Ford revs
RTGAM
North American stocks ended down on Monday on renewed concerns about the stability of the financial system and the start of earnings season - but managed to rebound substantially from their lows earlier in the day.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed at 7975.85, down 41.74 points, or 0.5 per cent. Earlier, it had been down about 155 points. The broader S&P 500 closed at 835.42, down 7.08 points, or 0.8 per cent, marking a similar improvement toward the end of the trading day.
Financials were weak, after a downbeat analyst report from Mike Mayo of Calyon Securities. Citigroup Inc. fell 4.6 per cent and JPMorgan Chase & Co. fell 3.7 per cent. Alcoa Inc., which reports its first quarter results on Tuesday, fell 3.2 per cent.
However, there were winners. Defence contractors did well after the U.S. Defence Secretary outlined a plan to shift priorities toward unconventional conflicts. Lockheed Martin Corp. rose 8.9 per cent on government plans to cut work on the F-22 fighter jet but buy more of the F-35s.
Ford Motor Co. surged 16 per cent after the struggling auto maker managed to restructure its debt, reducing its obligations by $10-billion (U.S.) using a combination of cash and shares and cutting its interest costs by $500-million a year. General Motors Corp. rose 8.1 per cent.
In Canada, the S&P/TSX composite index closed at 9016.17, down 49.59 points, or 0.6 per cent. Earlier in the day, the index had been down by about 145 points on weakness in energy stocks, gold miners and financials.
Among the banks, Royal Bank of Canada finished the day down 0.7 per cent and Toronto-Dominion Bank fell 2 per cent. However, insurers did well: Manulife Financial Corp. rose 1.9 per cent and Sun Life Financial Inc. rose 0.8 per cent.
Commodity producers were generally weaker after the price of crude oil fell to $51.05 (U.S.) a barrel, down $1.46; gold fell to $872.80 an ounce, down $24.50. Among energy stocks, Canadian Oil Sands Trust fell 1.6 per cent, but Talisman Energy Inc. rose 1.8 per cent. Among gold producers, Barrick Gold Corp. fell 4.6 per cent and Goldcorp Inc. fell 1.8 per cent.
Meanwhile, Research In Motion Ltd. finished with another fine gain after it surged about 20 per cent on Friday following and upbeat quarterly report. On Monday, the stock rose another 7.2 per cent, contributing more than 30 points to the benchmark index.
Copyright 2001 The Globe and Mail
Monday, April 6, 2009
North American stocks ended down on Monday
Josef Schachter On BNN
Schachter Asset Management Inc. provides oil and gas research coverage for small to mid-cap energy companies to Maison Placements Canada for their institutional clients. The principal of SAMI has over 35 years of experience in investment management. Before he set up his own investment advisory business, Mr. Schachter was Richardson Greenshields' Market Strategist from 1991-1996 and was also a Director of RGCL and a member of its Investment Policy Committee. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst and Certified Management Accountant designations, and is a past Chairman of the Canadian Council of Financial Analysts.
Josef is a frequent guest on BNN TV and CBC Business World. He is a frequent speaker at corporate and investor conferences such as the World Outlook Financial Forum. He is regularly quoted in news and financial reporting publications and was awarded the Business Edge's "Stock Picker of the Year" in 2003, 2004 and 2007.
If you would like Josef Schachter to be a keynote speaker at conferences, please contact Brenda Asplund at 403 233 8483 or via e-mail.
Please feel free to contact us at:
Schachter Asset Management Inc.
Suite 220, 101 - 6th Avenue SW
Calgary, Alberta
T2P 3P4 Canada
Ph: (403) 264-5777
Fax: (403) 264 8874
Bankers Pet Rising Accumulation Continues
Proved and Probable 10% NPV exceeds $1 Billion
Bankers Petroleum Ltd. ("Bankers" or the "Company") (TSX: BNK, AIM: BNK) is pleased to announce that it has filed its 2008 Reserves disclosure information with the applicable securities regulatory authorities. The NI 51-101 disclosure documents consist of the F1 - Statement of Reserves Data and Other Oil and Gas Information, the F2 - Report of Independent Qualified Reserves Evaluator and the F3 - Report of Management and Directors on Oil and Gas Disclosure.
The evaluations of the Albanian properties were conducted by RPS Energy Canada Ltd. (Patos Marinza oilfield) and by DeGolyer and MacNaughton Canada Limited (Kucova oilfield). At December 31, 2008, the reserves have increased in all three categories (proved, probable and possible), along with the corresponding valuations, as shown below. On a Proved plus Probable basis, the 2008 finding and development costs for the Albanian properties represented $5.55 per barrel, inclusive of the 2008 expenditures and change in future capital.
Subsequent to the Company's February 13, 2009 News Release announcing the preliminary reserve amounts, the final assessment for the Patos Marinza oilfield increased slightly, primarily in the "Proved" and the "Proved plus Probable plus Possible" categories. The combined "Proved plus Probable" category has remained consistent at 180 million barrels having an after-tax 10%-discounted valuation of $1 billion.
In the Patos Marinza oilfield, the original-oil-in-place resource estimate increased 140% to 4.7 billion barrels. The reserves growth is primarily attributable to increased resource levels, improved well performance and the Company's 2008 vertical and horizontal development drilling successes. All of Patos Marinza's 2008 reserves estimates are from primary recovery methods.
The Kucova oilfield, acquired in 2008, has an original-oil-in-place resource estimate of 300 million barrels. This property is currently in the evaluation stage that will lead to creation of a development plan.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Oil falls on U.S. jobless data
MARK WILLIAMS
The Associated Press
April 3, 2009 at 4:19 PM EDT
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Oil prices dipped Friday after the U.S. government reported that the nation's unemployment rate rose to the highest rate since late 1983 as employers eliminated 663,000 jobs.
Benchmark crude for May delivery fell 13 cents (U.S.) to settle at $52.51 barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
With the U.S. and other nations hemorrhaging jobs, demand for gasoline and other fuels has plummeted. The unemployed are not commuting, factories are not producing as many consumer goods, and heat or electricity at millions of homes has been shut off.
“We are swimming in oil,” analyst Stephen Schork said. “We are swimming in oil because production is strong and demand is weak ... and it is going to remain that way in the short run.”
Still, Mr. Schork acknowledges that more people are buying into oil markets on “any positive thread.”
On Thursday, the same futures contract rose $4.25 to settle at $52.64 on word that the world's major powers would provide $1.1-trillion in loans and guarantees to developing countries.
In London, Brent prices rose 72 cents to settle at $53.47 a barrel Friday on the ICE Futures exchange.
Even with the jump in prices Thursday, benchmark U.S. crude ended the week essentially flat.
“We're getting a well-deserved pullback ahead of the weekend,” said Jim Ritterbusch of Ritterbusch and Associates.
The U.S. Labour Department reported Friday that the nation's unemployment level is now at 8.5 per cent. If part-time and discouraged workers are factored in, the unemployment rate would have been 15.6 per cent in March, the highest on records dating to 1994.
Since the recession began in December, 2007, the economy has lost a net total of 5.1 million jobs, with almost two-thirds of the losses occurring in the last five months.
The number of unemployed people climbed to 13.2 million in March. In addition, the number of people forced to work part time for “economic reasons” rose by 423,000 to 9 million. Those are people who would like to work full time but whose hours were cut back or who were unable to find full-time work.
Oil prices in recent weeks have begun to follow Wall Street, however, and stocks have been rising for three weeks. The stock market has historically bottomed out before the economy.
Crude futures began to rise at the beginning of March, rising about $10 from a low of close of $40.15 on the first trading day of the month.
Still, oil inventories are at 16-year highs, suggesting an extraordinary lack of appetite for energy.
Phil Flynn of Alaron Trading Corp. said that, for now, optimism about the economy has trumped concerns of oversupply. He also said actions taken by central banks in the U.S. and Europe could push the dollar lower, and thus push oil prices higher. Oil is traded in U.S. currency and foreign investors can buy more when the dollar drops.
“Right now the oil market has made it clear that supplies are way down on the list of what's moving the market right now,” he said.
Investors bought into oil despite some very bearish supply numbers released by the government.
Prices at the pump, meanwhile, fell 0.4 cents a gallon overnight to $2.041, according to auto club AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information Service. Prices are 10.8 cents higher than a month ago, but $1.248 below last year's prices.
In other Nymex trading, gasoline for May delivery rose 2.26 cents to settle at $1.4924 a gallon and heating oil rose less than a cent to settle at $1.4460 a gallon. Natural gas for May delivery rose 1.9 cents to settle at $3.801 per 1,000 cubic feet.
