Reuters Peru says Peru's FinMin Mercedes Araoz is to be replaced this week

Here's the link. Here's how the note starts:

By Patricia Velez and Terry Wade

LIMA (Reuters) - Peru's Finance Minister Mercedes Araoz will be replaced in a cabinet shuffle this week, three sources in the ruling party and close to the government said on Tuesday.

One of the sources said Ismael Benavides, who once led one of Peru's largest banks, will be the new finance minister and that a swearing in ceremony was slated for Thursday.

"It's going to be Thursday at 3 p.m. (2000 GMT)," the source said.

"We know that Mercedes Araoz will leave no matter what," said another source.

Benavides, who also previously served as agriculture minister under President Alan Garcia, declined to comment.

Click through for the rest. Nice scoop, guys.

BP: A repeat post

This was first posted on June 1st. It's getting re-posted due to reports that Haywood is about to go. Surprised? Read on.......

June 1st: We're going to claim this as LatAm related, thanks to the word "Mexico" in the "Gulf of...." place that's suffering. I've been exchanging mails with an old friend of mine (we go waaaaaaaaay back) this morning who happens to be an environmental activist and (if memory serves) a member of Greenpeace. His question to me was;

"Do you think BP's CEO (Tony Haywood) will resign?"

My answer was;

"Yep, bet the house on it."

He then asked;

"Why?"

I said;

"Check the share price."

Because in the way of the capitalist, things like the worst oil spill of all time, the enviro disaster, the brickbats thrown by treehuggers, the accusations of media cover-ups....all those things can be ignored and successfully ridden by a multinational company CEO. But a sharp fall in the PPS and you're toast.

It's not good. It's not bad. It's the way it is. Chau, Tony.

IAMGOLD's (IMG.to) (IAG) CEO Conway resigning

Just thought I'd tell you. Here's the PR:

Press Release Source: IAMGOLD Corporation On Monday January 4, 2010, 8:15 am

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - 01/04/10) - IAMGOLD Corporation (TSX:IMG - News)(NYSE:IAG - News)(BOTSWANA: IAMGOLD) ("IAMGOLD" or "the Company") today announced that Joseph Conway, President & Chief Executive Officer, will be leaving the Company effective January 15.

Mr. Conway stated "The Board of Directors and I have agreed it would be an appropriate time for me to step down as an executive of the Company. I am proud to have lead IAMGOLD through the transformation of a joint venture player to an established operating company with a number of exciting development projects with a solid financial position and management team."

William Pugliese, Chairman, stated "Joe has made an outstanding contribution to the success of the yada yada continues here

By the way, I've always thought it's a really stupid name for a company.

Capital Gold (CGC.to) (CGLD.ob): Trouble at mill

Thanks to reader "J" for the headsup.

What's the story over at Capital Gold Corp (CGC.to) (CGLD.ob)? The question arises cos it seems like things are getting a trifle, teeny, eensy-weensy bit antsy at board level. Well what would you call it when there's an en-masse resignation of board members and stuffy letters written to chairpeople that file their filings at the end of the week without bothering to mention a thing to shareholders?

Here's the SEC Ref F 8-K you need to read and here's the meat below. Also, keep reading cos underneath Otto got the letters written by two of the pissed-off/pissed-on ex-directors of CGC.to that make it pretty obvious that what went down on August 28th was clearly one of those moments that can easily be described as "a stormy meeting".

On August 28, 2009, Ian A. Shaw resigned as a director of Capital Gold Corporation (the “Company”). At the time of his resignation, Mr. Shaw served as the chairman of the Audit Committee and a member of the Mergers and Acquisitions Committee and Compensation Committee of the board of directors (the “Board”). The resignation followed Mr. Shaw’s receipt of a letter from Gifford A. Dieterle, Chairman of the Board, President and Treasurer of the Company, requesting Mr. Shaw’s resignation due to, as expressed in the letter, inadequate performance as chairman of the Mergers and Acquisitions Committee that allegedly resulted in financial harm. In Mr. Shaw’s resignation letter, he disputed the allegations in Mr. Dieterle's letter and informed the Company of his disagreement with Mr. Dieterle's evaluation of his performance. A copy of Mr. Shaw’s resignation letter is attached hereto as an exhibit.

On August 28, 2009, John T. Postle resigned as a director of the Company effective as of the resolution of certain issues with his outstanding options. At the time of his resignation, Mr. Postle served as a member of the Audit Committee, Compensation Committee and the Mergers and Acquisitions Committee of the Board.

On September 2, 2009, Mark T. Nesbitt resigned as a director of the Company. At the time of his resignation, Mr. Nesbitt served as a member of the Audit Committee, Compensation Committee and the Mergers and Acquisitions Committee of the Board. The resignation followed Mr. Nesbitt’s receipt of an email from John Brownlie, a member of the Board and the Chief Operating Officer of the Company, raising questions about Mr. Nesbitt’s performance and certain actions taken as an independent director. In Mr. Nesbitt’s resignation letter, he informed the Company of his disagreement with Mr. Brownlie’s concerns, the Board’s failure to consider the views of the independent directors and with the strategic direction of the Company. A copy of Mr. Nesbitt’s resignation letter is attached hereto as an exhibit.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Mr. Gifford A. Dieterle

Chairman, President and Treasurer

Capital Gold Corporation

76 Beaver Street

New York, NY 10005

Dear Sir

From your letter seeking my resignation it would appear that that I have lost the confidence of you, management and the Board of Capital Gold. While I seriously dispute the allegations you have made nevertheless I hereby resign from the Board of Directors of Capital Gold Corporation effective immediately. I have been granted certain options which I will exercise and I will submit an expense report for out of pocket costs incurred up until today.

Yours truly

Ian A. Shaw

UPDATE: Date-stamped 1:52pm, the dudes at CGC.to must have read IKN and thought "Oh crap, we gotta tell them now". Here's the link to the announcement and note the highly prized new boys are also in charge of the financial trainwreck also known as Palladon Ventures, sharing board seats with Capital's COO, John Brownlie.

Peru Government Minister Resigns in Protest

There is honour left amongst some of the thieves.

Carmen Vildoso, Peru's Minister of Women and member of the Peru cabinet, has just resigned in protest over her government's handling of the Bagua protest and particularly because of this TV spot that the government ran......

.......... to explain to its hypnotized masses how (and this is a direct translation from the narrative) "22 humble police officers (were) killed with ferocity and savageness" and that "international extremists want to detain Peru".

Those acquainted with Spanish should take the 1 minute and seven seconds it needs to witness this blatant fascist propaganda...truly it's jawdropping and needs no extra commentary, as its own words and images condemn it far better than I ever could. I repeat; García is either too ignorant to understand why the indigenous are protesting or he's too shamefaced to admit his grave mistake and continues in outright lies that attempt (and fail) to give good reason for the blood caked on his hands.

So back to the now ex-Minister of Women, Carmen Vildoso. She resigned in protest over the massacre and the propaganda that followed it, Prime Jerk Yehude Simon saying that Vildoso was "mortified". Also Agro minister Carlos Leyton now says he is "evaluating his position" as minister.

Mo' Doe Run Peru: Gov't Mining veep resigns over the snafu

Wowsers, it seems there's still a little honour left in a pocket or two of the Twobreakfasts government. About 20 minutes ago the official state gazette announced that the gov't lackey in charge of the situation until now Mining Veep, Felipe Isasi Cayo, had resigned.

The dude had taken a pretty soft line with the DRP management and assured one and all that the situation would be resolved "between the private companies". Now he's gone it's easier to speculate that Peru is going to play hardball and may even do what I hope it will do...seize the plant in the name of the nation.

C'mon Twobreakfasts, give me chance to say "well done" about you for once....

UPDATE early evening: WooHoo! Bloomiedude Emery got a scoopette and it looks promising. There's no fat lady singing on this one yet, but at least the idea is on the table and has two important backers.

By Alex Emery
June 4 (Bloomberg) -- Doe Run Peru union and government
officials today will discuss a state takeover of the company’s
smelter, closed this week because of a lack of financing, a
union leader said.
Peru’s Cabinet Chief Yehude Simon may be open to a takeover
if the unit of New York-based Renco Group Inc. can’t reach an
accord with the government and creditors on a $175 million
bailout, Mining Federation General Secretary Luis Castillo said.
“Simon has promised a Plan B if the bailout falls
through,” Castillo said today in an interview at the
federation’s office in Lima. “A nationalization of the smelter
would favor workers, as the current situation is
unsustainable.”
The smelter, which was operating at 30 percent of capacity
until last week, closed all its installations on June 2 after
running out of concentrates. Banks froze Doe Run’s accounts on
Feb. 24 after metal prices collapsed. Doe Run says it needs more
time to settle its debts and invest in an environmental cleanup.
Doe Run Peru vice-president Jose Mogrovejo didn’t return
telephone calls or an e-mail seeking comment.

Peru's Finance Minister admits he can't do the job and quits, giving the job back to another quitter

Goodbye overrated lardass, hello overrated lardass.
Valdivieso (left) quits and Carranza (right) is back

So farewell Luis Miguel Valdivieso, best remembered as the fat guy who took over from the other fat guy as Peru's FinMin and talked nonsense about Peru's economy for six months or so. I still have fond memories of his Bistromatics attack on August 21st last year when he claimed Peru's inflation rate (then at 5.7%) would finish the year at 5.8%. The final score was 7.24%, which isn't bad for an ex-IMF lackey who'd never faced reality before but an eight-year old with the inflation chart and a straight-edged ruler could have done better. Word is that Valdivieso is quitting due to illness; he's sick to death of taking orders from his rat-faced new boss Yehude Simon.

The great news is that the fat guy he replaced is coming back to replace him. Luis Carranza, the luckiest economist on the planet who inherited a booming economy, ran it on autopilot for two years and then picked the right time almost to the month to quit and run away is taking the FinMin job back again. Otto finds this very strange, as Carranza's ostensible reason for quitting at the time was that his own funds were low and they just didn't pay him enough at the Ministry. Therefore his reappearance seems to suggest one of three things:

1) He couldn't find a cushy job in the private sector and he couldn't get enough of those paid evening speaker jobs to make ends meet. This is likely because it isn't just Otto who recognizes his mediocrity.

2) Like the rest of us he's noticed the rampant corruption and slush money swirling in and around the Twobreakfasts administration and wants his piece of the action. Wadya expect from the APRA boyz anyway? Justice?

3) He was talking total bollocks. Also highly likely, as he made a specialty of it in his first term of office.

Combinations of the above are acceptable, of course. So now that Peru is in the doo-doo and still won't admit it, we're about to see just how good Carranza really is. Otto has a friend who has constantly stuck up for Carranza and his record over the years. To that person I say "Betcha ten bucks yer man makes a hash of it all and shows just how mediocre he's always been". One thing Carranza was famous for during his last tenure was totally ignoring and despising his counterpart at the Central Bank, Velarde. Let's see if they get all touchy-feely this time around because it's going to be tough to run an anti-crisis plan if Carranza starts his primadonna antics again.