It’s been quite some time since I last blogged over the goings on in the resource sectors. That’s why today, I attempt to make it up to you by looking at a few key announcements which, lest you spot the clues, may offer a thinly veiled nod to what is coming up in our September issue next week. Firstly, to BP’s Macondo Oil Spill. Have they plugged the leak? Yes? No? Yes again? Well, apparently not permanently just yet. The operation to beat the leak once and for all over at the Deepwater Horizon...

Perhaps it’s because I’m not close to the situation, but I just can’t fathom why anyone would want to buy BP—thinking from a brand fall-out perspective. This rumoured move by Exxon Mobil has sent BP shares upwards last week—but I’ve got an inkling that possible purchases won’t do much for the purchasers. This week, Apache Corp. declined to comment on a public report that it might buy $12 billion of BP PLC’s assets, which seems much the safer move. But Exxon Mobil also refused to...

It’s a given, we all enjoy Fridays,  but over in Australia this one is really something special. The nation’s new Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, has come in, cleaned up and thrown out that dastardly 40 per cent Resource Super Profits Tax (RSPT) we have all endured sleepless nights over between May 2, 2010 and today. It’s hard to believe it’s really gone already, isn’t it? Of course, as those waves of relief and thankfulness continue to well over us, it’s important to rake over our...

Today the President of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has announced that the nation will postpone talks with western countries as a direct counterattack for the new UN sanctions imposed on the country, aimed at preventing its uranium enrichment nuclear programme activities. Speaking from Tehran, he stated that this latest measure is, “a punishment to teach them a lesson to know how to have a dialogue with nations,” and alluded that there is more behind the western world’s attempts to halt this...

Today Australia’s now notorious Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, stood and spoke, choking back tears, at his final press conference as Prime Minister at Parliament House. Amongst the remarks made, Rudd managed to say he was “proud of the fact that we kept Australia out of the global financial crisis,” and “did my best to give Australia a fair go.” He has handed over the reins of power to Julia Gillard, the new Labour leader who said she is “throwing open the government’s door to the...

As the news buzz worldwide is filled with the sound of vuvuzela’s and everyone turns their attentions to the World Cup in South Africa, the George Media team have thrown our hats into the ring and despite yours truly drawing Algeria in the office sweepstakes —seriously conflicting any sense of support for my native England ahead of tonight’s game—everyone is having a ball. In order to tie in the tournament to all-things IRJ now is a good time to look beyond what is happening on the pitches...

A U.S. government task force called the Flow Rate Technical Group released new estimates which ostensibly double the amount of oil being spewed out of a blown-out well in the Gulf of Mexico. The task force’s new estimates suggest between 20,000 barrels and 40,000 barrels of oil may have spilled out daily before the well was partially contained. Whether it is 400 barrels or 40,000 barrels or more, which it very likely will end up being, the potential damage is frightening. What is more frightening...

Back in April, when George Media attended the G8/G20 Business Summit in Gatineau (coverage can be found at www.cbj.ca) I witnessed some of the most enlightened business leaders in the world present the reasons to do business, together. It took me some time to let the real impacts of this event sink in, but alas, here we are and I’m really coming to grips with the messages conveyed at the Summit—just in time for the Leaders’ Summits later this month. Along with other politicians, Canadian Prime...

Here I was, sitting at my desk trying to articulate for our readers how frustrating it is that no-one has really measured the amount of oil spilled off of the Gulf of Mexico in the last few weeks (one of the PR mistakes in this disaster), but I thought I’d point to another blog about this very same topic, which illustrates the exact point that bothers me. Felix Salmon, a writer with Reuters, puts it perfectly when he says “So let’s get down there and measure this thing” since no-one has really...

As the UK parliamentary election rollercoaster grinds, or rather smashes, to a halt, both the IRJ London and Toronto offices have been chatting about the influx of damning and dooming media reports flooding in.  Speaking to editor over at the American Business Journal, Antonia McGuire, it was interesting to hear that the Canadian press, “made it sound quite catastrophic.” On this side of the pond, reports took a different approach, with some election commentary indicating a hung parliament for...