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Article from FierceBiotech today - Might be causing weak hands to fold.
2. Google, OrbiMed buy into Alector's novel take on Alzheimer's with a $32M round
By Damian Garde
Comment | Forward | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn
Under-the-radar biotech startup Alector raised $32 million in Series C funds to support its early-stage work in neurodegenerative disease, recruiting some high-profile investors as it develops a novel approach to brain-destroying disorders.
The latest funds come courtesy of lead investor MRL Ventures, joined by new backers Google Ventures, Topspin Partners and Mission Bay Capital. Founding supporters OrbiMed and Polaris Partners also returned for the round.
With the money, the San Francisco-headquartered Alector is pressing forward with antibody treatments that harness the power of the immune system to fight neurodegenerative diseases. The company's guiding hypothesis is that the brain-degrading processes at play in ailments like Alzheimer's disease are the result of the immune system failing to identify certain pathogens before they get out of hand. Alector's plan is to craft molecules that empower the body to interrupt those processes, approaching neurodegeneration with a tool more commonly employed in oncology.
The company got its start in 2013 with a trio of high-profile biotech minds at the helm: Genentech veteran Arnon Rosenthal stepped in as CEO, joined by Columbia University neurodegeneration researcher Asa Abeliovich as scientific leader and Adimab founder Tillman Gerngross as chairman of the board.
In the ensuing years, Alector's in-house research team has identified 12 leads for new neurodegeneration treatments, Rosenthal said, and the company's latest fundraise will help get two of them through preclinical development. Alector is disclosing neither its initial targets nor its planned timeline for pushing its projects forward, saying only that it will need to roughly double its current staff of 12 along the way.
Meanwhile, the company is maintaining ongoing discussions with pharma partners looking to cut in on its approach to neurodegeneration, Rosenthal said. Alector signed an early-stage deal with Johnson & Johnson ($JNJ) last year covering a single asset, and the company is taking a program-by-program approach to the rest of its pipeline, he said, looking to bring in bigger collaborators when it can use their expertise.
But in the short term, Alector doesn't expect to be short on cash. Piecing together the C round was a swift process, Gerngross said, and the company is already talking with investors about a fourth fundraise that should close by the end of the year.
Alector's popularity among VCs is largely a credit to its bedrock science, Gerngross said. As the field gets more and more stratified, breaking down the gene variants tied to various phenotypic processes, Alector is presenting a unified theory of neurodegeneration. And if its antibodies can come through in clinical trials, the company may have found a cross-cutting approach to a global scourge.
Related Articles:
J&J partners with a biotech startup on a new approach to Alzheimer's
Alzheimer's experts team up with Adimab, grab $10M to launch Alector
Read more about: antibodies, Biotech Venture Capital
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Below is what I received from Christine @ their PR firm:
It is not possible for another company to offer genuine ANAVEX 2-73 for sale. It is a proprietary investigational drug that is the subject of a Phase 2a clinical trial in Melbourne, Australia and is not commercially available.
New PR this AM.
Release #:1468-154718-rl-630752:
International Stem Cell Corporation Announces Next Phase of Research Collaboration With Rohto Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. of Japan
CARLSBAD, CA--(Marketwired - September 08, 2015) - International Stem Cell Corporation (OTCQB: ISCO) (www.internationalstemcell.com, ISCO or the Company), a California-based biotechnology company developing novel stem cell-based therapies, announced today that it had entered into the second phase of the existing Research Agreement with Rohto Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. ("Rohto"), a global Japanese pharmaceutical company. After successfully completing preliminary studies of ISCO's human parthenogenetic neural stem cells (hpNSCs) Rohto acknowledged that ISCO's proprietary cells demonstrate consistent high quality and are suitable for further use in Rohto's research. If Rohto successfully demonstrates hpNSCs' efficacy in rodent models, which could lead to a possible treatment of a variety of degenerative eye disorders, Rohto will enter into negotiations of a definitive license agreement with ISCO in order to license ISCO's proprietary technology for therapeutic and commercial use.
"Based on hpNSCs known performance in various animal models we expect that in the next four months Rohto will be able to demonstrate the efficacy of these stem cells in treating retinal degenerative disorders," said Ruslan Semechkin, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of ISCO.
About Rohto Pharmaceutical Company, Ltd.
Founded in 1899, Rohto Pharmaceutical is the second-largest consumer health company in Japan, and is a world leader in the manufacturing and marketing of pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and skincare and healthcare products. Rohto has global operations and its products are available in more than 110 countries.
About International Stem Cell Corporation
International Stem Cell Corporation is focused on the therapeutic applications of human parthenogenetic stem cells (hpSCs) and the development and commercialization of cell-based research and cosmetic products. ISCO's core technology, parthenogenesis, results in the creation of pluripotent human stem cells from unfertilized oocytes (eggs). hpSCs avoid ethical issues associated with the use or destruction of viable human embryos. ISCO scientists have created the first parthenogenetic, homozygous stem cell line that can be a source of therapeutic cells for hundreds of millions of individuals of differing genders, ages and racial background with minimal immune rejection after transplantation. hpSCs offer the potential to create the first true stem cell bank, UniStemCell™. ISCO also produces and markets specialized cells and growth media for therapeutic research worldwide through its subsidiary Lifeline Cell Technology (www.lifelinecelltech.com), and stem cell-based skin care products through its subsidiary Lifeline Skin Care (www.lifelineskincare.com). More information is available at www.internationalstemcell.com.
To subscribe to receive ongoing corporate communications, please click on the following link: http://www.b2i.us/irpass.asp?BzID=1468&to=ea&s=0
To like our Facebook page or follow us on Twitter for company updates and industry related news, visit: www.facebook.com/InternationalStemCellCorporation and www.twitter.com/intlstemcell
Safe harbor statement
Statements pertaining to anticipated developments, expected clinical studies (including timing and results), progress of research and development, and other opportunities for the company and its subsidiaries, along with other statements about the future expectations, beliefs, goals, plans, or prospects expressed by management constitute forward-looking statements. Any statements that are not historical fact (including, but not limited to statements that contain words such as "will," "believes," "plans," "anticipates," "expects," "estimates,") should also be considered to be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, risks inherent in the development and/or commercialization of potential products, regulatory approvals, need and ability to obtain future capital, application of capital resources among competing uses, and maintenance of intellectual property rights. Actual results may differ materially from the results anticipated in these forward-looking statements and as such should be evaluated together with the many uncertainties that affect the company's business, particularly those mentioned in the cautionary statements found in the company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings. The company disclaims any intent or obligation to update forward-looking statements.
I sent email to IR with link and asked whether IR is aware of such action by Tocris.
I'll let you know if reply is sent.
I believe that should be 26 weeks, not months.
Thank you for sharing that perspective from someone very involved in the field.
I hear the same thing and get the impression that professionals in the field are starving for a new, revolutionary treatment for Alzheimer's and AVXL has a great opportunity to produce such a treatment.
Only if it were extremely BAD news. Good news would wait.
Thanks, JB and scottsmith, for your input. Let's hope Dr. Missling's July comment about news in "next quarter" occurs in October and not December.
“Subsequent to the positive initial feedback, we are applying to expand the extension period from 26 weeks to 52 weeks at the request of the participants.”
As to your comment:
Since the design calls for 16 men and 16 women, I tend to think they may be having less success with recruiting women trial participants. Most women I know would be trial adverse versus men.
Most of the enrollees are probably not making the decision themselves but loved ones and/or caretakers. If they were aware of those early results, they would be willing to enroll the Alzheimer's patient, regardless of gender.
It would be good to see a PR from AVXL as to whether the 32 person threshold has been achieved.
That date of 1/9/15 is not January 9th, 2015. This is the international method, so yesterday, September 1st, was the last day for expected enrollees to have enter the trial.
Thank you, jaydarr, for passing on the article. As to this passage that we have seen before:
"... At day 36, the amplitude of the cognitive EEG/ERP biomarker P300 increased 38 percent from baseline. Published data suggests that a 38 percent increase is approximately four times higher than donepezil (Aricept(R)), the current standard of care, in the same timeframe ..."
Does this biomarker have the potential to reach 100%? If so, does that mean, the person is back to normal? If not, can its percentage go beyond 100%? Is there a limit on the percent of improvement? What is its role? Are there other biomarkers that play a part in the improved response? If so, what are they?
I apologize if these questions have been asked and answered previously, but the volume over the last two months has been overwhelming for those who don't visit this site constantly.
TYIA to anyone who can provide additional insight.
I do not recall ever seeing financial statements with a line in them that has no description when numbers are on the line.
Looks poor regardless of the explanation.
WolfWayne, this is a great, investigative piece for all AVXL investors, potential investors and shorts (who might realize it is time to change their position) to read. Thank you for all of your hard work and effort, WolfWayne, and deserve to be prominently displayed.
Will a moderator please pin it to the top?
I agree with you that the results are inconsistent with prior studies. It is possible the Chinese digestive system is more tolerant of the Ironwood product. Is it possible to get the results by country?
I wonder if SGYP is considering going to or is in China.
FYI - This might have had a big impact on the SGYP's SP over the last two days.
The Ironwood numbers are better than other trials it has held, however, since China is the principal focus of the study, the results may be viewed with a wary eye.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/astrazeneca-ironwood-report-positive-top-120000003.html
This is included in Note 2 of the 10-Q. This should be the over-riding concern for shareholders and management. Everything else is superflous.
The Company does not have enough cash or other capital resources to sustain its operations beyond June 2015 based on its current operating plan, and, therefore, there is substantial doubt about the Company ’s ability to continue to be a going concern. The Company’s continuation as a going concern depends upon its ability to obtain additional financing to provide cash to meet its obligations as may be required, and ultimately to attain profitable operations and positive cash flows. The Company has no commercial products on the market at this time, and no associated revenues due to exiting the dietary supplement market in the U.S.. While the Company is evaluating overseas market opportunities through possible licensing arrangements, it has not yet entered into any such licensing arrangements.
FYI - EU Extends Sanctions As Rosneft Waits For A Bailout
http://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/EU-Extends-Sanctions-As-Rosneft-Waits-For-A-Bailout.html
Drill, it sounds a bit lame to state "... in continuous contact with TSX to solve the problem ..." when all it takes is for IR to tell Toronto to lift the halt.
Overall, especially with the Maersk denial, it is business as usual in Brazil.
Thanks, buff, for that info. I sent email to IR yesterday, but no reply, yet.
Maybe, they forgot about the halt and to ask the Toronto exchange to lift it.
Regardless, we in NA missed out during this time to buy based on Shell deal when the R$ SP more than doubled.
Has anyone been able to trade on US or Canada markets over the last two/three days as the SP gains 100%+ on Brazil market? I haven't seen any activity since the "halt" was issued. Has symbol changed for HRT/PetroRio?
Below is the link to HRT activity on the Bovespa chart that has been removed by RZ.
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=95863063
So, RZ, does this mean that Rosneft has not bought the 6% of the Solimões or any of the other assets?
Has anyone ever heard of a 25% discount in the conversion price of debentures? Even though conversions may begin a year from now, we know this stock can be manipulated with the small float. Additionally, GDS holders are not included in a direct way to secure his/her pro rata share of the debentures.
20. Conversion Price:
20.1. The number of Shares to be delivered to the Debenture holders on the Debenture Conversion Date will be the result of dividing the Par Value of the Debentures by the lesser of: (i) the weighted average, by daily volume, of the closing price of the Shares over the last 10 (ten) BM&FBOVESPA trading sessions as of the day after Issuance Date, with a discount of 25% (twenty five percent); or (ii) the weighted average by daily volume of the closing price of the Shares over the last 10 (ten) BM&FBOVESPA trading sessions prior to the receipt of the request for conversion by the Bookkeeping and Mandatary Institution or by the custody agent by BM&FBOVESPA, whichever is applicable, with a discount of 25% (twenty five percent) ("Conversion Price").
20.2. The Conversion Price is justified in as far as it was attributed by the Company in order to ensure the Debentures’ attractiveness to investors without resulting in undue dilution.
FYI - Update on election polls
Rousseff gains momentum in tight Brazil election race
BY BRAD HAYNES
SAO PAULO Fri Sep 26, 2014 12:31pm EDT
0 COMMENTS
Brazil election poll shows Rousseff and Silva neck and neck
Rousseff gains in Brazil presidential race as Silva slips
Poll shows Brazil's Rousseff with seven-point lead in second-round election: Vox Populi
UPDATE 1-Brazil to delay tax hike on beverages -industry official
ANALYSIS & OPINION
Brazil set to release long-overdue jobless rate just as election race heats up
RELATED TOPICS
World »
Brazil »
(Reuters) - Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff has regained the momentum in an election race that looks too close to call just a week before the first round of voting, using a wave of attacks to halt a surge by challenger Marina Silva.
In a campaign blitz, Rousseff is pressing her huge advantage in fundraising and TV time to undermine support for Silva, a lifelong environmentalist who surged in polls after joining the race late but has many voters still sizing her up.
The leftist president is likely to win most votes in the first round of voting on Oct 5 and polls show her and Silva running neck and neck in a widely expected runoff three weeks later.
Earlier polls had shown Silva with a strong lead in the runoff but Rousseff's more than five-to-one advantage in fundraising and advertising has given her a platform for relentless attacks questioning Silva's readiness for the presidency and commitment to unpopular policies.
"Turn right. Recalculating. Turn left. No, I changed my mind - to the right," says a woman's voice, mimicking a GPS navigator, in a radio ad mocking changes to Silva's platform. "If as a candidate Marina is always changing directions, imagine as a leader."
Still, Rousseff could lose the upper hand in the second round. Both candidates will get equal television time and Silva is expected to attract more supporters of the candidates eliminated in the first round.
"This is going to be the toughest campaign in more than two decades," said political analyst Andre Cesar. "There's no clear advantage in the second round. It's wide open."
Rousseff's strategy has been to play on voters' uncertainty about Silva, who represented three political parties in the last five years and tried unsuccessfully to create a new one.
Silva only moved to the top of the Brazilian Socialist Party's ticket last month when its original candidate, Eduardo Campos, died in a plane crash.
Nearly three in four voters are sure they will vote for or against Rousseff, while just 53 percent have made their mind up about Silva, according to a survey this week by pollster Ibope. That means support for Silva has more potential upside, but it is also less stable.
FEAR OF LOSING GROUND
Rousseff has built her campaign on 12 years of Workers' Party rule during which the economy grew nearly 50 percent, pulling more than 30 million people out of poverty and pushing unemployment to record lows.
"Dilma is running on the fear of losing those advances from recent years," said Thiago de Aragão, a partner at the Arko Advice political consultancy. "But the country is divided. A lot of people are tired of the present and want a brighter future."
Growth has fizzled since Rousseff took power in 2011 as uncompetitive industries, higher inflation and heavy-handed government policies eroded the confidence of investors and consumers.
Silva, who left the Workers' Party in 2009 after quitting as environment minister, has set forth a detailed platform calling for more sustainable development, orthodox economic policies and cleaner politics.
Her anti-establishment tone has struck a chord with voters sick of corrupt politicians and poor public services.
But the details of Silva's platform have provided easy fodder for slick and often misleading attack ads, which doubled her rejection rate among voters in a month to 22 percent of the electorate, according to pollster Datafolha.
"We feel the wind has shifted in our favor," a senior government official told Reuters, adding that Rousseff's humor has improved over the course of the month as polls showed her re-election chances improving.
The sentiment in financial markets has gone the other way. Brazil's stock market rallied 12 percent in just three weeks when Rousseff looked headed for defeat but has given up those gains as the race drew even.
Many investors are hoping for more predictable economic policies and less state intervention under a new president.
Momentum could easily swing again in what has been a topsy-turvy campaign. Televised debates on Sunday and Thursday will give the candidates a fresh chance to shake up the race.
Voters are clearly restless, with a wide majority hoping the next government will try a new direction. Even Rousseff's campaign slogan is a pledge to "change more," but one third of voters say there is no way they will vote for the president, leaving an opening for a strong challenger.
'THE OTHER CHEEK'
Silva has decried the president's negative campaigning and promised to take the moral high ground.
"Our strategy for the final week is to keep telling the truth, without resorting to savage marketing," Silva said in an interview with Reuters on Thursday. "We're going to turn the other cheek."
She has had little choice. Under Brazil's electoral laws, Silva's team gets just two minutes of electoral programming on nightly television, barely enough time to defend her and outline new proposals let alone criticize her opponent's record. With 11 minutes of campaign programming, the president has room to do all three.
If Rousseff and Silva advance to the second-round vote on Oct. 26 as expected, they will both have 10 minutes of TV time every night.
To avoid a runoff, Rousseff would have to win more than 50 percent of votes in the first round, something polls suggest is unlikely. After that, the top two candidates will get three weeks for a head-to-head campaign, erasing many of the incumbent's advantages.
In that phase, Silva could also make up ground in fundraising as corporate donors that have favored Rousseff's party reposition themselves for a potential Silva victory.
The biggest second-round boost for Silva would come from consolidating the opposition vote that is now divided between her and third-place candidate Aecio Neves, an investor favorite facing long odds of advancing past the first round.
Neves has opened a second flank against Silva in recent weeks, arguing she remains too close to the Workers' Party to represent real change. That has peeled away some first-round votes but, even without an official endorsement, most of Neves' supporters are expected to back Silva in the second round.
Undecided voters have dwindled to about 5 percent of the electorate, and analysts say they may also break toward the challenger in the final days of the race.
"You've had years to decide if you're going to support the president, but you've only had a few weeks to consider her rival," said political consultant Aragão.
(Additional reporting by Brian Winter in Brasilia and Paulo Prada in Rio de Janeiro; Editing by Todd Benson and Kieran Murray)
Translation of message in Portuguese (per Google Translator)
Director of BNDES speaks well of HRT
http://br.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idBRKBN0HE00520140919?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0
BNDES predicts investments of R $ 381 billion in the Oil and Gas Brazil 2015-2017
Thursday, September 18 2014 21:01 EDT
Print | Single Page
[-] Text [+]
RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Investments in Oil & Gas should grow 46 percent in Brazil Between 2015 and 2017, 2011 and 2013 Front, Para 381 billion reais, predicted THIS Thursday of the Director of Planning areas, Economic Research and Monitoring and Management Risk BNDES, João Carlos Ferraz.
The Executive to the State Development Bank said that investments in Oil and Gas In Next Two Years Vao represent between 12 percent and 14 percent of Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF).
According to Ferraz, THE evaluate investments, BNDES Ira prioritize investments targeted Innovation and Technology Development.
"The Quality of this s s Investment Fara Difference" said During lecture them Oil Event in Rio de Janeiro, Rio Oil & Gas. "BNDES Continuarà be a Relevant."
The teacher does not Institu for Economics at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Edmar Almeida, also present at the event, stressed the importance of finding ways for Brazilian Companies Private Petroleum have capacity Para Projects Financial Conduct SEUs.
According to him, after the crisis struck que OGX oil Eike Batista, renamed the Oil & Gas Participacoes (OGXP3.SA: Quotations) and in the bankruptcy process, as Brazilian Companies Sector HAVE FOUND difficulty obtaining new contributions.
"With the crisis of OGX closed the market, many funds: INVEST not want more," said the teacher.
"A major source Resources Today's sale of assets", said. "We're watching the national capital firms selling assets to finance."
Recently the oil company HRT Participações HRTP3.SA reduced their participation in the Solimões blocks in the Amazon, paragraph 49 percent, leaving a Russian Partner Rosneft Oil (ROSN.MM:. Quotations) As Operator of the joint venture Continued ...
He stressed that these Brazilian companies today have a very important role for onshore exploration in Brazil.
(By Marta Nogueira l)
Who and/or what lit the fire under HRTP3 this AM such that SP went from 11.17 to 11.60 in a matter of minutes?
Is there news expected after the market close? It is Friday and HRT's favorite day to release news, which often is not good news.
Sanctions are having some impact on Rosneft (see Reuters article below). Is it impacting HRT and the Amazon project by putting pressure on HRT's SP? Or is decline due to lower upside potential of Namibia as oil prices fall, too?
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/09/09/us-ukraine-crisis-russia-rosneft-idUSKBN0H40HA20140909?feedType=RSS&feedName=businessNews
Rosneft struggles to grow as sanctions hit Russia's oil champion
BY DMITRY ZHDANNIKOV, VLADIMIR SOLDATKIN AND KATYA GOLUBKOVA
LONDON/MOSCOW Tue Sep 9, 2014 1:06pm EDT
(Reuters) - The Kremlin's prized oil firm Rosneft is cutting staff and production and selling stakes in Siberian fields in the strongest evidence to date that Western sanctions are hurting what was the world's fastest growing oil firm in recent years.
The sanctions imposed on Russia by the United States and Europe in response to its military action in Ukraine have cut Rosneft's (ROSN.MM) access to Western financing and technology, complicating the servicing of its $55 billion debt and closing the way to cutting-edge industrial science it needs to keep developing its energy resources.
Few doubt that Rosneft will be able to withstand the pressure medium-term - its earnings amount to $30 billion a year and billions more are still available via Chinese credit lines and Russian state coffers in case of emergency.
But the world's biggest listed oil producer - which produces more oil than OPEC members Iraq or Iran - faces unprecedented challenges to its long-term expansion and modernization plans.
Last week Rosneft said it would cut staff to reduce costs: Kommersant business daily said Rosneft's Moscow headquarters would see cuts of up to 25 percent from the current 4,000.
These would be the first significant job losses at a company that swelled via the acquisition of rivals such as YUKOS, pushed into bankruptcy some ten years ago by the government of President Vladimir Putin.
Since then Rosneft's output has risen 10-fold to exceed 4 million barrels per day or four percent of global supply. But last week it reported a 1.3 percent production drop in August, as production in West Siberia regions declines.
The firm, which alongside gas monopoly Gazprom (GAZP.MM) is a top contributor to the Russian budget, needs to invest heavily to bring new east Siberian fields online - a costly endeavour now made more difficult by the sanctions squeeze.
In a sign of the challenge such a project now presents, Putin said last week Rosneft would welcome China buying a stake in the prized Siberian Vankor field. It was a major about-turn given the Kremlin's long resistance to allowing its powerful neighbour access to such deposits.
"Rosneft's decision to offer China a stake in the mega Vankor oil field in East Siberia signals that Moscow's bargaining position has been further weakened by sanctions and that it needs the capital infusion," said Emily Stromquist, analyst at Eurasia.
"CREDIT STOPPED"
Rosneft needs to invest more than $21 billion annually until 2017 to launch new fields and upgrade refineries.
It also needs to repay $12 billion by year-end and another $17 billion next year, after it borrowed heavily to buy rival TNK-BP for $55 billion last year - a deal that included BP (BP.L) taking a 20 percent stake in Rosneft.
Rosneft should be able to access some of the money it needs from short-term credit lines via Western banks as the United States sanctions only prohibits them from providing loans with maturity longer than 90 days.
But with the European Union expected to impose similar lending bans soon, Rosneft boss Igor Sechin under personal sanctions owing to his closeness to Putin and any resolution to the Ukraine crisis a long way off, all Western lending to Rosneft has in fact stopped, finance and industry insiders say.
"The credit has stopped. All conversation has become purely theoretical. People fear everything is following the patterns of the Iranian (sanctions) scenario when credit and then oil flows were getting progressively hurt," said an executive with a Western trading house and a major buyer of oil from Rosneft.
Over the past year, BP and trading houses Vitol, Glencore (GLEN.L) and Trafigura provided Rosneft with $20 billion worth of loans syndicated by banks and guaranteed by oil exports.
But Rosneft's attempts to borrow more from them in recent months have stalled or been drastically curtailed because the banks refused to syndicate new deals.
Rosneft CEO Sechin was forced to ask for $40 billion in state help from one of Russia's sovereign wealth funds and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said the company could get it.
"The company needs to maintain its production levels, because Rosneft is a major source of tax revenue," Medvedev told Vedomosti business daily on Monday. "As such, we should help it maintain its level of investment".
A Rosneft source told Reuters the company had no plans to borrow for the next 12-18 months and that credit lines offered by China's state oil firm CNPC meant the company had enough liquidity to see it through.
"We are planning to cut debt further without reducing capex. We need to maintain huge investments to launch new East Siberian fields. After 2017 capex will drop," the source said.
MONEY BUT NO KNOW-HOW
Though the Russian state and Chinese allies may keep money flowing to Rosneft, they cannot supply vital technology.
Rosneft said last week it planned to replace all equipment and technology imports from the West as the U.S. and EU sanctions halted all trade with the firms upon which it usually relies for such essentials.
In the meantime however it will struggle to find what it needs to develop shale and deep water Arctic oil because Russia has made little progress in building its own services sector.
Just last May, Energy Minister Alexander Novak asked Putin to boost funding of domestic equipment producers because a quarter of all equipment used in oil output enhancement was imported.
Russia is particularly dependent on the West for catalysts, refining equipment and gas turbine parts, meaning complicated refinery modernisation works are seen almost impossible to achieve without the access to Western know-how.
Rosneft plans to launch 10 new fields by 2020 in a bid to increase its combined oil and gas output by a third to 6.4 million barrels of oil equivalent per day. That plan looks set to be severely tested.
"Rosneft has a lot of cash. Its problems are long-term and strategic," said a source at a Western bank that includes Rosneft among its clients. "Its growth model is challenged."
(Reporting by Dmitry Zhdannikov; Editing by Sophie Walker)
The Wild, Wild West of Brazil politics continues ... like Chicago in the Roarin' 20's (Al Capone era)!
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/09/07/us-brazil-election-petrobras-idUSKBN0H20PZ20140907
FYI - TDA accounts now have the new shares and buy/sell is possible there.
CD, my accounts with TDAmeritrade are the same way. The person answering questions states that until TDA receives the new certificates, it will not reflect the R/S in the accounts. No trading is possible, also.
Thanks for your thoughts, WF.
My concern is the R/S hangover that discounts the SP, which is accelerated by groups (in collusion?) to beat it down, catching those with lower pre-set SP.
Also, what is somewhat dis-concerning is while the Bovespa price was up for a good portion of day yesterday, it was never up in US nor was the bid ever above the Friday close. Eventually, the Bovespa fell to match the lower US price.
Other thoughts are appreciated.
North, can you provide some thoughts on why the stock spiked up at the start of trading on Friday and then plunged 10% by the end of the day on the most shares traded since the R/S?
Is this why the stock tanked yesterday?
As noted by robnhood on SH, in the 8/13/14 minutes (see link below to web site), these guys, i.e., the Board, are paying themselves a BONUS of R$ 1,010,000 or US$440,000. For what ... being lemmings? How do they get away with absconding with more than 10% of the net earnings of 2Q? Maybe things haven't changed as for whom these guys are working by attending meetings! Obviously, it isn't us!
http://ir.hrt.com.br/hrt/web/conteudo_en.asp?idioma=1&conta=44&tipo=32105
Provided Aventti is not JGP in sheep's clothing (considering it was established in late April).
Canadian or US? ;)
One would think that this news on IPEX cuts would have had a significant, positive, and up[lifting impact on the SP. Also, I would have expected the IPEX annual loss to be higher than $3 million.
Does anyone think we'll hear more on this next week in the CC? Ditto Rosneft developments, given the sanctions, and Polvo status?
Thank you, GC.
Great post, Drill, as once again, you are able to make a logical presentation of a muddle situation that Brazil businesses are infamous for. Too often, Brazilian businesses need a kick in the rear to move forward and Putin is the guy to do it. [Noticed that he sat two chairs away from DR at the WC championship game.]
Putin wants to show that Russia/BRICS is an alternative to the USA/Europe when it comes to development so third world countries might look to the BRICS bank for financial support.
ALERT! - DB absconded with their highway robbery tax fee on the ADR shares today, which were held at TDA.