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Gold/Mining/Energy : KERM'S KORNER -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Kerm Yerman who wrote (14683)	1/7/1999 8:50:00 AM
From: Kerm Yerman	Respond to of 15196

IN THE NEWS / The Day On The Markets TSE surges ahead, Dow breaks records By MICHAEL MacDONALD The Canadian Press Closing Market Numbers for: Jan 06, 1999 Updated: 16:57 EST TSE 6805.30 +144.80 VSE 403.68 + 4.73 MSE 3555.30 + 87.01 ASE 1792.28 + 8.64 TORONTO (CP) -- A swarm of buyers descended on the New York stock market Wednesday, snapping up millions of shares and smashing records. The Dow Jones industrial average reached a new high in early trading as it shot past the 9,400 level for the first time. The blue-chip index then kept racing ahead, blasting past 9,500 to close at 9,544,97. The Dow had gained 233.78 points, closing about 170 points ahead of the previous record high reached last Nov. 23. Investors in Toronto, who often look to New York for guidance, also staged an impressive rally. The TSE 300 composite index gained 144.84 points to close at 6,804.34 as all 14 stock groups posted gains. "These things feed on themselves," said Jim Mountain, managing director of equity trading at ScotiaMcLeod in Toronto. "Clearly, cash is chasing a rallying market." The Nasdaq market, which includes many technology stocks, also reached a record high Wednesday, as did the Standard and Poor's 500 composite index. Both are broad measures of U.S. stock market performance. Analysts say new money traditionally floods the market in January as investors look for a ways to capitalize on year-end bonuses and to reinvest proceeds from tax-related stock sales. In Toronto, the latest gains helped the TSE 300 push past the 6,700 level -- where it started 1998. Wednesday's frenzied trading, worth more than $3 billion, also marked the third consecutive winning session for the TSE 300. Since Monday, Canada's most important stock index has gained more than 319 points. Despite those big gains, the TSE 300 is still a long way from its record high reached last April 22 -- 7,822.25. The TSE's biggest gainer Wednesday was the utilities sector, which added 3.71 per cent. Sector heavyweight BCE Inc. gained $2.50 to $63.50. BCE is Canada's largest telecommunications conglomerate. Its stock, the most widely held in Canada, reached a 52-week high of $68.05 last June. Telecom stocks are hot these days because competing bids for AirTouch Communications Inc. of San Francisco has led to speculation about more mergers and acquisitions in the industry. Vodafone Group Plc, Britain's top wireless phone company, has offered about $54 billion US for AirTouch. That bid tops a $43-billion US bid from Bell Atlantic Corp. BCE Inc. owns Bell Mobility, one of Canada's largest wireless phone companies. It is also the largest shareholder in Northern Telecom, which is a world leader in manufacturing wireless products. Nortel shares jumped $2.30 to $88.30 on three million shares traded. The other big winner on Bay Street was the oil and gas group, which added 3.19 per cent. Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. rose $1.45 to $24.50, Canadian Occidental Petroleum Ltd. jumped 95 cents to $17 and Renaissance Energy Ltd. gained 80 cents at $19.20. The communications and media sector added 3.17 per cent after Rogers Communications Inc. and its cellphone subsidiary reported solid growth. Class B shares of Rogers Communications rose 85 cents to close at $15.50 -- a 52-week high. More than 2.3 million shares traded hands. Meanwhile, shares of Rogers Cantel Mobile Communications, the 81 per cent owned cellphone unit, gained $2.35 to close at $23.30, also a 52-week high. Another heavyweight in the communications sector, Thomson Corp., jumped $2.10 to $39.35. Among the most active stocks, Bid Com International, an online auction service, rose 69 cents to $5.25 on 9.9 million shares traded. More than 7.9 million shares in the Toronto 35 Index Participation Fund traded hands as its stock rose 80 cents to $37.60. Advancers outnumbered decliners 657 to 373 with 231 unchanged in trading of 152 million shares. The TSE 100 rose 9.83 points to 418.68.

To: Kerm Yerman who wrote (14683)	1/7/1999 8:56:00 AM
From: Kerm Yerman	Respond to of 15196

IN THE NEWS / PrimeWest Energy Trust In Court Today Over Hostile Bid For Two Trusts Fighting Poison Pills: Orion and Starcor still looking for white knights By CLAUDIA CATTANEO The Financial Post CALGARY -- A nasty hostile takeover fight for two oil and gas royalty trusts is going to court today. PrimeWest Energy Trust, bidding to take over competitors Orion Energy Trust and Starcor Energy Royalty Fund, is asking the Alberta Court of Queen's Bench to eliminate the targets' poison pills. Kent MacIntyre, PrimeWest vice-chairman and chief executive, said the shareholder rights' plans are being challenged on two grounds -- trusts do not have the authority under their declarations to institute poison pills without unit holder approval; and the pills discriminate against unit holders who control more than 20%. A court decision, which may come today, will determine the battle's next steps, Mr. MacIntyre said. The current bid expires Jan. 12. No decision has been made about how to proceed if the poison pills, which allow the two trusts 60 days from the launch of a takeover bid to investigate options, are not struck down by the court. Calgary-based PrimeWest unveiled offers on Dec. 11 to take over the funds. Also based in Calgary, Starcor and Orion are separate trusts run by the same group. The bids value Starcor at $95-million, including the assumption of $40-million in debt, and Orion at $105-million, including $34-million in debt. PrimeWest is offering 1.207 of its units for each Starcor unit, and 0.968 PrimeWest units for each Orion unit. PrimeWest says a merger of the three would give Starcor and Orion unit holders a premium over market value, increase future cash distributions, result in operating synergies, and a reduction in management fees. But Starcor and Orion have charged the offers are too low. They also claim PrimeWest wants the merger because its own production is declining, and a major driving force behind the deal is big bonuses for PrimeWest management if the acquisition is successful. Tom Budd, managing partner at Griffiths, McBurney & Partners and financial advisor to Orion, also complained that PrimeWest was reluctant to discuss the deal's benefits at unit holder meetings this week in Calgary, Vancouver, and Montreal. In an indication of the nastiness, security was called in in both Vancouver and Montreal by PrimeWest to keep Orion representatives from distributing information from adjacent rooms. A meeting in Toronto is scheduled today. Analysts seem divided about whether PrimeWest will win the campaign. Oil and gas trusts' current depressed values could make it difficult to line up a better bid. And one of PrimeWest's advantages is its willingness to tackle the hefty costs of terminating management contracts -- which could run up to $7-million for Orion and $5.7 million for Starcor, one analyst said. The costs are discouraging other potential buyers. Starcor and Orion, however, continue to look for a white knight. Both have opened data rooms and several parties have expressed interest, said Lamont Tolley, president and chief executive of both funds. One option is for the trusts to continue in their current form, Mr. Tolley said. A myriad of small investors have bought into oil and gas trusts in recent years, attracted by the potential for stable income distributions in a low interest rate environment. But trust values have cratered across the board since the oil-price collapse in the fall of 1997. Unit values are unlikely to recover until commodity prices improve. Meanwhile, depressed values are expected to fuel industry consolidation.

To: Kerm Yerman who wrote (14683)	1/7/1999 8:59:00 AM
From: Kerm Yerman	Respond to of 15196

IN THE NEWS / Opposition Grows To Alliance Pipeline Ludwig joins fight By CAROL HOWES The Financial Post CALGARY -- Eco-activist Wiebo Ludwig, a vigorous opponent of oil and gas drilling in northern Alberta, has a new fight on his hands -- the $4-billion Alliance Pipeline Ltd. project. Mr. Ludwig said yesterday he has discovered the 3,500-kilometre pipeline will flow gas 2.5 kilometres south of his 128-hectare farm near Grand Prairie, Alta. "Am I going to blow it up or something? If I told you that, I'd have security crawling all over me and I've had enough of that recently," said the 57-year-old former evangelical preacher. Jack Crawford, a spokesman for Alliance, said the company is taking safety measures as it begins to clear land in the area next month in preparation for laying pipeline in the spring. It will run from northeastern British Columbia through Alberta to Chicago. Mr. Crawford wouldn't say what action the company will take to protect construction workers in the western part of Alberta that has been plagued by vandalism. "I really would prefer not to share any information," he said. "We're certainly taking it very seriously. With some of the things that have happened in that area, I think everyone is concerned." Mr. Ludwig, who accuses the petroleum industry of spewing health-harming emissions in the natural resource rich region, has been accused of promoting violence against petroleum companies such as Alberta Energy Co. and Suncor Energy Inc. He is not as worried about the pipeline in his backyard as he is about the increased drilling that will occur over the next five years to meet the new pipeline capacity. Alliance will ship 1.3 billion cubic feet a day of natural gas to the United States. "We're trying to suck up all the gas out of the ground at once," he said, adding the more drilling there is, the more emissions will be spewed into the air. He pointed to a recent report backing some of his claims. According to the Canadian Chemical Producers Association, Alberta's chemical manufacturers reported a 13% increase in emissions from 1992 to 1997, while nationally there was a 55% drop. Increased activity in the petrochemical business in Alberta was blamed for much of the increase. Mr. Ludwig isn't alone in his opposition to Alliance's pipeline, approved last month by the National Energy Board. Judy Maas, a tribal chief in northern B.C., said a number of First Nations had not been consulted on the project, nor on the increased drilling that will be necessary to sustain it. Meanwhile, environmental group Rocky Mountain Ecosystem Coalition filed notice with the Federal Court of Canada this week for an injunction to stop construction of the Alliance pipeline, claiming it hasn't undergone a proper and lawful environmental assessment. The 500-member coalition claims the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans and thePrairie Farm Rehabilitiation Administration did not undertake environmental assessments as required under federal legislation.

To: Kerm Yerman who wrote (14683)	1/7/1999 9:09:00 AM
From: Kerm Yerman	Read Replies (17) \| Respond to of 15196

IN THE NEWS / Phillips Cuts Jobs By AP and CP BARTLESVILLE, Okla. -- In the latest sign of trouble in the oil industry, Phillips Petroleum Co. is cutting 1,400 jobs worldwide to save money. Most of the eliminated jobs will be in exploration and production. Phillips, which employs 17,200 workers worldwide, plans to eliminate 550 jobs from its foreign operations and 850 positions in the U.S. The planned cuts won't affect Canada, where 123 people work at Phillips' Canadian headquarters in Calgary and oil and gas operations in northwestern Alberta. The sharp drop in crude oil prices to 12-year lows has been wreaking havoc on the oil industry. In turn, that has meant widespread layoffs and mergers as firms attempt to keep costs down.