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Media Monitor

Commodity Gyrations

The Economist has a fascinating article about the long-term price patterns of commodities, based on a new paper by David Jacks, an economist at Simon Fraser University, which assembles figures on inflation-adjusted prices for 30 commodities over 160 years. Amongst other things, Jacks’ study has shown that long-run rises have been most pronounced for commodities that are “in the ground”, like minerals and natural gas, while prices for resources that can be grown have trended downwards.

Payment Transparency

It was announced by Prime Minister Harper this week that Canadian resource companies working in foreign jurisdictions will be facing new regulations regarding payout disclosures. CBC.ca reports: “Canada is adopting a G8 initiative that would require companies to disclose any payments they make to foreign governments, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced Wednesday in London at a meeting with oil, gas and mining executives.” (with video)

Retail Therapy

Is the retail investor back? According to Bloomberg, positive signs are emerging that mom and pop may be getting back into the markets. Two of their reporters “delved into how shares of discount brokers have risen the most since 2003, compared with the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index, a sign that the retail investor is participating in the equity bull market and will devote more cash to keep it running.”

Pump & Dump

Investors need to be on the lookout for scams. Investment Executive reported that the “U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) issued a warning Wednesday indicating that the latest McAfee Threats Report signals a steep rise in spam email linked to pump-and-dump stock schemes designed to trick unsuspecting investors.”

High Finance

Here’s a novel – if expensive! – way to teach high schoolers about investing. CNN Money reports that “Thousands of high schools across the country participate in stock market simulation games every year, but one small private school in Dallas has taken it up a notch. Greenhill School gave its Business Club $100,000 in real money to invest.” (with video)

Market Mover

The Toronto Star reports: “TMX Group Ltd., the owner of the Toronto Stock Exchange, the TSX Venture Exchange, the Montreal Exchange and other securities markets, said Wednesday it will move into a new 40-storey tower that’s being built by Oxford Properties Group.” TMX Group, it should be noted, is also parent company to TMX Equicom. There’s no word yet on whether TMX Equicom will be joining the parent company in its new digs (we’re currently at 20 Toronto St). As reported by UrbanToronto.ca, the new Oxford tower, to be erected at 100 Adelaide St West, looks like it is going to be pretty spectacular, incorporating the façade of the existing 16-storey Concourse Building, which itself was completed in 1928 and includes mosaic works by Group of Seven artist J.E.H. MacDonald.

Shaun Smith

Author: Shaun Smith

Manager, Media Relations. At TMX Equicom, our Media Relations group keeps its finger on the pulse of the financial media in Canada and around the world. Our clients benefit from our strong relationships with independent major national and local media outlets, as well as with numerous sector trade publications. Lets us help your company tell its story to the media, to drive greater awareness of its capital markets brand with investors. Contact us now to learn what our Media Relations group can do for you.

 
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TSX / CVCA Technology Investor Day 2013: A Sign of Good Times to Come?

Technology Investor Day

We were partners in a major investor event last week – the 2nd Annual TSX / CVCA Technology Investor Day. If the attendance numbers (~120, up materially from last year) are an indication, there is renewed interest in the sector – a point which was underscored by recent IPOs from Halogen Software and ViXS Systems.

The Investor Day is relatively unique in Canada in that it gives both public and private companies an opportunity to tell their story to a broad range of representatives from the capital markets. We see this as an important forum for showcasing the strength of the Canadian technology industry. For 2013, we had the following companies on the agenda:

Here are some musings from the TMX Equicom team who attended the event.

Dave Mason – President

Judging by the turnout and conversations on the floor following the scheduled presentations, there is clearly renewed optimism for the sector from the dealer and buyside community.

Many who I talked to found the private company presentations to be a highlight, and reflective of the strength of next-wave of potential public companies.

Technology dominates our lives; it only seems natural that companies in the sector are once again beginning to capture more of our investing attention.

Craig Armitage – Senior Vice President, Head of Investor Relations

The tone around the sector was very positive, the best I have seen in many years. (The standing-room-only crowd was the most obvious sign.)

Canada continues to develop some high-quality tech companies; the private companies that presented were outstanding.

We continued to hear that investors are showing greater interest in the sector and looking for new names.  Hopefully this bodes well for IPO and new issue activity in the coming months and quarters.

Crystal Quast – Senior Director, Media Relations

We were able to book two of the presenting companies – Sierra Wireless and Solium – on BNN. A chat with the booking producer for both indicates there’s renewed interest in the tech sector from a media standpoint, as commodities and mining stocks fall off investor’s radars.

Marc Lakmaaker  – Senior Account Executive, Technology & Finance Group

Not only does the Tech sector enjoy growing interest, an observation corroborated by a fair few inbound calls from investors/analysts/brokers recently who specifically stated they are looking for fresh stories away from resources, but the event showed that small-cap companies have a ready and quality audience in Canada.

One of my TSX-V clients specifically appreciated the forum format as it provided a good platform for discussion in front of a quality audience.

Interest seemed broad, not just for a few select high-profile companies.

Aaron Kabucis – Account Executive, Technology & Finance Group

There is sector rotation happening in the Canadian markets right now.  With resource stocks performing poorly and the health of the Canadian economy continuing to improve, money needs to find a home – and its landing (at least partially) in tech.

Bianca Canave – Healthcare & Cleantech Group

If ever we needed proof that tech is creating an impact on the TSX, the TSX/CVCA event technology day made that quite evident – standing room only until the last presentation!

For more information on this event, please feel free to contact me at carmitage@tmxequicom.com.

Craig Armitage

Author: Craig Armitage

Senior Vice President

 
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Media Monitor

A round-up of interesting articles on the capital markets, business, economics, investor relations and related matters that caught our attention this week.

Buffett Bonoed

This is kinda weird, but also kinda fun. Bono (yes, the Irish rocker) presented a Forbes philanthropy award to Warren Buffett this week. That’s not so weird in and of itself, since Bono is widely recognized for his own philanthropic leadership. The weird part was how he did it: in song.

Proxy Problems

In the Financial Post, Barbara Shecter reports that an investor rights group backed by some of Canada’s largest pension plans is urging the Ontario Securities Commission to fix what the group calls “‘systemic problems’ with the country’s proxy voting system and impose majority voting standards at all public companies.”

Real-time Transparency

Think it’s a lot of work just getting out those quarterly reports? The New Yorker’s James Surowiecki takes a look at trends in insider trading in the US and wonders if greater transparency in the form of real-time financial updates from issuers might be a viable method to level the playing field.

Board Study

We’ve all seen the reports that women are underrepresented on corporate Boards. And we’ve seen the news that regulators are looking at ways to correct the situation. Now, the Financial Post reports that a new study from US-based research firm GMI Ratings has put an even finer point on the problem: “According to findings released Tuesday, over one-quarter of boards seats in the U.S. are held by men with at least ten years’ tenure. And that represents a formidable impediment to increased diversity because ‘it is difficult to add more women (or members of other under-represented groups) to boards if there are few open seats to begin with,’ GMI noted.”

Patent Exchange

The New York Times’ Deal B%K blog reported this week that a new exchange has been launched in Chicago for the trading of patent rights. Called the Intellectual Property Exchange International, or IPXI (we’re taking guesses on how that’s pronounced), the new exchange “has attracted a handful of blue-chip companies and prominent universities as its initial members….The product traded on the exchange is called a unit license right, a contract that allows the holder to use the underlying technology a certain number of times.”

Doggy Duds

Gents who want look sharp in this summer’s most stylish business attire will want to check out the sartorial splendor of this very fashionable pooch on Bloomberg.

Shaun Smith

Author: Shaun Smith

Manager, Media Relations. At TMX Equicom, our Media Relations group keeps its finger on the pulse of the financial media in Canada and around the world. Our clients benefit from our strong relationships with independent major national and local media outlets, as well as with numerous sector trade publications. Lets us help your company tell its story to the media, to drive greater awareness of its capital markets brand with investors. Contact us now to learn what our Media Relations group can do for you.

 
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Inaugural Avigilon Analyst & Investor Day

On Wednesday, Avigilon (TSX:AVO) hosted their inaugural analyst and investor day. The event included presentations from Avigilon’s executives, integrators and customers.

To watch the full webcast, please click on the image below:

Avigilon Analyst Day

 

About Avigilon

Avigilon (TSX: AVO) is defining the future of protection through innovative high-definition surveillance solutions. Delivering the world’s best image quality, our industry-leading HD network video management software and megapixel cameras are reinventing surveillance.

To learn more about Avigilon or Avigilon’s Analyst & Investor Day, please contact Craig Armitage at carmitage@tmxequicom.com, or the event’s manager, Alley Adams at aadams@tmxequicom.

Erica Watts

Author: Erica Watts

Marketing Manager

 
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May’s Media Round-Up

64 - Media Round-Up - May

Below are the links to the full articles:

  1. IA Clarington - Going global through consumer stocks
  2. WPT REIT - BNN
  3. IA Clarington Canadian Focused Canadian Equity Class - BNN
  4. Trez Capital - Trez plans to raise additional capital
  5. Forsys Metals - BNN
  6. Legumex Walker - BNN
  7. Orbite Aluminae - Orbite shares bounce as new directors assume board positions
  8. Royal Canadian Mint - On sale now: Canada’s gold reserves
  9. Timbercreek Global Real Estate Securities - Q&A: Top REITs and other real estate picks for investors
Crystal Quast

Author: Crystal Quast

Sr. Director, Media Relations.

Contact us now to learn what our Media Relations group can do for you.

 
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The History and Future of the Annual Report

Go back 30 years to 1983. Imagine you’re the CEO of a new public company. You’re working hard to run the company the right way, and part of that is making sure your shareholders have confidence in you. How do you do this?

  • You don’t have a website.
  • You don’t have a PowerPoint deck.
  • You don’t have email or a Smartphone.
  • You have a fax machine, for what it’s worth.

What else do you have? An obligation to mail certain things out several times a year: quarterly reports and one big annual report. That’s the opportunity. Use that annual report to step away from the day-to-day activities of the company and talk to your shareholders. Engage them. Inspire confidence. Give your perspective on the year that was, and vision into the one ahead. Build your brand with the shareholder, and potential shareholder. Differentiate yourself in your competitive landscape. Justify the value that you see in the company.

This is why annual reports were important 20, 30, 40 years ago.

Grand Tierra Annual Report

What’s changed? Well, now you have a website and a PowerPoint deck. You have an email address and a Smartphone. The mailing obligation is diminishing – opt-in mailings and now Notice and Access are bringing print numbers down in a hurry.

What hasn’t changed is the opportunity. You still want to do all the things mentioned above. They can still have an effect on how your company is perceived. Your ‘investor brand’ is as important as it ever was. But there are new ways to deliver it. This is why we’ve seen more and more ways to do annual reports online, or different methods of doing the printed piece to make it more relevant throughout the years. For most companies, the corporate website provides great insight into the daily operations of the company –  and not so much the bigger picture. Websites, factsheets and presentations often tend to focus on the daily operation of the company – where it is today. Where they often struggle is providing context. Where we are today, what we think about tomorrow.

How you report may be undergoing a change. If it hasn’t yet, it almost certainly will. The need to report – the need to tell people what you’re going to do, and how you’ll do it – hasn’t. The web has changed the way we consume information, and it’s also made it more difficult to get and retain an investor’s attention. When you’re competing for capital, any opportunity to create loyalty, understanding and a strong brand is critical.

The annual report can serve as a ‘reset’ to the messaging for the year. As a springboard to develop the foundation for the year’s communication strategy. Companies need that foundation to be updated annually, regardless of the medium — a printed annual report, an online annual, animation, video, etc..

That’s the opportunity. And that hasn’t changed at all.

Hugh Carter

Author: Hugh Carter

Director, Strategic Design

 
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Media Monitor

Skyscraper Index

China has announced plans to break ground next month on “Sky City”, expected to be the world’s tallest building, and a former holder of that record, New York’s venerable Empire State Building, received approval to go public this week. Amidst all the skyscraper news, Business Insider took a fascinating look back at the historic structures in Barclay’s Skyscraper Index, which “suggests that construction booms, especially those highlighted by record-breaking skyscrapers, coincide with the beginning of economic downturns.”

New Rules

BNN reports that the Ontario government is working with the Ontario Securities Commission to craft new rules requiring public companies to set targets for the number of women in senior roles, a move with national implications that could reverse Canada’s decline in global standings for gender diversity in the corporate world. 

Kid Biz

Is it ever too early to start training for the world of business? According to International Business Times, “Chinese parents have been prepping their children for their futures in preschool MBA programs beginning as young as three years old.”

Boot Up

Meanwhile in New York, the Times reports that because newly minted MBA grads often lack “nuts-and-bolts skills like spreadsheet building and database extraction”, they are often sent by the firms that hire them to so-called Wall St boot camps to learn the crucial technical stuff not covered in biz school.

Crisis Case

You may have noticed (how could you not?) there’s been a bit of news over the past few weeks about Toronto’s Mayor, Rob Ford, who is facing accusations of an alleged video showing him smoking crack cocaine. In the Toronto Star, Bill Walker, a member of the Global Crisis Practice team for FleishmanHillard, presents an excellent summary of why Ford’s handling of the situation has been a study in crisis mismanagement.

Shaun Smith

Author: Shaun Smith

Manager, Media Relations. At TMX Equicom, our Media Relations group keeps its finger on the pulse of the financial media in Canada and around the world. Our clients benefit from our strong relationships with independent major national and local media outlets, as well as with numerous sector trade publications. Lets us help your company tell its story to the media, to drive greater awareness of its capital markets brand with investors. Contact us now to learn what our Media Relations group can do for you.

 
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Avigilon Investor Update Video

Avigilon Corporation (TSX:AVO) recently launched its Q1 2013 Investor Update Video, which highlights the Company’s three growth initiatives and provides a financial overview for the quarter.

 

For more information on the production of quarterly investor videos, please contact Hugh Carter at hcarter@tmxequicom.com.

Erica Watts

Author: Erica Watts

Marketing Manager

 
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Media Monitor

Risky Business

The Financial Post’s Barbara Shecter reported this week that Canada’s financial services firms may not all be ready for upcoming changes to their industry. Citing a survey conducted by Randstad Canada with Ipsos Reid, Shecter writes ‘More than 25% of Canadian financial services providers are either “not very” or “not at all”  prepared for upcoming regulatory changes’. The flip side, reports Shecter, is that the new rules are expected to create high demand for risk-management professionals.

100 Women

Forbes this week released its list of the world’s 100 most powerful women. The list includes C-class business executives, politicians, entertainers, royals, artists and more.

Post Paywall

It’s surprising that so few media journalist noticed that the Financial Post erected a paywall last week. Paywalls are those pesky obstacles that require you to actually buy a subscription to read a newspaper’s product. They are becoming much more common these days, and while readers often rile against them, newspapers say they are essential for survival. One of the first papers to institute a paywall was The New York Times, launching one in 2011. Bloomberg reported this week that the venerable fishwrap has no regrets: “In a commencement address to business students at Columbia University, New York Times Co. Chief Executive Officer Mark Thompson hailed the company’s digital subscription strategy and dismissed skeptics who say media outlets can’t reinvent themselves.

Bullion Breakdown

Gold bugs will want to clear some time in their schedule to pour over this fascinating new infographic from Visual Capitalist (c/o Mining.com), which contains a raft of data about global gold production.

Fracking Froth

Bloomberg also reported this week that in Germany, where beer is big business, brewers are getting all frothy over fracking. Germany’s so-called “purity law” (Reinheitsgebot) was instituted in the year 1516 to govern the integrity of the country’s beer production (as well as other foodstuffs), and now the Association of German Breweries is calling on the government to block the tapping of shale gas by means of hydraulic fracturing over concerns the practice could contaminate the country’s ground water. Apparently more than half of Germany’s beer is still produced with water from private wells.

Shaun Smith

Author: Shaun Smith

Manager, Media Relations. At TMX Equicom, our Media Relations group keeps its finger on the pulse of the financial media in Canada and around the world. Our clients benefit from our strong relationships with independent major national and local media outlets, as well as with numerous sector trade publications. Lets us help your company tell its story to the media, to drive greater awareness of its capital markets brand with investors. Contact us now to learn what our Media Relations group can do for you.

 
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Media Monitor

A round-up of interesting articles on the capital markets, business, economics, investor relations and related matters that caught our attention this week.

Big Brother

The financial media seemed to be relishing eating one of its own this week as news broke (last Friday actually) that journalists working for Bloomberg’s newswire had access to information about Bloomberg Terminal subscribers that those subscribers may have thought was private and confidential. Here are some of the meatier bits:

Hot Book

I got right up out of my chair, left the office (it was lunchtime), walked to my favourite bookstore and bought a copy of Jaron Lanier’s new book, Who Owns the Future?, after reading just half of this fascinating interview on Salon about how the Internet appears to be devolving formal economies into informal economies, and how that may not be such a good thing.

Going Up

The Financial Times’ Lucy Kellaway (syndicated to The Globe and Mail) provides some entertaining insight into corporate elevator etiquette.

Looking Back

Lucy Kellaway also provided a humorous gallery looking back at some of the worst management fads over the last few decades.

Bonus Story

Speaking of odd ideas, wouldn’t it be great if company bonus structures looked more like a Secret Santa game? Er, maybe not, right? Well, according to Bloomberg’s Drake Bennet, new research shows that such structures, called “prosocial bonuses” (where other people spend your bonus on what they think you might like!), may actually have some merit.

Shaun Smith

Author: Shaun Smith

Manager, Media Relations. At TMX Equicom, our Media Relations group keeps its finger on the pulse of the financial media in Canada and around the world. Our clients benefit from our strong relationships with independent major national and local media outlets, as well as with numerous sector trade publications. Lets us help your company tell its story to the media, to drive greater awareness of its capital markets brand with investors. Contact us now to learn what our Media Relations group can do for you.

 
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