too close for comfort photograph of Alberta’s new premier courtesy of CBC

Although there is significant Conservative support throughout Western Canada (*cough* Alberta *cough*) in favour of trans-Canada pipeline initiatives to bring Albertan crude oil to other “less fortunate” areas of Canada, comments made by Albertan Premier suggested that there may also be significant support from an unexpected source. New-to-the-position and ex-neighbour-of-mine-back-in-Calgary Premier Jim Prentice suggested in mid-September that “among the strongest allies that Alberta has at the table are the First Nations of this province”.

Now before you denounce this as overtly untrue, which at first seems to be the case, you have to understand what exactly Prentice is saying. Later in his comments, he would go on to establish that the First Nations people to which he is referring are “in the oil business themselves”, which certainly changes the scope of his original comment. What this also does, however, is provide an interesting insight into the motivations of some of the First Nations people. Although there was a time in which preservation of the land and culture was at the forefront of importance to many of the province’s tribes, which is not to say that this is no longer the case, we now see First Nation’s people acknowledging financial gain as an incentive to cooperate with the government. Though this does not necessarily suggest the province’s tribes are receding from their staunch stance on preserving their land and culture, it does suggest that this generation is involved in commerce, and can be bought, a trend that is consistent throughout tribe to government dealings within Alberta recently (the Calgary ring-road being a perfect example).

sources: CBC

A recent blog post from classmate Gavin McQueenie discussed the intricacies of Facebook’s new advertising strategy, and how it was sure to boost revenue. For me, this prompted an interesting question, and an even more interesting answer. If social media websites are, allegedly, generating ridiculous amounts of revenue, they must also be generating ridiculous amounts of profit, no? Apparently, as is the case with other social media, and Facebook competitor, Twitter, this is not necessarily so. Twitter’s stock price which, despite a steep drop in May of this year, continues to climb and is sitting at nearly double what it was when Twitter went public in November of last year. Despite this, and despite the fact that there is a growing Twitter user-base, and despite the fact that there is a growing advertising platform on the site (all critical elements as outlined in Gavin’s post): TWITTER IS NOT MAKING ANY MONEY.

Believe it or not, based on GAAP analysis of Twitter’s numbers, Twitter is still in the red. In fact, it is estimated that Twitter is losing $0.98 per share this year, and will continue to lose $0.87 per share in 2015, despite earnings reports from the company that suggest their revenue is growing nearly exponentially. Although it is absolutely likely that Twitter will be profitable within the next number of years, there is still undying, devotional faith in the prospects of the company under it’s current situation (one without any actual money made).

In my opinion, the fact that Twitter isn’t profitable yet shouldn’t be a deciding factor for potential investors. However, it is essential to note that it is the case, and evaluate the applicable risk. Twitter may be a thriving and expanding company, but it just isn’t making any money yet, and investors need to be aware of that.

Sources:

Gavin McQueenie’s Blog Post

Additional Information: Time Magazine Article

Photograph

(note the disappointment on his face)

As per an article I read in The Economist (link found here), there has been a disappointing turn of events for the outcome of Ford’s 2014. The year began with promise, as Ford prepared to launch a record-breaking 27 new vehicles this calendar year; but as the year comes to a close, it’s becoming obvious that things aren’t playing out exactly (and certainly not as well) as Ford had hoped. As Ford continued this past week to unveil new models of some of their most popular cars at the Paris Motor Show, namely the C-Max, S-Max, and Monedo, the focus was not centred on the stage as they had hoped. Instead, the presentation fell in the wake of an announcement early last week that Ford’s earnings for the year are now projected to be $6 billion. Though this number seems large, it is nearly $2 billion lower than previous estimates for the year’s earnings. This announcement spurred a flow of investors trying to sell out of Ford for fear of what this omen represents. Even a huge, breakthrough year for Ford doesn’t seem to be enough to keep an old brand with an outdated mindset competitive in an ever-changing and ever-progressive industry. Is it time for Ford to re-evaluate the way in which they’re trying to retain their once iron-clad grasp on the industry? Or, is it time to accept that Detroit, Michigan may not be the centre of the universe, as other progressive, modern brands continue to take the industry and consumer world by storm?

link to image: http://www.usnews.com/dims4/USNEWS/cc52f47/2147483647/resize/652x%3E/quality/85/?url=%2Fcmsmedia%2F24%2Fa1f8653bd0141056fb70b8b05549fb%2F51761widemodern_ford_140108.jpg