This item is part of Stockwatch's value added news feed and is only available to Stockwatch subscribers.

Here is a sample of this item:

by Stockwatch Business Reporter

West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery added 75 cents to $42.62 on the New York Merc, while Brent for October added seven cents to $48.81 (all figures in this para U.S.). Western Canadian Select traded at a discount of $18.60 to WTI ($24.02), up from a discount of $19.30. Natural gas for September lost 2.4 cents to $2.704. The TSX energy index lost a fraction to close at 176.53.

The continued decline of oil and gas prices has analysts making plenty of dividend-related predictions. Sam La Bell of Veritas Investment Research told Bloomberg today that the companies most likely to lower their dividends include: Canadian Oil Sands Ltd. (COS: $6.35), with a five-cent quarterly payout that yields 3.1 per cent; Baytex Energy Corp. (BTE: $8.45), with a 10-cent monthly payout that yields 14.2 per cent; and Pengrowth Energy Corp. (PGF: $1.63), with a two-cent monthly payout that yields 14.7 per cent. Mr. La Bell said the companies will struggle to cope as their production hedges expire over the rest of the year. There are still some high-yielders with friends among analysts. Surge Energy Inc. (SGY: $2.48), which pays a 2.5-cent monthly dividend that yields 12.1 per cent, recently took analysts from National Bank Financial on a site tour of its Saskatchewan Shaunavon property. "Effectively what we were introduced to was a highly economic project that will underpin [Surge's] growth and yield indefinitely," wrote the analysts in a bullish note this morning. They concluded that they were "very comfortable with the assets that underpin its model and 11.7-per-cent yield [based on Friday's close]." They are certainly much more comfortable than investors.

The remainder is available to Stockwatch subscribers.
Sign-up for a FREE 30-day Stockwatch subscription and SEE NO ADS