Ontario is trying to help smokers quit by providing all residents a PST (Provincial Sales Tax) break on smoking cessation aids in two weeks. Beginning August 14, those who wish to quit smoking won’t have to pay the 8 percent sales tax on nicotine replacement therapy products (patches, gums, inhalers, pills…). The credit will be [...]

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The latest of attempts in keeping the world’s fourth-largest economy from overheating, was today when China’s central bank raised the level of deposit that lenders must hold in reserve (the bank reserve requirement) for the 9th time in thirteen months. Again this is not a surprising move, as the policy makers have been continuously tightening [...]

Continue reading " China economy STILL out of control "

Canadians have always been known for their high-risk-taking-culture — NOT. Making foreign investments becomes increasingly important in order to achieve financial success. Limiting yourselves to a domestic Canadian market will reduce many financial opportunities. Here are the Top 7 Reasons to make foreign investments: 1) Canada is a small market. Canada represents only 3.5% of [...]

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Shares of Lululemon Athletica Inc. spiked more than 50 percent on its first day of trading on Friday. The yoga-clothing retailer raised $327.6 million (much more than anticipated) in Canada’s largest initial public offering this year. The company’s stock closed at $29.72 on the TSX (“LLL”), and at $28 on the NASDAQ (“LULU”). The company [...]

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I always though parking in Toronto was too costly – of which I was right. But I just found out it isn’t nearly as bad as Calgary – Canada’s most costly parking city. Canada’s parking market is on fire. A new study by real estate services company Colliers International says daily rates rost 7.4% across [...]

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It was another rainy day on the North American stock markets today, with triple digit losses. Somebody screamed ‘FIRE’, on increasing concerns about the mortgage and corporate lending markets in the United States. Anxiety built up after the U.S. Commerce Department reported sales of new homes down 6.6 percent last month. Eventually we had investors [...]

Continue reading " Apple profits push stock up, on a rainy day "

The International Monetary Fund raised its global economic growth forecasts on Wednesday. In its forecast, the IMF mentioned increased expansion in China, India, and Russia; and also some stability in the United States despite the risks it still faces in its housing market The IMF updated its global growth forecast to 5.2 percent for both [...]

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A government ruling today will allow Canada’s biggest phone companies to be free from regulations in the some marketplaces. This opens the door to more competition and lower home telephone bills (finally). The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), the government agency currently regulating the markets, made the announcement today that home phone rates will [...]

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The owners of a rival social networking website, ConnectU, are trying to shut down Facebook on charges that Mark Zuckerber, founder of Facebook, stole their ideas while they were students at Harvard. The three founders of ConnectU, Zuckerberg’s classmates, claim that they were working together on ConnectU while Zuckerberg repeatedly stalled and eventually created Facebook [...]

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The Canadian dollar continues to experience record highs as retail sales were reported strong today. The loonie was pushed up 0.88 of a cent to 96.39 US cents today. The dollar has risen 10.8 percent this year, and is currently at its highest levels since May 1977. The strong dollar, a blowout May retail sales [...]

Continue reading " Dollar soars to 30-year high, TSX plummets "