CA-BUSINESS Summary

TSX erases 2013 gains after weak U.S. data

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index tumbled more than 2 percent on Wednesday, recording its biggest one-day percentage decline in more than nine months, as sluggish U.S. economic data dampened hopes for a smooth recovery. The selloff erased all the gains the index has made since the start of the year and took it to its lowest point in more than three months.

Ex-Goldman trader Taylor pleads guilty to wire fraud

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Ex-Goldman Sachs Group Inc trader Matthew M. Taylor pleaded guilty on Wednesday to defrauding the Wall Street bank with an unauthorized $8.3 billion futures trade in 2007, saying he exceeded internal risk limits and lied to supervisors to cover up his activities. Taylor, 34, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud in federal court in lower Manhattan on Wednesday morning, after voluntarily turning himself into federal authorities earlier in the day.

TD CEO Clark to retire in 2014, Masrani to succeed him

TORONTO (Reuters) - Ed Clark, who transformed Toronto-Dominion Bank

from a struggling Canadian lender into one of the largest retail banks in North America, will step down next year and hand the reins to the bank's U.S. unit leader, Bharat Masrani. The handover, part of a larger changing of the guard taking hold in the Canadian banking sector, comes earlier than expected, but does not suggest a change in direction for Canada's second-largest lender, Masrani told Reuters.

Exxon replacing oiled Arkansas lawns, ruptured pipeline still shut

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Corp on Wednesday was digging out oiled lawns to replace them with fresh sod in an Arkansas neighborhood where a crude oil pipeline ruptured last week, but the line remained shut with no estimate of when it would restart, the company said. While response crews had begun removing oiled dirt and grass around houses in the subdivision, a plan to excavate the area around the pipeline breach remained under development for U.S. regulators' review.

Detroit Electric unveils $135,000 battery-powered sports car

DETROIT (Reuters) - Detroit Electric, a startup electric-car maker reviving a brand that dates back more than a century, unveiled its first model on Wednesday: a $135,000, battery-powered sports car that is to go into limited production in August. Founded more than five years ago, Detroit Electric enters a still-nascent market that is struggling to find buyers. One of its would-be rivals, Fisker Automotive, a hybrid-electric sports-car company that hasn't built a car since last summer, has hired a law firm to advise on a possible bankruptcy filing.

Royal Bank of Scotland faces $6 billion investor action

LONDON (Reuters) - A group of shareholders in Royal Bank of Scotland is suing the lender and four former directors for losses they claim they incurred when the bank succumbed to a state bailout in 2008. The RBoS Shareholders Action Group has issued proceedings against RBS, Fred Goodwin, Tom McKillop, Johnny Cameron and Guy Whittaker, in the chancery division of Britain's High Court to recover billions of pounds lost on the value of their shares in the run up to the bank's 45 billion pound taxpayer rescue.

Phillips 66 seeks permit for facility to receive crude by rail

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Phillips 66 is seeking a permit to build an offloading facility at its Washington State refinery to increase rail shipments of cheap inland U.S. and heavy Canadian crude. The permit application, filed this week with Washington's air pollution regulator, came as crude-by-rail has gained scrutiny because of two derailments of Canadian Pacific Railway trains where cars carrying crude leaked.

Air Canada planes fly fuller, WestJet's slightly emptier

(Reuters) - Air Canada , Canada's biggest airlines, said passenger levels for March remained strong compared to a year earlier, while the country's No. 2 carrier, WestJet Airlines , reported a fall in its numbers. Air Canada said its load factor, or the percentage of available seats filled with paying customers, rose to 83.5 percent in March from 81.5 percent a year earlier.

Tesla to map out service, charging strategy this month

DETROIT (Reuters) - Tesla Motors Inc will unveil details about its revamped dealer service and expanded network of fast-charging stations this month in a series of moves the 10-year-old company plans to boost its sales. The maker of the Model S electric sedan will discuss its effort to improve on its service next week, Chief Executive Elon Musk told Reuters in an interview.

Cyprus faces "very unfavorable" outlook in near term: Sarris

NICOSIA (Reuters) - Cyprus should brace itself for an extended period of difficulty in the near term after sealing a bailout deal forcing it to forgo much of its banking sector, its former finance minister said. Michael Sarris, who stepped down as finance minister just five weeks into the job on Tuesday, said in an interview that Cyprus had made mistakes, but said lenders and European Union partners had treated Cyprus unfairly.

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