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Well it's like this...........
Two different kinds of "Hoes"
One I'm going to paint and the others.........
I don't think that I should be mentioning what is going to happen with tham.
And I was telling you a while back that I was selling out of this market.
C'mon John. You've seen a real hoe before.
This plan came together real good for me.
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=14830848
Getting slippery out there.
Goin' to be busy this weekend.
Have 2 "Hoes" to paint.
One is fairly large too!
Gotta step out for a bit.
Gotta go feed the pigs!
Should be flying over in about 2 -3 weeks.
Look to the eastern sky.
The best times to catch it are between 9 PM and Midnight.
Not to bad here now.
Don't the big trucks have to chain up before the go on the lease?
Good call on it!
You have to wear one to get aboard
The "Pork Chop Express"
What else you been holdin' back??
No. And that is the bad thing.
I'm OK. SantA started smokin' When he took to hanging out with me.
And yourself? How are you?
Fund firms brace for next wave of selloffs
KEITH DAMSELL
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Get ready for part two of the great income trust selloff.
Over the next three months, investors are expected to unload a vast mix of closed-end funds, an investment class with more than $10-billion in assets tied to the performance of income trusts. A long list of boutique money managers may see an exodus of investment dollars, including Acuity Funds Ltd., Sentry Select Capital Corp. and Brompton Group.
Ottawa's decision to tax trusts in 2011 is a double whammy for closed-end funds, whose popularity has risen in lock-step with income trusts over the past decade. Since Oct. 31, the value of trust-linked funds have fallen from 10 to 20 per cent.
Now, many funds are bracing for a wave of redemptions. Closed-end funds have an annual redemption feature that allows the investor to sell units for net asset value without incurring transaction costs at or near the anniversary of the original purchase date. Historically, the bulk of fund sales occurred in December, January and February. Client statements reflecting November's weak returns will be arriving in the next few weeks.
“There is going to be a lot of people exiting that space and looking elsewhere for income solutions,” said Steven Marshall, president of alternative investment firm OpenSky Capital. He expects redemptions of the $21.7-million OpenSky Capital Managed Protection Income Trust Fund — a two-year old principal-protected closed-end fund — “could be fairly high” in February and March next year.
“The general market expectation is, yeah, there are going to be some pretty heavy redemptions,” said Neil Murdoch, president and chief executive officer of Connor Clark & Lunn Financial Group. This month alone, the $59.9-million CCL Conservative Income Fund II has reported redemptions of about 14 per cent.
Closed-end funds must sell trust units to cover redemptions and at least one fund manager fears income trust valuations will tumble further.
“Big economies of scale will kick in,” said the Toronto portfolio manager, who asked not to be identified. “There will be a disconnect between the fundamental valuations and the fact that certain people need to raise money in these funds and will sell these securities. Who are going to be the buyers? Is it going to be other retail investors? Maybe. Is it other institutions? That I don't know.”
Despite the sense of uncertainty, many fund executives are optimistic.
Brian McOstrich, vice-president of marketing at Sentry Select, said the federal government's tax proposal “will slow things somewhat” but added that the Toronto firm remains committed to the asset class. Sentry Select oversees about $8-billion in assets, including $3-billion held in income trusts.
Luck — good and bad — has played a role. On Oct. 27 — three business days before Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's tax policy announcement — Barclays Global Investors Canada Ltd. sold $800-million in closed-end funds to Brompton. Four of the five funds hold income trusts.
“When we landed the Barclays deal we thought it was a bit of a coup and I guess a lot of our competitors right now are relishing the fact that we gave up some assets. But we are all in the same boat frankly. We all gave up assets to some degree,” said Brompton president Mark Caranci. About two-thirds of the firm's $3.5-billion in assets under management are held in trusts and to date, year-end redemptions have been a “pretty palatable” and below levels in 2005, he said.
Meanwhile, First Asset Funds Inc. filed its Utility Split Trust offering on Oct. 24, giving the money manager a brief window to raise money before November's uncertainty. In mid-November, the Toronto firm used $112-million in proceeds to buy utility trusts on weakness.
“I would like to say we were geniuses,” said Paul Dinelle, executive vice-president. “We've just been very fortunate.”
No he is NOT!
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Garmin Ltd. (GRMN : garmin ltd ord
News , chart, profile, more
Last: 50.89+0.65+1.29%
7:01am 12/01/2006
GRMN50.89, +0.65, +1.3%) said it's acquired Dynastream Innovations for approximately $36 million in cash in a deal that's expected to be neutral to 2007 earnings. Cochrane, Alberta, Canada-based Dynastream is a leader in the field of personal monitoring technology, Garmin said
Maybe one can substitute for the other.
That why a guy has to have cold hard cash.
Even if it isn't from your own country.
Conoco spends to prep for oil sands crude
Thursday, November 30, 2006
BILLINGS, MONT. — ConocoPhillips is preparing to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to retrofit its refinery in Billings to process crude oil from the oil sands of northern Alberta, the company's board chairman and CEO says.
Jim Mulva told the Billings Gazette in a story Thursday that the company is evaluating different technologies to handle the heavier, dirtier crude, and that the company's board is expected to vote on the project early next year.
“We are studying both an expansion and a capability improvement at the Billings refinery,” Mr. Mulva said. “That means our ability to handle tougher crudes, worse-quality crudes.”
Mr. Mulva declined to discuss details of the project, except to say it is part of the company's 2007-08 overall business plan. The multi-year construction project would be significantly larger than the low-sulphur diesel conversion completed this year in Billings, whose cost has not been revealed.
Billings Refinery manager Michael Wirkowski said the heavy-crude project would “add to the value of the contribution we make to Billings and the state of Montana in providing high-quality petroleum products.”
ConocoPhillips announced in October it had agreed to a joint venture with Calgary-based oil and gas giant EnCana Corp. that will give the Houston company a strong foothold in the highly coveted oil sands.
Under the deal, ConocoPhillips said it is getting a 50 per cent interest in EnCana's Foster Creek and Christina Lake projects, both located in northeast Alberta.
The oil sands at those two locations hold estimated recoverable bitumen, a thick oil, of more than 6.5 billion barrels.
If the Billings refinery is retrofitted to handle more of the heavy, high-sulphur and acidic Canadian crude, the product wouldn't necessarily come from those fields, EnCana spokesman Alan Boras said. ConocoPhillips would buy the most economical product.
“They (apparently) are retrofitting the refinery to match market supply coming now and coming in the future,” Boras said.
During an energy forum Tuesday in Billings, Mr. Mulva said companies are scrambling to find enough oil to keep up their current reserves, much less to meet future worldwide demand that could triple to 220 million barrels a day by 2030.
Meeting that demand would cost $4.3-trillion (U.S.), by some estimates, Mr. Mulva said.
The easier-to-refine and cheaper light crude is becoming more scarce. That's one reason ConocoPhillips is moving toward the other half of the world's supply — heavy oil.
“We're having to go deeper, use more technology. It's more expensive, but we're finding lower-quality oil,” Mr. Mulva said. “It's going to be the product of the future.”
ExxonMobil's Billings refinery invested four or five years ago in the hardware to process heavy-sour crudes, including those from Canadian oil sands, according to public affairs spokesman Dale Getz.
However, how much heavy crude is being run through ExxonMobil's process is proprietary data.
He is not an evil Santa.
He is The "Santa" for the bad girls.
How about some of this?
So you tryin' to be politicaly correct here?
Pengrowth deal breathes life into income trusts
DAVID PARKINSON
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
It was the kind of deal critics thought was no longer possible.
Pengrowth Energy Trust's $1.04-billion agreement to buy Canadian oil and gas assets from ConocoPhillips Co. does some key things that income trusts weren't supposed to be able to do in the aftermath of the federal government's decision to toughen tax rules for the sector. The deal will result in a substantial expansion of Pengrowth, despite indications that the government wants to limit growth of existing trusts. It also involves more than $1-billion in loans and a substantial issue of new trust units, evidence that the banks and the markets are still willing to take a chance on the trust sector, despite all the pessimism about the future of trusts that sent investors fleeing a few weeks ago. (The S&P/TSX energy trust index is still down 14 per cent from the day before the government dropped its bomb.)
Even though the government's new rules aren't to take effect on existing trusts for another four years, analysts had feared the pending changes would severely constrain access to capital and, by extension, stifle prospects for growth — which is considered critical for trusts if they are to maintain the cash distributions that form their key attraction for investors. But the Pengrowth deal suggests those growth fears could be overstated, at the very least.
“It seems to me that it's generally positive,” said portfolio manager Leslie Lundquist of Bissett Investment Management in Calgary, who manages more than $1-billion in income trust holdings for Franklin Templeton Investments. “It shows it's pretty much business as usual.”
In particular, trust experts Wednesday took heart in the implication that the government didn't stand in the way of the deal, which will increase Pengrowth's oil and gas production by 27 per cent and its reserves by 22 per cent.
“It suggests the government isn't going to do anything to stop the normal course of business of income trusts,” Ms. Lundquist said. “For the energy trusts, that means acquisitions.”
Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said at the time of the announcement of the trust tax legislation that the government would permit “normal growth” of existing trusts, but would move to block “undue expansion.” Mr. Flaherty has yet to define “undue expansion,” but it has been widely rumoured that the government would cap new issues of trust units to finance acquisitions at 15 per cent of existing equity.
Pengrowth's deal certainly falls well within that rumoured cap, as the 20 million units it plans to issue to partially finance the purchase represent only 9 per cent of its current units outstanding. Even with an overallotment allowance, the maximum number of units it would issue would come to 10.5 per cent of its existing equity. The rest of the deal will be financed with a 12-month bank credit facility, and the company said it plans to raise up to $400-million from asset sales to help pay the balance of the purchase price.
The company acknowledged that it had received a “comfort letter” from the government, indicating it was comfortable with the proposed ConocoPhillips transaction — a letter that had come to light two weeks ago, although the identity of the companies involved hadn't been confirmed. In its news release Wednesday, Pengrowth suggested that the advanced state of its negotiations for the purchase — which included a $30-million “exclusivity fee” that the company would lose if the deal fell through — contributed to the government's decision to give its blessing to the acquisition. Other deals that haven't progressed as far as this one had might not be afforded the same treatment.
But, according to one analyst, word out of the Pengrowth deal is that the government won't place “hard and fast” limits on deal sizes or financings for acquisitions, so long as the size of transactions stay in the general range of those seen in the sector in recent years. That would take mergers on a grand scale off the table, but would still permit mid-sized acquisitions.
If true, that provides a ray of hope for a couple of pending energy trust takeovers: Shiningbank Energy Income Fund's planned acquisition of Rider Resources Ltd., which would result in about a 27-per-cent increase in Shiningbank's outstanding equity; and Crescent Point Energy Trust's proposed purchase of Mission Oil & Gas Inc., which would increase Crescent Point's outstanding units by 48 per cent.
However, it also would mean continued uncertainty for the trusts and their investment bankers, who won't know what size deals will be acceptable and what won't until the government comes out with firm rules.
On Wednesday, Mr. Flaherty said that he is working on setting out the rules for the income trust sector by Christmas. “We'll try to get the guidelines, the implementation rules, out by Christmas time,” said Mr. Flaherty.
Ear on the Street
Algonquin Power Income Fund (APF.UN : TSX : $9.37)
Completion of $60 million convertible debenture
TD Newcrest maintains "hold", 12-month target price is cut to $8.75
Aurelian Resources (ARU : TSX-V : $32.00)
Ecuador to elect a leftist president
Blackmont Capital maintains "buy", 12-month target price is $48.35
Banro (BAA : TSX : $14.50 | AMEX : US$12.72)
Sovereign risk of Congo
Raymond James maintains "strong buy", 6-12 month target price is $18.00
Bank of Montreal (BMO : TSX : $68.56)
Q4 cash EPS in line
Blackmont Capital maintains "hold", 12-month target price is $71.00
Desjardins Securities maintains "buy", 12-month target price is $81.50
RBC Capital Markets maintains "underperform", 12-month target price is $70.00
Scotia Capital Markets maintains "sector underperform", 12-month target price is $80.00
TD Newcrest maintains "hold", 12-month target price is cut to $71.00
Calpine Power Income Fund (CF.UN : TSX : $10.60)
Downgrade on price appreciation
Scotia Capital Markets downgrades to "sector underperform", 12-month target price is $9.50
TD Newcrest downgrades to "reduce", 12-month target price is $8.50
ConjuChem Biotechnologies (CJB : TSX : $0.69)
Financing stengthened cash position
RBC Capital Markets maintains "sector perform", 12-month target price is $1.00
Celestica Inc. (CLS : TSX : $10.37 | NYSE : US$9.12)
CEO resigns
Scotia Capital Markets maintains "sector perform", 12-month target price is $15.00
TD Newcrest maintains "hold", 12-month target price is decreased to $11.50
Catalyst Paper (CTL : TSX : $3.14)
Challenges remain
Blackmont Capital maintains "market perform", 6-12 month target price is $2.50
CryoCath Technologies (CYT : TSX : $2.54)
FDA approves expansion of pivotal trial of the Arctic Front Balloon
Scotia Capital Markets maintains "sector perform", 12-month target price is $5.50
Denison Mines Inc. (DEN : TSX : $26.47)
Court approval for comnination with IUC
Raymond James maintains "market perform", 12-month target price is $26.04
Domtar Inc. (DTC : TSX : $8.25)
Merger with Weyco presents buying opportunity
Raymond James maintains "outperform", 6-12 month target price is increased to $9.25
First National Financial (FN.UN : TSX : $13.00)
Positive outlook on focused growth
TD Newcrest maintains "buy", 12-month target price is $14.00
FirstService Corp. (FSV : TSX : $27.70 | FSRV : NASDAQ : US$24.40)
Expanded commercial real estate
Raymond James maintains "buy", 6-12 month target price is US$32.50
TD Newcrest maintains "buy", 12-month target price is $33.00
Finning International (FTT : TSX : $44.80)
Hewden's tool hire business may be for sale
Scotia Capital Markets maintains "sector outperform", 12-month target price is $49.50
Gabriel Resources (GBU : TSX : $4.94)
Initiating coverage
Raymond James initiates "outperform", 6-12 month target price is $5.60
CGI Group (GIB.A : TSX : $7.82)
Future looking bleak due to sales activity
CIBC World Markets maintains "sector perform", 12-month target price is $9.00
Gennum Corp. (GND : TSX : $13.80)
Restructuring in the right direction
Raymond James maintains "outperform", 6-12 month target price is $15.00
Scotia Capital Markets maintains "sector perform", 12-month target price is $18.00
Iamgold Corp. (IMG : TSX : $10.51 | IAG : NYSE : US$9.22)
Expanding mill to 30,000 tonnes per day
TD Newcrest maintains "buy", 12-month target price is US$16.00
Isotechnika Inc (ISA : TSX : $1.75)
Expanded uses for phase II/III trial drug.
Canaccord Capital maintains "buy", 12-month target price is $3.30
Continental Minerals (KMK : TSX-V : $1.57)
A new deposit along the Xietongmen trend
Blackmont Capital maintains "buy", 12-month target price is $8.50
LAB Research (LRI : TSX : $5.20)
String fundamentals but corperation is now fairly valued
Desjardins Securities downgrades to "hold", 12-month target price is $5.25
MAG Silver Corp. (MAG : TSX-V : $4.60)
Drill speculation is driving price
Raymond James downgrades to "market perform", 6-12 month target price is $4.50
March Networks (MN : TSX : $23.84)
Strong Q2 revenue but weak EPS
RBC Capital Markets maintains "outperform", 12-month target price is not given
Mercer International (MRI.U : TSX : $10.40)
Fiber limitiations drive december curtailment
RBC Capital Markets maintains "sector perform", 12-month target price is US$12.00
Paramount Resources (POU : TSX : $25.35)
Closed equity financing, which raised gross proceeds of $67.5 million
Canaccord Adams maintains "buy", target price lowered to $30.00
Pure Technologies Ltd (PUR : TSX-V : $1.30)
Q3 Results, showing revenue of $2.2 million and a per share loss of $0.03
Canaccord Adams maintains "buy", target price is $2.15
Rubicon Minerals (RMX : TSX : $1.00)
Plan of arrangement announced one year ago is nearing completion
Blackmont Capital maintains "buy", 12-month target price is $2.10
Sears Canada (SCC : TSX : $26.03)
Sears Holdings' offer to aquire Sears Canada has expired
Desjardins Securities downgrades to "hold", target price is $27.00
Suncor Energy (SU : TSX : $89.98)
Suncor recently announced a $5.3 billion capital expenditure program for 2007
Canaccord Adams maintains "buy", target price is $102.00
Sylogist Ltd. (SYZ : TSX-V : $0.80)
Munishare contract to be terminated
Canaccord Adams downgrades to to "hold", target price lowered to $1.30
TransAlta Corp. (TA : TSX : $25.06 | TAC : NYSE : US$21.94)
Announced two write-downs related to its Centralia facility
Desjardins Securities upgrades to "buy", target price raised to $28.25
RBC Capital Markets maintains "underperform", target price is $24.00
Scotia Capital Markets reiterates "sector outperform", target price is $28.50
TD Newcrest maintains "reduce", target price is $22.00
Thunder Energy Trust (THY.UN : TSX : $5.85)
Provided 2007 average production guidance of 9,500 Boe/d
CIBC World Markets maintains "sector perform", target price is $6.25
Teddy don't look very happy.
See. It's workin' already.
No? Even say if you had gallon of gin in you?
The Santa is my new cougar trap!
Power has been OK where I live. Has been going out a lot of places though.
Sure looks pretty here with all the snow on the pine and cedar trees.
A PACIFIC FRONTAL SYSTEM PASSED THROUGH SOUTH COAST OF BRITISH COLUMBIA HAS SPREAD HEAVY SNOW AND STRONG WINDS TO THE COAST. FURTHER LOCAL SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS OF UP TO 5 CM ARE EXPECTED FOR EASTERN FRASER VALLEY IN THE WAKE OF THE FRONT TODAY. ELSEWHERE OVER THE COAST ONLY SCATTERED FLURRIES OR RAIN SHOWERS FORECAST. FREEZING RAIN NO LONGER EXPECTED OVER FRASER VALLEY AS THE FRONT PASSED BY AND NO WARMING ALOFT BEHIND THE FRONT.
Yep. May take tomorrow off to and make it a looong weekend.
You?
That sure is popping up everywhere.
He suggests going nuclear
Mornin' guys.
Santa isn't evil. The cougars like him.
Foreign traders stumped by nation of Quebec
ROMA LUCIW
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Prime Minister Stephen Harper's ambiguous motion to recognize the Québécois as a nation has not only triggered a fractious debate within Canada, but likely left some foreign traders scratching their heads.
U.S. investment newsletter writer Dennis Gartman said Mr. Harper's move is “a very symbolic fig leaf tossed to the Separatists in Quebec, who had long ago fallen out of the public's eye and whose influence had been rendered all but non-existent.”
Nevertheless, Mr. Gartman described the move as “utterly confusing,” particularly for foreigners looking to invest in Canada.
“The signals sent to foreign investors can only be confusing beyond belief, for if we are confused, and we think we watch Canada political developments as closely as anyone outside of Canada, we can only wonder what the money managers of Stuttgart, of Hong Kong, of Adelaide must be thinking,” he wrote in his Gartman Letter.
On Monday night, the House of Commons passed Mr. Harper's resolution calling the Québécois “a nation within a united Canada.” Mr. Harper's Intergovernmental Affairs Minister, Michael Chong, resigned in protest on the grounds that the move will bolster the separatist cause and confuse Quebeckers in any future debate on sovereignty.
Bloc Leader Gilles Duceppe claimed victory in the aftermath of the vote, while Mr. Harper said he was merely granting Quebeckers the respect and reconciliation they are looking for. The political debate over just who is Québécois continued to rage on Tuesday, with Quebec Premier Jean Charest asserting that everyone who lives in Quebec is part of the Québécois nation.
Kathy Lien, chief currency strategist with FXCM in New York, said she has been keeping an eye on the Quebec debate. “I'm really still not clear about how this nation thing will progress,” she said, adding that the loonie is already under pressure from lower oil prices and slowing economic growth.
The Canadian dollar fell 0.55 of a cent (U.S.) to 87.91 cents Wednesday, even as Statistics Canada said the current account surplus unexpectedly widened to $5.1-billion (Canadian) in the third quarter.
Economists at National Bank said Wednesday the loonie's long-term fundamentals have received a boost from Ottawa's plan to eliminate net government debt and establish the lowest tax rate on new business investment among the G7 countries.
David Powell, a currency analyst at IDEAglobal in New York, said investors were more focused on the recent weakness in the U.S. dollar and on monetary policy. In his opinion, the Quebec as a nation motion seems more a matter of semantics than anything else.
"However, the worry moving forward is whether this will lead to increasing calls for separatism," Mr. Powell said. "Going through another referendum on separatism would certainly upset the currency markets -- and it could be another calamity for the Canadian economy."
No one is expecting this will trigger another Quebec referendum on sovereignty. Such an event would not only pressure the loonie, but could trigger widespread selling of Canadian equities, Mr. Powell said. "For the moment, it's not a big story here. But it has the potential to become a big story."
Harry Koza, a senior analyst at Thomson Financial, said Quebec bonds have not reacted to the political debate. "When you get separatism rearing its ugly head, like when the 1995 referendum was on, Quebec spreads tend to widen," he said.
International interest in Ontario and Quebec ten-year bonds has been solid in the last week, since Government of Canada bonds pay interest on Dec. 1. "All that cash has to get put back to work ... and is flowing through to the provincial bonds," Mr. Koza said.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Energy Metals to List on NYSE Arca
NR-06-36
Vancouver, British Columbia, November 27, 2006: Energy Metals Corporation (TSE:EMC) is pleased to announce that its Board of Directors has unanimously voted to list on NYSE Arca, Inc. The company will begin trading on the NYSE Arca on November 29, 2006 under the symbol "EMU". The company's shares will continue to be listed and traded dually on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "EMC". The NYSE Group provides investors and traders a choice in the trading of listed stocks and a broader offering of functionality and flexibility than any other market. Increased liquidity, price discovery, speed, efficiency and tight spreads highlight the exchange's services. NYSE Arca is a choice that combines the best traits of current market structures with revolutionary technology. The result is a faster, more transparent, more consistent market. NYSE Arca also provides a fully automated, totally transparent opening auction and closing auction for all stocks. The NYSE Arca offers trading hours from 4am EST through 8pm EST offering an opportunity for foreign investors to conveniently trade in listed equities.
"By listing Energy Metals Corporation on NYSE Arca we have reached an important milestone in the recognition of the company's continuing growth. With this listing we will be reaching investors previously unavailable to us and will attain a greatly enhanced visibility within the worldwide investment community," stated Paul Matysek, President and CEO of Energy Metals Corporation. "Energy Metals Corporation is one of only two primary uranium companies listed within the NYSE Group and the only such listing on the NYSE Arca. We are proud to join the NYSE Arca and look forward to the opportunities presented by this listing."
About NYSE Group, Inc.
NYSE Group, Inc. (NYSE: NYX) is a holding company that, through its subsidiaries, is a leading global multi-asset financial marketplace that operates multiple securities market centers, including the New York Stock Exchange (the "NYSE") and NYSE Arca (formerly known as the Archipelago Exchange, or Arca Ex(r), and the Pacific Exchange). Through these market centers, the NYSE Group is a leader in securities listings, market-information products and services, and offers a range of investment vehicles and order execution services.
The NYSE is the world's largest and most liquid equities market where customers can choose between the floor-based auction market and sub-second electronic trading. The NYSE provides a reliable, orderly and efficient marketplace where investors meet directly to buy and sell listed companies' common stock and other securities. On an average day, over 1.8 billion shares valued at more than $69 billion trade on the NYSE, where the total global market capitalization for its listed companies is $22.5 trillion.
NYSE Arca is the first open, all-electronic stock market in the United States enabling customers to trade equity securities, including those listed on NYSE Arca, the NYSE and other U.S. equities markets, and options products. NYSE Arca's trading platform links traders to multiple U.S. market centers where buyers and sellers meet directly in a highly-liquid electronic environment without intermediaries for fast order execution and open, direct and anonymous market access.
NYSE Regulation, an independent not-for-profit subsidiary, regulates member organizations through the enforcement of marketplace rules and federal securities laws. NYSE Regulation also ensures that companies listed on the NYSE and NYSE Arca meet their financial and corporate governance listing standards.
About Energy Metals Corporation
Energy Metals Corporation
Energy Metals Corporation is a TSX-listed Canadian company focused on advancing its industry leading uranium property portfolio towards production in what is the world's largest uranium consumer market, the United States of America. Energy Metals has extensive advanced property holdings in Wyoming, Texas and New Mexico that are amenable to ISR (in-situ recovery) along with one of the industry's leading and most experienced ISR technical teams led by Dr. Dennis Stover. This in-situ form of uranium mining was pioneered in Texas and Wyoming and utilizes oxygenated groundwater to dissolve the uranium in place and pump it to the surface through water wells. Energy Metals is currently developing the La Palangana uranium deposit and upgrading the Hobson Uranium Processing Plant in Texas for an anticipated 2008 production date. Energy Metals is also actively advancing other significant uranium properties in the States of Colorado, Utah, Nevada, Oregon and Arizona.
For further information, please contact:
Energy Metals Corporation
Paul Matysek, CEO and President: (604) 684-9007
Bill Sheriff, Chairman: (972) 333-2214
Information Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: Except for historical information contained herein, the statements in this Press Release are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which may cause Energy Metals' actual results in future periods to differ materially from forecasted results. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things: volatility of natural resource prices; product demand; market competition and risks inherent in the company's operations. These and other risks are described in the Company's public filings with Canadian Securities Regulators available at www.sedar.com and with the Securities and Exchange Commission available at www.sec.com.
NA Mid-Tier gold mining sector shrinking
By: Dorothy Kosich
Posted: '29-NOV-06 08:00' GMT © Mineweb 1997-2006
RENO, NV (Mineweb.com) --Precious Metals Research Analysts from Merill Lynch, Michael Jalonen and Anita Soni, noted two North American M&A trends during the second half of this year. “Firstly, the vast majority of targets being acquired have assets in politically stable jurisdictions (with respect to both title to property and timely permitting),” they wrote. “Secondly, there has been a movement towards transaction for companies with assets already in production.”
“These latter transactions have the dual benefit of not having the technical and permitting risks inherent to development projects and having experienced operating teams,” Merrill Lynch suggested. “The end result of this move towards ‘safer’ acquisitions is a gradual decimation of the North American mid-tier producer sector,” referring to the purchases of Glamis Gold, Cambior and Bema Gold.
One consequence of the shrinking number of North American mid-tier gold producers “is a potential expansion of valuation multiples for the remaining mid-tier producers (which is already occurring). Particularly those with growth and/or relatively lower cash costs,” said the analysts. As mid-tier producers shrink, Merrill Lynch suggested that “we believe companies with multi-million ounce development projects will be next on the M&A hit list.” And, they noted, “We would expect intermediate producers to band together to create the next generation of mid-tier companies.”
The analysts suggested that IAMGOLD, Agnico-Eagle, Eldorado Gold, Centerra Gold, and Yamana Gold “would likely be viewed as prime targets” for takeover by senior producers.”
“If reducing cash costs is the prime focus for the acquirer, then Agnico-Eagle, Yamana Gold and Meridian Gold would all be viewed as intriguing targets,” they suggested, noting that Agnico, Centerra, Meridian and Golden Star “offer intriguing exploration potential which could lead to reserve increases reducing the acquisition cost.”
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