Mexico to auction 15 shallow exploration blocks in Gulf + MORE Jul 19th

Task Force Chair Francoise Bertrand, left, listens to Public Services and Procurement Minister Judy Foote speak about a review of Canada Post during a news conference in Ottawa, Thursday, May 5, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
OTTAWA – Civil servants who have been forced to max out credit cards or borrow money as a result of problems with the federal government’s dysfunctional new pay system can expect to be compensated, the minister responsible for the system said Tuesday.
Public Services and Procurement Canada will review hardship cases one at a time, and make things right for anyone who has been placed in dire financial circumstances, minister Judy Foote told The Canadian Press.
“Nobody should be out-of-pocket as a result of something over which they had no control,” Foote said in an interview.
Newly released documents obtained by the CBC also show that officials were warned as early as Jan. 18 that the new Phoenix system has a flaw that allows widespread access to employees’ personnel records, including social insurance numbers…

MEXICO CITY – The Mexican government announced plans Tuesday for an auction of exploration and shared-production rights on 15 blocks of potential oil fields in the shallow waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
The blocks cover 3,440 square miles (8,908 square kilometres) and contain potential reserves of up to 1.58 billion barrels of crude equivalent.
Energy Secretary Pedro Joaquin Coldwell said that the blocks are expected to start producing oil by 2020 and that investment in the projects could reach $11.25 billion over the life of the contracts.
The Energy Department said the blocks will be put up for bid on a shared-production basis with an initial exploratory period. The contracts would run for 30 years. The bidding is scheduled for March 2017.
Mexico is offering the contracts under a 2014 law change that ended seven decades of state monopoly on the oil business.
Mexico produces 2.2 million barrels of oil a day, down from a peak of 3.4 million barrels in 2004.
The post Mexico to auction 15 shallow exploration blocks in Gulf appeared first on Canadian Business – Your Source For Business News.

(Martin Barraud/Getty Images)
Q: We seem to be in a financial dilemma. Different perspectives on RRSPs at a time when my husband is retired and I am going to retire. He has a pension, I do not. The accountant is of the opinion that we should start converting our RRSP monies into cash, which is what I anticipated we would do upon retirement. Our financial advisor [feels] that we should deplete our savings completely and then turn to our RRSP fund at RRIF age [of 71].
Where do I turn to get solid financial advice as I feel that we need an investment advisor however I am uncertain whose interests are being looked after.
—Lea
A: It’s tough making financial decisions when you get conflicting opinions. But it’s not uncommon. One of the problems with generic or rule of thumb advice, however, is that it doesn’t necessarily apply to you, no matter who is giving it. So let’s focus in on some of the specifics in your case, Lea.
First off, assuming your husband’s pension is a defined benefit pension plan, he’s eligible to split up to 50% of his pension income with you on his tax return…

SAN FRANCISCO – In a world where there’s a smartphone app for everything, one company __ Amazon.com Inc. — has long been the host for an outsized share of online software and computing services.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella wants to change that.
Nadella has poured billions of dollars into building new data centres around the world, hoping to position Microsoft as the leading alternative to Amazon in selling online computing power — housed in remote centres or “clouds” — to internet startups and big corporations, as well as consumers.
As evidence the investment is paying off, Microsoft Corp. reported Tuesday that its Azure cloud-computing business more than doubled in sales last quarter, compared with a year earlier. That growth, combined with increases in revenue from Windows software licenses and other key segments, helped offset a big decline in revenue from the Nokia smartphone business that Microsoft largely shut down last year.
If Amazon has been the undisputed king of the cloud, analysts say Microsoft, Google and a few other tech giants are emerging as rivals…

___
As PCs decline, Microsoft betting its future on the cloud
Microsoft’s investment in cloud computing is paying off. Its latest financial report shows its Azure cloud-computing business more than doubled in sales from the last quarter.
The company has spent billions of dollars to position itself as the leading alternative to Amazon in selling online computing to Internet startups and big corporations, as well as consumers.
The growth in Microsoft’s cloud business, combined with increased revenue from Windows software licenses and other key segments, helped boost Microsoft’s overall sales to $22.6 billion, after adjusting for deferred revenue, for an overall increase of 2 per cent from a year ago.
___
Dow inches to record high in mixed day for stock indexes
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks ended mixed Tuesday as investors let up on the accelerator after a three-week rally sent indexes to all-time highs.
The Dow Jones industrial average inched 25.96 points higher, or 0.1 per cent, for its eighth consecutive gain…