Thursday, March 25, 2010

Ford uses Azure Dynamics drive train in Electric truck of the year.


We bought Azure Dynamics today! (TSX:AZD) (OTC: AZDDF) We think it is a home run. Here are some of the reasons why"

1. Azure Dynamics Corp. operates in the sweet spot of the automotive world: it makes hybrid power systems for trucks and vans, dramatically cutting emissions and trimming fuel costs of vehicles that ply city streets every day.

2. Azure is a small Canadian company listed on the TSX, and it supplies the power systems for the Ford Hybrid Van recently named truck of the year!

3. Ford says Azure is to supply the electric drive train for the new, all Electric version, the "Ford Transit Connect Electric".

4. Azure was selling today for only .27 cents. (Up from .24 cents)

5. Today, Azure was named to a brand new, clean tech index on the TSX and thus becomes a target for index fund managers. The 8.5 million shares that traded today is proof of that.

6. The insider report from TD Waterhouse clearly indicates that inside officers of the company, have only been buying stock and options for the past 6 months. There are "no sellers"!

7. The company was born a research project at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in the 1990's. It is now based in Detroit (so as to be close to the industry it services) but retains a plant in Vancouver and as I said, trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange-TMX.com Azure's hybrid drive trains are already installed in hundreds of delivery trucks and shuttle vehicles in North America. This technology sharply cuts the fuel and maintenance costs of traditional gas engines, and reduces greenhouse gases - appealing to companies with large fleets of vehicles that make stop-and-go deliveries. As an example, Puralator Courier has 200 of these vehicles in service, and 200 more ordered. A, T and T is now a customer.

In the USA, FedEx has so far ordered 51 of these vehicles. Azure is now using Lithium Ion Batteries.

This small company has product on the road and the technology development is behind them as they have been in development for almost 20 years now. The partnership with Ford cannot be understated and is a key to future growth.

New York City Cabs are now using this vehicle. A London cab company also has this vehicle. Chicago is interested in ordering a bunch by 2014.

As the market continues to heat up in the "fleet delivery" niche for this vehicle and Azure's patented electric drive train, others are taking notice. FEDEX just jumped into the fray utilizing this vehicle to be used in their parcel delivery business.

Azure also powers electric buses. I think the sky is the limit for this small Canadian tech leader.


Incidentally, another of our favorite picks, Ballard Power Systems, was also added to the Index today.

Green Blog New York Times - Azure Dynamics
Updates: May 18th 2010 - Azure Dynamics

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Sunday, March 21, 2010

You could own these valuable Internet domains!

Bid now to own these powerful internet Domains:


Retirefund.com
Retirefunds.com

Click on the domain of your choice and you will be taken to the Sedo.com auction site where you can make a bid for either of these domains. Sedo is a third party, independent auction site whose business it is to broker the sale of internet domains. Sedo brokers the sale of more domains than any other broker.

Once a price is accepted, Sedo will handle the transaction through their proprietary, third party, escrow service.


More domain extensions for "Retirefunds" Here.


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Thursday, March 18, 2010

And the number of the beast was 666!
(Level of the S & P on March 9th 2009!)

Bull market dominated by a Child

Is that a wicked smile on the beast, as almost every major stock in this market advances onward and upward? Are the innocent climbing back on board? What is driving the sentiment of investors, in this market which has risen 80% since that March low, to new highs for the past 8 days. Is it a true bull market, or a beast that will throw the innocent into a wall of hurt, and cause financial damage around the world and countries to turn on each other?

After all, apocalyptic predictions of the world ending are said to point to the year 2012! Is Nouriel Roubini an economist or a prophet in the mold of Nostradamus or even St John the Apostle (who wrote the book of revelation) Did Nostradamus and St John, along with the ancient Mayans receive a direction from God that points to 2012 as "the year of destruction"? Did Dr. Roubini receive the same message two centuries later?

Is Jim Cramer one of the false prophets foretold by St John? Is his recent prophecy of a rising bull market helping to cause a wild party of unbridled optimism when the world, according to Prophet, Roubini, is about to go to hell in a hand basket? Hell, even Charlie Munger of Berkshire-Hathaway thinks that 2012 is the year of doom. (see- Charlie Munger). His partner, the venerable Warren Buffet remains an eternal optimist, buying a Chinese car company and an American Railroad in the past year. Others are warning of a future of Hyper Inflation.

I certainly don't have all the answers, but these guys believe they do. However with sentiment so split between the giddy bull soothsayers and the doom and gloom naysayers, how can we mere mortals find our way through the investment jungle that has become today's market. Well, in point of fact, it has always been a jungle and experience teaches that when people are in turmoil, especially investors, opportunities usually abound. The problem is, how do you find such opportunities, when your Retirefund won't allow you to invest in Berkshire-Hathaway.

In previous articles I have made the argument for gold. I have told you about the coming Lithium boom. I have mentioned hidden gems in Mobile Web stocks, and (besides Lithium) I have given you my ideas on green energy stocks and new clean technologies that are not quite on the radar of the big dogs just yet.

I have told you to invest in great companies like TD Bank and Encana, over the long term. I have warned you about the gluttons of Wall Street, and I have tried to steer you away from the leeches in the Managed mutual fund industry. I even advised you twice, last year and this year, to hold on to your Loonies!

More moderate voices can be heard through the din of disaster scenarios and scare mongering. One of those is Peter Bisson, a director of McKinsey and Co, of Stamford, Connecticut. In a recent interview with the Globe and Mail, titled, a great re-balancing of economic power, he makes some interesting points about the current markets. Some of his thoughts:

"The financial crisis is just a little earthquake in a long process of fundamental economic realignment. !"

"globalization is basically a good thing. It has lifted huge numbers of people out of poverty"

"For the first time in hundreds of years, there will be more growth in emerging markets than in developed markets. We are doubling the size of the global middle class. "

"the work force in a lot of the West still fits a 20th century economy. In the U.S., there is only 3 per cent unemployment in the most highly educated groups, but 30 per cent unemployment in the bottom 10 per cent of education. We are drifting toward this chronically unemployed group because skill sets don't match."

"Canada is a big beneficiary. This huge [emerging markets] urbanization and this doubling of the world's middle class drives very significant real increases in resource demand of pretty much all types." (and Canada is a supplier of many of those resources)!

"Inequality between nations is evening out; inequality within nations is getting worse. That is politically volatile, and you can't escape that reality."

And finally:

"The risk in the system today is more on the individual. On average each year, 15 per cent of U.S. households can now expect their incomes to fall as much as 50 per cent. That's a third higher than in the 1970s."

I encourage you to read the entire interview at: GlobeandMail.com



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Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Oil at $25 per Barrel? A Bull market in Coal? Are these things possible?


Oil BarrelImage by yuan2003 via Flickr

What if oil went to $25 per barrel, and stayed at that price for decades?(see- New Technology)

What if the price of natural gas dropped 50%?(see-increased supply)

What would these two events do to the economic outlook of North America, and the world, for the next 50 years?
Are thes
e events even possible?
Are they likely?
Are they "pie in the sky" theories?


In a recent article ( see World changing technology ) we discussed a new, technological breakthrough, by a small California Company, Carbon Sciences, which may allow large emitters of CO2 to not only capture it, but turn the CO2 into gasoline.

Now researchers at the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) have claimed that they can produce a synthetic crude oil, directly from coal (of which the United States and Canada hold almost 50% of the World's supply) for just over $28 per barrel and they intend to bring that price down.

As if that announcement wasn't eye opening enough, they claim that they can do this with no measurable pollution result. Researchers also state that the process will work just as well with oil sands and shale deposits. As if that isn't enough to get investors attention, they advise that, although it can be refined in traditional refineries, this synthetic oil is best refined in micro refineries which can be built for 25% of the cost of today's refineries. The United States Government has already approved construction of one such micro refinery to test the UTA Lab's breakthrough technology.

The coal being used is one of the cheapest, Lignite, which is found in abundance in Texas and around North America. Texas lignite coal sells for $18 per tonne. The coal conversion technology uses one tonne of coal to produce 1.5 barrels of crude oil. One barrel of crude produces 42 U.S. gallons of gasoline. In other words, $18 worth of coal yields 63 gallons of gasoline: 0.28 cents per gallon! In other words, if this technology proves out, both the USA and Canada (as well as many other democracies around the world which have abundant supplies of coal, will own centuries worth of cheap energy, and become net exporters of that energy!

Without having first hand knowledge, I will wager here, that the oil industry has a big stake in this technology and who better to develop such innovation than the deep pocketed U.S. oil companies. It is in their financial interests to keep the good ole US of A hooked on it's product(s). As both China and India grow their middle class, energy production needs to use every resource.

As Natural Gas companies ramp up production from traditional finds as well as giant shale deposits which exist all over North America, the price of that resource continues to drop. North America has the largest deposits of Natural gas in the world today, and that resource alone could power North America for hundreds of years.!

So how do we, as investors, digest this new information and how can we make it work for our portfolio's?

In the short term, until new technologies are accepted and come on stream, the price of oil will creep up as this shaky recovery takes shape. However, as these technologies get proven and are adopted large scale, the price of oil could sink dramatically (still several years out). If oil can be produced from a cheap, abundant supply of coal, on shore in North America, without damaging the environment, then the whole dynamic changes. I'm not an economist, however here are some possibilities that come to mind:

1. Coal mining would intensify throughout North America, creating blue collar jobs in small communities currently devastated by the economic down turn, with the resultant economic spin offs to equipment suppliers and construction companies, to those mining companies.

2. A new boom in refinery construction would also create hard hat, engineering and tech jobs, as well as create the same sort of spin offs to suppliers.

2. Oil sands production will halt, because you cannot dig bitumen for processing at $25 per barrel. (Even though the UTA process works on bitumen as well as coal)

3. Investments in OPEC oil resources would be severely tested as demand from it's largest customer, the USA, begins to drop dramatically.

4. As more power plants can be built using cheap oil and Natural gas (as well as nuclear and wind energy), the demand for Electric Vehicles (EVs) will grow, along with the demand for Lithium which will be used to store energy.( A contrarian argument can be made here for the growth of Hybrid vehicles instead of electric, because of cheaper gasoline.

5. Shipping oil via tankers may drop significantly.

6. Railways will be winners as coal and natty gas are shipped throughout North America and more petroleum based products are again made on this continent and shipped trans continent. (Warren Buffet you old investor you!)

7. The usd will continue to slide, until these events begin to unfold, at which time it will strengthen once again.

8. Industry will return, at least in some form, to North American communities powered by cheap energy.

9. Huge, energy market speculators, like JP Morgan, will no longer be able to hold the American consumer hostage by holding tankers full of oil offshore and spiking the price so they can sell into the inflated market.

10. New Fuel Cell Stack, Power plants powered by plentiful natural gas will be built, reducing co2 emissions, and helping to "electrify" the transportation industry along with Wind Energy.

These are only some of the possible outcomes, and I am sure that more learned readers than I can come up with a myriad of possibilities. No matter how you slice it, if these technologies take hold, along with the Fuel Cell industry, the Lithium boom , Wind energy and Solar, and the advent of the Electric car, the economic outlook for this continent will brighten once again, as we lead the world in production and possibilities.

More: A Eureka moment at Texas University - The Globe and Mail

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Friday, March 12, 2010

The Lithium Boom, Electric Cars and the Mobile Web!

EnerDel/Argonne lithium-ion battery
Lithium (Li), the first of the alkali group of metals, was discovered (1817, Sweden) by Johan August Arfvedson and named for the Greek lithos, “stone.” A soft, silvery metal, it has many uses, including the production of glass, lithium batteries, and a strong, light alloy with aluminum for airplanes. Lithium carbonate is used in the treatment of mental illness, and an unknown amount is used as lithium hydride in the production of nuclear weapons.
— from "The New York Times Guide to Essential Knowledge"

As Jim Cramer likes to point out, "There's always a bull market somewhere"!

Besides being used in most mobile web smart phones, laptops and ipads etc, Lithium Ion Batteries are the best technology for electric, plug in cars according to industry insiders and mining companies are now rushing to fill a void in an industry that is still in it's infancy, but is about to explode. That is the electric car industry.

As Warren Buffet points out, "In 20 years all cars will be electric"! Obviously that is one of the reasons Warren invested last year in Chinese car maker BYD.


However, the story here is Lithium mining, where it is mined, and And how it is mined. The Nickel Hydride battery, currently used in many hybrid vehicles, is grossly insufficient to power electric plug in vehicles (EVs) and, until now, this has been a major road block in developing EVs that can compete with the gasoline engine or Hybrid technology. If you review all of the battery blogs, and science and energy sites, it becomes clear that thousands of scientists and technicians around the world are working on Lithium batteries. Whether it is lithium vanadium phosphate that BYD Company Ltd. (BYDDF.PK) in China is researching, Lithium Ion, Lithium cadmium, Lithium Manganese, Lithium polymer or Lithium iron phosphate, the keyword in new battery technology is overwhelmingly, "Lithium"!

Lithium is also currently used in a number of applications including as a power source for mobile web devices (smart phone batteries - which are expected to triple by 2012), heat resistant glass and ceramics, Health care (Lithium based mood stabilizing drugs), and Lithium batteries for EVs, which may outdistance their closest competitor, Nickel Hydride batteries, in pure power, by a factor of 10. Lithium is also used nuclear energy and lithium hypochlorite is used extensively in cleaning swimming pools. There are truly many, varied uses for this valuable commodity.

Lithium is soft enough to be cut with a knife, and it is the lightest of the metals of the periodic table. It also has a low density (approximately 0.534 g/cm3) and thus will float on water, with which it reacts easily. It is most easily mined from Salar or salt lakes, mostly found in Bolivia and Chile.Lithium salts are extracted from the water of mineral springs, brine pools and brine deposits. It can also be mined from rock but that is more difficult and more expensive. Canadian and American companies are currently ramping up their exploration for this products which sells for between $4,000 and $5,000 per ton. That price is "today's price" before the electric car boom has even started!

Major car manufacturers including Toyota and Magna International have already invested in Lithium plays so as to secure future supply. Panasonic, which is Toyota's supplier of Nickel hydride batteries for it's successful Prius, recently bought Sanyo, the worlds foremost developer of Li-ion batteries. That should have huge implications for the industry.

The Chevrolet Volt, due out next year, will run on lithium manganese oxide batteries. These developments, however are just the beginning of what looks to be one of the great bull markets of this decade, and beyond. Lithium Ion Batteries, and eventually, Lithium Air batteries will require the world to seek out as many Lithium deposits as can be developed, and the quicker, the better.

Honda is now developing a Lithium Ion Civic. (Cars that use, or will use Lithium batteries in the next year include: Chevrolet Volt, Honda Insight, Toyota Prius, Buick hybrid SUV, Ford Fusion hybrid, Nissan Leaf and the Chrysler/Fiat 500 EV)

The oil boom of the early 20th century is about to be replaced by a Lithium boom and if you are a Canadian investor you may be able to get in on the ground floor of some of these Junior miners currently busting their buts to stake claims in Lithium from Northern Canada to Bolivia, (which, incidentally, has about 50% of the worlds known deposits, but is one of the more hostile political environments in which to invest.)

However it is the country of Chile which actually produces the most Lithium currently and Juniors are crawling all over the Chilean Salar flats and staking their Lithium Mine claims at this writing. The majority of the world's lithium production comes from salars, or salt lakes, where prospective lithium mineralization is generally hosted in brine horizons. One of the Lithium pure plays in Chile is actually a Canadian Junior. Salares Lithium, (TSX-V LIT) The company has a large land package in the most prolific lithium brine reserve region globally - controlling 119,227 hectares in the Puna Plateau.
The area has extensive regional infrastructure. The main access to the Cauchari-Olaroz properties from San Salvador de Jujuy is via paved national highways. These highways carry significant truck traffic, transporting borate products from various salars in northern Argentina. Access to the interior of the Cauchari-Olaroz properties is possible through a gravel road, which skirts the west side of the salars and is used by borate producers.

This excerpt is from the Lithium investing news.

"Salares Lithium is an exceptionally rare opportunity for a pure play exposure within the Chilean lithium exploration arena. The company represents one of the largest land and pure salar concession packages in the lithium exploration sector and has historic sampling returning lithium and potassium in all seven of its salares with grades up to 1,080 ppm lithium and 10,800 ppm potassium. A unique value proposition for this company is that it controls 100% of five salares clustered within 155 km’s, resulting in no severed ownership, as is quite common in the Argentine lakes."

This from the Energy Report:

Although the lithium space, in general, got a little bit too excited, there are a few gems. Salares Lithium is a great story.
- The Energy Report with Marin Katusa (03/04/10)
"Salares Lithium Inc. is currently on our watch list as it has one of the largest brine lake concession packages in Chile, which is the world's largest lithium producer. They have five brine lakes clustered within 155 kilometers, of which they control 100% of the interest with their Chilean partner."
- The Energy Report Interview with Siddarth Rajeev (02/25/10)
This from Byron Capital Markets report:
. . .This is one of the most promising land packages we have seen; the claims were obtained for what we believe to be reasonable consideration, and, most importantly, Salares Lithium holds 100% of the land on the most promising lake beds."
-JON HYKAWY, BYRON CAPITAL MARKETS (03/05/10)

Salares recently appointed Dr. Ian Hutcheon, PHD, to their advisory board. He is a professor Emeritus in Geology and Geo physics at the University of Calgary and retains an active research program.

According to the Salares website,
"His research has focused on water--rock reactions, geochemistry, monitoring field recovery processes, and diagenesis of clastic and carbonate rocks. Past research has included the study of the effect of diagenesis on reservoir properties. On-going research integrates chemical and isotopic data for shallow ground water to understand the controls on the distribution of elements and minerals in near-surface environments."

Salares is only one of the companies in the chase, but for me, it has the most interesting story. It's claim encompasses 7 Salars or salt lakes covering 120,000 hectares. The first of these, Isla de la Isla, encompasses over 16,000 Hectares. On March 8th the company reported that Geodata completed a transient electromagnetic survey ("TEM") on the northern portion of the Salar de la Isla, the results of which are posted at Marketwire. It is only one of the 7 Salars owned by Salares. As a side note, I am told that some heavy hitters in the Vancouver investment community are backing Salares Lithium.

In other Lithium news, Lithium Americas Corp is planning an IPO on the TSX in the coming months. It received private investments from auto companies Magna International Inc. and Mitsubishi Corp., which are looking to secure lithium supply because of its use in hybrid car batteries. (Disclosure: no position)
The Lithium chase is becoming a serious bull run as companies are pulling out all the stops to ensure a piece of this growing, 21st century pie. The pie is still hot, and hasn't been cut yet. That will come when some of the front runners begin producing and get swallowed up by larger players.

In the interests of disclosure, I wanted a small piece of that pie so I bought some LIT yesterday and again today. It is speculative, but the upside potential is staggering!!

More Lithium Stocks
The Energy Report
CBS Report on Lithium in chile
Financial Times-Battery Boom
Lithium-the next Uranium
Ford uses electric drive train with Lithium Batteries.


March 18th 2010 at Marketwatch
Four great Lithium Stocks to consider

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Thursday, March 11, 2010

Is hyper Inflation in Americas future?

I had an uncle (who married my father's sister) who lived in Germany prior to the outbreak of World War 2. He once told me that, when he was a boy, in the 1920's, when Germany was held accountable for the debt of the first world war, he saw people actually take wheel barrows full of cash (Deutche marks) to the grocery store to get food. It was not unlike the boy pictured here, in modern day Zimbabwe. That was the effect of hyper inflation. The rise of Adolph Hitler was one of the results.

I just read a great article by Ron Hera at SeekingAlpha.com In that article Hera lays out, in much detail, why, he believes, hyper Inflation is coming to America. It is an article that deserves to be read by every investor, American or not, who has money in today's markets. It should especially be read by those who are hoarding their cash, as they are the most likely to face huge losses in the coming years.

I touched on this subject in previous articles including:

Dilly Dollar Daze in the USA
IMF selling more gold
America on the road to ruin
Hold on to your Loonies
Capitalism, Greed and the Faustian bargain of more liquidity
and finally:
The Argument for Gold

However Ron Hera, founder of Hera Research, LLC, and the principal author of the Hera Research Monthly newsletter holds a master's degree from Stanford University and is a member of Mensa and of the Ludwig von Mises Institute. A much smarter guy than this writer, he lays out in a very methodical, and convincing way, why hyper inflation is in America's future, and it is not very far away. Some excerpts:

"Deflation causes debt default and that harms lenders. Governments have no mechanism to tax gains in the value of currency so monetary policy always errs on the side of inflation.
The result is a long term devaluation of the currency" (in this case the usd).

A case in point, Hera points out that "Since the inception of the Central Bank in 1913, the U.S. dollar has lost 95% of it's value"

Some more excerpts from Mr. Hera's article:

Patterns of Hyperinflation

"From the perspective of sovereign debt, the commonly understood process of hyperinflation is that if a government responds to declining foreign appetite for its debt with monetization (or in a historical context direct currency debasement) rather than immediate budget cuts, its currency loses value, at first in proportion to the dilution of the money supply and then more quickly as foreign bond holders and the nation’s own citizens seek shelter from inflation in other asset classes.

The cost of the government’s future obligations then tends to rise in nominal terms, creating an apparent need for larger bond issues while bond yields rise, i.e., the cost of borrowing increases since monetization signals greater risk to investors. Exacerbating the problem, tax receipts tend to lag behind as domestic price inflation sets in.

Further monetization is the path of least resistance. Although officials certainly believe that monetization is only a temporary measure both confidence in and the credibility of the government fail. Insolvency is eventually recognized as a reality and the nation’s currency then collapses entirely."


Crisis of Credibility

"A gradual decline in the value of a currency is generally accepted by consumers and businesses because it has little immediate impact and can have short-term benefits, such as making money more accessible and stimulating economic activity and growth.

However, when debt increases disproportionately, a deflationary bust is inevitable and if it is postponed by further credit expansion systemic instability results."

In 1949 Ludwig von Mises pointed out in Human Action (Chapter XX, section 8) that “there is no means of avoiding the final collapse of a boom brought about by credit expansion."

The alternative is only whether the crisis should come sooner as the result of a voluntary abandonment of further credit expansion, or later as a final and total catastrophe of the currency system involved.”

Among other things, excessive monetary inflation means that the US dollar cannot function as a store of value. Mounting evidence points to systemic instability, a lower US dollar and ultimately to a hyper inflationary outcome"

"Seven US states are worse off than the financially troubled European nations of Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Spain resulting in warnings of a US credit rating downgrade possibly indicating an eventual sovereign default."

In an article last year, I pointed out that U.S. Banks were holding financial Derivatives such as CDSs in the Trillions of dollars, and that they were not counted on their books. In that article I speculated that the amount of Financial Derivatives might add up to more tha 3 times the world GDP. I was obviously wrong. Here is a real eye popping statistic that Hera lays out:

"The largest US Banks remain the largest holders of financial derivatives, e.g., credit default swaps (CDSs), which suggests that they may hold liabilities far in excess of amounts that can be paid or that can be bailed out if significant losses occur. The CDS market, which is the single largest class of financial derivatives, represents over $600 trillion dollars, a roughly 10x multiple of world GDP."


Now that, my friends, is a truly scary number! No wonder Warren Buffet called these "Financial instruments of mass destruction". He wasn't kidding or even exaggerating.


Finally, Mr. Hera points out obvious warning signs for his hypothesis:

"Perhaps the most important indicator of impending hyperinflation is whether the statements of a government or of its central bank, e.g., with respect to the government’s budget or the central bank’s balance sheet, are evidence based or ideological. If they are not evidence based, the credibility of the government or central bank, and its currency, will weaken and eventually fail.

Currently, the largest buyer of U.S. government debt is it's own Central Bank. If a government so lacks credibility that it cannot issue bonds because there are no buyers other than its own central bank, the value of its currency declines faster than money is printed to cover its obligations.

When the balance sheets of US banks are maintained by suspending accounting rules and when banks hold financial derivatives liabilities greater than world GDP, both the stability and credibility of the banks is questionable.

When private financial losses and toxic financial assets are transferred to taxpayers while profits and bonuses abound on Wall Street thanks to accounting rule changes in the midst of the worst economic contraction since the Great Depression, the credibility and competency of the US Treasury and Congress, with respect to the finances of the nation, is questionable.

When the US Federal Reserve defies the US Congress, resists independent auditing, engages in ongoing QE and is the lender of last resort for banks that under normal conditions would be insolvent, its credibility is questionable. When the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, who failed to detect the largest asset price bubble in the history of the world and who has been consistently wrong in his assessment of the US economy is reappointed following the worst financial and economic disaster in generations, both his credibility and that of the Obama administration are questionable.

The plethora of red flags spewing from Wall Street, from the Federal Reserve and from the federal government point to a breakdown of de jure value that is already in progress, thus to a hyperinflationary outcome for the US dollar."

I encourage you to read the entire article at: Seeking Alpha.

Here's another, in depth view.


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Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Apollo Gold and Linear Gold combine to create Brigus Gold Corp., a mid level gold miner now listed on TSX and Amex.

Former logo of the TSE.Image via Wikipedia

Update: Press Release: June 25th 2010

Brigus Gold Corp. (TSX: BRD)(NYSE Amex: BRD) ("Brigus Gold") announces that the business combination of Apollo Gold Corporation (TSX: APG)(NYSE Amex: AGT) ("Apollo") and Linear Gold Corp. (TSX: LRR) ("Linear") has closed and the new combined company begins operating as Brigus Gold effective immediately.
Brigus Gold will commence trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange ("TSX") and NYSE Amex under the symbol "BRD" on June 28, 2010. Brigus warrants issued in exchange for the Linear-listed warrants will commence trading on the TSX under the symbol "BGD.WT".
On June 25, 2010, Apollo filed articles of amendment which, among other things, changed the name of the company to Brigus Gold Corp., consolidated the Brigus shares, including those issued to Linear shareholders, on the basis of one (1) post-consolidation Brigus share for every four (4) Brigus shares outstanding immediately prior to such consolidation. Brigus common shares will begin trading on a post-consolidated basis. Post consolidation and after completion of the business combination, Brigus Gold will have approximately 129 million basic shares and 176 million fully diluted shares outstanding.
The business combination was structured as a court-approved plan of arrangement (the "Transaction") under the Business Corporations Act (Alberta) pursuant to which Apollo acquired all of the issued and outstanding Linear shares and Linear amalgamated with 1526753 Alberta ULC (the "Apollo Sub"). Under the terms of the Transaction, former shareholders of Linear will receive, after giving effect to the share consolidation described above, 1.37 Brigus Gold shares for each common share of Linear, subject to adjustment for fractional shares. Outstanding options and warrants to acquire Linear shares have been converted into options and warrants to acquire Brigus Gold shares, adjusted in accordance with the same ratio. Linear will be delisted from the TSX on June 28, 2010.
As previously announced, Wade K. Dawe is Chief Executive Officer and President of Brigus Gold. The other officers of Brigus Gold are Brian MacEachen, Executive Vice President and Corporate Secretary; Melvin Williams, Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President, Finance and Corporate Development; Richard F. Nanna, Senior Vice President, Exploration; Howard Bird, Vice President, Exploration; Brent E. Timmons, Controller and Vice President; and Wendy Yang, Vice President, Investor Relations.
Brigus Gold also announces that its headquarters is located in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
About Brigus Gold
Brigus Gold is a growing gold producer with a strong balance sheet, committed to maximizing shareholder value through a strategy of cost-effective production, mine development, exploration and effective risk management, utilizing selective partnerships and acquisitions. Brigus Gold operates the wholly owned flagship Black Fox Mine in the Timmins gold district in Ontario, Canada. The Black Fox Operations encompass the adjoining 100 percent owned, prospective Grey Fox and Pike River properties, all in the Township of Black River-Matheson in Ontario, Canada. Brigus Gold is advancing the Goldfields Project near Uranium City, Saskatchewan, which hosts the Box and Athona gold deposits. In Mexico, Brigus Gold also has the Ixhuatan Project (100 percent Brigus Gold) in Chiapas, southern Mexico, and the Huizopa Joint Venture, (80 percent Brigus Gold and 20 percent Minas De Coronado, S. de R.L. de C.V.), an early stage, gold-silver exploration project, approximately 16 kilometers (10 miles) southwest of Minefinders Dolores gold-silver mine, in the Sierra Madres in Chihuahua. In the Dominican Republic, Brigus Gold and Everton Resources have a joint venture at the Ampliacion Pueblo Viejo-Loma El Marte gold exploration projects.
Forward-looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release relating to the proposed Merger are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of securities legislation. These statements include statements about the commencement of trading and delisting of Linear shares. Brigus Gold does not intend, nor assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable securities laws. These forward-looking statements represent management's best judgment based on current facts and assumptions that management considers reasonable, including that all third party regulatory and governmental approvals to the Merger will be obtained and all other conditions to completion of the Merger will be satisfied or waived. Brigus Gold does not make any representation that reasonable business people in possession of the same information would reach the same conclusions. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the companies to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. In particular, fluctuations in the price of gold or in currency markets could prevent the companies from achieving their targets. Other factors are disclosed under the heading "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in documents filed by Brigus Gold's predecessor companies, Apollo and Linear, from time to time with the Toronto Stock Exchange, the NYSE Amex Equities Exchange and, on SEDAR and with other regulatory authorities, including the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
SOURCE: Brigus Gold

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Monday, March 8, 2010

Hold on to your Loonies!


Last year we told you to "hold on to your Loonies" as the Canada buck was trading around .77 usd at the time. Needless to say, we told you so! This week both the National Post and RBC are telling you the same thing, forecasting that by the end of the second quarter, the Loonie will trade "above" the U.S. dollar.

There has even been a spike in put options of late which allow the buyers to sell Aussie dollars for the Canada buck (Loonie). As the world searches for more places to "stash their cash", Canada has been at the forefront. The soundest banking system on the planet (Four of the five major banks just reported profits above analysts expectations) coupled with many natural resources, makes Canada a good bet for foreign investors and with the latest Canadian budget, that outlook brightens further, as the Canadian Government has done away with restrictive bureaucracy that kept, especially, American V/C firms from investing in Canada. With those restrictions gone, more capital is looking to Canada for safety as well as innovation in energy, bio tech, mobile web technology and numerous other businesses.

Canada projects (and so do many economists around the world) that it will be first mature economy to emerge from deficit spending. As the largest supplier of oil to the United States, and with an abundance of Natural Gas, hydro power and recently wind power, Canada is well positioned in the energy sector, with the largest consumer of energy right next door.

Add to that the fact that Canada holds over 20% of the worlds fresh water supply while it's citizens make up only .03% of the worlds population, and the outlook becomes brighter still.
Oh yes, have I mentioned Canada is the #2 suppler of diamonds to the world, (the #1 supplier of "non-blood" diamonds) and is in the top 3 % of suppliers of Potash, gold, copper, nickel, uranium, platinum, etc. It's known reserves of natural gas is second only to the United States at present, but will probably take the number one spot as exploration ramps up for shale gas.

Even manufacturing is flying in Canada as Bombardier of Montreal takes on the Giants of Aerospace, Boeing and Lockheed Martin, at least in the regional jet space, while it's rail car division signs more new contracts in Europe and Asia for high speed rail in the $Billions. Ballard Power Systems, the granddaddy of fuel cell technology is signing contracts in Europe and especially India to supply those areas with clean tech portable power for their mobile web expansion. Ottawa based Wilan Technologies has signed 212 licenses for it's mobile web technology and on March 11th, it stands to reap even more rewards from it's patents as Apple and 18 other tech giants face a Markham hearing in a Texas court to determine how much they have infringed on Wilan's patents.

Magna International, Inc. is an Ontario, Canada based company, which produces a massive amount of auto parts for many players in the auto industry. It also has a new division, Magna E-Car Systems, that provides integration of components and systems, as well as the development and production of innovative complete-vehicle solutions, from engineering to turnkey systems, for all hybrid and electric vehicle programs around the world. Magna also manufactures other automotive systems, assemblies, modules, and products.

Encana is a major natural gas supplier, with huge investments in shale gas from Texas to New York, from Vancouver to Nova Scotia besides it's already extensive regular natural gas projects. Encana recently split into two entities, leaving most of it's oil business to a new company Cenovus a now lean oil player based in Calgary Alberta. As two separate entities since November 2009, these two companies figure to factor in to the North American energy market in a big way over the next decade.

TD Bank, Canada's second largest bank, is expanding into the U.S. market at a time when many U.S. banks are ripe for the taking, and it expects that it's U.S. arm may outpace it's Canadian system of 2,000 branches in the not too distant future. Currently, without that growth, it already stands at North America's 7th largest bank by capitalization.

In 9 out of the last 10 years, Canada has not only been in "the black" but has actually paid down debt in each of those years, while the rest of the G20 sank deeper. Even with this years deficit, caused by international events rather than domestic, Canada's "per capita" debt is less than half that of America.

The Loonie is outshining the usd for good reason. Natural Resources, Natural Gas, Oil, Aerospace, mobile web technology, Clean Tech, energy, auto, bio science and banking are only some of the strengths of the "True North strong and free", so as we said before, hold on to your Loonies, and reap the rewards of years of restraint and good management. Canada's investment landscape is becoming a lot less boring, and a lot more profitable.


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