Andrew Bell

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“Ireland that has wronged no man, that has injured no land, that has sought no dominion over others Ireland is treated today among the nations of the world as if she was a convicted criminal”— Roger  Casement

On this day in 1916, the former diplomat was hanged as a traitor at Pentonville Prison in London after the 1916 Irish uprising. The Dublin-born Casement published a report on the Congo in 1905 describing brutal treatment of  workers under Belgium’s  King Leopold II. He is said to have met seaman Konrad Korzeniowski, better known as Joseph Conrad, whose novel Heart of Darkness may have been partly inspired by Casement’s accounts. Casement also investigated Peruvian rubber plantations. He later became involved in Irish nationalism and travelled to Germany to seek support but was arrested after the Germans landed him by submarine.

Oil prices have been torpedoed this week, sliding below US$40 to hit the lowest since April, amid fears that the stubborn global glut won’t go away.

"Risks for oil remain skewed to the downside in 2016," Morgan Stanley analysts warn. "Supply disruptions and risk appetite were supportive April-June, but fundamental headwinds are growing, which outnumber any recent positives."

Gao Jian, an energy analyst at SCI International, told the Wall Street Journal, that “the world is so oversupplied and the pace of rebalance is so slow that even geopolitical factors, such as the continuing civil strife in Nigeria, are not enough to offset the fall in prices.”   

On Commodities at 11 a.m. ET, we'll be joined by Stephen Schork, widely followed editor of the Schork Report. He reckons that producers took advantage of the rally in oil to US$50 this summer and dumped production into the market. “The producers have sold the hell out of this rally,” Schork was quoted as saying last month.

Oil prices may be wobbling, but BNN is also focusing on a deal in which Enbridge (ENB.TO) is still investing in North American crude. Affiliate Enbridge Energy Partners L.P. (EEP.N) has formed a joint venture with Marathon Petroleum (MPC.N) to buy a stake in the Bakken Pipeline System, which is made up of a new pipeline from the Bakken/Three Forks production area in North Dakota to Patoka, Illinois, and a converted natural gas pipeline from Patoka to the Sunoco Terminal in Nederland, Texas. EEP gets an effective 27.6 per cent interest for US$1.5-billion.

We’ll drill into what Enbridge means by a proposed “longer-term, joint funding arrangement… through which both ENB and EEP are expected to fund the investment and participate in the returns generated by the system.”

At 11:50 a.m. ET on Commodities, we’re also talking renewable energy when we hear from John Woods, vice-president of energy development at Minas Energy, which is one of the players hoping to draw energy from the gigantic tides in the Bay of Fundy on Canada’s east coast. One of the company’s partners is Tocardo International BV of the Netherlands, which has come up with a floating turbine system.

And you won’t want to miss our 12:30 p.m. ET interview when we talk about the Canadian air travel sector with Maxime Bernier, candidate for leadership of the federal Conservatives. Bernier has adopted an outspoken free-market stance -- calling for an end to the supply management that keeps dairy, poultry and eggs prices high and the phase-out of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission as a telecom regulator. So expect some provocative comments.

But we’re not all energy today. At 3:45 p.m. ET, we'll get a take on the earnings from e-commerce store-builder Shopify Inc. (SH.TO), which saw Q2 revenue jump 93 per cent to US$86.6-million. The company’s stock traded at US$33.53 in New York yesterday, double its IPO price in May of last year. Our guest, Macquarie analyst Gus Papageorgiou, rates the shares Outperform but they’ve soared pretty close to his US$36 target price.

Finally, here’s a story that will resonate with investors who see companies go under while the failed managers do pretty well for themselves. Reuters says a U.S. bankruptcy judge blocked a plan at Sports Authority to pay up to US$2.85-million in bonuses to executives. "I think it’s just inappropriate to pay senior executives a bonus when all the employees are losing their jobs," she said.

Next stop, Marxism!

Every morning Commodities host Andrew Bell writes a ‘chase note’ to BNN's editorial staff listing the stories and events that will be in the spotlight that day. Have it delivered to your inbox before the trading day begins by heading to www.bnn.ca/subscribe