Petro-Canada, TimberWest, Uranium One: Canada Equity Preview

The following is a list of companies whose shares may have unusual price changes in Canadian markets. The preview includes news that broke after markets closed. Stock symbols are in parentheses after company names and prices are from the last close.

The Standard & Poor's/TSX Composite Index rose 115.27, or 0.8 percent, to 14,312.08 in Toronto.

Inmet Mining Corp. (IMN CN): The owner of the Cayeli copper and zinc mine in Turkey said third-quarter profit rose to C$2.37 a share, more than the C$2.32 average analyst estimate in a Bloomberg survey. Inmet fell C$4.80, or 4.6 percent, to C$99.25.

Petro-Canada (PCA CN): Neil Camarta, senior vice president for oil sands at Petro-Canada, said the Alberta government's decision to raise energy royalties will hurt the profitability of oil sands, forcing the company to trim other costs associated with developing such projects. Petro-Canada shares fell 99 cents, or 1.8 percent, to C$52.88.

TimberWest Forest Corp. (TWF-U CN): The lumber manufacturer and owner of timberland lost 36 cents a share in the third quarter. Three analysts on average expected profit of 23 cents in a Bloomberg survey. TimberWest said a 13-week strike among British Columbia logging and wood-product workers, reduced demand in the U.S. and Japan and the stronger Canadian dollar hurt results. TimberWest shares fell 3 cents, or 0.2 percent, to C$14.78.

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Vale, Enersis, Sociedad Quimica y Minera: Latin Equity Preview

The following stocks may make significant gains or losses in Latin American markets today. Symbols are in parentheses after company names, and stock prices are from the last session.

The Morgan Stanley Capital International index of Latin American shares fell 1.2 percent to 4,563.26 yesterday.

In Brazil, preferred shares are the most commonly traded class of stock.

Brazil

Cia. Vale do Rio Doce (VALE5 BS): The world's biggest iron- ore producer said a judge granted pig-iron maker Ferro Gusa do Maranhao Ltda an injunction ordering Vale to keep supplying the mill. Vale, which had cut supply to Fergumar on concerns it doesn't comply with labor and environmental standards, said in an e-mailed statement it will resume the supply and appeal the decision. Vale fell 1.1 real, or 2 percent, to 53.9 pesos.

Chile

Enersis SA (ENERSIS CC): The owner of Chile's biggest power producer Empresa Nacional de Electricidad SA reported a 53 percent profit decline in the first nine months of the year. Net income fell to 119 billion pesos ($242 million) from 255 billion in the same period last year, the Santiago-based company reported on the regulator's Web site after the close of trading yesterday. Shares fell 2 pesos, or 1 percent, to 193.5 pesos.

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BP, French Connection, GlaxoSmithKline: U.K. Equity Preview

The following stocks may rise or fall in U.K. markets today. Stock symbols are in parentheses and prices are from the last market close.

The benchmark FTSE 100 Index rose 44.7, or 0.7 percent, to close at 6706. The FTSE All-Share Index gained 21.32, or 0.6 percent, to 3442.63.

Ireland's ISEQ Index increased 5.28, or 0.1 percent, to close at 7867.43.

U.K. Companies:

BP Plc (BP/ LN): Europe's second-biggest oil company plans to pump crude from its Greater Plutonio field in Angola at about 50 percent of capacity until next year. BP's stock advanced 5 pence, or 0.8 percent, to 634.

French Connection Group (FCCN LN): The fashion retailer with stores in 33 countries was rated new ``outperform'' in new coverage by analyst Michael Dennis at Piper Jaffray & Co. French Connection's stock gained 0.5 pence, or 0.3 percent, to 151.25.

GlaxoSmithKline Plc (GSK LN): Personal-injury lawsuits against GlaxoSmithKline over its top-selling diabetes drug Avandia will be consolidated in a federal court in Philadelphia, a panel of judges concluded. Glaxo's stock added 16 pence, or 1.3 percent, to 1,248.

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European Stock-Index Futures Drop; UBS, Dassault May Slip

European stock-index futures fell after UBS AG reported its first quarterly loss in almost five years as declines in the U.S. subprime-mortgage market forced it to write down the value of fixed-income securities.

Dassault Systemes SA, whose software is used by Toyota Motor Co. to design its cars, may drop after cutting its full-year earnings and sales forecasts. BHP Billiton Ltd. and Rio Tinto Group retreated in Australia as metals prices slipped.

``European markets will be a touch weaker today,'' said Simon Payne, a trader at Fortis Bank SA in Madrid. ``UBS earnings look worrying.''

Futures on the Dow Jones Euro Stoxx 50 Index, a benchmark for the euro region, lost 7, or 0.2 percent, to 4,480 at 7:26 a.m. in London. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index may decrease 16, according to Cantor Index, a betting firm.

Asian stocks fell, dragging a key regional index from a record, after Kookmin Bank reported earnings that missed analysts' estimates and Baoshan Iron & Steel Co.'s profit decreased for the first time in more than a year. U.S. stock- index futures dropped.

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Chevron Committed to Myanmar Project, O'Reilly Says

Chevron Corp., the second-largest U.S. energy company, will keep its stake in a natural gas project in Myanmar, defying calls to leave following a crackdown on protesters by the country's ruling junta.

The people around the Yadana gas project and pipeline have benefited from jobs and investments in health care and education, Chief Executive David O'Reilly said today in an interview in Bangkok. The company may lose any tax benefits from the project under a bill approved by a U.S. congressional committee Oct. 23.

``Our commitment is to try to stay to be a positive influence,'' O'Reilly said in an interview in Bangkok today. ``It isn't going to change anything if we leave. We are a minority investor in this project.''

Chevron faces renewed calls to divest its 28.3 percent stake in the Total SA-operated Yadana project after Myanmar's government last month crushed the biggest anti-government protests in almost 20 years. The company may be forced out of the country formerly known as Burma under legislation from Sen. John McCain introduced on Oct. 17 that prohibits investments by U.S. companies after sanctions passed in 1997.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee unanimously accepted legislation introduced by Rep. Tom Lantos, a Democrat from California. The bill to pressure Myanmar's military rulers states that no tax deductions will be allowed for the ``joint production agreement'' for Yadana and prohibits payments or property transfers to the government.

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Rostowski Is Contender for Polish Finance Minister, People Say

Donald Tusk, who is working to form a coalition government after winning the Oct. 21 general election, probably will select economics professor Jacek Rostowski as finance minister, said people with knowledge of the selection process.

Rostowski, who favors fast euro adoption, would succeed Zyta Gilowska, said three officials close to the leadership of Tusk's Citizens' Platform party. The party's leaders met on Oct. 27 to discuss candidacies for ministers dealing with the economy and plan to offer the 57-year-old Rostowski the job, newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza also reported today, citing no one.

Waldemar Pawlak, head of the Polish Peasants' Party that is in coalition talks with Platform, would be economy minister while Zbigniew Chlebowski, who is in charge of economic issues in Tusk's party, would be treasury minister, Gazeta said.

Rostowski, a member of the supervisory council of the Warsaw-based Center for Social and Economic Research and an economics professor at the Central European University in Budapest, has spoken in favor of cutting the budget deficit and meeting terms for euro adoption ``the faster the better.''

Rostowski said he has not received ``any official proposal'' from the Citizens' Platform and declined to elaborate when contacted by telephone on Oct. 26.

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China Passes U.S. in Top 10 List as China Life Surges

China Life Insurance Co. surpassed AT&T Inc. in market value, giving China more of the world's 10 largest companies than the U.S. for the first time.

Five of the 10 biggest companies by market capitalization are now Chinese, compared with three that are located in America, after China's benchmark stock index almost tripled this year. The rally has prompted securities regulators to say this month that the market holds ``great risks'' as the nation's households pour more of their $2.3 trillion savings into shares to beat inflation and profit from the fastest growth among major economies.

``China is one of the most exciting economies,'' said Jim Rogers, the chairman of New York-based Beeland Interests Inc. ``The market is willing to pay a lot more for future growth.''

China Life, the nation's largest insurer, gained 1.1 percent in Hong Kong and added 6.7 percent in Shanghai, valuing the company at 1.94 trillion yuan, or $259.1 billion. The Beijing- based firm after the close of trading today posted a third- quarter profit of 7.82 billion yuan ($1 billion), sparked by investments in China's stock market.

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