Breakwater and Virginia Provide Further Drill Results on Coulon JV Project

Breakwater and Virginia Provide Further Drill Results on Coulon JV Project

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TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Jan. 16, 2008) - Breakwater Resources Ltd. (TSX:BWR) and Virginia Mines Inc. report on the last results of their 2007 drilling program on the Coulon JV property (Breakwater 50% - Virginia 50%), located 15km north of the Fontanges airport, Quebec middle-north.


The exploration program that ended mid-December 2007 also included a VTEM heliborne survey as well as borehole InfiniTEM surveys. The 18 new holes tested lenses 44 (7 holes), 43 (7 holes), 9-25 and 08 (1 hole) as well as other geological and geophysical targets (3 holes). In addition, 4 old holes were extended to test lenses 08 and 43.


LENS 9-25 EXTENDED BY 50m TOWARDS THE NORTH WITH 4.05% Zn, 7.68% Cu AND 118.7 g/t Ag / 3.6m AND 3.14% Zn, 1.15% Cu AND 17.03 g/t Ag / 4.75m


Drilling resumed recently on lens 9-25 and a new hole was completed in December 2007 (longitudinal 9-25). Hole CN-07-123 confirmed the extension of the mineralization at depth towards the north with two massive to semi-massive sulphide zones, which yielded values of 4.05% Zn, 7.68% Cu and 118.7g/t Ag over 3.6m and 3.14% Zn, 1.15% Cu and 17.03 g/t Ag over 4.75m. These two closely spaced intersections are located at a vertical depth of 530m and extend the known limit of lens 9-25 towards the north by 50m.


Lens 9-25 is in general north-south oriented and is steeply dipping (85 degrees) towards the west. It is now confirmed over more than 200m laterally and over nearly 400m vertically. It remains open at depth and will be tested by several additional drill holes in the winter of 2008.


LENS 08 BLOSSOMS AT DEPTH WITH VALUES OF 2.87% Zn, 1.22% Cu AND 27.61 g/t Ag / 20.15m AND 2.25% Zn, 1.92% Cu AND 41.13 g/t Ag / 13.5m


In December 2007, three holes testing the extension of lens 08 at depth yielded very encouraging results (longitudinal 44/08). Holes CN-07-53B and CN-07-67, drilled in the summer of 2007 to test lens 9-25, were extended recently to crosscut the geological contact corresponding to lens 08 at depth. Hole CN-07-53B intercepted a thick massive sulphide zone that graded 2.87% Zn, 1.22% Cu and 27.61 g/t Ag over 20.15m, including a richer section grading 5.08% Zn, 1.25% Cu and 25.59 g/t Ag over 8m. This massive sulphide zone is followed a little further down the hole by another thick zone of semi-massive to disseminated sulphides grading 1.23% Zn, 0.9% Cu and 12.65 g/t Ag over 19m. These two large mineralized intervals correspond to the extension of lens 08, to a vertical depth of 475m. On the same section, hole CN-07-67 was also lengthened for the same reasons and it intercepted a massive sulphide zone grading 2.25% Zn, 1.92% Cu and 41.13 g/t Ag over 13.5m, to a vertical depth of 660m. On another section located 150 m further north, the new hole CN-07-123 drilled in December to test lens 9-25, also reached the contact hosting lens 08 where it intercepted a semi-massive sulphide zone that yielded 1.25% Zn, 1.76% Cu and 65.45 g/t Ag over 4.3m. This mineralized intersection is located at a vertical depth of over 700 m, which is, as of now, the deepest intersection in lens 08.


Lens 08 is located directly to the west of lens 9-25 and is parallel to it. It has a north-south general direction and is dipping subvertically to steeply to the east. Near the surface, both lenses are 150 to 200m apart but because of their opposite dip, both mineralized zones are closer at depth. Results obtained from recent drilling extend the mineralization by over 300m vertically and confirm that lens 08 becomes more important at depth where it remains open. Additional drilling will be carried out in the winter of 2008.


LENS 44 YIELDS OTHER GOOD RESULTS


Seven new holes tested lens 44 in the recent period (longitudinal 44/08). Best results were obtained with holes CN-07-126 and CN-07-127, which tested the south extension of lens 44 to a vertical depth of 230m. Hole CN-07-127 intercepted a thick massive sulphide zone grading 2.22% Zn, 1.16% Cu and 19.66 g/t Ag over 13.53m. Hole CN-07-126, located 60m further south, also intercepted a massive sulphide zone that yielded values of 2.73% Zn, 1.58% Cu and 18.1 g/t Ag over 5.05m. The other five holes tested the north extension of lens 44. Hole CN-07-116 intersected a semi-massive to massive sulphide zone to a vertical depth of over 300m that graded 2.89% Zn, 1.01% Cu and 17 g/t Ag over 6m. On another section located 75m further north, holes CN-07-112, CN-07-118 and CN-07-122 intercepted massive to semi-massive sulphide zones, in metric thicknesses, which returned values of up to 6.41% Zn, 0.7% Cu and 40.89 g/t Ag over 1.65m. These intersections are located at vertical depths of 350m to 600m. Finally, hole CN-07-125 was drilled on a section located 150 m further north in order to test at depth (550m) the area between lenses 44 and 08. This hole did not intercept significant mineralization but the borehole InfiniTEM survey conducted subsequently detected a good off-hole conductor that will be modeled in order to identify its exact position.


Lens 44 is north-south oriented and is dipping vertically to steeply to the west. It is now confirmed over a lateral distance of 400m and to a vertical depth of 600m. Lens 44 remains open at depth and will be the object of additional drilling in 2008.


LENS 43 RETURNS SEVERAL HIGH GRADE, THIN INTERSECTIONS


Seven new holes were drilled and two old ones (CN-07-43 and CN-07-59) were deepened to test lens 43 (longitudinal section 43). Overall, these holes intersected intense alteration zones hosting, in many cases, thin massive to semi-massive sulphide zones sometimes very rich in base metals. Best results include 2.99% Zn, 21.5% Cu, 140 g/t Ag over 0.4m and 3.29% Zn, 9.69% Cu, 67.8 g/t Ag over 0.5m (hole CN-07-107C), 3.26% Zn, 0.17% Cu and 13.35 g/t Ag over 2.2m (hole CN-07-111) and 0.78% Zn, 4.27% Cu and 61.7 g/t Ag over 2m (hole CN-07-115).


Despite a lack of wide intersections, recent drilling better defined the geology of the area. Lens 43 seems to be folded and many of the holes testing its NE portion intercepted two distinct alteration and mineralization zones that represent, according to our current knowledge, the same mineralized horizon on both sides of the fold. The axial plan of this fold seems to be NE-SW oriented with a variable dip towards the NW. For now, all mineralized intersections of lens 43 are reported on the same longitudinal section while awaiting a more detailed geological interpretation.


In 2008 Lens 43 will be the object of several additional holes, more particularly in its SW extension, which will be accessible from the surface of a frozen lake.


OTHER TARGETS


Three holes were drilled outside the areas of the known mineralized lenses. Hole CN-07-110 tested the fertile volcanic sequence approximately 250m north of lens 9-25. It intercepted an alteration zone with disseminated sulphides including a small, centimetric sphalerite horizon. The borehole InfiniTEM survey carried out subsequently indicates a probable extension of the alteration and mineralization zone towards the south.


Holes CN-07-113 and CN-07-117 tested the InfiniTEM anomalies situated in the area of the Tension showing, located SW of lens 43. In both cases, the target was missed but borehole InfiniTEM surveys indicate the proximity of good off-hole conductors. Additional drilling is planned in 2008 as a follow-up to these three holes that yielded interesting results.


VTEM HELIBORNE SURVEY


A VTEM heliborne geophysical survey of more than 6000 linear kilometres was recently completed on the Coulon JV project. This survey identified a great number of new EM conductors of which many are directly located in the immediate extensions of the fertile Coulon volcanic belt. The VTEM anomalies, associated with the most promising geological settings, will be the object of ground geophysics at the beginning of the winter of 2008 and will then be drill tested.


Both Breakwater and Virginia are encouraged by the recent results obtained and most generally by the important progress made on the Coulon JV project in the course of year 2007. In order to keep up with its momentum, Breakwater and Virginia will spend over C$20 million on the project in 2008. This budget will finance an important drilling program that will commence in February 2008 and will continue throughout the year, jointly with ground geophysical surveys, prospecting and geological mapping.


New drill results are reported in the annexed table. All samples have been analyzed at the certified laboratory ALS Chemex in Val-d'Or.



------------------------------

---------------------------------------------
Hole Line Length
Forage Ligne Station Azimut Dip Longueur
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
GRILLE PRINCIPALE/ MAIN GRID
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lens 9-25 Lentille
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

CN-07-123 20+25N 14+20E N267 -62 864

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lens 08 Lentille
---------------------------------------------------------------------------



CN-07-053B 18+25N 13+74E N268 -56 707

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
CN-07-123 20+25N 14+20E N267 -62 864
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
CN-07-067 19+00N 14+80E N264 -62 906
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lens 44 Lentille
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
CN-07-112 15+40N 7+20E N084 -59 740
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
CN-07-116 14+75N 8+80E N088 -58 462
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
CN-07-118 15+45N 8+20E N084 -55 630
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
CN-07-122 15+40N 6+60E N081 -60 810
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
CN-07-125 16+50N 6+88E N080 -60 869
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
CN-07-126 11+50N 9+75E N088 -62 360
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
CN-07-127 12+25N 9+42E N087 -56 366
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lens 43 Lentille
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
CN-06-043 7+50N 1+00W N135 -55 447
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
CN-07-059 7+12N 1+34W N135 -55 474
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
CN-07-107C 6+69N 3+86W N125 -61 498
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
CN-07-111 7+50N 3+50W N121 -61 572
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
CN-07-114 7+50N 3+50W N134 -63 534
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
CN-07-115 8+35N 1+83W N135 -59 550
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
CN-07-119 7+78N 2+72W N131 -57 453
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
CN-07-121 7+89N 0+38W N134 -56 405
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
CN-07-124 7+23N 2+18W N134 -57 321
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Regional Targets / Cibles Regionales
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
CN-07-110 23+50N 10+20E N230 -50 309
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
CN-07-113 11+60S 19+20W N120 -50 552
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
CN-07-117 25+25S 23+50W N330 -50 258
---------------------------------------------------------------------------




---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hole From To Length Thickness Cu Zn Pb Ag Au
Forage De A Long- Epaisseur % % % g/t g/t
ueur vraie
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
GRILLE PRINCIPALE/ MAIN GRID
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lens 9-25 Lentille
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
605.60 609.20 3.60 2.16 7.68 4.05 0.01 118.70 0.24
----------------------------------------------------------------
CN-07-123
----------------------------------------------------------------
614.90 619.65 4.75 2.85 1.15 3.14 0.01 17.03 0.11
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lens 08 Lentille
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
574.60 594.75 20.15 12.25 1.22 2.87 0.14 27.61 0.24
----------------------------------------------------------------
inc.
578.60 586.60 8.00 4.86 1.25 5.08 0.23 25.59 0.27
CN-07-053B ----------------------------------------------------------------
634.00 653.00 19.00 13.5 0.90 1.23 0.02 12.95 0.13
----------------------------------------------------------------
inc.
643.30 653.00 9.70 6.9 0.87 2.15 0.02 14.11 0.14
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
CN-07-123 819.45 823.75 4.30 2.50 1.76 1.25 0.02 65.45 0.21
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
CN-07-067 810.50 824.00 13.50 9.75 1.92 2.25 0.21 41.13 0.43
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lens 44 Lentille
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
CN-07-112 647.00 648.65 1.65 1.10 0.70 6.41 0.54 40.89 0.09
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
CN-07-116 366.50 372.50 6.00 4.60 1.01 2.89 0.02 17.00 0.12
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
CN-07-118 475.60 476.10 0.50 0.35 1.01 0.64 0.03 14.70 0.71
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
477.70 478.75 1.05 0.70 1.41 0.76 0.06 17.40 0.40
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
CN-07-122 770.55 771.1 0.55 0.45 0.45 1.27 0.04 20.00 0.23
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
CN-07-125 NSA
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
CN-07-126 255.90 260.95 5.05 4.60 1.58 2.73 0.01 18.10 0.10
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
CN-07-127 271.97 285.50 13.53 11.00 1.16 2.22 0.02 19.66 0.19
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
inc.
271.97 278.80 6.83 5.55 1.40 3.37 0.02 22.74 0.25
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lens 43 Lentille
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
CN-06-043 351.35 352.30 0.95 0.90 1.21 0.22 0.01 20.40 0.08
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
360.00 362.35 2.35 2.25 0.11 1.87 0.62 55.83 0.11
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
416.90 417.75 0.85 0.80 0.02 1.87 0.00 1.40 0.01
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
CN-07-059 NSV / PVS
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
CN-07-107C 415.60 416.00 0.40 0.40 21.50 2.99 0.01 140.00 0.34
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
420.90 421.40 0.50 0.50 9.69 3.29 0.01 67.80 0.96
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
CN-07-111 436.00 438.20 2.20 2.10 0.17 3.26 0.08 13.35 0.05
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
CN-07-114 NSV / PVS
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
CN-07-115 443.70 445.70 2.00 2.00 4.27 0.78 0.01 61.70 1.40
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
CN-07-119 NSV / PVS
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
CN-07-121 NSV / PVS
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
CN-07-124 278.30 279.10 0.80 0.65 0.37 2.90 0.03 6.60 0.03
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Regional Targets / Cibles Regionales
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
CN-07-110 NSV / PVS
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
CN-07-113 NSV / PVS
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
CN-07-117 NSV / PVS
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

NSV: no significant value
PVS : pas de valeur significative


Work is carried out by the personnel of Virginia Mines Inc, under the supervision of Mr. Paul Archer, geological engineer. Mr. Archer is a Qualified Person (as defined by National Instrument 43-101) and has more than 25 years of experience in exploration. Mr. Archer reviewed and approved the content of this press release.


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

Breakwater Resources Ltd.
Ann Wilkinson
Vice President, Investor Relations
(416) 363-4798 Ext. 277

BWR+ Kaminak News

Kaminak Commences Airborne Geophysical Surveys on Quebec Nickel Properties

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VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - Jan. 15, 2008) - Kaminak Gold Corporation (TSX VENTURE:KAM) has commenced high-definition airborne geophysical surveys over priority nickel-copper-platinum group element (PGE) targets in Quebec, Canada. Kaminak intends to survey a total of 4,050 line kilometres over five separate properties. This program is being funded solely by Kaminak's joint venture partner Breakwater Resources Ltd. (TSX:BWR).


Aeroquest International Limited will complete the surveys using their AeroTem II electromagnetic helicopter-borne system. This high-definition time-domain system is designed to identify conductive bodies, including nickel sulphide deposits to a depth of 250 metres in electrically resistive environments. All interesting anomalies will be followed-up by detailed ground geophysical surveys in the spring of 2008 in order to prioritize diamond drill targets.


Initial field work on the properties by Kaminak's technical team in 2007 identified mafic ultramafic rocks exhibiting magmatic sulphide segregation. A total of 12 grab samples were collected for geochemical analyses and the program's most significant assay result came from a surface outcrop sample that yielded anomalous values of nickel, copper, cobalt as well as PGE's and gold (Sample# CFP-605; 0.53% Ni, 2.84% Cu, 0.12% Co as well as 0.75 g/t Au, 0.35 g/t Pt and 0.55 g/t Pd). Additionally, nine of the eleven remaining grab samples each assayed greater than 0.1% Ni and greater than 0.1% Cu. Collectively, these are important indicators of process and suggest a favourable environment for the formation of nickel-copper-PGE deposits.


Kaminak - Breakwater Agreement


In the spring of 2007, Kaminak and Breakwater entered into a strategic alliance targeting primarily nickel-copper-PGE deposits over parts of southern Quebec. Kaminak's in-house technical team generated several priority targets which resulted in the staking of five separate properties which became subject to a joint venture agreement between Kaminak and Breakwater. As part of this joint venture agreement, Breakwater is funding the first $1 million of exploration costs in exchange for a 51% interest in the project. Breakwater can increase its interest to 60% by funding the next $2 million in exploration across all joint venture blocks (see Kaminak news release dated September 10th, 2007 for further details of the joint venture agreement).


ALS Chemex Analytical Technique


A total of 12 grab samples were collected and shipped to ALS Chemex for geochemical analyses. Rock samples are weighed, dried and finely crushed with a split of up to 250 g pulverized. The prepared sample is subjected to four acid digestion (0.4g is digested with nitric, perchloric, and hydrofluoric acids with hydrochloric acid subsequently added for further digestion. This solution is analyzed by inductively coupled plasma - atomic emission spectrometry. Results are corrected for spectral inter element interferences. QA/QC consists of the insertion of one method blank, two standards and one duplicate sample. Gold and PGE's were analysed by fire assay with an ICP-MS finish.


Kaminak's disclosure of a technical or scientific nature is prepared under the supervision of Rob Carpenter, Ph. D., P.Geo., Kaminak's President and CEO. Craig Finnigan, Ph. D., P.Geo. is Kaminak's Chief Geologist and is the Qualified Person under the definition of National Instrument 43-101.


About Kaminak


Kaminak Gold Corporation is a prospect generator employing a joint venture strategy that maximizes opportunities for discovery while attempting to minimize exploration risk to Kaminak. A critical component of Kaminak's business model is working with strong project partners to advance Kaminak's exploration projects. Covering several million acres, Kaminak holds one of the largest land positions in Canada devoted to metallic mineral exploration. Kaminak's projects offer world-class exploration potential and present exposure to strategic commodities including, gold, uranium and nickel.


On behalf of the Board of Directors


Rob Carpenter, Ph. D., P. Geo., President and CEO


Kaminak Gold Corporation

Petrolifera confirms activation of Puesto Morales North waterflood

Petrolifera confirms activation of Puesto Morales North waterflood; Provides salient details

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CALGARY, Jan. 15 /CNW/ - Petrolifera Petroleum Limited (PDP - TSX) confirmed today that its waterflood pressure maintenance project at Puesto Morales North in the Neuquen Basin, Rio Negro Province, onshore Argentina commenced continuous operations on January 11, 2008, following a period of commissioning and line testing which started in late December, 2007.


The purpose of the project is to enhance reservoir pressure in the prolific and high quality Jurassic Sierras Blancas oil-bearing reservoir at Puesto Morales. It is anticipated that there will be a period of approximately six months of water injection before meaningful response will be discernible in overall crude oil production levels and that it will take approximately eighteen months from startup of injection to achieve optimum production response, based on initial simulation studies of the reservoir. The high quality reservoir, characterized by excellent porosities and significant measured permeability, should facilitate excellent transmissibility of fluid and the project is expected to have a material and favorable impact on the ultimate recovery factor for the field.


The first injection stage in the Sierras Blancas formation will occur in 2008 and is expected to reach a total water injection rate of 18,000 barrels of water per day with approximately thirteen injector wells, including new wells and conversions. Future waterflood developments and optimizations will increase the injection rate to the capacity of 25,000 barrels of water per day.


The water injection plant is now operating with initial injection of approximately 5,000 barrels of water per day in four wells, PMN-1025, PMN-1011 and PMN-1037 in the northern part of the field and PMN-1035 in the central portion of the field. Over time, additional injectors will be tied back to the plant to realize the final injection rate of approximately 25,000 barrels of water per day. Fresh water is supplied to Petrolifera's water treatment plant, situated in the northern portion of the field, through a six kilometer ten-inch pipeline from facilities situated near the Casa de Piedra dam on the Rio Colorado River, resulting in the reservoir or embalse in the region.


Petrolifera's Puesto Morales water treatment plant filters the water with a targeted efficiency exceeding 90 percent on particle sizes exceeding five microns. Also, a target of 90 percent efficiency in oxygen removal is anticipated.


The activation of the water injection plant is a significant milestone for Petrolifera. It was constructed against a backdrop of energy and equipment shortages in Argentina and its completion is a credit to the company's operational staff and external advisors and consultants. More importantly, it is anticipated the waterflood will consequentially impact on Petrolifera's light crude oil production in Argentina during 2008 and beyond.

CitiBank Is Just 1 Reason Commodities + Markets Crash

Corridor Reverts to Over-Balanced Drilling to Complete McCully E-67 Deep Test

Corridor Reverts to Over-Balanced Drilling to Complete McCully E-67 Deep Test

Jan 14, 2008 08:30 ET

HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA--(Marketwire - Jan. 14, 2008) - Corridor Resources Inc. (TSX:CDH) reported today that under-balanced drilling operations at the McCully E-67 well have been terminated in favour of completing the drilling of the well using a conventional over-balanced drilling fluid. While drilling with an under-balanced drilling fluid, the E-67 well encountered a section of highly fractured and faulted shale in the upper 150 m of the Frederick Brook formation at a depth of approximately 2630 meters. Following two failed attempts to drill through the highly fractured shale section, it was concluded that the instability of the well-bore would prevent further deepening of the well using an under-balanced drilling process. Only minor gas flow was recorded while drilling under-balanced through the fractured Frederick Brook section, indicating that the fractured shale was incapable of significant rates of gas production in this well. Corridor has plugged back the well with cement into the shoe of the 9-5/8" casing and has reverted to an over-balanced mud system in an attempt to drill through the unstable hole section in the upper Frederick Brook shale formation. Corridor's objective is to penetrate and evaluate the deeper dolomitic shale section encountered in the Frederick Brook formation near the bottom of the F-58 well where higher formation pressures and significant gas shows were encountered in early February, 2007. Corridor also plans to drill the E-67 well to a total depth of approximately 4500 meters in an attempt to reach and evaluate the sandstone reservoirs of the Dawson Settlement formation. Results from an evaluation of this deeper section of the E-67 well are expected to be available towards the end of February, 2008. Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan is a joint venture partner with Corridor in the E-67 well.

Other Activities

Corridor is currently drilling the McCully K-48 well (please refer to the map below) and has just set the 9-5/8" intermediate casing at a depth of 1548 m. Corridor plans to drill and evaluate the Hiram Brook formation at this location, with results expected to be available in February, 2008.

The map of "McCully Drilling Program" is available at the following address: http://www.ccnmatthews.com/docs/map_corridor.jpg

Gross McCully natural gas production for the month of December averaged approximately 30 mmcf/day (20 mmcf/day net to Corridor).

An additional update, including frac and flow test results for wells at McCully and New Harmony (PEI), will be provided later this month, as well the 2008 drilling plans, production forecast and operating budget.

Retirement

Corridor also announced today the retirement of Paul J. Hopkins as Vice President and a director of the Corporation, effective January 18, 2008. Paul is one of the founders of the Corporation and has made considerable contributions to its growth and development. The Board of Directors expresses gratitude to Paul for his contributions, and extends best wishes for his retirement.

The strategic hiring of key managers over the past two years has ensured an effective transition of operational management. Larry Huskins will continue to be responsible for the implementation of the Corporation's drilling and well completion operations and Doug Bailey will continue to manage all of the Corporation's field construction and production operations in New Brunswick. Dena Murphy will continue to manage all of the Corporation's matters relating to health, safety and the environment.

Corridor Resources Inc. is a Halifax, Nova Scotia based company focused on exploring and developing natural gas resources in the McCully Field and surrounding areas of southern New Brunswick. The Company has completed construction of a field gathering system, a gas plant, and a pipeline lateral connecting the McCully Field to markets through the Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline (M&NP). The Company initiated natural gas production to M&NP on June 28, 2007 and has a continuous development drilling program underway to add reserves and production capacity as field development expands. Corridor also has a number of potentially high impact exploration projects planned in New Brunswick and elsewhere in eastern Canada.

For more information, please contact

Corridor Resources Inc
Norman W. Miller, President
902-429-4511
902-429-0209 (FAX)
www.corridor.ca

Markets Turn Down Again Today

TSX Today + BWR TA Chart

Gold and oil trigger TSX gains

RTGAM


Higher gold and oil prices boosted Canada's benchmark equity index Monday while U.S. stocks got a lift from International Business Machines Corp.'s earnings.

The S&P/TSX composite index added 65.71 points to 13,698.28. Energy, mining and gold stocks were the among the biggest gainers on Monday, while financials lost ground.

Crude oil for February delivery jumped $1.51 (U.S.) to close at $94.20 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Bullion futures climbed $5.70 to $903.40 an ounce after touching a record high $915.90 an ounce earlier in the session.

Among individual stocks, Yamana Gold Inc. and Barrick Gold Corp. logged strong performances, as did Potash Corp. and Research in Motion Ltd.

On Wall Street, indexes recovered from last week's losses. After falling nearly 250 points on Friday, the Dow Jones rose more than 170 points Monday to close at 12,778.15.
In the broader U.S. market, the Nasdaq added 38.36 points while the S&P 500 rose 15.23 points.

IBM provided the lift south of the border, rising the most in five years after releasing fourth-quarter preliminary earnings that were 24 per cent higher than a year ago. They also topped analyst targets.

The results triggered some hope that earnings season, which has just kicked off, will not be as bad as some fear. Citigroup Inc. is slated to release its financial results on Tuesday, followed by Merrill Lynch & Co. on Thursday.

National Bank Financial economist Stefane Marion said analysts are calling for a consensus 8.5 per cent contraction in fourth-quarter S&P 500 earnings, a sharp change from the 10.2 per cent increase that was forecast at the start of the quarter on Oct. 4th.

"Looking ahead, however, the consensus remains very optimistic on the prospects for a sharp rebound in earnings growth...during calendar 2008," Mr. Marion wrote in a note Monday. "Needless to say, current profit expectations are still far from integrating a sharp economic slowdown."




Copyright 2001 The Globe and Mail

Pescod Talks Great Picks This Evening.

Petrolifera Petroleum provides activity update

Petrolifera Petroleum provides activity update

cnw



CALGARY, Jan. 14 /CNW/ - Petrolifera Petroleum Limited (PDP - TSX) hereby provides an update on the company's activity during calendar 2007.


Petrolifera had a productive if somewhat challenging year in 2007. The company drilled at total of 47 wells, all on its Puesto Morales/Rinconada Concession in the Neuquen Basin, Argentina, during the year. This drilling resulted in 33 oil wells, two natural gas wells, three water injector wells, two dry holes, four non-productive or suspended wells and three wells were being completed at year end.


At Puesto Morales, a total of 35 wells were drilled, resulting in 25 oil wells, two natural gas wells, three water injector wells, two dry holes, one suspended well and two wells were on completion at year end. At Rinconada, a total of twelve wells were drilled, resulting in eight oil wells, three non-productive or suspended wells and one well was being completed at year end. This brings to over 60 the number of wells drilled on the Concession since first drilling was initiated in late 2005.


A major undertaking during 2007 was the design, construction and activation of the company's infrastructure and production facilities. This included gathering lines, water treatment facilities, water disposal facilities, a high pressure natural gas pipeline and initiation of a waterflood at Puesto Morales North. The timetable for these projects was frustrated during the year by energy shortages in Argentina, especially during their winter months, which delayed access to requisite parts and equipment for the various component parts needed by Petrolifera to activate its pressure maintenance program. There were also delays encountered in securing pumps and certain high pressure valves for the company's natural gas pipeline and related facilities.


Petrolifera's sales grew considerably during 2007. All sales were of production in Argentina. Crude oil sales increased 45 percent over 2006 levels, to average 8,657 barrels per day. Much of the improvement occurred during the early part of the year, when flush production from new Sierras Blancas discoveries at Puesto Morales contributed to record quarterly sales, cash flow from operations before changes in working capital and near-record earnings. Subsequently, production curtailments for natural gas conservation purposes, water incursion at a key high productivity well (1013), pressure depletion awaiting the waterflood and delays and equipment shortages affected production levels.


Natural gas sales were stronger at modestly better prices during 2007, awaiting the startup of the waterflood and completion of the company's high pressure natural gas pipeline to Medanito. Sales rose 97 percent to average 2.3 mmcf/d in 2007.


On an equivalent basis, Petrolifera's 2007 sales rose 47 percent to average 9,047 boe/d compared to only 6,171 boe/d in 2006, the company's first full year of operations. Again, full year results were reflective of the influence of oil production declines during the year, awaiting activation of the company's pressure maintenance scheme which is now underway. Fourth quarter sales were 7,042 boe/d, slightly below third quarter for similar reasons. During November, production was curtailed due to field activities associated with the startup of certain key facilities, pump installations and the like, well in excess of the impact of natural declines. This was evidenced by the fact that December sales exceeded November levels by 23 percent and early January 2008 levels were even higher.


Petrolifera expects robust growth in production and sales in 2008 as increased natural gas volumes are marketed at improved average prices and as new drilling and the impact of the company's recently activated pressure maintenance or waterflood program at Puesto Morales is felt. Also, the company is optimistic about the risk adjusted potential of its planned exploration program in Argentina during the current year as it continues to evaluate new Jurassic Sierras Blancas and Loma Montosa prospects at Puesto Morales as well as Cretaceous Centenario opportunities on its Puesto Morales block as well as at its Gobernador Ayala II concession, on which a 3D seismic program was recently completed. This latter block lies just east of and on trend with an area being developed by another Canadian company.


Petrolifera has already announced a 69 well, $76 million capital budget for Argentina during 2008. This planned program will include extensive drilling at Puesto Morales/Rinconada, seismic and drilling on Vaca Mahuida, drilling on the Gobernador Ayala II concession and 3D seismic and drilling on the recently confirmed Puesto Guevara Concession in Rio Negro Province, Argentina. Petrolifera now owns 493,310 net acres of oil and gas rights in Argentina, the equivalent of 21 townships in Western Canada. The total does not include any interest which Petrolifera may ultimately hold in the Salinas Grande concession in La Pampa Province. Currently, the company is operating with three rigs and four service rigs.


The company's Argentinean budget will continue to be evaluated in the context of the actual outcome of exploratory drilling results and the evolving policy framework for the country. Recently announced price controls for crude oil and continuing control of natural gas prices below fair value will impact on anticipated cash flow, especially if refineries attempt to transfer imposed burdens on to producers. It is apparent that if increased deregulation was to occur, improved cash flow from operations before changes in working capital would likely result in higher levels of reinvestment in Argentina. Since Petrolifera commenced drilling operations in late 2005, the company has invested approximately $100 million in the country.


Plans are advancing for early drilling in Colombia. Petrolifera has identified three prospective drillable prospects on its Sierra Nevada I License in the Lower Magdalena Basin. Discussions to secure a drilling rig for a July/August commencement of activities are continuing. A seismic program is also anticipated in 2008 on the company's Turpial Block in the Upper Magdalena Basin. Staffing is underway and an office has been established in Bogota, Colombia. Petrolifera controls over one million acres of petroleum and natural gas rights in Colombia, fast becoming one of the exploration hotspots in South America for the oil and natural gas industry. An initial 2008 capital budget of $8 million has been established for Colombia; this may be expanded depending upon results and as mentioned, developments in Argentina, although regardless the company has the wherewithal to expand its Colombian budget as warranted by opportunities that develop.


Petrolifera's 2008 Peru capital budget has been established at $56 million, to cover the cost of extensive seismic programs on both Ucayali Block 107 and on Maranon Block 106 and for the drilling of the company's first well on Block 107. These are both jungle blocks with attendant high costs of exploration, including for access and when drilling, for helicopter support. Petrolifera's seismic program on Block 107 is proceeding very favorably, with 62 percent of lines cut at year-end 2007; 60 percent of shot holes have been drilled and 24 percent of lines have been shot. Early indications from received data are considered excellent and the company is proceeding with preparation of its Environmental Impact Assessment ("EIA") applications for a number of drilling locations. The data will be received, interpreted and reviewed for selection of the preferred prospects, which are anticipated to have considerable potential.


As with Colombia, discussions for a suitable heli-transportable rig are advancing to the contract negotiation stage, initially for a two-well commitment. Drilling is tentatively anticipated for approximately October 2008, subject to regulatory approval of the company's drilling EIA.


Petrolifera continues to await clarification with respect to its significant $37.7 million face value investment in Asset Backed Commercial Paper ("ABCP"). It will be recalled the company recorded a book impairment of this investment during the third quarter 2007 and recategorized the investment from a short term asset to long term on its balance sheet. We continue to seek ways to recover the full amount of our investment into what was rated as R-1 High by a recognized bond rating agency in Canada. Included in this process is a continuing dialogue with the chartered bank whose investment arm sold the investment to Petrolifera and awareness of the initiatives of the Montreal Accord. This has been a slow and arduous process with limited free flow of information. We will advise shareholders and the investment community of any developments directly affecting Petrolifera or its holdings to the extent we are apprised of same.


In the interim, Petrolifera has sufficient cash flow from operations before changes in working capital and access to available credit to be able to fund its capital program without undue difficulty. Obviously, the company would prefer to receive its funds from its ABCP on a timely basis to avoid accessing available credit arrangements for its activities, but fortunately is in a position where it does not have to compromise its growth programs as a consequence of the mid-2007 disappearance of liquidity for these short-term, highly-rated instruments.


In late January 2008 Petrolifera is hosting a visit by invitation of numerous Canadian investment analysts and some portfolio managers from Canada and the United States. These individuals will visit the company's facilities at Puesto Morales and will be provided insight into the opportunities and challenges facing the oil and gas industry in South America by a number of regional experts. Additionally, the company will be reviewing its assets and activities. Accordingly, in conjunction with this press release we will be posting an updated Investor Presentation on our website at www.petrolifera.ca. Click on the link Investor Info and then on Investor Presentations to access the January 2008 Power Point slides.


The company has commissioned GLJ Petroleum Consultants of Calgary, Alberta to prepare its year-end 2007 reserve report. This report is anticipated to be received during the month of February 2008 and will be released to the public after it has been reviewed by the company's Reserves Committee and accepted by its Board of Directors.


The company's audited financial and operating results are anticipated to be released to the public by way of press release on or about March 8, 2008.


In summary, Petrolifera made considerable progress in 2007. Crude oil sales were up 45 percent over 2006. Natural gas sales were up 97 percent over 2006. On an equivalent basis, sales were up 47 percent year over year to 9,047 boe/d, compared to sales of 6,171 boe/d in 2006. During 2007 Petrolifera drilled a record 47 wells in Argentina, resulting in 33 oil wells, two natural gas wells and three injectors, with only two dry holes (the first dry holes since activation of drilling in 2005), four suspended wells and three wells being completed at year end. Major expenditures were made during 2007 on field facilities including for water treatment and disposal, a waterflood or pressure maintenance facility and a high pressure natural gas pipeline to Medanito from Puesto Morales. Over $100 million of capital expenditures are anticipated for the full year. These investments are expected to result in restoration of the company's production and sales growth during 2008, aided by continued drilling activity in Argentina (including on new blocks at Gobernador Ayala II, Vaca Mahuida and Puesto Guevara) where the company controls over 493,000 net acres of petroleum and natural gas rights. Seismic and drilling is also anticipated in 2008 in Colombia and in Peru on what are anticipated to be high potential prospects. The company is financially self-sufficient with adequate cash, anticipated cash flow and available credit to fund an anticipated $140 million capital program in 2008.





Petrolifera is a Calgary-based crude oil and natural gas exploration, development and production company with activities in Argentina, Peru and Colombia. The company has branch offices in Buenos Aires, Argentina; Bogota, Colombia and Lima, Peru. Its common shares are listed for trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol PDP. There are presently 50.1 million common shares outstanding (54.4 million fully-diluted). The company's growth from a modest startup base in late 2005 when it went public has been organic, through successful drilling programs in Argentina. Since that time the company has expanded into both Colombia and Peru, and controls approximately 6.5 million net acres of exploration and production rights in these three South American countries. Petrolifera operates with a very small head office staff of three full-time professionals, two part-time individuals and solely employs nationals in all of its foreign offices. The company prides itself on its efficiency of operations, low finding and development and on stream costs, low operating costs and its efficient use of capital.

Inside a stock fraud

Inside a stock fraud TheStar.com - Business - Inside a stock fraud

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"If something really goes wrong, I’ll get popped," says Michael Mitton, RCMP plant and fraudster.

How a notorious swindler and former RCMP plant used a `pump and dump' scheme to fleece investors

January 13, 2008

Tony Van Alphen
Business Reporter

The future didn't look bright for serial swindler and parolee Michael Lee Mitton when RCMP officers frisked him at Vancouver International Airport on a cloudy June day in 2004.

Inside his suitcase, they found diagrams and calculations on deals involving companies with names like Pender International, IMM Investments Inc., Kamposse Financial Corp. and Firestar Capital Management Corp.

There was a fax from a financial adviser named Michael Ciavarella, a technical report on a gold mining project and documents relating to Bahamian investment firms.

Police discovered blank fax sheets containing the letterhead of "Tree Valley Garden Centre," a handwritten note with the words "to be done Neil," and contact information for Cosimo Commisso, whom police claim to be the head of an organized crime family in Toronto, as well as Johnny and Raymond Commisso.

Mitton was carrying four cellphones, and had cheques worth more than $13,000 in his wallet.

For years, he had prospered on the then-Vancouver Stock Exchange, a noted playpen for stock hustlers, of which Mitton was one of the most notorious. By the end of 2000, he had already piled up 103 convictions in Canada, primarily related to his specialty – stock fraud.

Last March, Mitton pleaded guilty to fraud and money laundering, and received a seven-year prison sentence plus a $2.6-million restitution order payable to HSBC Bank. In an agreed statement of facts filed in court, Mitton confessed to being the "architect" of an elaborate stock fraud involving several companies.

In piecing together the tale of Mitton's fraud scheme, the Star has relied on Mitton's agreed statement of facts when he pleaded guilty, and on more than 1,000 pages of RCMP affidavits filed with the court in support of search warrants. These contain allegations that have not been proven in court.

The Star further relied on transcripts of wiretaps and interviews conducted by the RCMP, which are also filed in court, National Parole Board reports and documents filed with the Ontario Securities Commission and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, the Star interviewed people involved in or familiar with RCMP operations.

Police have also charged Michael Ciavarella with fraud, conspiracy, money laundering, possession of the proceeds of crime and two counts of extortion. The allegations have yet to be proved in court. Ciavarella's lawyer did not return calls seeking comment.

Also charged – with fraud, conspiracy, robbery, assault and two cases of extortion – is Anneillo (Neil) Peluso, whom the RCMP describe in court affidavits as being "a high-ranking member of Cosimo Commisso's organized crime group." The allegations have not been proved in court.

Peluso, who has no criminal record, owns Tree Valley Garden Centre in Richmond Hill. A quiet businessman, he also sponsored and managed minor hockey teams in the area.

Alan Gold, Peluso's lawyer, has said that allegations about his client's ties to Commisso are groundless. "They're not worth the search warrant paper they're written on."

Gold said he would not comment on the charges because the case is still before the courts.

On the day he was picked up at Vancouver's airport, Michael Lee Mitton was scarcely an unknown figure to the RCMP. A career criminal, the diminutive man with hazel eyes and curly hair had strong connections to the Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver underworlds.

He routinely ignored trading bans, fines and restitution orders. Prison was a temporary inconvenience. Sometimes he didn't wait to finish a sentence. While on parole, he would work on details of his next fraud.

His signature moves involved purchasing public shell companies and manipulating their shares in what the industry calls a "pump and dump" operation. The scheme, one of the oldest forms of stock market fraud, is a favourite of con artists.

In Mitton's version, he would find a shell company, set up a personal network of buyers and sellers, release "news" and then direct the network's trading in company shares. The idea was to artificially create investor interest and trigger a jump in the company's stock price.

Network players would unload any shares they held and pocket the profits before regulators, brokerages and average investors realized anybody had duped them. In the aftermath, Mitton usually left a trail of misery for victims who suffered everything from financial ruin to family breakups and humiliation.

But Mitton, a man of many aliases, also had another unusual calling card – sometime undercover RCMP agent. His second stint as an agent – while on parole for an earlier stock fraud – had just ended a few weeks before his airport encounter with the RCMP. He had pulled out of a Mountie money-laundering sting, claiming police had put his life in danger.

According to police affidavits, one of the targets of that sting operation had been Cosimo Commisso and his group, although no charges were ever laid.

After going through Mitton's luggage at the Vancouver airport, the RCMP arrested him on suspicion of criminal activity.

At the time, police had a tip that Mitton might have skimmed cash during his earlier role as a phony, money-laundering salesman for the RCMP sting operation. What police didn't know then, was that earlier in the week, Mitton had been setting up an integral piece of his newest venture back in Ontario.

At the RBC Dominion Securities branch in Richmond Hill, representatives of Kamposse Financial Corp. – another name from Mitton's suitcase – had opened an account. Among the representatives was someone calling himself "Michael Douglas," a name he just happened to share with the actor who portrayed corporate raider Gordon Gekko in the movie Wall Street. The representative's real name: Michael Lee Mitton.

After his arrest in Vancouver, Mitton languished in jail for two months. At a subsequent hearing, Mitton's parole supervisor recommended that the parole board revoke his release because what police had found in Mitton's suitcase was "consistent with past fraudulent behavior."

But the board released Mitton, saying police had not provided enough information to support their suspicions.

Mitton was back on the street and, despite parole restrictions, he turned his attention to a company called Pender International.

Incorporated in Delaware in the 1990s, Pender had moved to Markham in early 2004. Pender was listed on the over-the-counter market of the U.S.-based National Association of Securities Dealers, but the firm was dormant, with no real assets and its shares traded at less than a dime each.

That would soon change dramatically, with a series of announcements and transactions during Mitton's summer sojourn in jail. In a news release, Pender said it was abandoning its previous business of importing furniture to become a merchant bank for small firms.

Mitton and others had paid about $900,000 to buy most of the shares in Pender, according to regulatory filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. It turned out to be just part of a complicated series of transactions.

The money to buy Pender had come from another company – Armistice Resources Ltd. – which had raised more than $2 million from investors in a private placement. Armistice owned a non-working gold mine near Kirkland Lake in Northern Ontario.

Pender then bought IMM Investments, which in turn held a minority stake in Armistice. Among IMM's key executives were Kalano Jang and his son, Kalson Jang. According to filings with the SEC, a Kalano Jang holding company received roughly one third of Pender's shares as part of the sale of IMM.

Kalson Jang, who is chief operating officer at Trillion Financial Corp., also became Pender's chairman. Kalano Jang is Trillion's president.

In an affidavit filed with the court, the RCMP say Elisa and Patrick Perl of Toronto invested $235,000 in Armistice after meeting with their advisers at Trillion. The Perls were instructed to make their cheque payable to Firestar Capital Management, a company controlled by Ciavarella. The Perls say in the affidavit that they never received any money back.

The Jangs did not respond to requests for an interview. No charges have been laid against any Trillion officials.

As a result of the deals involving Armistice and IMM, Pender was transformed. It now had an indirect interest in a mining company, Armistice. It also gained new management when Ciavarella became Pender's chief executive officer in July.

By then, however, Pender was already coming under RCMP scrutiny. According to affidavits filed with the court, the police say they were by then tapping the phones of Pender insiders. In one affidavit, the RCMP alleges that Ciavarella told Peluso that so-called market makers – who facilitate the buying and selling of stock – needed to agree to trade Pender shares at $5 apiece, much higher than the pennies at which the stock then traded.

In one call, police say, Ciavarella recommended changing Pender's name, but then decided the process would take too long. Ciavarella, according to the RCMP transcript, then tells Peluso: "We'll just trade it among ourselves for five bucks and then we'll put news out."

Despite the shakeup and changes at Pender, the stock price languished at 6.5 cents (U.S.) with no trading on the over-the-counter market until almost mid-October, a few weeks after Mitton had popped out of jail.

Without warning or a single news development, Pender took off on Oct. 14 to 30 cents. The stock price doubled to 60 cents a day later and broke through the $1 mark for the first time on Oct. 20. It surged past $2.50 on Oct. 26.

About a dozen investment accounts were actively involved in trading Pender shares, according to police, including the Kamposse account at RBC that Mitton had set up posing as Michael Douglas. Also trading actively in Pender stock were accounts held by Ciavarella and two of his companies, Firestar Capital and Firestar Investment Management, according to RCMP affidavits citing OSC trading records.

In a four-week period in October and November, Kamposse sold 376,000 Pender shares for proceeds of $2.74 million, far more than the $475,000 Kamposse had originally paid for them. Meanwhile, Firestar Capital's account bought 392,000 shares in November alone for $3.55 million.

In his agreed statement of facts, Mitton admits to employing numerous techniques to bolster Pender's stock price, including "wash trading," in which Pender's shares were simultaneously bought and sold through different brokers to create the impression of market action.

Mitton also orchestrated so-called "high closings" – bidding up the price of Pender stock at the very end of a day's trading.

In late October, Pender put out a news release about its investment in Armistice that showed a certain kind of resourcefulness. Normally, firms such as Armistice announce estimates of the gold content in their mines and the cost of extracting it. But the mine owned by Armistice, a company with $29.6 million (Cdn.) of debt, also contained something else: water. Lots of it.

So Pender announced that Armistice had hired a firm to pump the water out of the mine and reactivate it. In a news release, Pender CEO Ciavarella promised the job would be completed within four months and "production" at the "flagship acquisition" would start in early 2005.

Within a few days, Pender stock hit $5.75 (U.S.). By Remembrance Day, it had topped $10 before hitting a peak of $11.35 on Nov. 18.

In the span of just 35 days, the number of Pender shares traded had reached 2.1 million, and their value had shot up by 3,783 per cent. For some investors, it was a lucrative run.

According to OSC trading records cited in RCMP affidavits, Ciavarella personally bought 15,500 Pender shares in early November for an average price of roughly $5.80, or $91,545. Within two weeks, he had sold the shares for $161,391.

Trading records also show that Giovanni (Johnny) Commisso generated a gross profit of $125,855 in four weeks of trading in Pender shares, while Raimondo (Raymond) Commisso earned a profit of $5,890 in less than two weeks.

There were other transactions that November, the affidavits revealed. In one, Firestar Capital deposited $243,991 into the trust account of a Toronto lawyer. According to police, that money was then transferred to a bank account belonging to Mitton's wife, Janet, in British Columbia.

A few days after Pender stock reached its peak, Firestar Capital used its account at HSBC to buy $2.6 million-worth of Pender shares. Before Firestar's cheque had cleared, HSBC advanced the money to the seller of the stock – Mitton's Kamposse trading account at RBC.

After Firestar's cheque bounced, according to Mitton's agreed statement of facts, HSBC was short $2.6 million. And because HSBC had become suspicious about the transaction, under securities law it was precluded from reselling the Pender stock to recover the loss.

At the same time, RBC was expressing similar concerns about the Kamposse account. As Pender stock approached its peak, Kamposse had delivered certificates for 3.4 million Pender shares to RBC. Those certificates were by then valued at roughly $34 million, far more than the $340,000 they would have fetched a few months earlier. Kamposse asked that the certificates be cleared – and its account credited with that amount – as soon as possible.

But an RBC official noticed something odd. The telephone number and address for Pender was the same as Kamposse. RBC immediately suspended trading in the Kamposse account and alerted the Ontario Securities Commission.

Pender shares started tanking. Just two weeks after reaching their peak, Pender stock had lost half its value.

That helped spark a new RCMP probe, code-named Project Nemesis – a reference to Mitton's long criminal record. The probe included other police forces and staff from the OSC, which by mid-December had frozen more than a dozen trading accounts with alleged links to Pender.

The OSC also ordered Ciavarella, Mitton, Kamposse and the Firestar companies to cease all trading in Pender stock.

By Christmas, 2004, Pender's stock price had stablilized in the $6 range, even though the task of pumping water out of the Armistice mine had come to a halt because the company had run out of money.

But Mitton, according to his agreed statement of facts, wasn't going to be idle. He was busy developing plans to crank up the amount of "news" emanating from Pender. Early in the new year, that included the appointment of a new CEO to replace Ciavarella, who resigned.

In a securities filing a few weeks later, a bullish Pender claimed it was similar to Onex Corp., the big Toronto conglomerate, except that Pender was looking to acquire smaller companies "in the advance stages and near profitability."

The company was still calling its only asset, the flooded mine near Kirkland Lake, "our flagship gold project."

Mitton was also transforming himself. In a webcast to discuss Pender's prospects with investors, Mitton assumed an alias, "Michael Hennesey," posing as "a Pender investor."

A few weeks later, Pender issued another news release, saying the company had switched gears and would now be considering real estate projects. Pender followed that with "news" that it had gained a $100-million equity line of credit.

A subsequent news release claimed that Pender had concluded the purchase of Montebello Development, with construction starting soon on a Mexican resort.

"We continue to evaluate some very interesting properties in Europe, as well as a 400-acre resort and casino in the Caribbean," the company gushed. "We would expect the Pender property portfolio to exceed $350 million in value by the end of the second quarter."

And yet, Pender shares continued to fall, sliding to $1.05 by early February, 2005, and to 30 cents a month later.

On April 1, Pender announced it had "cancelled negotiations" for a "final agreement" on its $100-million line of credit, only to bounce back a few days later with news of "final talks" for an even bigger credit line.

Then came an announcement that Pender's new subsidiary, Montebello, had reached a deal to buy the Sheraton Fallsview Hotel and Conference Centre in Niagara Falls, along with another news release claiming the dewatering of the Northern Ontario mine would take four to six weeks.

But there was no line of credit. No resort construction. No hotel acquisition. No work at the flagship gold mine.

Mitton himself, however, was busy. Ignoring the trading freezes, he used other companies with names like Wonderland Capital to shuffle Pender shares. According to trading records, Mitton still managed to generate a profit of nearly $1.1 million in the first quarter of 2005.

He certainly didn't show any signs of personal financial difficulty. He had a penthouse in Markham in the same building as Ciavarella, a house in Ottawa, and drove around in a Mercedes E320.

And all the while, the RCMP were tracking his movements. They would soon be executing a series of search warrants.

At Mitton's house, they seized hundreds of computer files, emails, financial data, press releases, shareholder lists.

But even this didn't appear to faze Mitton. Posing as Hennesey, now a Pender "consultant," Mitton spun a tale of more pending "good news" to a prospective investor, including the purchase of the hotel in Niagara Falls.

Like Hennesey, the investor was really someone else. He was an RCMP corporal.

A weak employment report helped knock Canada's benchmark stock market lower

U.S. markets skid

RTGAM

A weak employment report helped knock Canada's benchmark stock market lower Friday while U.S. stocks plunged after fears that the credit-related trouble in the financial sector is far from over.

A Canadian government report showed that the economy unexpectedly shed 18,700 positions last month after seven straight months of job creation. It was a sharp contrast to November, when the economy added a whopping 42,600 positions, and further evidence the economy is losing steam.

The S&P/TSX composite index fell 10.08 points to 13,632.57. The gold sector climbed 2 per cent as bullion futures rose to a record $900.10 (U.S.) an ounce on speculation that U.S. interest rates are going down.

Research in Motion Ltd. stock was actively traded Friday, dropping 6 per cent in Toronto after the company was both upgraded and a downgraded by separate analysts.
On Wall Street, the Dow industrials plummeted 246.79 points lower to close the week at 12,853.09. In the broader U.S. market, the Nasdaq dropped 48.58 points while the S&P 500 lost 19.31 points.

"Equity markets continued to face the stiff headwinds of a struggling U.S. economy and subprime-related writedowns this week," said Robert Kavcic, an economist with BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc.

"Indeed, equity markets are now screaming recession," he said. "While the S&P 500 is down year-over-year for the first time since 2003, the Dow, S&P 500 and TSX have all experienced the often fatal death cross - the 50-day moving average falling below the 200-day moving average."

U.S. credit-card company American Express Co. set an early negative tone Thursday with a lower-than-expected profit forecast that increased concerns that tighter credit may be reducing consumer spending and crippling economic growth. The stock tumbled 10 per cent on Friday, the biggest decliner among the 30 stocks on the Dow.

A media report that Merrill Lynch might take a $15-billion (U.S.) hit from its exposure to soured subprime mortgage investments added to the general unease among investors. Merrill, Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase & Co. are all slated to release their earnings next week.

Shares of Countrywide Financial fell 18.32 per cent after Bank of America stepped in with a $4-billion rescue bid to buy the largest U.S. mortgage lender. Investors were disappointed that the takeover bid was not higher.
With files from wires.




Copyright 2001 The Globe and Mail

Bernanke signals U.S. central bank will move to stave off a recession

Jan 11, 2008 04:30 AM

Michael Grynbaum
New York Times

Washington–U.S. Federal Reserve Board chair Ben Bernanke sent a strong signal yesterday that the central bank will lower interest rates again this month as it attempts to stave off a recession.

Bernanke said the downturn in the credit and housing markets posed substantial risks to economic health and predicted that consumer spending and overall growth would slow in 2008.

"We stand ready to take substantive additional action as needed to support growth and to provide adequate insurance against downside risks," Bernanke said in a speech in Washington.

Calling monetary policy the "Fed's best tool" for regulating the economy, Bernanke said that "additional policy easing may well be necessary" to maintain growth levels as consumer spending and home values face a steep decline next year.

His remarks lifted the expectations of investors that Fed officials will lower the overnight lending rate by as much as half a point at their next policy meeting on Jan. 29 and 30. Stock markets rallied after the remarks were released, erasing morning losses but quickly falling back. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index closed up 11.2 points, or 0.79 per cent, to 1,420.33 and the Dow Jones industrials showed an increase of 117.78 points to 12,853.09.

Investors typically cheer rate cuts, which grease the wheels of the economy by making it easier for banks and businesses to lend to consumers and one another. But Bernanke's starkly negative forecast for 2008 may have trumped investors' short-term hopes by raising the spectre of a long-term slowdown in spending.

Some analysts have expressed concern that rising core inflation would hinder the Fed's ability to lower rates, even amid the current financial turmoil. In his remarks, Bernanke acknowledged that the Fed was closely monitoring inflation levels and that a flare-up in prices would reduce its ability to stimulate growth through monetary policy.

But he appeared more focused on the coming risks to overall growth, and he said that the Fed would be "prepared to act in a decisive and timely manner" to maintain economic stability.

He cited high oil prices, plummeting home prices and the struggling stock market as factors that "seem likely to weigh on consumer spending as we move into 2008."

A lacklustre employment report in December, which showed the unemployment rate rising by 0.3 of a percentage point, also appeared to give the chair pause. He called the report disappointing and noted that the labour market had previously been a source of stability amid a difficult economic situation.

"It would be a mistake to read too much into any one report," Bernanke said. "However, should the labour market deteriorate, the risks to consumer spending would rise."

The Fed has tried to counter the credit crunch by starting a system of anonymous auctions, which allow banks to borrow money from the government without the stigma of appearing desperate for credit. Bernanke said the new program, known as the Term Auction Facility, has been successful and "may thus become a useful permanent addition to the Fed's toolbox," pending a public vetting.

Economist predicts $1.50 a litre for gasoline

Economist predicts $1.50 a litre for gasoline TheStar.com - Business - Economist predicts $1.50 a litre for gasoline

TARA WALTON/TORONTO STAR

Jeff Rubin, chief economist at CIBC World Markets, says oil can only go up.

CIBC's Jeff Rubin says crude will hit $150 U.S. a barrel within 4 years

January 11, 2008

Tyler Hamilton
Energy Reporter

Maverick economist Jeff Rubin, who is at the top of his game these days, says Canadians shouldn't be surprised to see gasoline at $1.50 a litre and oil at $150 (U.S.) a barrel within the next four years – possibly much sooner.

Oil depletion from existing fields is outpacing new supply, argues the chief economist of CIBC World Markets, and what supply the International Energy Agency and other tracking bodies are optimistically counting on involves complex and costly "mega-projects" that are likely to see major delays.

And this, according to a CIBC report released yesterday, doesn't even account for the unpredictable: escalating geopolitical tensions and extreme weather events.

"What we don't appreciate is that the oil-sands delays (we've seen) are not a unique story. It's happening in the very fields where the world is expecting to get its future supply," Rubin told the Toronto Star.

"Don't think of today's prices as a spike. Don't think of them as a temporary aberration. Think of them as the beginning of a new era."

The impact on the Canadian dollar will also be felt, he said. "Notwithstanding what's happening to the dollar now, if oil goes to $150 and the Canadian oil sands become the marginal barrel of oil (the dollar) is going up."

It wouldn't be Rubin's first break-from-the-pack forecast. For more than a decade the 53-year-old economist has sparked controversy by calling economic outcomes that most of his peers have dismissed as long shots.

He supports the peak oil theory and believes we've already passed the peak in conventional production. He sees carbon priced at $30 a tonne and a continental cap on emissions within three years. And he says if we're serious about fighting climate change, consumers should face higher energy prices to spark meaningful conservation.

Sometimes he nails it. He correctly predicted in 2000 that oil would average $50 by mid-decade and, two years ago, was right when he said oil would hit $100 by the end of 2007 (though Goldman Sachs made the prediction a year earlier).

Rubin also suggested back in 2005 the Canadian dollar was on its way to parity with the greenback, and last June predicted it would happen before year's end. It did.

"I think my calls have been pretty good," said Rubin, who first grabbed the spotlight in 1989 when he went against the grain and correctly predicted a collapse in the Toronto real estate market.

But sometimes his calls have fallen flat.

In 1992, Rubin forecast an economic recovery from the 1990-'91 recession and for several years nothing much happened. And in 1995 he called for more aggressive cuts to the federal deficit, only to backtrack a year later and blame the deficit payoff for sluggish economic growth.

More recently, he predicted the S&P/TSX composite index would hit 15,000 by the end of 2007, but reality came nowhere close. And now he is locked into a prediction it will reach 16,200 by the end of this year at a time when the economy is slowing.

He stands by it.

"The TSX call isn't looking good right now, but we'll see if that's a one-quarter head fake," he said, adding that merger and acquisition activity in the energy sector will carry his prediction.

David Detomasi, a professor of international business at Queen's School of Business, called Rubin's track record "pretty good" but calls his oil analysis a "bit of an exaggeration."

"We should get a moderation in the price, because we're getting a bit more of a build-up in the system," said Detomasi, pointing out that $60 a barrel is a more realistic long-term projection. Many economists, expecting oil demand to drop alongside a U.S. economic slowdown, also see the price falling. "I'm not saying prices will drop significantly, but they ought to drop," he said.

Though he admitted a lot could happen by 2012. "There are quite a few ifs, ands and buts between now and $150."

Sticking his neck way out

Hot

In 1989, amid a booming real-estate market, Rubin predicted the ensuing big tumble in prices.

In late 2000, he said the Canadian dollar would fall to about 61 cents (U.S.) over the next year or so; the loonie bottomed at 61.79 cents in January 2002.

Two years ago, he predicted $100 per barrel oil by the end of 2007. It topped $99 last November and then hit $100 last week.

Not so hot

In May 2000, he said the Canadian dollar was on a "path to extinction" and later predicted the Canadian economy could be (U.S.) "dollarized."

In late 2002, he predicted $18 to $20 oil for 2003. Oil prices stayed around or above $30.

In April 2004, he predicted the Canadian dollar would retreat to 72 or 73 cents (U.S.) by year-end. It ended the year at 83 cents.

---

The path to $150 oil

Economist Jeff Rubin offers some of the particulars behind his oil-price prediction:

Supply delay: Delays and cost overruns on complex "mega-projects" in Kazakhstan, Venezuela, Nigeria and Canada will delay new oil production. This will result in 5 million barrels a day less oil than the International Energy Agency is expecting between 2008 and 2012.

Other deep-water and oil-sands projects, which account for virtually all increases in global oil production, are facing technical and financial challenges. Production timelines between now and 2012 are "far too optimistic," based on an analysis of nearly 200 new projects.

Supply depletion: Accelerating "cliff-like" depletion at existing oil fields will add to the problem. Conventional oil production has apparently peaked at 2005 levels of 67 million barrels a day. This rapid depletion, combined with delays in new projects, will mean supply will only increase by 3 million barrels a day by 2012, well below the IEA's "10 million barrel" projection.

Skyrocketing demand: Oil consumption is soaring in places like China, India and Russia. More importantly, it's soaring in the world's largest oil-producing countries themselves. These countries will take what they need and then export the rest, where developed countries must compete on the market against China and India for the leftovers. Chinese and Indian consumers, many having never owned a car before, are more likely to tolerate higher prices than OECD countries such as Canada and the United States.

The final analysis: $150 oil within four years and skyrocketing pump prices. "I think it's going to mean people are going to travel less, and use their cars less," Rubin says. "Transport costs are going to be more and more important in defining trade patterns."

Merrill and Citi scramble for offshore help

Jan 11, 2008 04:30 AM Joe Bel Bruno
Associated press

NEW YORK–Two of the biggest names on Wall Street are scrambling again to secure major cash infusions from foreign governments to offset billions of dollars in losses from risky subprime mortgage securities, analysts said yesterday.

Citigroup Inc. and Merrill Lynch & Co., the top U.S. bank and largest brokerage house, are facing potentially $25 billion (U.S.) worth of losses when they report earnings results next week.

Both companies – led by new CEOs eager to make their mark – are expected to turn overseas for another injection of capital.

Wall Street's biggest banks and brokerages have been lining up investments from foreign governments to cushion against losses from bad investments in subprime mortgages, which are made to people with less-than-stellar credit, or in securities backed by subprime mortgages.

Sovereign wealth funds, which are investment pools backed by governments, already have invested about $27 billion in Merrill, Citi, Switzerland's UBS AG and Morgan Stanley.

The fact Merrill and Citi are going back for seconds indicates the credit crisis might be taking a bigger toll on Wall Street than initially expected.

"The bottom line is that their losses are much more sizable than first thought, and they need capital to shore up their balance sheet," said Richard Bove, an analyst with Punk Ziegel & Co. "It's why they're out there looking for more.''

Spokespeople for Citi and Merrill did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

The search for more foreign cash infusions by Citigroup and Merrill was disclosed yesterday by The Wall Street Journal.

This time, Citi is said to be looking for about $10 billion worth of capital, the Journal said. Abu Dhabi's state-run investment fund in November agreed to buy a 4.9 per cent stake in the bank for $7.5 billion.

Merrill Lynch is looking to arrange up to $4 billion of new capital, most likely from a Middle Eastern government, the Journal said. The brokerage previously secured a $4.4 billion investment from Singapore's state-run Temasek Holdings.

"Writedowns and losses will continue to mount," Goldman Sachs analyst William Tanona said in a research report, adding that getting more money from sovereign funds will be "capital raising for some, preservation for others."

Citi's board was expected to meet on Monday to discuss cutting the bank's dividend in half. Though the bank has denied speculation about cutting the dividend, analysts said it could save about $5 billion.

Layoffs at both Citi and Merrill also have been bandied about Wall Street during the past few weeks.

Staff reductions, along with the sale of non-core assets, are among ways analysts believe Citi CEO Vikram Pandit and Merrill CEO John Thain can shore up balance sheets.

Both institutions have said they expect big writedowns, but analysts now think the losses might be bigger than originally anticipated. Citigroup, right before ousting CEO Charles Prince, projected an $11 billion writedown – though some say it could be as high as $20 billion.

Merrill Lynch did not make any predictions about how much it might write off during the fourth quarter, though analysts project it could be up to $11.5 billion. Stan O'Neal, the former CEO, was ousted shortly after the company took an $8.4 billion writedown.

Global banks have booked almost $110 billion of writedowns since last year because of bad bets on subprime mortgage securities, and the ensuing credit crisis.

The additional foreign investment could provoke more scrutiny in Washington, depending on its size. Generally, passive ownership stakes that don't include board seats or other levers of control and that are below 10 per cent don't require approval by a federal government panel that reviews foreign investment for security concerns.

Christopher Dodd, the Democratic U.S. senator from Connecticut and chair of the Senate banking committee, said yesterday he supports foreign investments in the U.S. "so long as they do not compromise our national security or pose a threat to our economic stability."

The committee may hold hearings on the subject later this year, a Senate aide said. The aide spoke on condition of anonymity because she wasn't authorized to speak on the record on the subject.

Dodd's committee spearheaded legislation last year that strengthened the foreign investment review process. The action came after several high-profile deals, including a planned investment in U.S. port operations by a Dubai government-owned company, sparked major controversy.

Shares of Merrill Lynch rose $1.55, or 3.07 per cent, to $52.03, while Citi added 62 cents to close at $28.11 on the New York Stock Exchange yesterday.

What Google , Yahoo + MSN Don't Want You To Know

A new breakthrough secret is all you now need in order to get your Google AdWords pay-per-clicks FREE!

A gentleman from New York discovered what he calls an "oversight" on the part of 99.9% of all marketers that allows him to get otherwise paid-for advertising at Google as well as all other search engines that allow sponsored ads.

And no, nothing about his "secret" is illegal - nor does it require that you know someone on the "inside" at Google, Yahoo, MSN, Overture and others.

Instead, the New Yorker boasts proudly "...this is something that I caught onto just before 2000 when there was so much search engine craze running around, and started doing small just to test things at first ... but which I later expanded on after getting the hang of it."

This same fellow went on to start and operate sixteen separate online companies selling everything from pet food, DVDs, children's toys & games, books, software, and sold not only his own manufactured products but became an affiliate for other web businesses - all the while applying his mastermind secret.

Over the course of nearly eight years the New Englander confesses "I've actually gotten over $87 million in advertising that using my secret I never had to pay for ... and the largest share of which was more recently in Google pay-per-clicks as well as other forms of pad advertising at search engines ... all of which I got for free ..."

So powerful is his secret that he's able to monopolize any niche online, and can always secure the top premium spots just above the usual organic results featured at most search engines.

He still has to set up an account with the search engines - but after applying his secret he is removed from having to pay for all the costs otherwise involved.
Again, nothing about his secret is either illegal or robs from the search engines.
One spokesperson from one of the most popular search engines said chuckling after being made privy to this amazing secret "Wow! Ha! This is really unique ... and in my expert opinion it would only serve to enhance and bring more business to us at [name of search engine withheld for legal & confidentiality reasons] and not cause us to lose business in the slightest. Amazing!"

The northerner revealed that in this nearly eight years' period of time since applying his secret he's done well over $300 million in sales revenue with a most diverse line of products, and most recently in the last two years netted nearly $166 million after really "buckling down and pressing my secret to its fullest potential."

Now to everyone else's fortune, the city slicker is releasing his secret for getting an unlimited amount of pay-per-click ads to the general public. But he's not promising any of us for how long.

A bit of an eccentric, the gentleman says "We'll see just how long I can make it available before it saturates things."

One famous public web guru pointed out that although this man may gain economically more so as a result of the publication of his secret "he's already so amazingly rich that whether he continues or discontinues its sale will neither make nor break the man, but not grabbing it for yourself while it's still available could prove disastrous for you as you may only have one chance, and a very limited one at that, to get this."

It is currently available at: Click Here



...so you may want to head on over there now and get it.

It's in a very easily readable format and is quickly and readily understood and mastered by anyone with even a 4th grade reading level.

While you're there, why not scroll down and review for yourself the huge successes others are now having with this incredible breakthrough in targeted advertising now made freely available to the rest of us?

Stock markets rose Thursday as investors speculated the U.S. may cut interest rates

Bernanke, Countrywide boost stocks

RTGAM

Stock markets rose Thursday as investors speculated the U.S. may cut interest rates and a report suggested Bank of America Corp. is close to buying struggling Countrywide Financial Corp.

Shares of Countrywide, the largest U.S. mortgage lender, surged 51 per cent after several media reports said Bank of America was in advanced talks to buy it. Countrywide has been hit hard by the U.S. housing slump, with foreclosures and late payments on home loans rising to records in December.

U.S. Federal Reserve boss Ben Bernanke also played a hand in the market optimism after he promised to keep slashing interest rates to keep the U.S. economy from being shoved into recession by housing and credit woes.

"In light of recent changes in the outlook for and the risks to growth, additional policy easing may be necessary," Mr. Bernanke said. "We stand ready to take substantive additional action as needed to support growth and to provide adequate insurance against downside risks."
Economists welcomed the Fed Chairman's words, especially given mounting concerns that the U.S. economy is headed for - or already is in the grips of - a recession.

"Bernanke gave about as clear a signal as possible in his speech on Thursday ... no special Fed decoder ring needed there," said Sherry Cooper, chief economist at BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc.
The S&P/TSX composite index climbed 62.69 points to 13,642.63, with the mining and gold sectors adding ground as bullion prices surged.

Canada's big banks were among the day's biggest risers, with Bank of Nova Scotia up 3.4 per cent, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce adding 3.4 per cent, Royal Bank of Canada up 2.2 per cent and Toronto-Dominion Bank up 1.8 per cent.

On Wall Street, the Dow industrials closed 117.78 points higher at 12,853.09. In the broader U.S. market, the Nasdaq climbed 13.97 points while the S&P 500 rose 11.20 points.
With files from wires.




Copyright 2001 The Globe and Mail