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New ethanol plant one of the largest in North America

BELLE PLAINE, Sask. - A new ethanol plant has opened in Belle Plaine, Sask.

With an expected output of 150 million litres of wheat-based ethanol and 163,800 tonnes of dried distillers grains annually, it will be one of the largest in North America.

Company president Tim LaFrance says the Terra Grain Fuels facility cost $1.3 million to build and was worth every penny.

He says it's good for its proximity to wheat suppliers and has excellent infrastructure for utilities.

He also says it is rare in that it is also tied into two major railways systems.

Construction on the plant began in September 2006 and it is currently running at 80 per cent capacity. It started receiving grain last August.

Oil company pleads guilty to killing birds

BILLINGS, Montana - An oil company has pleaded guilty to failing to protect migratory birds from oil pits near wells in eastern Montana.

Enerplus Resources, based in Denver and Calgary, pleaded guilty on Thursday to violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

U.S. Magistrate Carolyn Ostby fined Enerplus US $10,000.

In August and October of 2007, law enforcement found 22 dead migratory birds in or near pits belonging to Enerplus Resources.

Prosecutors say the company has since taken steps to protect birds from the oil pits.

Data could send stock markets tumbling

TORONTO - Worries about a slowing global economy and whether the wheels at home in Canada are rusting, will dominate the attention of investors this week with a heavy schedule of key economic data from both sides of the border.

Toronto's main index has been on a downwards spiral, closing eight of the nine past weeks lower than it opened them, mostly because of tumbling oil prices as well as weakness in gold and materials.

The week begins with the latest Canadian housing starts which could add tension to investors already worried about impacts from the slowing real estate market.

Consensus forecasts say that housing starts will slip to 210,000 units in July from 217,800 the previous month.

This could mark "a potential defrothing of the housing market, which is never a friendly economic event," suggested Michael Gregory, senior economist at BMO Nesbitt Burns.

Sources: The Associated Press, The Canadian Press