has been seeking partnerships with other carriers to expand its global reach and Saretsky said the Calgary airline will continue on with that strategy this year.

In the United States, WestJet is working with American Airlines and Delta. On the international front, WestJet has announced partnerships with British Airways, Cathay Pacific, China Airlines, Air France and KLM.

National Bank Financial analyst Cameron Doerksen said WestJet's earnings were better than forecasted and revenue of $782 million was essentially in line with his estimate of $776 million. Earnings per share of 26 cents was beat his forecast of 21 cents, he said in a research note.

Shares in WestJet were up 53 cents, or four per cent, to $13.63 in afternoon trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Photo: The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

A Canadian dollar coin, or loonie, and an American dollar sit in front of a scale in Quebec City, in this April 7, 2010 photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot

TORONTO - The Canadian dollar was little changed Wednesday morning amid rising commodity prices and hopes that Greece is moving towards an agreement that will allow it to secure a crucial second bailout.

The currency was up 0.03 of a cent to 100.55 cents US.

Greece needs to get its hands on another 130 billion. Otherwise, it will not have enough money to pay off a big bond redemption on March 20.

However, in order to get the money, the country's coalition leaders must agree on a new slate of tough austerity measures.

On Wednesday, the leaders were to study a draft deal that was prepared with the country's debt inspectors.

The Greek bailout issue has been the focus of markets this week since a default on the country's massive debts would create havoc in the financial system.

Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal said that the European Central Bank is prepared to contribute to lightening Greece's debt burden, which should help pave the way to an agreement. According to the report, the ECB would essentially give up on profits that it stands to gain on its Greek bond holdings by handing them over to the European bailout fund, which then will sell them back to Greece. Athens would gain billions in the deal.

Oil prices gained ground after an unexpected drop in U.S. crude supplies suggested demand is improving.

The March crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange gained $1.27 to US$99.68 a barrel after the American Petroleum Institute said Tuesday that crude inventories fell 4.5 million barrels last week. Analysts surveyed by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos., had predicted an increase of 2.3 million barrels.

The Energy Department's Energy Information Administration reports its weekly supply data - the market benchmark - later Wednesday.

Copper prices also advanced as the March contract in New York gained six cents to US$3.93 a pound.

Gold prices reversed early losses and the April contract gained $1.10 to US$1,749.50 an ounce.

Eurasian Minerals Inc. (TSXV:EMX) announced a deal Tuesday to acquire Bullion Monarch Mining Inc. in cash and stock deal valued at US$45.8 million.

Under the deal, Eurasian Minerals has agreed to acquire all of the outstanding common shares of Bullion Monarch, with Bullion shareholders getting 0.45 of an EMX common share and 11 cents US in cash for each Bullion share held.

The acquisition price for Bullion, which is listed on the Frankfurt exchange and also trades on the over the counter market, represents a 64 per cent premium based on 30-day, volume-weighted average prices and average exchange rates through Feb. 7.

The combined company will hold more than 145 properties on five continents, as well as a currently paying one per cent gross smelter return royalty on several of Newmont Mining Corp. (NYSE:NEM) operations and projects on the Carlin Trend in Nevada.

The transaction is subject to approval by Bullion common shareholders. However, officers, directors and certain significant shareholders representing 40 per cent of the company's stock have entered into agreements to vote for the deal, Eurasian Minerals said in a release.

Photo: The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

FILE - In this Jan. 4, 2012 file photo, the company logo is displayed at Yahoo headquarters in Sunnyvale, Calif. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)

Yahoo Chairman Roy Bostock and three longtime board members are stepping down, submitting to the demands of many frustrated shareholders who blame them for not fixing the problems dragging down the Internet company's revenue and stock price.

The shake-up announced Tuesday continues a drastic makeover of Yahoo's leadership during the past month as the company negotiates to sell its Asian assets in a complex deal that could help ignite a long-promised turnaround.

After Yahoo hired former PayPal executive Scott Thompson as its CEO a few days into the new year, co-founder Jerry Yang resigned from the board and severed all other ties with the company, which he helped start in 1995.

Now Bostock is departing after four years as chairman. Many shareholders still blame him and Yang for squandering an opportunity to sell Yahoo to Microsoft Corp. in May 2008 for $47.5 billion, or $33 per share. Yahoo's stock hasn't traded above $20 in nearly 3 1/2 years. The shares closed Tuesday at $15.82, up by a penny.

In extended trading after the announcement, the stock fell 4 cents to $15.79.

In a move that will give Thompson an even cleaner slate as he tries to come up with a new strategy, Yahoo board members Vyomesh Joshi, Arthur Kern and Gary Wilson also agreed not to seek re-election at Yahoo's shareholders meeting this June.

Kern, a former radio station owner, has been on Yahoo's board for more than 15 years. Wilson, a former airline executive, has been a director since 2001, and Joshi, a Hewlett-Packard Co. executive, has been a director since 2005.

With the housecleaning, Yahoo will be left with seven directors, all of whom have joined the board since the end of 2009. That list includes the two latest directors appointed Tuesday: Alfred Amoroso, former CEO of TV listings provider Rovi Corp., and Maynard Webb Jr., a former eBay Inc. executive who most recently was CEO of LiveOps Inc., which helps to staff customer call centres.

Yahoo, which is based in Sunnyvale, California, said it is conducting a search for additional directors.

Bringing in new directors to work with Thompson will "provide Yahoo with the expertise and perspectives necessary to drive innovation and growth," Bostock wrote in a letter Tuesday announcing his plans.

It could also avoid a potential shareholder mutiny. Hedge fund manager Daniel Loeb, who controls a 5.2 per cent stake in Yahoo, had been threatening to nominate an alternate slate of directors if Yahoo didn't overhaul its board. In a blistering letter sent late last year, Loeb told Bostock and Yang that they should step aside. The window for nominating alternate candidates to Yahoo's board was scheduled to open Feb. 24.

Calls to Loeb's office weren't immediately returned Tuesday.

Bostock became so unpopular among shareholders that nearly 40 per cent of the votes were cast against his re-election in Yahoo's first annual meeting after Microsoft withdrew its takeover offer.

His decision-making came under criticism as Yahoo sunk deeper into a financial rut that has seen its net revenue decline from the previous year for 13 consecutive quarters while rivals Google Inc. and Facebook were growing rapidly. The slump prompted Bostock to fire Silicon Valley veteran Carol Bartz as CEO five months ago. The bitter parting prompted Bartz to lambaste Bostock and Yahoo's other directors as "doofuses."

"These changes are long overdue," said Ryan Jacob, portfolio manager of Jacob Asset Management, which owns more than 140,000 Yahoo shares. "It had gotten to the point where the board really didn't have any other chance. I think everyone needed a clean break."

Photo: The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

A Canadian dollar, left, and a Euro is seen next to a series of US dollars Wednesday, January 26, 2011 in Montreal. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson

The Canadian dollar erased early losses and closed higher Tuesday as traders hopes that negotiations can yield an agreement that would allow Greece to secure an essential second bailout.

The currency was up 0.07 of a cent to 100.52 cents US, thanks in part to a turnaround in commodity prices midway through the session.

The loonie had earlier declined as low as 100.21 cents US as Greek debt woes had earlier strengthened the greenback.

Athens must secure a 130-billion Euro bailout deal from the eurozone and the International Monetary Fund to avoid a March default on its bond repayments, which would cause havoc in the financial system.

But first Greek leaders had to agree on another series of harsh austerity measures.

Late Tuesday afternoon, a spokesman for Greece's private creditors says Greek Premier Lucas Papademos will soon tell eurozone finance ministers the contents of a deal to reduce the country's massive debt.

The fact that the Greek government will now brief the rest of the 17-nation eurozone on the deal is a sign that they believe a deal is now almost done.

The lower greenback and optimism Greece's political leaders can reach an agreement helped commodity prices recover from early lows.

A stronger greenback usually helps depress oil and metal prices, which are denominated in dollars, as it makes commodities more expensive for holders of other currencies.

The March crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange turned around and jumped $1.50 to US$98.41 a barrel. Prices had earlier been depressed on analyst estimates that crude inventories likely rose about 2.3 million barrels last week.

Crude supplies in the U.S. have increased for the past three weeks at a key Cushing, Oklahoma delivery point amid a mild U.S. winter.

Copper prices came back from early losses and closed up a penny to US$3.88 a pound.

The April bullion contract shook off early losses and advanced $23.50 to US$1,748.40 an ounce.

Traders also took in poor economic data from Europe's biggest economy.

Industrial production in Germany fell 2.9 per cent in December from the month before, suggesting the country's economic slowdown could be worse than expected.

The government has cut its estimate for 2012 growth from one per cent to 0.7 per cent as the crisis over too much government debt in some countries weighs on Germany and its trade partners in the 17-nation eurozone.

Traders also looked to U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke and his testimony later in the morning before the Senate Banking Committee.

Photo: The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

A protester holds a banner which reads in Greek: ''resistance'' during a 24-hour strike on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2012. A general strike against the impending cutbacks stopped train and ferry services nationwide, while many schools and banks were closed and state hospitals worked on skeleton staff. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

The Toronto stock market registered a minor loss late morning Tuesday as Greece weighed on markets for a second day as the country's leaders continued to negotiate terms of a second bailout to avoid looming bankruptcy.

The resource-heavy S&P/TSX composite index came back from a loss of over 100 points in early trading. The main index was down 15.91 points to 12,543.93 as financials turned positive and resource stocks bounced off early lows whiles commodity prices largely recovered from early losses.

The TSX Venture Exchange was off 3.99 points to 1,660.23.

The Canadian dollar also erased early losses as the American currency weakened, rising 0.09 of a cent to 100.54 cents US. The loonie had sunk as low as 100.21 cents US earlier in the morning as commodity prices retreated and traders worried that Greece will default on its debt bought into the U.S. dollar.

U.S. markets turned positive with the Dow Jones industrial average up 31.67 points to 12,876.8.

The Nasdaq composite index rose 5.08 points to 2,907.07 and the S&P 500 index was up 1.83 points to 1,346.16.

Athens must clinch a 130-billion bailout deal from the eurozone and the International Monetary Fund and avoid a March default on its bond repayments, which would cause havoc in the financial system.

But first, Greek leaders have to agree on another series of harsh austerity measures. Greek party leaders were to hold further meetings Tuesday to seek an agreement.

Those discussions were taking place amid a general strike disrupting public services and thousands of protesters taking to the streets of Athens.

But analysts pointed out that the country's doesn't have much room to manoeuvre.

"Whether they like it or not, they are going to have to take it if they want to stick around (in the eurozone)," said Sik Mokhtari, market technician at CIBC World Markets.

"You can only throw good money after bad for so long. And they will eventually shut down if they don't (agree on austerity measures). They have no choice."

A stronger U.S. dollar usually helps depress oil and metal prices, which are denominated in dollars, as it makes commodities more expensive for holders of other currencies.

The energy sector declined 0.96 per cent while the March crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange turned around and jumped $2.09 to US$99 a barrel. Prices had earlier been depressed on analyst estimates that crude inventories likely rose about 2.3 million barrels last week.

Crude supplies in the U.S. have increased for the past three weeks at a key Cushing, Oklahoma delivery point amid a mild U.S. winter.

Imperial Oil (TSX:IMO) gained 55 cents to $47.60 while Canadian Natural Resources (TSX:CNQ) was down $1.33 to $38.95.

OTTAWA - Construction plans heated up in December as municipalities issued $6.8 billion worth of building permits, the highest level since June 2007.

Statistics Canada said that was a jump of 11.1 per cent over November and was driven mainly by increased plans for apartments and condos in Ontario and commercial buildings in Alberta.

The value of residential sector permits rose 16.1 per cent to $4.5 billion in a second consecutive monthly increase.

Major projects in Ontario pushed permits for multi-family dwellings up 28.9 per cent to $1.9 billion, the highest level since December 2005.

In the non-residential sector, the value of permits grew 2.8 per cent to $2.4 billion in December, following a 15.1 per cent drop in November.

The total value of building permits was up in five provinces, led by Ontario, Alberta and Quebec.

Municipalities issued $2.6 billion worth of permits for single-family dwellings in December, up 8.1 per cent from November. The rise was attributable to higher construction intentions in six provinces, led by Quebec and Alberta.

In the commercial component, the value of permits jumped 41 per cent to $1.6 billion in December.

The increase follows two monthly declines and was driven by higher construction intentions for office buildings and warehouse facilities in Alberta, as well as hotels in Ontario.

The value of industrial permits declined 24.2 per cent to $353 million in December. It was the second consecutive monthly decrease.

In the institutional sector, the value of building permits declined 42.2 per cent to $402 million. It was a second consecutive monthly decline after the sector hit a peak of more than $1 billion in October 2011.

The largest declines were in construction intentions for educational institutions in Ontario, health care facilities in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, and government buildings in British Columbia.

The total value of permits issued rose in 17 of 34 census metropolitan areas.

Toronto had the largest increase, followed by Calgary. Toronto's increase was mostly attributable to building permits for multi-family dwellings. Calgary's increase was largely due to higher intentions for commercial buildings and single-family dwellings.

The largest declines were in Ottawa and Vancouver.

Research In Motion may not have many suitors at home or abroad especially with Prime Minister Stephen Harper's comments that he would like to see the BlackBerry maker remain a Canadian company, analysts said Monday.

The prime minister recently told Reuters news agency that he wants to see the "company succeed and continue to grow as a Canadian company."

"A hostile takeover is not very likely to go through based on what Harper has said," telecom analyst Troy Crandall said.

But RIM (TSX:RIM) also doesn't seem to have a lot of obvious suitors.

"Any of the potential acquirers for RIM right now seem to either have partnered with somebody else already or bought somebody else," said Crandall of investment firm MacDougall, MacDougall & MacTier.

Harper's comments last week reflect a worry that too many Canadian companies are being swallowed up by foreign buyers and that could eventually harm the economy.

On Monday, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty called for changes to the Investment Canada Act to prevent companies from taking over Canadian factories, then shutting them down and stripping them of their equipment.

The provincial premier's comments came three days after U.S.-based Caterpillar announced it will close a locomotive plant in London, Ont. after a lockout sparked by a company demand for big wage concessions from the plant's workers.

At RIM, the company has come under pressure from some shareholders to put itself up for sale or dispose of some of its assets,  primarily its valuable patents

Elsewhere in the tech sector, Google has bought Motorola Mobility, mainly to get its hands on 17,000 patents and mobile phone company Nokia and software giant Microsoft have partnered to launch the Windows 7 smartphone.

Meanwhile, electronics giant Samsung, which sells Google-powered Android smartphones, has said it's not interested in RIM.

Amazon.com recently approached RIM to discuss a takeover, but a report said the Canadian company rejected the move.

RIM has a stock market value of about $8.6 billion dollars, which would be considered a lot for a Canadian suitor such as a pension fund to buy, Crandall said. A number of pension funds likely would have to band together to make such a bid, he added.

The Canadian tech company could end up being sold off in pieces if its new generation of BlackBerry smartphones, based on the operating system in its PlayBook tablet computer, isn't successful after they're launched later this year, Crandall said.

Shares in Research In Motion closed down 25 cents, or 1.5 per cent, to $16.53 in trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Toyota is reporting that quarterly profit slid 13.5 per cent but is confident enough in a recovery to raise its forecast for annual profit.

Toyota Motor Corp. reported Tuesday an 80.9 billion yen ($1.05 billion) profit for the October-December third quarter, down from 93.6 billion yen a year earlier.

Car production was hurt by the tsunami disaster in Japan and flooding in Thailand last year.

But underlining a recovery is on track, Toyota raised its fiscal year profit forecast to 200 billion yen ($2.6 billion) from an earlier 180 billion yen ($2.3 billion).

Looking for a promising career in a lousy economy? A new study suggests you're apt to find it in the apps built for smartphones, computer tablets and Facebook's online social network.

The demand for those applications has created 466,000 jobs in the U.S. since 2007. That's based on an analysis released Tuesday by technology trade group TechNet.

The estimate counts 311,000 jobs at companies making the apps and another 155,000 at local merchants that have expanded their payrolls in an economic ripple effect caused by increased spending at their businesses.

The study asserts this so-called "app economy" is still in the early stages of a boom driven by the mobile computing and social networking crazes unleashed by Apple Inc.'s iPhone and Facebook's online hangout.

Photo: The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Zhang Junsai, the Chinese ambassador to Canada, gives a speech on the next step in relations between the two countries Wednesday, February 1, 2012 in Montreal. Prime Minister Stephen Harper will travel to China for an official visit next week. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson

China may use the upcoming visit by Prime Minister Stephen Harper to try convincing him that it deserves a more prominent role in the Arctic.

Next year Canada begins a two-year term as chair of the Arctic Council, which comprises the eight nations that ring the North Pole.

Even though it has no Arctic territories, China wants a place at that table.

Zhang Junsai, the Chinese ambassador to Canada, told a Montreal audience on Wednesday that his country should be allowed to be there.

"Of course, China wishes to be an observer," he said.

The Arctic region may contain as much as one-quarter of the Earth's untapped oil and gas, reserves that will become more accessible as temperatures rise and polar ice caps melt.

Meanwhile, China covets additional energy and resources to power its fast-growing economy and is already investing heavily in Canada's oilsands. That theme of energy exports is expected to play a central role in Harper's upcoming trip.

In his speech Wednesday to the Montreal Council on Foreign Relations, Junsai focused on bilateral relations between Canada and China, and on Harper's visit. Junsai said he believed the trip would have a very positive impact on relations.

When asked afterwards by an audience member about Chinese views on the Arctic, the ambassador noted that a number of countries were involved in the region.

"We hope that (they) solve their differences by peaceful means," Junsai added. "My understanding, not of my government, is we should have a joint scientific research in this area because a lot of things are unknown...

"We hope that the countries related should support China's request.''

The ambassador said the two countries can strengthen research and development and business co-operation in a number of fields like the aerospace sector.

"Canada is a leading world player in the aerospace industry, while China is developing large passenger aircraft," he noted. "This is the area that we can work together."

Benjamin Boehm, the head of Bombardier Aerospace China, says the Montreal-based company wants to be a big part of their aircraft market.

"The number of deliveries, especially on the commercial aircraft market side where Bombardier competes, is actually bigger than Europe over the next 20 years," he said in an interview. "That's how many commercial jets China alone will need over the next 20 years."

But Boehm dismissed concerns that China might also represent a long-term threat to the Canadian aerospace giant.

"Theoretically, you'll be threatened everywhere you go, sooner or later," he said.

"The point is to develop mutually beneficial partnerships, industrial-wise, so that you can both grow together — that's really what our intention is in the aerospace market as well."

Shares in Yellow Media (TSX:YLO) were unchanged after a report said the Montreal company is closing its Canpages directory division as advertising revenues shrink.

The Globe and Mail said that Yellow Media has shut at least one office in Victoria with about 50 employees but it's unclear how many of the division's 700 employees could be affected.

Shares opened at 19.5 cents in early morning trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Yellow Media could not be immediately reached for comment.

The publisher of the Yellow Pages print and online directories logged a $2.9-billion writedown to the value of its business at the end of last September.

Yellow Media has been struggling as it tries to reposition itself primarily as an Internet company. Earlier this year, the company said it would stop paying dividends to improve its financial position.

Last year Yellow Media sold Trader Corp., home of AutoTrader magazine, to London-based private equity firm Apax Partners for $745 million to help reduce its debt.

Photo: Contributed - AP

Steve Jobs in San Francisco on March 2, 2011

DANA POINT, Calif. — Legendary rocker Neil Young took his campaign for higher-fidelity digital sound to the stage of a technology conference Tuesday, saying a giant of the industry was on his side: the late Steve Jobs.

Young said the Apple co-founder was such a fan of music that he didn't use his iPod and its digitally compressed files at home. Instead, he used a physical format well-known to have better sound.

"Steve Jobs was a pioneer of digital music. His legacy is tremendous," Young said. "But when he went home, he listened to vinyl (albums)."

Young told the "D: Dive Into Media" conference Tuesday that he spoke with Jobs about creating a format that has 20 times the fidelity of files in the most current digital formats, including MP3.

Such a format, he said, would contain 100 per cent of the data of music as it is created in a studio, as opposed to 5 per cent in compressed formats including Apple's AAC. Each song would be huge, and a new storage and playback device might only hold 30 albums. Each song would take about 30 minutes to download, which is fine if you leave your device on overnight, he said.

"Sleep well. Wake up in the morning. Play some real music and listen to the joy of 100 per cent of the sound of music," he said.

Although Young didn't have a practical plan for developing such a format -- saying it's for "rich people" to decide -- he said Jobs was on board with the idea before he died from cancer at age 56 in October.

"I talked to Steve about it. We were working on it," Young said. "You've got to believe if he lived long enough he would eventually try to do what I'm trying to do."

Young's opinion of Jobs was confirmed by interviewer Walt Mossberg, a journalist with News Corp.'s All Things D website, which has hosted Jobs at its conferences before.

Mossberg said Jobs in the past expressed surprise that "people traded quality, to the extent they had, for convenience or price."

Young, a 66-year-old singer and songwriter, was full of other surprising opinions, including his defence of recording labels such as his own Reprise Records, a unit of Warner Music Group Corp., as being a nurturer of artists, even as he said recording companies had botched the transition to digital music.

Young also said that "piracy is the new radio," suggesting that illegally copying low-quality songs was an acceptable way for fans to sample music before buying higher-quality versions.

File: CTV

Photo: The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

This image shows part of a BlackBerry 2012 BeBold campaign infographic flyer. The Waterloo, Ont.-based company was downplaying the lighthearted take on its loyal smartphone users after the campaign took an ugly turn on social media as some criticized it as being juvenile. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO

Four cartoon superheroes in a one-off information graphic had BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion (TSX:RIM) on the defensive Tuesday, as some critics labelled RIM's effort to describe its users "lame" and "embarrassing."

The Waterloo, Ont.-based company was downplaying the lighthearted take on its loyal smartphone users after the graphic, associated with RIM's "Be Bold" campaign, took an ugly turn on social media as some criticized it for being juvenile.

"This infographic is just intended to be a bit of fun," the company said on its Inside BlackBerry blog on Tuesday.

However, by that point some technology blogs and BlackBerry users had already misinterpreted the superheroes as part of a new advertising campaign.

RIM unveiled the characters late Monday in a graphic that broke down its user base into four market segments, naming each after a superhero.

The spunky Gogo Girl was used to describe the users who consider themselves achievers.

"Saving the day with a brilliant strategy, a smile and a spatula is nothing new for Gogo Girl," the graphic said.

The more daring Max Stone characterized the adventurous types.

"He's tough, proud and a little wild," it said.

Justin Steele is intended to represent the "advocate," ready to stick up for his friends and Trudy Foreal the "authentic" who is not afraid to call it as she sees it.

The cartoons led to a decidedly negative response on social media websites. One Twitter user named GoPic encouraged RIM to consider firing its marketing department, while others said the characters looked like they were designed to market to children.

Even some children appeared unimpressed, according to the online reaction.

"Lame. Lame, lame, lame. Oh, so says my 10 year-old," wrote one poster on the CrackBerry.com forum.

The data used to create the characters was compiled on New Years Eve when the company asked its Twitter followers to submit their resolutions for 2012.

"As we looked at the resolutions and the data, majority patterns and categories emerged. We decided to organize the data and share it in a fun way, and the result is the infographic," RIM wrote on its blog.

"This is not a new ad campaign."

RIM has been under tough scrutiny in recent weeks after co-CEOs Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis stepped down from the leadership positions due to shareholder pressure.

The company is in the midst of refocusing its strategies, and launched its "Be Bold'' advertising campaign earlier this month in an effort to boost its market share in the United States and promote its flagship BlackBerry Bold smartphone.

New CEO Thorsten Heins said after his appointment that marketing would be one of his priorities as the company attempts to kick-start a recovery.

Photo: The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

In this photo made with extreme wide angle lens, the RBS, Royal Bank of Scotland, offices in the City of London, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. RBS bank's board of directors have awarded the bank's CEO Stephen Hester 3.6 million shares for his work over the last year, worth about 963,000 pounds ($1.5 million) based on Thursday's closing share price, although 82 percent of the bank is owned by the British government after recent financial bailouts. (AP Photo/Sang Tan)

Royal Bank of Scotland chief executive Stephen Hester will not be accepting a 1 million pound ($1.5 million) bonus that drew criticism from British politicians, the bank said Sunday.

Spokesman David Gaffney said Hester would not receive the bonus of 3.6 million shares he was awarded last week.

The British government spent 45 billion pounds bailing out RBS three years ago. It still owns an 82 per cent stake, and politicians had criticized the reward at a time when Britons face painful spending cuts and tax hikes.

The government, which has insisted it has no control over the bank's bonuses, welcomed the announcement.

"This is a sensible and welcome decision that enables Stephen Hester to focus on the very important job he has got to do, namely to get back billions of pounds of taxpayers' money that was put into RBS," Treasury chief George Osborne said.

The decision follows Saturday's announcement that RBS chairman Philip Hampton was waiving his own bonus of 1.4 million pounds in shares.

Hester and Hampton were brought in after Fred Goodwin, who led RBS's ill-fated takeover of Dutch bank ABN Amro, stepped down in October 2008 as the government was spending billions to prop up the bank.

The board of directors decided last week to award Hester a bonus of 3.6 million shares, worth just under 1 million pounds at Friday's closing share price of 27.74 pence.

Prime Minister David Cameron said Saturday that Hester's bonus was "a matter for him," but pointed out it was much less than last year's.

The government claimed it had no control over bonuses awarded by the bank, and said replacing Hester if he resigned would be more costly than paying the bonus.

But many politicians were critical. London Mayor Boris Johnson, a Conservative like Cameron, said he found the bonus "absolutely bewildering."

Rachel Reeves, Treasury spokeswoman for the opposition Labour Party, said Sunday the sum was inappropriate "when families are feeling the pinch."

"It's time the government explained why they have allowed these bonuses to go through unchallenged," she said.