By James Langton

(February 19 – 09:00 ET) – With markets in the United States closed today, Canadian traders will have to fend for themselves.

Nortel Networks is the focus again, after the drubbing it took Friday. CEO John Roth is speaking today at the Canadian Club in Toronto, where he is expected to get plenty of attention.

On the economic front, the Monthly Survey of Manufacturing shows Canadian manufacturing shipments slipped 0.8% in December to $45.1 billion. Substantial decreases in the transports were offset by an increase in the electrical and electronic products industry. For the year 2000, manufacturing shipments rose 9.2%, compared with gains of 9.3% in 1999 and 3.2% in 1998.

Oil prices are in the news today, up 3% after U.S. and British bombings on Iraqi air defences spurred fears that Iraq may cut off supply.

Also in Europe today telecom stocks are garnering some worried attention after Standard & Poor’s expressed concern European telecoms are carrying too much debt. British Telecommunications plc and Deutsche Telekom AG were singled out for particular attention. Deutsche has delayed its planned US$863.5 million bond issue for a week.

As a result, European stocks are mixed with oils up and telecoms down. In London, the FTSE is down four ticks to 6,084. In Paris, the CAC 40 is down seven to 5,588. The German DAX has gained 40 points to 6,479.

Despite the Presidents’ Day holiday in the U.S., it’s another Merger Monday. The world’s biggest steelmaker is going to be created by the three-way deal with Usinor SA buying Aceralia Corporacion Siderurgica SA of Spain and Arbed SA of Luxembourg for US$3.12 billion in stock.

Canada’s George Weston Ltd. is buying Unilever’s U.S. baking business for US$1.77 billion in cash, including brands such as Thomas’ English muffins and Entenmann’s cakes.

InCentive Capital is bidding US$2.6 billion for Sulzer AG, a Swiss machinery company.

Overnight in Asia, stocks followed the U.S. down. In Japan, the Nikkei ended off its lows, but down 56 points to 13,119. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng slid 139 points to 15,491.

In other news, Lorus Therapeutics Inc. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted orphan drug status to its anticancer drug Virulizin for pancreatic cancer. Orphan status is granted for drugs used in the treatment of diseases that afflict less than 200,000 patients. It means that the FDA will help to facilitate the drug’s development process by providing financial incentives and granting seven years of market exclusivity in the U.S. (independent of patent protection) upon approval of the drug in the U.S.

AnorMED Inc. reported a net loss of $2.8 million, 12¢ a share, for its fiscal third quarter ended December 31, an improvement from a 15¢ a share loss in the period last year.