Shares of gold miners climb as bullion sets record

Shares of Barrick Gold and its rivals rose on Monday after the price of bullion set a record of more than $1,600 an ounce due to the eurozone debt crisis and growing threat of a U.S. default.

Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/Shares+gold+miners+climb+bullion+sets+record/5118676/story.html#ixzz1SU5jcHWe

Shares of gold miners climb as bullion sets record

BMO aims to jump-start mortgage arm

The Globe and Mail- Bank of Montreal is planning to kick its mortgage business back into growth mode, after another quarter in which it lost market share to rivals.

BMO reported a first-quarter profit of $657-million yesterday, up from $225-million a year ago, making it the third Canadian bank to consecutively top analysts expectations. Its cash earnings per share came in at $1.13, while the Street had been forecasting profit of about $1.03 per share.

The bulk of BMO’s earnings came from its Canadian lending operations, while profit from its U.S. lending business was 43 per cent lower than a year ago.

"We just had our sixth terrific quarter in a row," Frank Techar, the head of the bank’s Canadian lending arm, said in an interview.

Mr. Techar took over those struggling operations in July 2006, after a period in which the bank’s profits were suffering partially because of a strategy that sought to lure customers with cheap mortgages and high interest rates on savings accounts…

BMO aims to jump-start mortgage arm – The Globe and Mail