T he federal government plans to turn up the heat on its constitutional showdown with Quebec by asking the courts to toss out the province’s legal challenge to a proposed national securities regulator. The government plans to appear before the Quebec Court of Appeal and ask a judge not to hear the province’s objections to a national regulator, government and industry sources said Friday. The move is part of a two-pronged assault by the Stephen Harper government

W HAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR? How much precious metals funds have lost amid the recent freefall in the gold price. Gold futures for February delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange closed at a record high of $1,218 (U.S.) per ounce on Dec

D eanna and Paul have a single, overriding concern – how to provide for their baby daughter, who has Down syndrome, after they die. Deanna is 36, Paul is 39.

S avvy investors keep it simple when buying stocks. Market orders versus limit orders? Mostly, market orders rule.

N ow that regulators are close to extracting $130-million in penalties from banks that sold the $32-billion of asset-backed commercial paper that froze in 2007, the focus will shift to what market watchdogs can do better to avoid future blowups. Bank of Nova Scotia, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and a handful of other firms are set to pay multimillion-dollar penalties after the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada and the Ontario Securities Commission announced Friday that they have reached settlement agreements that will go to hearings Monday for approval. Quebec regulators have hammered out a deal with National Bank of Canada which has yet to be announced, sources said

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A fter months of anticipation – and a rumoured $300-million (U.S.) – the lithe, glittering blue creatures of James Cameron’s Avatar will finally take over the silver screen. It took a director of Mr. Cameron’s clout to raise the money to construct the lush world of his newest, most extravagant epic, which opens in theatres this weekend.