The rial-ity of Persia-stroika. FT Alphaville A war for oil and competing pipe dreams. Ritholtz Chinese copper consumption falls. Bloomberg French rich up in arms about higher taxes. Dealbook Listen: One Direction. PianoGuys

Clueless Capital: An Interview With the World’s Youngest, Most Charmingly Oblivious Hedge Fund. NYMag “Avoid the Canadian tradition of nit-picking the ambitious and original.” Conrad Black: As Quebec decays, Toronto seizes greatness. National Post Robert Frank: Texas Postal Worker Is Artist Behind Hermes Scarves. CNBC Photo: Hermes Blood, Sweat, and Piers (Morgan). Vanity Fair

Richard Branson’s big idea for building a better version of capitalism. Economist How Strong Is the Art Market? WSJ Paulson Funds Said to Further Cut 2012 Losses Last Month. Bloomberg An Indian flash crash. FT Alphaville The love affair between the super-rich and London property is souring. CNBC How to Run Your Hedge Fund From Jail. Bloomberg Jamie Dimon on the… Continue Reading

Torex Gold (TXG) put the Guerrero gold belt back on the map earlier this week with a monster $350-million bought deal financing underwritten by BMO Capital Markets and others. In a junior mining sector that has been on the ropes for much of the year, it’s an impressive cash pile. Torex’s Morelos deposit has 5.4 million ounces of… Continue Reading

Romney Takes First Debate. New York Times The end of the Great Migration: China’s workers return home. Marketplace Also: Free trade with China still a decade away, Brian Mulroney says. Globe and Mail What future for Egypt’s wealth? Al-Ahram BlackRock Leads Firms Poised to Win From Hedge Fund Ads. Bloomberg Billionaire Glasenberg Bets on Coal Rebound With Xstrata: Energy.… Continue Reading

Do you know what the most significant piece of news was yesterday? (in my opinion) It was Torex Gold (TXG) raising $350MM in a Bought Deal for their 5.4 million ounce Morelos Gold Project in Mexico. Here we have a developer that won’t pour gold until at least 2016 being able to raise ~40% of their… Continue Reading

“You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.” -Winston Churchill Lived from 1874 to 1965 British Conservative Politician and Statesman Prime Minister, 1940-45 and 1951-55

By James Kwantes, World of Mining Second in a series (Read Part 1 here) “Opportunity can go by in a day.” Norman Bell Keevil, Sr. Norman Bell Keevil was born on a Saskatchewan farm in 1910. In his first life, Keevil was an academic, studying math, chemistry and geology at the University of Saskatchewan before getting… Continue Reading

“The only way to make money is if other people agree with your thesis.” O.T. Xstrata Backs Glencore Bid With Board Assurance, Vote Change. Bloomberg Presenting Apple Inc.’s Braeburn: The World’s Largest Hedge Fund. ZeroHedge Blackstone’s Schwarzman: Alignment of interests is ‘off the table’. Pensions & Investments Norway’s Wealth Fund Targets U.S. Real Estate. Bloomberg Why do… Continue Reading

Russia’s Norilsk Nickel sees African opportunity. Reuters China steelmaker, miners cut output as slowdown bites. Reuters Short-term dip in uranium prices now a long-term slump. Financial Post A closer look at O’Leary Funds. Globe and Mail Open Season on Salt: What the Science on Hypertension Really Shows. Scientific American The Lie Factory: How politics became… Continue Reading

Starting an investing blog covering the junior mining sector requires some preparation. So I trekked up Howe Street and east on West Georgia to the Vancouver public library, where I borrowed Fleecing the Lamb: The Inside Story of the Vancouver Stock Exchange, by David Cruise and Alison Griffiths. Published by Douglas & McIntyre in 1987, two… Continue Reading

If you were shocked to learn from Mitt Romney that 47 percent of Americans don’t pay income tax, you might be interested to know that only 1.2 and 2.7 percent of Chinese and Indians pay that same tax in their respective countries. Interestingly, 63 percent of Canadians pay income tax, a higher percentage than our… Continue Reading

One of the most fascinating modern technological innovations in my opinion, is the icebreaking ship. Known as “icebreakers” these naval vessels with specially designed hulls open up shipping routes and arctic exploration opportunities that would otherwise be inaccessible.

Goldman Sachs Forecasts 18.2% Return on Commodities in Year. Bloomberg HSBC Managing Director: Why Asia Should Start Worrying About Inflation. CNBC Ahmadinejad Under Attack at Home and Away as Bow Out Nears. Bloomberg Qatar in talks to buy Batista’s $2 billion AUX stake: sources. Reuters  Blackstone to acquire Tampa Bay rental homes valued at $1B. TBBJ… Continue Reading

China Calls For Free-Trade Deal With Canada Within A Decade. “We’re Not Coming To Control Your Resources” Chinese Ambassador says. Globe and Mail Canada Gears Up for China Uranium Exports. Globe and Mail Brazil Stands Ready To Devalue Currency Following QE3 Inflows. Bloomberg Conrad Black: Canada’s front-row seat for the American disaster. National Post Inside… Continue Reading