Monthly archive February, 2013
Don’t Shoot I Want to Grow Up!
In a country like Canada with a semblance of gun control and rules over gun ownership, we continue to witness the shooting deaths of children. Why? Many community leaders are scratching their heads to understand the reasoning for such unnecessary carnage. Society is always in transition, yet much point to the cultural acceptance of certain...
Commodities Correct: Buying Opportunity?
The numbers this yesterday morning provided some indication that the market may slowly be turning as housing numbers although negative were spun in a positive light. This positive spin may have been the catalyst to an implosion in commodity prices as Gold tumbled USD$40.20 to 1563.90/USD$/OZ. Silver took it on the chin $0.90 to $28.53...
Canadian Housing Correcting Nationally: USA Housing Better…But not close to what it was.
Home prices in Canada declined for the fifth straight month in January. Prices were down 0.3 per cent over the 11-city composite index, declining in seven of 11 major Canadian markets from December. Real estate showing lowest annual growth rate since late 2009 as the housing market continued to cool. Only Vancouver has seen an...
Valantines Day What does it mean to you?
Saint Valentine is a widely recognized third century Roman saint commemorated on February 14 and associated since the High Middle Ages with a tradition of courtly love. Nothing is reliably known of St. Valentine except his name and the fact that he died on February 14 on Via Flaminia in the north of Rome. My...
Hi Fives at the State of The Union
The previous night the World awaited, with anticipation, the ‘State of the Union’ address by President Obama. Entering the historical chamber, high fives were exchanged with the participants as he made his way to the podium. We would tend to believe that his proclamations will become reality, even after the standing ovations received. Was there...
Eurozone Economy Shrinks More than Forecast and Currency Wars Will Fuel Discussion at Upcoming G20 Meeting
The GBP saw another severe sell-off hitting six-month lows against the US dollar. With recent economic data from the UK consistently disappointing traders expect another round of quantitative easing from the Bank of England. The yen gained ground against most of its rivals before a Group of 20 meeting at which officials may debate the...
Illegal Gaming The Good, The Bad and the Reality
Last weekend with all the festivities and Super Bowl parties going on, one particular party was cut short via a police raid. I am not condoning the actions of illegal gaming or organizations that exploit others for profit but let’s look at this a little closer. The media publicly stated the bad guys were caught...
Are we witnessing a Meltdown?
The Canadian dollar continued its downward spiral. Canadian job numbers were not great on Friday, even though the unemployment rate edged down from 7.1 to 7.0%. As stock markets opened a little negative oil rebounded but gold takes it on the chin! Gold drops a whopping $18.00 to 1649.00/USD$ while Silver slips $0.47 to $30.98....
European Rate Decision: Pipeline Delays Costing Canadian Economy; China becomes the worlds #1 trading Partner: The Pope Retires?
The ECU left interest rates unchanged last week. When many countries are affected in the monetary policy then disagreements tend to arise. On one had despite German factory orders being disappointing, a government spokesman said “the euro was not too strong at the moment if you “consider the long term average.”” The French on the...
An Interesting Turn of Events Determines a Championship
Superbowl Sunday came and went with the outcome a little surprise with Baltimore Ravens taking the Championship Crown from the San Francisco 49ers. The highlights of the game centered on the coaches, Jim and John Harbaugh, two brothers became adversaries on the grid-iron rather than their family home. Another story line was the last game...
Did you Win on Superbowl Sunday?
On Superbowl Sunday millions of dollars were spent on food and wagers. Bets ranged from gentlemanly to “the mortgage ones’ life”. The loan sharks are trying to collect this morning knowing many have no means to repay their debt. I am sure that body parts are becoming the currency of choice as the criminal element...
U.S. Factory Orders Disappoint: Iranian President an Astronaut? Winter Olympics 1 Year away in Sochi, Russia
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) – Orders for goods produced in U.S. factories rose 1.8% in December, the Commerce Department said Monday. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch expected orders to increase by 2.3%, largely because of higher orders for commercial and military aircraft. Orders for durable goods – products meant to last at least three years – advanced 4.3%...
I think I love you!