CANADA

With the help of their doctors, women planning to become pregnant should take an inventory of the medications they take, researchers from Canada advise.

Violence and theft. Not words one would normally associate with Leona Lewis, the squeaky-clean winner of The X Factor, who went on to stunning worldwide success with her debut album, Spirit.

World leaders expressed confidence in the global economic recovery on Friday despite fears about a debt default by Gulf emirate Dubai, while major banks played down their exposure to the debt.

Canada's Constellation Software Inc said it is not able to accurately forecast future revenue and related operating profits of Trapeze ITS, its Switzerland-based unit providing software for public transit companies.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he would lobby for support for his plan to make banks pay for any future bailout at a Commonwealth summit this week.

Canadian Energy Services said it would acquire U.S.-based Champion Drilling Fluids Inc in a deal valued at about $16.7 million to strengthen its foothold in the United States.

Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec, one of Canada's biggest pension funds, said on Wednesday it had completed a $5 billion global debt offering as part of a refinancing program aimed at fortifying balance sheets decimated by the global financial crisis.

General Motors targeted Germany on Wednesday for the bulk of 9,000 planned job cuts at European arm Opel, turning the tables on the country that lobbied hardest for an Opel sale to Canada's Magna.

General Motors targeted Germany on Wednesday for the bulk of 9,000 planned job cuts at European arm Opel, turning the tables on the country that lobbied hardest for an Opel sale to Canada's Magna.

Private equity investors are planning for the possibility Canada's economy will struggle to emerge from recession, even if it turns in a positive third-quarter performance, money managers said on Tuesday.

Australian nickel miner Minara Resources Ltd will submit a joint bid with a Chinese firm on Wednesday for BHP Billiton's Ravensthorpe nickel operation, a source familiar with the bid told Reuters.

General Motors cast around for fresh options for Sweden's loss-making Saab on Wednesday after the collapse of its sale added another dimension to tortuous European restructuring plans.

Sweden's Ericsson and Austria's Kapsch CarrierCom AG will acquire certain wireless technology assets from Nortel Networks Corp, the bankrupt Canadian telecom equipment maker said on Wednesday.

The dollar hit a 15-month low against a currency basket on Wednesday after Federal Reserve minutes showed policymakers saw the U.S. currency's recent decline as orderly. Traders dumped the dollar across the board, pushing it to a 10-month low against the yen, as the minutes also reinforced the view U.S. interest rates will stay essentially at zero until around mid-2010.

The World Bank will start a trust fund to boost agriculture in poor countries with an initial $1.5 billion, its president Robert Zoellick said on Tuesday, warning of the risk of another food price crisis.

Talison Lithium Ltd, one of the world's leading lithium producers, plans an initial public offering (IPO) on both the Australian Stock Exchange and the Toronto Stock Exchange, the company said late on Monday.

Bank of Montreal reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit on Tuesday and said it was buying the Diners Club North America credit card business to double its corporate card portfolio.

Canada's MKS Inc's second-quarter profit rose 19 percent, helped by higher maintenance revenue, and the software and services provider appointed a new chief executive.

Stork Craft Manufacturing Inc. is voluntarily recalling 2.1 million cribs after four suffocation deaths in the U.S. were linked to drop-down sides cribs, the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced yesterday.

Stork Craft Manufacturing Inc. is voluntarily recalling 2.1 million cribs after four suffocation deaths in the U.S. were linked to drop-down sides cribs, the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced yesterday.

Some Canadian provinces have stopped using a particular batch of the H1N1 flu vaccine after six people experienced severe allergic reactions, the country's health agency said on Monday.