We have just received a copy of an open letter from Amnesty International Canada to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper in advance of his upcoming trip to the forthcoming APEC meeting in Singapore, followed by a visit to India. The letter urges Prime Minister Harper to uphold Canada's well-known reputation as a staunch human rights supporter by raising concerns with and presenting recommendations to Singapore authorities regarding the case of Dr. Chee Soon Juan and other civil society representatives and to address ongoing human rights challenges in India. Below is an excerpt from the letter, followed by a link that will allow you access to the letter in full.

Singapore has two realities: its appearance as a progressive country with regular elections and economic success; and its record of human rights violations designed

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The U.S. stock market has run up magnificently in the last six months. The U.S. economy has begun to recover, but its performance has fallen short of expectations.

And with good reason. The United States has a bigger and more-troubled financial sector than most countries. It also has a bigger overhang from the housing bubble, has a bigger balance-of-payments deficit and has a budget deficit that’s fat enough to stall the recovery.

It would be nice to have an economic recovery to invest in that didn’t have all of these problems.

Truth be told, such an investment play does exist. What’s more, the market I have in mind is advanced enough for us to invest in it without having to go through all the rigmarole of American Depository Receipt (ADR) investing. Nor will you have to make a potentially risky foray out onto some foreign stock exchange to buy the

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The Polish premier's energy adviser has stated that even if negotiations with Russia are unsuccessful, the country will secure gas from another supplier, as high-volume gas imports will be unavoidable in 2010.  Diamond giant Alrosa will sell two oil and gas assets to VTB for $620 million, a figure which apparently vastly overinflates their worth, making the deal a de facto state bail-out as the company's solvency looks precarious.  Petroleos de Venezuela and a group of Russian oil companies will spend $30 million on their 40-year joint project in the Orinoco region.  Production has been suspended at Russia's biggest hydro-electric power station, Sayano-Shushenskaya, following an accident which killed six people.  KBR has won a contract to provide engineering and design services for a project in Eastern Siberia.  Royal Dutch Shell has made an $3 billion bid ...

Today a former KGB spy, living in Canada since 1997, has taken refuge inside a church in Vancouver in a desperate move to avoid deportation of himself and his family.  The Canadian authorities are seeking to send Mikhail Lennikov, his wife Irina, and 17-year-old son Dmitri, back to Russia for having engaged in acts of espionage and subversion against democratic governments under the Soviet Union (though Lennikov insists that he was a low level translator).  To wit, a Federal Court rejected pleas from Lennikov's lawyers to suspend this deportation.Lennikov has rallied a staggering amount of political support, which may not be surprising for Canada given the country's traditionally forgiving stance toward refugees.  Over the past six months, the Lennikov case has become a media ...

U.S. President Barack Obama has opened the door to a broader relationship with Cuba by loosening travel and communication restrictions. But will pressure from numerous Latin American states and a promise to usher in a new era of cooperation and dialogue in the Western Hemisphere ultimately result in the revocation of the 47 year-old trade embargo? And what would it mean if the Cuban trade embargo were actually abolished? President Obama has already loosened several restrictions enacted by his predecessor George W. Bush. Prior to his arrival at the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago last weekend, Obama relaxed restrictions on travel to Cuba, making it easier for Cuban Americans to visit and transfer money to relatives on the island. “There are no better ambassadors for freedom than Cuban Americans,” Obama said in a campaign speech last year. “It’s time to ...

Why These Two Investment Fears Aren’t Genuine Threats

by Alexander Green, Chairman, Investment U Investment Director, The Oxford Club Monday, January 19, 2009: Issue #919

As I write, I’m here at The Oxford Club chapter meeting at the Intercontinental Hotel in Managua. 

When we’re not eating tortillas and sipping margaritas, my colleagues and I – along with about 60 Oxford Club members – are surveying the global economy, making assessments about what lies ahead for world stock and bond markets. 

However, two of the greatest fears voiced here are not genuine threats to your financial well-being, in my view. You’re probably hearing these opinions, too. So let me give you my take on them.

The first fear, especially among folks with a particular political viewpoint, is that the incoming Obama administration and the new Democratic Congress are going to fall prey to their worst instincts to tax, spend, regulate and redistribute, further damaging

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Reuters reports Gazprom warned Canada that Russia could easily find an alternative market for its liquefied natural gas (LNG) if the Canadian authorities try to hinder a deal over the Rabaska LNG project. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said last month commercial natural gas deals with Russia could be put at risk because of Russia's military action in Georgia. Gazprom Deputy CEO Alexander Medvedev told the 2008 Reuters Russia Investment Summit on Monday those comments had surprised Gazprom. "If there is a nightmare scenario that for some reason this project will be out of reach of realization based on a Canadian political decision, then for us it will be easy to find an alternative destination for our LNG," Medvedev said. Someone should let Gazprom's executives know that the spot market for LNG is much more competitive than the hostages held by pipelines. With Canadian LNG, Gazprom wants to ...

Commodities are getting clocked this morning. The catalyst is that Hurricane Gustav didn't harm the energy infrastructure in the Gulf of Mexico, but really, you have to give credit to a strong, resurgent US dollar.A HUGE pullback in oil today. It started in electronic trading in a week that is known for light trading volume, but you can't argue with this chart.Gold is following oil lower today, even though India, the world's biggest buyer of bullion, increased its August gold imports by 56%. What's the driver, then? The rising dollar! You can’t argue against the bullish action in the dollar.Here is other news you can use ...

ENERGY

Oil falls as global demand concerns re-emerge

SINGAPORE (AP) -- Oil prices fell below $106 a barrel Tuesday in Asia -- $10 below its close Friday before the

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Commodities are getting clocked this morning. The catalyst is that Hurricane Gustav didn't harm the energy infrastructure in the Gulf of Mexico, but really, you have to give credit to a strong, resurgent US dollar.A HUGE pullback in oil today. It started in electronic trading in a week that is known for light trading volume, but you can't argue with this chart.Gold is following oil lower today, even though India, the world's biggest buyer of bullion, increased its August gold imports by 56%. What's the driver, then? The rising dollar! You can’t argue against the bullish action in the dollar.Here is other news you can use ...

ENERGY

Oil falls as global demand concerns re-emerge

SINGAPORE (AP) -- Oil prices fell below $106 a barrel Tuesday in Asia -- $10 below its close Friday before the

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