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Not in the least deterred by the widely predicted
North American recession, Canadian corporations recorded operating
profits of $262.5 billion, led by banks, retailers, wholesalers and
petroleum refiners.
Operating profits, which exclude financing costs,
taxes, write-offs and other accounting charges and unusual income, rose
7.8 per cent last year, compared with an increase of 8.8 per cent in
2006.
Petroleum and coal manufacturers received record high
operating profits of $12.7 billion in 2007, up 17.9 per cent over 2006,
fuelled by higher oil prices and refining margins.
Anyone care to guess how much of those profits will be
devoted to reducing greenhouse gases and developing
environmentally friendly energy alternatives?
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