BOE Report

Berkshire Hathaway unloads Exxon Mobil, ConocoPhillips stakes as oil prices fall, adds Deere

OMAHA, Neb. - Billionaire Warren Buffett's company unloaded its 41 million shares of Exxon Mobil Corp. and sold a smaller stake in ConocoPhillips as oil prices fell last fall.Berkshire Hathaway Inc. filed an update on the stocks it held at the end of 2014 with the Securities and Exchange Commission Tuesday.Berkshire recorded a number of moves during the last three months of last year, including buying 15.6 million shares of Deere & Co. stock and adding nearly 6.5 million shares to its already [Read more]

Keystone bill signed by U.S. House Speaker, who urges Obama to add his name

WASHINGTON - The Republican leadership in the United States Congress has made it official, formally enrolling legislation to build the privately funded Canadian Keystone XL pipeline and urging President Barack Obama to sign it.In a ceremony on Friday, the Republican leader of the House of Representatives, Speaker John Boehner, put his signature on the bill and called on Obama to "do the right thing" and add his name.While the next stop for the measure is the White House — where Obama has [Read more]

TransCanada to hike dividend following higher Q4 profit of $458 million

CALGARY - TransCanada Corp. says it's still pursuing its plans to get into the oil-by-rail business, despite the fact that crude prices are expected to remain at depressed levels for some time.Paul Miller, TransCanada's (TSX:TRP) president of liquid pipelines, says rail transportation would help oil producers get product to market while they await approval of the company's Keystone XL pipeline, which has been mired in legal and regulatory delays for six years.In the latest setback, the company [Read more]

Keystone XL snagged again in Nebraska, could be months in court, opponents say

WASHINGTON - With a major decision on the Keystone XL pipeline looming in Washington, the project faces yet another snag in the place where opposition to it began — Nebraska.Opponents there say they may have stalled it for more than a year.The perenially postponed pipeline project will wind its way through the Nebraska court system yet again, with both sides asking the courts for more clarity on the legality of imposing the route on hostile landowners.A lawyer who fought the project once to the [Read more]

Crude oil jumps $2 above $51/bbl

The price of oil rose sharply as the CEO of Royal Dutch Shell said he expects crude demand will grow faster than supply this year. Benchmark U.S. crude rose $2.37 to close at $51.21 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, a benchmark for international oils used by many U.S. refineries, rose $2.39 to close at $57.05 in London. Oil has recovered since falling 60 percent in the past seven months. It went as low as $45 a barrel at the end of January. The rebound is encouraging investors who had [Read more]

TransCanada suspends efforts to acquire Nebraska land for pipeline amid legal challenge

OMAHA, Neb. - Calgary-based TransCanada Corp. (TSX:TRP) is temporarily suspending efforts to seize Nebraska land for the Keystone Pipeline XL amid a legal challenge.A Holt County District judge issued a temporary injunction Thursday, keeping TransCanada from invoking eminent domain along the proposed Keystone Pipeline route in northern Nebraska.TransCanada agreed to the order, hoping to get an accelerated trial schedule.Landowners have sued over the project.TransCanada filed legal papers in nine [Read more]

Cenovus Energy cutting 15 per cent of staff, suspends salary increases

CALGARY - Cenovus Energy Inc. (TSX:CVE) says it expects to cut its staff by about 15 per cent, the bulk of which it says will come from its contract workforce.The company also suspended employee salary increases for this year as it looks to cut its discretionary spending on travel, conferences, offsite meetings and information technology upgrades.Cenovus announced the moves as announced a loss of $472 million or 62 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended Dec. 31 compared with a loss of $58 [Read more]

Keystone bill heads to Obama for likely veto

The Republican-controlled Congress has cleared a bill approving the construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline. That sets up a confrontation with President Obama, who has threatened to veto the measure. The House voted 270-152 on Wednesday to send the bill to the president. Neither chamber has enough votes to overcome a veto. The vote caps weeks of debate on a top priority for Congress after the GOP took control last month. Supporters are already planning on using other means to secure [Read more]

Spring will demonstrate impact of oil price on Alberta’s real estate: expert

TORONTO - Royal LePage says home sales in the spring real estate market will be the first indication of how lower oil prices have affected home sales in Western Canada.Chief executive Phil Soper told the Economic Club of Canada on Wednesday that job losses in the oil patch could lead to a "significant and extended downturn" in Alberta's real estate sector.In January, Canada's largest oil sands company, Suncor Energy Inc. (TSX:SU), announced plans to lay off 1,000 workers as it grapples with the [Read more]

TransCanada tells U.S. State Dept. that EPA got Keystone XL assessment wrong

WASHINGTON - The Canadian government has accused a U.S. federal agency of a dishonest intervention in the Keystone XL pipeline debate, voicing its displeasure in a combative diplomatic letter.Ambassador Gary Doer said the Environmental Protection Agency used out-of-date data, worst-case scenarios, and erroneous comparisons in its submission on the pipeline."One is left with the conclusion that there has been significant distortion and omission to arrive at the EPA's conclusion," Doer wrote in a [Read more]