FACILITYCalgary is a compilation of news items & commentary of interest to people who have a real estate, infrastructure, construction, oil & gas or general interest in Calgary published weekly by MaxComm Communications.
FRESH TODAY - Monday, May 12, 2008
+ China hit by magnitude-7.8 earthquake (early reports indicate at least 107 people dead & hundreds trapped) causing buildings to shake in Beijing, more than 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) away; the quake struck 90 kilometers W/NW of Chengdu; a magnitude-6 quake struck the area about 15 minutes later. Chengdu, with a population of about 11 million, is the provincial capital of Sichuan. Sichuan has about 40%of China's gas reserves
+ crude oil prices @ 6:45AM, MDT as quoted by Bloomberg.com - Nymex Crude Future US$124.49/barrel, Dated Brent Spot US$122.64/barrel, WTI Cushing Spot US$125.96 (Friday close)/barrel; oil hit a record US$ 126.25/barrel last week on a strengthening US dollar; crude down for the first time in 6 days amid signs record prices may curb demand in emerging markets while OPEC maintains there is no oil shortage, brushing aside US calls for higher output to dampen runaway prices;
+ EnCana Corp. announced it will split into two companies; a stand alone integrated oil company led by Brian Ferguson will focus on oil, oil sands & refining, a stand alone natural gas company led by Randy Eresman will focus on natural gas activities; split expected to be completed in early 2009
+ Myanmar in wake of Tropical Cyclone Nargis situation remains uncertain as military junta leaders continue to resist humanitarian aid; estimates now of 216,000 dead may be low as infection & disease running rampant among 2/3rds of 1.5 million people in need of aid have received none
+ Research In Motion (RIM) & Thomson Reuters launching BlackBerry Partners Fund, US$150 million venture capital fund, to invest in mobile applications/services for BlackBerry & other mobile platforms
+ Superior Plus Income Fund sub. closed its $21 million acquisition of Fackoury's Building Supplies Ltd.
+ TransCanada Corporation secured a 20 yr. contract to sell 100% of its power output from a planned US$500 million natural gas fired Coolidge Generating Station near Phoenix
+ Sergio Garcia won THE PLAYERS Championship @ TPC Sawgrass · Ponte Vedra Beach, FL to win US$1.71 million with a playoff win over Paul Goydos
+ Canadian government set to reject $1.3 billion takeover of space divisions (CanadARM) of MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. by Alliant Techsystems Inc., an American firm; this will be the first time since the creation of the investment-review law in 1985 that the Canadian government has stepped in to prevent a takeover
+ Energy Capital Partners & Martin Resource Management Corporation formed a 50/50 JV, Cardinal Gas Storage Partners LLC
+ Merrill Lynch Canada Finance Company closed $300,000,000 debt financing
+ Petrohawk Energy Corporation closed US$500 million debt financing
+ SandRidge Energy Inc. agreed to sell Piceance Basin Colorado assets tp Williams Co. sub for US$285 million
+ U.S. / Europe recession watch: Citigroup Inc. on verge of selling US$400 billion of extraneous assets to shore up its position; Fannie Mae raised US$450 billion in new debt financing after posting US$2.2 billion loss; HSBC, the UK's largest banking group, took a write down of US$3,2 billion relating to its US unit; Suprime banking credit crunch losses so far: Citigroup: $40.7bn, UBS: $38bn, Merrill Lynch: $31.7bn HSBC: $15.6bn, Bank of America: $14.9bn, Morgan Stanley $12.6bn, Royal Bank of Scotland: $12bn, JP Morgan Chase: $9.7bn, Washington Mutual: $8.3bn, Deutsche Bank: $7.5bn, Wachovia: $7.3bn, Credit Agricole: $6.6bn, Credit Suisse: $6.3bn, Mizuho Financial $5.5bn, Bear Stearns: $3.2bn, Barclays: $3.2bn; 649,917 U.S. homes received at least one foreclosure notice in the 1st qtr., up 112% from a year earlier. - foreclosure activity rose in 46 of 50 states & in 90 of the country's 100 largest metro areas. Lenders repossessed 157,000 homes with 1 of 194 households in some stage of foreclosure; mortgage bond insurer MBIA Inc. lost 87% of its market value in the past year, posted a net loss of US$2.4 billion
+ Whiting Petroleum Corp. agreed to acquire US$365 million Flat Rock Natural Gas Field in Utah from Chicago Energy Associates LLC
SHAKERS + Movers on the Move
+ Andrew Rose to CFO @ Gulfsands Petroleum plc
+ Anna Lerch to Associate @ Miller Thomson LLP
+ Bret Rhinesmith to Consultant Pearl Group @ EPiC Energy Resources Inc.
+ Dana Johnson to Pres., US Operations @ Enerplus Resources Fund
+ David Urquhart to Pres. & CEO @ Morgan Creek Energy Corp.
+ Gail Black to Associate Counsel @ Miller Thomson LLP
+ Jim Chaput (pronounced chapeau), legendary land man & executive at Canadian Hunter & Calgary Academy, died
+ Lisa Gelsomino to Pres. Avalon Risk Management Inc. @ Kingsway Financial Services Inc.
+ Mark Purdy to Asset Mgr. Calgary @ Grosvenor Properties Ltd.
+ Michael Mears to COO @ Magellan Midstream Partners LP
+ Orville Pyrcz to VP Bus. Dev. & General Counsel @ Resman Holdings Ltd.
+ Paul O'Donohue to VP Investor Relations & Corporate Planning @ Oilsands Quest Inc.
+ Scott Wollney to Pres.& CEO Lincoln General Insurance Company @ Kingsway Financial Services Inc.
+ Steve Reeves Exec. VP & COO @ Flotek Industries Inc.
+ Umesh Shan to Associate Counsel @ Miller Thomson LLP
SAVE THE DATE:
Business Events, Functions etc.
May 13; MLAA May Luncheon - guest speaker Sheryl McMullin, Calgary Municipal Land Corporation, Topic: East Village and Rivers Projects, Sheraton Suites Eau Claire, Calgary; info/registration: mlaa-clgy@shaw.ca
May 15; NAIOP Calgary, May breakfast - "Commercial Leasing Essentials - LEED, Go Green and Green Leases"; Devonian Room, Calgary Petroleum Club, info/register: http://www.naiopcalgary.com/events/
May 27; The Land & Development Conference, Metro Toronto Convention Centre, South Bldg, Toronto; info/registration: http://www.realestateforums.com/LandConference/ind ex.html
June 10 - 12; Global Petroleum Show, Stampede Park, Calgary, info/register: http://www.petroleumshow.com/globalpetroleum/page. cfm/Link=12/t=m/goSection=8
July 7-9 ; 34th G8 Summit, Tokyo, Japan
SAVE THE DATE:
Annual & Special Meetings
May 12;
ARC Energy Trust, Annual Meeting of Unitholders , Calgary
Flint Energy Services Ltd., Annual Meeting of Shareholders, Calgary
May 13;
Connacher Oil and Gas Limited, Annual Meeting, Calgary
Massey Energy Company, Annual Meeting of Stockholders, Richmond, Virginia
Peyto Energy Trust, Annual General Meeting, Calgary
ProspEx Resources Ltd., Annual Meeting, Calgary
Trafalgar Energy Ltd., Annual General Meeting, Calgary
May 14;
Anderson Energy Ltd., Annual Meeting, Calgary
Cinch Energy Corp., Annual Meeting, Calgary
Cominar Real Estate Investment Trust, Annual Meeting of Unitholders, Quebec City
Endev Energy Inc., Annual Meeting, Calgary
ING Canada, Annual Meeting of Shareholders, Calgary
Kereco Energy Ltd., Annual Meeting, Calgary
McCoy Corporation, Annual General and Special Meeting of Shareholders, Edmonton
Petrobank Energy and Resources Ltd. Annual and Special Meeting of Shareholders, Calgary
Rock Energy Inc., Annual Meeting, Calgary
Silverwing Energy Inc., Annual Meeting, Calgary
Sun Life Financial Inc., Annual Meeting of Common Shareholders, Toronto
TerraVest Income Fund, Annual General Meeting of Shareholders, Toronto
May 15; ONEOK Inc., Annual Meeting of Shareholders, Tulsa, Oklahoma
May 16;
ENMAX Corporation, Annual Meeting of the Shareholder, Calgary
May 22; First Capital Realty Inc., Annual General Meeting, Toronto
May 27; Quest Capital Corp., Annual & Special General Meeting, Toronto
May 30; Patch International Inc., Special Meeting of Stockholders, Calgary
June 26; CanArgo Energy Corporation, Annual Meeting of Stockholders, New York
SAVE THE DATE:
2008 Charity & Industry Golf Tournaments
May 29, The 15th Annual "IFMA OPEN" , IFMA Calgary Chapter , Calgary Elks Lodge & Golf Club, info/register: info@ifmacalgary.org
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 9; Global Petroleum Show Charity Golf Tournament in support of the Werklund Foundation; Valley Ridge Golf Course, Calgary; info/register: http://www.petroleumshow.com/globalpetroleum/page. cfm/Link=39/t=m/goSection=22
June 12; 6th Annual Coast Hotels & Resorts Golf Classic , Westwood Plateau Golf & Country Club, Coquitlam, BC; in support of Coast Athletic Assistance Program; info/register: m.hope@coasthotels.com
June 24; 18th Annual CMA Calgary Golf Tournament, in support of Ronald McDonald House Southern Alberta and Scott Smed Memorial Foundation, SilverTip Golf Resort, Canmore; info/register: angus@silvercrestinsurance.ca
June 26; CREB Charitable Foundation's 10th Annual Building Hope Charity Golf Tournament, Lynx Ridge Golf Club, Calgary; info/registration: http://www.hearttohome.org
July 2; 6th Annual Calgary Chamber of Commerce/TELUS Play with the Presidents Golf Classic, Heritage Pointe Golf Club, DeWinton; sponsorships still available. Contact Ron Peters at 750-0400 or rpeters@calgarychamber.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
August 15; University of Lethbridge Alumni Association - Calgary Chapter 7th Annual Alumni & Friends Golf Tournament, Shaw-nee Slopes, Calgary; info/registration: kfilbert@shaw.ca
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
+ The Calgary Airport Authority is seeking developer proposal interested in taking long term groun leased to develop an International Business Park on 280 acres of land at Calgary International Airport, 'Deerfoot North Tradepark'.
+ Morgan Stanley, 2nd largest U.S. securities firm by market value, raised US$4 billion for a fund to invest in infrastructure projects such as ports & parking lots
+ a new $5-billion bridge is planned for the Windsor- Detroit corridor; Governments in Canada & the United States will work together to build a second bridge beside the overburdened Ambassador Bridge - 25% of the trade between Canada & the US goes through the Windsor-Detroit trade corridor, with about 10,000 trucks travelling across the Ambassador each weekday. A highway tunnel also connects the two cities. The project, would be the largest joint construction effort in the history of Canada-U.S. relations & largest public-private partnership in Canadian history
Mark Kolke lists properties For Judicial Sale on behalf of lenders engaged in foreclosure actions to realize on security for recovery of defaulted mortgage loans. He operates this website to aid in the marketing of these properties and to host the listings of other agents marketing properties offered by way of Judicial Sale
"Poor is the man who does not know his own intrinsic worth and tends to measure everything by relative value. A man of financial wealth who values himself by his financial net worth is poorer than a poor man who values himself by his intrinsic self worth." - Sidney Madwed
"Your net worth to the world is usually determined by what remains after your bad habits are subtracted from your good ones." - Benjamin Franklin
"Laws: We know what they are, and what they are worth! They are spider webs for the rich and mighty, steel chains for the poor and weak, fishing nets in the hands of the government." - Pierre-Joseph Proudhon
"Nothing that is worth knowing can be taught." - Oscar Wilde
"That which needs to be proved cannot be worth much." - Friedrich Nietzsche
"Only a life lived for others is worth living." - Albert Einstein
"Nothing is worth more than this day." - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
"Net Worth, a number at the bottom of a page, representative both of everything and of nothing at the same time; a snapshot, moment in time, subject to change without notice. It is about monetary worth but not about values, calculation of what we have rather than who we are, statement that says 'here is what you are worth today' without guarantee of tomorrow." - Mark Kolke
"Writing is a dog's life, but the only life worth living." - Gustave Flaubert
"There are four questions of value in life... What is sacred? Of what is the spirit made? What is worth living for, and what is worth dying for? The answer to each is the same. Only love." - Don Juan deMarco, lines played by Johnny Depp
"It's good sportsmanship to not pick up lost golf balls while they are still rolling." - Mark Twain
"An interesting thing about golf is that no matter how badly you play, it is always possible to get worse." - unknown
"If you are caught on a golf course during a storm and are afraid of lightning, hold up a 1-iron. Not even God can hit a 1-iron." - Lee Trevino
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:
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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
+ 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.
+ 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 May 14
+ 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 May 22, 7PM http://mvpadvanced.freetoasthost.net
FACILITYCalgary, a MaxComm Communications publication, e-published every Monday. Subscription is free. To subscribe, write to: facilitycalgary@maxcomm.ca
+ the world is a strange place - the US & Britain happily invaded Iraq on the premise of finding weapons the didn't exist at a cost, thus far, of trillion$ but a little junta in Myanmar has kept the world at bay for many years simply because they want to remain in control & prevent their people from having freedom of thought & opinion; neither is a democracy, neither was South Africa in apartheid days - but it seems world leaders pick their battles with little regard for results & a big view to optics
+ I don't understand why Stephane Dion would want another federal election at a huge cost to his party, to the Canadian taxpayer only to (most polls seem to be singing the same tune) return a Conservative minority parliament; Harper has not yet captured hearts & minds in the east or Ontario enough to pull of a majority win, but I don't think he needs to. This minority, despite so much Liberal hissing & moaning, seems to be working. While it is clear neither party has any viable history on 'how to let a helicopter contract', surely we can stand a little more of this minority compromise for a while . .
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