Argentine Government Hate Foreign Investment

26-Oct-2011 | Reggie | Canadian Investing Commodities Economy Investment Ideas

The Argentine Government is infamous for protectionist policies and poor fiscal management.  Keeping their track record, they today announced that all export revenue stemming from oil, gas, and mining companies must be repatriated, meaning any funds derived from the sale of these natural resources must flow through the country.  This was an increase from the 2002 law which stated that 30% of all revenue has to flow through.

 

The law was passed by Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, who just won her second term on October 23rd.  It was largely expected that rules pertaining to foreign companies would be maintained and many stocks rose on the news of her re-election.  The move is designed to help maintain capital in the country and keep the Peso strong, but the detriment done to foreign investment seems to be a much bigger blow.  The United Nations estimate that foreign investment in Argentina has already decreased by 30% since the beginning of the year.  Companies with significant operations in Argentina all fell on the news.

This blog has been prepared by the Retire First Team. The blog expresses the opinions of the writers and not necessarily those of Retire First Ltd. Statistic and factual data are from sources Retire First believes to be reliable but their accuracy can not be guaranteed. This blog is furnished on the basis and understanding that Retire First is under no liability whatsoever in respect thereof. It is for informational purposes only and is not be construed as an offer or solicitation for the sale or purchase of securities. Retire First Ltd. And its officers, directors, employees and their family may from time to time invest in the securities discussed in this blog. This blog is intended for individuals where Retire First Ltd is registered as a dealer in securities.

Retire First is a member of the Canadian Investors Protection Fund.

Commission, trailing commissions, management fees and expense all may be associated with mutual funds. Please read the prospectus before investing. Mutual funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated. A recommendation of any of the mentioned investments would only be made after a personal review of individual portfolio. Third Party research has been used in formulating the writer's opinions.

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Chinese Power Supply Falling Short

27-May-2011 | Reggie | Asia Market Outlook

As the heart of summer is quickly approaching, it looks as though China will be facing a major shortage in electricity.  Power shortages in China is nothing new as the infrastructure has been struggling to keep up with the rapid increase in demand from industrialization as well as the increase in demand for personal use.  But this year China’s Electricity Association is warning that it’ll be the worse shortage in 20 years.

In an effort to make the shortages as orderly as possible, governments have begun to place limits on consumption.  This will of course lead to huge decline in growth as manufacturers and other industries have to call it quits early.  Workers will see reduced pay thanks to the reduced hours they work and a lot of very hot people unable to use their air conditioners throughout the very hot Chinese summer.

The problem stems from the regulated prices charged by power companies.  Much of Chinese power is supplied by coal fired plants.  Coal prices have been on a steadily rising for the past 2 years as the economy recovered from 2008’s crash.  While the price of coal has been steadily rising, the power companies have only been able to raise their rates by a tiny amount.  Unfortunately it looks like it’ll be a dark and hot summer for the people and industry of China.

 

This blog has been prepared by the Retire First Team. The blog expresses the opinions of the writers and not necessarily those of Retire First Ltd. Statistic and factual data are from sources Retire First believes to be reliable but their accuracy can not be guaranteed. This blog is furnished on the basis and understanding that Retire First is under no liability whatsoever in respect thereof. It is for informational purposes only and is not be construed as an offer or solicitation for the sale or purchase of securities. Retire First Ltd. And its officers, directors, employees and their family may from time to time invest in the securities discussed in this blog. This blog is intended for individuals where Retire First Ltd is registered as a dealer in securities.

Retire First is a member of the Canadian Investors Protection Fund.

Commission, trailing commissions, management fees and expense all may be associated with mutual funds. Please read the prospectus before investing. Mutual funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated. A recommendation of any of the mentioned investments would only be made after a personal review of individual portfolio. Third Party research has been used in formulating the writer's opinions.

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Natural Gas is Everywhere!

04-Jan-2011 | Reggie | Oil & Gas USA

One of the major stories of 2011 is going to be natural gas and not necessarily because the companies that are producing it will be ultra successful. Thanks to new technologies and exploration natural gas is becoming available just about everywhere in the world. The latest find is offshore Israel which has the potential to make Israel energy independent for the next 100 years. Shale gas is looking to become a major change in the United States energy picture as well. Its looking like shale gas will soon compose a major part of the US energy needs making them far less dependent on foreign imports. Geologists estimate that the Marcellus field that comprises a pretty sizeable chunk of the north eastern United States contains upward of 500 trillion cubic feet of gas. With present technologies they estimate about 10% of that is recoverable, which would be enough to meet the US energy demands for 2 years. With new drilling and fracturing techniques emerging all the time, the amount recoverable will likely increase as well. The Marcellus isn’t the only shale play in the United States either. Shale plays have been discovered in Michigan, Texas, Oklahoma, Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Louisiana, and Illinois. There are a couple major reasons that these shale plays will be pursued and developed. One is energy independence. Although Canada is a safe, and reliable trading partner, energy is of the upmost importance to a nations security. The other is for economic reasons. Jobs will be transferred to south of the border and the reliance will be eliminated. This poses a pretty scary picture for Canadian producers. We only use a small fraction of what we are able to produce and ship the rest south of the border. With the United States becoming increasingly independent, we will have to look for new avenues to sell this gas. The market for natural gas is already oversupplied with many producers opting to shut in the wells rather than sell the gas for a loss. The only 2 hopes for the Canadian natural gas industry is the increased use and adaptation of LNG or the conversion of coal fired power plants to natural gas. Both will take a long time to develop which will means Canadian natural gas is in for a rough couple years.

This blog has been prepared by the Retire First Team. The blog expresses the opinions of the writers and not necessarily those of Retire First Ltd. Statistic and factual data are from sources Retire First believes to be reliable but their accuracy can not be guaranteed. This blog is furnished on the basis and understanding that Retire First is under no liability whatsoever in respect thereof. It is for informational purposes only and is not be construed as an offer or solicitation for the sale or purchase of securities. Retire First Ltd. And its officers, directors, employees and their family may from time to time invest in the securities discussed in this blog. This blog is intended for individuals where Retire First Ltd is registered as a dealer in securities.

Retire First is a member of the Canadian Investors Protection Fund.

Commission, trailing commissions, management fees and expense all may be associated with mutual funds. Please read the prospectus before investing. Mutual funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated. A recommendation of any of the mentioned investments would only be made after a personal review of individual portfolio. Third Party research has been used in formulating the writer's opinions.

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Recapping the Trading Day

21-Jul-2010 | kate | Agriculture Banks Canadian Investing Commodities Currency FX Market Outlook Oil & Gas Stocks US Markets USA

The TSX was down as the energy sector declined with news that there was an unexpected rise in oil inventories causing oil futures to decline against the news. Meanwhile a strong day of earnings from US financial companies caused Canadian Financials to have a tough day.

On the earnings sides, several companies released numbers with good and bad results. EnCana, our largest Natural Gas producer, declined 5.7% after they reported their 2nd quarter profits that missed the expectations. Wells Fargo and Morgan Stanley both released results exceeding street expectations, resulting in Bank of Nova Scotia and BMO slipping 2.37% and 2.18% on the day. Even RIM had a bad day falling 3.26% after their biggest rival Apple announce an 18 billion dollar forecast for fourth quarter sales, 5.9% larger than the average analyst expectation.

The good news is that since earning season started on July 12th, 83% of the S&P 500 companies that have released results have beat the street estimates for profits and 65% on sales.

The Canadian dollar hit it one week high before pulling back slightly and settling at 0.954 CDN Per USD.

Meanwhile, we have a new video for alliance grain traders on out website and a new investor presentation for Ithaca, make sure you stop by and check them out.

This blog has been prepared by the Retire First Team. The blog expresses the opinions of the writers and not necessarily those of Retire First Ltd. Statistic and factual data are from sources Retire First believes to be reliable but their accuracy can not be guaranteed. This blog is furnished on the basis and understanding that Retire First is under no liability whatsoever in respect thereof. It is for informational purposes only and is not be construed as an offer or solicitation for the sale or purchase of securities. Retire First Ltd. And its officers, directors, employees and their family may from time to time invest in the securities discussed in this blog. This blog is intended for individuals where Retire First Ltd is registered as a dealer in securities.

Retire First is a member of the Canadian Investors Protection Fund.

Commission, trailing commissions, management fees and expense all may be associated with mutual funds. Please read the prospectus before investing. Mutual funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated. A recommendation of any of the mentioned investments would only be made after a personal review of individual portfolio. Third Party research has been used in formulating the writer's opinions.

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Investing in Red Deer – GasFrac

28-Jun-2010 | Reggie | Canadian Investing Commodities Oil & Gas

Being able to invest in companies in your own backyard holds a lot of appeal for many investors.  It is one thing to read about a company online, or see interviews on BNN, and a whole other thing to see a company carrying out their day to day operations.  If you see the multitude of GasFrac trucks out and about you know it’s a real company with real guys working.  One of the old investing mantras is to invest in things you understand.  If you live in and around these businesses, that is a lot easier to do.

Fracturing

Lo and behold, the main business of GasFrac is fracturing Oil & Gas reservoirs to improve the production and recovery rate of that well.  The Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin (WCSB for short) remains a hot spot for this activity as well as a good central location for dispatch.

Compared to it’s competitors, GasFrac’s techniques are less energy intensive, requires less inputs, and fewer pieces of equipment.  As well GasFrac claims the technique requires a far shorter clean up time, that allows for a faster turnover to the next job.

For Oil exploration companies in Alberta, BC, and Saskatchewan, Fracturing as been absolutely crucial in the development of the most recent set of wells.  Fracturing is changing wells thought to be totally dry back into producers in the 100s of barrels.  For those who like to invest and support their local companies in Red Deer and/or central Alberta, GasFrac seems like an interesting story to look into.  It is currently in the process of going public and should be trading in the next few weeks.

This blog has been prepared by the Retire First Team. The blog expresses the opinions of the writers and not necessarily those of Retire First Ltd. Statistic and factual data are from sources Retire First believes to be reliable but their accuracy can not be guaranteed. This blog is furnished on the basis and understanding that Retire First is under no liability whatsoever in respect thereof. It is for informational purposes only and is not be construed as an offer or solicitation for the sale or purchase of securities. Retire First Ltd. And its officers, directors, employees and their family may from time to time invest in the securities discussed in this blog. This blog is intended for individuals where Retire First Ltd is registered as a dealer in securities.

Retire First is a member of the Canadian Investors Protection Fund.

Commission, trailing commissions, management fees and expense all may be associated with mutual funds. Please read the prospectus before investing. Mutual funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated. A recommendation of any of the mentioned investments would only be made after a personal review of individual portfolio. Third Party research has been used in formulating the writer's opinions.

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