Canadian banks’ exposure to the struggling oil-and-gas industry totals $107 billion when including untapped lines of credit with outstanding loans, according to a review of company filings. That’s double the $50 billion in total outstanding loans generally highlighted by Royal Bank of Canada, Toronto-Dominion Bank and the country’s four other large lenders in quarterly earnings calls and presentations. The figure ...
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Natural gas prices may plunge below $1 on ‘insane’ storage glut not seen in 18 years
Canadian gas prices could plunge below $1 per thousand cubic feet after March as a lukewarm winter and record gas storage conspire to create prices down. AECO, the Alberta benchmark natural gas prices, stood at $1.24 per mcf Wednesday, its minimum in 18 years, as gas storage exceeded five-year average. AECO prices last fell below $1 on June 30, 1995, ...
Read More »How Banff’s champagne powder and the low loonie are helping Alberta battle recession
On Alberta’s mountainous western edge, champagne powder, hot springs and evergreen forests are enhancing the Canadian province cushion the pain of the oil-induced recession. How Canadian snowbirds feel the pinch of the falling loonie: ‘There are no deals anymore’ Even Harry Rosen can’t help but keep one eye on the falling loonie nowadays. The 84-year-old founder of the iconic Canadian ...
Read More »Corus to Catalyst: Thanks but no thanks for proposed rights offering
The Corus/Shaw Communications/Catalyst battle – a battle over valuations, financial disclosure and the allocation of value from the Corus minority – reached a predictable turning point now when the target rejected a proposal for any rights offering where all shareholders would participate. As a part of its information circular, Catalyst, which holds 321,000 Class B Corus shares, said “the chance ...
Read More »Former Chesapeake CEO Aubrey McClendon dies in car accident a day after being accused of rigging Oklahoma bids
Aubrey McClendon, the billionaire oilman who was instrumental in launching the U.S. shale energy revolution, died in a car crash in Oklahoma City on Wednesday morning. The lavish and leveraged lifetime of Aubrey McClendon The former head of Chesapeake Energy had at one point so closely intertwined their own financial interests with the company’s that a six-person unit managed his ...
Read More »Artis REIT may not be selling but its Calgary office buildings are dropping in value
Artis Investment Trust may not be commenting about reports its trying to sell property in Calgary, however it did confirm its holdings in the oilpatch count a lot less money they was once. The Winnipeg-based REIT said Tuesday it will be taking a $288-million writedown on its Calgary office portfolio, a move which comes amid rumours it is trying to ...
Read More »Aubrey McClendon dies at 56: Former Chesapeake CEO was a mythical character who pioneered the shale revolution
HOUSTON – Aubrey McClendon was the face from the nation’s natural gas boom, a swashbuckling innovator who pioneered a shale revolution. Former Chesapeake CEO Aubrey McClendon dies in car crash next day of being indicted McClendon was charged with conspiring to rig bids to purchase oil and gas leases in Oklahoma, as well as on Wednesday his car crashed into ...
Read More »Get ready Albertans, you’re about to pay a steep bill to kill coal
What will it cost to kill coal completely by 2030? Albertans wondering what their electricity bills might look like within the next few years should pay close attention to the Alberta government’s ambitious greenhouse-gas-reduction agenda. That plan, revealed in November, aims to increase Alberta’s carbon tax (which is already underway) and shut down coal plants early, while subsidizing alternative power ...
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