THE PIANTED PIGS MID DAY UPDATE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

June 16, 2010

Morgan Stanley ramps up e-trading

By Andrew Willis
Globe and Mail Update

Wall Street firm bulks up Canadian stock trading desk

Electronic trading got more competitive on Wednesday, as Morgan Stanley ramped up the services it offers to Canadian investors.
The Wall Street firm wants to boost its share in the fastest growing segment of equity markets, as both the traditional instutional crowd and the new breed of high frequency traders embrace computer-driven buying and selling.
Morgan Stanley rolled out specialized Canadian coverage that it brands as "Interlisted SORT," a bundle of services that include algorithmic, high spped order routing systems that find clients the best price for stocks on any exchange, and direct market access.
Entrenched global competitors in this field include Credit Suisse, one of the strongest electronic players in Canada, and specialized firms such as ITG Canada. In addition, the bank-owned Canadian houses such as CIBC World Markets are building electronic muscle on equity desks.
Electronic trading is growing at a double-digit pace in Canada, yet it accounts for half the volume of buying and selling seen in the U.S. market. The universal expectation on the Street is for greater reliance on the machines, due to lower costs and great efficiency.
Morgan Stanely global co-head of electronic trading Andrew Sivlerman said Wednesday that his firm is "fully committed to servicing the Canadian marketplace and we plan to continually enhance our industry-leading electronic trading platform."
"As the Canadian market becomes more fragmented and electronic, financial institutions require the necessary technology and services to find the best liquidity at the best price," said Mr. Silverman in a press release.

AKV-X (at $0.07) has risen by more than 20.00% since your last alert.

1:09 PM 16/06/2010


AKV-X
Your % value: 20.00%
Last alert price: 0.06
Net Change: 0.00
% Change:  25.00
Last Price: $0.07
High: $0.07
Low:: $0.07
Volume: 63,000

 

June 16, 2010

MEG's message to the Street: We are not Athabasca

By Andrew Willis
Globe and Mail Update

MEG and its bankers try to distance their planned offering from one of the poorest performing IPOs ever seen in Canadian markets

They are both ambitious players in Alberta's oil sands, each with a huge need for capital.
They both have state-owned Chinese backers. One staged a jaw-dropping $1.3-billion initial public offering, the other is attempting a financing on that same massive scale.
For all their similarities, everyone connected with MEG Energy was going out of their way on Tuesday to stress the differences between this 11 year-old company and Athabasca Oil Sands, which is down more than 40 per cent since its debut in April, and qualifies as one of the poorest performing IPOs ever seen in Canadian markets.
The mantra repeated by MEG executives is that with all due respect to their oil sands colleagues, they have learned from Athabasca's debut this spring.
So how do MEG and its bankers distinguish their offering from a peer that's been a wealth destroyer for investors? Credit Suisse Securities, BMO Nesbitt Burns, Barclays Capital and Morgan Stanley Canada have the honour of leading a transaction that will be pitched to a global audience. MEG has hired law firm Bennett Jones on the financing, while the underwriters are using law firm Blake, Cassels & Graydon.
First, MEG and its bankers will gently will urge the Street to temper the criticism of Athabasca, noting that IPO came just as the market set a peak for this year - the TSX oil and gas index dropped 9 per cent in the month that followed. So Athabasca's offering was well timed for the company, but a nightmare for investors. In a more volatile market, the one we're living now, the dynamic should favour investors.
Then this marketing campaign will move to the obvious: MEG is a far more mature entity. The Calgary-based company produces 25,000 barrels a day, with plans to more than double production within three years - hence the need for capital. MEG lost $485,000 on revenues of $126-million in the most recent quarter - the three months ended March 31.
Athabasca, on the other hand, doesn't expect to start commercial production of oil until 2014.
Next will come the distinctions of geography and geology. MEG is working properties that are cheek-to-cheek with established projects owned by Cenovus Energy. MEG's reserves can be exploited with proven steam-assisted gravity drainage systems.
Engineers throw around a concept called steam-to-oil ratios, to measure the efficiency of drilling that strips oil out of the ground. MEG ranks as one of the cheaper plays in the region, along with Cenovus. Companies such as OPTI and Connacher are at the other end of the spectrum, facing far greater expenses as they gather oil. And Athabasca holds a scattered collection, in different geological regions of Alberta. That adds to development costs.
Finally, MEG's backers will point out the subtle difference in the way these two companies conducted themselves over the recent years. At this point, they may pull out a blue-chip endorsement from MEG director Peter Lougheed, former premier of Alberta and a respected name in energy.
Athabasca attracted a head-turning $1.9-billion investment from PetroChina last year, and handed out much of that cash to its owners in a dividend, prior to going public. While the payout was all disclosed, it raised eyebrows in a capital-intensive sector.
MEG, on the other hand, plows all its dough into expansion. Founder and CEO William McCaffrey and his team tapped some of the deepest pockets on the planet for capital. None of these investors are selling into the IPO, and MEG can now use their backing as a calling card in its capital campaign.
Private equity fund Warburg Pincus, which has put $35-billion into 600 companies over the past four decades, became a major backer early in this decade, and now owns 24 per cent of MEG.
In 2005, China National Offshore Oil Co., or CNOOC, paid $150-million for a 17-per-cent stake in MEG. Sources say that these two global backers have in turn attracted a number of "brand name" sovereign wealth funds.
By spending their cash on operations, and delivering on production promises, Mr. McCaffrey has made MEG a far more credible player than most companies taking their first steps on public markets.

Largest 1 Day Advance
Company	Symbol	Latest Price	Change
			Net	%
Snowfield Development	SNO-X	0.010	0.010	100.000
HTN Inc.	HET-X	0.020	0.010	50.000
Epicore Bionetworks Inc	EBN-X	0.120	0.040	50.000
Marksmen Resources Ltd	MA-X	0.020	0.010	50.000
Texada Software	TXS-X	0.060	0.020	50.000
Terra Firma Capital	TII-X	0.150	0.050	50.000
Canadian Energy Exploration	XPL-X	0.200	0.060	42.860
Coopers Park Corp	XCP-X	1.000	0.300	42.860
Miraculins	MOM-X	0.140	0.040	40.000
Greater China Capital Inc.	GCA.P-X	0.280	0.080	40.000
Tiex Inc.	TIX-X	0.100	0.030	35.710
Escape Gold	EGT-X	0.170	0.040	30.770
SelectCore	SCG-X	0.070	0.020	30.000
Vantex Resources Ltd.	VAX-X	0.110	0.030	29.410
DiaMedica	DMA-X	0.480	0.110	28.380
New Nadina Expls Ltd	NNA-X	0.070	0.020	27.270
Fire River Gold	FAU-X	0.540	0.120	27.060
Pacific Lottery Corp.	LUK-X	0.050	0.010	25.000
VRX WorldWide	VRW-X	0.100	0.020	25.000
Goldminco	GCP-X	0.030	0.010	25.000

Most Active
Company	Symbol	Volume	Latest Price	Change
				Net	%
LNG Energy	LNG-X	8,038,000	0.270	-0.030	-10.170
Petroamerica Oil	PTA-X	3,041,500	0.410	-0.010	-2.380
Vast Exploration	VST-X	2,924,483	0.820	0.090	12.330
Fire River Gold	FAU-X	2,890,661	0.540	0.120	27.060
Logan Copper Inc.	LC-X	2,309,500	0.010	0.000	0.000
New Island Resources Inc	NIS-X	2,299,500	0.100	0.010	5.560
Capella Resources	KPS-X	2,255,455	0.140	-0.030	-17.650
Spider Resources	SPQ-X	2,076,741	0.160	0.000	0.000
East Asia Minerals	EAS-X	1,822,126	6.290	-0.210	-3.230
KWG Resources Inc.	KWG-X	1,738,384	0.120	-0.010	-4.000
Canasia Ind Corp	CAJ-X	1,618,152	0.100	0.020	17.650
Searchgold Resources	RSG-X	1,550,850	0.020	0.000	0.000
Sea Dragon Energy	SDX-X	1,497,000	0.350	-0.010	-1.410
Medoro Resources Ltd.	MRS-X	1,450,890	0.720	-0.020	-2.700
Longford Energy	LFD-X	1,209,137	0.250	0.010	2.040
American Consolidated Minerals	AJC-X	1,122,500	0.150	0.010	7.140
Eagle Hill Exploration	EAG-X	1,096,777	0.260	0.030	10.870
CGX Energy	OYL-X	1,010,912	0.600	-0.020	-3.230
Terrane Metals	TRX-X	977,276	1.060	0.020	1.920
Petromanas Energy Inc.	PMI-X	929,450	0.390	0.030	8.450

Manson Creek Discovers New Gold System at Virgin Arm Returning Significant Results of 0.54 g/t to 10.07 g/t Gold 

 




CALGARY, ALBERTA--(Marketwire - June 16, 2010) - Manson Creek Resources Ltd. ('Manson Creek') (TSX VENTURE:MCK) is pleased to provide the results of the first trenching program conducted at its Virgin Arm gold project, Newfoundland. Three historic gold showings were initially examined during the Spring program. Work completed on the Hank and Homer zones has resulted in the discovery of a new gold bearing system. Significant gold assays, ranging from 0.50 grams per tonne (g/t) gold to 10.07 g/t gold, were received from continuous channel samples perpendicular to the exposed 410 meter (m) long mineralized zone. 


Seven trenches were completed in the Hank and Homer zones, while two trenches were completed on the Barney zone during the program. Continuous rock saw channel samples were taken from exposed bedrock in the nine trenches. Table 1 lists select significant sample results and intervals. Please see the website, www.manson.ca, for maps showing the location of the trenching for the Hank and Homer zones. 


Two exploratory trenches extending 85 m along strike length at the Hank showing returned strong gold mineralization values with the zone remaining open along strike. Outstanding gold values of 0.69 g/t gold to 10.07 g/t gold were delineated over widths of 4.50 m and 1.12 m respectively.