T he Canadian dollar rose more than half a cent Wednesday after the Russian central bank signalled it plans to diversify some of its reserves into the currency. The statement triggered wide-spread gains in the loonie. Full Article at Globe and Mail

Nov. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Canadian commodity and financial stocks will rally as the economy recovers, spurring an 8.3 percent advance in the nation’s main equity index by the end of next year, said BMO Harris Private Banking’s Paul Taylor. Full Article at Bloomberg.com

Nov. 25 (Bloomberg) -- UBS AG plans to hire more than a dozen sales and trading staff to bolster its equities business in Canada over the next two years after receiving a record number of job requests from employees at rival firms. Full Article at Bloomberg.com

The skyscrapers that opened this year will enable Royal Bank of Canada, RBC Dexia Investor Services, KPMG LLP and Telus Corp. to move into larger premises with room for expansion. Full Article at National Post

Bad loans continued to spill red ink on RBC Bank’s bottom line during the third quarter, but cost-cutting and much smaller losses on securities helped the lender stem the bleeding a bit. Full Article at Tampa Bay Business Journal

Nov. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Bank of Montreal, the first Canadian bank to report fourth-quarter results, said profit rose 16 percent to its highest in more than two years on increased business lending and lower provisions for bad loans. Full Article at Bloomberg.com