North American stocks are pointing to a higher start Monday morning as crude-oil prices hover near US$60 a barrel.

Oil prices slipped 55¢ to HS$60.03 a barrel in early trading Monday as supply concerns ebbed amid warmer-than-usual weather in the U.S.

Here at home, Statistics Canada said the value of building permits retreated in September from the record high a month earlier, despite an on-going gain in the value of construction intentions in the housing sector.

Contractors took out $5.1 billion in permits in September, down 5.3% from August.

Economists had forecast a 5% drop, month-over-month,

In this morning’s business news, Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services Inc. has ridden in with a $273 million white-knight takeover proposal for Clarington Corp., topping a bid by CI Financial.

Clarington said it has entered into an agreement with Industrial Alliance worth $14.25 per share in cash or Industrial Alliance stock.

In earnings news, Berkshire Hathaway reported a 48% drop in third-quarter profit late Friday after the insurance conglomerate run by Warren Buffett suffered big hurricane losses.

Overseas, European markets were mostly higher, with London’s FTSE 100 up 0.4% recently. The Nikkei 225 in Japan ended 0.1% lower at 14061.6.

On Friday, Toronto stocks closed with minor gains after trading in the red for much of the day. The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 6.07 points, or 0.06%, at 10,678.65.


The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index gained 15.15 points, or 0.75%, to end at 2,030.63.

In New York, a late rally gave Wall Street a modest advance Friday after a lackluster employment report left investors wondering about the pace of economic growth and inflation.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 8.17, or 0.08%, to 10,530.76.

Broader stock indicators were also higher. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index was up 0.20, or 0.02%, at 1,220.14, and the Nasdaq composite index added 9.21, or 0.43%, to 2,169.43.

For the week, the Dow rose 1.23%, the S&P 500 climbed 1.81% and the Nasdaq jumped 3.81%.