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North American markets ended yesterday in positive territory as investors shook off disappointing employment figures and went hunting for stock deals.

Toronto’s S&P/TSX composite index rose 40.80 points to close at 9,596.21, capping off another turbulent week of triple-digit swings in both directions.

But the index ended the week more than 1 per cent lower as lingering sentiment about deeper economic problems next year partnered with a further shift lower in oil prices.

The TSX energy sector fell 1 per cent as the price of crude ended down 10 per cent from a week earlier, with the near-month light sweet crude contract closing the session up 27 cents at $61.04 (U.S.) a barrel.

The mining index headed the advance by climbing 6 per cent as Sherritt International Corp. increased 7 per cent, or 23 cents, to $3.41.

The TSX Venture Exchange moved up 1.72 points to 921.85.

The Canadian dollar closed up 0.26 of a U.S. cent to 84.18 cents.

Buyers returned to Wall Street markets after two dismal days.

The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 248.02 points to 8,943.81. The Nasdaq composite index rose 38.70 to 1,647.40 while the S&P 500 moved up 26 american cash advance.11 to 930.99.

Bad news piled up from the auto industry, with General Motors Corp. reporting a $2.5 billion loss in the third quarter, or $4.45 a share.

Ford Motor Co. reported a third-quarter net loss of $129 million as it burned through $7.7 billion in cash. Ford also said it is cutting 10 per cent of its North American salaried workforce.

German automaker Daimler AG said its global sales in October slid 18 per cent from a year earlier.

Although the day’s news was worse than expected, investors were drawn by prices beaten down the past two sessions.

"We’re coming off of a very oversold market that had already braced itself for bad news out of Detroit and certainly bad economic data in terms of the labour report," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Avalon Partners.

On the TSX, gold stocks were ahead 4.9 per cent.

The bullion contract for December moved ahead $2 to $734.20 an ounce – ending the week up 2.2 per cent.

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Australia cut interest rates sharply on Tuesday, presaging expected reductions in Europe later this week, and EU leaders pressed for an overhaul of global market rules.

For investors, the worst financial crisis in 80 years has all but eclipsed Tuesday’s U.S. presidential election although the result may offer some relief with the promise of more fiscal stimulus.

Whether Democrat Barack Obama or Republican John McCain wins, he will face a huge challenge in reviving the world’s largest economy, which is already contracting.

Australia’s bigger-than-expected 75 basis point rate cut followed cuts in the United States, China and Japan last week. Britain and the euro zone are expected to follow suit on Thursday with half point reductions, or maybe more.

The recession that authorities have tried to temper with trillions of dollars in bank bailouts, cash thrown into money markets and economic pump-priming measures, looms ever larger.

Australia’s central bank said there was “significant weakness” in major economies in explaining why it cut rates to 5.25 percent, the lowest since March 2005.

“Each of the big developed economies now is either in a severe recession or well on the way,” said Rory Robertson, interest rate strategist at Macquarie in Sydney.

EU REFORM CALL

European Union finance ministers, meeting in Brussels, backed proposals from the bloc’s French presidency for reforming oversight of global capital markets cash till payday advance.

The proposals feed into a summit of EU leaders on Friday to prepare for a world leaders gathering in Washington on November 15, which the president-elect is expected to attend.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel demanded world leaders agree quickly on new rules for financial markets. “It mustn’t take years, it must be done in months,” she said in Berlin.

There is increasing evidence of a severe economic downturn.

Japan’s economy has joined much of the developed world in a recession, economists polled by Reuters say, with GDP seen contracting for a second consecutive quarter as the financial crisis hits exports and capital investment.

Underscoring slowing sales in the car sector, Germany’s BMW abandoned its 2008 earnings forecast and cut production after a 60-percent plunge in quarterly profit.

The woes facing the world’s biggest premium brand automaker followed the worst month in 25 years for the industry in the United States, BMW’s largest market, including big setbacks for General Motors and Ford. 

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Wal-Mart Stores Inc., with its emphasis on low prices and improved merchandise, is stealing market share from competitors and is well-positioned for the holiday season, CEO and President Lee Scott told investors Monday.

The company, nevertheless, is scaling back the growth of its namesake stores in the U.S. and focusing on remodeling existing locations as it responds to a tough consumer spending climate.

"It is clear in this environment that the customer is more cautious and more thoughtful about what they buy and they’re more thoughtful about when they buy it," Scott said in an address to analysts gathered on the first day of the company’s two-day investor meeting in Bentonville, Ark.

Nevertheless, he said, "We see this as an opportunity to widen our moat. … This is Wal-Mart time."

Eduardo Castro-Wright, president and chief executive of Wal-Mart’s U.S. division, told analysts that the company plans to open 191 stores in fiscal 2009 and from 142 to 157 stores in fiscal 2010. That compares to 218 stores opened in fiscal 2008.

As a result, capital expenditures will come in at $5.8 billion to $6.4 billion for fiscal 2009 and $6.3 billion to $6.8 billion in fiscal 2010. That’s down from the $9.1 billion the company had in capital expenditures in its last fiscal year.

Wal-Mart officials are expected to offer the capital expenditures forecast for the entire company on Tuesday.

Monday’s meeting featured addresses by merchandising executives who discussed how Wal-Mart will be emphasizing the price message in its advertising and in its stores this holiday season, while pushing for friendlier service, cleaner stores and faster checkout. Wal-Mart is rolling out Christmas shops, which feature wrapping paper and other decor, but will also be more aggressive in designating holiday gifts throughout the store.

Wal-Mart has found itself in the right spot as it pushes the right mix of merchandise and marketing to complement its renewed focus on price just as the economic slowdown worsened. The company has also focused on inventory management and has improved capital efficiencies http://paydayintime.com.

As a result, Wal-Mart (WMT, Fortune 500) shares, which had been in a funk for several years, rebounded starting in September 2007, rising about 50% to $64 in early September. However, the stock has lost about 17% of its value in recent weeks as the financial meltdown has intensified. Shares slipped $1.73, or more than 3 percent, to close at $49.67 on Monday, close to the low end of its 52-week range of $42.50 to $63.85 per share.

Meanwhile, cheap chic rival Target Corp. (TGT, Fortune 500) has fallen behind Wal-Mart because its heavy emphasis on nonessentials such as trendy clothes makes it more vulnerable to the spending slowdown. Target’s profits are also being squeezed amid rising delinquencies in store credit card payments. Its shares have lost half their value since a peak of about $70 in July 2007. They fell 23 cents to $32.69 on Monday, at the low end of the 52-week range of $63.86 to $30.45.

Wal-Mart officials noted that their company - considered a barometer of the pulse of the American consumer - continues to see firsthand how the mounting financial crisis, including tightening credit, is putting more strain on its shoppers. Castro-Wright noted that credit card payments as a percentage of total payments is down 7.4% so far in fiscal 2009. That means that customers are maxing out on their credit cards, says Castro-Wright. That’s a big reversal from the robust double-digit growth rates in credit cards over the past three year.

Wal-Mart noted that it’s focusing on expanding its store-label food business as shoppers look to save more money on their food bill amid soaring inflation. As part of the strategy, the company is reformulating 1,200 food items, including cold cereal, cookies and yogurt, from the 5,000 food items it tested to improve the taste. 

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Chrysler Canada says it is cutting its salaried, white-collar workforce by 25 per cent, or almost 240 jobs, as the downturn in the North American auto industry deepens.

In announcing a continent-wide reduction of staff and contract workers, the company’s Detroit-based parent said yesterday it would achieve the reduction through lucrative voluntary retirement incentives, buyout programs and layoffs during the next few months.

When the Canadian subsidiary completes the reduction, its salaried workforce will fall to about 700 – down 465 jobs or almost 40 per cent from five years ago.

Bob Nardelli, chair and chief executive officer for Chrysler LLC, said the "unprecedented decline" in the global auto industry meant the company needed to take the action to remain competitive.

Earlier this week, the company accelerated the closure of an assembly plant in Delaware and cut a shift at another plant in Ohio. Chrysler also slowed down output at its Windsor minivan complex this month by cutting one shift for two weeks and possibly three.

In the past five years, Chrysler Canada’s hourly-paid production workforce has dropped more than 1,000 jobs to 8,925. The company has eliminated a shift at its Brampton assembly plant and trimmed the Windsor workforce by a few hundred jobs.

Chrysler would not comment on how many contract workers it currently employs in Canada who also face an overall cut of 25 per cent.

People familiar with the latest incentive program said staff in the U.S. between 51 and 62 with 10 or more years of service who earn less than $100,000 annually can receive full retirement benefits and health-care credits. Selected staff between 53 and 62 who earn more than $100,000 can also qualify for full retiree benefits.

Furthermore, workers 60 or older with more than 10 years’ service can get $50,000 in cash, a $25,000 voucher for a new Chrysler model and 100 per cent in health-care credits internet payday loan.

The company will offer U.S. employees with less than 10 years of service a $50,000 cash buyout, a $25,000 vehicle voucher, plus six months of health care. Employees with more than 10 years’ service who aren’t old enough to qualify for the early retirement offer or incentives to leave the company can get $75,000 in cash, the vehicle voucher and six months of health care.

Chrysler spokesperson David Elshoff said employees in Canada will receive "equivalent value" offers.

If not enough workers accept, the company would then lay off staff.

General Motors of Canada Ltd. and Ford Motor Co. of Canada Ltd. have also significantly reduced salaried workforces in recent years.

Cerberus Capital Management, Chrysler’s owner, is currently trying to find merger partners. Reports indicate Cerberus is talking to General Motors and has discussed the idea with Nissan and Renault.

Meanwhile, auto analysts expect the Canadian auto market will soon start sliding, in view of the major plunge south of the border in recent months. Despite U.S. turmoil, the Canadian auto market has improved almost 1.5 per cent this year.

"We question whether the Canadian market’s relative buoyancy will survive this fall," DesRosiers Automotive Consultants said in a note to clients earlier this month.

The decline in the U.S. market has cut vehicle and parts output here significantly. Canada exports more than 80 per cent of new vehicles and 60 per cent of parts to the U.S.

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Free trade, a strong Canadian dollar, the weak U.S. economy and a disinvestment on the part of the federal government have all been blamed for the demise of Ontario’s manufacturing sector.

But what solutions, if any, could reverse the sector’s misfortunes?

Politicians from all major parties have varying proposals to stop the sector from dying. But does its survival lie in government help? And whose plan is best suited to stop the 250,000 manufacturing job losses some economists expect in the next five years?

The answers remain unclear, but most agree the province needs a new, green and technologically advanced manufacturing sector to remain productive.

"The traditional manufacturing sector, it is a declining number," says Carol Wilding, president and CEO of the Toronto Board of Trade, adding that the province’s promotion of innovation is a step in the right direction.

"I don’t think there’s any one particular answer to these problems. Injecting cash and funds isn’t going to do it. Governments need to make incentives for innovative ideas to be produced here. That’s the new manufacturing sector. That’s the new economy."

John Cartwright, president of the Toronto and York Region Labour Council, says that while shifting to green manufactured goods and environmentally friendly innovation will create a strong, new green economy, the government must not forget about the existing manufacturing sector.

"We need strong policies that protect existing manufacturers, that include reversing unequal trade policies" that are allowing cheap imports to erode the Canadian manufacturers’ share of the Canadian market.

"Secondly, we’ve got to invest in the new economy, and there are all kinds of examples of how that can result in hundreds of thousands of jobs in the new economy," he says.

For example, if buildings were required to have stricter energy-efficiency standards, and alternative energy sources were developed, Ontario could build a manufacturing economy around that shift. Local companies could build solar energy and geothermal systems, and develop an array of new technology such as intelligent lighting systems, heat-recovery systems, "green" building materials and fuel cells. There’s no reason Ontario couldn’t mass-produce electric vehicles and the battery packs that power them.

To be sure, "we’re always going to need smokestacks in Ontario," Cartwright says. "It’s important to protect the existing manufacturers. People need furniture. People need mattresses. People need all kinds of materials that are still made here."

Meanwhile Chris Piper, associate professor at the University of Western Ontario’s Richard Ivey School of Business, says the onus is on the manufacturers themselves to assure their own competitiveness.

"It has become commonplace for manufacturers these past few years to throw up their hands and say that they just can’t find a way to compete," he says.

"But while we may lament those many factory shutterings, we would do well to wonder what at least some of those manufacturers could have done to forestall the inevitable, or even to reverse their fortunes."

He says Canadian manufacturers need to do a better job of finding niche markets where labour costs aren’t an issue.

While many manufacturers, especially those exporting their goods abroad, have been citing the high dollar as the nail being driven through their heads, TD economist Derek Burleton says it’s foolhardy to view the loonie’s recent plunge as the remedy to the manufacturing sector’s woes.

"It’s hard to get too excited about the declining Canadian dollar when it reflects global economic turmoil," he says. "The softness of the loonie will likely be temporary."

Jim Stanford, vice-chair of the Ontario Manufacturing Council, says the solution lies in a systematic strategy to address the manufacturing trade deficit that exists between the number of manufactured goods coming into Canada vs. the number leaving Canada.

"We’ve allowed resources to dictate our whole economic direction. That was a terrible approach. We need to diversify these manufacturing industries and nurture them for the future."

Last week, Premier Dalton McGuinty was criticized by political opponents for admitting he didn’t think Ontario’s lost manufacturing jobs would ever come back.

Opposition parties said this was the government’s acceptance of the loss of more than 200,000 manufacturing jobs in Ontario over the past five years.

But McGuinty’s finance minister, Dwight Duncan, says the government is trying to confront the "decline in our manufacturing sector" with a five-point plan that includes the government’s $500 million Advanced Manufacturing Investment Strategy, which provides repayable loans interest-free for up to five years to encourage companies to invest in leading-edge technologies and processes. The government has also enacted a $500 million Ontario Automotive Investment Strategy fund to try to curb the decline of the automotive sector by giving incentives to manufacture green automobiles in Ontario plants.

McGuinty and all the major federal parties seem to recognize the province’s shift away from traditional manufacturing jobs in furniture construction, textile production and assembly line work, and have each put forward plans to adjust the provincial infrastructure to be more innovation friendly.

In short, politicians see local innovators such as Research In Motion, the Waterloo-based manufacturer of the BlackBerry, as replacing factories like Gibbard Furniture – the soon-to-be-defunct Napanee-based manufacturer of Canada’s finest furniture – in the next generation of Ontario’s manufacturing sector.

The Ontario government has even set up the Ministry of Research and Innovation to help bring new, innovative manufacturers to the province.

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Last Sunday, I reviewed the major credit cards that give you cash rebates once a year, linked to your spending.

Readers were quick to suggest some great deals I missed.

The no-fee Citi Enrich MasterCard provides 1 per cent cash back on all your spending. The maximum rebate is $250 a year.

With a no-fee Canadian Tire Cash Advantage MasterCard, you also get 1 per cent cash back on all spending. But on all purchases at Canadian Tire stores and gas bars and Mark’s Work Wearhouse, you get a rebate of 2 per cent.

This week, I want to talk about credit cards that give you discounts on life’s essentials – such as groceries, gas and new cars.

When it comes to groceries, the no-fee President’s Choice Financial MasterCard provides 10 points for each dollar spent on the card.

Once you get 20,000 points, you can redeem them for $20 in free groceries at participating supermarkets where PC products are sold. That’s a 1 per cent rebate on all your spending.

Laurentian Bank has a no-fee Visa Black Reward Me card. You get one point for each dollar spent, which you can redeem for gift cheques at 30 participating merchants. For example, with 2,600 points (or $2,600 in spending), you can get a $20 Starbucks card. With 3,250 points (or $3,250 in spending), you can get a $25 card for M&M Meat Shops.

Gasoline discounts are a big draw ever since prices hit $1 a litre. With Laurentian Bank’s Visa Black Reward Me, you can get a $25 Esso card with $3,250 in spending.

Canadian Tire has a no-fee Gas Advantage MasterCard, which gives a discount of 10 cents a litre at company gas bars if you spend $2,000 or more in a billing cycle.

That 10-cent-a-litre gas discount used to be available with more than $1,000 in monthly spending until July 1, 2008. That’s when the rules were changed.

Now you get eight cents a litre off gas if you charge more than $1,000 (and less than $2,000) to your card in a billing cycle, five cents a litre with $500+ monthly purchases and two cents a litre with purchases of up to $500 (instant pay day loan).

To save money on a new car — specifically, a GM vehicle – check out the no-fee GM Visa card offered by TD Bank.

This card gives you 3 per cent in earnings. For example, if you spend $2,000 each month, you will contribute $60 a month toward the purchase price or lease down payment on a GM car or truck, up to $720 a year.

The no-fee Citi Driver’s Edge Platinum MasterCard has a lower benefit level, but more flexibility. You get 2 per cent cash rebates on any new or used car, truck, motorcycle, motor home or all-terrain vehicle you buy or lease in Canada up to $5,000.

You may be confused about which credit card to get. How do you compare rewards, interest rates, annual fees and insurance benefits (such as trip interruption coverage or collision damage waivers on rented vehicles)?

The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada has an online Credit Card Interactive Tool at www.moneytools.ca, a good place to go to start your comparisons. (There are also links to the credit card companies’ websites.)

Next week, we’ll check out a product marketed heavily by many card issuers. Is credit balance insurance worth buying?

Clarification: BMO’s Premium Cashback Reward option on its Mosaik MasterCard provides a 3 per cent rebate at Shell gas stations (not 2 per cent, as I wrote last week).

Ellen Roseman’s column appears Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. eroseman@thestar.ca

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The applause hasn’t died down for the new Chevrolet Volt, but General Motors is already planning where the technology for this new electric car can go next.

The Volt, which made its official debut Tuesday, is based on what GM calls the "E-Flex platform." This new type of vehicle uses high-capacity lithium-ion batteries and will be able to go up to 40 miles on a full charge. If a driver wants to go farther, the car’s small gasoline engine will generate more electricity, allowing trips of over 300 miles.

But that technology doesn’t have to stop with the Volt, according to said Tony Posawatz, vehicle line director for the E-Flex program. Different body styles - wagons or small cars, for instance - and versions styled for different brands are under consideration for a future, improved E-Flex use.

"These are some of the alternatives that are being reviewed, even as we speak, relative to the future beyond Volt," Posawatz said in an interview with CNNMoney.com after the Volt’s official unveiling in Detroit Tuesday.

He made it clear, though, that any discussions of E-Flex’s future are preliminary. No decisions have been made, but lots of options are on the table.

It’s not too soon for GM to be thinking about this, either, said Bill Pochiluk of the auto industry consulting firm AutomotiveCompass. Transferring the technology won’t be that hard, he said.

"Some of the systems and modules will be directly transferable to other vehicles," according to Pochiluk. Add to that a much more competitive hybrid electric car market by the time the Volt comes out, he said.

By the summer of 2009, Pochiluk sees Honda and Toyota still dominating the market. But GM will move fast, he predicted, becoming the third biggest hybrid vehicle manufacturer with no one else even close.

As with any other vehicle platform, different body styles could easily be built on top of the Volt’s engineering. In the same way that the Chevy Cobalt car and HHR wagon are basically the same vehicle underneath while looking completely different, GM could easily put different "top hats," as they’re called in the industry, on the E-Flex platform.

That would be an easy first step to extending the E-Flex’s market in different directions, Posawatz said. There are already indications that there could be an appetite.

"It’s grown beyond our wildest imaginations, the degree to which people connected to the idea of the car, the spirit of the car," Posawatz said. "That’s given us a degree of confidence that this could be a family of vehicles in the future."

Creating the Volt meant engineers had to clear the big hurdles the first time out.

But when you build an electric car that doesn’t have to compromise on utility or performance, Posawatz noted, "it’s easier taking it in different directions."

The E-Flex powertrain, which is the car’s engine and electric motor, works well in a mid-size sedan carrying four passengers and cargo, so it has the flexibility to accommodate more or less demand for different vehicles, Posawatz said.

"This has a little bit of bandwidth," Posawatz said paydayloans.com. "This can go on a little bit bigger vehicle if necessary." And it can be scaled down to create more economical versions, he said. With a smaller battery pack, a vehicle might not go as far without needing gasoline. But it would also cost a lot less, an appealing proposition to some.

"There are a number of customers out there that maybe a 20-mile [electric-only range] vehicle would work, and they would still use little to no petroleum," said Posawatz.

Forgoing the gasoline engine altogether for a shorter-range car is another possibility, Posawatz said, but it’s one that creates problems.

First of all, it just goes against the whole idea of E-Flex. GM believes there’s less of a market for a limited-use vehicle. Why wouldn’t customers want the option (even if they rarely use it) of driving a car farther than batteries alone will take them?

Pochiluk agreed that all-electric cars just aren’t as attractive from a marketing standpoint. People will always be scared of getting stranded. "I think it’s impossible to go without a range extender when you’ve only got 40 miles," he said.

Another problem is that electric only operation is harder on a vehicle’s battery, according to Posawatz. Repeatedly draining a battery down to near zero, will mean much shorter battery lives, he said.

"We’re only cycling it to a 50% state of charge," with the E-Flex platform, said Posawatz, "so we’re not beating the crap out of the battery."

For an automaker with the scope of General Motors, different branding creates many opportunities for the range-extended E-Flex. There will probably be E-Flex vehicles that aren’t Chevrolets. No doubt, Cadillac, Pontiac, Saturn and other GM dealers would love to get their own plug-in vehicles to sell.

But for now, Posawatz is concentrating on just getting the ball in play. "You always have to do the first car right and well." 

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British bank Barclays is in talks with Lehman Brothers to buy its core U.S. broker-dealer business, including equity, fixed income, M&A advisory and other parts, people familiar with the matter said.

A deal could save thousands of jobs and many of Lehman’s core investment bank operations, a day after the U.S. bank’s holding company filed for bankruptcy protection.

Barclays said on Tuesday it was in talks to buy some of Lehman’s assets on terms that would need to be attractive to its shareholders. It declined to comment further.

The talks mainly involve the core U.S. business, which has 8,000 to 10,000 staff, but could include some of its global businesses, the sources said.

It does not include Lehman’s asset management and wealth management arms.

The sources said there is an urgency to the talks as a deal would need to be struck before staff and clients leave and damage the franchise.

A deal would include staff, infrastructure, licenses and some of Lehman’s financial positions, but would not leave the UK bank exposed to Lehman’s troubled assets, the sources said.

Barclays was involved in frantic talks over the weekend to rescue Lehman, but quit after U.S credit reports. authorities would not guarantee the U.S. investment bank’s trading obligations. 

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VIENNA, Austria — The just-ended OPEC meeting was about more than what a barrel of oil can fetch on the open market as the global economic picture dims.

OPEC heavyweight Saudi Arabia gave a nod, at least symbolically, to fellow member states that have grown increasingly uneasy about the rapid decline in crude prices. The Saudis attempted to placate rival Iran, and laid the groundwork for a potential new alliance with Russia, the world’s second-largest oil producer.

But OPEC’s announcement that it would cut output by more than 500,000 barrels by sticking closer to quotas did little to change what most consumers care most about — the cost of filling up a car with gas or heating a home over the winter.

Benchmark oil prices were on a downward course Wednesday, shedding 68 cents to fetch $102.58 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude briefly touched $98.10.

Behind the scenes, the 13-nation energy cartel juggled the conflicting interests of Saudi Arabia and Iran — and brought oil and gas giant Russia closer into the fold by agreeing to sign a cooperation agreement with the Kremlin.

OPEC’s continued ability to present a common front, while extending a hand to Russia, is potentially bad news for major crude consumers including the United States and Europe. There may be even less wiggle room in trying to find the lowest bidder to meet their energy needs at a time when the summer’s record oil prices close to $150 are a still vivid memory.

But it also may have signaled that record oil prices have spoiled the global appetite for crude, at least for the near future easy payday loans.

"The ministers appear genuinely concerned that the bottom is falling out of global demand and that once-depleted stocks are rebounding with a vengeance," said Antoine Halff, an energy analyst with Newedge USA. "Their panic is testament to how soft the market has become. It is likely to grow even softer."

Saudi Arabia’s clout is key for Washington. President George W. Bush visited Riyadh twice this year to push an oil production increase. The Saudis answered by ramping up production by about 500,000 barrels a day.

OPEC’s decision Wednesday to cut output by 520,000 barrels effectively canceled even that relatively modest nod to U.S. requests, leaving some talking about a Saudi defeat and a victory for Iran, which has sought higher oil prices through production cuts.

Not so, said analyst and trader Stephen Schork, who was monitoring the meeting in Vienna.

"I wouldn’t say the Saudis backed down," he said. "I’d say it was a respectful nod to the other members of the group."

In reality, the Saudis are the tail that wags the dog at OPEC, accounting for nearly a third of the group’s production of around 30 million barrels a day. They often get their way at OPEC ministerial meetings, and a strong push by them in Vienna to keep the status quo on output probably would have succeeded.

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Tsingtao Brewing Co., one of China’s largest brewers, agreed that the 27 percent stake in the company that is currently held by Anheuser-Busch Cos. will transfer to InBev of Belgium when InBev finalizes its proposed takeover of Anheuser-Busch. A short notice about the agreement was filed today with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

InBev hopes to take over St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch by the end of the year in a $52 billion buyout. The Tsingtao deal would give the combined company — Anheuser-Busch InBev — control of roughly one-fifth of the Chinese beer market, the world’s largest.

Anheuser-Busch said it first invested in China in 1993, when the company acquired a minority stake in Tsingtao cash advance in one hour. In October 2002, Anheuser-Busch and Tsingtao formed a strategic alliance to share best practices in areas such as production technology, marketing, sales and management. In 2005, Anheuser-Busch increased its investment in Tsingtao to 27 percent.

jmcwilliams@post-dispatch.com | 314-340-8372

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