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VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA – (April 28, 2011) Clearlease Reports First-quarter profits at Imperial Oil Ltd. jumped by nearly two thirds on improved oilsands production, higher refining margins and a falloff in maintenance activities, the major oil producer said Thursday.

Calgary-based Imperial (TSX:IMO) said its performance was driven primarily by production of 310,000 barrels a day during the period, eclipsing the year-earlier’s 291,000 barrels, thanks to record production from the Syncrude and Cold Lake projects.

Profits were $781 million, or 91 cents per share, compared with net earnings of $476 million, or 56 cents per share, in the same period of 2010. Revenue rose to $6.87 billion from $6.17 billion.

Analysts polled by Thomson-Reuters were, on average, expecting Imperial to earn 96 cents per share and post revenues of about $6.7 billion.

“The 64 per cent earnings increase resulted from improved industry refining margins, higher Syncrude and Cold Lake production and lower refinery planned maintenance activities,” chairman and CEO Bruce March said in a statement.

“These factors were partially offset by the unfavourable foreign exchange effects of the stronger Canadian dollar. Reliability and expense management improvements in all operating segments allowed us to capture higher crude oil realizations in the upstream and improved margins in petroleum product markets.”

Imperial also said Thursday it was keeping its quarterly dividend steady at 11 cents per share.

Imperial, majority-owned by Houston-based energy heavyweight ExxonMobil Corp. (NYSE:XOM), is in the midst of building its $8-billion Kearl oilsands mine. The first 110,000 barrel per day phase of that project is set to come on stream late next year.

The company has run into some problems bringing enormous pieces of equipment from South Korea to the mine site north of Fort McMurray, Alta.

The modules have travelled across the Pacific, through the port at Vancouver, Wash., and along the Columbia and Snake Rivers. They are now stalled at the inland port of Lewiston, Idaho, waiting to make the rest of the journey by truck to Alberta via Montana.

The 207 megaloads are so big that changes have to be made to some Montana highways to accommodate them. Environmentalists are concerned about erosion and other ecological damage the loads may cause and have challenged the Montana government in court over its approval of the highway modifications.

Imperial said Thursday that construction on Phase 1 is 60 per cent complete and remains on schedule for a 2012 startup. The company has reconfigured the project from three phases to two phases to cut costs.

Imperial’s other oilsands holdings include vast steam-driven operations at Cold Lake and a 25 per cent interest in the Syncrude mine, the world’s largest oilsands project.

Imperial Oil also runs a chain of Esso-branded fuel stations across the country, as well as refineries in Alberta and Ontario and is the lead partner on the long-stalled Mackenzie Gas Project, which would bring natural gas from the Northwest Territories to southern markets via a 1,220-kilometre pipeline.

A formal regulatory process finally wrapped in March after several years of delay. Imperial needs to secure some 6,000 other permits from local boards and agencies before construction can begin and has said the absolute soonest gas could start flowing through pipeline would be 2018.

The Northwest Territories government, and many communities in the area, are eager to see the pipeline built because of the economic benefits it would bring.

Shares in Imperial were down $1.55, or more than three per cent, at $48.72 Thursday morning on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfX_T9BpIug

For more information please visit us at: http://www.clearlease.com/Career-Opportunities.html

About Dominion Lending Centres Clearlease

Dominion Lending Centres Clearlease Commercial (DLC Clearlease/Clearlease.com) is a fully diversified Lease Finance Mortgage Banking Brokerage Company specializing in Equipment Leasing, Automobile Leasing, Residential, Commercial Lending/Mortgage Financing. DLC Clearlease possesses the capability to accommodate financing needs ranging from a small second Home Mortgage to a Multi-Million Dollar Commercial Projects. No mortgage is too small or too large for this integrated Company.

Equipment Lease Financing in Vancouver, Surrey, Delta, Richmond, Langley, New Westminster, North Vancouer, West Vancouver, B.C. Also offering Automobile Lease Financing and Mortgage information. Founded by the Pidgeon brothers.

You may have recently seen a Dominion Lending advertisement on such media outlets as: Global News, CTV News, CBC Television, Rogers Sportsnet or possibly heard the great Don Cherry, a Canadian Sports legend, discuss Dominion Lending Centres.

Contact DLC Clearlease.com:

Dominion Lending Centres Clearlease
HEAD OFFICE, Bentall Two, Suite 900, 555 Burrard Street, Vancouver, BC, V7X 1M8, CANADA.
Mr. A. Pidgeon, Editor in Chief
Tel: (604) 696-1221 ext. 177
eMail: [email protected]
Website: http://www.clearlease.com
News: http://clearlease.com/category/equipment-lease-blog/feed/rss
Twitter: @clearlease

###

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA – (April 28, 2011) Clearlease Reports Sony is telling PlayStation users that it had encrypted the credit card data that hackers may have stolen, reducing but not eliminating the chances that thieves could have used the information.

Sony Corp. said in a blog post Wednesday that while it had no direct evidence the data was even taken, it cannot rule out the possibility. It did not say how strong the encryption was, and it is possible for hackers to decipher files that are weakly encrypted — it’s just more difficult.

“All of the data was protected, and access was restricted both physically and through the perimeter and security of the network. The entire credit card table was encrypted and we have no evidence that credit card data was taken,” the company wrote in its blog post.

On Tuesday, Sony had said that account information, including names, birthdates, email addresses and log-in information, was compromised for certain players using its PlayStation Network. In an earlier blog post, the company had said that data had not been encrypted and had been kept in a separate location from the credit card information.

The company said it is in the process of moving its network infrastructure and its data centre to a new, more secure location, though it did not give any more details. And it said it is working with law enforcement to investigate who is responsible for the attack.

Sony shut down the network last Wednesday after it said account information, including names, birthdates, email addresses and log-in information was compromised for certain players in the days prior. It said it expects to have some services back up by next Tuesday, though it added it will only restore operations if it is confident that the network is secure.

Microsoft Corp., meanwhile, warned players on its Xbox Live network that they may be the subject of “phishing” attempts while playing “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2” online. It said on its support website that it is working to resolve the issue. Phishing scams are attempts to pry personal information out of people, most often through official-looking emails but also other types of messages.

Microsoft declined to comment on the Sony situation.

“”The security around our Xbox Live service and member information is our highest priority. Other than that, we have no comment,” said spokesman David Dennis late Wednesday.

Sony says that of the 77 million PlayStation Network accounts, about 36 million are in the U.S. and elsewhere in the Americas, 32 million in Europe and 9 million in Asia, mostly in Japan.

Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfX_T9BpIug

For more information please visit us at: http://www.clearlease.com/Career-Opportunities.html

About Dominion Lending Centres Clearlease

Dominion Lending Centres Clearlease Commercial (DLC Clearlease/Clearlease.com) is a fully diversified Lease Finance Mortgage Banking Brokerage Company specializing in Equipment Leasing, Automobile Leasing, Residential, Commercial Lending/Mortgage Financing. DLC Clearlease possesses the capability to accommodate financing needs ranging from a small second Home Mortgage to a Multi-Million Dollar Commercial Projects. No mortgage is too small or too large for this integrated Company.

Equipment Lease Financing in Vancouver, Surrey, Delta, Richmond, Langley, New Westminster, North Vancouer, West Vancouver, B.C. Also offering Automobile Lease Financing and Mortgage information. Founded by the Pidgeon brothers.

You may have recently seen a Dominion Lending advertisement on such media outlets as: Global News, CTV News, CBC Television, Rogers Sportsnet or possibly heard the great Don Cherry, a Canadian Sports legend, discuss Dominion Lending Centres.

Contact DLC Clearlease.com:

Dominion Lending Centres Clearlease
HEAD OFFICE, Bentall Two, Suite 900, 555 Burrard Street, Vancouver, BC, V7X 1M8, CANADA.
Mr. A. Pidgeon, Editor in Chief
Tel: (604) 696-1221 ext. 177
eMail: [email protected]
Website: http://www.clearlease.com
News: http://clearlease.com/category/equipment-lease-blog/feed/rss
Twitter: @clearlease

###

Apple Inc. (NasdaqGS: AAPL ) could have pre-empted location concerns with more disclosure Dominion Lending Centres Clearlease

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA – (April 28, 2011) Clearlease Reports Apple Inc. (NasdaqGS: AAPL ) should have responded much sooner to concerns about location data stored on its iPhones, even if the company didn’t have all the answers ready, marketing and crisis-management experts say.

The company took a week to deny that the phones track the precise location of their owners, as some users and privacy watchdogs had feared.

As soon as it started selling the devices, Apple should have said how it uses, or doesn’t use, location data, said Joe Marconi, a DePaul University marketing professor and author of “Crisis Marketing: When Bad Things Happen to Good Companies.”

“The whole problem could have been a non-problem if Apple had done some kind of disclosure of this in some kind of a privacy statement,” he said. “Apple customers are fiercely loyal in a way we can say few (others) are today. With that comes a responsibility.”

In a list of 10 questions and answers published Wednesday, the company explained that a data file publicized last week by security researchers doesn’t store iPhone users’ physical locations — just a list of Wi-Fi hotspots and cell towers surrounding them.

Apple said the data help phones figure out their location without having to listen for faint signals from GPS satellites.

The company did acknowledge that the data are stored for up to a year because of a software bug. It promised a fix in the coming weeks to reduce the duration of the storage.

Larry L. Smith, president of the Institute for Crisis Management, a public relations company, said Apple should have said something sooner in some form, even if it didn’t have all the details right away.

“To me there is no excuse to stonewall, to put off facing your customers, your partners, your shareholders, your employees,” he said. “When there is a problem, or an issue has been raised, it’s so counterproductive to put off responding.”

Even a response of “I don’t know; I will get back to you” is better than none, he said. “You are not always going to have immediate answers.”

Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris would not comment on why the company waited to respond.

Speaking to The New York Times, CEO Steve Jobs defended the timing of Apple’s response, saying that the company wanted to determine exactly what happened rather than rush to its public relations department.

“The first thing we always do when a problem is brought to us is we try to isolate it and find out if it is real,” he said. “It took us about a week to do an investigation and write a response, which is fairly quick for something this technically complicated.”

Jobs, who went on medical leave in January, said he was personally involved in writing Wednesday’s response, as were other top executives, “because we think it is that important.”

Despite all the hoopla, Smith said he doesn’t expect Apple’s latest blunder to hurt the company in the long run.

Apple quickly recovered from “antennagate,” a problem with the iPhone 4’s antenna design. It caused reception issues when people covered a certain spot with a bare hand.

Jobs apologized last July to people who were not completely satisfied with the iPhone 4, but denied there was an antenna problem that needed fixing. Even so, the company gave out free protective cases. “Antennagate” didn’t seem to make a dent in the iPhone ‘s popularity or sour Apple’s devoted fan base.

And, Smith said, the “flap over data won’t do the harm today that it might have done a few years ago when our attention span was a little longer. Somebody else will do something stupid tomorrow.”

Companies that handle public relations crises well are not remembered long — that’s the whole point. But Apple might learn from fast food companies such as Domino’s Pizza and Taco Bell.

When video of a Domino’s employee appearing to do disgusting things to food appeared on YouTube, Domino’s responded by firing that person and the co-worker who recorded him. Later, CEO Patrick Doyle posted a video in response, saying the store had been sanitized “top to bottom” and that the company is re-examining how it hires workers “to make sure that people like this don’t make it into our stores.”

Taco Bell, meanwhile, spent millions of dollars on ads to counter a lawsuit that questioned whether the filling in its tacos was actually beef. The lawsuit has been dropped.

Smith said Taco Bell realized their taco customers were mostly men who bought it for the taste and price, not for its nutritional value.

Similarly, Apple might find that many users don’t mind their location being tracked because this allows them to get directions, find nearby restaurants and use a slew of other apps and features of the iPhone . In Wednesday’s statement, Apple said the data file in question helps speed location-based services.

Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfX_T9BpIug

For more information please visit us at: http://www.clearlease.com/Career-Opportunities.html

About Dominion Lending Centres Clearlease

Dominion Lending Centres Clearlease Commercial (DLC Clearlease/Clearlease.com) is a fully diversified Lease Finance Mortgage Banking Brokerage Company specializing in Equipment Leasing, Automobile Leasing, Residential, Commercial Lending/Mortgage Financing. DLC Clearlease possesses the capability to accommodate financing needs ranging from a small second Home Mortgage to a Multi-Million Dollar Commercial Projects. No mortgage is too small or too large for this integrated Company.

Equipment Lease Financing in Vancouver, Surrey, Delta, Richmond, Langley, New Westminster, North Vancouer, West Vancouver, B.C. Also offering Automobile Lease Financing and Mortgage information. Founded by the Pidgeon brothers.

You may have recently seen a Dominion Lending advertisement on such media outlets as: Global News, CTV News, CBC Television, Rogers Sportsnet or possibly heard the great Don Cherry, a Canadian Sports legend, discuss Dominion Lending Centres.

Contact DLC Clearlease.com:

Dominion Lending Centres Clearlease
HEAD OFFICE, Bentall Two, Suite 900, 555 Burrard Street, Vancouver, BC, V7X 1M8, CANADA.
Mr. A. Pidgeon, Editor in Chief
Tel: (604) 696-1221 ext. 177
eMail: [email protected]
Website: http://www.clearlease.com
News: http://clearlease.com/category/equipment-lease-blog/feed/rss
Twitter: @clearlease

###

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA – (April 28, 2011) Clearlease Reports The Toronto stock market hovered in positive territory at midday Thursday as higher commodity prices and a slew of strong earnings reports outweighed news that U.S. first-quarter economic growth was slower than expected.

The S&P/TSX composite index added 23.2 points to 13,915.8 as the information technology and materials sectors led the market higher. The TSX Venture Exchange gained 0.5 points to 2,251.87.

The Canadian dollar added 0.20 of a cent to 105.42 cents US as the greenback fell against most other major currencies a day after the U.S. Federal Reserve announced it had no near-term intentions of changing its emergency low interest rate from near zero.

Fed chairman Ben Bernanke said rising commodity prices would likely have only a temporary effect on broader inflation in the United States.

Central banks raise interest rates to contain inflation and policy-makers overseas are already doing so. That makes the dollar less appealing to investors than the currencies of countries where rates are already higher and expected to rise further.

Commodities were higher, with the price of oil ahead $1.13 at US$113.89 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold rose $19.40 to US$1,536.50 per ounce and copper was up three cents at US$4.26 a pound.

The U.S. government said the economy grew at a 1.8 per cent annual rate in the January-March quarter. That’s the weakest showing since last spring when the European debt crisis reduced growth to a 1.7 per cent pace, and a slower pace than many economists had been expecting.

But the U.S. GDP figures seem to be a blip as the North American economy remains strong, leading investors to focus instead on solid first-quarter earnings, said Paul Vaillancourt, vice-president at Canadian Wealth Management in Calgary.

“You’re going to start to see some pretty big blowout numbers, starting with energy this quarter but certainly next quarter.”

However, he added that investors have adopted a wait-and-see attitude and are holding back given that this week is heavy with economic data. Vaillancourt expects Canadian GDP figures set to be released Friday to show that the economy continues to grow.

“People are on the sidelines a little bit waiting to see if the recovery is as strong as people hope,” he said.

Meanwhile, energy and mining stocks are not performing as well as they had been previously despite a continued rise in commodity prices because some investors question whether prices can hold at such elevated levels, he said.

“Investors have lopped of 10 per cent or more off these energy and mining stocks that have been the darlings for the last couple of quarters and we’ll need to see continued solid earnings.”

The energy sector was up a slight 0.1 per cent, while the mining sector was the biggest drag on the TSX, down 0.8 per cent.

The information technology sector, up 1.4 per cent, led the main index higher with shares in market heavyweight Research in Motion (TSX:RIM) up 1.8 per cent or 97 cents at $53.75. The industry has been buzzing with rumours that the company could showcase new smartphones at its annual conference next week in Florida.

CGI Group (TSX:GIB.A) also boosted the sector. It was up 2.6 per cent or 52 cents at $20.54 after announcing a second-quarter profit of $117 million, up 43 per cent from $81.6 million in the same period last year.

Several key Canadian companies reported earnings that beat analyst expectations, including Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (TSX:POT), which said its first-quarter profits hit a record $732 million. Still, its shares fell five cents to $54.13.

Other outperformers included the Jean Coutu Group Inc. (TSX:PJC.A), whose shares rose 19 cents to $10.64, and Domtar Inc. (TSX:UFS), up $1.45 at $87.70.

Maple Leaf Foods Inc. (TSX:MFI), narrowly beat analysts expectations by a penny with adjusted earnings of 18 cents per share. Sales revenues declined to $1.14 billion, in line with expectations. Shares gained 11 cents to $11.55 apiece.

Wall Street markets were mixed after the U.S. government said the economy slowed in the first three months of this year as higher prices for oil and gas constrained consumer spending.

The Dow Jones industrial average added 35.3 points to 12,726.2. The Nasdaq index was down 1.74 points at 2,868.14 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index gained 2.7 points to 1,358.35.

In other U.S. economic news, the National Association of Realtors’ pending home sales index showed sales agreements for homes rose 5.1 per cent last month to a reading of 94.1. Sales were uneven across the country and were not enough to signal a rebound in the housing market.

Corporate earnings from U.S. companies were mixed.

In European trading, Britain’s FTSE 100 was 0.2 per cent higher. Germany’s DAX rose 0.7 per cent, and France’s CAC-40 gained 0.9 per cent.

Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfX_T9BpIug

For more information please visit us at: http://www.clearlease.com/Career-Opportunities.html

About Dominion Lending Centres Clearlease

Dominion Lending Centres Clearlease Commercial (DLC Clearlease/Clearlease.com) is a fully diversified Lease Finance Mortgage Banking Brokerage Company specializing in Equipment Leasing, Automobile Leasing, Residential, Commercial Lending/Mortgage Financing. DLC Clearlease possesses the capability to accommodate financing needs ranging from a small second Home Mortgage to a Multi-Million Dollar Commercial Projects. No mortgage is too small or too large for this integrated Company.

Equipment Lease Financing in Vancouver, Surrey, Delta, Richmond, Langley, New Westminster, North Vancouer, West Vancouver, B.C. Also offering Automobile Lease Financing and Mortgage information. Founded by the Pidgeon brothers.

You may have recently seen a Dominion Lending advertisement on such media outlets as: Global News, CTV News, CBC Television, Rogers Sportsnet or possibly heard the great Don Cherry, a Canadian Sports legend, discuss Dominion Lending Centres.

Contact DLC Clearlease.com:

Dominion Lending Centres Clearlease
HEAD OFFICE, Bentall Two, Suite 900, 555 Burrard Street, Vancouver, BC, V7X 1M8, CANADA.
Mr. A. Pidgeon, Editor in Chief
Tel: (604) 696-1221 ext. 177
eMail: [email protected]
Website: http://www.clearlease.com
News: http://clearlease.com/category/equipment-lease-blog/feed/rss
Twitter: @clearlease

###

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA – (April 28, 2011) Clearlease Reports Standard Life Financial Inc. reports its premiums and deposits grew 19 per cent to $1.5 billion in the first quarter, up from $1.3 billion a year earlier.

The Montreal company, a unit of global insurer Standard life plc, reported a good performance by its group business and favourable markets as a reason for the growth.

Standard said its group savings and retirement premiums and deposits grew 36 per cent to $894 million.

Meanwhile,assets under administration rose eight per cent to $41 billion at the end of the first quarter.

In Canada, Standard Life employs about 2,000 people and is the Scottish parent’s largest operation outside the United Kingdom.

Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfX_T9BpIug

For more information please visit us at: http://www.clearlease.com/Career-Opportunities.html

About Dominion Lending Centres Clearlease

Dominion Lending Centres Clearlease Commercial (DLC Clearlease/Clearlease.com) is a fully diversified Lease Finance Mortgage Banking Brokerage Company specializing in Equipment Leasing, Automobile Leasing, Residential, Commercial Lending/Mortgage Financing. DLC Clearlease possesses the capability to accommodate financing needs ranging from a small second Home Mortgage to a Multi-Million Dollar Commercial Projects. No mortgage is too small or too large for this integrated Company.

Equipment Lease Financing in Vancouver, Surrey, Delta, Richmond, Langley, New Westminster, North Vancouer, West Vancouver, B.C. Also offering Automobile Lease Financing and Mortgage information. Founded by the Pidgeon brothers.

You may have recently seen a Dominion Lending advertisement on such media outlets as: Global News, CTV News, CBC Television, Rogers Sportsnet or possibly heard the great Don Cherry, a Canadian Sports legend, discuss Dominion Lending Centres.

Contact DLC Clearlease.com:

Dominion Lending Centres Clearlease
HEAD OFFICE, Bentall Two, Suite 900, 555 Burrard Street, Vancouver, BC, V7X 1M8, CANADA.
Mr. A. Pidgeon, Editor in Chief
Tel: (604) 696-1221 ext. 177
eMail: [email protected]
Website: http://www.clearlease.com
News: http://clearlease.com/category/equipment-lease-blog/feed/rss
Twitter: @clearlease

###

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA – (April 28, 2011) Clearlease Reports The Canadian dollar was down slightly at midday after rising earlier in the day against its U.S. counterpart, as data showed the U.S. economy grew at a slower pace than expected.

The loonie lost 0.13 of a cent to 105.09 cents US even with commodity prices climbing as the depressed greenback made it cheaper to purchase. It had earlier been trading about 0.20 of a cent higher.

Commodities were higher, with the price of oil ahead $1.13 at US$113.89 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold rose $19.40 to US$1,536.50 per ounce and copper was up three cents at US$4.26 a pound.

The U.S. government said the economy grew at a 1.8 per cent annual rate in the January-March quarter. That’s the weakest showing since last spring when the European debt crisis reduced growth to a 1.7 per cent pace, and a slower pace than many economists had been expecting.

The weak reading came a day after Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said at a historic press conference Wednesday that the Fed was not planning to change anything regarding its monetary stimulus and policy because the economy was not yet strong enough.

The Fed left its emergency low 0.25 per cent key lending rate unchanged, while it signalled that its $600 billion Treasury bond-buying program will end in June as planned because the economy has strengthened and companies are starting to hire more.

The Fed has been making bond purchases intended to lower loan rates, encouraging spending and boost stock prices. But critics worried that the purchases would feed inflation.

Bernanke said that rising commodity prices will likely have only a temporary effect on broader inflation in the U.S. Central banks raise interest rates to contain inflation, and policy-makers overseas are already doing so. That makes the dollar less appealing to investors than currencies from countries where rates are already higher and expected to rise further.

The euro is trading above $1.48 for the first time since December 2009. The dollar is sliding versus the British pound and Japanese yen. Currencies of countries that are big commodity exporters, such as the Australian dollar and Canadian dollar, are climbing.

Some uncertainty over the outcome of Canada’s federal election on Monday could be dragging on the loonie — as traders ponder the economic effect of the creeping, but unlikely possibility of a NDP-led government, suggested Camilla Sutton, a currency strategist at Scotiabank.

“We expect to see new lows in (the U.S. dollar versus the Canadian dollar) as loose monetary policy in the US, soon to be tighter policy in Canada, strong Canadian fundamentals, a relatively better Canadian fiscal position, investor sentiment and strong commodity prices all weigh on the U.S. dollar,” she said.

But Bob Tebbutt, vice-president at Peregrine Financial Group Canada Inc. said the market doesn’t seem to be expecting a minority government.

“If the market expected a minority, the Canadian Dollar would be having a hard time moving higher no matter what was happening in the US.”

Currency analysts believe the loonie may accelerate against the greenback following the election.

Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfX_T9BpIug

For more information please visit us at: http://www.clearlease.com/Career-Opportunities.html

About Dominion Lending Centres Clearlease

Dominion Lending Centres Clearlease Commercial (DLC Clearlease/Clearlease.com) is a fully diversified Lease Finance Mortgage Banking Brokerage Company specializing in Equipment Leasing, Automobile Leasing, Residential, Commercial Lending/Mortgage Financing. DLC Clearlease possesses the capability to accommodate financing needs ranging from a small second Home Mortgage to a Multi-Million Dollar Commercial Projects. No mortgage is too small or too large for this integrated Company.

Equipment Lease Financing in Vancouver, Surrey, Delta, Richmond, Langley, New Westminster, North Vancouer, West Vancouver, B.C. Also offering Automobile Lease Financing and Mortgage information. Founded by the Pidgeon brothers.

You may have recently seen a Dominion Lending advertisement on such media outlets as: Global News, CTV News, CBC Television, Rogers Sportsnet or possibly heard the great Don Cherry, a Canadian Sports legend, discuss Dominion Lending Centres.

Contact DLC Clearlease.com:

Dominion Lending Centres Clearlease
HEAD OFFICE, Bentall Two, Suite 900, 555 Burrard Street, Vancouver, BC, V7X 1M8, CANADA.
Mr. A. Pidgeon, Editor in Chief
Tel: (604) 696-1221 ext. 177
eMail: [email protected]
Website: http://www.clearlease.com
News: http://clearlease.com/category/equipment-lease-blog/feed/rss
Twitter: @clearlease

###

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA – (April 28, 2011) Clearlease Reports Berkshire Hathaway said Wednesday that a former executive believed to have been in line to succeed Warren Buffett as CEO violated the company’s insider trading and ethics policies by buying stock in a chemical company Berkshire is acquiring and failing to disclose key details.

Buffett released a report that Berkshire’s audit committee produced after examining David Sokol’s $10 million investment in Lubrizol. It’s not clear whether Sokol will face any additional sanctions for his actions because the company says its policies set a higher standard than the law does.

Sokol’s lawyer, Barry Levine, issued a statement late Wednesday disputing the audit committee’s findings.

Sokol resigned from Berkshire shortly after Buffett’s Omaha company announced plans to acquire Lubrizol for $9 billion. When his resignation was announced late last month, Sokol said he was leaving to start his own firm.

The audit committee of Berkshire’s board said Sokol offered “misleadingly incomplete disclosures” about his Lubrizol trades, which were made while he was scouting acquisition candidates for Berkshire.

The audit committee said even if Sokol’s actions could somehow be justified, they would still violate the standard Buffett establishes when he periodically encourages all Berkshire managers to avoid any behaviour that even comes close to being unethical. Buffet sends a letter to his managers every two years reminding them to “zealously guard Berkshire’s reputation.”

“By engaging in such questionable conduct, Mr. Sokol threatened Berkshire Hathaway’s reputation — or would have done so had he remained with the company,” the audit committee said in the report.

Sokol did not immediately respond to a message left at a number listed for him in Omaha, and no one answered the phone at a number listed for him in Florida. He has generally declined to comment since making an initial appearance on CNBC right after his resignation was announced and stating he didn’t believe he had done anything wrong.

Levine echoed that theme in his statement Wednesday. He said Sokol had no reason to believe Buffett would want to buy Lubrizol at the time he bought stock, and he had been studying the company for months before Lubrizol came up during a meeting with Citi investment bankers last December.

“He would not, and did not, trade improperly, nor did he violate any fair reading of the Berkshire Hathaway policies,” Levine said.

Sokol’s lawyer also complained that Berkshire’s audit committee hadn’t interviewed his client for its report.

But Berkshire board member Ron Olson said in his own statement Wednesday that Sokol had been interviewed at least three times before refusing to answer additional questions.

Buffett did not immediately respond to a message left with one of his assistants Wednesday afternoon.

A spokesman for the Securities and Exchange Commission said Wednesday that he could not confirm or deny whether the agency was investigating Sokol’s trades.

The new report on Sokol’s actions was released ahead of Saturday’s Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholders meeting. Buffett and Berkshire Vice Chairman Charlie Munger are almost certain to face questions about Sokol at the meeting. Berkshire said Wednesday that it would release a transcript of any questions about the topic on its website afterward.

Andy Kilpatrick, the stockbroker-author of “Of Permanent Value, the Story of Warren Buffett,” said this new report should defuse the Sokol issue before the meeting, and it appears Berkshire wants to answer all the questions it can.

“I don’t think Berkshire did anything wrong,” said Kilpatrick, who is also a shareholder. “It’s just that they were deceived.”

Jeff Matthews, a shareholder who wrote “Secrets in Plain Sight: Business & Investing Secrets of Warren Buffett,” said the new report is a good start at answering the lingering questions about Sokol’s actions.

“It’s devastating for Sokol, and it raises a lot of issues about how Berkshire handles its operation and the leeway it gives its people,” Matthews said.

Berkshire is notoriously decentralized with just 21 employees in Omaha to oversee about 260,000 worldwide. Buffett tells shareholders that he and Munger “delegate almost to the point of abdication” and let the managers of Berkshire’s subsidiaries run their businesses.

Sokol bought nearly 100,000 Lubrizol shares in early January for about $100 a share even though he knew Lubrizol’s board had been discussing Berkshire’s possible interest in acquiring the chemical company.

About a week after Sokol bought his Lubrizol shares for about $10 million, he recommended that Berkshire buy the company. Buffett said Sokol mentioned owning Lubrizol stock in passing, but he didn’t learn the details of the transactions until shortly after the deal was announced March 14.

The committee report said it never occurred to Buffett that Sokol might have bought Lubrizol shares after meeting with Citi investment bankers about Berkshire’s possible interest in Lubrizol.

The report said Buffett only learned about the role investment bankers played in the deal after it was announced, and when questioned by Berkshire’s chief financial officer, Sokol initially omitted that he had met with the investment bankers.

Buffett has said the decision to offer $135 in cash for each share of Lubrizol was entirely his, but that the offer for the Ohio company wouldn’t have happened without Sokol’s early efforts. The deal, which includes Berkshire assuming about $700 million in Lubrizol debt, made Sokol’s shares worth roughly $13 million.

The audit committee said Berkshire’s insider-trading policy requires a higher standard of conduct than securities law, so Sokol might not face criminal charges but he forfeited any severance-related compensation when he resigned from the company.

Berkshire’s audit committee said Wednesday that the board may consider legal action against Sokol to recover his trading profits and any damage that Berkshire sustained. The committee said it hopes its report on Sokol’s action will deter anyone else from violating the company’s policies.

Before Sokol’s departure, he had been serving as chairman of Berkshire’s MidAmerican Energy, NetJets and Johns Manville units.

Berkshire owns roughly 80 subsidiaries, including clothing, furniture and jewelry firms, but its insurance and utility businesses typically account for more than half of the company’s net income. It also has major investments in such companies as Coca-Cola Co. and Wells Fargo & Co.

Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfX_T9BpIug

For more information please visit us at: http://www.clearlease.com/Career-Opportunities.html

About Dominion Lending Centres Clearlease

Dominion Lending Centres Clearlease Commercial (DLC Clearlease/Clearlease.com) is a fully diversified Lease Finance Mortgage Banking Brokerage Company specializing in Equipment Leasing, Automobile Leasing, Residential, Commercial Lending/Mortgage Financing. DLC Clearlease possesses the capability to accommodate financing needs ranging from a small second Home Mortgage to a Multi-Million Dollar Commercial Projects. No mortgage is too small or too large for this integrated Company.

Equipment Lease Financing in Vancouver, Surrey, Delta, Richmond, Langley, New Westminster, North Vancouer, West Vancouver, B.C. Also offering Automobile Lease Financing and Mortgage information. Founded by the Pidgeon brothers.

You may have recently seen a Dominion Lending advertisement on such media outlets as: Global News, CTV News, CBC Television, Rogers Sportsnet or possibly heard the great Don Cherry, a Canadian Sports legend, discuss Dominion Lending Centres.

Contact DLC Clearlease.com:

Dominion Lending Centres Clearlease
HEAD OFFICE, Bentall Two, Suite 900, 555 Burrard Street, Vancouver, BC, V7X 1M8, CANADA.
Mr. A. Pidgeon, Editor in Chief
Tel: (604) 696-1221 ext. 177
eMail: [email protected]
Website: http://www.clearlease.com
News: http://clearlease.com/category/equipment-lease-blog/feed/rss
Twitter: @clearlease

###

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA – (April 28, 2011) Clearlease Reports Hammond Power Solutions Inc. (TSX:HPS.A) says its first-quarter profit was down 47 per cent compared with last year as a result of fluctuating material costs, competitive pricing in the market and higher sales and administrative expenses.

Net income dropped to just under $1.6 million from almost $3 million, while earnings per share dropped to 14 cents from 25 cents, the company announced Wednesday.

Hammond Power is the North American leader for the design of custom electrical engineered magnetics as well as the leading manufacturer of standard electrical dry type transformers

Its sales improved by 19 per cent to $52.8 million from $44.3 million, due to higher shipments to both American and Canadian markets. Gross margins fell to 24.3 per cent from 26.7 per cent in the first quarter of 2010.

Total selling, general and administrative expenses were $10.1 million, up $1.8 million or 21.8 per cent from a year earlier, due to higher sales commissions, the acquisition of Euroelettro SpA in Vicenza, Italy, and stock option expenses.

Margins are also feeling a negative impact from the lower U.S. dollar.

“We have seen the return of marked volatility presumably as a result of these uncontrollable events affecting material costs, market pricing, and booking activity from certain markets,” said Bill Hammond, chairman and CEO of the company.

Hammond’s shares were down 51 cents or 4.25 per cent to trade at $11.50 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfX_T9BpIug

For more information please visit us at: http://www.clearlease.com/Career-Opportunities.html

About Dominion Lending Centres Clearlease

Dominion Lending Centres Clearlease Commercial (DLC Clearlease/Clearlease.com) is a fully diversified Lease Finance Mortgage Banking Brokerage Company specializing in Equipment Leasing, Automobile Leasing, Residential, Commercial Lending/Mortgage Financing. DLC Clearlease possesses the capability to accommodate financing needs ranging from a small second Home Mortgage to a Multi-Million Dollar Commercial Projects. No mortgage is too small or too large for this integrated Company.

Equipment Lease Financing in Vancouver, Surrey, Delta, Richmond, Langley, New Westminster, North Vancouer, West Vancouver, B.C. Also offering Automobile Lease Financing and Mortgage information. Founded by the Pidgeon brothers.

You may have recently seen a Dominion Lending advertisement on such media outlets as: Global News, CTV News, CBC Television, Rogers Sportsnet or possibly heard the great Don Cherry, a Canadian Sports legend, discuss Dominion Lending Centres.

Contact DLC Clearlease.com:

Dominion Lending Centres Clearlease
HEAD OFFICE, Bentall Two, Suite 900, 555 Burrard Street, Vancouver, BC, V7X 1M8, CANADA.
Mr. A. Pidgeon, Editor in Chief
Tel: (604) 696-1221 ext. 177
eMail: [email protected]
Website: http://www.clearlease.com
News: http://clearlease.com/category/equipment-lease-blog/feed/rss
Twitter: @clearlease

###

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA – (April 28, 2011) Clearlease Reports Shoppers Drug Mart Corp , Canada’s biggest drugstore chain, posted a higher quarterly profit on Wednesday, helped by robust sales of non-pharmacy items.

The strength in front-store sales, a term pharmacy chains use to refer to food, drink and beauty items, overshadowed a prolonged slump in Shoppers’ prescription drug sales, which have been hit by government regulatory moves.

The results show the company stole some market share for health, beauty and convenience products from grocers and other retailers in the quarter by offering discounts. Front-store sales rose 6 percent.

“The sales are driven by promotions,” Edward Jones analyst Brian Yarbrough said. “It’s great to get the sales number, but it is weighing on profits.”

“They’re definitely gaining some share because you’re not seeing those sorts of comps from the grocery guys,” he said.

Metro Inc , the first of Canada’s big three grocers to report results for the first quarter, last week noted “the difficult competitive environment” as its revenue dropped marginally and same-store sales rose 0.2 percent.

Sales at Shoppers Drug stores open for at least a year, a key measure for retailers, rose 2 percent in the first quarter.

But prescription sales, down 0.4 percent in the quarter, have taken a hit since the Ontario government last year instituted reforms that cut the prices of generic drugs in the province, the biggest market for Shoppers.

Shoppers, without a permanent chief executive since Jurgen Schreiber left in February, said Holger Kluge will succeed David Williams as the board’s nonexecutive chairman. Williams is the interim CEO.

Kluge, who joined the board in 2006, has served as chair of the audit committee since May 2006.

Earnings for the first quarter rose to C$118 million ($123 million), or 54 Canadian cents a share, compared with adjusted earnings of C$114 million, or 52 Canadian cents, a year earlier.

Sales rose 2.7 percent to C$2.35 billion, missing the average analyst estimate of C$2.38 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Shares of Shoppers, whose rivals include Jean Coutu Group Inc and Katz Group’s Rexall and PharmaPlus chains, were down 1 percent at C$40.97 on Wednesday afternoon on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

The stock is up 2 percent since the start of the year, compared with a 4 percent rise in the S&P/TSE Canadian Consumer Staples index.

($1=$0.96 Canadian)

Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfX_T9BpIug

For more information please visit us at: http://www.clearlease.com/Career-Opportunities.html

About Dominion Lending Centres Clearlease

Dominion Lending Centres Clearlease Commercial (DLC Clearlease/Clearlease.com) is a fully diversified Lease Finance Mortgage Banking Brokerage Company specializing in Equipment Leasing, Automobile Leasing, Residential, Commercial Lending/Mortgage Financing. DLC Clearlease possesses the capability to accommodate financing needs ranging from a small second Home Mortgage to a Multi-Million Dollar Commercial Projects. No mortgage is too small or too large for this integrated Company.

Equipment Lease Financing in Vancouver, Surrey, Delta, Richmond, Langley, New Westminster, North Vancouer, West Vancouver, B.C. Also offering Automobile Lease Financing and Mortgage information. Founded by the Pidgeon brothers.

You may have recently seen a Dominion Lending advertisement on such media outlets as: Global News, CTV News, CBC Television, Rogers Sportsnet or possibly heard the great Don Cherry, a Canadian Sports legend, discuss Dominion Lending Centres.

Contact DLC Clearlease.com:

Dominion Lending Centres Clearlease
HEAD OFFICE, Bentall Two, Suite 900, 555 Burrard Street, Vancouver, BC, V7X 1M8, CANADA.
Mr. A. Pidgeon, Editor in Chief
Tel: (604) 696-1221 ext. 177
eMail: [email protected]
Website: http://www.clearlease.com
News: http://clearlease.com/category/equipment-lease-blog/feed/rss
Twitter: @clearlease

###

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA – (April 28, 2011) Clearlease Reports Southern Andes Energy Inc. (“Southern Andes”) (NYSE:SUR) and Ansue Capital Corp. (TSX VENTURE:ASU.P) are pleased to announce, further to their press release dated April 14, 2011, that Ansue has signed an engagement letter (the “Engagement Letter”) with BayFront Capital Partners Ltd. for BayFront, on its own, or as representing a syndicate of agents (collectively, the “Agents”), to sell subscription receipts (“Subscription Receipts”) convertible for no additional consideration into common shares of Ansue for gross proceeds of up to $6,000,000 (the “Financing”). The purchase price per Subscription Receipt will be determined by BayFront and Ansue.

The Financing is related to the previously announced definitive agreement between Southern Andes and Ansue (the “Definitive Agreement”) which provided that Ansue shall acquire (the “Acquisition” or the “Qualifying Transaction”) all of the issued and outstanding shares of Caracara Silver Inc. (“Caracara”) and thus indirectly all of the shares of Alpaca Exploraciones SAC, as well as all of the issued and outstanding shares of Solex del Peru SAC (“Solex”). As a result of the Acquisition, Ansue will acquire all of the silver assets of Southern Andes which comprise 24,600 hectares of concessions located approximately 200 kilometres north of Juliaca, Peru. The Financing is intended to provide the requisite financing for Ansue to carry on business going forward post-Acquisition. The Acquisition remains subject to the receipt of requisite regulatory approval, including without limitation, the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.

The gross proceeds from the sale of the Subscription Receipts, less the Agents’ expenses, will be deposited into escrow pending Ansue completing the escrow release conditions. The escrow release conditions include: (a) receipt of all regulatory approvals required to complete the Qualifying Transaction; (b) Southern Andes and Ansue agreeing that all conditions under the Definitive Agreement have been satisfied; and (c) that the common shares of Ansue to be issued upon the exercise of the Subscription Receipts will, subject to relevant securities laws, only be subject to the statutory hold period of four months plus one day.

In connection with the Financing, the Agents will receive a cash commission equal to 6% of the gross proceeds realized by Ansue in respect of the sale of the Subscription Receipts, as well as warrants (the “Broker’s Warrants”), which will terminate 24 months from the closing date, to purchase that number of additional securities of Ansue equal to 6% of the number of Subscription Receipts sold under the Financing on the same terms as the Financing.

The Financing is being undertaken by BayFront on an agency, best efforts basis.

Closing of the Financing is scheduled to occur on or about May 15, 2011, or such other date as BayFront and Ansue may agree, and is subject to certain conditions including, but not limited to, the receipt of all necessary approvals, including the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange and any other applicable securities regulatory authorities.

Ansue is a capital pool company and intends for the Acquisition to constitute the “Qualifying Transaction” as such term is defined in the policies of the Exchange. The Acquisition is an arm’s length transaction and upon completion thereof it is anticipated that Ansue will be a Tier 2 Mining Issuer.

Other Information and Updates

Southern Andes’ shares are currently listed for trading on the Exchange and Ansue’s shares are currently also listed for trading on the Exchange. However, in accordance with Exchange policy, Ansue’s shares are currently halted from trading and will remain halted until such time as determined by the Exchange which, depending on the policies of the Exchange, may not occur until the completion of the Acquisition and the Financing.

Ansue will provide further details of the Qualifying Transaction in due course by way of a filing statement to be prepared. Ansue will in due course make available to the Exchange, all financial information as required by the Exchange and will provide, in a press release to be disseminated at a later date, summary financial information derived from such statements.

About Southern Andes Energy Inc.

Southern Andes Energy Inc. is focused on exploring and developing uranium resources to meet the world’s growing demand for clean energy. The Company is the largest landowner in the emerging Macusani Uranium District in Peru with holdings of more than 100,000 hectares of land. The Company also owns a 7% interest in Macusani Yellowcake Inc., which controls two advanced stage uranium projects in the district. Southern Andes owns a 100% interest in Caracara Silver Inc., which has been created to advance and develop the Company’s extensive silver and zinc projects in Peru.

Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfX_T9BpIug

For more information please visit us at: http://www.clearlease.com/Career-Opportunities.html

About Dominion Lending Centres Clearlease

Dominion Lending Centres Clearlease Commercial (DLC Clearlease/Clearlease.com) is a fully diversified Lease Finance Mortgage Banking Brokerage Company specializing in Equipment Leasing, Automobile Leasing, Residential, Commercial Lending/Mortgage Financing. DLC Clearlease possesses the capability to accommodate financing needs ranging from a small second Home Mortgage to a Multi-Million Dollar Commercial Projects. No mortgage is too small or too large for this integrated Company.

Equipment Lease Financing in Vancouver, Surrey, Delta, Richmond, Langley, New Westminster, North Vancouer, West Vancouver, B.C. Also offering Automobile Lease Financing and Mortgage information. Founded by the Pidgeon brothers.

You may have recently seen a Dominion Lending advertisement on such media outlets as: Global News, CTV News, CBC Television, Rogers Sportsnet or possibly heard the great Don Cherry, a Canadian Sports legend, discuss Dominion Lending Centres.

Contact DLC Clearlease.com:

Dominion Lending Centres Clearlease
HEAD OFFICE, Bentall Two, Suite 900, 555 Burrard Street, Vancouver, BC, V7X 1M8, CANADA.
Mr. A. Pidgeon, Editor in Chief
Tel: (604) 696-1221 ext. 177
eMail: [email protected]
Website: http://www.clearlease.com
News: http://clearlease.com/category/equipment-lease-blog/feed/rss
Twitter: @clearlease

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