Canadian economic growth accelerated slightly during the third quarter, owing in large part to a sharp rebound in exports and continued strength in business investment, Statistics Canada said today. Real gross domestic product increased 0.9%.

That worked out to an annual rise in GDP of 3.6%, up from 3.4% in the second quarter.

In September, monthly output was unchanged, after increasing 0.5% in August and 0.3% in July, the government agency said.

South of the border, the U.S. economy grew at a faster pace in the third quarter than initially thought, as spending by consumers and business climbed.

The U.S. Commerce Department said third-quarter gross domestic product grew at a 4.3% annual rate. Economists had expected GDP to be revised higher to show 4% growth in the third quarter, rather than the first reading of 3.8%.

Meanwhile, inflation gauges were revised slightly lower. Corporate profits fell 3.7%, Commerce said.

Later this morning, the Chicago purchasing managers index will be released. Wall Street expects the index to fall to 59.9 in November from 62.9 in October. Any figure above 50 indicates economic expansion.

In today’s earnings news, Bombardier swung to a third-quarter loss of US$9 million, or a penny a share. In the same period a year ago, the company posted a profit of US$10 million. Bombardier attributed the results to challenging aerospace industry conditions.

In M&A news, Royal Bank has acquired European-based bank Abacus Financial Services Group Ltd. for an undisclosed price. The acquisition was approved by Abacus shareholders and all relevant regulators, the two companies said today.

In other news, Domtar Inc. is cutting 1,800 jobs as it closes or sells several mills in a push to regain profitability.

Crude-oil prices slipped 23¢ to US$56.27 a barrel ahead of data expected to show rising gasoline and distillates inventories, though crude inventories may fall.

Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei 225 couldn’t hold onto early gains and ended the day lower, and European markets also were in the red.

Toronto stocks inched ahead Tuesday, as a drop in technology stocks and the energy group was offset by a somewhat positive performance in financials.

The S&P/TSX composite index finished up 3.42 points at 10,942.63.

Bank of Montreal reported fourth-quarter profit rose $657 million, a jump of 20% from the same period last year. BMO moved up $1.85, or 3.01%, to $63.30.

Scotiabank reported a $3.21-billion profit for 2005, up 10 per cent. The bank lifted its quarterly dividend by 2¢, to 36¢ per common share. Shares moved down $1.09, down 2.31%, to $46.00.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite finished down 3.17 points, or 0.15%, to 2,046.94.

In New York, markets were slightly down despite positive economic news.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 2.56 points to 10,888.16, after nearly reaching the 11,000-point plateau in early trading.

The Nasdaq composite index was down 6.66 points at 2,232.71, while the S&P 500 inched ahead by 0.02 of a point at 1,257.48.