Westport Innovations May Rise on China Venture; Potash May Slip

By Fabio Alves

July 16 (Bloomberg) -- Westport Innovations Inc. may rise after creating a joint venture with China's fourth-largest diesel-engine maker, bids submitted on the Toronto Stock Exchange show.

Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc., the world's largest crop-nutrient maker, may retreat after commodities prices slid for a third day yesterday on concern that a slowing global economy will curb demand for raw materials, including fertilizers.

The Standard & Poor's/TSX Composite Index dropped most since March, losing 2.8 percent to 13,357.56. The Canadian stock benchmark has lost 11 percent from its June 18 record, a market correction.

Westport Innovations may rise may rise 13 cents to C$4.90, bids showed. The Canadian designer of low-pollution engine parts linked up with China's Weichai Power Co. Ltd. to create a unit to manufacture alternative fuel engines and parts for cars, trucks and power plants. Vancouver-based Westport said in a statement distributed by Marketwire that it will invest $4.5 million in the venture for a 35 percent stake.

Potash may drop C$2.01 to C$223, bids indicate. The Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index of 19 commodities fell 5.2 percent from its July 2 peak this year through yesterday as poorer outlook for global growth.

TransCanada Corp., owner of Canada's largest natural-gas pipeline system, may gain 16 cents to C$38, bids show. TransCanada and Houston-based ConocoPhillips plan to expand the Keystone pipeline to provide additional capacity from western Canada to the U.S. Gulf Coast. The 500,000-barrel-per-day expansion is expected to cost about $7 billion, Calgary-based TransCanada said today in a Marketwire statement.

Standard & Poor's 500 Index futures expiring in September added 4 points, or 0.3 percent, to 1,215.50 at 9:04 a.m. in New York. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures climbed 30, or 0.3 percent, to 10,948. Nasdaq-100 Index futures increased 8.75, or 0.5 percent, to 1,807.75.

To contact the reporter on this story: Fabio Alves in New York at falves3@bloomberg.net.