Mobilicity cries foul
MONTREAL— The president of Mobilicity said if Industry Canada decides to hold an open-spectrum auction, it will likely mean the end of his company, and all other new entrants. “Bell,
Telus and Rogers don’t actually need any spectrum in this auction; it’s a lie,” said Stewart Lyons, Mobilicity’s president and CEO. “The only reason they’re claiming they need spectrum is to keep us from getting any. They don’t even use all the spectrum they have.” Five channels will be auctioned off to cellular phone companies by the end of the year or early in 2013.
Gold to hit new high
LONDON — Gold will soar to $2,000 US an ounce this year, according to industry insiders. The overwhelming majority (80 per cent) of gold-mining executives think the price will keep climbing in 2012, with just six per cent anticipating a fall, a survey by Pricewaterhousecoopers found.
RIM hires big bank
TORONTO — Shares in Research In Motion climbed nearly four per cent on Thursday on market speculation the Blackberry maker had hired investment bank Goldman Sachs to explore strategic options. RIM has been the target of a steady stream of takeover talk as its market valuation has crawled along at multi-year lows amid product delays and profit warnings.
Solar power boost
LONDON — Global investment in clean energy hit a record $260 billion US in 2011, up five per cent from the previous year as investment in solar grew by more than a third despite shrinking profit margins, some bankruptcies and flagging share prices, a report said. Global clean- energy growth was driven mainly by solar, for which investment grew by 36 per cent to $136.6 billion, as a 50-per-cent drop in prices for photovoltaic panels spurred installation.
Exploring off Nfld.
CALGARY — Chevron Corp., Statoil and Repsol have agreed to jointly drill oil-exploration wells off Canada’s Arctic and Atlantic coasts. The Canadian division of Chevron will work with Stavanger, Statoil and Repsol to explore for oil in the Orphan Basin off the coast of Newfoundland, with Chevron controlling 65 per cent of the project, the U.S. oil-and-gas producer said Thursday.