TORONTO—The rising cost of fuel is hitting dairy farmers hard, their organization said today, and it could have Canadians paying more for things like cheese, butter and ice cream.
Cost increases for dairy farmers normally go through each Feb. 1, but they say the situation is so dire they are seeking an off-schedule hike now.
“Usually we look at it once a year, but now the price of feed, fuel and fertilizer has escalated so much,” said Jacques Laforge, the chairman of the Dairy Farmers of Canada.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia—Oil soared to a record above US$145 a barrel today in Asia, fueled by concerns over a larger-than-expected drop in U.S. stockpiles and the threat of conflict with Iran.
Early afternoon in Singapore, light, sweet crude for August delivery hit a new trading record as it jumped $1.49 to US$145.06 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Yesterday, oil set a new record closing price of $143.57 a barrel.

NEW YORK—Shares of General Motors Corp. plunged yesterday to close below US$10 for the first time in more than half a century, on worries about the company’s cash needs and speculation about a possible bankruptcy protection filing down the road.
GM shares fell $1.77, or 15.1 percent, to close at $9.98. Their session low of $9.96 marked their lowest point since Sept. 13, 1954, when they hit $9.92, according to the Centre for Research in Security Prices at the University of Chicago. The price is adjusted for splits and other changes.

TORONTO—A rush of cold air could wash over Ontario this fall when residents get their first glimpse at natural gas bills that include higher prices which went into effect on Canada Day.
Consumers will face gas bills that are as much as 45 percent higher than what they’re used to paying, depending on where they live, and that could convince many to sign energy contracts to cut their costs.

OTTAWA—The Toronto Star is reporting that many Canadian cities have yet to see a dime of the billions of dollars in federal funding that Finance Minister Jim Flaherty set aside for infrastructure projects last year.
The money is part of Ottawa’s Building Canada Fund that earmarked $8.8 billion for infrastructure nationwide.
The Star says communities in Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba and Alberta are still waiting for their cheques as Transport Minister Lawrence Cannon negotiates with provincial governments.

Oil prices surged above $143 a barrel for the first time ever today, as a weaker dollar spurred investors to seek refuge in dollar-denominated oil futures to hedge against inflation.
Light, sweet crude for August delivery rose $3.46 to $143.67 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, by midday in Europe.
On Friday, crude futures spiked to a record $142.99 a barrel in New York before closing at $140.21.
In London, Brent crude futures rose $2.87 to $143.18 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

BRUSSELS, Belgium—Brewer InBev SA on Wednesday pressed Anheuser-Busch for an answer on its US$46-billion takeover offer, and the maker of Budweiser beer was prepared to reject the offer, according to a published report.
The Belgium-based maker of Stella Artois said it wrote to Anheuser again yesterday to assure the company’s board that it has struck deals with a group of banks and has already paid commitment fees to finance the takeover over.
Anheuser has not formally responded to InBev since it first made an offer for $65 per share on June 11.

TORONTO — A Toronto accountant who allegedly stole about $800,000 from daycare centres is due in court today after being arrested Wednesday night.
The CBC is reporting that David Reiner, 61 was taken into custody after stepping off a plane at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport.
Police issued a warrant for Reiner’s arrest in February 2007, when he was believed to be living in Kenya.
Reiner is charged with 21 counts of fraud and 21 counts of theft by a person required to account in connection with his bookkeeping work for 21 daycare centres.

OTTAWA—Stephane Dion’s “green shift” has the potential to become a significant vote-getter for the Liberal party if the communications-challenged leader is able to sell a carbon tax to Canadians, a new poll suggests.
The first national poll taken since Dion unveiled the proposal last Thursday found most Canadians did not know enough yet to form an opinion.
But once the policy was explained to respondents, the Canadian Press Harris-Decima survey found close to half—47 percent—liked the idea while 39 percent said they were opposed.

VANCOUVER—After months of being hammered by the slowdown in U.S. housing construction, Ainsworth Lumber Co. Ltd. announced a recapitalization plan Tuesday that hands nearly all of the majority family-owned and run company over to debtholders.
The Vancouver-based company, which is 58 percent owned by members of the founding Ainsworth family, said its board and certain major financial creditors negotiated the deal that would see debtholders own 96 percent of the forestry products firm.