The biggest proposed leveraged buyout in Canadian history has finally come to an end, with telecom giant BCE failing to met the solvency requirements. The collapsed deal, plus problems with a bailout of the auto sector in the United States, put a damper on the big board stocks during Thursday trading on the Canadian markets. For the tale of the tape, the TSX Exchange slumped 2.8%, while the TSX Gold Index gave back 3.4% and the TSX Venture Exchange, Canada’s largest junior exploration bourse, added 1.12% with the advancing issuers beating out the decliners by a 424 to 416 margin on volume of 238 million shares traded.

Iamgold went shopping and picked up Orezone Resources (AMEX:OZN) in an all stock deal valued at C$139 million. Of interest to Iamgold is the advanced Essakane project in West Africa where full production is expected to begin in 2010. Iamgold ended the day

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Trico Marine Services, Inc. is a provider of marine support vessels to the offshore oil and gas industry, operating primarily in international markets, with operations in the North Sea, West Africa, Mexico, Brazil and Southeast Asia, as well as in the Gulf of Mexico. With their fleet of vessels, Trico provides a broad range of services to offshore oil and gas operators, including transportation of drilling materials, supplies and crews to drilling rigs and other offshore facilities and towing of drilling rigs and equipment from one location to another.

Greg Williams, an analyst at Al Frank, believes that “Trico has significant flexibility with sale/leaseback or similar financing options in the event of any doomsday credit crunch. The subsea services fleet, which now accounts for the bulk of Trico’s revenue, is among the youngest in the industry at an average age of seven years,” notes Williams. “Contract renewals, even in the

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T-3 Energy Services (NASDAQ:TTES) provides essential safety equipment for oil and gas rigs. Though drilling activity has been affected by the fall in commodity prices, Chris Mayer says the stock has been massively oversold. Today it is trading at $19, down from a high of $84 last year. Given its healthy cash flow and strong international growth outlook, Chris says a move back to $60 is on the cards.

This from The Rude Awakening:

The last time I recommended T-3 Energy Services (NASDAQ:TTES) to the subscribers of my investment letter, Capital & Crisis, the stock tripled over the ensuing months. And even after I issued a “Sell” recommendation on the stock, it continued to move higher. But that was WAY back in July…and nothing is like it used to be.

From a high of $84 a share in July of this year, the stock has come all

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Crude oil prices have been highly volatile this. From its $146 peak in July, the black goo is down at $87 a barrel.

It's a scary time to be a direct investor in oil. But Byron King says is one way of sidestepping the wild price swings: investing in tanker ships.

"As long as people continue to use oil," says Bryon, "there will be some consistency to the tanker business."

There is a relatively tight market for charters. And many good reasons why there won't be a capacity glut in coming years.

Crude oil prices have been highly volatile this. From its $146 peak in July, the black goo is down at $87 a barrel.

It's a scary time to be a direct investor in oil. But Byron King says is one way of sidestepping the wild price swings: investing in tanker ships.

"As long as people continue to use oil," says Bryon, "there will be some consistency to the tanker business."

There is a relatively tight market for charters. And many good reasons why there won't be a capacity glut in coming years.

Global Alumina Corporation (TSX: GLA.U) is a low-cost supplier of alumina with a management team dedicated to being socially responsible and creating long-term shareholder value as they build and operate their world-class alumina refinery in the Republic of Guinea, West Africa.

Founded in 1999, the company has positioned itself to become one of the largest companies focusing solely on alumina production. They offer an opportunity for socially conscious investing in a country that holds one-third of global bauxite resources, yet is one of the world’s poorest countries. The company has commenced a consultation process at the village, state and national levels, and seeks to adhere to the highest social and environmental standards.

Global Alumina’s principal project is the development of an alumina refinery that has the capacity to produce 3.2 million metric tons-per-year located in the Sangaredi region of Guinea, along with the requisite energy, water, and transportation and social

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Gene Marcial, Business Week’s Stock Guru and Inside Wall Street columnist recommended the following stocks, which can be tracked at:

http://trackthepros.com/

1. Noble

a. global demand for offshore drilling services and day rates for equipment use are on the rise,”

b. Noble is operating at near-full capacity, having signed long-term contracts as demand for rigs continues to exceed supply.

c. Noble’s diversified fleet of 62 deepwater and shallow drilling rigs is mainly in the Middle East (25%), with less than 15% in any other single region. Its deepwater rigs in the Gulf of Mexico were not damaged by Hurricane Gustav.

d. solid play on growing demand for drilling equipment with a strong presence in Brazil, Mexico, West Africa, Europe, and the Middle East.

CombiMatrix

a. What’s behind the stock’s climb to 16.03 on Sept. 3, up from 4.50 a year ago? The company is in a hot sector: DNA diagnostics. It develops DNA microarrays—chips that let

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Gene Marcial, Business Week’s Stock Guru and Inside Wall Street columnist recommended the following stocks, which can be tracked at:

http://trackthepros.com/

1. Noble

a. global demand for offshore drilling services and day rates for equipment use are on the rise,”

b. Noble is operating at near-full capacity, having signed long-term contracts as demand for rigs continues to exceed supply.

c. Noble’s diversified fleet of 62 deepwater and shallow drilling rigs is mainly in the Middle East (25%), with less than 15% in any other single region. Its deepwater rigs in the Gulf of Mexico were not damaged by Hurricane Gustav.

d. solid play on growing demand for drilling equipment with a strong presence in Brazil, Mexico, West Africa, Europe, and the Middle East.

CombiMatrix

a. What’s behind the stock’s climb to 16.03 on Sept. 3, up from 4.50 a year ago? The company is in a hot sector: DNA diagnostics. It develops DNA microarrays—chips that let

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As equities commence the dramatic Autumn slump I've been anticipating in recent weeks, it is uninspiring to witness the standard of political debate in the US Presidential election. It seems neither candidate is aware, or at least willing to articulate, the tectonic shifts taking place in global financial power which threaten to severely limit the room for manoeuvre of any future administration, not only economically, but diplomatically and militarily as well. We hear references to Iran and Russia as geopolitical challenges, but nobody is talking yet about a bigger threat right on America's doorstep, the potential implosion of the Mexican state. There are two pressing issues that are putting intolerable stresses on the Mexican economy and society; the first is the huge escalation in drug related violence and corruption, as US support for the Colombian war on drugs has displaced Cartel activity into Mexico, now the primary base for ...

Atwood Oceanics, Inc. (ATW), its international operating subsidiary, Atwood Oceanics Pacific Limited, and related subsidiaries engage in offshore drilling of exploratory and developmental oil and gas wells, and related support services. The company, based in Houston, Texas, has conducted drilling operations in most of the major offshore exploration areas of the world that include the Mediterranean, Middle East, Asia, Pacific Islands, Africa, the Americas and Australia. Atwood’s fleet consists of eight active, wholly-owned drilling units, which include four semi-submersibles, two cantilever jack-ups, one semi-submersible self-erecting tender-assist rig, and one submersible.

The company announced last week that the ATWOOD AURORA, a LeTourneau Super 116E Jack-Up currently being constructed in Brownsville, Texas by Atwood’s subsidiary Atwood Oceanics Pacific Limited has been awarded a contract by RWE DeaNile GmbH for work offshore Egypt. This contract is for a firm period of two years at an operating dayrate of $165,000. The

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