Vancouver Sun Business News

Vancouver Sun - Business

• China rounds up new oil sources to put squeeze on Iran
  BEIJING/LONDON - China is scouring the world for alternative oil supplies to replace a fall in its imports from Iran, as it seeks to negotiate lower prices from Tehran, and has been drawing heavily on Saudi Arabia.
  
  
• Building permits drop in B.C., surge in Canada in December
  The value of building permits issued in December in British Columbia dropped 15.8 per cent from November, led by a 21.4 per cent fall in residential permits coupled with a smaller 3.9 per cent drop in non-residential permits, Statistics Canada reported Tuesday.
  
  
• Markets mixed in choppy trading at midday
  Markets were mixed in sometimes choppy trading at midday on Tuesday, as forecasts of slowing production in China and declines in factory output in Germany weighed on investor sentiment, while reports that there has been progress in Greek debt talks gave some reason for optimism.
  
  
• Harper to use oil as leverage to open Chinese personal finance sector
  Prime Minister Stephen Harper is carrying a big bargaining chip as he tries to open Chinese markets for companies such as Manulife Financial Corp. - access to Canadian oil.
  
  
• Pension fund puts pressure on Facebook's corporate governance
  NEW YORK - Facebook's corporate governance rules, which give shareholders little say in how the social networking website would be run as a public company, are raising the hackles of one of the largest U.S. investors, the California State Teachers' Retirement System.