Category Archives: Resource Based Economy

Something big happened on March 2, 2017 the price of one unit of bitcoin overtook the price of one ounce of gold. For comparison, one bitcoin equates to around $1250. Although the cryptocurrency did drop back below the auric heavy metal minutes later, the overtaking even for a short time was worth its weight in gold.

Bitcoin, a cryptocurrency developed in 2008, but soaring into the publics periphery in 2013, takes advantage of not being connected to any government or private entity to eliminate the necessity of a third party in financial transactions. Bitcoin also offers anonymity more so than traditional forms of payment which adds to its appeal.

Bitcoin by Zach Copley(CC BY-SA 2.0)

Investment banker and asset manager Spencer Bogart claims that, the price of bitcoin benefits from two main sources of demand: its value as a digital gold and its utility as a payments channel. Without having to rely on the stability of economy when exchanging finances, Bitcoin allows a more secure way of linking money. Bitcoins failsafe is that the mining (the method used to create bitcoin) prevents bitcoin from exceeding 21 million bitcoins, relying on a resource-based economy method.

Is the upsurge in bitcoins worth a sign of whats to come? Japan reportedly recently allowed bitcoin to become legal tender, and Russia, China, and India are looking to utilize the positives of bitcoin for their own economic futures. As three-quarters of the so-called BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China countries rapidly on the rise), having bitcoin at the forefront of development seems a positive sign for the cryptocurrency.

Credit: Pixabay.

Bitcoin is already prevalent in the Western world when it comes to buying and being paid online through online casinos. Bitcasino, for example, offers bitcoin slot games online that make financial transactions easier. We can learn more about how bitcoin operates by seeing it in successful action.

With the introduction of major brands such as Starbucks integrating bitcoin payment into their services, it should start to see an upsurge in engagement from the general, non-tech-savvy public. This was made available through iPay You, a service that allows bitcoins to be transferred seamlessly.

Bitcoin is not without its share of detractors, who, for whatever reason, condemn the cryptocurrency and its uses. But, Venture Beats Jacob Donnelly claims that the ebbs and flows of bitcoin and its future is reminiscent of another tech boom: the World Wide Web. In comparing bitcoin to the internet, critics should take some peace of mind. The internet faced its share of challenges, but it persevered and pretty much rules everyday life. Give bitcoin some time to iron out the creases and itll be a word as synonymous with modern day as selfie, meme or GIF.

With Coin Dance reporting that over half of bitcoin engagement occurs within 18 34 year olds, and with online engagement in search engines constantly on the increase, it can only be said that bitcoins popularity will grow. Bitcoin may not be the new money just yet, but its certainly a wise investment for the future.

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Forget money; Bitcoin makes the world go around - Pulse Headlines

Is water the new oil of space?

It may be to Middle Eastern oil states such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, who are looking at space as a way to diversify out of the earthly benefits of fossil fuel.

Middle East oil states are investing in satellite technology and trying to transform their domestic economies into digital economies and knowledge-based economies, said Tom James of Navitas Resources, an energy consultant based in London and Singapore.

As space colonizers such as Elon Musk and Jeffrey P. Bezos (owner of The Washington Post) aspire to shrink the cost of space travel, interest has picked up among oil states and others in how to power space settlements using water and minerals mined from the heavens.

Oil states are investing in companies and infrastructure that could one day mine minerals and water found on the moon and in asteroids.

They are investing in it in order to attract business to the Middle East, James said. Oil states have large, empty spaces, relatively small populations and are located near the equator. The UAE has launched a multipronged effort to establish a space industry in which it has invested more than $5billion, and that includes four satellites already in space and another due to launch in 2018.

The Middle East is ideal for launching rockets and spaceships, James said. Its the long-term solution. Oil and gas may not run forever. So they are looking to invest and be part of the new, future economy.

The water is critical. It can be turned into hydrogen to fuel the spaceship, oxygen for breathing or left untouched for drinking and everyday use. Requiring only a four-day trip and containing lots of ice, the moon is a prime candidate for resource extraction.

[John Glenn honored with launch of space station supply ship]

The interest in space mining and industrialization has picked up in recent years as Musk, Bezos and others push outward. Part of the key to unlocking affordable space travel and space industrialization is finding extraterrestrial materials such as water and minerals that do not have to be rocketed up from Earth.

Goldman Sachs wrote a recent research note explaining that space mining could be more realistic than perceived. The bank in the same report said the storage of water as a fuel could be a game changer by creating orbital gas stations.

Most of the minerals will remain for use in space. Some rare, highly valuable commodities could be brought back to Earth. Goldman Sachs, for instance, was quoted in a 2012 interview with Planetary Resources that estimated that a football field-size asteroid could contain up to $50billion worth of platinum.

Asteroid mining could very quickly supply an emerging on-orbit manufacturing economy with nearly all the raw materials needed, according to the Goldman Sachs report.

The possibilities are beginning to register with the business sector.

Within the next five years, James said, mining and energy companies will start thinking about space mining before the shareholders start asking, What is your strategy? and they answer, Oh, we dont have one.

[Elon Musks SpaceX makes history by launching a flight-proven rocket]

The technology already exists. NASA launched a billion-dollar mission in September to vacuum materials from an 2,000-foot-wide asteroid called Bennu. The spacecraft is scheduled to sidle up to the asteroid in 2018, extend its arm and pull in its cargo. The ship will return to Earth a couple of years later.

But it is unclear whether mining on a wider scale is a real business, said Paul Chodas, an astronomer and asteroid expert with NASA.

The technology is there, but its not simple. Asteroids travel through space at tens of thousands of miles per hour. Tracking asteroids and determining their composition is difficult.

Its hard to determine which ones will have the most valuable minerals, Chodas said. He said it is doable, but the question is cost-benefit. Is it worth the cost? We dont know yet. There is simply more work to be done to determine whether space mining is profitable. But its promising.

Chris Lewicki is chief executive of Planetary Resources, a Seattle-area company studying asteroids to find one that is an appropriate candidate for mining.

Lewicki said the mining industry is a natural to make the first move when it comes to recovering space minerals because of its earthbound expertise. He foresees a small, robotic mining operation drilling for water on an asteroid in as soon as about 10years.

This is how [the mining industry] continues, Lewicki said. Mining asteroids isnt a space project. Its a resource project. In the same way having minerals and materials are very important for our economy, space becomes a new medium for furthering that economy.

The regulatory phase got a major boost in 2015, when President Barack Obama signed legislation recognizing asteroid resource property rights.

The law recognizes the right of U.S. citizens to own asteroid resources and encourages the commercial exploration and utilization of resources from asteroids.

In addition to the UAEs space industry, Bloomberg News reports that the Saudis signed a pact with Russia in 2015 for cooperation on space exploration. Abu Dhabi is an investor in Richard Bransons space tourism venture, Virgin Galactic.

Several private companies, including Deep Space Industries, Planetary Resources and Shackleton Energy, are trying to crack the mining potential.

If you have any significant human activity in space, then you are going to need resources, said Peter Stibrany, chief strategist and business developer for Deep Space Industries. It will get too difficult to launch everything from the ground.

[Jeff Bezos shows off the crew capsule that could soon take tourists to space]

Deep Space Industries is four years old and living off seed money from investors and founders. Stibrany said the company is in the technology development stage and working to create delivery systems for lower orbit launches.

He said mining space resources faces what he calls a four-dimensional problem.

The first two are technological and regulatory, which are being addressed.

While the psychological barrier to mining asteroids is high, the actual financial and technological barriers are far lower, according to the Goldman Sachs report. Prospecting probes can likely be built for tens of millions of dollars each, and Caltech has suggested an asteroid-grabbing spacecraft could cost $2.6 billion.

James pointed to nano-sats, small satellites priced relatively inexpensively at $2million each, far less than the hundreds of millions needed to place current satellites in orbit.

The third concern is the lack of a current market in asteroid resources. That should resolve itself when the space population hits critical mass, demanding infrastructure.

Then a business will follow if investors see that a reasonable return is likely over a reasonable amount of time with appropriate risks. That is the fourth hurdle.

The end game, Stibrany said, is that if you have 1,000 or 10,000 people living and working in space, there is no practical way that is going to work without using in-space resources.

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Leaders in Washington, D.C. are turning their attention toward revitalizing an American infrastructure system recently graded a D-plus by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). The same group rated Kansas infrastructure a C-minus.

Privately owned freight railroads, which spend their own money so taxpayers do not including $635 billion since partial deregulation nearly 40 years ago believe progress will be made through public policy solutions that both enhance public spending and spur private infrastructure investment. Our industry perhaps understands best that optimum performance requires steady capital investment.

Therefore, as lawmakers turn their attention to actual legislation, our industry offers recommendations as a starting point in this sure-to-be lengthy process, simply for the transportation portion of Kansas and U.S. infrastructure:

Stop applying band aids to the insolvent Highway Trust Fund, the pool of money funded almost solely by the gas tax and which is used to fund federal and state transportation infrastructure projects. Because the gas tax does not cover operating expenses, and because commercial users such as trucks do not pay for their proportional use of roads, taxpayers have subsidized the fund to the tune of $143 billion since 2008. We need measures such as a weight distance fee that accounts more realistically for commercial road use.

Do not make things worse by pushing heavier trucks onto transportation networks. Any federal program that boosts truck weight limits at the federal level further subsidizes commercial highway users at the expense of taxpayers, exacerbates deterioration of crumbling infrastructure and tilts the policy scale against a critical freight rail industry. Trucks today dont cover their current impact and heavier trucks will only force taxpayers to further bankroll the underpayment of even heavier trucks, according to U.S. Department of Transportation data.

Enact tax reform to spur economic growth and generate revenues needed for sustainable funding. We need a simpler and fairer tax code, reducing the business rate to a globally-competitive level to broaden the tax base, enhance U.S. economic development and promote growth. Divisive items related to tax reform must not impede the larger goal to enhance competition, which for railroads and American industry in general, will lead to more domestic spending.

Streamline government processes that will similarly unshackle the business community and fuel an American renaissance not seen for decades. By generating policies that focus more on desired outcomes than prescriptive steps, cutting red tape in the permitting process and by actually communicating with the private sector, long-delayed infrastructure projects may finally come to fruition. Not by eradicating regulation, but by instilling good government principles transparency and complete and sound science railroads, trucks and other transportation stakeholders would gain efficiencies that make room for greater innovation and investment.

Ensure the vitality of private infrastructure, namely a freight rail network that serves nearly every industrial, wholesale, retail and resource-based sector of the economy, including energy and farm products, water treatment and fertilizer materials, and a host of goods used in manufacturing in Kansas. This means Washington regulators ditching numerous proceedings to re-regulate freight rail, most notably a proposed measure called forced access, which would allow the government to order one rail company to use its own privately owned facilities on behalf of a competitor. Unneeded government meddling in the operations of this 140,000 mile network that keeps trucks off the road, reduces emissions and employs nearly 5,500 Kansans, is in direct opposition to the larger goal at hand.

To be clear, raising the GPA of Kansas and U.S. infrastructure is no small task. Myriad stakeholders have varying views and solutions. But these principles embody a premise that should be followed in this process: avoid changes in public policy that make things more difficult and increase funding needs.

Ian Jefferies is senior vice president of government affairs at the Association of American Railroads.

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Ian Jefferies: Revitalizing transportation systems starts with sensible ... - Topeka Capital Journal

John Armstrong is national industry leader, financial services, KPMG in Canada.

Every day, another article in the North American business press cites the threat that banks and other financial institutions (FIs) face from fintech firms, which will disintermediate them from their customers, provide better products and services for a fraction of the cost and steal away market share and significant revenues from those hapless old economy firms.

While the David-versus-Goliath narrative makes for a good story, it is not supported by the emerging trends in the Canadian fintech sector and the rest of the world. The strength of banks and insurers in Canada, and their history of innovation, are what make Canada, and especially Ontario, an ideal environment to foster the growth of the industry and make this country a beacon to the financial-services industry.

Firstly, investors are increasingly looking beyond the hype to understand if firms have a differentiated business model and the ability to deliver. In 2016, some missteps in the industry were a wake-up call for investors. Powa, a British-based payments firm, filed for protection after it burned through $250-million of investors money and its putative valuation fell from $2.5-billion to zero.

The funding trend is now moving toward enablers versus disruptors. Disruptors are firms with a business model based on disintermediating financial institutions or competing with them, a group that includes Lending Club, robo-advisers Betterment in the United States and Wealthsimple in Canada. The enablers are fintechs focused on partnering with current financial institutions to deliver an improved client experience or provide banks with more efficient technology, streamlined processes and better security. More than 42 per cent of new money is going to enablers.

Banks and other FIs have large incumbency advantages, and fintech firms recognize that convincing the large base of satisfied bank customers to switch is difficult for a monoline fintech. Banks have an unparalleled ability to cross-sell existing customers using sophisticated analytics that target key buyer values.

Finally, Canadian banks are not standing still in mobile and digital. In Canada, major banks undertake large investments to make their organizations agile and faster to market. Internally, most banks have changed how they build technology, using new approaches and new platforms. Canadian banks are also aggressively partnering with fintech firms and Ontario incubators.

While we have made great progress and have strong fintech players in Canada, there is the potential to make fintech even more important in the financial-services cluster. To do this, there are several actions to take:

As the Canadian economy changes from resource-based to more services-oriented, the financial services cluster is critical. We must continue to foster innovation in the industry, and a robust fintech ecosystem is a key component. Canada is well positioned to play a global leadership role in the fintech sector if we act decisively.

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Canada shouldn't shy away from fintech it's our opportunity to shine - The Globe and Mail

A side effect of the economic growth during these fat years was a relative increase of monetary income for a growing number ofhouseholds.

This also benefited some lower income groups in resource-rich African economies. Many among these crossed the defined poverty levels, which were raised in late 2015 from US$ 1.25 a person a day toUS$ 1.90. As some economists had suggested, from as little as US$2 they were considered as entering themiddle class.

The ominous term was rising like a phoenix from the ashes to characterise this trend. It added another label to the packaging of aneo-liberal discourse. By emphasising the free market paradigm as creating the best opportunities for all, it suggests that everyone benefits from alaissez-faire economy.

But the middle class concept remained vague and limited to number crunching. The minimum threshold for entering a so-called middle class in monetary terms was critically vulnerable to a setback into impoverishment. After all, one sixth of the worlds population has to make a fragile living on US$ 2 to 3 a day.

The African Development Bank played a defining role in promoting the debate. Using the US$2 benchmark, it declared some 300 million Africans (about a third of the continents population) asbeing middle classin 2011. A year later it expanded its guesstimates to 300 million to 500 million. It also set them up as being very important.

Such monetary acrobatics aside, the analytical deficit which characterises such classification is seriously problematic. The so-called middle class appears to be a muddling class. Rigorously explored differentiation remained largely absent not to mention any substantial class analysis. Professional activities, social status, cultural, ethnic or religious affinities or lifestyle as well as political orientations were hardly (if at all) considered.

But lived experiences matter if one is in search of how to define a middle class as an array of collective identities. Such necessary debate has in the meantime arrived inAfrican studies. And the claim to ownership is also reflected in a just publishedvolumethat documents the need to deconstruct the mystification of the middle class being declared as the torchbearers of progress and development.

Politics, economic growth and the middle class

As alerted in a paper byUNU-WIDER, a new middle class as a meaningful social actor does require a collective identity in pursuance of common interests. Once upon a time this was calledclass-consciousness, based on a class in itself while acting as a class for itself. After all, which middle is occupied by an African middle class, if this is not positioned also in terms of class awareness and behaviour?

Politically such middle classes seem not as democratic as many of those singing their praises assume. Middle classes have shown ambiguities - ranging from politically progressive engagement to a status-quo oriented, conservative approach to policies (if being political at all). African realities are not different.

In South Africa, the only consistency of the black middle class in historical perspective is its political inconsistency, as political scientist Roger Southall hassuggested. They are no more likely to hold democratic values than other black South Africans. In fact, they are more likely to want government to secure higher order needs such as proper service delivery, infrastructure and rule of law according to theirliving circumstancesrather than basic, survival needs.

It remains dubious that middle classes in Africa by their sheer existence promote economic growth. Their increase was mainly a limited result of the trickle down effects of the resource based economic growth rates during the first decade of the 21st century since then in decline. This had hardly economic potential stimulating productive investment that contributes towards sustainable economic growth.

Doubt shrouds claims that a growing middle class benefits the poor.Reuters/Mike Hutchings

Theres also little evidence of any correlation between economic growth and social progress, as a working paper of the IMFconcludes. While during the fat years the poor partly became a little less poor, the rich got much richer. Even the African Development Bank admits that the income discrepancies as measured by the Gini-coefficient have increased, while six among the ten most unequal countries in the worldare in Africa.

Nancy Birdsall, president emeritus of the Centre for Global Development, is among the most prominent advocates and protagonists of the middle class. She argues in support of a middle class rather than a pro-poor developmental orientation. But even she concedes that a sensible political economy analysis needs to differentiate between the rich with political leverage andthe rest.

She remains nevertheless adamant that the middle class is an ingredient for good governance. This is based on her assumption that continued economic growth reduces inequalities. She further hypothesises that a growing middle class has a greater interest in an accountable government and supports a social contract, which taxes it as an investment into collective public goods to the benefit ofalso the poor.Dream on!

Time to lift the ideological haze

It remains necessary to put the record straight and lift the ideological haze. Already the United Nations Development Programmes Human Development2013 report, which also promoted themiddle class hype, predicted that 80% of middle classes would come from the global South by 2030, but only 2% from Sub-Saharan Africa.

Recent assessments claim that its not the middle of African societies which expands, but the lower and higher social groups.

According to a report by thePew Research Centreonly a few African countries had a meaningful increase of those in the middle-income category.

And the Economist, which earlier shifted its doomsday visions of a Hopeless Continent towardsAfrica Risingand theContinent of Hope, now concludes that Africans are mainlyrich or poor but not middle class.

Fortunately, the debate has created sufficient awareness among scholars to explore the fact and fiction of the assumedtransformative powerof a middle class. This also includes the need to be sensitive towards ideological smokescreens which try to make us believe that a middle class is the cure. In reality, little has changed when it comes to leverage and control over social and political affairs.

The current engagement with the African middle class phenomenon is nevertheless anything but obsolete. Independent of their numbers, middle class members signify modified social relations. These deserve attention and analysis with the emphasis on social relations.

Cambridge EconomistGran Therbornstresses that discourse on class is always of social relevance. The boom of the middle class debate is therefore a remarkable symptom of our decade. Social class will remain a category of central importance, and bringing the class back in can do no harm.

Henning Melber is the author ofThe Rise of Africas Middle Class.

This article was first published in The Conversation

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It's time to lift the ideological haze in debates about Africa's middle class - Times LIVE

Local investors have high hopes for Calgary start up Micro Mech the company managed to secure 1.1 million in funding in just a few months.

Alberta investors are looking for other things and definitely more open to technology and start ups than they were in the past, when they had the option of a resource-based economy to put their money, said Jeff Ehmann, co-founder of Micro Mech.

Micro Mech allows users to order an experienced mechanic right to their door, with the goal to save time and money for services like oil changes, brake service or general problems, like if your car just didnt feel like starting that day.

Ehmann felt incredibly supported by investors in the province, managing to raise the capital in only 2.5 months. Thats adding to the $500,000 they raised a year ago.

CEO Richard Roseboom feels it would have been much harder to raise this kind of money, a majority of which came from Alberta investors, only a decade ago.

I think a decade ago, people were much more interested in keeping their money in oil, he said. Theres definitely a more diversified interest in investment now.

Diversification is a key word investors are now starting to look beyond the oil patch into new industries. Roseboom added that as much as investors like stability, they also like to support big dreams.

Theres a number of big name investors, like W. Brett Wilson, who have invested and helped make other investors feel secure about funding the company.

Backing a company with a quality service that solves customer's problems, while at the same time attracting top talent is a no brainer, said Wilson in a statement.

They found they were able to raise money quicker than some companies in Silicon Valley have.

The investment will help Micro Mech grow their team both in the office and in the field. The company currently operates in Calgary and Edmonton, but hopes to expand into Toronto in the next few months, as well as the U.S. by the end of the year.

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Calgary startup raises $1.1 million in funding - MetroNews Canada

Billy Gibbons, candidate for the B.C. Cascadia Party, talks to voters in Port Coquitlam on Apr. 21, 2017. (Rafferty Baker/CBC)

With a scruffy beard, Billy Gibbons approaches people outside the Terry Fox library in PortCoquitlamwearing a jean jacket, shortsand flanked by a1973AirstreamArgosy painted in his party's colours.

"Hi there.I'm Billy Gibbons.I'm running for MLA in the upcoming provincial electionfor the CascadiaParty of British Columbia," hesays, explaining that it's a new party.

Some people keep walking, but manystopto listen to the 46-year-old'spitch for the Cascadia movement based on the west coast of B.C., Washington State and Oregon. Somepeer curiously at the business card heholds out.

He's one of two candidates from the Cascadia Party, and one of 114 candidates in this election who aren't part of the three major parties, all hoping to buck historical trends and become MLAs.

Like most of the so-called fringe candidates, Gibbons lacks the multi-million dollar war chest. He lacks the small army of staff and volunteers.He lacks the experience and name recognition that incumbentpoliticians enjoy, and he's running against NDP candidate Mike Farnworth, who has held this seat for 22 of the last 26 years.

Gibbons lives in theArgosy trailer he tows behind a 1991 GMC pickup truck. The truck has big hand-painted signs advertising his candidacy on each side, and the trailer has been hand-painted with the Cascadia colours blue, white and green.

"We've rolled up our sleeves and put in some honest effort to get it done," he said, adding that he paid buddies to help roll on the Tremclad paint.

Gibbons has taken time off from his job in film production and managed to put away about $5,000 to get him to the election.

"I think I'm down to about $1,500 left that I can spend," he said. "That's it, and if it runs out before the election's up, I have to go back to work."

The candidate is earnest, down to earthand acutely aware he's facing an uphill battle.

"Let's call it a race. Let's look at a foot race. You don't expect to win your first race going out as a runner," said Gibbons, who's proud to have gotten his papers filed in time to run and already considers the huge effort a success.

Gibbons speaks to voters outside the Terry Fox library in Port Coquitlam, B.C., on Apr. 21, 2017. (Rafferty Baker/CBC)

Gibbons believes his new party can lead British Columbians to a better futurebut others are inspired by the past.

Mike Henshall is running for the Social Credit Party,which led B.C. for 36 of 39 years from 1952 to 1991but hasn't run more than a handful of people in any election since.

"The B.C. Social Credit brand, it's like a breath of fresh air," said Henshall, a real estate agent.

"Historically, the province has never been as prosperous as it was with the Socreds ... underW.A.C Bennett, every sector of B.C. society was working, and I believe that provides a healthy foundation for an economy, when you have a resource-based economy that is booming," said Henshall, who is running in Fraser-Nicola.

But he's aware of the challenges.

"It's tough sledding.We're dealing with parties that have a lot of money. It's tough for individuals that are actually considering taking part in the political process to actually get momentum to stand up and havea voice."

Your Political Party Leader James Filippelli campaigns outside Science World on Apr. 21, 2017. (Rafferty Baker/CBC)

Some have been trying to chip away at the established parties for a while.

James Filippelli, a 34-year-old electrician who's running in Vancouver-False Creek, founded the Your Political Party in 2002 and first ran for office in 2005.

This year, the YPP has 10 candidates, and plenty of signs, banners, volunteers and professional branding.

"We really want to bring complete transparency to the people of British Columbia," said Filippelli. "What gets me up is talking to people every day and hearing that that's a big issue of concern of them."

On Friday, Filippelli, a few of his YPP candidates and some volunteers were in front of Science World in Vancouver waving signs and getting honks from passing motorists.

Filippelliwas handing out pamphlets, pens and mints with the line, "Fresh breath, fresh ideas?"

Plenty of passersby took the mints, and some people stopped to engage in discussion about their political ideas.

"We are working with a pretty low budget, but we have got a lot of great volunteers that have helped us create the branding, helped us to put together a good website. When people hear the ideas, they're willing to step forward," saidFilippelli,

He hopes to see YPP run candidates across the province in 2021 an optimistic goal only matched by his optimism for the democratic process.

"I'm going to live here in B.C. my whole life," he said.

"I can sit back and complain about politicsor I can get out here and try and make a difference in it."

Follow Rafferty Baker and Justin McElroy on Twitter

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To dream the impossible dream: the major ambitions of BC's 'minor' parties - CBC.ca

Event promotes innovation and technology expansion.

The BC Innovation Council (BCIC) was in Castlegar last week as part of their Regional Innovation Opportunities tour.

The BC Innovation Council (BCIC) was in Castlegar last week as part of their Regional Innovation Opportunities tour encouraging local companies and individuals to delve into the innovation and technology sector.

According to BCIC the initiative is intended to bring business and local tech companies together and spark further innovation and job growth in our regional economies.

The instructional and networking event promoted the idea that communities and businesses in the Interior can join in the new job economy through technology and innovation. Representatives from several companies from Kamloops were on hand to share how their companies had grown through introducing innovation and technology aspects to their businesses.

You can do the same type of thing in small towns like Castlegar, Nelson and Trail, said Castlegar Councillor Arry Dhillon, who attended the event.

The group was given examples of some challenges that large corporations are trying to overcome and encouraged that solutions could come from anywhere.

The point of the event was to spark discussion around innovation and how that can be brought into regions like ours, explained Dhillon. He thinks the ideas presented are a step in the right direction as we see resource-based economies faltering and tech-based sectors driving the future.

The tour is visiting seven cities with stops in Terrace, Kelowna and Nanaimo still to come in the next few weeks. BCIC is a Crown Agency of the Province of British Columbia. Locally BCIC is one of the funding partners for the Kootenay Association of Science and Technology.

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Event promotes innovation and technology expansion - Castlegar News

NETARTS The Friends of Netarts Bay Watershed Estuary Beach and Sea (WEBS) is offering a free sustainable clamming workshop at 9 a.m. Saturday, April 29, in the Netarts Bay area.

Participants who must sign up for a specific location will learn about the role of shellfish in bay health, types of shellfish and invertebrates in the bay, sustainable methods for harvesting wild shellfish, current research on trends in clam size and biomass, and distribution patterns, research and regulations around harvesting.

Be warned: Attendees should expect to get dirty they will be venturing out into mud flats with guides. Boot or closed-toed shoes are recommended. Flip flops are strongly discouraged.

A shellfish license is required and can be obtained from the local state Department of Fish and Wildlife office or at Naveens Bayside Market and Deli.

WEBS is a local non-profit organization dedicated to sustaining the Netarts Bay area through education and stewardship.

Registration is required. For a link, please visit Friends of Netarts Bay WEBS Eventbrite site or Facebook page.

This workshop is part of the Explore Nature series of hikes, walks, paddles and outdoor adventures. The events hosted by a consortium of volunteer community and nonprofit organizations are nature-based experiences meant to highlight the unique beauty of Tillamook County and the work being done to preserve and conserve the areas natural resources and natural resource-based economy, according to press materials.

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Learn about sustainable shellfish harvesting in Netarts Bay - Coast Weekend

Multinational oil giant Chevron has lost its appeal against a multimillion-dollar tax bill issued by the Australian Taxation Office, setting the scene for the tax man to challenge other companies with dubious tax schemes.

While Chevron's appeal to the Full Federal Court is not the end of the matter the company has told Fairfax Media it may appeal to the High Court the case has emboldened Tax Commissioner Chris Jordan to go after other multinationals.

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Big companies can get very creative with their tax avoidance strategies, including global resource giants Chevron and Shell.

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Get to know the online retail giant before it sets up shop on Australian shores.

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Australias spending on road and rail is picking up the slack from housing construction. Michael Pascoe comments.

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Ahead of a meeting with suppliers, Malcolm Turnbull says it's essential businesses and families have access to reliable and affordable gas,

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The decision to abolish 457 temporary work visas is presented by Malcolm Turnbull as putting the interests of Australians first.

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Former police officer Adam Watts details the lengths his insurance company went to deny him his workers compensation after being medically discharged from the force.

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No, Australia isn't suffering a housing bubble. Sydney and to a lesser extent Melbourne might be, but the whole nation is starting to pay the price for it.

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Australia has more economic challenges than just Sydney and Melbourne housing prices, for example wages growth is stubbornly low and so is inflation. Michael Pascoe comments.

Big companies can get very creative with their tax avoidance strategies, including global resource giants Chevron and Shell.

The Australian Taxation Office has already issued tax bills totalling $2.9 billion to seven large companies.

The Chevron case was in many ways a major test case for the ATO, and will have global implications for the way tax paid by large companies is assessed.

The ATO has been fiercely battling Chevron in court over unpaid taxes between 2004 and 2008.

The case examined the tax deductibility of a $2.5 billion inter-company loan made from a Chevron subsidiary in Delaware to Chevron Australia.

The Full Federal Court unanimously agreed with the ATO that Chevron used a series of loans and related-party payments worth billions of dollars to slash its tax bill by about $300 million.

The agency has to date spent more than $10 million in out-of-pocket expenses in the the Chevron case and was hoping for a win.

The ATO will now be able to challenge other companies with similar transfer pricing arrangements.

In 2015, Chevron paid itself $2.2 billion in interest payments; that amount is over half of the $3.9 billion in offshore interest payments to related parties that the ATO reported for the offshore oil and gas industry in its recent submission.

"We are heartened by the outcome," an ATO spokesman told Fairfax Media. "This is the first matter to reach an Australian court which tests how our transfer pricing rules apply to interest paid on a cross-border related party loan.

"In short, the Court did not accept the proposition that the Australian subsidiary group of Chevron should be allowed to claim interest on the basis that its borrowings should be judged under the transfer pricing rules as if it was a standalone 'orphan' company separate from the rest of the Chevron Group."

"This decision is significant and has direct implications for a number of cases the ATO is currently pursuing in relation to related party loans, as well as indirect implications for other transfer pricing cases."

The ATO noted that Australia's transfer pricing rules have been further strengthened since the years under consideration in the Chevron decision, and there were also tougher domestic laws including the Multinational Anti-Avoidance Law and Diverted Profits Tax.

But a Chevron spokesman signalled this may not be the end of the battle. "Chevron is disappointed [with] today's decision ... We will review the decision to determine next steps, which may include an appeal to the High Court of Australia.

"As recognised by the trial court in the dispute, the financing is a legitimate business arrangement and the parties differ only in their assessments of the appropriate interest rate to apply."

He said Chevron Australia was one of Australia's largest investors and employers and since 2009 had paid almost $4 billion in federal and state taxes and royalties.

The tax and business community have also been keenly watching the case.

"The ATO's win against Chevron should send a strong signal to all multinationals that these blatant tax avoidance schemes will be challenged," said International Transport Workers Federation senior researcher Jason Ward. The union, which represents workers on the offshore LNG projects of WA, has been a vocal critic of Chevron.

"With this judgement, Chevron should be forced to change the current $42 billion loan which is already being audited by the ATO. If the current larger scheme is not restructured, Australians will lose billions more in future tax revenue."

KPMG tax partner Grant Wardell-Johnson said the case would have global ramifications. Companies could no longer postulate that a subsidiary is completely independent of its parent.

"You cannot treat it as if it were an orphan," he said. "Rather you must take into account the common ownership in determining the appropriate consideration."

The Tax Institute's senior tax counsel Robert Deutschsaid "multinationals should as a matter of urgency review their existing offshore financing arrangements in light of this decision".

"The decision may yet be appealed to the High Court but there is neither certainty that such an appeal will be made nor, if made, that it would be successful," he said. "For the moment all parties should proceed on the basis that the Full Federal Court has provided the final word on this matter."

Chartered Accountants tax leader Michael Croker said:"This is such an important win for the ATO and will influence many conversations with other multinational companies."

He said the Chevron decision could influence government thinking on the need for further statutory limits on interest deductibility, noting Labor's worldwide gearing ratio policy.

"But there are those who say Australia's resource based economy and substantial infrastructure needs mean we cannot be too proscriptive on interest deductions," he said. "One model is to impose restrictions but allow the Treasurer to authorise higher gearing for nation-building projects."

Shadow assistant treasurer, Andrew Leigh, said the decision highlighted the importance of closing debt-shifting loopholes. "For all its hot air, the Turnbull Government has consistently opposed Labor's fair measures to tighten the rules that let multinationals use internal loans to shift profits offshore," Mr Leigh said.

Australian Greens finance spokesperson Sarah Hanson-Young said Chevron had fought for almost 15 years against paying its fair share of tax to Australians. "The Chevrons and Adanis of this world do not need, or deserve, handouts from the Australian taxpayer when billions are being ripped out of our school system and our young people are struggling with record cost-of-living expenses".

The Senate inquiry into corporate tax avoidance, which has looked at profit-shifting techniques used by tech giants including Apple, Google and Microsoft will now shift its full focus to the oil and gas industry. New hearings are expected to take place in Perth on April 28.

As outlined by both Chevron and the ATO in the Senate hearing in 2015, the new $42 billion loan, like the smaller $2.5 billion loan in the court case, is a hybrid loan structure. It reduces profits in Australia and makes tax-free interest income in Delaware.

The Delaware parent company, which has no office and employees, pays an annual filing fee to the state of Delaware of $US175 and no tax on interest income.

Chevron admitted in the Senate hearings that this larger loan, under audit by the ATO, could reduce corporate income tax payments in Australia by $15 billion. But tax experts say the actual impact could be much larger.

The ATO will be releasing detailed guidance to help companies with related party loans comply with Australia's transfer pricing rules.

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Multinationals tax dispute: Chevron loses appeal, ordered to pay about $300m to ATO - The Sydney Morning Herald