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Japan losing out in the bidding war for food
Leo Lewis, Asia Business Correspondent
Japan has been told that it must make radical changes to its diet and also undertake a complete overhaul of its traditional business practices if it is to avert a food crisis that could send Asia's biggest economy “back to the 1950s”.
Analysts have even introduced a new word to the Japanese vocabulary - kaimake, or “deal-blowing” - as the country comes to terms with the ever-rising challenges posed by China and India in the race for resources.
For several post-war generations of executives, who have only ever known Japan as a remorselessly successful buyer, kaimake implies a grim new reality: a nation that has long been used to getting first pick of nearly all goods on offer by exporting countries is now losing out regularly in buying competitions.
For Japan, one of the least self-sufficient in terms of food production of all the world's developed countries, it is a particularly dangerous threat.
Deals are being blown, a senior executive at one of Japan's largest trading houses said, because corporate Japan is not financially prepared for the ferocity of price competition with China and not culturally nimble enough to outbid its rivals.
The food industry is on the front-line of kaimake. It is in the world's great fish and seafood auctions that the legendary buying power that accompanied Japan's rise to economic superpower has begun to fail. The world's best tuna is not ending up on the sushi counters of Tokyo any more, but is heading for Shanghai and New York.
Food industry veterans are clear that it will not stop with tuna, eels and crabs. Japan may find itself the runner-up buyer in dozens of markets where it has not experienced serious competition, including beef, fruit, soybeans, flour and cooking oil. Moreover, energy and commodities analysts believe that Japan will soon feel kaimake effects in liquefied natural gas, coal and metals markets.
The effect on the daily Japanese diet, according to Akio Shibata, director of the Marubeni Research Institute, could be profound. Government figures show Japan's food self-sufficiency ratio (in terms of calories) at a historic low of 39 per cent - a reflection of the westernisation of Japanese diets that began in the 1960s when self-sufficiency levels were more than twice as high.
The only commodities in which Japan is approaching self-sufficiency are rice, eggs, whale meat and tangerines.
Japanese people aged under 50 have grown up with fried foods, a variety of meats, bread and other cereals, so few can imagine the simple tofu, rice and locally caught fish diets of their grandparents. They may have to get used to that, Mr Shibata said, because government efforts to improve self-sufficiency have failed. Japanese consumers face a choice between huge price rises to maintain their diets or a simpler menu.
The Foodex trade fair - an annual opportunity for the global industry to tout its wares in Japan - highlighted the growing frustration with Japan as a buyer. Exporters said that the days when Japan could dawdle over signing contracts were over.
Top ten
Japanese food imports in 2006
Pork $3.3bn
Corn $2.5bn
Tuna $2.0bn
Prawns $1.9bn
Beef $1.9bn
Banana $1.5bn
Soya $1.3bn
Wheat $1.2bn
Coffee $1.0bn
Sugar $480m
Source: Japan External Trade Organisation
Ethanol craze raises concerns
NEAR MELBOURNE, ON–In the deep cold of the too-long winter here, ice pools in the fields just outside Larry Cowan's two-level backsplit, creating a worrying, if not unfamiliar, predicament.
"We get concerned about that," says Cowan, squinting, as he guides his truck along the salty blacktop that quilts the tilled earth here into tidy packages of farmland. "That's got to disappear real quick."
It's nothing Cowan hasn't seen before; 32 years spent on his own 728 hectares here at Chimo Farms, growing corn, wheat and soybeans, don't leave a lot of room for surprise. Out here in the fields, at least.
Back inside is a different story, courtesy of an unlikely source: The business report on CNN.
"The head of one of the big investment firms in New York City was talking about gold going to $1,000 an ounce," Cowan recalls, his eyes wrinkling with a pinched smile. "And then he talked about Chicago corn going to $6. And that is the first time I ever, in 32 years, have ever, ever heard a stock broker talk about corn in the same breath as gold. So there's some frenzy in the marketplace, yes."
Cowan, laconic and soft-spoken, carries with him a certain world-weariness that is the farmer's right. Things are never easy in the world of agriculture, and Cowan, like most of his kind, tends to temper any enthusiasm with a strong dose of common sense, if not outright pessimism.
IN THE '80S, with interest skyrocketing and commodity prices bottoming out, it was all Cowan could do to stay afloat. "We almost went bankrupt," he grins. "But we managed to rejig and survive."
Cowan can be forgiven a touch of skepticism. But at the same time, in the corn patch, this is an historic moment. It is the stuff of pure paradox: An agricultural boom. Corn prices have soared in the past year, both here and especially in the U.S., where the industry standard Chicago Exchange pegged it around $5.75 (U.S.) a bushel. As recently as November, it was hovering around $3.50, and a year before that, under $3. And it has dragged soybeans and wheat up along with it, both of them up more than 50 per cent in the past year.
Cowan has seen prices jump before. In 1997, corn leapt briefly to $7, due largely to a drought that crippled supply, before it crashed back down. "That's what history teaches us," Cowan sighs.
This time, there is no drought, no blight, no yield disaster making corn stocks much coveted in the face of scant supply. Some point to a growing appetite in China and India, and they do play their part. But that would be ignoring the elephant in the room, growing fatter by the day.
Ethanol, the corn-derived alcohol now being used as a gasoline additive by most big retailers, has already drastically altered the economic reality of the American heartland. In 2005, the Bush administration introduced incentives for the ethanol industry meant to stimulate its growth and throw the country's quest for renewable fuel and decreased dependence on foreign oil into fast forward.
It's a tantalizing hypothesis, and in Brazil, it's already been achieved. Already the world's biggest ethanol producer – from sugar cane – 85 per cent of the cars sold there are "flex" vehicles, which can run on either ethanol or gas. Brazil, once a voracious consumer of foreign oil, now imports not a drop. (The U.S. heavily taxes Brazilian ethanol imports to protect its own industry.)
In the U.S., the Bush plan has been working, largely to the benefit of midwestern farmers and agricultural giants like Cargill and Archer Daniels Midland, who act as middlemen between farmers and the ethanol plants, which have been coming online as fast as they can be built.
In 2002, there were 61 plants in the U.S. Today, there are 134, producing 7.2 million gallons of ethanol a year, prompting U.S. farmers last spring to plant their largest corn crop since World War II. With 77 more under construction, and Federal production goals set at 36 billion gallons by 2022, there's no end in sight.
Canada and Ontario have been a little slower to the ethanol craze, but they're making up for lost time. Last year, the federal government introduced a $200 million grant program for new biofuel projects, through 2011. At the same time, the McGuinty government introduced a mandate for all gasoline sold in the province to contain at least 5 per cent ethanol. That's due to increase to 10 per cent by 2010 – the highest content a conventional engine can use without modification.
It was enough incentive for Suncor, one of the founding giants of Northern Alberta's oil sands, to set up shop on the cusp of Ontario corn country in Sarnia last year with an ethanol plant of its own. "Basically, the market is growing, and that's because of the government mandate," said Jason Vaillant, a manager at the Sarnia facility. "It made more sense for us to make it ourselves than buy it from someone else."
Suncor's Sarnia plant produces 200 million litres of ethanol a year, consuming 20 million bushels of Ontario corn in the process. Vaillant estimates that the plant consumes about 10 per cent of the province's annual corn production all by itself. When it reaches full capacity, those numbers will double. The other operating plants in the province collectively produce another 250 million litres – and consume another 12 per cent of the crop.
BUT, AS INCENTIVES lure more investors into the ethanol business, Ontario's corn supply starts looking increasingly short. Six more plants are either planned or under construction. If they all reach capacity, the province's ethanol production would jump by another 1.63 billion litres, to more than 2.2 billion, total.
Quick math tells a potentially troublesome tale: At a ratio of 10 litres per bushel, the proposed ethanol production in Ontario would consume virtually all of the province's corn production of 250 million bushels a year. "That was a real question when we were building," Vaillant says. "Where are we going to get all the corn?"
The ethanol industry isn't the only one asking that question. Among all the crops humans grow, corn is perhaps the most essential. Of all the things in your local supermarket – more than 45,000, says Michael Pollan in The Omnivore's Dilemma – about a quarter of them contain corn.
It is the ultimate staple in the broadest sense: It's in processed foods like cereals. Its starch is used in sauces as thickener, its sugar in soft drinks as sweetener. It's a binding agent, a colourant, the alcohol in your beer. It's in coffee whitener, ketchup, candies, canned fruit and condiments.
Go to the meat counter and you'll find beef and pork fattened by corn feed, chickens and turkeys raised on kernels. Your eggs are laid by corn-fed hens. Commercial fish feed is largely corn-based, and even the carnivores among them, like salmon, have been sufficiently genetically engineered to be raised on a corn-based diet.
And forget about just the things you eat: Corn is in toothpaste and lipstick, eyeshadow and batteries, diapers, cleaners, plastic products, paper and cardboard. Touch the grubby drywall at your local super-grocer, smudged with the fingers of a thousand errant children, and you'll be in direct contact with it: Corn is a binding agent in plaster products, too.
Ancient civilizations, like the Mayans, were built on its nourishment, and Third World countries remain dependent on it. This is the ugly side of the corn boom: Food and fuel economies are intertwining, and the market is revealing an unpalatable truth about which one the markets deem to be more essential.
Rising corn prices to feed the ethanol industry invariably impact food prices, too. And the entire chain can be disrupted.
Hog and beef producers are suffering badly due to the high price of corn-based feed. Last week U.S. Pilgrim's Pride, one of the country's biggest poultry producers, cut 1,100 jobs and closed one of its massive processing plants and half its distribution centres. Its justification: "Unprecedented increases" in feed costs.
And this is relatively comfortable First World suffering at the hands of the corn boom. In Mexico, where corn is a revered component of an ancient diet – until recently, it was considered sacrilege to feed it to animals – large-scale protests about the cost of tortillas, a Mexican diet staple made from corn flour, have become commonplace, touched off when 75,000 took to the streets of Mexico City last year when tortillas quadrupled in price in just a few months. Once again, the voracious U.S. ethanol industry was cited as the culprit.
IT ALL SERVES as something of a cautionary tale to Ontario's still-nascent ethanol industry. Ontario corn, by its own description, is "basically an in-house operation," Cowan says. Very little is exported; almost none is imported. But in an ethanol-fuelled future, that will have to change.
"If we had a below-average yield one year, where would it all come from?" asks Bill Deen, a professor in the plant agriculture department at the University of Guelph.
Deen, who studies cropping systems and agronomy in the province, doesn't see a solution. "Virtually all the farmable land base in the province is in use," he says. "What we're using is pretty much it."
That means increasing demand would mean stealing it from other crops, upsetting rotations and potentially damaging yields. And current prices provide a potent incentive.
How times change. Two years ago, Deen was recruited by the Ministry of Agriculture to give a series of talks to farmers about the importantance of keeping up their corn production.
"The price was so low, growers were looking at a loss," he recalls. "They couldn't possibly make money."
A year later, with prices spiking alongside the U.S. ethanol boom, Deen had a new message: "I had to tell them 'don't grow too much corn – you need to maintain a rotation to keep your crops healthy,'" he says.
The lure is certainly there. For Rick McCracken, who farms his 769 hectares with his wife Betty just outside Melbourne, boom times have spread the wealth around. In the buoyant corn economy, everyone prospers.
"If you want to buy a tractor or a combine, you're going to have to wait until next year to see it," he says. McCracken, who's also a seed dealer, shares Cowan's leavened optimism. "It's an exciting time," he says. But the disaster years of the '80s, when high interest rates drove over-leveraged farmers into bankruptcy by the dozens, are never far from mind.
"We're only a few months into this. We don't want to get too optimistic and see it happen again."
One thing they don't have to worry about is the crop itself. A remarkably adaptable, hearty crop that spread from Mexico into Ontario long before the arrival of Columbus, corn has natural genetic variability that allows it to grow and flourish in almost every climate imagineable. In the agricultural world, corn is relatively reliable, thanks to genetic engineering, drought and disease are no longer major concerns.
BUT OVER-GROWTH has consequences, Deen says, and not just because of basic agronomy. Crops are rotated – beans one year, corn the next – to keep one or the other from depleting the soil of the different nutrients they require.
Corn-based ethanol , to those who follow the industry, contains a central paradox: Among the crops grown here, corn is the most machine intensive and demanding, spewing exhaust into the air to collect the very material meant to deliver us into a carbon-neutral fuel future. Corn also cries out for more herbicides and nitrogen fertilizer than any other crop, and erodes soil more quickly than any other as well.
For all the hype, the future of corn-based ethanol is less than assured. Research is pouring into deriving ethanol from less intensive, non-food crops like prairie grass, and even crop waste.
"That, at least, makes sense," says Ann Slater, the president of the Ecological Farmers' Association of Ontario. "I haven't seen anything that leads me to believe that corn-based ethanol is in any way sustainable, here or anywhere else."
Cowan has seen too much, been here too long, to buy into hype. He's rotating his crop as per usual this year, reducing corn acres and increasing beans. Despite the frenzy, most responsible farmers will do the same, he says.
"All it takes is a stroke of the pen from a new U.S. president to lower that tariff on Brazilian ethanol, and it's over," he says.
Jitters reverberate through the market. Earlier this month, buyers, wary of betting too much on corn's upswing, pulled their bids for 2009/2010, fearing overpayment and a drop in a price that, by all accounts, seems only to be going up. "It's volatile," Cowan shrugs. "I guess they're getting a little nervous."
Under a slate-grey March sky, Cowan pulls his truck into his storage area, where corrugated metal silos store last year's grain. Birds wheel overhead, dropping earthward to light on the frozen ground to peck at the kernels scattered in the muck.
Here, surrounded by the fruits of his long labours, Cowan allows the unshakeable pragmatism he has cultivated for the past 32 years to soften. Slightly, at least.
"Optimistic? I don't know if I'd say that," Cowan allows. His eyes wrinkle again with that smile. "Let's call it optimism, with a side note note of caution."
Iogen on track to get funding for biofuel refinery
With financing from the federal government, large-scale plant would be the first in Canada to use wheat straw to make ethanol
SHAWN MCCARTHY
GLOBAL ENERGY REPORTER
March 15, 2008
OTTAWA -- Iogen Corp. said yesterday it is closing in on federal funding that will allow it to build Canada's first cellulosic ethanol refinery, a $500-million plant in northern Saskatchewan that will use wheat straw to produce biofuel, electricity, enzymes and fertilizer.
Ottawa's Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) confirmed yesterday that Iogen is eligible for financing under its next-generation biofuel fund, subject to the corporation completing its due diligence and a final decision from its board.
The federal government, in its 2007 budget, created a $500-million investment fund to finance as much as 40 per cent of eligible costs for next-generation biofuels plants. At the time, Iogen was mentioned specifically as a company that might benefit from such a fund.
Environment Minister John Baird said that, as a result of government funding and Iogen's progress, "Canada is one step closer to making our country's first full-scale cellulosic ethanol facility a reality.
"With technologies such as this, Canada is well-positioned to be a world leader in the renewable fuels sector," he said.
Ottawa-based Iogen has had a demonstration plant running for four years, producing 2.5 million litres of ethanol a year from agricultural waste products. It is the only plant in North America producing significant quantities of cellulosic ethanol.
Iogen now intends to build a bio-refinery in Prince Albert, Sask., that will process 750 tonnes of wheat straw a day into 90 million litres of ethanol annually, as well as electricity and other value-added products.
The company, which is backed by Royal Dutch Shell and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., is developing a similar project in Idaho after being selected as one of six companies that qualify for U.S. Department of Energy funding. It is still negotiating the terms of the funding.
Other Canadian companies as well are pursuing the dream of turning agricultural or wood waste into ethanol. Governments in North America and around the world are aggressively pursuing the replacement of gasoline and diesel with biofuels as a way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reduce reliance on imported oil.
Cellulosic ethanol is considered a major improvement over corn-based fuel because it does not compete with a food staple and achieves better reductions in greenhouse gas emissions over the life of its production.
Iogen is years ahead of such competitors as British Columbia-based Lignol Energy Corp. or Quebec's Enerkem Technologies Inc., both of which have received funding from SDTC to build pilot projects to test their processes.
Iogen executive vice-president Jeff Passmore said he expects SDTC will provide financing once it is satisfied that the company's process is commercially viable.
"It is the intent of the parties, subject to the conclusion of due diligence, to proceed with the project," he said.
He said Iogen expects to follow the initial commercial demonstration plant with others that will not require government financing. "It makes it a lot easier [to be commercially viable] with high oil prices," he said, adding the U.S. government has set an aggressive target for fuel use from cellulosic ethanol and will subsidize the consumption of the fuel.
SDTC president Vicky Sharpe cautioned that the corporation still has a significant amount of work to do before it can sign off on support for Iogen.
"This is the first applicant to the fund that has been declared to be eligible, and that is very exciting for us," she said in an interview from Vancouver, where she and Mr. Baird attended the Globe 2008 environmental technology show.
"We hope that we're going to work together in terms of funding and support, but we've got to undertake our due diligence and we also have to take that due diligence to our board of directors for their approval."
Congratulations Aaron, sounds like John needs to fire up the barbie this summer.
I can hear the erasers going to work on PhosCan's prefeasability study numbers already!
Interesting interview at 7:30 Maria's question prelude to todays Bear Stearns news
Jim Rogers response "I am short all the banks..."
Barton Biggs Expects 1,000-Point Gain in Dow Average (Update2)
By Brian Sullivan and Michael Patterson
March 14 (Bloomberg) -- The decline in U.S. stocks is ``way overdone' and the Dow Jones Industrial Average may rally 1,000 points, investor Barton Biggs said.
``We're in a financial panic,' Biggs said during a telephone interview with Bloomberg Television from New York. ``We're setting up for a really big rally. I don't mean three or four hundred points on the Dow, I mean 1,000 points on the Dow. I don't know if we're going to get it next week or the week after. But this thing has gotten crazy and is overdone.'
Biggs, a former Morgan Stanley strategist who now runs the $1.5 billion hedge fund Traxis Partners LLC, said stock markets from Germany to Hong Kong may bottom out soon after tumbling this year. Biggs's prediction in March 2007 that U.S. stocks were near a low preceded a 16 percent rally in the Dow average during the next four months. His forecast that the Dow would climb as much as 19 percent in 2007 overshot its actual gain by almost 13 percentage points.
``We're at a really crucial point,' Biggs said. ``This is a time to be buying stocks around the world and not to be selling them.'
The Dow average has tumbled 16 percent to 11,951.09 since reaching a record in October after the subprime-mortgage market's collapse caused $195 billion in asset writedowns and credit losses at global financial firms including Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp. A 1,000-point gain in the Dow from today's close would amount to an 8.4 percent rise.
U.S. stocks plunged today for the third time this week, sending the Dow average down 1.6 percent, after Bear Stearns Cos. required a BAILOUT from the Federal Reserve and JPMorgan Chase & Co. to avoid collapse.
``Yeah, it's scary. It's always scary at bottoms. But I don't believe the economy is collapsing,' Biggs said. ``This is not the end of the world.'
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barton_Biggs
Monte Montgomery - Little Wing acoustic instrumental
I think anyone averaging into those at these prices will not be disappointed
as long as they take profit on any bounce
The 10 year chart on Citigroup is unreal
alot of equity evaporated there
Resource boom can't last, says Carney
HEATHER SCOFFIELD - ECONOMICS REPORTER
March 14, 2008
TORONTO -- The high commodity prices that have shielded Canada from recessionary conditions in the United States are poised to weaken and drag down the Canadian economy, the Bank of Canada's new Governor warned yesterday.
Even though oil and gold have been trading at record levels over the past few days, Mark Carney said in an interview he is looking beyond the day-to-day market gyrations to determine how the U.S. slump will worm its way into Canada.
Already, Canada has felt the effects of plunging exports to the United States, and is gradually feeling the impact of tighter credit conditions spilling over the border, Mr. Carney said.
Now it appears the U.S. slump will be deeper and will stick around longer than the central bank had expected, and the pain is being felt around the world, Mr. Carney said.
Global demand for many of the commodities that have fuelled Canada's prosperity will be hit, he predicted in his first round of interviews since becoming Governor of the central bank last month.
"Ultimately, it means slower growth than otherwise would have been experienced in a range of markets, including in emerging market economies."
"That will have an impact on the outlook for commodity prices and terms of trade - a dampening impact," Mr. Carney said.
"You don't see it in spot markets right now but you will likely see it going forward. That's one channel through which this will come back into Canada."
While the central bank normally refers to futures to determine what commodities prices to use in its economic projections, in this case, it is also using its "judgment" to foresee softening commodity prices, Mr. Carney said.
"It would have a dampening effect on our economy, and those are factors we take into account in setting monetary policy."
In his first monetary policy announcement last week, Mr. Carney cut the central bank's key interest rate by a half percentage point to help Canada deal with the U.S. weakness.
Still, the Canadian economy is in better shape to handle a rough patch than the United States, Mr. Carney stressed yesterday.
"We have strength in domestic demand. We have a number of very strong fundamentals -corporate balance sheets, bank balance sheets, household balance sheets. And that's going to give us a lot of strength."
The source of much of that strength, economists say, has been high commodity prices. Since Canada exports metals, natural gas and some oil, the Canadian economy has been flooded with foreign money that has trickled through the economy in the form of corporate profits, strong hiring, rising disposable income, growing government revenues and fiscal spending.
Despite Mr. Carney's faith in the strength of the Canadian economy, he warned that market turmoil will continue to shatter nerves and wreak havoc on investments, even though policy makers and market players alike now have a much better understanding of the causes of the global credit crisis that started last August.
"The end is not in sight, although it is safe to say that we have reached the end of the beginning of this turmoil," the central banker said in a midday speech to the Toronto Board of Trade.
The technical nature of his speech describing the problems that led to the subprime meltdown showed how comfortable Mr. Carney was among his former colleagues. Before joining the senior ranks of the federal civil service in 2003, he was an investment banker at Goldman Sachs, and clearly has intimate knowledge of the ins and outs of the sophisticated structured investment products that are at the source of the global financial troubles.
He said Canadian financial institutions are well on their way to repricing structured products, but recognize that further repricing will be difficult. That's because the market for many of these securities are traded so thinly that the market price is not a true reflection of the securities' underlying value, he said.
He urged institutions to persist and devise ways to tackle these issues so investors can understand what they're getting into, and regain their lost confidence. "Globally, there is an urgent need for credible, timely disclosure," he said.
He also assured investors that central banks will continue to provide liquidity to markets as necessary.
Saskatchewan 'the new Alberta,' analyst says
By Cassandra Kyle for TheStarPhoenix.com
Friday, March 14, 2008
Saskatchewan may not have the Rocky Mountains, the C-Train or the world's largest mall, but this province is "the new Alberta," according to an RBC report released today.
Growth in the housing sector and a related drop in home affordability form the basis of the claim, according to RBC's assistant chief economist Derek Holt. Saskatchewan is expected to be the only province in 2008 to see an increase in housing starts over 2007, the report states.
"Saskatchewan is the new Alberta - holding the top spot nationwide on growth across all key housing indicators including housing starts, house prices, residential building permits and resale activity," Holt explained in a company news release.
"We still expect the province's housing market to stabilize sometime in 2008 as price gains come off their peaks and mortgage rates dip further."
According to RBC's housing affordability measure for Saskatchewan, which shows the percentage of pre-tax household income needed to pay for the costs of owning a home, provincial owners of a detached bungalow spend 40 per cent of their income on their house. The figure is two per cent shy of what Calgarians pay - 42 per cent - for their detached bungalows.
The housing affordability measure in Saskatchewan deteriorated in all of the RBC's four classes of homes. In addition to the bungalow, the standard townhouse moved to 34 per cent, the standard condo came in at 26 per cent and the standard two-storey home reached 42 per cent.
Vancouver remains at the top of the affordability measure with a detached bungalow costing homeowners 74 per cent of their pre-tax income.
A lack of inventory in the existing home market is driving demand for new homes, the report states, with housing starts in the province up 62 per cent last year. Prices of these new homes continue to rise, according to RBC, with year-over-year growth running at 45 per cent in Saskatoon and 26 per cent in Regina.
"The second half of 2007 was a challenging period for investors as global financial markets experienced a significant degree of turbulence and instability," commented Sheldon Inwentash, chairman and chief executive officer of Pinetree. "Although there was a general weakening in commodity prices, our outlook for resources and commodities remains positive over all, driven largely by continued growth in Asia and India. While we expect some degree of instability in the markets to continue in the near term, we continue to believe in the strength of our long-term investment strategy -- finding suitable early stage companies in the particular sectors we have identified, with a view to achieving primarily longer-term capital appreciation. After doubling our realized investment gains in 2007 (over 2006), we have now reallocated much of our investment proceeds into new early stage and junior resource companies and we look forward to the execution of their business plans by them. We also continue to assess new sectors within the resource market, such as potash and rare earths, which represent compelling value propositions consistent with our overall strategy."
OK chicken little
04.58
Question: How can our viewers make some money out of these markets?
Jim Rogers: Its the same way I told you the last time I saw you, buy agriculture...
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=682734828&play=1
Suicides Plague Indian Farmers Struggling to Adapt to Changing Economics
Jason Motlagh | 11 Mar 2008
NASHIK, India -- On a recent afternoon, Seetabai Atthre heard a faint cry from the edge of a vineyard her family has cultivated for more than 40 years on the arid plains of northern Maharashtra state. Searching through the furrows, she found her husband, Vishal, smoldering on the ground next to an empty can of kerosene. He died in a local hospital three days later from severe burns.
The Atthre farm had not turned a profit in more than two years, and 65-year-old Vishal could no longer secure loans from local banks to pay off the interest on the $5,600 he already owed.
"This is wrong, and it's killing us," said Sanjay Gangode, the Atthre's neighbor at a village gathering of debt-ridden grape farmers. "There is no future here."
While India's economy surges forward on the crest of the wave of globalization, thousands of farmers are taking their own lives every year to escape the stress of mounting debt and an uncertain future. Analysts cite several driving factors: crop failure linked to the use of agrochemicals and climate change; the price-plunging effects of U.S. farm subsidies on global markets; state restrictions on trade, exports and transport; and the dumping of surplus crops in an oversaturated domestic market.
"The phenomena of indebtedness will recur," said Sharad Joshi, founder of Shetkari Sanghatana, a leading farmers' rights organization, "as long as the policies to depress agricultural prices continue."
Legacy of Green Revolution
Yet this is just part of the picture. In the 1960s, India underwent its own Green Revolution in favor of high-yield farming to cope with acute food shortages, which were plaguing the country. Plant breeding, irrigation development and the use of synthetic fertilizers financed by the government gradually succeeded in ramping up production. Rice yields, for example, jumped from two tons per 2.5 acres to six tons within 30 years, according to government figures. Today India is a major rice exporter, and the world's second-largest producer of fruits and vegetables after the United States.
But, in a perplexing twist, the same farmers that shook off poverty over the years are dealing with the backlash of their own remarkable transformation.
Standards of living have risen, but so too have the costs of operating a farm. Meanwhile, an excess of farmers growing bigger crops has created a commodities glut that exceeds demand at home and abroad, lowering net income. To stay in business, farmers are forced to take out loans at high interest, often just to service existing debt. Once credit is exhausted with state or cooperative banks, they may turn to private lenders charging even more exorbitant rates. And when they fall further behind, thousands every year see suicide as the only way out.
"Suicide has become so common that no one takes it seriously anymore," said Giridhar Patil, an agricultural activist based in Nashik. "It's a routine thing now."
According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), there were 4,453 reported farm suicides in Maharashtra state alone in 2006, the latest year for which statistics are available, an increase of 527 compared to 2005. This figure represents over a quarter of the national total of 17,060, and the highest total recorded "in any year for any state" since the bureau began recording farm suicides. Sharp spikes were also reported in Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh states. Overall, at least 87,567 farmers killed themselves between 2002 and 2006 -- or about one farmer suicide every 30 minutes, the bureau says.
The phenomenon has received some media coverage in recent years, notably in the eastern cotton-growing heartland of Vidarbha district, sometimes referred to as "suicide country." After a visit last year, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh pledged millions in debt relief to bail out struggling farmers. Yet suicides continue unabated despite the trickle of aid, dispelling theories that the trend is linked to specific crops such as cotton.
Still, some government officials have downplayed the issue. Vilasrao Deshmukh, chief minister of Maharashtra, argued the day after the NCRB report was published that not every suicide is caused by debt and he said suicides are on the decline.
Nevertheless a 2006 report by Srijit Mishra, an economist at the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research in Mumbai, found that the suicide rate among male farmers in Maharashtra has risen from 15 per 1,000 people to 57 per 1,000 in the past 10 years.
About four hours drive northeast from Mumbai, the agrarian communities around Nashik city boast a mild climate and rich soil not unlike California's Napa Valley. Fruit stands and onion depots line the highway that wends through a patchwork of vineyards under a cloudless horizon, broken by camel-colored humps of rock. Despite the ideal environment, 53 farmers committed suicide in Nashik district last year, according to police records. In a tragically symbolic gesture, the majority drank pesticides.
Next Page: Declining yields, growing debt . . .
In the village of Umbarkhad, less than a mile from the Atthre farm, Parshram Athari plies the same 5-acre grape farm where he grew up. At first glance, it appears he and his family of five have prospered: a two-storey concrete home with a satellite dish overlooks the property; the vines are hedged and well-irrigated, tended by a staff of day-laborers who, depending on the season, carefully pack one of four export-quality varieties into stamped cardboard boxes. However, Athari is $17,500 in debt, an insurmountable sum under present circumstances.
Some 15 years ago, his farm produced 26,000 pounds of grapes an acre. These days an acre yields about 11,000 pounds, despite production costs that have quadrupled. A hefty share must be spent on fertilizers, whose harsh chemicals deplete soil nutrients, making it much harder to regroup when a crop is lost to drought. The tractor he purchased when the farm was profitable now sits idle, a rusty relic from better days. In the long run, he worries that he won't have enough to send his eldest daughter to a good university or pay for her dowry when she is ready to marry -- an event integral to a family's status in village life.
"The [laborers] we employ are better off than we are today," said Athari, explaining that the 12 percent interest he pays on his loan leaves him with less than $200 a month to cover household expenses. "Our costs are going up and market prices are going down, so we don't have enough to make ends meet."
The same grapes he sells to wholesalers for 30 cents per 2.2 pounds might fetch $2.50 in a Dubai supermarket. This imbalance is made worse, he added, because the Indian government bans exports if domestic prices rise, thereby reducing potential profits and flooding the domestic market.
U.S. Subsidies Depress Prices
Despite the apparent role of Indian laws, many blame globalization for the price volatility, which has hit Vidarbha's 3.2 million cotton growers the hardest. As the world's largest cotton producer, the United States provides massive subsidies to its farmers that allows them to sell at an artificially low cost that undercuts farmers overseas.
Over the past decade, many Indian farmers have also begun growing engineered Bt cotton seeds, made by U.S.-based Monsanto Co., since they tend to produce a higher yield. The catch is that new seeds and fertilizer must be bought each year, costing farmers thousands more dollars upfront. Because soil quality has been so degraded during the years of using fertilizers, pesticides and engineered seeds, switching back to the old methods, including the use of un-engineered seeds, is virtually impossible for most farmers.
"Alien technology has done the damage," said Devinder Sharma, a New Delhi-based expert on food and trade policy. "The accepted use of chemical fertilizers, hybrid seeds and insecticides is killing Indian farmers. We have left the farmers to themselves, and it's a miracle they have survived this long."
As a result, desperate farmers have begun to mobilize in support of a debt waiver proposal that has floated around government corridors in New Delhi. Mohan Dharia, a former commerce minister turned social activist, had announced that a nationwide protest would begin March 1 if the waiver and demands for fair prices were not accepted by the end of February, saying that "political parties can ignore farmers at their own peril."
On Feb. 29, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram responded with a new budget that includes a $15 billion loan waiver package that would apply to "small and marginal farmers" who owe money to state banks. But opposition parties complain there are too many restrictions that render the vast majority ineligible, and that a one-time waiver would do little to solve the long-term problem.
Struggling farmers welcomed the decision, though they harbor no illusions it will bring an end to state policies that overwhelmingly promote urban industry over agriculture.
"The government knows we will take out more loans in the end and fall in the same trap," said Nivruti Dokhale, an onion farmer who is $ 8,000 in debt.
Farmer activist Sharma says the real challenge ahead will be to create viable alternatives to farming, while integrating the legions of rural poor now flocking to cities in search of a better life.
Three weeks after he lit his father's funeral pyre, Balasa Atthre says he would rather leave the family farm than assume the debt and heavy responsibilities left behind.
"Sometimes I think about running off to the city, but I have no education and there is no guarantee of work. And what would my mother do?"
Be sweet to see them right on Mosaic's doorstep :)
Stocks in Focus on Today's Edition of 'Before the Bell:' AGU, MON, MOS
2008-02-26 07:41 MT - News Release
NEW YORK, Feb. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- "Before the Bell" is a daily podcast hosted by editor, Bobby Ilich that airs Monday through Friday at 8:45 a.m. EST on http://radio.wallst.net/profile.asp?id=192.
The show features compelling discussions and informative interviews with investment professionals on a broad range of topics including stocks to watch, market analysis, and trading strategies.
Today's episode of "Before the Bell" features an interview with Jim Huguet, president of Great Companies Inc., who discussed Internet stocks, and the agricultural chemical industry.
Stocks in focus on today's show include:
-- Agrium (http://www.agrium.com)
Visit the company's message board at:
http://www.mywallst.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1091
-- Monsanto (http://www.monsanto.com).
Visit the company's message board at:
http://www.mywallst.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1092
-- Mosaic (http://www.mosaicco.com)
Visit the company's message board at:
http://www.mywallst.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1093
Interview highlights include detailed discussions on the following topics:
-- the company's strategic vision and growth strategy
-- the company's "innovative, cutting edge" technologies
-- industry trends bolstering the company's near-term growth prospects
-- why the company's technologies could "change the industry"
-- reasons the company has a competitive edge
-- upcoming milestones for investors to watch for
Potash One 3.5-million-share private placement
2008-03-10 15:01 MT - Private Placement
The TSX Venture Exchange has accepted for filing documentation with respect to a non-brokered private placement announced Feb. 21, 2008.
Shares: 3.5 million shares
Price: $4 per share
Warrants: 1.75 million share purchase warrants to purchase 1.75 million shares
Exercise price: $4.75 for a 15-month period. The warrants have an accelerated expiry provision such that if, after the expiry of the hold period, the closing price of the company's shares equals a minimum of $6 per share for a period of 10 consecutive days, the company may give notice that the warrants will expire 30 days after such notice.
Hidden placees: 13 hidden placees participated
Insiders: Front Street Investment Management Inc. 400,000; George Kok Chean Lim 25,000; Paul Matysek 100,000
Finders' fees: Canaccord Capital Corp. receives 30,000 units with the same terms as the above private placement. Peninsula Merchant Syndications Corp. (Sam Magid) receives 75,000 units with the same terms as the above private placement. Wellington West Capital Markets Inc. receives 60,000 units with the same terms as the above private placement.
omar master of sheesha and apprentice
Jaron Rovensky..I Hope We Meet Someday
Jaron Reid Rovensky The Way (fastball)
Welcome aboard sumisu KCL will make your garden grow.
back in pbg here
after another bounce will see
enjoy the farts lol when the bm's get exciting then you really are old
Oil jumps by over two dollars to set new record high of 107.77 usd
March 10, 2008: 12:54 PM EST
LONDON, Mar. 10, 2008 (Thomson Financial delivered by Newstex) -- Oil reversed earlier losses, jumping by over two dollars to set a fresh record high approaching 108 usd in New York as a weak dollar and unimpressive equities encouraged a fresh round of fund money into commodities.
At 4.34 pm, New York's WTI crude for April delivery was up 2.35 usd at 107.50 usd per barrel. Earlier, WTI hit an all-time high of 107.77 usd per barrel.
In London, Brent crude for April delivery was up 1.75 usd at 104.12 usd per barrel.
While US demand projections are weakening as the world's largest consumer of oil teeters on the brink of recession, crude markets have surged to a series of record highs above 100 usd in recent weeks.
Speculative buyers have poured into commodities in reaction to tumbling equity markets and US dollar weakness, with tangible assets seen as a safer bet by some financial players during the ongoing economic turmoil. A weaker dollar also makes commodities priced in the US currency cheaper for overseas investors.
However with US employment figures showing steep declines on Friday, and speculative investors keen to lock in profits, recent gains could be vulnerable.
'The disconnect between slowing US growth and a soaring commodity/energy complex has truly been quite remarkable,' said MF Global (NYSE:MF) analyst Ed Meir. 'Friday's surprisingly large drop in February non-farm payrolls was the latest evidence of a rapidly weakening US economy, as jobs retrenched by 63,000 on the month.'
While financial speculation has been seen as one of the key reasons for oil's recent gains, many investors still view the market as well enough supported by the traditional drivers of supply and demand to justify a move higher.
'Tight fundamentals remain the dominant force underpinning prices in our view, with the combination of disappointing non-OPEC production, solid non-OECD demand and defensive OPEC output policy all exerting upward pressure on prices,' said Kevin Norrish at Barclays (NYSE:BCS) Capital,
adding that Chinese crude imports increased by 14 pct year-on-year in February to hit 3.6 mln bpd.
The head of the International Energy (OOTC:ILGL) Agency, Nobuo Tanaka also told Reuters today that global oil demand is holding up despite prices above 100 usd, though he expressed concern about the long-term impact on the global economy.
The OPEC oil producer's cartel decided against upping production quotas last week, despite calls from consumer nations led by the United States for more oil in the market to help cool prices. The dollar's decline has hit producer revenues hard, leading the organisation -- which is responsible for almost 40 pct of global supplies -- to adopt a more cautious approach.
OPEC has consistently blamed the dollar's weakness combined with increased financial speculation for oil's steep gains, arguing that the market is well supplied with crude.
While US crude inventories have been rising heading into the second quarter, where demand is seasonally lower, some market watchers believe booming demand in developing nations could soon outstrip supplies. Some investors suggest recent price increases are justified, as long dated future contracts -- for delivery much further down the line -- have also pushed above 100 usd
I pulled an Ed and was right out of BLR/FOS except for crumbs
more FOS 1.23 KCL as low as 3.91 a few AGP 4.80
Someone bailed on RAY
V 2008-03-10 15:00:15 0.52 -0.05 500 7 TD Sec 7 TD Sec K
V 2008-03-10 14:58:09 0.53 -0.04 3,000 88 E-TRADE 7 TD Sec K
V 2008-03-10 14:58:09 0.53 -0.04 2,500 79 CIBC 7 TD Sec K
V 2008-03-10 14:57:21 0.53 -0.04 15,000 7 TD Sec 7 TD Sec K
V 2008-03-10 14:57:21 0.53 -0.04 1,000 79 CIBC 7 TD Sec K
V 2008-03-10 14:55:16 0.53 -0.04 1,500 79 CIBC 7 TD Sec K
V 2008-03-10 14:55:16 0.53 -0.04 8,500 33 Canaccord 7 TD Sec K
V 2008-03-10 14:55:16 0.53 -0.04 5,000 7 TD Sec 7 TD Sec K
V 2008-03-10 14:55:16 0.53 -0.04 21,500 33 Canaccord 7 TD Sec K
V 2008-03-10 14:55:16 0.54 -0.03 5,000 5 Penson 7 TD Sec K
V 2008-03-10 14:55:16 0.54 -0.03 27,000 7 TD Sec 7 TD Sec K
V 2008-03-10 14:55:16 0.54 -0.03 5,000 6 Union 7 TD Sec K
V 2008-03-10 14:49:38 0.55 -0.02 10,000 9 BMO Nesbitt 7 TD Sec K
V 2008-03-10 14:49:38 0.55 -0.02 5,000 7 TD Sec 7 TD Sec K
took back traders 1.26 great day to buy grassroots
PBG worth a look here unless Chinese go back to bicycles
Others might just look back and wish they had done what India did
Food inflation will last until 2010: UN
BRUSSELS–Inflation that has pushed food prices to record highs is likely to continue until at least 2010, Josette Sheeran, executive director of the United Nations' World Food Program, said on Thursday.
"Our assessment is that the current level will continue for the next few years ... in fact rise in 2008, 2009 and probably at least until 2010," she said.
Food prices were rising due to a combination of soaring oil and energy prices, the effects of climate change, growing demand from countries such as India and China and use of crops to produce biofuels, Sheeran told a news conference.
Speculative investment in commodities markets in products such as grains and cereals, which has helped fuel the price surge, is not a short-term phenomenon, she said.
"This is not a short-term bubble and will definitely continue," Sheeran said.
The EU last year set itself a target for biofuels to account for 10 percent of fuel used by transport in the bloc by 2020.
But critics have recently questioned whether the plan needs to be reviewed in the light of concerns about the impact of biofuels on food supplies and whether they really contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
"Governments need to look more carefully at the link between the acceleration in biofuels and food supply and give more thought to it (biofuels policy)," Sheeran said.
She also said the United Nations needed an extra $500 million from Western governments to meet a food aid gap this year.
five buckaroos this week
They've lived through a promo or two...
Roles for Minni Jerry Anthony
Company Date Role Description
399798 BC 1991-02-14 Was disclosed as a shareholder of Co
Acacia Mineral Development Corp Ltd Became a former director of Co
AMD Resources Corp 1989-06-07 Became a director of Co
1989-10-27 Was disclosed as a shareholder of Co
1990-02-19 Became a former director of Co
1990-08-15 Was disclosed as a former shareholder of Co
Amera Resources Corp 2002-11-19 Became a director of Co
2003-10-31 Was disclosed as a shareholder of Co
2003-12-12 Was disclosed as holding an option on shares of Co
2006-02-08 Bought a private placement in Co
2006-12-15 Bought a private placement in Co
Amex Ventures Inc 1998-07-15 Became a director of Co
1999-01-15 Was disclosed as a shareholder of Co
Argent Resources Ltd 1995-07-06 Became a director of Co
2000-06-20 Became a former director of Co
Avantec Technologies Inc 1999-06-07 Became a director of Co
2001-03-07 Was disclosed as a shareholder of Co
2001-03-07 Was disclosed as holding an option on shares of Co
2006-04-07 Bought a private placement in Co
2006-04-07 Bought a private placement in Co
Badger Properties LLC 2002-10-31 Became a director of Co
Bradner Resources Ltd 1994-12-20 Became a consultant to Co
1994-12-21 Was disclosed as a former consultant of Co
Caliente Resources Ltd 1989-05-24 Became a director of Co
1991-05-18 Became a former director of Co
Caymus Ventures Corp 1992-08-15 Became a director of Co
1993-11-05 Bought a private placement in Co
1993-11-05 Was disclosed as a shareholder of Co
1994-02-15 Became a former director of Co
Cenco Petroleum Ltd 1992-09-15 Became a director of Co
1994-04-15 Became a former director of Co
Detec Resources Ltd 1997-12-01 Became a director of Co
1998-06-30 Was disclosed as holding an option on shares of Co
1998-10-19 Was disclosed as a shareholder of Co
Diversified Entertainment Inc 1988-06-27 Became a director of Co
1989-01-19 Became a former director of Co
EARLS COVE RESOURCES Was disclosed as a shareholder of Co
Euro-Pacific Resource Group Inc 1995-07-15 Became a director of Co
Global Sortweb.com Inc 1998-07-15 Became a director of Co
1999-01-15 Was disclosed as a shareholder of Co
2004-07-12 Was disclosed as holding an option on shares of Co
Gold Canyon Resources Inc 1994-12-20 Became a consultant to Co
1994-12-21 Was disclosed as a former consultant of Co
Halo Gaming Corp Became a former director of Co
Was disclosed as a former shareholder of Co
HMR World Enterprises Inc 1986-11-15 Became a director of Co
1987-03-15 Became a former director of Co
Holt International Investments Ltd 1995-07-15 Became a director of Co
IGC Internet Gaming Corp 1992-09-15 Became a director of Co
1994-04-13 Became a former director of Co
IGN Internet Global Network Inc 1992-09-15 Became a director of Co
1994-04-13 Became a former director of Co
IHM HOLDINGS 1993-03-30 Was disclosed as a shareholder of Co
IHM SYSTEMS 1993-06-28 Was disclosed as a shareholder of Co
IMA Exploration Inc 2007-12-07 Became a director of Co
International Beryllium Corp 2003-11-10 Became a director of Co
2005-04-13 Was disclosed as a shareholder of Co
2006-05-10 Became a former director of Co
Janina Resources Ltd 2003-11-10 Became a director of Co
2005-04-13 Was disclosed as a shareholder of Co
2006-05-10 Became a former director of Co
JVM Management Ltd 1988-08-24 Was disclosed as a shareholder of Co
Lexington-Lynnfield Resources Corp 1988-12-15 Became a director of Co
Lynnfield Resource Corp 1989-08-22 Became a director of Co
1992-09-01 Became a former director of Co
Mantra Mining Inc 1998-07-30 Became a director of Co
1999-01-15 Was disclosed as a shareholder of Co
2004-07-12 Was disclosed as holding an option on shares of Co
Megastar Development Corp 2000-03-13 Became a director of Co
2000-11-03 Was disclosed as a shareholder of Co
2003-06-24 Was disclosed as holding an option on shares of Co
2003-12-08 Became a former director of Co
Megastar Ventures Ltd 2000-03-13 Became a director of Co
2000-06-28 Was disclosed as a shareholder of Co
2000-08-02 Bought a private placement in Co
Morocco Explorations Inc Was disclosed as a shareholder of Co
1987-05-13 Became a director of Co
1990-02-01 Became a former director of Co
My Venture Inc 1999-06-07 Became a director of Co
2001-03-07 Was disclosed as a shareholder of Co
2001-03-07 Was disclosed as holding an option on shares of Co
Norwood Resources Ltd 1996-04-15 Became a director of Co
1997-01-31 Was disclosed as holding an option on shares of Co
1997-08-29 Was disclosed as a shareholder of Co
1999-03-19 Became a former director of Co
OTL Resources Ltd 1992-07-09 Became a director of Co
1992-08-25 Bought a private placement in Co
1992-08-25 Was disclosed as a shareholder of Co
1992-09-20 Received shares for debt
Outland Resources Corp 1992-02-24 Became a director of Co
1992-04-06 Was disclosed as a shareholder of Co
Peer 1 Network Enterprises Inc 1996-06-20 Became a director of Co
1996-06-20 Was disclosed as a shareholder of Co
1998-08-31 Was disclosed as holding an option on shares of Co
2002-07-23 Became a former director of Co
Raytec Capital Corp 1992-02-19 Became a director of Co
1992-07-09 Was disclosed as a shareholder of Co
1992-08-25 Bought a private placement in Co
1992-09-20 Received shares for debt
1996-03-20 Bought a private placement in Co
1996-12-12 Bought a private placement in Co
1998-04-15 Was disclosed as holding an option on shares of Co
1999-02-25 Bought a private placement in Co
1999-04-05 Was disclosed as holding an option on shares of Co
1999-06-18 Was disclosed as a loan guarantor for Co
2000-05-16 Bought a private placement in Co
2000-08-14 Bought a private placement in Co
2000-08-29 Was disclosed as holding an option on shares of Co
2001-03-07 Bought a private placement in Co
Raytec Development Corp 1992-02-15 Became a director of Co
2001-06-04 Was disclosed as holding an option on shares of Co
2001-11-13 Was disclosed as a shareholder of Co
2001-11-13 Bought a private placement in Co
2002-12-24 Bought a private placement in Co
2003-01-03 Bought a private placement in Co
2003-11-20 Bought a private placement in Co
2004-03-08 Bought a private placement in Co
2004-11-10 Was disclosed as a loan guarantor for Co
2004-11-10 Received shares for debt
2005-01-14 Bought a private placement in Co
2005-10-21 Received shares for debt
Raytec Metals Corp 1992-02-15 Became a director of Co
2001-06-04 Was disclosed as holding an option on shares of Co
2001-11-13 Was disclosed as a shareholder of Co
2001-11-13 Bought a private placement in Co
2002-12-24 Bought a private placement in Co
2003-01-03 Bought a private placement in Co
2003-11-20 Bought a private placement in Co
2004-03-08 Bought a private placement in Co
2004-11-10 Was disclosed as a loan guarantor for Co
2004-11-10 Received shares for debt
2005-01-14 Bought a private placement in Co
2005-10-21 Received shares for debt
Remida Ventures Inc 1989-08-19 Became a director of Co
RGV Resources Ltd Was disclosed as a rights guarantor of Co
Was disclosed as a former shareholder of Co
1989-03-10 Was disclosed as a shareholder of Co
1989-03-10 Became a director of Co
1989-05-18 Became a former director of Co
Rio Grande Ventures Ltd 1984-10-09 Became a director of Co
1985-06-13 Was disclosed as a shareholder of Co
1986-08-20 Became a former director of Co
1988-08-24 Became a director of Co
St Philips Resources Inc 1987-09-01 Was disclosed as an officer of Co
1988-10-26 Was disclosed as a former officer of Co
Streamline Web Broadcasting Inc 1997-12-01 Became a director of Co
1998-06-30 Was disclosed as holding an option on shares of Co
1998-10-19 Was disclosed as a shareholder of Co
2000-10-19 Was disclosed as a former shareholder of Co
2001-09-25 Was disclosed as a shareholder of Co
2002-12-17 Bought a private placement in Co
2003-11-25 Became a former director of Co
Streamlines Video Productions Ltd 2000-08-28 Became a director of Co
Talltree Resources Ltd 1996-06-20 Became a director of Co
1996-06-20 Was disclosed as a shareholder of Co
1998-08-31 Was disclosed as holding an option on shares of Co
Toscana Resources Ltd 1988-01-15 Became a director of Co
1991-09-27 Was disclosed as a shareholder of Co
1994-12-16 Became a former director of Co
1995-09-19 Was disclosed as a former shareholder of Co
Triex Minerals Corp 1997-12-01 Became a director of Co
2002-07-16 Was disclosed as a shareholder of Co
2007-11-29 Became a former director of Co
Triex Resources Ltd (1) 1994-06-15 Became a director of Co
1997-02-03 Bought a private placement in Co
1997-02-03 Was disclosed as a shareholder of Co
Triex Resources Ltd (2) 1996-06-15 Was disclosed as a shareholder of Co
1997-01-29 Bought a private placement in Co
1997-12-01 Became a director of Co
Wescan Energy Ltd 1989-10-20 Became a director of Co
1989-10-20 Was disclosed as a shareholder of Co
1989-10-21 Was disclosed as a former shareholder of Co
1990-03-31 Became a former director of Co
West Dynamic Toll Road Ltd 1993-09-16 Became a director of Co
1993-11-05 Bought a private placement in Co
1993-11-05 Was disclosed as a shareholder of Co
1994-06-28 Became a former director of Co
Weststar Resources Corp 2005-01-19 Became a director of Co
2006-06-01 Was disclosed as holding an option on shares of Co
2006-08-21 Was disclosed as a shareholder of Co
Winspear Diamonds Inc Was disclosed as a shareholder of Co
1984-10-15 Became a director of Co
1991-03-25 Was disclosed as a former shareholder of Co
1992-02-02 Became a former director of Co
Winspear Resources Ltd Was disclosed as a shareholder of Co
1984-10-15 Became a director of Co
1991-03-25 Was disclosed as a former shareholder of Co
1992-02-02 Became a former director of Co
Roles for Forward James Casey Dalton
Company Date Role Description
ACT Industrial Corp 2000-03-01 Bought a private placement in Co
Adanac Moly Corp 2005-01-26 Was disclosed as a finder for Co
Adanac Molybdenum Corp 2005-01-26 Was disclosed as a finder for Co
Alinghi Minerals Inc 2003-12-01 Became a director of Co
2004-06-15 Became a former director of Co
Ameridian Ventures Inc 1998-07-09 Was disclosed as a finder for Co
1998-07-23 Bought a private placement in Co
Aquarius Resources Ltd Became a director of Co
BAYCREST RESOURCES Was disclosed as a shareholder of Co
Bice Ventures Corp 1998-12-15 Became a director of Co
1999-03-09 Was disclosed as a shareholder of Co
Blue Diamond Energy Resources Inc 1987-08-05 Became a former director of Co
Camford Capital Corp Received shares for debt
Comanche Petroleums Inc Became a former director of Co
Was disclosed as a former shareholder of Co
Conquest Exploration Ltd 1992-04-03 Became a director of Co
1992-08-05 Became a former director of Co
1994-04-15 Was disclosed as an officer of Co
1994-05-15 Became a creditor of Co
1995-09-27 Became a director of Co
Conquest Ventures Inc 2000-02-07 Became a director of Co
2003-08-13 Became a former director of Co
Consolidated Pemberton Technologies Ltd 1995-01-15 Became a director of Co
CPT Pemberton Technologies Ltd 1996-03-20 Received shares for debt
Dorex Minerals Inc (2) 2003-12-01 Became a director of Co
2004-06-15 Became a former director of Co
First Northern Developments Inc 1992-04-01 Became a director of Co
1993-04-23 Became a former director of Co
Globaltex Industries Inc 1990-05-14 Was disclosed as holding an option on shares of Co
1990-06-27 Received shares for debt
1991-01-25 Received shares for debt
1993-11-12 Was disclosed as holding an option on shares of Co
1995-10-12 Was disclosed as a shareholder of Co
1995-10-12 Received shares for debt
1996-07-17 Received shares for debt
2000-11-15 Became a director of Co
2001-09-28 Became a former director of Co
Globetech Venture Corp 2003-12-16 Became a director of Co
2004-02-23 Was disclosed as holding an option on shares of Co
Gold Star Resources Corp 2004-05-17 Was disclosed as a finder for Co
2004-05-17 Was disclosed as holding an option on shares of Co
2005-11-23 Was disclosed as a shareholder of Co
2005-11-23 Became a director of Co
2007-03-05 Bought a private placement in Co
2007-11-16 Bought a private placement in Co
Golden Pyramid Resources Inc Was disclosed as a shareholder of Co
Became a former director of Co
Infotec Industries Inc 1983-09-09 Was disclosed as a shareholder of Co
1983-09-09 Was disclosed as a vendor to Co
1984-04-30 Became a director of Co
1986-06-03 Received shares for debt
1990-08-15 Became a former director of Co
International Conquest Exploration Ltd 1996-04-29 Became a director of Co
1996-04-29 Was disclosed as an officer of Co
1996-11-15 Was disclosed as a shareholder of Co
1996-12-05 Bought a private placement in Co
1997-01-24 Was disclosed as a former officer of Co
1997-12-10 Was disclosed as a former shareholder of Co
Kensington Resources Ltd 1997-12-16 Became a director of Co
1998-04-07 Was disclosed as an officer of Co
1998-04-07 Became a former director of Co
Lateegra Gold Corp 2006-10-27 Was disclosed as an employee of Co
LMX Resources Ltd 2001-03-07 Was a dissident nominee of Co
2001-07-31 Became a director of Co
2002-11-30 Became a former director of Co
Lorex Minerals Inc 1999-06-15 Was disclosed as holding an option on shares of Co
1999-09-22 Became a director of Co
1999-09-22 Was disclosed as a shareholder of Co
Mineworks Resources Corp 1999-07-08 Became a director of Co
1999-08-30 Bought a private placement in Co
1999-08-30 Was disclosed as a shareholder of Co
2000-03-09 Was disclosed as holding an option on shares of Co
2001-09-17 Bought a private placement in Co
2002-02-04 Became a former director of Co
Morning Star Resources Ltd Became a former director of Co
Net Soft Systems Inc 1998-12-15 Became a director of Co
2001-06-22 Bought a private placement in Co
2001-06-22 Was disclosed as a shareholder of Co
2003-01-17 Was disclosed as holding an option on shares of Co
2003-07-24 Bought a private placement in Co
New Lintex Minerals Ltd 1990-05-14 Was disclosed as holding an option on shares of Co
1990-06-27 Received shares for debt
1991-01-25 Received shares for debt
1991-01-25 Bought a private placement in Co
Nithex Exploration Ltd Was disclosed as a vendor to Co
Pemberton Energy Ltd 1996-03-20 Received shares for debt
Pine Point Mines Inc 1999-07-08 Became a director of Co
1999-08-30 Bought a private placement in Co
1999-08-30 Was disclosed as a shareholder of Co
2000-03-09 Was disclosed as holding an option on shares of Co
2001-09-17 Bought a private placement in Co
2002-02-04 Became a former director of Co
Pine Valley Mining Corp 1990-05-14 Was disclosed as holding an option on shares of Co
1990-06-27 Received shares for debt
1991-01-25 Received shares for debt
1993-11-12 Was disclosed as holding an option on shares of Co
1995-10-12 Received shares for debt
1995-10-12 Was disclosed as a shareholder of Co
1996-07-17 Received shares for debt
2000-11-15 Became a director of Co
2001-09-28 Became a former director of Co
Pol-Invest Holdings Ltd 1999-09-24 Became a director of Co
2001-06-22 Bought a private placement in Co
2001-06-22 Was disclosed as a shareholder of Co
2003-01-17 Was disclosed as holding an option on shares of Co
Raytec Development Corp 2006-11-15 Became a director of Co
2007-01-03 Bought a private placement in Co
2007-01-03 Was disclosed as a shareholder of Co
2007-07-17 Was disclosed as holding an option on shares of Co
Raytec Metals Corp 2006-11-15 Became a director of Co
2007-01-03 Bought a private placement in Co
2007-01-03 Was disclosed as a shareholder of Co
2007-07-17 Was disclosed as holding an option on shares of Co
Regeena Resources Inc 1998-07-09 Was disclosed as a finder for Co
1998-07-23 Bought a private placement in Co
Reimer Overhead Doors Ltd 1992-06-11 Bought an asset from Co
1992-07-07 Became a director of Co
1992-08-25 Became a former director of Co
Reimer Resources Ltd 1992-06-11 Bought an asset from Co
1992-07-07 Became a director of Co
1992-08-25 Became a former director of Co
Rexford Minerals Ltd Became a director of Co
Rhona Online.Com Inc 2000-03-01 Bought a private placement in Co
2001-11-14 Became a director of Co
2002-06-28 Became a former director of Co
Sellectek Industries Inc Became a former director of Co
SLN Ventures Corp 1994-06-17 Became a director of Co
1994-11-16 Became a former director of Co
Stream Communications Network & Media Inc 2002-12-31 Was disclosed as an officer of Co
2004-03-11 Was disclosed as a shareholder of Co
2004-12-16 Was disclosed as a loan guarantor for Co
2004-12-31 Was disclosed as holding an option on shares of Co
2005-08-15 Became a director of Co
2006-06-29 Became a former director of Co
Stream Communications Networks Inc 2002-12-31 Was disclosed as an officer of Co
2004-03-11 Was disclosed as a shareholder of Co
Sun God Resources Ltd Became a director of Co
Terrastar Resources Corp 1999-07-08 Became a director of Co
1999-08-30 Bought a private placement in Co
1999-08-30 Was disclosed as a shareholder of Co
2000-03-09 Was disclosed as holding an option on shares of Co
2001-09-17 Bought a private placement in Co
2002-02-04 Became a former director of Co
Tower Energy Ltd 1999-07-08 Became a director of Co
1999-08-30 Bought a private placement in Co
1999-08-30 Was disclosed as a shareholder of Co
2000-03-09 Was disclosed as holding an option on shares of Co
2001-09-17 Bought a private placement in Co
2002-02-04 Became a former director of Co
Trooper Technologies Inc 2001-10-31 Was disclosed as an employee of Co
2001-12-28 Bought a private placement in Co
2001-12-28 Was disclosed as a shareholder of Co
2001-12-31 Was disclosed as holding an option on shares of Co
Yaletown Entertainment Corp 2002-02-28 Became a director of Co
2003-01-20 Was disclosed as holding an option on shares of Co
Roles for Blues Robin Donald Alexander
Company Date Role Description
Arc Pacific Metals Ltd 1998-03-02 Was disclosed as an officer of Co
Ascenta Capital Partners Inc 2001-11-22 Was disclosed as a shareholder of Co
Bevo Agro Inc 1994-11-08 Was disclosed as an officer of Co
2000-02-15 Was disclosed as a former officer of Co
Biomin Therapeutic Corp 1993-06-15 Was disclosed as an officer of Co
Blackbridge Capital Corp 1990-06-15 Became a director of Co
1993-06-16 Was disclosed as a shareholder of Co
Bushman Resources Inc 1999-05-15 Was disclosed as an officer of Co
Conquest Ventures Inc 2000-02-07 Was disclosed as an officer of Co
Dimples Group Inc Was disclosed as an officer of Co
1990-07-31 Became a director of Co
1990-12-18 Became a former director of Co
Gazelle Resources Ltd Became a former director of Co
International Conquest Exploration Ltd 1997-01-24 Was disclosed as an officer of Co
Jessains Pty Ltd 1993-05-07 Was disclosed a trustee of Co
Pacific Rim Mining Corp 1995-05-15 Was disclosed as an officer of Co
1997-10-15 Was disclosed as a former officer of Co
Pharmex Industries Inc 1993-06-15 Was disclosed as an officer of Co
1995-06-15 Was disclosed as a former officer of Co
Primary Metals Inc 2000-01-20 Was disclosed as an officer of Co
Rampart Ventures Ltd 2000-03-06 Was disclosed as an officer of Co
Rat International (Marketing) Ltd 1999-10-12 Became a director of Co
2001-03-22 Became a former director of Co
Raytec Development Corp 2001-11-15 Became a director of Co
2001-11-22 Was disclosed as holding an option on shares of Co
Raytec Metals Corp 2001-11-15 Became a director of Co
2001-11-22 Was disclosed as holding an option on shares of Co
RPT Uranium Corp 2000-03-06 Was disclosed as an officer of Co
Rupert Resources Ltd 1990-06-28 Became a director of Co
1993-06-16 Was disclosed as a shareholder of Co
1994-11-01 Bought a private placement in Co
2001-08-30 Was disclosed as holding an option on shares of Co
2004-07-06 Became a former director of Co
2004-07-06 Was disclosed as an officer of Co
Salish Ventures Inc 2000-01-20 Was disclosed as an officer of Co
Samos Resources Ltd Was disclosed as an officer of Co
Trincana Resources Ltd 1994-11-08 Was disclosed as an officer of Co
2000-02-15 Was disclosed as a former officer of Co
Whiskey Creek Resources Inc 1997-12-15 Was disclosed as an officer of Co
Willcrest Resources Ltd 1992-08-15 Was disclosed as an officer of Co
Roles for Verrico Christopher
Company Date Role Description
Candente Resource Corp 2001-03-15 Bought a private placement in Co
2001-03-15 Was disclosed as a shareholder of Co
2001-05-22 Cancelled a previously announced private placement
High Rider Capital Inc 2007-04-18 Became a director of Co
Lateegra Gold Corp 2006-01-12 Was disclosed as holding an option on shares of Co
2006-01-12 Became a director of Co
2006-01-17 Bought a private placement in Co
2006-01-17 Was disclosed as a shareholder of Co
2006-12-13 Bought a private placement in Co
Lateegra Resources Corp 2004-12-22 Was disclosed as a finder for Co
2005-07-22 Became a director of Co
Mopass Ventures Ltd 2006-10-20 Was disclosed as a shareholder of Co
Raytec Development Corp 2006-11-23 Was disclosed as a shareholder of Co
2006-11-23 Was disclosed as holding an option on shares of Co
2006-12-04 Became a director of Co
Raytec Metals Corp 2006-11-23 Was disclosed as a shareholder of Co
2006-11-23 Was disclosed as holding an option on shares of Co
2006-12-04 Became a director of Co
West Hawk Development Corp 2004-11-01 Was disclosed as holding an option on shares of Co
2004-11-02 Became a consultant to Co
2005-01-07 Became a director of Co
2005-03-18 Bought a private placement in Co
2005-03-18 Was disclosed as a shareholder of Co
2006-05-10 Bought a private placement in Co
Roles for Thurston Brian G
Company Date Role Description
Canadian Empire Exploration Corp 2003-01-03 Was disclosed as holding an option on shares of Co
Columbia Gold Mines Ltd 1996-04-22 Bought a private placement in Co
1997-07-22 Bought a private placement in Co
Great Bear Resources Ltd 2006-12-21 Became a director of Co
Great Bear Uranium Corp 2007-06-22 Became a director of Co
Lateegra Gold Corp 2007-06-01 Was disclosed as an employee of Co
Northern Crown Mines Ltd (1) 1995-05-03 Bought a private placement in Co
Pacific Ridge Exploration Ltd 2003-04-17 Was disclosed as holding an option on shares of Co
Poplar Resources Ltd 1996-02-29 Bought a private placement in Co
Raytec Metals Corp 2007-07-17 Was disclosed as a shareholder of Co
2007-11-19 Became a director of Co
Western Prospector Group Ltd 2002-06-04 Was disclosed as holding an option on shares of Co
It wasnt me! honest!
snikkering like kids that have the answer key to the final exam
2 pages lol, ok well they got some work to do
posts 2203-2204 by... :)
Man you two got to latch on to anything off topic and run with it :)