FACILITYCalgary, a compilation of news items & commentary of interest to people who have a real estate, infrastructure, construction, oil & gas or general interest in Calgary, brought to you weekly by MaxComm Communications, keeping you up to date on issues affecting 'business in Calgary'.
FRESH TODAY - Monday, March 24, 2008
+ Bear Stearns takeover by JP Morgan chase is in jeopardy as shareholders rail against low price; the Federal Reserve is considering increasing its support to finance the merger at a price of US$10/share compared the originally announced US$2/share; possibility of merger failing would put company into a bankruptcy action
+ crude prices @ 6:15AM, MDT as quoted by Bloomberg.com ; Nymex Crude Future US$101.06/barrel, Dated Brent Spot US$100.43/barrel, WTI Cushing Spot US$102.79 (Thursday's close)/barrel; crude prices fell last week due to combo of concern for an economic slowdown in the U.S. together with a stronger U.S. dollar following Fed interest rate cut; also, it is widely expected several OPEC countries will increase production to ease deman pressures
+ UBS AG, the Swiss bank, hard-hit by the subprime meltdown are looking for a capital infusion of US$10 billion
+ World Golf Championships-CA Championship played at the Blue Monster Course, The Doral Golf Resort and Spa, Doral, FL was not completed due to rain delay; Australian Geoff Ogilvy leading by 2 strokes . . stay tuned
+ BP entering JV with Irving Oil to develop Eider Rock refinery, Saint John, New Brunswick
+ Canada's asset backed commercial paper (ABCP) crisis entered a new chapter when a Toronto judge gave the green light to Canada's largest bankruptcy protection case, sheltering about $32-billion worth of debt under the court's protection to begin solving the crisis; rating agency DBRS Ltd. downgraded ratings of 20 trusts to "D", its lowest non-investment grade rating; $14-billion of funding ($6-billion from Canadian banks) will aid the substitution of longer term notes for defaulted short-term paper; stay tuned, as note holders vote on approval of the plan April 25
+ Ivanhoe Energy Inc. restructuring to focus on heavy oil projects in Canada & internationally
+ La Cortez Energy Inc. closed $2.4 million equity financing
+ Nordic Oil and Gas Ltd. adopted a Shareholder Rights Plan
+ Oceaneering International Inc. acquired GTO Subsea AS for US$45 million
+ Result Energy Inc. adopted a Shareholder Rights Plan
+ Stratic Energy Corporation closed US$42.5 million debt financing
+ Tanganyika Oil Company Ltd. closed $75 million equity financing
+ US Federal Reserve slashed interest rates 3/4 of 1%
+ U.S. recession watch & credit woes: CIT Group Inc drawing on US$7.3 billion of bank lines to help with the company's struggle to raise cash to pay off debt; Federal Reserve considering a move to buy troubled mortgage bonds from banks & securities firms; Federal Reserve bypassed its own emergency- lending policies to let securities firms borrow at the same rate as commercial banks as the Fed sought last weekend to stave off a financial-market meltdown; California led the U.S. in defaults (481,392 foreclosure filings on properties in 2007), home sales decline (30% in January) & by the end of 2008 residential property values will fall by US$630.7 billion
SHAKERS + Movers on the Move
+ Ann Marie Cannon to non-executive Director @ Oilexco Incorporated
+ Barry Young to Pres. @ Calgary Construction Association
+ Bob Outhwaite to Sr. VP Business Development @ Peak Energy Services Trust
+ Curtis Whitteron to Pres. & CEO @ Peak Energy Services Trust
+ Dale Kaufmann to COO @ Peak Energy Services Trust
+ David MacKay to Pres. @ Ceridian Canada Ltd.
+ Derek Holt to VP Economics @ Scotiabank
+ Gillian Lansdowne to Partner & Practice Leader, Financial Services & Real Estate @ Ray & Berndtson
+ Joe Callahan to General Sales Mgr. @ Titan Logix Corp.
+ Joe Parson to Pres. & CEO, Global Investment Management Div. @ GE Real Estate
+ John Hofmeister, Pres. @ Shell Oil Co retiring June 1
+ John Walter to Assoc. Gen. Counsel @ CVR Energy Inc.
+ Marvin Odum to Pres. @ Shell Oil Co eff. June 1
+ Matthew Huber to Exec. VP @ Peak Energy Services Trust
+ Melanie McDonald to Associate @ Borden Ladner Gervais LLP
+ Monty Balderston to CFO @ Peak Energy Services Trust
+ Perry Spitznagle to Vice-Chair & Managing Partner @ Bennett Jones LLP
+ Robert Friedland to CEO @ Ivanhoe Energy Inc.
+ Robert Noce to Partner @ Miller Thomson LLP
+ Robert Paul to Chief Geophysicist @ Continental Energy Corporation
+ Tori Campbell to VP & Gen. Mgr. Enserco Energy @ Black Hills Corporation
SAVE THE DATE:
Business Events, Functions etc.
Apr. 1; 10th annual Montreal Real Estate Forum, Chaired by Philip O'Brien, CEO, Viger DMC International, Fairmont Queen Elizabeth, Montreal; info/registration: http://www.realestateforums.com/mtl/mtl/frame.html
Apr. 2; Quebec City Real Estate forum in honour of Quebec City's 400th Anniversary, Chaired by Michel Dallaire, Fairmont Chateau Frontenac; info/registration: http://www.realestateforums.com/quebec/frame.html
Apr. 7-8; 3rd Annual Real Esate Insight Information Conference, St. Andrews Club & Confernce Centre, Toronto; info/registration: http://www.insightinfo.com
Apr. 14; 2008 Western Business Outlook Briefing , The Conference Board of Canada; Calgary TELUS Convention Centre; info/register: http://www.conferenceboard.ca
Apr. 15; 2008 Edmonton Real Estate Forum, Shaw Conference Centre, Edmonton; John Frederickson, Managing Dir, Colliers Edmonton, Chairman; info/registration: http://www.mmpiwest.com/realestateforumswest/edm onton/
Apr. 29; 14th Annual Vancouver Real Estate Forum; Hyatt Regency Hotel, Vancouver, info/registration: http://www.mmpiwest.com/realestateforumswest/vanc ouver/
Apr. 29-30; Buildex Edmonton; Shaw Conference Center, Edmonton, info/registration: http://www.buildexedmonton.com/
May 8; Turning Points Non-Gala Dinner, The Westin, Calgary, in aid of the Calgary Women's Emergency Shelte; info/tickets: http://www.calgarywomensshelter.com
July 7-9 ; 34th G8 Summit, Tokyo, Japan
SAVE THE DATE:
Annual & Special Meetings
Mar. 26; CV Technologies Inc., Annual General Meeting, Edmonton
Mar. 27; MICC Investments Limited, Special Meeting of Shareholders, Toronto
Apr. 8;
First Calgary Petroleums Ltd.; Annual & Special Meeting of Shareholders, Calgary
The Dominion Atlantic Railway Company; Annual Meeting, Calgary
Apr. 10; Nav Canada, Annual Meeting of Shareholders, Moncton
Apr. 11; Laurentian Bank of Canada , Annual Meeting of Shareholders, Montreal
Apr. 22;
Canadian National Railway Company, Annual Meeting of Shareholders, Chicago
Encana Corporation, Annual and Special Meeting, Toronto
TransAlta Corporation, Annual and Special Meeting of Shareholders, Edmonton
April 30; Emera Incorporated, Annual General Meeting, Halifax
May 5
Enbridge Income Fund, Annual Meeting of Unitholders, Calgary
W&T Offshore, Inc. , Annual Meeting of Shareholders, Houston
Enerplus Resources Fund, Annual General and Special Meeting , Calgary
May 9; Dominion Resources Inc., Annual Meeting, Chicago, Illinois
May 22; First Capital Realty Inc., Annual General Meeting, Toronto
SAVE THE DATE:
2008 Charity & Industry Golf Tournaments
May 29-30, 9th Annual AMBA/MLAA Spring Golf Classic, Mortgage Loans Association of Alberta (Edmonton Chapter) & the Alberta Mortgage Brokers' Assn., Industry Night and Golf Tournament; proceeds to Habitat for Humanity, The Links, Spruce Grove; info/registration: james.robertson@firstnational.ca
June 12; 6th Annual Coast Hotels & Resorts Golf Classic , Westwood Plateau Golf & Country Club, Coquitlam, BC; in support of Coast Athletic Assistance Program; info/resiter: m.hope@coasthotels.com
July 14; 8th Annual Ronald McDonald House Southern Alberta Charity Golf Classic, Silvertip Resort, Canmore; Lawson Projects is the Presenting Sponsor; info/registration: lorne@lawsonprojects.com or colleen@rmhsouthernalberta.org
note: if you are sponsoring / supporting a charity tournament in the Calgary area in 2008 we are happy to list them early here; just send your tournament data and contact information to: research@maxcomm.ca
INFRASTRUCTURE News / P3 / Go Green
+ PLANDFLEX CORPORATION will develop and or acquire commercial and institutional properties: Public Private Partnerships (P3), development for governments, NGOs, school boards, hospital boards, municipalities etc., build-to-suit developments for strong credit tenants location focus is smaller & major communities in Western Canada. Inquiries and/or property offerings to:
PLANDFLEX CORPORATION
Attn: Mark Kolke, President
Suite 1000, 888 - 3rd Street SW
Calgary, AB T2P 5C5
Phone: 403-444-6939
e-mail: mark.kolke@maxcomm.ca
+ ENMAX Energy chose the site for its new natural gas- fired $1 billion, 1,000 MW power generation facility. Scheduled to come on stream in late 2011, it will provide enough electricity for about 2/3rds of Calgary's requirements. The Shepard Energy Centre will be located on the east side of Calgary in an industrially-designated area just south of Glenmore Trail and approximately 1.8 km east of 84th Street SE - 2 km northeast of Shepard, adjacent to an industrial park & existing 240 kV transmission
+ Vancouver's transportation authority, Translink, under wider authority granted by new legistlation, will purchase land along new rapid transit routes & foster development with rezoning; http://www.translink.bc.ca
Calgary Office Space For Lease
office leasing services
for leasing/purchasing assistance, contact: Mark Kolke
"No man goes before his time / unless the boss leaves early." - Groucho Marx
"I knew I was going to take the wrong train, so I left early." - Yogi Berra
"Early in life I had noticed that no event is ever correctly reported in a newspaper." - George Orwell
"It's always too early to quit." - Norman Vincent Peale
"Early in life I had to choose between honest arrogance and hypocritical humility. I chose the former and have seen no reason to change." - Frank Lloyd Wright
"Well enough for old folks to rise early, because they have done so many mean things all their lives they can't sleep anyhow." - Mark Twain
"Formula for success: Rise early, work hard, strike oil." - Jean Paul Getty
"I'm not an early riser because I dislike sleep or want to avoid languishing in bed - I'm an early riser because there is too much to do and because I might miss something - if the world comes to an abrupt end, I want to be up to see it - every day, news always breaks before the dawn." - Mark Kolke
"In the early days of the Indian Territory, there were no such things as birth certificates. You being there was certificate enough." - Will Rogers
"The moment the average golfer attempts to play from long grass or a bunker or from a difficult lie of any kind, he becomes a digger instead of a swinger." - Bobby Jones
" Golf acts as a corrective against sinful pride. I attribute the insane arrogance of the Roman Emperors almost entirely to the fact that, never having played golf, they never knew that strange chastening humility which is engendered by a topped chip shot. If Cleopatra had been ousted in the first round of the Ladies Singles, we would have heard a lot less of her proud imperiousness." - P.G. Wodehouse
" A competitor will find a way to win. Competitors take bad breaks and use them to drive themselves just that much harder. Quitters take bad breaks and use them as reasons to give up. It's all a matter of pride." - Nancy Lopez
MaxComm Communications - Writing Services
Innovative strategies, inspiring work plans and cutting- edge initiatives; we are writers, editors and business communicators who help you frame your message right the first time, on time.
www.frameyourmessage.com is our website - featuring information on services, writer credentials - writing, speaking, coaching -
We have established a presence in Houston, Los Angeles and Maui - staffing up in each market with well credentialed writers in those markets with subject area expertise and availability. Our work is 99% English content for audiences in Canada, US, UK, Australia:
oil & gas, energy
environment
education
real estate, development, residential & commercial
Mark Kolke writes a daily column (posted at http://markmusing.com ) Musings, after his morning walk. To subscribe (free) to receive his daily musings, write to mark@markmusing.com Musings are e-mailed daily to subscribers and are posted/archived on his blog http://markismusing.blogspot.com & on his Musing site:
+ our objective is to feature information and links to articles which provide insights, ideas and services to help our readers access useful resources to help employees at all levels build on their skills.
+ the Toastmasters program offers an opportunity to improve professional skills; public speaking, leadership training, confidence building - a great way to give your career a boost as you climb the ladder. Toastmasters International - 210,000 members in 90 countries; 65 Toastmasters clubs in Calgary. Toastmasters offer a supportive environment, networking opportunities & a proven program to help people overcome their worst fear - public speaking.
+ Spoken Word Toastmasters . . meets every Tuesday at 5:30 PM at North Hill COOP community room (basement), 540 - 16ave., NE, Calgary, AB; contact club president for further info: nelson.keung@siemens.com . . next meeting March 25; http://members.shaw.ca/spoken_word
+ Singles and Friends Toastmasters, offers a 'singles only' format - opportunity for socializing & speaking; meets every Wed. @ 7 PM. Info: http://singlesnfriends.freetoasthost.info next meeting March 26
+ MVP Advanced Toastmasters Club, meets @ 7 PM, 2nd & 4th Thursday of the month @ Fluor facility in south Calgary; a club for experienced Toastmasters wishing to hone their skills in a place where the bar is set high; contact club President for further info: Mark.Kolke@frameyourmessage.com or Gerda.Timm@Fluor.com .. next meeting March 27, 7PM http://mvpadvanced.freetoasthost.net
FACILITYCalgary, a MaxComm Communications publication, e-published every Monday. Subscription is free. To subscribe, write to: facilitycalgary@maxcomm.ca
+ it takes a special kind of brass gonads - never been done before; on the eve of Ontario's budget speech, Federal Finance Minister Flaherty will be holding court this afternoon with the media to further slag Premier McGuinty for not going far enough to help Ontario business deal with a faltering economy; I know it is all politics but isn't this the same Flaherty who spent so much time recently trying to comfort everyone that our markets were fine, that financial troubles south of the border would not impact Canada while ABCP was teetering (probably still is) complete collapse? . . this man should be locked in a room somewhere & kept well away from microphones - he's simply grandstanding in order to take the Provincial Conservative leadership away from John Tory; Stephen Harper should keep his loose cannon on a shorter leash & he should do it now; if the media had some spine they would ignore his press conference or, better still, just not report that he had one
+ Ben Bernanke, his beard so meticulously groomed, inspires many with his strong credentials - plus, he should not be blamed for the errors of Greenspan & Bush - but he is starting to look like a little Dutch boy with too few fingers to plug the holes in the dike; latest foe is inflation fears inspired by his fixes . . . stay tuned because his troubles (ours too) are far from over - the stumble, bumble & crumble in European banks has not fully rippled across the pond . . yet
+ last week I criticized Ed Stelmach's appointment of Alison Redford to a lofty spot in his Cabinet; I have no axe to grind with her - I have never met her & meant no criticism of her skills . . without regard to how accomplished she might be, but rather I thought a rookie MLA (though rewards for winning back a seat are valid political reality) should not be put so high so fast; no sooner was the ink dry, but I got a response from a defender - standup-funny-guy about town & lawyer Robert Hawkes sent this response: " Enjoy the Newsletter (and your daily emails) as always. My first quibble, in years of receiving it, is your comments about Alison Redford. I don't think she got her appointments as reward for regaining Elbow, rather she regained Elbow, and got her appointments, because she is one of the best MLA's the Party's got. She's acted as the UN's number two official in Afghanistan on electoral issues, spent years working internationally on various justice and development issues, been a lawyer here in Calgary, worked for years in Ottawa in the Prime Minister's Office and was the Executive Assistant to the Secretary of State for External Affairs and CIDA, and on and on. My sole reason for writing is not to change your mind, but to get you to print this off and hold on to it. Two years from now lets go for coffee and see how she's done. I bet you'll be buying coffee. [Full disclosure, Alison is my ex-wife and I'm a huge supporter. But I'm rarely wrong on these things]." - Robert Hawkes . .(editor's note to Alison: methinks he carries a torch
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