Michael Ugulini

Toronto, CANADA


Joined May 31st 2008

Number of Posts:
38

Number of Comments:
3

Karma:
7



This site is dedicated to the innovative entrepreneurs and businesses who take the risks to create growing successful companies.

Profile
Michael is a freelance writer from Toronto, Ontario.
http://businessresources.synthasite.com
http://michaelugulini.synthasite.com

Tags & Posts

Bookmark Tags



Popular Tags

Popular Posts

Copper  (119)
Oh So Solar  (102)

Blogs

Michael Ugulini's Blogs

1678 Vote(s)
4 Comment(s)
24 Post(s)
Business Dime (Member)
1596 Vote(s)
11 Comment(s)
14 Post(s)

I mentor these bloggers

Learn more about the Orble Mentoring Program.


I do not mentor any bloggers.

Friends

I have no friends :(

Recent Posts

Lithium

February 14th 2009 02:51
Lithium is the lightest of all the metals and is found in almost all types of igneous (formerly molten) rocks. It can also be found in mineral springs, and it is an alkali metal. Lithium is half as dense as water when in solid form and is a rare metal.

Lepidolite, spodumene, petalite, and amblygonite, are important minerals that contain lithium. Lithium is silvery in appearance and it has the highest specific heat of any solid element. The mixing of lithium with aluminum and magnesium creates lightweight alloys.

Uses for lithium include heat transfer applications and nuclear applications. It ranks high as a battery anode material as well. Other lithium compounds find use in dry cells and storage batteries. Lithium also has high electrochemical potential. In addition, lithium finds use in special glasses and ceramics.

Lithium carbide is used for the treatment of bipolar disease. Lithium chloride and lithium bromide find use in air conditioning and industrial drying systems. Lithium stearate finds use as an all-purpose and high-temperature lubricant.


Western Lithium Canada Corporation

Western Lithium Canada Corporation is a resource company focusing on the development of a large lithium resource located in northwestern Nevada. They operate in the U. S. through their wholly owned subsidiary, Western Lithium Corporation (Western Lithium USA). Western Lithium USA has leased a portion of claims on the Kings Valley Project, Nevada from Western Energy Development Corp. (wholly owned U.S. subsidiary of Western Uranium Corporation).

The lease grants Western Lithium the exclusive rights to explore for, develop, and mine or produce, any lithium mineralization known or discovered on the claims. The Company’s flagship property is the Kings Valley Lithium Project. Western Lithium Corporation has their head office in Vancouver, British Columbia and a U.S. office in Reno, Nevada.

Hybrid Technologies, Inc.

Hybrid Technologies, Inc. is a development-stage technology company focusing their efforts on the development and marketing of lithium-powered vehicles and products. They also focus their efforts on commercial and residential properties. The Company has their U.S. corporate office in Las Vegas, Nevada and a Canadian corporate office in Dewinton, Alberta.

Hybrid Technologies continues to experience growing sales with scooters, bicycles, mopeds, motorcycles, cars and homes as they convert to zero-emission, lithium-powered vehicles and facilities. The Company markets a line of cars under their LiV™ brand name. These include their LiV™ Dash, LiV™ Wise, LiV™ Rush, LiV™ Surge, and LiV™ Flash. They also market their four-wheeler LiV™ Bulldog.

Hybrid Technologies conversions combine their proprietary battery technology components and electricity to create their vehicle propulsion system. An electric vehicle (EV) is one that draws its power from electricity stored in batteries instead of from the combustion of liquid fuels. Hybrid Technologies' lithium battery packs are properly enclosed and contained. In addition, the federal government (U.S.) classifies lithium batteries as non-hazardous.
The projection is that the demand for lithium will increase with the development of lithium-ion and lithium-metal batteries, for use in electric and hybrid-electric cars.




44
Vote
   


The Chicago Board of Trade

February 12th 2009 01:44
Major enterprises typically have very humble beginnings and this is no less so when you look at the history of the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT). They began on April 13, 1848, in a flour store at South Water Street in Chicago, Illinois. On that date, 83 merchants got together to form the CBOT as a central marketplace for exchanging commodities.

In 1851, the first "forward" contract was recorded. This was for 3,000 bushels of corn. A forward contract is different from a spot delivery – that which hands over "on the spot" to the buyer.

In 1865, the CBOT put in place measures for formalizing grain trading. They developed "futures contracts", which are standardized agreements for the buying and selling of commodities. These standardized agreements are for buying and selling fixed amounts of a particular commodity – at a specified location – at a "future time". They are also for a "predetermined price."

On July 9, 2007, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings, Inc. (CME) and the Chicago Board of Trade Holdings, Inc. (CBOT) completed their merger. Today, the CME, the CBOT, and the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) are all merged and comprise the CME Group (a CME/Chicago Board of Trade/NYMEX Company).

The CME Group offers futures and options and more than 75 percent of their trading volume occurs from trades made on their CME Globex electronic trading platform. The CME Group offers futures and options based on agricultural commodities, interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, metals, and alternative investment products.

With commodities, there are specific delivery dates at specific locations. This is the "when and where" for buyers and sellers. Buyers pick up their goods from sellers based on the agreement (contract) they entered into with each other on an exchange. There are predetermined months and locations for delivery of every commodity traded.

For example, the contract months for Wheat Futures according to the CME Group are March, May, July, September, and December. This is for physical delivery to grain elevators, which may be in Omaha, Chicago, or elsewhere depending on the agreement. The Last Delivery Date for Wheat Futures (CME Group) is the second business day following the last trading day of the Delivery Month.

CHICAGO BOARD OF TRADE

51
Vote
   


Gold, Oil, OPEC, China

February 3rd 2009 16:52
When markets are in upheaval, investors often look to safer-havens to invest in. With the current economic, financial, and even social turmoil in the world, you may see gold prices continue to climb. It's not a sure-fire guarantee, but precious metals are one of those "safer" havens that sometimes receive extra attention.

Economic news of the not very inspiring sort tends to favor gold. When the labor market groans and orders for durable goods wane, investors adjust their strategies for themselves and their clients. Many look to these precious metal assets (hard assets) and forsake stocks that are more volatile.

What's up with oil as well?

- According to a report in the New York Times (January 25), Petrobas, the state-controlled oil company of Brazil, plans to spend over $174 billion over the next five years. A significant amount of this will be for deep-water oil and gas exploration.

- Royal Dutch Shell is the second-largest (non-government controlled) oil company based on market capitalization.

- Chevron announced a $22.8 billion capital and exploratory spending program for 2009. Of this spending, seventy-five percent will be for upstream oil and gas exploration and production.

- Canada accounts for approximately twenty percent of the United States' imports of crude oil and oil products.

In times of volatility on the world oil markets OPEC and other oil producing nations sometimes seek to prop up falling oil prices. They do this by curtailing output to one degree or another. They manipulate the supply part of the supply and demand equation. Sometimes they react in time, sometimes, when demand drops rather quickly they see their prices fall fast.

While there will be peaks and valleys in demand, OPEC sees demand for oil in China doubling by the year 2030. If their forecasts hold true they foresee 91 million cars in China by then. That's a lot of gas. However, will alternative fuel sources have a bigger role on stage by that time, or is twenty years or so away still to soon for alternative energies to make an impact?

Watch a discussion on the GOLD STANDARD




46
Vote
   


Sowing Then Reaping Wild "OATS"

January 31st 2009 05:22

Oats on the Market

[ Click here to read more ]
64
Vote
   


Gastar Exploration Ltd. is a natural gas exploration and production company. They operate with a dual strategy whereby they combine lower-risk coalbed methane (CBM) development with higher-risk, deep natural gas exploration projects. Founded in 1987 the Company's headquarters are in Houston, Texas.

The company has locations in the deep Bossier play, East Texas; Powder River Basin, Wyoming; in the Marcellus Shale in the Appalachian Basin in West Virginia and Pennsylvania. ; and in New South Wales, Australia. The Deep Bossier location in East Texas provides Gastar an avenue for significant near-term production and reserve growth. Gastar has acreage located in the Hilltop area of Leon and Robertson Counties, Texas


[ Click here to read more ]
53
Vote
   


Cocoa is one of the world's smallest soft commodity markets. However, it doesn't lack importance or influence. Just ask the cocoa importers, exporters, food and candy/confection producers, and the wholesale and retail food industries.

There is historical lore that cocoa received introduction into Central America by the ancient Mayans. It further found its way into Europe via the Spaniards in the 1500s. Today, over 3,000,000 metric tons of cocoa grow annually worldwide. Cocoa powder is part of chocolate, cocoa butter, and finds use as a coloring agent for various food products


[ Click here to read more ]
40
Vote
   


Commodity: Butter

January 28th 2009 00:27
Land O' Lakes, Inc.

In 1921, an enterprise began, as a cooperative, and developed a way for processing butter from fresh sweet cream. The traditional method up to that point was to use sour cream and then sell the resultant butter in tubs. This farmer cooperative had a different idea. After formulating their butter from this sweet cream, they then proceeded to market it in one-pound packages with butter sticks individually wrapped. Convenience, convenience, and more convenience...and the product grew in popularity


[ Click here to read more ]
73
Vote
   


Cotton: Americot, Inc...and more

January 26th 2009 16:26
Americot, Inc. is an enterprise that began in 1987. Their headquarters are in Lubbock, Texas, and they are the second largest cotton seed company in the Southwest based on market share. Americot provides Southwest, Mid-South, and Southeast cotton growers with quality planting seeds. Nationwide in the U.S. they are the third largest cotton seed company.

The Company's planting seeds offer high yield potential and excellent fiber quality. Their Americot and NexGen cotton seed comes in single gene Roundup Ready Flex, stacked Bollgard II/Roundup Ready Flex, and single gene Roundup Ready


[ Click here to read more ]
52
Vote
   


Cattle Call: Live Cattle

January 25th 2009 23:01
According to the United States Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service, the U.S. has the largest fed-cattle industry in the world. They are the world's largest producer of beef; however, they are a net importer of beef as well.

Most beef imported into the U.S. is lower value, grass-fed beef for processing. This is mainly as ground beef. Most of the beef produced and exported from the United States is grain-finished, high-value cuts. The United States imports cattle from Canada and Mexico


[ Click here to read more ]
50
Vote
   


Teton Energy Corporation focuses on the acquisition, exploration, and development of oil and natural gas in North America.

They have leasehold interests in the Central Kansas Uplift and the Eastern Denver-Julesburg Basin in Colorado, Kansas, and Nebraska. They also have interests in the Piceance Basin in Western Colorado, the Williston Basin in North Dakota, and the Big Horn Basin in Wyoming. Teton Energy has their headquarters in Denver, Colorado


[ Click here to read more ]
72
Vote
   


 

Recent Comments

Comment by Michael Ugulini
on Commodity: Butter

January 30th 2009 01:59
Hi Sam:

You're right...consistent, innovative business practices ...no get-rich-quick schemes here...just hard work and a disciplined corporate focus and look where they are today. There's something to be said about companies who stick to basic business fundamentals!

Thanks,
Mike

Comment by Michael Ugulini
on Commodity: Butter

January 28th 2009 02:44
Yes, something so basic that helped build a very successful cooperative enterprise. No Dot.com bubble bursts with staple food items!

Comment by Michael Ugulini
on Water Is Not Everywhere!

June 8th 2008 17:27
Insightful post. Sure makes you wonder about what the future is for oil and water.

Michael
www.businessdime.com
Really Long Link