+ Asian stocks falling on fears of Europe's sovereign debt woes + BP Plans ‘top kill’ plug attempt on leaking Macondo blowout well in Gulf of Mexico, as costs rise (running $22million/day) while BP have lost 25% of market value (about $50billion) over 5 weeks since the well blew out + BP ordered by EPA to reduce volume of dispersant chemicals being used on the spill, on fears they will need more later should the spill worsen + Canada is contemplating action on fossil fuel subsidies for G20 commitment; recent study shows removing subsidies in developing & emerging countries could reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 13% by 2050 – Canada is considered a minor subsidizer + executive compensation survey 2010; Globe and Mail survey, CEOs of Canada’s top 100 companies (by market cap) + libor shows strain, spreads soar + North Korea puts military on combat readiness + oil edges up amid caution on economy + Petrohawk Energy Corp. closed two deal; 50/50 joint venture with Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P. involving Haynesville Shale for $875 million & sale of Terryville Field for $320 million + Trooper Larry Rudd, 26, latest Canadian soldier to fall; 146th member of Canadian Forces to die in Afghanistan since current mission began in 2002 + Victoria Day holiday in Alberta, most businesses closed + Wall Street slide; stocks down, Dow lowest sing Feb. 10 as fresh worries about Europe’s banking system weighed on sentiment
+ Advantage Oil & Gas Ltd. announced plan to dispose of $67 million in non-core assets + Bird Construction Income Fund got court approval for conversion to a corporation + Canaccord Financial Inc. integrated Genuity Capital Markets; re-branded as Canaccord Genuity + Canadian actress Juliette Binoche won Best Actress Award at Cannes Film Festival + Canadian Pacific Railway Limited increased 2010 CapEx budget by $70 million; plans to spend $750-800 million + Connacher Oil and Gas Limited announces application for the expansion of bitumen production capacity at Great Divide to 44,000 bbl/d + Denbury Resources Inc. closed $900 million sale of oil & natural gas assets to Quantum Resources Management + Desmarais Energy Corp. entered into negotiations for JV to expand pipeline infrastructure to facilitate tie-in of additional wells which are currently shut-in + EOG Resources Inc. buying parent of Kitimat LNG Inc.; terminal set to open by 2014 to ship 700 million cubic feet or natural gas per day + George Gosbee announced plans for new investment bank, AltaCorp Capital Inc. expected to employ 30-40 within six months + Nexen Inc. sold 750 Lloydminster area well for $975 million to Northern Blizzard Resources + Nexen Inc. sold its natural gas marketing division to Goldman Sachs + North West Upgrading in talks with Alberta government to build new 150,000 bpdbitumen refinery project northeast of Edmonton to process bitumen-in-kind royalty product; to be built in three phases, total capital budget $18 billion + Paramount Resources Ltd. to acquire Redcliffe Exploration Inc., $68.5 million + PetroChina plans $60billion in overseas investments to boost oil & gas output + SAIT now authorized to grant its first Bachelor’s Degrees – in Accounting + Schlumberger Inaugurates ‘WesternGeco Oslo Technology Center’in Norway + Texans (65%) still support offshore drilling + U.S. Interior Department adopts new onshore drilling rules
Mark Kolke, Editor/Publisher
FACILITYCalgary - Calgary oil & gas, business and real estate NEWS, Mark Kolke (Editor) - President, MaxComm Realty Advisors - Calgary office leasing, Calgary industrial leasing, P3 Public Private Partnerships - MaxComm Communications Publisher
Readers are encouraged to forward news items, commentary, feedback & items for our 'on the move' section by writing to: research@maxcomm.ca
+ kudos to SAIT for their Honorary Degrees recently granted to awesome Calgarians: the generous donor David Werklund, the tireless fixer Doug Mitchell and workhorse George Brookman! + recent press coverage of mortgage fraud cases make me gag a little; blame should, of course, rest at the feet of those who committed frauds, but press coverage points at problems in the mortgage brokerage and real estate brokerage industry without first examining the mortgage lenders.I’ve been around this industry for over thirty years, beginning my career in the mortgage business – when actual property inspections, appraisals done by inspection rather than by software projections, borrowers were interviewed by lenders, and data was verified etc.Formulas have replaced underwriting, expediency has replaced judgment, so - my view - the loan losses banks suffered are as much the fault of their own sloppy and inadequate underwriting as are the sharpies and fraud artists who scammed them.Everyone needs to be more vigilant, and take their time to do it right
+ between volcanoes, oil spills, economic woes in Greece, European financial crisis, UK minority government realities . . . the news has been awash in things bad, our southern cousins have been doing Tea Party primary disruption – but there is something missing in the coverage. It relates to real estate – the ticking bomb of high-ratio mortgage rate re-sets in the US this year and next that will likely make the sub-prime crisis look like a dress rehearsal. I keep looking for some Obama, Geithner or Bernanke (btw - none of them has ran a business or met a payroll … but then again, neither has Stephen Harper) signals that they get it, that they see it coming and have a strategy . . . but so far, nothing – stay tuned . . .
INFRASTRUCTURE / P3
+ SNC-Lavalin Corp. awarded $105 million contract for district cooling project in Saudi Arabia
+ Calgary politics will enter the silly season soon – municipal election this fall, and most importantly, the Mayoralty race; Stampede hoe-downs, parties and whoop-em ups will see pancake flapper politicians of all stripes vie for support – so, here is my prediction: this is a ONE ISSUE ELECTION we should all wake up for – the winner(s) will be the candidate(s) who best convince us and their council colleagues to get serious about building the tunnel under the new runway at Calgary International Airport. We can build it next year for $300 million or later for $900+ … or never. Failing to build it, or failing to build it sooner rather than later, will be something Calgarians regret for decades, to say nothing of the NE residents and businesses along Barlow . . . who will be the first to suffer most in terms of lost revenue and declining property values. We can do it right to keep a first rate airport serving a first rate city, or we can go for a second rate approach. I don’t think we can afford that.
POINTS to ponder
‘When written in Chinese, the word crisis is composed of two characters – one represents danger, and the other represents opportunity.’ – John Fitzgerald Kennedy
‘Any idiot can face a crisis today, it is the day-to-day living that wears you out’ – Anton Chekhov
‘There cannot be a crisis today; my schedule is already full.’ – Henry Kissinger
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Fred got home from his Sunday round of golf later than normal and very tired. "Bad day at the course?" his wife asked. "Everything was going fine," he said. "Then Harry had a heart attack and died on the 10th tee." "Oh, that's awful!" "You're not kidding. For the whole back nine it was hit the ball, drag Harry, hit the ball, drag Harry."
OFFICE & INDUSTRIAL LEASING
Mark Kolke, President of MaxComm Realty Advisors, MaxComm Communications and Plandflex Corporation, has been working in real estate finance, management, leasing, sales and consulting work in Alberta for twenty-eight years. His license to practice real estate in Alberta is sponsored by MaxWell South Star Realty where he is an Associate dealing in commercial, residential and agricultural properties. He moved back to Calgary eleven years ago after twenty- seven years in Edmonton. He advises tenants, buyers, developers and institutional clients on issues involving residential developments, commercial real estate and public private partnerships (P3s).
