Most actively traded companies on the TSX

Some of the most active companies traded Wednesday on the Toronto Stock Exchange:

Toronto Stock Exchange (14,301.80, up 224.44 points):

Bombardier Inc. (TSX:BBD.B). Aerospace, rail equipment. Up 13 cents, or 7.14 per cent, to $1.95 on 7.1 million shares.

B2Gold Corp. (TSX:BTO). Miner. Up one cent, or 0.69 per cent, to $1.45 on 6.3 million shares.

First Quantum Minerals Ltd. (TSX:FM). Miner. Up 24 cents, or 2.17 per cent, to $11.30 on 5.2 million shares.

Barrick Gold Corp. (TSX:ABX). Miner. Up 46 cents, or 5.16 per cent, to $9.38 on 5.2 million shares.

Spartan Energy Corp. (TSX:SPE). Oil and gas. Unchanged at $2.54 on 4.7 million shares.

Encana Corp. (TSX:ECA). Oil and gas. Up 24 cents, or 2.44 per cent, to $10.07 on 4.5 million shares.

Companies reporting major news:

Torstar Corp. (TSX:TS.B). Publishing.Down 61 cents, or 11.71 per cent, to $4.60 on 447,147 shares. The media company is tapping into the world of niche online forums by picking up a majority stake in VerticalScope Holdings Inc., a Canadian company that serves the appetites of car fanatics and offers tips to pet lovers. The publisher of the Toronto Star, which ditched its Harlequin romance novel business last year for $455 million, is spending $200 million for a 56 per cent stake in the digital media company.

TransAlta Corp. (TSX:TA). Utilities. Down 21 cents, or 2.46 per cent, to $8.34 on 2.8 million shares. The power generation company says it will undertake an independent review following the Alberta Utilities Commission’s conclusion that the company deliberately triggered outages at power plants to raise electricity rates. “Although we were surprised by the decision, we do recognize our responsibility to encourage confidence in Alberta’s electricity system,” CEO Dawn Farrell told a conference call Wednesday.