Press clipping from today's Financial News:
Yesterday's announcement of yet another major oil find by Slide should keep everybody happy. Nobody will be happier than the directors of Fouce Oil, whose continuing ownership of one quarter of Slide's shares continues to confuse industry insiders. Perhaps there are hidden depths to the relationship between Slide and Fouce Oil.

Reference Material:

Wodd's Chief Executive, Peter Sorchi has stopped you in the corridor:
"This weak USD is really causing us some serious problems. I think that it is only a matter of time before the stock market starts to get nervous and I am worried that our share price will fall in the near future. Thank goodness it does not appear to have fallen by much so far.
I would like to brief the Board on two main issues tomorrow. Firstly, what can we do as a Board in order to minimise the negative impact of the weak USD on our share price? Secondly, we know the identities of the key investment analysts who deal with our industry. Would it be a good idea for us to brief them? Please also consider the ethical issues arising from both of these topics as well as the more technical matters.
Please let me have a copy of your briefing notes in advance. I need to be able to sound convincing at the meeting. I'll also have my secretary refer you to a really helpful blog."

A month has passed since you submitted the report requested by William Seaton, Director of Finance on the Board's proposals.
You have received the following email:
From: William Seaton, Director of Finance
To: Finance Manager
Subject: Shale oil
Hi,
One of the geologists made a presentation to the Board, proposing that we investigate the extraction of shale oil deposits. I have attached the slides that were used as the basis for this presentation.
I need you to work on a response to this document:
* Firstly, what risks do you envisage in our entry to the shale oil business?
* Secondly, what do you regard as the key factors that we should consider when deciding on proceeding with this proposal? Please justify your selection.
* Thirdly, what factors should we take into account when deciding on which country or countries to commence this side of the business?
* Finally, what are the challenges in creating a team of technical staff to lead our efforts in this area?
William
The presentation slides can be found by clicking on the Reference Materials button.

Twelve hours have passed since you received the telephone call concerning the oil spillage.
You receive the following telephone call from William Seaton, Director of Finance:
"The press has got a hold of the story about the oil leak. Our share price has taken a major hit. Indeed, Slide's market capitalisation has fallen by a third since the stock exchange opened for business. There is a lot of loose talk in the press about the knock-on effect of this crisis for Slide. It has not escaped anybody's notice that there are news teams showing injured wildlife. There is also a great deal of footage being broadcast on the other sites around the world where we are revitalising oil wells using the same technology that was in use at AZ40.
Our experts have only just arrived at the spillage site. While they were on the corporate jet they emailed their initial thoughts, based on their understanding of what went wrong. Our engineers anticipate a major operation to block the leak by pumping cement into the bore hole at a low pressure. This will be expensive, but the cost will be less than one tenth of the reduction in our market capitalisation.
I need an email from you:
* Firstly, I need a clear explanation of the key risks that Slide now faces because of this crisis. I am only interested in those with a high risk and high consequence and I need you to justify those classifications because the Board will need to prioritise its responses.
* Secondly, two related issues: I need you to explain why Slide's share price has fallen to such an extent AND to recommend, with reasons, whether we should release our costings of the repair scheme at this time.
It goes without saying that I need this urgently."

Daily Gazette
Draft story for comment
The singer, the forester and the tax adviser
Popular singer Barry Crauder is regarded as one of our more financially-aware personalities. He works hard, releasing at least one new album every year and serving as a judge on a popular talent show. He has a reputation for investing this income wisely, choosing to save for his future rather than squandering on the trappings of the show business lifestyle.
Crauder's popularity was severely damaged when it emerged that he pays little or no tax on the investment income derived from his portfolio of investments. That is because he has used one of the few remaining tax loopholes, namely investment in forestry. He owns significant areas of forestry in the far North of Marland. We estimate his earnings from those investments to exceed M$800,000 every year and yet he has not paid a single Cent in tax on that income since he first invested in forestry ten years ago. In contrast, a typical fan who earns the national average wage of M$28,000 every year will pay approximately M$7,000 in tax.
So, could we all invest in forestry? Well, not unless we can afford it. I posed as a wealthy business entrepreneur and approached several leading tax advisers. Most were interested in helping me to invest a seven figure sum to avoid tax, but warned that saving tax could be expensive in terms of fees and commissions.
Four firms recommended forestry as the ideal investment. All recommended Wodd, with whom all four claimed to conduct "significant business". They said that a typical client would give Wodd a bank draft and leave the purchase and subsequent management to Wodd in return for a fee. Most clients had never even seen the forests that they own and none ever need to make a management decision concerning the growth or sale of timber.
Sadly, investing in forestry is a rich person's pursuit. I was warned that companies such as Wodd are unlikely to entertain a potential client whose initial investment does not run into the tens of millions of M$.
Please address any response to Sonia Jones, care of the Daily Gazette news desk, as quickly as possible.