Forex Trading System 96 Prozent Gewinner Und Whiners

Letztes Jahr war meine erste Fahrt auf meinem Geburtstag Mitte März Dieses Jahr ritt ich im Januar, Februar, März und, ja, gestern In Ontario Dies ist nicht richtig. Nein Wunder Diese Woche kam News, dass letzten Monat war der heißeste März in der 137 Jahre Menschen haben dieses Zeug geschrieben Es ist der elfte Monat läuft, dass eine neue globale Temperaturrekord gesetzt wurde Wissenschaft Jungs sind bereits prognostiziert 2016 wird das heißeste Jahr von all. Ever seit Blondie gekrönte Charts dort war eine neue Welt Temperaturrekord Set alle drei Jahre Fünfzehn der wärmsten sind in den letzten sechzehn Streit Klimawandel passiert, was Sie wollen, aber es ist Zeit, um auf die SPF 30.So warum s diese Nachricht in einem finanziellen Blog. Simple Wenn Sie investieren für ein Lange Zeit, sagen, ein Jahrzehnt oder zwei, bevor Sie die Ruhestand Einkommen brauchen, denken Sie hart darüber, wie viel Ahorn oder Energie, die Sie wollen, um Öl zu machen, um die Hälfte von all diesem Land s Exporte zu machen, und das s seit stürzte Während wir das Größte sind Lieferant von schwarzen Sachen an die U S und Rohöl erholt sich auf mehr als 41 ein Fass drückt den Dollar auf 79 Cent die Tage, dass Kanada könnte graben Zeug up und bekommen durch sind zu einem Ende. Schritt voran von einer neuen Generation von Energie-bewussten, umweltbewussten linken Wähler Mit ihren irritierenden Radwegen und dem Car-Sharing unsere eigenen Regierungen beginnen, Krieg gegen Öl zu führen Alberta, Ontario, BC, Quebec sie alle auf dem Kohlenstoff-Steuer-Cap-Trader-Zug, bald, um durch die feds verbunden werden Der aktuelle Ölkollaps Inzwischen hat er die Energiebelegschaft ausgehöhlt, wobei die Arbeiter nach Hause zurückkehren, um die Maritimes, BC oder anderswo, verkaufen ihre Dualien mit nutz und finden sinnvolle Arbeitsgebäude condos. Meanwhile das World Economic Forum sagt Ölnachfrage wird stetig über die nächsten Jahrzehnte als fallen Länder steuern Kohlenstoff und verschieben auf grüne Tech So auch wenn Öl sich erholt, um den heutigen Preis zu verdoppeln, würde es eine Menge Kanadas teure Oilsands Bitumen machen, die kaum wert sind, zu graben und zu kochen. In Kürze kann eine unserer Hauptindustrien sein Am Ende ausgenommen Bummer. At zur gleichen Zeit, die Nation s langfristige Finanzen könnte verschlechtern, da die Ausgaben Gewohnheiten der Besatzung jetzt die Verwaltung der Ort Spät an einem kürzlichen Freitag das Department of Finance veröffentlicht docs zeigt mindestens 125 Milliarden in roter Tinte über Die nächsten vier Jahre, als die Bundeslibliotheken die Taps einschalten Jetzt sagt der Parlamentarische Haushaltsoffizier die Entscheidung von T2, die OAS-Finanzierung im Alter von 65 Jahren wiederherzustellen, anstatt 67 wird weitere 11 Milliarden jährliche rote Tinte hinzufügen. Und haben Sie die interessante Tatsache, dass die meisten von Die 25.000 Flüchtlinge, die wir gnädig akzeptiert haben, kamen auf kommerziellen Flügen an. Das war eine 30-Millionen-Banknote. Nein, sie wurden nicht gebeten, sie zurückzuzahlen. Hmm Also sind wir damit beschäftigt, eine Eigentumswohnung zu gründen, wo ein großer Anteil des BIP von allen von uns kommt, die eine Bootsladung ausleihen Des Geldes, so können wir aufgeblasene Eigenschaften von einander kaufen Ein Beweis ist unten, Höflichkeit eines Diagramms, das von Blog-Hund gehalten wird Shawn Sie können sehen, Immobilien-Segment macht jetzt etwa 13 unseres gesamten BIP, die nicht einmal inclu Der Wohnungsbau Dies ist das Doppelte, das in Kalifornien über die gleiche Größenwirtschaft wie Kanada erlebt wurde, bevor es die Immobilienmauer vor einem Jahrzehnt traf und begann, IOUs zu veröffentlichen. In den letzten Jahren hat dieses Blog Sie vorgeschlagen, eine Minderheit Ihres Portfolios zu halten S Wachstum Vermögenswerte in Ahorn tatsächlich mit der doppelten Exposition gegenüber US-und internationalen Märkten In einem 60 40-Konto, das würde etwa 17 in Biber und Elch-Bits Die Logik ist einfach Nie verlassen eine Asset-Klasse, da Sie keine Ahnung, was als nächstes kommen Aber auch don t Übergewicht Kanada nur, weil Sie den Ort kennen Angesichts der Tatsache, dass die Welt immer knuspriger, Wähler sind nach links schwingen, ist die Wirtschaft gefährlich zu einer aufgeblasenen Asset-Klasse und wir umarmen Schulden, die Zukunft ist definitiv nicht zu gehen Ähneln der Vergangenheit. Und dann gibt es die faltige Sache Über 30 der Bevölkerung ist in ihre durstigen Unterwäsche Jahre, endet Karriere, Verringerung der Verbrauch und über zu saugen riesige Mengen an Gesundheit Auto E Dollar beim Sammeln all das CPP und OAS Wenn Sie sich jemals fragen, was zu viele alte Furts um zu tun, um eine Wirtschaft zu tun, überlegen Japan. Conclusions Draw your own In der kurzfristigen, Kanada hat eine schöne Bounce kommen bereits gut in Beweis Aber Wenn ich ein feuchter wäre, würde ich meine Sterne breiter anhängen, und das slathering Sonnenschutz.174 Kommentare. Ich denke, es wäre dir gut, diesen Clip zu sehen. Assuming du Haven t gesehen es auf Reddit bereits. Was ist Reddit Garth. Was ist mit der 40 festen Seite Noch konzentrieren sich auf kanadischen Fixed Income Preferred Es gibt ein paar internationale Anleihe ETFs da draußen, ich don t halten any. What s Reddit Garth. Sie wissen genau, was es ist Garth Etwa die Hälfte von Ihrem Blog Bilder kommen von dort. Ich habe nie gewesen Warum sollte jemand diese Seite verlassen Garth. DOJ ist Sondieren Cross-Ownership Anti Vertrauen. 5 Liebe meine Kia am 04 19 16 um 5 58 Uhr. Sie vergessen über die massive Ring of Fire Entwicklung im Norden Ontario, die alles von seltenen Mineralien zu Gold enthält, um in seinen Reserven zu bügeln. Nur kein Öl, was gut ist. There noch isn ta Land Weg zu ihm noch, aber sie arbeiten auf sie. Machen Sie die Dinge so effizient wie Sie wollen, wird es immer eine Nachfrage nach things. Where, um Ihr Geld. Adult Windeln und Altersheimen. 7 ILoveCharts am 04 19 16 at 6 06 pm. Garth Eine Herausforderung mit Ihrer These ist, dass es uns erfordert, die Hoffnung in unserer Nation aufzugeben Der Unterschied zwischen Japan und Kanada ist Einwanderung Japan schließt die Türen und sie zahlen den Preis Niemand öffnet sich Die Türen breiter als Kanada Menschen aus der ganzen Welt wollen hierher kommen für die Sicherheit und die natürliche Umwelt und sie werden Unternehmen bauen und dies zu einer wissensbasierten Wirtschaft machen. 8 Andrew Woburn am 04 19 16 um 18:30 Uhr. 83 Hafen am 04 18 16 um 9 36 Uhr Making 200K ein Jahr in einer Stadt auf einer Insel, die vielleicht 100.000 Menschen hat. Wenn Sie sich auf Vancouver Island beziehen, übersteigt die aktuelle Bevölkerung 750.000 etwa die Hälfte davon lebt in der Victoria Region Die Nanaimo Bereich hat etwa 100.000 Vancouver Island hat etwa die gleiche Bevölkerung wie New Brunswick und fünfzig Prozent mehr Menschen als Neufundland. 9 Liebe meine Kia auf 04 19 16 at 6 08 pm.30 Million Dollar Fluggesellschaft Rechnung für 25000 Flüchtlinge ist ein Deal. Harper ging zu einem Hockey-Spiel in Boston auf Militärflugzeugen kostet uns 10 Grand eine Stunde Ich hoffe, dass das Spiel didn t Gehen in Überstunden Der Kerl liebte Hockey so sehr würde ich mir vorstellen, seine Liebe für das Spiel kostete uns mehr als 30 Millionen. Justifying fragwürdige Ausgaben von einem Politiker durch den Vergleich mit fragwürdigen Ausgaben von einem anderen ist ein Fehler Garth. die Wirtschaft ist gefährlich schief Eine aufgeblähte Asset-Klasse und wir re Umarmung Schulden Garth. Ich habe Ottawa Daten auf meine Charts jetzt überprüfen Sie die MAR-MOI Charts. Vancouver und Toronto alle Wohn-monatlichen Absorptionsraten sind jetzt auf Platz für 75-80.Even in Calgary die Absorptionsrate Steigt und geht auf 25 aus der jüngsten niedrigen und streben nach einem potenziellen Trendwechsel auf den Kopf als Marktteilnehmer kaufen die dip. So kaufen ein Haus in Tofino, genießen Sie die Hitze, verkaufen Sonnenkollektoren und lernen zu surfen. Ich liebe dich Garth Auch diese geile Immobilien i Nvestor hat endlich gelernt, den Weg der Aktien Diese Woche habe ich endlich 1m usd in meinem Aktienportfolio getroffen Mit der Zeit ein Jahrzehnt der weiteren Investition und Rückkehr kann es sogar übertreffen meine C01 und C02 Haus Portfolio. And ja, es ist meist in Einzelnamen, nicht Index 80 US Ich habe zu viel Ahorn, wie es in Immobilien ist. 13 High Energy Star Stuff am 04 19 16 at 6 15 pm. No wonder yer knusprig und faltig SPF 200 ist wo ist es jetzt. So mit dem ganzen weg von Öl und in grüne Technologie Ding, ist es ein umsichtiger Zug für eine lange - Therm Portfolio, um zu betrachten, ein kleines Stück in den grünen Energiemarkt zu bewegen. Ich dachte, dass es eine intelligente Bewegung für einige Zeit ist, ist die ganze Welt fast an Bord mit grüner Energie in diesen Tagen und wenn nicht, wird bald ich sicher sein S nur eine Frage der Zeit, dass es wirklich auf eine Massenskala, wenn Sonnenenergie wird wirtschaftlich lebensfähiger. Thanks für die Verwendung meiner Chart. Für diejenigen interessiert, ein bisschen mehr Details rund um diese Grafik und auch Zahlen auf Exporte, hier ist ein Link Zu meinem Referenzartikel über die kanadische Wirtschaft. Ja, überraschend Energie und Bergbau zusammen sind nur 8 des BIP Und das tatsächlich über-Staaten der Fall, da die Daten noch nicht vollständig reflektieren die massiven Preissenkungen aus komplizierten Gründen. Energie rutschte von der größten Bestandteil der Exporte in den Poin T, wo es nur etwa 12 der Exporte, die in aktuellen Dollars ist und spiegelt die niedrigeren Preise und ist eine saisonbereinigte annualisierte Zahl ab Dezember. Ich neige nicht zu verstehen, die Implikationen Aber Energie ist definitiv ein kleineres Segment der Wirtschaft Dienstleistungen sind Immer größer als ein Prozentsatz der Wirtschaft Eine Dienstleistungswirtschaft kann in der Tat sehr gut fragen Manhattan Hoffentlich kann die Wirtschaft auch weiterhin mit Energie als etwas kleineres Segment nach Volumen und viel kleiner in Dollar gut gehen, klar, einige Leute werden Durch die Verringerung des Wertes und der Bedeutung auf dem Energiesegment gehämmert werden, werden andere von den niedrigen Preisen profitieren. Investoren mit ausgewogenen Portfolios werden auch weiterhin in Ordnung sein, ich vermute. Was ist das Fahren der CDN-Dollar gegenüber vs US-Dollar jedermann kennen Vorhersagen für das Jahr. 17 Toronto Dweller am 04 19 16 um 6 31 Uhr. Und Mitwohner Millenials können steigende Steuern, verminderte Dienstleistungen und prekäre Beschäftigung und eine wahnsinnige Wohnungsmarkt erwarten. Um mit Kontext zu helfen. Jeder wissen, was ist der historische Durchschnitt als BIP für RE Selling, Managing, Vermietung und Leasing. Burn Baby brennen seine eine Disco Inferno. The Hoasing-Markt in Victoria ist auf Feuer 2016 wird ein Scorcher. 20 ole Dobermann am 04 19 16 um 6 39 pm. Gartho würde der Gesundheitssektor der Ort sein, um als Falten brauchen mehr Windeln.30 Millionen Dollar Fluggesellschaft Rechnung für 25000 Flüchtlinge ist ein Deal. Harper ging, um ein Hockey-Spiel in Boston zu sehen Militärflugzeuge kostet uns 10 großartig eine Stunde Ich hoffe, dass das Spiel nicht in Überstunden gegangen Der Kerl liebte Hockey so sehr würde ich mir vorstellen, seine Liebe für das Spiel kostete uns mehr als 30 Millionen. Justifying fragwürdige Ausgaben von einem Politiker durch den Vergleich es mit fragwürdigen Die Ausgaben von einem anderen ist ein Fehler Garth. One Kosten ist auf humanitäre Notwendigkeit basiert, die andere ist reine unverfälschte Freude Einer ist gerechtfertigt, der andere ist nicht. 22 Zinssatz am 04 19 16 um 6 44 Uhr. Der kanadische Dollar geht nicht hoch, es ist der US-Dollar, der hinuntergeht Der US-Dollar war, weil jeder glaubte, dass die Fed die Zinsen 4 Mal in diesem Jahr erhöhen würde Fed ist Backtracking Menschen endlich beginnen zu erkennen, dass die Fed vielleicht vielleicht noch einmal in diesem Jahr zu erhöhen Also der US-Dollar nur ein 10 Monate niedrig. Wenn die Menschen endlich erkennen, dass sie nie wieder erhöhen wird der Boden wird fallen von der US-Dollar. Remember was Passiert auf der Börse, nachdem sie aufgeworfen 25 Sie wollen nicht, dass wieder riskieren. Hi Garth Was Sie vorschlagen, um die feste Einkommensseite z. B. wenn Sie etwas wie das kanadische Couch Potato Portfolio haben, wäre Ihr festes Einkommen eine ETF wie die VAB. Would diese Übergewicht Sie in kanadischen Exposition Haben Sie eine andere ETF für feste Einkommen würden Sie empfehlen oder zumindest markieren ein paar und lassen Sie uns unsere eigenen Schlussfolgerungen ziehen. 24 gesunden Menschenverstand am 04 19 16 um 6 48 Uhr. 200 Sonnenschirm Warum geh nicht voll Berka wie mich. 25 gesunden Menschenverstand am 04 19 16 at 6 50 pm. Nice zu sehen, erwähnte die Realität des demografischen Faktors gerade erst an, um es den Kopf um die Welt zurückzukehren. Japan, China, Kanada, Europa Blick nach Indien, wo ihre demographische Chart umgekehrt verglichen wird zu uns. 16 Irish Stew am 04 19 16 um 6 29 Uhr Was treibt der CDN-Dollar bis zum US-Dollar jemand kennt die Vorhersage für das Jahr CND nicht nach oben, 27 Bolton McKague am 04 19 16 at 6 52 pm. Stay rechts ausgeglichen und du wirst super sicher mit deinen Investitionen sein Nehmen Sie größere Risiken und Sie könnten einen größeren oder kleinen Keks bekommen Global Warming bringt Chancen für Kanada, wie mehr Leute hierher kommen wollen Flucht aus der Hitze Bullish für Kanada langfristig. Just getopft die Harley mit antiquierten alten fossilen Brennstoff, und wenn globale Temperaturen gehen und bleiben dort zweifelhaft, bedeutet es mehrere weitere Monate des Reitwetters Gonna be eine Weile, bevor Batterien Gas ersetzen, wenn Jemals Junk Science, Climate Depot und zahlreiche andere unabhängige Quellen bieten ein erfrischendes Gegenmittel gegen Regierungs-MSM-generierte Klima-Geschichten. 13 High Energy Star Stuff am 04 19 16 at 6 15 pm. No wonder yer knusprig und faltig SPF 200 ist wo ist es jetzt. Ist es Bitumen Vielleicht eine neue Zukunft für Alberta Sie haben dort Green Bitumen SPF 500 schönen Ring zu it. We Haben 25 000 neue Flüchtlinge und eine 30 Millionen Dollar Fluggesellschaft Rechnung Hunderte, wenn nicht Tausende von Aborigine Kanadier sind in bedauernswerten Bedingungen verlassen und seit Jahren Nicht ganz die Arbeit von T2 und seine Mannschaft aber eine Krise genau das Gleiche T2 versprach mehr Geld für diese Fragen während seiner Kampagne, aber Aktionen sprechen lauter als Worte Lassen Sie uns hoffen, dass es produktive Versprechen, sowie Praxis und nicht nur eine Anfrage auf dem Weg zu bestimmen, wo das ganze Geld ging. 31 Für diejenigen, die auf 04 19 16 um 7 11 Uhr schwimmen. Als ich den Titel Crispy sah, dachte ich, dass du einen Beitrag über Christy Clarke und die BC Liberalen schreiben würdest und dann erinnerte ich mich, dass wir unsere politischen Führer hier nicht verspotten. Ich habe den Metrosexual Messiah, Lego Head und die Cheshire Cat, um mich hier zu unterstützen. 16 Irish Stew am 04 19 16 um 6 29 Uhr Was treibt der CDN-Dollar gegenüber dem US-Dollar an, manche kennen die Prognosen für das Jahr. Kanadischen Dollar ist, weil Öl ist viel von den Tiefen und weil es über-shot auf den Nachteil auf niedrigem Öl. Predictions es wird schwanken. Welder wird konsequent auf das Spiel der Vorhersage der Währungsbewegungen Besser zu reagieren als voraussagen. Wenn Sie Haben 30 in den USA und unsere Dollar fällt Sie ernten Gewinne zu rebalance Wenn es steigt viel Sie versuchen, wieder auf 30 durch die Übertragung von Investitionen Formular kanadischen zu US-Dollar. Halten Sie im Auge die Währungs-Exposition eines Unternehmens kommt von wo es verdient seine Geld nicht wo es handelt Ein paar große kanadische Unternehmen verdienen die meisten ihres Geldes in den USA und sollten wirklich als US-Dollar-Exposition betrachtet werden. 33 Gib uns diesen Blog unsere tägliche Garth am 04 19 16 um 7 11 Uhr. duallies mit nutz Ich liebe Garth sprechen. Jede Zeit sehe ich ein Paar von diesen im Verkehr, hängen hinter einem übergroßen LKW wie die Größe seiner Abholung war nicht schon Overkill Ich denke, ok, wer bist du, Mann Keine Schande, was auch immer.30 Millionen Dollar Fluggesellschaft Rechnung für 25000 Flüchtlinge ist ein Deal. Aus Syrien, und vorausgesetzt, dass das Flugzeug tot-headed leer ein Weg, das s fast unter der durchschnittlichen Sitzmeile Kosten Der meisten Fluggesellschaften. Was ist das Fahren der CDN-Dollar bis vs US-Dollar jedermann know. Global Makro Faktoren und inländischen Wohnungspreis-Rückgang-führte deflationäre Kräfte. Ich gebe jährliche Vorhersagen können in eine Menge Ärger für das, aber die CAD Irgendwann wird es wert sein 1 3 - 1 5 USD an einem gewissen Punkt in der Zukunft Eine Umkehrung der Umstände, die den USD verursacht 1 1 - 1 5 CAD. 35 Für diejenigen, die auf 04 19 16 um 7 19 Uhr. Nice Arbeit Shawn, Sie wouldn t passieren, um irgendeine freie Zeit zu haben, um VREU mit ihren Charts zu helfen würde Sie. Die Farbe und die Organisation, die ich mich gewarnt habe. Ich bin Investiert in Solarenergie auf diese Art und Weise So weit ist es sehr gut geklappt und sicherlich zu verbessern, wie Sonnenenergie in hohen Gang kommt. Wir waren immer eine Ressource Wirtschaft Wir sind das zweitgrößte Land, so dass ich vermute, Land ist eine Ressource Wir werden nur Verkaufe das für den Rest der Welt für die nächsten 50 Jahre. 38 Für diejenigen, die auf 04 19 16 um 7 24 Uhr machen.4 gesunden Menschenverstand am 04 19 16 at 6 48 pm 13 High Star. 200 Sonnenschirm Warum nicht gehen Full Berka wie ich. White Berka Ich würde nicht schwarz werden Sie werden von innen gekocht werden. Maybe Ich werde es versuchen, mit einigen Popcorn in meiner Tasche. Intel Schneiden 10 Prozent ihrer Mitarbeiter Wahrscheinlich klug zu bewerten Ihre Tech-Betriebe und jettison die überteuert poo, dass Sie Geld gemacht. Invest die Erträge in Kanada, wie es Impuls hat Wir konnten sehen, die dollarette steigen weitere 3 Prozent vor dem Pendel schwingt in die andere Richtung. Ja, ich liebe es zu radeln und ausarbeiten Aber Ich bin auch ein verdorbener Boomer, in der Mitte des Boomer-Zyklus Ein klimatisiertes Auto, mit Kreuzfahrt, Neigung teleskopische Lenkung, Fernstarter mit Stromeingang Fenster und natürlich ein klimatisierter Wohnsitz, mit Tiefgarage und Fitnessraum vor Ort Werde ein Teil meiner Notwendigkeiten Lucky ich Ich bin gesegnet Ich bekomme sogar aus meinem Heimbüro zu arbeiten Kein Boss, keine Frau, keine Mitarbeiter Perfekt Das ist meine 1 Regel meines 2 Regel Lebensstil Kümmern Sie sich um mich und helfen anderen Sehr Sehr wichtig Je besser ich in der Lage bin Um mich selbst zu betreuen, desto besser kann ich anderen helfen Ich brauche beide glücklich zu sein Ich weiß, dass ich es seit Jahrzehnten getan habe. Ja Globale Erwärmung ist eine Realität So sicher wie die Tatsache, dass Toronto und Vancouver eine beängstigende RE-Korrektur haben werden Für Hunderttausende von Menschen Immer schmerzhaft, um Blasen Pop zu sehen Auch wenn ich davon profitieren Wie immer. Selling, Managing, Vermietung und Leasing Real Estate. Rainclouds am 04 19 16 um 6 34 Uhr gefragt. Um mit Kontext zu helfen Wissen, was ist der historische Durchschnitt als BIP für RE Selling, Managing, Mieten und Leasing. Good Punkt, es war sehr groß für die ganze Zeit habe ich es verfolgt, die im Jahr 2007 begann Es wurde mit Finance und Versicherung zusammen kombiniert Sie waren 20 bis 21, und das hat sich nicht geändert. Halten Sie daran, diese Verkauf, Verwaltung, Vermietung und Leasing Immobilien bei etwa 13 des BIP und das ist die größte Komponente des BIP EXKLUSIVE die tatsächliche Bau dieser Immobilien. So, real Nachlass ist riesig Ist das eine Überraschung Vielleicht nicht W Henne war ich in etwa Klasse 1 wir wurden gelehrt, dass die drei Grundlagen des Lebens waren Essen, Kleidung und Schutz. Wenn Sie darüber nachdenken Immobilien ist die definierende gemeinsame Merkmal jeder städtischen Lage Was ist eine Stadt aber Immobilien So ja, real Nachlass ist riesig. Der folgende Link gibt Daten zurück zu 1997, wenn Sie die richtigen Optionen wählen. Or Google CANSIM Tabelle 379-0031 und klicken Sie dann auf den Link, um Daten zu entfernen.27 Grad hier in Red Deer Albert. Having bewegt hier im Januar für Regierung Arbeit kann ich nicht glauben, das Wetter im Vergleich zu Toronto und die meisten der Einheimischen haben festgestellt, wie seltsam es ist, diese Art von Temperaturen zu dieser Zeit des Jahres haben Mit unserer 8 3 Prozent Arbeitslosenquote können viele Menschen auch die Hitze genießen. Ich verstehe nicht, warum jemand zu Hauseigentum eine Priorität in ihrem Leben machen würde Ich vermute es s, weil sie es als einen Weg zum Reichtum sehen Was Sie tun sollten, ist herauszufinden, was Sie wirklich wollen, denn wenn Sie weg weg Kapital Anerkennung von housin wegstreifen G Ich kann wetten, dass die meisten gewann t Lust für it. Ich will 300k ein Jahr für den Rest meines Lebens Inflation beruhigt, ohne zu arbeiten Arbeit und bevor ich traf 55 Das ist ein sehr klares Ziel, ich weiß, wie groß mein Portfolio sein muss und Welche Rückkehr ich brauche Mit klaren Zielen mache dich fokussiert und sobald du einen Weg zu deinem Ziel gezeichnet hast, ist der Rest nur Lärm. Je früher du planst, desto leichter ist es zu erreichen Ich habe 20 Jahre, um dorthin zu kommen und ich bin weiter voraus als ich Vorgestellt Ein Leben der Knechtschaft ist kein Leben überhaupt. 44 Für diejenigen, die auf 04 19 16 um 7 46 Uhr zu schwimmen. Hey Common, das ist ein Bild von mir in 50-Grad-Wetter in Eygpt. Ich hätte wahrscheinlich verdeckt haben, aber dann hätte ich nicht wie ein Tourist ausgesehen. 45 Steerage Steward am 04 19 16 at 7 46 pm.270 Seite Regierungsbericht detailliert, was wir erwarten können, entlang der Küsten um 2100 infolge des Klimawandels. Nicht zu besorgt über Gehäuse unter Wasser als Mieter können immer bewegen, aber die Jahre Der Freizeit-Sockey-Angeln kann nummeriert werden. Ich bin einverstanden Klimawandel ist echt unvermeidlich Ich würde vermuten, wie es ausspielen würde, ist die heißen Gebiete heißer und trockener Küstengemeinden werden mit steigenden Meeresspiegel bedroht werden. In diesem Szenario könnten die USA mehr als leiden Kanada als die bevölkerten östlichen Seeküste Überschwemmungen und der Süd-Süd-West wird Dürre geschlagen Es kann eine Möglichkeit, dass Kanada könnte ein Netto-Vorteil, weil vielleicht einige der nördlichen Landgebiete könnte warm genug, um arable Das wäre, wenn die USA sendet In den Marines werden wir zum 52. Staat. GDP und Reichtum Schöpfung. Wenn wir auf dem Thema sind, war ich vor kurzem wieder Lesung Adam Smith s Reichtum der Nation und er sagte, dass zurück im Jahr 1776 dort w Als eine Theorie, die in Frankreich besonders populär war, dass alle wahren Reichtum nur aus der Landwirtschaft Fertigung kam, sagte, um keinen wirklichen Reichtum hinzuzufügen. Dies war, weil der Boden selbst produziert landwirtschaftlichen Reichtum während die Herstellung nur produziert, was Menschen in setzen. Heute, viele denken, dass Herstellung und Bergbau und Ölproduktion und so produziert alle wahren Reichtum, während Dienstleistungen nicht produzieren realen Reichtum. Das ist nicht richtig, Dienstleistungen produzieren realen Reichtum. Still können wir nicht eine starke Wirtschaft durch einfach zahlen einander, um sich gegenseitig zu reiben Füße Es könnte lustig sein, für eine Weile zu versuchen. Andere denken, dass Exporte entscheidend sind, um Reichtum zu produzieren Das kann leicht falsch sein, indem man einfach beobachtet, dass die Erde wohlhabend ist, aber Exporte absolut nichts. Produzieren irgendetwas von Wert, alles andere wird für produziert Reichtum . 48 Imalwaysright auf 04 19 16 um 7 53 pm. At purishish Debit-Maschine innerhalb Bank letzte Woche, Teller half ältere Dame Arbeit ging in den Verkauf Modus erzählt Senior über Mitarbeiter Rate Hypotheken bei 2 Prozent im Falle ihrer Kinder brauchen eine Hypothek Wrinkly sagte Ihre Kinder waren aufgestellt, aber sie dachte daran, ein Haus selbst zu kaufen. Sie drängte 70 Ich ging weg zu diesem Punkt Heute habe meine Mitarbeiterin in Scotia erneuert, sagte ich ihm über 2 Prozent Geschichte, fragte ihn, was er erneuerte und er didn T know. Re 25.000 Syrer In ein paar Jahren, als diese Flüchtlinge sich niederlassen und die Staatsbürgerschaft gewinnen, welche Partei sie denken, dass sie stimmen werden, Freiwilligenarbeit und Fundraising für provinziell und föderativ. Ein weiterer Tag der bescheidenen Gewinne auf Wall St One würde annehmen Mit dem fallenden, alle Doom Düster sprechen wir würden verkauft gebrauchten LKW Nutz, und missbrauchte alte Fords. NOT beschlossen, Bank ein paar nicht-hart verdient heute verkaufen weg von einigen dieser Mist Ich kaufte, wenn die Märkte tanken im Januar Feb. Habe 12 mal die GIC s jährlich r Eturns in unter 3 Monaten. Thank Sie für Panik verkaufen, es s saugt wie Sie, die für Wiesel geezers wie mich bezahlen. So wird einige als CASH kurzfristige Steuersätze zu nehmen, aber das ist ok, für die neuen Prime 2 Lose hier in bezahlen Stadt Vielleicht wird dieser Ort in den nächsten HOT RE Markt verwandeln. Nein, denke an den Bau eines netten Zwillingshauses 3 Bett, 2 Bad, geezer freundliches Gelenk, wo ich und die Squeeze auf einer Seite leben, und eine anständige junge Familie kann die andere mieten Mit einer guten Pause in der Miete für Wartungsarbeiten Wenn nicht, dann mieten Sie es auf dem Markt, und mieten Sie die Aufgaben So oder so bin ich gut mit ihm. Fun Tag, Lou ein neuer Freund feierte ihren 73. Geburtstag und war in guter Stimmung Ich bin wirklich Genießen Sie diesen Ruhestand Gig, desto mehr bekomme ich in ein Ein Wort der Vorsicht, wie Sie es nähern, seien Sie schuldenfrei, mit einem schönen Nest Ei in der Bank Niemand gibt einen Damm, wenn Sie besitzen oder mieten Niemand wird Ihren Ruhestand entweder subventionieren Gov t ist kaputt Keine neuen Steuern Keine neuen Vorteile Gewöhnen Sie sich an dieses Denken, die Rentner werden wahrscheinlich nicht helfen r Aise viele steuern nach vorn Warum würden sie. Simulierte duallies und plastik nutz Wie ich für die guten alten Tage der hinteren Flügel auf Civics sehnte, waren die unschuldigen Zeiten. Ihre Blogposten über Ihre Speicheröffnung sind weit weniger deprimierend Wie über einen Pfosten auf dem an Hier oder welpen oder so was. 53 TurnerNation am 04 19 16 um 8 07 Uhr. Auf dem einen klaren Himmel Tag, den wir jede Woche nach oben schauen und die wolkigen Spuren zerstreuen und uns diesen Dunst durch die Uhr geben. Es ist nicht Autos Es ist kein Kohlenstoff Rolling zurück zum Steinzeit ist ihr Ziel 3. Welt Länder werden bombardiert Wir werden ökonomisch bombardiert. 54 Gebratene Gonaden am 04 19 16 um 8 07 Uhr. How s der Hummer fahren Sie verwenden Biokraftstoffe oder konvertiert es in eine elektrische Version mit Sonnenkollektoren auf dem Dach. Bandit zieht es Garth. Love meine Kia auf 04 19 16 bei 6 41 Pm 30 Millionen Dollar Fluggesellschaft Rechnung für 25000 Flüchtlinge ist ein Deal. Harper ging zu sehen, ein Hockey-Spiel in Boston auf Militärflugzeuge kostet uns 10 großartig eine Stunde Ich hoffe, dass das Spiel didn t in Überstunden Der Kerl liebte Hockey so viel, was ich mir vorstellen würde Seine Liebe zum Spiel kostete uns mehr als 30 Millionen. Justifying fragwürdige Ausgaben von einem Politiker durch den Vergleich es mit fragwürdigen Ausgaben von einem anderen ist ein Fehler Garth. One Kosten ist auf humanitäre Notwendigkeit basiert, die andere ist reine unverfälschte Freude Einer ist gerechtfertigt, die Andere ist nicht. Und welche Kategorie würde dies sein. 56 gesunden Menschenverstand am 04 19 16 um 8 12 Uhr. Cool Bild I m ruf dich DIME HEAD von nun an. Ja, wenn weg als Tourist, könnte genauso gut gehen voller Touristen und Zumindest kleide den Teil an. 34 Mark auf 04 19 16 at 7 18 pm. I don t geben jährliche Vorhersagen können in eine Menge Ärger für das bekommen, aber die CAD wird schließlich wert 1 3- 1 5 USD an einem gewissen Punkt in der Zukunft Eine Inversion der Umstände, die den USD im Wert von 1 3- 1 5 CAD veranlassten. Ich gehe auf ein Glied und sage, dass die Buschliga-Loonie niemals wieder auf oder über dem Niveau des Green Buck. BS am 04 19 16 sein wird 8 10 pm Liebe meine Kia auf 04 19 16 at 6 41 pm 30 Millionen Dollar Fluggesellschaft Rechnung für 25000 Flüchtlinge ist ein Deal. Harper ging, um ein Hockey-Spiel in Boston auf Militärflugzeugen kostet uns 10 große eine Stunde Ich hoffe, dass das Spiel didn T gehen in Überstunden Der Kerl liebte Hockey so sehr würde ich mir vorstellen, seine Liebe für das Spiel kostete uns mehr als 30 Millionen. Justifying fragwürdige Ausgaben von einem Politiker durch den Vergleich mit fragwürdigen Ausgaben von einem anderen ist ein Fehler Garth. One Kosten ist auf humanitäre Notwendigkeit, das andere ist reine unverfälschte Freude Einer ist gerechtfertigt, der andere ist nicht. Und welche Kategorie würde Das bin ich. Ich bin überrascht, dass du das nicht weißt. 59 PeterfromCalgary am 04 19 16 um 8 33 pm. Kohlenstoff Steuern sind nur eine andere Steuer, die nichts zum Schutz der Umwelt macht. 60 Für diejenigen, die auf 04 19 16 um 8 34 Uhr flopieren. Die Waldbrände in Alberta müssen ein unerwünschter Aufwand für die Provinz während dieses Abschwungs sein. Elektrische Autoverkäufe FALLING vs gas. That war nur 0 4 der Rekord 17 4 Millionen Autos verkauften in den Vereinigten Staaten im Jahr 2015 Werfen Sie in die Hybriden, und die Elektro-Automobilindustrie s Umsatz belief sich auf 498.426 im vergangenen Jahr, aber das war noch nur 2 9 des Marktes. Darüber hinaus der Umsatz der Branche und Marktanteil fiel aus 2014, als der Umsatz 570.945 betrug und entfielen 3 5 der gesamten US-Auto-Käufe. 62 WalMark von Sadkatoon am 04 19 16 um 8 43 pm. This Woche habe ich endlich 1m usd in meinem Aktienportfolio getroffen Mit der Zeit ein Jahrzehnt der weiteren Investition und Rückkehr kann es sogar übertreffen meine C01 und C02 Haus portfolio. congrats schöne Arbeit. 63 Gebratene Gonaden am 04 19 16 um 8 45 Uhr. 34 Mark am 04 19 16 um 7 18 Uhr. Was ist das Fahren der CDN-Dollar bis vs US-Dollar jedermann wissen. Globale Makrofaktoren und inländischen Wohnungspreis-Rückgang-führte deflationäre Kräfte. Ich tue jährliche Vorhersagen können in eine Menge Ärger für das bekommen, aber das CAD wird schließlich wert sein 1 3- 1 5 USD irgendwann in der Zukunft Eine Umkehrung der Umstände, die den USD verursacht haben 1 1 - 1 5 CAD. WOW, nur WOW, was für ein Heuler Das kann eine hundertjährige Vorhersage sein und du wirst immer noch Sei spektakulär falsch 64 WalMark von Sadkatoon am 04 19 16 um 8 45 pm. Was ist das Fahren der CDN Dollar bis vs US-Dollar jemand know. gdp, Job Wachstum, BoC, Öl. 65 Gebratene Gonaden am 04 19 16 um 8 47 Uhr. 53 TurnerNation am 04 19 16 um 8 07 Uhr. Auf dem einen klaren Himmel Tag, den wir jede Woche nach oben schauen und die wolkigen Spuren zerstreuen und uns diesen Dunst durch die Uhr geben. Es ist nicht Autos Es ist kein Kohlenstoff Rolling zurück zum Steinzeit ist ihr Ziel 3. Welt Länder werden bombardiert Wir werden ökonomisch bombardiert Nicht der Chemtrail Mist wieder. 66 WalMark von Sadkatoon am 04 19 16 um 8 47 pm. Die Hoasing-Markt in Victoria ist auf Feuer 2016 wird ein scorcher. seems wie es Victoria und Kelowna next. Good Post außer für die unnötigen Jab bei der Premierminister Sie zu lernen haben Um das zu gehen Ich bin nicht einverstanden mit den meisten von dem, was du sagst, aber zumindest ist es interessant zu lesen, ich kaufe einzelne Aktien nicht Indizes, und meine Betriebe sind weitgehend kanadischen, aber kanadischen Unternehmen, die Geschäfte mit den USA und dem Rest der Welt machen , Also betrachte ich sie globale Unternehmen Wenn Sie einzelne Aktien kaufen, können Sie Ihre Zuteilung auf Dinge wie Energie kontrollieren Ich bin auch nicht einverstanden, dass Energieverbrauch geht noch Milliarden von niedrigen Einkommen Menschen in Indien, China usw., die sich bemühen, in die Mittelklasse zu bewegen, Das bedeutet mehr Energieverbrauch, auch wenn wir effizienter werden werden. Und alle diese Falten werden die Hitze auf 90 ansteigen, wenn sie alt werden, also nat Gas muss spitzen Und all jene Millenials werden aufwachsen und heiraten, Kinder haben und Fahrzeuge kaufen Hat sich nicht verändert Ted die Kurve zu einem etwas älteren Alter, das ist alles Mehr Interesing Post als die typischen RE Post tho, das s sicher, dass Sie nur sagen können, die gleiche Sache so viele Möglichkeiten, bevor es sich wiederholt, repetitive, repetitive. 68 WalMark von Sadkatoon am 04 19 16 um 8 49 pm. One Kosten basiert auf humanitärer Notwendigkeit, die andere ist reine unverfälschte Vergnügen. Wenn humanitäre Notwendigkeit ist ein Ziel dann Aboriginals haben sie. 69 WalMark von Sadkatoon am 04 19 16 um 8 51 pm. I don t geben jährliche Vorhersagen können in eine Menge Ärger für die. agreed cuz sie ve alle falsch. Ich schätze die ausgewogene Ansatz, dass Sie Garth und für die meisten dies zu fördern Wird sie gut als der Kern ihres Investmentportfolios dienen Öl und Gas EP Cos werden zunehmend als Trades betrachtet, anstatt für ihre langfristigen Perspektiven, und das heißt, eine grüne Alternative ist schwierig, aber nicht unmöglich und viele haben nicht das Verlangen Breitgraben Besonders solar Jedoch, wer auf eine grüne, locker angewandte Investitionsalternie sucht, sollte Uran und die Nuklearindustrie im Allgemeinen betrachten. Die Fukushima-Katastrophe schickte den ganzen Sektor in die Toilette und der Markt ist seitdem weit überdosiert und diese Situation bleibt intakt 440 kommerzielle Kernkraftwerke weltweit, die 11 der globalen Stromnachfrage liefern, und in den nächsten 5 Jahren werden es über 550 kommerzielle Reaktoren Japa N hat den Neustart von 5 seiner Reaktoren mit 19 anhängigen behördlichen Genehmigung genehmigt Inzwischen ist der Preis für Uran U3O8 Handel bei 10-Jahres-Tiefs, nach 80 von seinem 2007 hoch Weltweit ist Kanada der zweitgrößte U3O8-Produzent Die Aktienkurse kommen gerade zurück Leben nach Jahren der Malaise Es sieht aus wie die Unterseite ist endlich in und es gibt eine sinnvolle Marge der Sicherheit für diejenigen, die bereit sind, eine Position zu nehmen Kauf, wenn seine Ruhe, verkaufen, wenn es ein Aufruhr. 71 VERLUST DER GEMEINSCHAFT am 04. 19 16 um 8 52 Uhr. SAME DING IST IN VANCOUVER, VERLUST DER GEMEINSCHAFT UND KÜNSTLER. Oh gut, Banken scheinen gute Geschäfte zu machen Schauen Sie, was kanadische Westbank TSE CWB hat heute 6 58.Einmal Tag mein kids will thank me for putting it into their RESP. Still lotsa cheap stuff to buy on our domestic market, with low multiples and high div yields I m not worried about the future of maple. 36 Ronaldo on 04 19 16 at 7 21 pm I am investing in solar energy in this fashion So far it s worked out very well and surely to improve as solar energy gets into high gear. Check out SUNE biggest solar power company on the planet Was 36 and now it s 30 cents on the verge of BK in less than a year. 74 Red Deer Rob on 04 19 16 at 8 57 pm. Yes, it s perfect weather for being out of work Gives me time to work on my tan. 75 WalMark of Sadkatoon on 04 19 16 at 8 57 pm. I am going to go out on a limb and say that the bush league loonie will never again be at or over par with the Green Buck. savvy of blog dogs made out like bandits when the usdcad rose from 1 13 to 1 45 and called it all the way many then pocketed the gains once it bounced to 1 4.during that time others made the opposite prediction and made nothing haha. 76 Damper Closed on 04 19 16 at 9 03 pm. Like a duel between rival street gangs, two Chinese construction firms have taken their feud to the streets. 77 Roasted gonads on 04 19 16 at 9 09 pm. Hey Dime Head Flopper is this you too.44 For those about to flop on 04 19 16 at 7 46 pm. Hey Common, this is a picture of me in 50 degree weather in Eygpt. I probably should have covered up but then I wouldn t have looked like a tourist. Good luck with your new General Store business Garth Did you have to do extensive work on the foundation That is quite the crack that developed are you going to sell cauliflower. Did you not notice the cauliflower caulking Garth. I did actually Hey, if you want to make some bank on the ice cream end of it consider selling this flavor. 80 Damper Closed on 04 19 16 at 9 26 pm. More on refugees from Craza Erza. Others think that exports are crucial to produce wealth That can be easily proved false by simply observing that the earth is wealthy but exports absolutely nothing. Nice That s a good one Never thought about it that way. 82 WalMark of Sadkatoon on 04 19 16 at 9 37 pm. WOW, just WOW, what a howler That can be a hundred year prediction and you ll still be spectacularly wrong. youre new to all his wrong calls over the years are you lol. hint when he s wrong, he says it was a multi-decade call lol. see Barrick, gold, deflation, YVR YYZ real estate, gold, blackberry, bombardier, usdcad, etc. 83 WalMark of Sadkatoon on 04 19 16 at 9 38 pm. my buddy and I are looking at real estate but not where u guys think. I thought the reason that it took Yellen so long to make that 1st measly 25 increase was because she wanted to wait until the path was clear to consistently raise rates 4 times per year for the next 3-4 years and this was all priced into the market. What the heck happened s. That sounds like the Ontarian version of Quebec s Plan Nord in other words, political bluffery to inspire short-term voter satisfaction It will cost a fortune to launch, yet will never take off or amount to much other than new debt for provi ncial taxpayers. 86 Gerald Bootler on 04 19 16 at 9 54 pm. Sure warming right only since the wack job president Obama has been allowed his pet legacy project to keep a boot to the idea Otherwise the climate change thing is a massive fraud covered up by the lack of El Nino recognition no sun spots same science you re alluding to points towards the resumption of a massive cooling trend into what could become decades perhaps centuries of global cooling and the trillion dollars Obama spent on his legacy will be just another fools errand for us tax payers. The global warming BS promoted by Obama has been hijacked by those who want to shut down wall st etc s all been a shiitte campaign. 87 Bank of Millennial on 04 19 16 at 9 57 pm. Check out what just happened with the house flogging Love it or List it. 88 For those about to flop on 04 19 16 at 10 00 pm. 82 WalMark of Sadkatoon on 04 19 16 at 9 38 pm my buddy and I are looking at real estate but not where u guys think. There is plenty of vacant real estate between your ears. Manitoba Election Results Come In and The Orange Sweep Continues. 90 Ace Goodheart on 04 19 16 at 10 15 pm. Well it s finally happened. The million dollar Mount Dennis house Unthinkable just a few short years ago, back when we were still as unfashionable as the Junction used to be. The last affordable neighbourhood in Toronto is quickly becoming a home to McMansions, Lexi is that a word, plural of Lexus and fast walking people who love Starbucks. If the Feds really do borrow 125 billion, then they are going to print 125 billion to pay it back When that happens, you do not want to be heavily exposed to cash No matter what interest rates end up doing.89 Harbour Correction WINNIPEG Manitoba s Progressive Conservatives stormed to power Tuesday with a majority that ends 16 years of NDP government in the province. 25 common sense on 04 19 16 at 6 50 pm Nice to see mentioned the reality of the demographic factor just starting to rear it s head around the world. Japan, China, Canada, Europe look to India where their demographic chart is inverted compared to us. Nigeria Average age is 18 and has been holding steady for years. 93 PRESIDENT TRUMP on 04 19 16 at 10 26 pm. The Trump train rolls on. 91 Brydle604 on 04 19 16 at 10 19 pm. Sorry, don t know what my Facebook bud was posting then. There is plenty of vacant real estate between your ears. Lol, hilarious But on a more serious note, he alleges that I ve recommended the purchase of individual securities He alleges that I ve recommended the purchase of certain forex positions I have done nothing of the sort I ve certainly discussed macro factors, but have not given timeframes. Curiously he conveniently forgets to remember that I pushed the deflationary thesis and lower interest rates in Canada even when it was completely unpopular and unheard of in the mainstream community Probably almost got banned by Garth a few times on such account as well I called the top of the Canadian RE market 3 years ago which, in hindsight, proved to be remarkably accurate, coincident with the CMHC changes of Budget 2013 And he might be interested to know that I actually did go long USD during the slide reversing my position from the 1 10 area that I rode down to 1 2 , selling it recently and completely recovering my losses and locking in a very competitive cost base for the rest of my USD short exposure. Not only that, but I implicitly pounded the table for the precious metals miners a few months ago The results over the past 2 months have been nothing less than spectacular as it is becoming increasingly widely acknowledged that the global economy suffers severe overcapacity. But anyways, this isn t about ego WalMark wants it to be, but its really not Its a discussion board to discuss the RE bubble, and the profound implications of its collapse, being over-exposed to RE, and being unbalanced in one s portfolio I happen to think that Garth gives us the dogs a pretty long leash, but some dogs certainly abuse the privilege to quite an unfortunate extent. 96 Apocalypse2016 on 04 19 16 at 11 00 pm. GLOBAL HEALTH ALERT. Good on you, Garth, for challenging the climate change deniers Within a decade, two at most, the climate disaster will be the story of our lives If we live that long. But right now, we face a monumental health crisis for which we are totally unprepared The Zika virus is spreading exponentially, doubling every week in Brazil and Puerto Rico. And it is NOW IN CANADA. This does not just affect fetuses It can severely disable and kill adult humans There is no cure, not even a vaccine for it. It is spreading faster than any sickness in recent human memory This, combined with political chaos, will destabilize and possibly destroy the Rio Olympics. This is microcephaly, and a lot more Doubling, growing exponentially every week, and the best scientists have no clue how it is doing that. The world is facing a major disruption, just days and weeks from now. However, the microcephaly will be barely noticeable in this comments section, with all the realtors and climate change deniers already on here. 97 TurnerNation on 04 19 16 at 11 03 pm. 65 Nope I walk to work every day and look upwards And in the pm Watch it and see You saying I m blind I tested 20 20 vision last year Not bad for age 40.Today I checked, 30-40 of people walking towards me had the telltale white earbuds in Hear no evil See no evil Bread and circuses.420 tomorrow Low productivity at Bay and King Bong water spilled on the snazzy carpets in the executive suites Party on 1 ers I ll bring the munchies. 99 For those about to flop on 04 19 16 at 11 05 pm. 95 Mark on 04 19 16 at 10 42 pm There is plenty of vacant real estate between your ears. Lol, hilarious But on a more serious note, he alleges that I ve recommended the purchase of individual securities He alleges that I ve recommended the purchase of certain forex positions I have done nothing of the sort I ve certainly discussed macro factors, but have not given timeframes. Curiously he conveniently forgets to remember that I pushed the deflationary thesis and lower interest rates in Canada even when it was completely unpopular and unheard of in the mainstream community Probably almost got banned by Garth a few times on such account as well I called the top of the Canadian RE market 3 years ago which, in hindsight, proved to be remarkably accurate, coincident with the CMHC changes of Budget 2013 And he might be interested to know that I actually did go long USD during the slide reversing my position from the 1 10 area that I rode down to 1 2 , selling it recently and completely recover ing my losses and locking in a very competitive cost base for the rest of my USD short exposure. Not only that, but I implicitly pounded the table for the precious metals miners a few months ago The results over the past 2 months have been nothing less than spectacular as it is becoming increasingly widely acknowledged that the global economy suffers severe overcapacity. But anyways, this isn t about ego WalMark wants it to be, but its really not Its a discussion board to discuss the RE bubble, and the profound implications of its collapse, being over-exposed to RE, and being unbalanced in one s portfolio I happen to think that Garth gives us the dogs a pretty long leash, but some dogs certainly abuse the privilege to quite an unfortunate extent. Calm down cowboy, don t go patting yourself on the back too hard you ll hurt your shoulder I thought I d help you out with Walmark since you took my Ross Kay joke like a champ You ve got the gift of the gab seriously been unemployed all that time Someone must have some use for you, even a call centre manager or something. Anyway don t you think you should ignore Walmark to get rid of him or can t you help yourself. We ll probably never be blog buddies but I will try to help you get rid of your cyst. You draw attention to yourself but you probably don t deserve to be stalked. So there yu hav it Medium price of homes in Vancouver to increase to 1 1 mil according to Mr Yu. Before everyone writes off oil they might want to check out what is happening with sunspot activity Apparently solar activity may be heading into what is known as a Maunder minimum Last time it happened 1645-1700 the Little Ice Age occurred A number of physicists have been studying solar activity have reason to believe the Earth is headed into a period of prolonged chill, which they expect to peak between the years 2030 to 2040.This doesn t mean that the global temperatures we are experiencing now is something we can afford to ignore Nor does it mean we shouldn t try to find better ways to provide the energy we require w o wrecking the planet Incidentally oil is used for far more than providing fuel heat So it will still be in demand for quite some time to come. 102 Fine Wild Roasted Gonads on 04 20 16 at 12 08 am. BLOGGER STUPIDITY ALERT 96 Apocalypse2016 on 04 19 16 at 11 00 pm. GLOBAL HEALTH ALERT. Good on you, Garth, for challenging the climate change deniers Within a decade, two at most, the climate disaster will be the story of our lives If we live that long. But right now, we face a monumental health crisis for which we are totally unprepared The Zika virus is spreading exponentially, doubling every week in Brazil and Puerto Rico. And it is NOW IN CANADA. This does not just affect fetuses It can severely disable and kill adult humans There is no cure, not even a vaccine for it. It is spreading faster than any sickness in recent human memory This, combined with political chaos, will destabilize and possibly destroy the Rio Olympics. This is microcephaly, and a lot more Doubling, growing exponentially every week, and the best scientists have no clue how it is doing that. The world is facing a major disruption, just days and weeks from now. However, the microcephaly will be barely noticeable in this comments section, with all the realtors and climate change deniers already on here. I called the top of the Canadian RE market 3 years ago which, in hindsight, proved to be remarkably accurate, coincident with the CMHC changes of Budget 2013.Many of us called a top for the RE market in 2013 on account of the CMHC changes but unlike you we have the integrity to admit that we were wrong You ve failed to convince anyone on this blog that prices have actually fallen or is it stagnated now from that point And yet you repeat this tirelessly as though it were fact Nobody s impressed. 104 Fine Wild Roasted Gonads on 04 20 16 at 12 17 am. 97 TurnerNation on 04 19 16 at 11 03 pm. 65 Nope I walk to work every day and look upwards And in the pm Watch it and see You saying I m blind I tested 20 20 vision last year Not bad for age 40.Today I checked, 30-40 of people walking towards me had the telltale white earbuds in Hear no evil See no evil Bread and circuses. Re 10 Brian Ripley on 04 19 16 at 6 10 pm. Real estate prices are falling sharply in Ottawa Many that couldn t sell are trying to rent their homes, apartments, or townhouses out A bad move in a falling market I couldn t make heads or tails of your charts. 70 Ontheledge on 04 19 16 at 8 51 pm. Uranium prices and the Baltic Dry Index can t be manipulated like everything else today The price of uranium is reflecting the true state of the world economy as is the Baltic Dry Index The smart money will be selling all commodities into October 03, 2016 and after the U S election this November not buying uranium. Geez man, do you know how many uses for oil there is Asphalt roads, plastics, lubricants, gasoline just to name a few What do you think you build solar panels with Oil There will always be a demand. If people don t think that natural climate change mixed with geoengineering, cloud seeding, global dimming, or whatever one wants to call what is going on in our skies isn t going to sucker punch humanity right in the face. Then I ll have what your having cause reality for future generations somewhat sucks right now. Anyways, I have abandon any hope for any sort of normalcy or rational thinking to take place. Interesting times filled with less inte resting people. While my balanced and diversified portfolio like the one Garth suggests has been churning along nicely, my tinfoil portfolio is knocking it outta the park lately Like I said normalcy and rational thinking in this world seem to be a lost art. Things are not what they seem and they are definitely not what we have been told or are being told. Us crazies are not so crazy, and I take no pride in saying so. Time will soon tell, but if this year s federal election south of the border is a prelude of what s to come. One might to try a little more understanding. 28 Alberta Ed on 04 19 16 at 6 54 pm The research from your independent sources are largely funded by the oil industry, and if you look close enough you ll see most of their work is not on target. Batteries are replacing gas model 3 a fully electric vehicle in case you didn t know presales will soon pass 400,000 That s 400,000 less cars not spewing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Think of it this way if we had actually wanted to warm our planet, what would be an excellent way to do it That s right, have everyone burn fossil fuels on a daily basis in their vehicles thus ramping up the greenhouse gases in our atmosphere. 7 I Love Charts The facts don t support your theory Canada has among the highest per capita immigration rates in the world, which has been the case for several decades If immigration causes prosperity then we should be the most prosperous country with the most robust economy on the planet by now, but we are not, and in fact are falling further behind Our federal government has committed to multi-year deficits in an effort to stimulate growth, while immigrant-rich Ontario has a serious structural deficit. As for the baby-boom generation distorting the demography of Japan with Canada and other western countries soon to follow this will gradually correct itself as most of the old people die off over the next 20 years the demographic pyramid will then re-assert a normal profile. While most of the rest of the country leaning left, Manitoba rolled back to the right PC majority Another example of tiredness for the reigning party NDP of 16 years , so out they go Interesting times ahead PC Leader Pallister not a union lover as one might guess I work in Health Care highly unionized, but I even think there might be some room to improve delivery of services over what the NDP were doing though I might be eating my words later. Amazing, alcohol withdrawal, my hands shaking like I m having an epileptic eposode in the poker room Totally mind fkd my opponents Walked away with 4 7g. They helped me stack my chips with every win Felt sorry for me My dealer so worried got security to come with a blood presure machine All was good. I forced down two beers which stopped the shaking. Had two cigarettes big mistake, my fever slayed that bastard addiction Guess you just can t change your programming that easily Going to work on it. Vegas tomorrow Area 51 on Friday I m crossing the line by two feet See if I get that 600 dollar fine from the camo dudes. Life is short Enjoy and push every moment. 113 Dennis Fremin on 04 20 16 at 2 41 am. Garth, the climate change scam has been an agenda driven fraud from the very beginning, beginning with the sustainable development funding debate Anyone with half a brain knows the truth about the 97 of scientists agree nonsense. The reality is that the climate change debate will go away as soon as Obama has the boot of the US government off which is months from now the so called crusaders will then become the criminals and that should be fun. 114 robot powered economy on 04 20 16 at 3 01 am. Producing anything of value, anything others will pay for produces wealth. Exactly Perfect pragmatism. I would add to do that with as little human labor as possible, as soon as possible. With this you have the most productive, most efficient, most profitable economy, that can make a country with low population the first nation where people don t have to work for living. This might be as revolutionary as manufacturing proved to be, although in the Bible of Capitalism, Adam Smith s book manufacturing was said not to add any real wealth. The next big step in economy is to switch from human powered economy to robot powered economy, as fully, as possible. A society where only the smartest people continue to work for living, because their knowledge is the most difficult to automate will unleash great additional creation of value. Automation has a long, proven, indisputable track record to do better, cheaper than human labor, where the technology is a dequate for a task Especially in the area of producing or servicing stuff. Additional benefit, that enabling people to do only what they like to do the most, driven out of passion, can create more commercial value of hobby activities than doing what they must do for living. Canada is extremely well positioned to get to this next economy.1 resources are available for the robot powered economy to create high value-added products, instead of low value-added raw material export.2 relatively educated population.3 close geo, political, cultural, economical, financial proximity to a leading tech and major consuming country, USA.4 low population, which is a huge advantage for this type of economy, especially in the transition period figuratively speaking, it is easier for the robots to provide fewer people with living income, while products, services can be exported to countries with large population. In a robot powered economy low population is a huge advantage, the exact opposite of human power ed economies.5 In a robot powered economy people can live happier life, that can reduce health care cost, offsetting the financial burden of an aging population.6 Robot powered economy is a broad socio-economical framework, yet gives fairly clear guideline that can create all the incentives to break down the goals to all sectors, for all actors of the economy, even at small business level. Politically it requires to break from all job creation programs, instead all these resources should go to robots and living income for people to make room for automation. Canada is just starting a big spending program to STIMULATE the economy to keep alive the human powered economy. This should be stopped and all the resources should be going to TRANSFORM from human powered economy to robot powered economy. What Canada does not have.1 Visionary political, economical leadership class 2 The entrepreneurial spirit and drive in Canada truly sucks compared to countries, like the US. 115 Bloke in England on 04 20 16 at 3 03 am. As far as oil CO2 green hysteria is concerned there must be some sort of political effort going on over here to raise the international virtue-signalling profile of your hip n handsome PM T2 s picture is oot and aboot above stories telling how he ll save the world, clad only in dark suit, shirt and tie, by pushing for ultra-rapid adoption of the terms of the Paris Agreement One more in the goolies for your oil patch. As for record temperatures hmm Maybe The world s not nearly as warm as a thousand years ago in between, it got much colder It repeats way back into prehistory The climate changes who knew Might be glad of all that oil one day. Any one seen The Loonie Watcher sure hope he s ok. I miss his wacky predictions. 117 Give us this Blog our daily Garth on 04 20 16 at 5 06 am. 89 Harbour on 04 19 16 at 10 11 pm Manitoba Election Results Come In and The Orange Sweep Continues it was gift wrapped by Selinger himself. 11 Surkman on 04 19 16 at 6 13 pm. So buy a house in Tofino, enjoy the heat, sell solar panels and learn to surf. Ever hear about melting ice. 119 Happy 420 to Everyone on 04 20 16 at 7 08 am. How about some investment advice for how to tap into the booming cannabis production and retail sectors across Canada. Are there ETFs or particular stocks you could recommend so blog dogs could profit from the coming upswing. We know Harper kicked you out of cabinet for showing up to your obedience training sessions totally wasted and high, and he really had no choice So get over it, let s move on and make money, dude. Have a spiffy, spliffy 420 everybody. mark is in the house, unencumbered. sm, 17 of people who drink alcohol abuse it, please stop it, you may have in the past and you do not drink now. it s a horrible disease and for you to get your jollies off of another s on you. 17 Toronto Dweller on 04 19 16 at 6 31 pm. And fellow Millenials can expect rising taxes, decreased services, and precarious employment and an insane housing market. Precarious employment and fire-hose spending by governments at all levels are the ones I m most concerned about, with precarious employment being by far the biggest concern. The future is not looking good no matter what media relations folk crank out It s a grinding, increasingly competitive labour market and will be for decades to come as good jobs continue to evaporate. Many millennials will never get off the ground financially, regardless of how much printed money is fire-hosed into the economy and actually getting a decent job will be like winning the lottery if that doesn t disappear soon after Multi-Mcjobs and premature ageing await. Job security is completely and utterly a thing of the past. Save like there s no tomorrow and push your wealth into the future, or live your fragile later years in misery. Far too many boomers are already there with many more to come Reverse mortgages and the consumer debt of seniors are on the rise The net benefits of borrowing to the economy no longer exist on any scale that makes a positive difference. There s almost nothing as frightening as poverty or its specter. 110 Frank, your take on demographics needs a bit of a reality check The oldest baby boomers are either 70 or will turn 70 this year Baby boom in Canada went to 1966 The youngest boomers are turning 50 this year With the exception of some global plague vide Spanish influenza cutting one heck of a swath in the numbers the old folks are still going to be around 20 years from now Granted, the oldest baby boomers will likely have thinned out quite a bit by then, but there will be plenty of younger boomers aging Gen x, y,z etc to take their place. As for Japan s wrinklies diminishing, it still shows as a global leader in aged population by the year 2050, with the rest of the world rapidly catching up Buy age related stocks, they are going to do very well Funeral homes too. 113 Dennis Fremin on 04 20 16 at 2 41 am Garth, the climate change scam has been an agenda driven fraud from the very beginning, beginning with the sustainable development funding debate Anyone with half a brain knows the truth about the 97 of scientists agree nonsense. The reality is that the climate change debate will go away as soon as Obama has the boot of the US government off which is months from so called crusaders will then become the criminals and that should be fun - Oh great Another non-scientist cited as an authority on science As for professor Happer, cited in the article. In December 2015 Happer was caught in a sting by the environmental activist group Greenpeace posing as consultants for a Middle Eastern oil and gas company, they asked Happer to write a report touting the benefits of rising carbon emissions Concerned that the report might not be trusted if it was known that it was commissioned by an oil company, Happer discussed ways to obscure the funding Happer asked tha t the fee be donated to the climate-change skeptic organization CO2 Coalition, who suggested he reach out to the Donors Trust, in order to keep the source of funds secret hiding funding in this way is lawful under US law Happer acknowledged that his report would probably not pass peer-review with a scientific journal 28.Say it with me slow We know what the properties of carbon are, and what effect they have in the atmosphere We can tell how much there was in the atmosphere before and how much there is now We ve come a long way, baby We know how much we, as humans, are adding to it and we know what a feedback loop is If you can wrap your head around compound interest this should be child s play. 124 crowdedelevatorfartz on 04 20 16 at 8 44 am. Yawn I m sorry Did you say something. 125 Dave in Kincardine on 04 20 16 at 8 56 amplaints about 30 mil to ship refugees here misses the point in my opinion We need a large and willing work force to support you old bastards in retirement with all the social programs health care, OAS, CPP, roads, muni taxes etc etc It is called a win win They get a life and Garth gets to retire with benefits Ship more. Traditionally newcomers have paid for their passage, or repaid it over time, as they become established and are able Garth. 114 robot powered economy. Robot powered ecomy is everywhere, not just in manufacturing, got there first in form of simple mechanical machines and progressed to programmable bit smarter machine Robots disrupt manual labour but it cat eliminate it 100 , at least not yet. Raw material cost and man hours to build something is usually constant, but labour cost, energy and business friendly jurisdiction are big variable Think like this plant in Mexico or china, probably uses same technology as one here but labour is way cheaper and you don t have to heat a building 4-5 months in a year And i am not to mention how lax are those two countrys are when it comes to environmental. Manufactiring start leaving Canada around same time when ATMs and kiosks started moving in Noone sow it coming robots full frontal assault on service industry, I don t think that anyone put anything quantifiable how much that it will cost society we live in I can go on how more and more difficult it will be to brake upward s from one social level to another, but that is something what each individual have to desire and starve for, it won t work for a group as a hole. One thing about Canada is that we really never experience real competition and now in last 2 decades we were cut of guard and we are not adapting fast enough. What I see as a big problem for my kids generation 10-13 is robot social industry, is people are socializing with echader using robots as a medium. And bigest problem is robot bartending, it scares a 7 out of me, where can I get an hour long shrink session for price of few beers. 127 This has to stop on 04 20 16 at 9 23 am. Dad Sir Garth , please make Mark stop. Robot Economy Good or Bad. Robot economy at 114 sees the good in this. Noname at 126 fears it. I have pointed out before, the obvious response to the jobless robot economy is to position yourself and your family as owners of the robots Meant here as a broad term covering all automated production and software that produces things and services with little to no labour. The investor class will be the winners Save and invest in equities now or end up on the wrong side of the future class divide. Be a winner or a whiner, it s your choice.23 Andrewt on 04 20 16 at 8 35 am 113 Dennis Fremin on 04 20 16 at 2 41 am Garth, the climate change scam has been an agenda driven fraud from the very beginning, beginning with the sustainable development funding debate Anyone with half a brain knows the truth about the 97 of scientists agree nonsense. The reality is that the climate change debate will go away as soon as Obama has the boot of the US government off which is months from so called crusaders will then become the criminals and that should be fun. Climate change is a 1 5 trillion dollar indus try world wide It s also a religion. On may 2 a documentary is coming out that will be responsable for the enlightenment of the masses. It s called climate hustle. How about some investment advice for how to tap into the booming cannabis production and retail sectors across Canada. Are there ETFs or particular stocks you could recommend so blog dogs could profit from the coming upswing. We know Harper kicked you out of cabinet for showing up to your obedience training sessions totally wasted and high, and he really had no choice So get over it, let s move on and make money, dude. Have a spiffy, spliffy 420 everybody If you really want to get in on the action, you can always partner up in a startup if you have the money to, ahem, burn. Garth I am very interested to know your though about bitgold its apparently a game changer. If this is true this has huge implications right around the world. If the general store doesn t work out, you could start a munitions and squirrel soup recipes e-store Just a link off this blog should suffice. 112 Smoking Man on 04 20 16 at 2 29 am. Amazing, alcohol withdrawal, my hands shaking like I m having an epileptic eposode in the poker room Totally mind fkd my opponents Walked away with 4 7g They helped me stack my chips with every win Felt sorry for me My dealer so worried got security to come with a blood presure machine All was good I forced down two beers which stopped the shaking Had two cigarettes big mistake, my fever slayed that bastard addiction Guess you just can t change your programming that easily Going to work on it Vegas tomorrow Area 51 on Friday I m crossing the line by two feet See if I get that 600 dollar fine from the camo dudes Life is short Enjoy and push every moment. We were all waiting for the real Smoking Man to reappear Ha that didn t take as long as we all thought Cigarettes first then a couple of beers Shouldn t take long for you to be back at the JD Have the video of you and your family at area 51. 134 robot powered economy on 04 20 16 at 10 10 am. 126 NoName on 04 20 16 at 9 03 am 114 robot powered economy. It is a matter of making a decision to chart the road ahead, like the US government did with the moon landing. Or as Elon Musk did on an individual entrepreneur level with Tesla and SpaceX. Canada could take this opportunity of dire straight to step back, think about the future. It is also possible to start to spend on stimulation , but money would be much better spent on transformation. Difficulty give us chance to learn and look for clarity, new, possibly different path for the future. The history of automation leaves no doubt where that path leads, we should accelerate transformation with all the resources we have, instead of dragging our feet and try to stimulate and waste the money, energy, opportunity, what accounts to trying to piss against the wind That will always get messy. We can create a new golden age with robot powered economy. It is hard to know how long that can last that will depend if the machines can ever gain self awareness. If when this happens, that s when we will be really screwed, there is no way that intelligent machines would ever accept and want to exist to be our slaves. But that s something for an other time. Right now, the next step is to make room for the robots to gradually take over all the chores they can do. We should embrace and support this transformation, becoming free from economically forced labor is the beginning of doing things not only fundamentally differently but possibly better. 135 Hot Albertan Money on 04 20 16 at 10 14 am. but it s time to load up on the SPF 30.Is that a new ETF. That chart is good, shows a very balanced economy It also kills the myth of the government dominating hiring looks to be about 6 of output as of March public admin made up 5 of the workforce, so they re outperforming. 137 robot powered economy on 04 20 16 at 10 18 am. 128 Shawn on 04 20 16 at 9 27 am. Robot Economy Good or Bad. Robot economy at 114 sees the good in this. Noname at 126 fears it. I have pointed out before, the obvious response to the jobless robot economy is to position yourself and your family as owners of the robots Meant here as a broad term covering all automated production and software that produces things and services with little to no labour. The investor class will be the winners Save and invest in equities now or end up on the wrong side of the future class divide. Be a winner or a whiner, it s your choice. That s the transition period. Eventually everybody will win, the full-blown robot powered economy will transform the entire society as we know it now, in ways we don t even imagine and anticipate now. I now, Vancouver is obsessed, blah blah blah. And yet Hmmm. How Corporate Directors Defer Income Tax. I was just noticing that one large Canadian company is paying its directors about 200k per year entirely in stocks or Deferred Stock Un its DSUs and the directors can choose which of the two they want. With the DSUs the directors pay no tax on the this compensation income each year and defer all the tax until they retire from the Board. The middle class think that the investor and corporate class are favored by the tax system If only they knew ALL the ways that is happening. I question the ethics of any company that facilitates its directors getting paid say 200k worth of deferred stock units per year for a part-time job thereby allowing the directors to defer all personal income taxes on this compensation for years Such directors receive no income and no compensation and therefore pay no tax When they receive the assets, they are taxed upon possession of them They are taxed further upon sale of the stocks That is unfair, how Garth. 5 Love my Kia on 04 19 16 at 5 58 pm You are forgetting about the massive Ring of Fire development in northern Ontario that contains everything from rare minerals to gold to iron in its reserves Just no oil which is fine. There still isn t a land route to it yet, but they re working on it. Make things as efficient as you want, there will always be a demand for things. Ring of Fire is going nowhere.60 Billion in minerals, nickel, which has struggled to stay over 4 00 lb on the LME the last few years It was at 3 00 in 1999, and 28 00 in 2008 IIRC , Chromium is in the toilet as well. Year after year of our boneheaded Ontario Liberal government going back and forth with like 9 different first nations leaders and making no progress whatsoever has Noront and Resource Capital threatening to pull out as of late last year. Expect Wynne and Co to continue getting nothing done this year, along with Capital drying up as investor frustration increases, and interest by new sources of Capital wanes. At thi s point, and all things considered expect Noront to join Cliffs Natural Resources and just give up waiting for the Libs and the FN s They are likely heading into to lay offs and subsequent mothballing of the ROF project. 141 directors of a board on 04 20 16 at 11 30 am. 139 Shawn on 04 20 16 at 10 45 am. How Corporate Directors Defer Income Tax. I was just noticing that one large Canadian company is paying its directors about 200k per year entirely in stocks or Deferred Stock Units DSUs and the directors can choose which of the two they want. With the DSUs the directors pay no tax on the this compensation income each year and defer all the tax until they retire from the Board. The middle class think that the investor and corporate class are favored by the tax system If only they knew ALL the ways that is happening. I question the ethics of any company that facilitates its directors getting paid say 200k worth of deferred stock units per year for a part-time job thereby allowing the directors to defer all personal income taxes on this compensation for years. Such directors receive no income and no compensation and therefore pay no tax When they receive the assets, they are taxed upon possession of them They are taxed further upon sale of the stocks That is u nfair, how Garth. They actually receive the compensation, but the type of compensation they receive have the attribute to become taxable at the time of their choice. In a sense, to some extent it works somewhat as if it was an asset in RRSP where the owners of the accounts have certain control when and how much taxable income they want to trigger. It is also not taxed as a T4 income, board members are effectively a special class of employees. Is this status fair or not is a matter of opinion. I live in downtown Toronto One of greatest joys is flying past people sitting in their cars in traffic, as I make way for our amazing trails Garth, get a bike dude I m sure I ve passed by you in traffic a few times as you ve browsed this comment section on your iPad. 143 Vamanos Pest on 04 20 16 at 12 12 pm. 96 Apocalypse 2016.BEST COMMENT EVER. right from the GLOBAL HEALTH ALERT headline to the bold prediction that microcephaly won t get talked about much in the comment section of a financial RE blog. 34 Mark on 04 19 16 at 7 18 pm. Indeed From Syria, and assuming that the plane dead-headed empty one way, that s almost beneath the average seat mile cost of most airlines. What a deal for the Canadian taxpayers. I am glad to have T2 in power providing excellent stewardship over our public funds. I look forward to great prosperity guided by his steady hand. I am buying a set of premium 10,000X binoculars for this task. 145 VICTORIA TEA PARTY on 04 20 16 at 12 26 pm. LOTS OF OIL AND LOTS OF USES FOR IT AN OILY FUTURE INDEED. In response to St Garth of Hydrocarbon-Free-Lives-to - Come, you wrote in part So even if oil recovers to double today s price, it would make a lot of Canada s pricy oilsands bitumen barely worth digging up and cooking In short, one of our major industries may end up gutted Bummer. I heartily disagree. There will be lots of demand for our cooked oil sands products, nevermind even our more precious and prolific natural gas and its various by-products that include carbon black used in making tires of all types and whose largest Canadian plant-of-its-type is situated in Medicine Hat AB. However, the day environmental whiners, including Al Gore and David Suzuki, stop using fuel-thirsty aircraft to proselytize their unchallengeable edicts, then you ll FINALLY be on the leading-edge of being right about the sunset of this most valuable resource. As for the future of oil prices It s all UP from here, regardless of the number of warm months of March See this from Saudi Arabia. Last weekend s silly waste of time in Doha was nothing but posturing by a declining OPEC and some of the new energy producer boys on the block, Russia specifically. It was a powerplay of sorts whose aim was to warn cash-starved OPEC-producers that they must start toeing the production-cut line now or else things will get even hungrier. Back in Canada, bank stocks are up, including CIBC which broke through 100 a share is a stock-split in the wind and oil is heading toward 20 US a barrel Investors seem happy. That can all change in a heart-beat of course, but the fix, as I say, is in Oil prices are heading up and people are willing to pay because they won t stop flying and driving Will they. Unfair Tax Deferral for Directors. Garth responded to me at 139.Such directors receive no income and no compensation and therefore pay no tax When they receive the assets, they are taxed upon possession of them They are tax ed further upon sale of the stocks That is unfair, how Garth. True, they receive no cash compensation But as responder 141 stated, it is clearly compensation It would show up in a net worth statement surely. The alternative is they get paid in stocks and pay tax on that value They then defer taxes on the gain in the stocks until they sell, just like we all can. Deferred Share units are unfair because it allows a tax deferral not available to anyone except directors and executives. If their tax is deferred then the government must tax someone else extra or borrow money to make up for the lost current year tax receipts No. It s even more unfair that some companies are now paying directors ENTIRELY in such deferred stock units so they pay no current income taxes. I suppose this is nothing new given that stock options have value when issued no intrinsic value, but clearly value nonetheless but are also not taxed upon receipt. The general public tends to believe that the investor class is taxed mo re favorably They are right In this case the corporate director class gets an additional benefit. I view this as unfair I also view it as mildly unethical that companies facilitate it. I also note with dismay that when I read about this in two corporate proxy circulars, there was ZERO mention that the practice allowed the benefit of tax deferral Is the not disingenuous at best. In summary, directors get to defer taxes and companies do not even clearly disclose this to their owners let alone to the general public Someone else gets to have increased taxes now to make up for the deferral Nice. Not exactly RSUs are common compensation for all kinds of people far below the board room Garth. 123 Andrewt on 04 20 16 at 8 35 am It is clear the deniers are either too lazy to consider the truth, or choose to ignore it, or perhaps are still being funded by the Koch brothers to maintain an air of skepticism. Steven Harper in 2006 said in an interview with Peter Mansbridge that global warming was the greatest threat to society A year later he switched to terrorism and rarely spoke about global warming after that. True leadership would have been to recognize the problem, be at the table with other leaders and start to do something about it Be accountable He wasn t Harper, you let Canadians and our fellow global citizens down for how YOU chose to handle the global warming file 2006-2015.negative mortgage rate. Never happen here Besides, it is a trumped-up of no consequence, even in Europe Garth. 115 Bloke in England on 04 20 16 at 3 03 am An equivalent argument to yours is people have always gotten sick so their is no need to fund research into HIV and AIDS. It s an illogical fallacy to link human contribution to global warming as being unimportant because of historical records of natural change occurring over millenia The problem with human-induced global warming is that temperatures are changing on a time scale of decade to decade rather than millenia to millenia. Canada s Financial Sector just Crapped on its Bondholders, Hoping They Don t Care. 151 WalMark of Sadkatoon on 04 20 16 at 1 13 pm. I called the top of the Canadian RE market 3 years ago. thanks for confirming my comment that your RE knowledge is poor and your predictions are worse. Enough Garth. 152 WalMark of Sadkatoon on 04 20 16 at 1 19 pm. I pushed the deflationary thesis. thanks for confirming this wrong call as well. pls stop trying to convince ppl that u make sensible predictions that ship has sailed this blog is focused on intelligent investing. 153 family beagle on 04 20 16 at 1 59 pm. In light of this new pricing model, called the 1065 Nelson Perfect Return, I ve had to revise my own a pint of my blood is now 750k my vote is now 4 million my spare kidney is 71 million smiles are still a bargain at 135k. 154 family beagle on 04 20 16 at 2 04 pm. Cyclists if you ride on roadways you should be registered and insured. There I said it Expect a bill soon. 137 robot powered economy on 04 20 16 at 10 18 am 128 Shawn on 04 20 16 at 9 27 am Robot Economy Good or Bad Robot economy at 114 sees the good in this Noname at 126 fears it I have pointed out before, the obvious response to the jobless robot economy is to position yourself and your family as owners of the robots Meant here as a broad term covering all automated production and software that produces things and services with little to no labour The investor class will be the winners Save and invest in equities now or end up on the wrong side of the future class divide Be a winner or a whiner, it s your choice That s the transition period Eventually everybody will win, the full-blown robot powered economy will transform the entire society as we know it now, in ways we don t even imagine and anticipate now When Robots become smarter with better computers and AI Programming, what happens if the robots decide that the humans are a liability to the mission Do we have our HAL 9000 moment. 156 waiting on the westcoast on 04 20 16 at 2 10 pm. The last couple of months have produced list quality jobs but the overall trend is good in the US. 137 robot powered economy. Dude I fix robots for living, when i take a pendant in my handspeople think that I know what I am doing, I immediately start talking primitive data bits, boolean, short, double, integers, floating points, strings, chars. I don t fear them but, you should. Shawn on 04 19 16 at 7 46 pm. GDP and Wealth creation Others think that exports are crucial to produce wealth That can be easily proved false by simply observing that the earth is wealthy but exports absolutely nothing The earth exports nothing but it does receive 365 days worth of sunlight every year, for free If it was not for that gift, we would be creating no wealth at all As a matter of fact, once we discovered that there is a store of millions of years of accumulated sunlight in the form of fossil fuels, we magically became able to create this wealth for ourselves at a much faster pace Is it a coincidence that our wealth creation was at a glacial pace when all we had the benefit of was the sunlight that was hitting the earth a day at a time Helping us produce meager agricultural products and supporting a meager services industry before the discovery of stored sunlight accelerated our wealth creation I have been lurking on this blog for a few years and I very much enjoy your comments Shawn. WaPo One of the nation s largest pension funds could soon cut benefits for retirees. This is going to be a national crisis for hundreds of thousands, and eventually millions, of retirees and their families, said Karen Friedman, executive vice president of the Pension Rights Center. 160 waiting on the westcoast on 04 20 16 at 2 44 pm. Meant low not list quality. RE 159 Nemesis on 04 20 16 at 2 41 pm. It is one thing to lose some money in the stock market but it is a whole new level of pain when pension funds can not eek out a decent return on their mandated bond holdings. Payout mode on savings is a different kettle of fish then accumulation A 20 reduction in principle due to a market correction is catastrophic That is why pension funds have mandated bond level holdings Now that bonds pay peanuts, the actuarial assumptions are broken. This is the next financial crisis, much bigger then ISIS. reach out to the Donors Trust. a non profit group FACT calls for transparency when in fact it is not transparent itself dark money. Many of the groups list the same Georgetown address as their office, with different suite numbers In reality, the address is that of a UPS store, and the suite numbers are post boxes FACT s listed address, in downtown Washington, D C has no markings it ap pears to be an address that is cited by more than one organization without actually being physically used by any of them, with a receptionist who answers the phone with the names of various groups depending on which line is called. 163 Walmark of Sadkatoon on 04 20 16 at 3 30 pm. the climate is fine in Canada. I m lovin it here. 164 Walmark of Sadkatoon on 04 20 16 at 3 31 pm. if climate change involves more teslas on the road then i supposed I can live w that. 165 Renter s Revenge on 04 20 16 at 3 34 pm. 154 family beagle on 04 20 16 at 2 04 pm Cyclists if you ride on roadways you should be registered and insured. There I said it Expect a bill soon. And here I thought that the point of registration and insurance was the potential for damage that you can cause with your car, not the other way around. not really a fan of our shiny pony airhead PM but i ve got to give him credit for making the announcement on tabling mj legislation on today s date cheeky bastard. WA state system working wonderfully Reefer madness has yet to destroy the state. Van will still be the most desired city in canada for the next 50 years. Tax Deferral for the Corporate Class. I had said at 146.In summary, directors get to defer taxes and companies do not even clearly disclose this to their owners let alone to the general public Someone else gets to have increased taxes now to make up for the deferral Nice. And Garth responded. Not exactly RSUs are common compensation for all kinds of people far below the board room Garth. Fair enough its executives, Board members and sometimes lower employees who get Restricted Stock Units or Deferred Stock Units as compensation and can thereby defer personal tax. I don t think any lower level employee gets 100 of their compensation deferred that way as some directors do. To the extent more people get this then the problem is even bigger but I suspect the dollars involved for regular employees is tiny It s the big shots that really get he big tax deferrals. I simply think it s worth at least shining a light on this I am not sure how many directors would be comfortable to defend this practice in front of a crowd As I stated the tax deferral aspect was not disclosed in the proxy statements I read That silence speaks volumes. Legal tax avoidance and deferral is all fun and games until it hits the front pages Then people start to squirm. Is this just jealousy on my part Maybe But the idea of directors getting 200k from each of several Board seats and deferring all income taxes o n that for several years offends my particular sense of fairness. As an investor I feel I enjoy far more tax breaks than I should RRSP, RESP, TFSA, low tax on dividends, half tax on capital gains, low taxes on income I retain in my small business Being a significant beneficiary of this largesse does not change my view that it is unfair to the non-investor taxpayers. The idea that the corporate director class should get this additional huge deferral offends me I want to shed some light on it Thank you for providing this forum to do so today I respect that you and others see no problem with it. Traditionally newcomers have paid for their passage, or repaid it over time, as they become established and are able Garth Traditionally newcomers aren t leaving war ravaged territories with 100s of thousands dead and millions wounded and displaced, living in refugee camps for years and living on scraps, while those less fortunate are dying from drowning while trying to reach land to be free Canadian s spend less than 1 each to bring 25,000 of these people here and you are trying to make this an issue Also, 25,000 people will payback their 30 million bill after each contributes a little over 1000 in taxes In Canada, that doesn t take long. Do NOT listen to climatologists They are worse than the economists and much much worse than meteorologists. Nothing wrong with the planet. 158 Martin on 04 20 16 at 2 19 pm The earth exports nothing but it does receive 365 days worth of sunlight every year, for free If it was not for that gift, we would be creating no wealth at all As a matter of fact, once we discovered that there is a store of millions of years of accumulated sunlight in the form of fossil fuels, we magically became able to create this wealth for ourselves at a much faster pace Is it a coincidence that our wealth creation was at a glacial pace when all we had the benefit of was the sunlight that was hitting the earth a day at a time Helping us produce meager agricultural products and supporting a meager services industry before the discovery of stored sunlight accelerated our wealth creation. Man, this is straight up poetry Some nice deep thoughts there not being sarcastic Did you come up with this yourself, or did you read it somewhere else just curious. 172 family beagle on 04 20 16 at 5 20 pm. 165 Renter s Revenge on 04 20 16 at 3 34 pm 154 family beagle on 04 20 16 at 2 04 pm Cyclists if you ride on roadways you should be registered and insured. There I said it Expect a bill soon. And here I thought that the point of registration and insurance was the potential for damage that you can cause with your car, not the other way around. Cyclists didn t build that They should be tagged and taxed if their rubber touches asphalt They are purposefully vulnerable We also need a way to fink on them for traffic violations Chasing them down the street is a hassle If they want to be rebels, go off road Next, skateboarders. Meanwhile the World Economic Forum says oil demand will fall steadily over the next few decades as countries tax carbon and shift to green tech. peak oil is real Oil is going to be more expensive. So we re busy building a condo economy where a big share of GDP comes from all of us borrowing a boatload of money so we can buy inflated properties from each other. oil may or may n ot become more expensive but it is coming under political attack. the economy is increasingly based on debt. immigration is receiving increased political attention. which makes the 1950 s seem like a nice place but it s not coming back. This week I finally hit 1m usd in my stock portfolio With time a decade of further investment and returns it may even exceed my C01 and C02 house portfolio. congrats nice job. 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Jojanneke de Roever-Bull 27 2016.Admittedly I realize I am a snob Why Because until recently, while I knew all about the bull fights in Spain glamourized by media and films I knew nothing about a very similar sport of Jallikattu , very popular in South of India Until one of my colleagues educated me about it The sport is all about taming the prized village bull with bare hands Scores of youths try their luck at taming the bull Mind you no spears to kill the bull, only brute strength and will power to overcome the frenzied animal The sport which originated around 400BC in the region has a history The prize for taming the bull was for the winner to court the fairest maiden in the village Not only that the Jalli ie coins and Kattu ie bag, meant the winner would also go away richer Could our boys ask for anything more But what about the bull The bull would then become the village temple property to be available to sire the available heifers of the village To improve the gene pool of the local bovines The recent ban around this sport has come under a lot of debate While PETA cries foul over cruelty to animals, lovers of the sport swear by the fact that no bull has ever gotten hurt in the process It is the people who have been the casualties Reportedly, from 2010 to 2014, there were approximately 1,100 injuries and 17 deaths as a result of Jallikattu events Source Zee news India has very little sporting avenu es for its rural populace Therefore culturally such events are a good indicator of the sporting finesse Because each locality grooms its youth to toughen up and face the challenge Else the alternatives are few while away time at the village get involved in drugs or other petty crimes, or even worse I am not for a moment suggesting the presence of absence of the sport would be the only reason for our youngsters to fall prey to negative intentions But sporting events like these generate a sense of pride and ownership that are hard to replicate Let us admit it We are a nation of festivals We love to come together and celebrate our families, our culture, our heritage But not a single festival that celebrates our connection with sports or for that matter the deep bond we have as an agrarian economy, with our animals Like I said I am a snob I still look outside India for clippets on glory when a lot of the stories are there in my backyard What binds us is our ethos, our way of life India was always about a deep connect with nature But sports I am not so sure I can imagine what it must be like for many for who this sport is a ritual But I cant imagine what it must feel like for the lone bull though - So as the SC upholds its ban, there may be implications for many such village based sports involving local animals straddling cultures, rituals and deeply ingrained beliefs about man animal co-existence Will we ban away all such rural sports Would that legitimize how we chain pets and home animals at our backyards, or make them wait for hours at temple festivals without food or water Political agenda or Apolitical rhetoric Culture or anti-Culture Animal Cruelty or Meaningful Co-existence Urban shame or Rural pride Are we sport enough to decide if this debate is a load of Bull or not. Purnima Menon 13 2017.The sea of Tamilians at the Marina promenade is turbulent and the tide of Tamil pride is running high A group of Tamilian girls talking to a news anchor make an impassioned call for justice and somewhere in the background, a feeble male voice struggles to get a byte in My rigorously Whatsapp-washed brain senses a rush of adrenalin at the magnificent display of sentiment for the cause of Tamil culture But before I relent, the fact-seeking bull-headedness raises its sceptical head What about all that outrage over the increasing display of pseudo-Indian nationalism that quite incorrectly portrays India as a Utopia of equality and mutual respect Surely, some of this noise is being made by Tamilians feeling discriminated against Is that why this deluge of unified Tamil pride seems like a sub-culture of the same pseudo one-ness I shudder as I sense a few curious pairs of eyes checking out my last name working out the minutiae of my ethnic, social, religious, linguistic and caste data I sense battle lines and boundaries being drawn and realise that I am in all likelihood being pushed to the periphery of Tamilness, extreme left of the Tamil Center Hasty judgments are being pronounced and I am about to invite some wrath Or am I To be honest, a part of me the Tamil-speaking, pongal-eating part, the why-only-us part gets the anger and empathises with the perfectly logical arguments being raised Livelihoods rest on the survival of the Kangeyam bull and therefore the Kangeyam cattle breed that gives us the nutritious milk known to be friendly to the genetically lactose-intolerant guts of the Asian population certainly needs protection And if this indeed about cruelty to animals, why not ban meat-eating and temple elephants and all the rest of it If all this hullabaloo is over the dizzying heights of the Supreme Court and its ruling, how is it that no eyebrows were raised when our less-than-generous neighbouring states have repeatedly ignored the Court s calls to quench our thirst To top it all, we are a people who take pride in our thalaivars and thalapathys who have entertained generations of loyal filmgoers with their macho displays of superhuman strength How can we forget the scene where a raging bull stops in its tracks in response to the piercing gaze of our superstar And why can t we celebrate them with the same suspension of disbelief our brethren from the cow belt show for the angry star from B-wood who straddles two bikes simultaneously or the shenanigans of the dancing superstar who has conquered age and defied death many times over I get it, I really do It is the truth-telling part of me that is the problem The part that reminds me that this is a whimsical show of emotion and intermittent unity from a largely divisive culture that has had no issues with caste-based discrimination or honour killings a group that had chosen to look away when female infants were stifled to death and when farmers nurtured pride with pesticide Where was this curly-mustached, culture-celebrating masculinity of the superstardom when a young man was done to death for marrying a woman from an upper caste Why was the raging hatred fueled by mis understood tradition not subdued then To the women who are joining in to energise and empower this activism for Tamil justice, I ask them if it was about preserving jallikattu because it is age-old culture, why fight for gender equality, which has never been a given in Tamil or Indian culture If culture deserved to be preserved at all costs, would they emulate the century-old devoted-wife tradition where the epitome of Tamil womanhood chauffeured her dying husband to his mistress Does a wrong repeated over centuries slowly metamorphose into a right We are a sentimental people, and I say we with caution here, acutely aware of the intense scrutiny anyone with a dissenting viewpoint is likely to be subject to Sentiment is a good quality to have as we prepare for a century of dominance by artificial intelligence That said, this is an issue that needs to be looked into with lot more than tunnel vision Yes, indeed, PETA has chosen what it wrongly deemed was a soft target and apparently lacks the moral courage to be fair and fearless in its pursuit of animal rights But, in our quest for a common Tamil identity and a national recognition and affirmation of pride, let us not allow devious politicians to whip up our passion for activism, as they selfishly pursue their small-minded hunt for power. Priya Rajasekar 19 2017.DON T FORGET ABOUT THE BRANDS OR, AND NOW A WORD I MEAN, VIDEO FROM OUR SPONSORS My past few posts have discussed the overall ever-changing OTT video landscape But, in these mobile and millennial-focused Media 2 0 times i e technology digitally-transformed media and entertainment , it s not just the traditional media companies that finally understand that the world of content has radically changed So do major brands Gone are the days of the brand hammer We have used our DVRs to skip those ads for years even on our big screens The trick is to engage and entertain with new storytelling that works within different Media 2 0 realities, new platforms, new audience s, and the new sensibilities that go with them For brands, Media 2 0 means structural new marketing challenges Yes, even the kids still find time to watch TV on the big screens in their living rooms But, even in that last hallowed bastion of traditional media, they increasingly look down at their mobile phones So, brands too must transform their thinking of what engagement looks like in this Media 2 0 world Branded content also known as content marketing gets most of the press And, an effective branded content strategy certainly is a must in this day and age Millennials almost expect branded messages now and accept them, so long as that content is entertaining, authentically Digital-first media companies discussed in recent posts offer the most obvious path to pursue those opportunities case in point, Whistle Sports Dude Perfect boys using trickery to toss basketballs, instead of chips, into oversized Pringles cans But, the boldest brands take things even further, transforming themselv es into full-fledged media companies No longer content simply making and marketing consumer packaged goods that touch consumers only intermittently, a few audacious brands look to establish an entirely different type of relationship and engage with their customers on an ongoing and deeply personal basis They seek to associate themselves with a particular lifestyle category, and then become the voice and community for that category These are what I call the new lifestyle media companies Red Bull is THE prime example The poster child Red Bull is no longer just an energy drink and hasn t been for a long time It is now very much a media company focused on the lifestyles of aspiration and adrenaline which means a broad swath of all of us, because who doesn t want to be a fearless adventurer Red Bull promotes that lifestyle and, therefore, itself and its products of course via brilliantly-executed premium content space parachuting Felix Baumgartner, anyone Cans of caffeine are only one manif estation of that lifestyle and the primary way Red Bull monetizes But not the only way To put put an exclamation mark on this point, Red Bull established a completely separate major media operation in 2007 known as Red Bull Media House that is much more than just Red Bull s marketing arm it is measured by its own stand-alone financial success and it actively courts outside clients If you have any doubt about Red Bull s media strategy, check out the company s main website Not one can of Red Bull in sight It s all about motorcycles, music festivals, and all kinds of other cool places you d rather be right now Speaking of rather be, check out a new active outdoor lifestyle-focused digital-first media company Other innovative major brands see Red Bull and this potentially game-changing Media 2 0 opportunity to transform themselves into something much more than the products they sell Marriott yes, that Marriott, the hotel chain boldly followed Red Bull s lead and launched its own major prod uction studio in 2014, hoping to be the voice and home for millennial travel Pepsi too has gone this route, building its own major studio in 2014 to produce digital-first content that speaks directly to a new generation of mobile-obsessed consumers who have grown tired of traditional marketing speak In perhaps the most notorious Red Bull-inspired attempt, next-gen camera company GoPro positioned itself in 2014 to own the action-focused lifestyle media space a logical story, given that GoPro-captured videos filled YouTube GoPro effectively preached that story to the Street and drove a massively successful IPO in the process But, like Red Bull s Felix Baumgartner, those ambitions at least to date -- have fallen back to Earth I still scratch my head about that one And, as we all know, the once-flying-high company essentially disbanded its entire media arm at the end of last year Major brands, heed this call As fast as you think you are moving now, move faster Don t forget what Dollar Shav e Club achieved with one single viral video It s time to invest in Media 2 0 Significantly Whether its bite-sized or super-sized, just get into the game Right now Content, community, and commerce baby NOTE - this article is an updated excerpt from my recently published bestselling book, Media 2 0 17 An Insider s Guide To Today s Digital Media World Where It s Going , available now on Amazon in both print and eBook editions. Peter Csathy 14 2017.Madrid is wildly alive and fiercely open Its inexhaustible energy is both addictive and inviting, prompting the popular phrase - If you are in Madrid, you are from Madrid In the summer of 2015, when I decided to leave the automotive industry of Detroit for something more entrepreneurial, the natural destination of choice was the West Coast Most articles about startups are usually set in Silicon Valley, the promised land for entrepreneurs However, it was just a fleeting thought Like this article, my entrepreneurship journey quickly ventured in t he opposite direction I arrived in the golden metropolis of Madrid in the summer of 2015 as an International MBA student at the IE Business School Why IE Quite simple while most business schools eloquently preached about entrepreneurship, IE vigorously practiced it The school was bold enough to re-channel the focus of its students from jobs to startups They cared less about the collateral damage it did to MBA job reports and rankings IE took the raging bull of entrepreneurship by its horns, embraced its uncertainty and struggle and turned it into a feisty and fashionable brand of business And the students love it Why IE Quite simple while most business schools eloquently preached about entrepreneurship, IE vigorously practiced it The Matador of Business Schools It didn t surprise me that many of my fellow students never attended a career fair or even prepared a resume Instead they perfected the art of business plans and startup pitch presentations While other MBA students in the world spend their weekends working on case competitions, IE MBA students were busy pitching their ideas to potential partners, customers and investors The school fosters an entrepreneurial culture by creating an environment that resembles more Silicon Valley than Wall Street Everything, including humanities, is taught through the lens of entrepreneurship At Area 31, the startup incubator within IE Business School, current and recently graduated MBA students work alongside mentors, professors and experienced entrepreneurs, making for an atmosphere rich in ideas, energy and diversity Even those students who choose not to become entrepreneurs eventually express their educational pedigree by pursuing entrepreneurial ideas at their workplace That is the DNA of the school the reason why Financial Times ranked IE Business School 1st in Europe for Entrepreneurship and 8th in the world for its International MBA program What does all this mean for Madrid Many of the newly minted MBA entrepreneurs are staying in Madrid after graduation, significantly raising the level of resident talent in the city Why stay in Madrid In September 2013, the Spanish government passed a law to attract foreign entrepreneurs to start companies in Spain The law introduced the Entrepreneurship Visa which offers long term resident privileges to any applicant who can submit a startup business plan, proof of health insurance and enough money to support themselves while living in Spain The Spanish government is uncharacteristically fast with processing the visa decisions are promised within 10 working days, and residence permits are issued in 20 Business plans submitted by MBA students at IE Business School have seen a near perfect chance of being accepted Many MBA students from my graduating class have taken advantage of the new entrepreneurship visa to stay longer in Madrid and work on startups Some graduating students have observed that it is easier to secure an entrepreneurship visa than a regular work per mit The entrepreneurship visa also allows visa holders to work part time or even full time for other employers The perks of the visa and the influx of foreign talent is only the icing on the cake The availability of cheap programmers, low cost of living and the entrepreneurial culture of Spain have long been the major drivers of the growing startup scene in Madrid Google recently opened a campus in Madrid for current and aspiring entrepreneurs to network, share ideas and learn from each other It is the latest addition to a list of cities worldwide - London, Tel Aviv, Seoul, Warsaw and Sao Paulo where Google regularly sponsors and hosts workshops and speaker events Campus Madrid is yet another resounding recognition of Madrid s rise as a startup city What makes the Golden Metropolis shine The low cost of living, the great quality of life, the entrepreneurship visa program and premier institutions like IE Business School and Google campus make Madrid a great startup destination But what is it really about Why choose Madrid over cities like San Francisco, London, Berlin and Tel Aviv To answer that question, you have to look deeply into the soul of this vibrant city What makes Madrid stand out among such global powerhouses is a pervasive attitude among its people to look for more when they are given just a little It is clearly evident in Madrid s nightlife - a glass of rioja and couple tapas at 11 pm usually turns into gin-tonics and dancing the night away at 5 am What makes Madrid stand out is a pervasive attitude among its people to look for more when they are given just a little This attitude is also seen during the day among the most ambitious As salaries in Madrid s corporate sector stay dismally low, it is only natural for the talented to look elsewhere for opportunities Many follow a path of relentless hustle like Fernando, my landlord in Madrid, shuffling their time between two or three different jobs Fernando teaches English to bankers during the day and manage s a set of rental properties on the side Most of his tenants are English speaking international students So he gets to practice in the evening what he teaches in the morning The path of relentless hustle comes naturally to the ambitious in Madrid For those treading that path with talent and ideas Madrid s growing startup scene will draw you in The attitude to look for more and the relentless hustle are both the bread and butter of the Madrid startup scene The path of relentless hustle comes naturally to the ambitious in Madrid For those treading that path with talent and ideas Madrid s growing startup scene will draw you in Madrid shines and then it struggles Entrepreneurs in Madrid are resilient They are not accidental entrepreneurs who founded a startup because they failed at everything else Instead, they are committed to the struggle, having chosen that path from the very beginning You can see that energy as they pitch their ideas However, there s a dearth in private funding especia lly for early stage startups Most investors are looking to invest and exit quickly Very few investors are committed to spreading their investment across a number of early stage startups and to help develop the ecosystem The government has few grants and loans available but not many students are aware of them If you re an entrepreneur in Madrid, here are some resources for accessing government grants and loans For MBA graduate entrepreneurs scrambling to support themselves after spending a huge amount on their education, funding can be a thorny issue to navigate Tuition loan payments usually kick in 6 months after graduation It may not be prudent to continue taking out loans even if they are readily available Some borrow money from families and friends to stay afloat Others have moved their startups outside of Spain to pursue private investment or grants Berlin and London are usually first choices The story of Practix Innovative Workout is one such example Assaf Van Trienen, Sivan Entel is and Omri Zaeid, my MBA classmates from Israel, co-founded Practix during our IE MBA program I had the good fortune of seeing Practix develop from an idea pitched by my fellow students to an actual product with a compelling business model After graduation, the Practix team chose to officially launch their company in Berlin instead of Madrid In the months that followed, they built a functional prototype, their promotional video was recently featured by Mashable news and their kickstarter campaign reached its funding goal within a week I met Assaf Van Trienen in Madrid this week to learn more about the story of Practix and why his team chose Berlin over Madrid According to him, Berlin has a much more vibrant startup ecosystem There were frequent startup-related events in Berlin where they got to meet investors and other successful entrepreneurs The German government offers many more grants for early stage startups Assaf s team eventually secured a grant from the German government and t he EU to develop their product in collaboration with Potsdam University That opportunity was the ticket that took Practix to Berlin Assaf says he continues to work and live in Madrid because of his family, the network and support system offered by IE Although he stops short of saying it, I believe this city and its charm is another reason he chose to stay The struggle is real but so is the promise Yes, private investors are scarce in Madrid And startups like Practix might have left for greener pastures But the talent and the hustle that gave birth to Practix continue to thrive in Madrid Meanwhile, Assaf and his tribe of entrepreneurs in Madrid are on the rise as an increasing number of students from around the world are now enrolling at IE Business School I recently met with the new intake of students at IE I noticed a fresh energy about them The path ahead of them is not any easier than the one I took with my fellow students But there is a growing sense of belief in knowing that the o nes before them have made it And so they get down to the grind, pitching their ideas and drawing up business plans That feisty brand of business is alive The golden metropolis is alive Madrid is fast becoming a goldmine of talent The gold seekers just haven t seen it yet. Roman Fernandez 1 2017.Do employers really lack the courage to fire bad employees Sometimes they do In Inc Paul Spiegelman makes the case for firing bad employees right now Let s take a closer look at Spiegelman s sole example of the kind of employee who deserves to be fired We once hired a call center director to oversee 200 people She had a great rsum and killer ideas, but she came in like a bull in a china shop and made drastic changes without including her team It took us a year to appreciate the impact she was having on our culture On the day we let her go, another employee came up to me with tears in her eyes and said I had just lifted a cloud from the organization Did I feel good about that No, I felt terrible It had taken us time to recognize that this employee was hurting the organization, but the people she worked with directly were acutely aware of the problem It s possible that this employee was gratuitously horrific, upsetting people s cautiously arranged teacups with her callous, bullish demeanor It s also possible that she was whipping a lethargic group into shape after years of lazy skating, and that they were upset because they liked getting paid for doing very little work I don t know, because Spiegelman doesn t bother saying Imagine how weak the example would be if he switched the pronoun and the fired employee was a man who got fired for being a bull in a China shop with no context for interpreting what that means People upset about a male boss being abrasive would come off like whiners in Spiegelman s story Sometimes really nice people who lack awareness of business value in their work keep their jobs for a long time On the other hand, troublemakers are viewed as problematic f or companies, even when they have great ideas, or even killer ideas, to use Spiegelman s term This is one of the reasons why big companies have trouble attracting, rewarding and retaining innovative talent Innovators are often quite comfortable going against the grain People get used to doing things the way they ve always done them, and when a new leader comes in demanding that people perform in a way that results in increased business value, many of them tend to dislike it quite intensely When a man comes in and makes changes, he s being a boss When a woman does it, she s a bull in a china shop who deserves to be fired Spiegelman s example is a perfect illustration of the performance review gender bias described in this Fortune feature The way Spiegelman describes the employee, she actually has an extremely valuable trait that most large companies don t recognize as valuable she didn t bother including her team as she made changes Consensus can be a huge waste of time This doesn t mea n that people shouldn t be included in decision-making They should It s one of the most critical skills of leadership to know how, why and when to include them But many leaders don t put the time into developing this skill, and as a result a bloated process of opinion-sharing gets passed off as decision-making Consensus often becomes the excuse for taking no action and watching a company lose value This piece in HBR does a fabulous job exploring this complex problem Including people to make them feel good isn t the same thing as doing it because their opinions are valuable Collaborative input is extremely beneficial, but again, the lack of context leaves readers wondering what he meant by this Obviously some people just aren t meant to stay at your company, in which case, go ahead and fire them But before you fire a diamond in the rough, consider that a highly valuable leader of either gender, especially one with killer ideas, should be trained for leadership skills before they get axe d People complaining isn t reason enough to fire someone who shakes things up in a way that might have a positive impact on the company s health, and even create long term job security for those who resisted change in the short term It depends WHY they re complaining, but Spiegelman left that part out too It s possible that this employee was both horrible and lacked potential or value Because of the total lack of context, the piece comes across as if people just didn t like having an abrasive woman in charge of them On the day we let her go, another employee came up to me with tears in her eyes and said I had just lifted a cloud from the organization Imagine how ludicrous it would have seemed if his eyes replaced her eyes in this context Spiegelman s more valuable points, like disengaged workers cost the American economy 350 billion per year in lost productivity, get lost in the mix Rita J King is the EVP for Business Development at Science House, a cathedral of the imagination in Man hattan focused on the art and science of doing business She is a strategist who specializes in the development of collaborative culture by making organizational culture visible so it can be measured and transformed She is a senior advisor to The Culture Institute in Zurich, Switzerland, and a Fellow at the Salzburg Global Forum She makes Mystery Jars, writes about the future for Fast Company and invents story architecture, characters and novel technologies for film and TV as a futurist for the Science and Entertainment Exchange Follow RitaJKing on Twitter. Rita J King 11 2014.You remember that scene in Good Will Hunting where Will is in the bar and he floors the Harvard student who was trying to be clever I think business feels like that a lot of the time Especially when you bump into a thought leader Far too much often probably Especially on Linkedin I m supposed to be a thought leader Whatever that means I ve been doing my job for a few years now and it only occurred to me this morn ing that I should probably Google it You know, just to check that I m doing what I m supposed to be doing Turns out there s a bunch of websites, some groups, a thought leadership lab, and a group of guys who meet in secret bars every Thursday night and you can only get in if you re wearing a special fishing fly badge on your collar Because what says thought leadership more than a salmon fishing fly Thought leaders are the informed opinion leaders and the go-to people in their field of expertise They are trusted sources who move and inspire people with innovative ideas turn ideas into reality, and know and show how to replicate their success Thought leaders are supposed to be more experienced and respected than others, which is why they are asked to sit on pedestals or conference panels at the very least to impart their wisdom The thing is, much like Will calling out the Harvard douche, thought leaders are usually just slightly more well read than everyone else They are a bit more infor med And perhaps they watch less TV and read more books, but they are pretty much no different than anyone else, they have just chosen to wear the title of thought leader to try and garner some kind of increased professional validation And this is no bad thing Business used to be all about the biggest brands with the deepest pockets, but the social media came along, disrupted everything, and now you have some guy in a bedroom building apps or writing content that gets threatens to hijack the very audience that big brand X spent millions of dollars and hundreds of hours trying to reach Thought leadership is no different We used to look to industry leaders, CEOs, business celebrities, TED speakers, Nobel prize winners and famous authors for thought leadership But now it could be Keith, who stands at the end of the bar in his local pub, The Duck Crown every night with his pint of ale, who has just chosen to read more stuff and has found a platform to share it on A bunch of people like what he said and he s now building an audience of followers based upon his brand of thought leadership Thought leaders simply help average people think like superior people Traditionalists obviously argue about quality v quantity an argument frequently used to describe blogging on Medium v Wordpress or citizen journalism v qualified press hacks , but this is no bad thing Of course there is more noise Of course there are now many more bad written posts this could indeed be one of them , but just like brandX is no longer in control of the message, there are traditional thought leaders Anybody can be a thought leader Just like Keith who I stumbled into a few weeks ago In between munching on his bag of pork scratchings, he was explaining to me the finer points of Friedrich Nietzsche s teachings And this brings me to my point Thought leaders are just more informed than anyone else, because they have chosen to care about a subject deeply enough to understand it so that they can share it A famous blogger once told me that he writes for himself, not for others He writes so that he can make sense of his own thoughts, and didn t really care if other people read his ramblings or not A view I very much subscribe to Management guru and thought leader Tom Peters told me once, There are only 3 things you need to do in order to be a successful thought leader Hustle work harder at your day job than those around you Be more informed than anyone else Always have a useful piece of research up your sleeve This is all great advice, none of which requires an expensive education, an MBA or a posh job title on Linkedin It s fair to say that there is not much new and original content in the world so we have to arrive at a couple of conclusions a Magpies Thought leaders have just stolen all their content and re-packaged it as their own, doing well to hide their sources b DJ s Happy to share their sources, thought leaders are proud of their learnings and share them freely, safe in the knowledge th at by re-mixing something that already existed, they might make that content attracted to an audience who wouldn t have be exposed to it previously c Academics Genuinely clever people who invent new things, think original thoughts and share their opinions in the most compelling way We would of course like our thought leaders to be the latter, but the truth is that they are usually magpies and DJ s Good artists copy, great artists Some thought leaders concentrate on creating good content and sharing it Brian Solis Other thought leaders don t create as much content but they are obsessed about connecting people and building networks Ted Rubin And others, like Seth Godin, create beautifully original and inspirational content most days, but have little interest in engaging with their audience The point is this You can be a thought leader if you want to And you don t need anyone else s permission to become one, neither do you need a college education, a professional qualification or a positi on of seniority at an impressive company Just hustle Read more stuff And learn more important things that will help whatever audience you chose to address You can have everything you want in life, if you just help enough other people get what they want Zig Ziglar Thought leadership has been around forever, and will never go away I have heard traditional thought leaders tell me that It s lonely being a leader , and I would reply that, If you re lonely it s possible that you re not a leader If you are supposed to be a leader and nobody is following you, you re just another person taking a walk on your own More important in my opinion is to find a small group of people who like how you think, and share valuable content with them as often as you can Because there s nothing more rewarding than speaking to someone like Keith, and realising that even though he has no qualifications whatsoever, he taught a high school class last week and now has a class full of 14-year olds desperate to go and change the world On my to do list is to write a book called, Follow me, I m right behind you with the subtitle Leading from the middle of the pack If you re lonely as a leader because it s tough at the top , perhaps you might want to come down from your lofty leadership position and hang out with your employees audience congregation That kind of thought leadership is not bull hit Let s go invent tomorrow instead of worrying about what happened yesterday Jobs Post first published on Medium. Jeremy Waite 16 2016.You don t have to be a professional cowboy to grab the bull by the horns at work There s a job that most people have never heard of where you have to take control, make quick decisions and act on them to solve crucial business dilemmas Say, for example, your business lives or dies by Super Bowl season sales You finally sit back and relish in the thought that you just shipped the last of 500,000 TV mounts, and they all made it out to retail months before all the Super Bowl promo tions Then, you get that first fateful call apparently some boxes shipped from overseas missing a few vital parts You hope it s a fluke But, by week s end, you are on the phone with a buyer at your largest retail customer, and football is the furthest thing from your mind He s asking you to take back all 500,000 units If they have to go back overseas to get repacked, you couldn t possibly get them back on retail shelves until Spring time That s when you call a logistics professional who can save the day by working with you, transportation carriers, warehouses, and retailers to figure out an efficient and effective way to turn your mountain into a molehill Like a modern day bull wrangler, a tech-savvy supply chain expert i e the folks we call Account Representatives in our business , jumps into the arena to solve the problem And, in the process, he helps you take control saving the company about 35 million in sales, 50 jobs, your retail shelf space, and even the reputation of the compan y all in a day s work in logistics Another one that comes to mind - the small food company that grows some of its own ingredients on its family farm The family invested generations of savings into a new crop, but then it faced an unexpected long dry spell The CEO s current irrigation system wasn t built for an epic drought, but it wasn t until he started losing part of the crop that he went into emergency mode Unfortunately, by the time he placed an order for new irrigation equipment, he was looking at expedited freight costs that would have bankrupted his farm anyway By working with his AR, he found backhaul trucking opportunities with team drivers that literally saved the farm There are hundreds of examples that range from leveraging small tweaks that save big money to definitive game-changers Supply Chain Management is the active management of the entire flow of goods from raw material to finished product in the customer s hands It includes sourcing, procurement, and storage as well as movement of the goods The supply chain is no longer an afterthought, but is an important part of a company s strategy for overall success Businesses today rely on their supply chains to gain market share, improve their competitive advantage and increase profitability There is already a shortage of the first-rate talent that is needed to successfully implement supply chain ideas and accomplish goals And, it looks like SCM experts will be in even greater demand in the coming years As an Account Representative, in a single day, you might collaborate with many diverse companies - a cosmetics company, a food packer, a beverage manufacturer, an electronics supplier, a clothing maker, etc It s not abnormal to work with ten or more different companies daily, which often translates into valuable skills that make you into a sought-after industry guru What are your thoughts Has your company ever faced any big logistics challenges How does your team usually handle logistics issues Do you consi der logistics a competitive advantage Dan is the President and CEO of CaseStack, a Board Member of The Center for Retailing Excellence, and the author of Collaborate The Art of We Photo Bull and Raseteur. Dan Sanker 20 2014.An awful lot has been written recently about creativity and effectiveness in advertising being at an all time low And I m not going to disagree with that sentiment But will suggest it s natural There are few models rolled out more frequently than Gartner s Hype Cycle More often than not to explain why it is is not a good idea to target early adopters But it also helps explain where we, as an industry, are today and reassure us that things will get better It s September 2006 Facebook has just opened its doors for anyone above the age of 13 with a valid email address to join A month later Google paid 1 65 billion for YouTube That was our Technology Trigger A number of things happened A new breed of marketer or should I say evangelist emerged who would woo with talk o f engagement and conversations between brands and customers No need for evidence We got given lots of examples of Red Bull We created a lot of short term KPIs that we vigorously optimised against We were told that advertising would never be the same again It s what s known as The Peak Of Inflated Expectation Then the kicker It s 2008 The world s economy grinds to a halt The inevitable reactions happened short-termism and risk aversion Client briefs demanded the rational over the less tangible to boost short term KPIs Individuals feared for their livelihoods and were in no position to say no to their bosses Agencies were fighting over diminishing budgets and were in no position to challenge their clients CEOs began entrusting procurement to objectify what is inherently a subjective topic Creativity was stifled In hindsight it was a perfect storm Desperate for short-term accountability and terrified that everything had indeed changed The Peak Of Inflated Expectations peaked high its shad ow still looming large today I m writing from The Trough Of Disillusionment Consumer trust in brands is at an all time low Attitudes towards advertising are the same Ad-blocking is a natural consequence and increasing exponentially At the same time the digital advertising industry is under more scrutiny than ever before Even what should be one of the bedrocks of advertising, that the message your paying for is actually reaching living, breathing human beings, is being seriously called into question We still get lots of examples of Red Bull But I don t think we re at the depths of The Trough any more We ve moved past that Around me recently there has been a growing groundswell for reversion to advertising based in theory and fact The Long And Short Of It and How Brands Grow seem to be quoted in every strategic meeting I m in And while the principles re-emerging are excellent, and far more robust than evangelist rhetoric, I fear they miss tangible application in the world we run headlong into When Ridley Scott shot Blade Runner he didn t get the financing he wanted He didn t get the set he wanted All he got was the set of a disused, generic, 1920 s town used to shoot gangster films How could he shoot a Science Fiction film about robots from the future on a run down set reflecting the 1920 s prohibition period He was insulted Annoyed But not defeated Ridley Scott realised something The future is never about just the future The future isn t just about the latest things To quote Dave Trott the future is always about the latest things overlaid on what came before We re entering a fascinating time in advertising Overlaying sound theories of what we know worked with the realities of media consumption in the future That s what the Digital Marketing Age Of Enlightenment will look like But we ll still get examples of Red Bull agencyvoices. Nick Palmer 12 2016.I am sad, very sad The harvest season is just over and mind it it was not a bad reap but a bumper crop I am sad becaus e today is Maattu Pongal the third day of four day Pongal festival and I still cannot celebrate it the way I have been celebrating it for last 2500 years Maattu meaning me, the bull and as we play an important role in the life of farmer and help him raising his crops, this day of Pongal Festivity is dedicated to us But, someone, somewhere in a mad man s world got it banned, saying it s cruel to the bull Today, I am a raging bull and why shouldn t I be raging and fuming when the ban on Jallikattu is misplaced and out of mind I stand in the witness box to fight out my case with the humanity Let me first give you a back drop to the ban People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals PETA , a USA based foreign agency collected a 3 minute footage of rare occurrences in Jallikattu and argued in Supreme Court that irritants were rubbed in our mouth, eyes and anus to frighten us and get best of our animal instincts Our tails were pulled, twisted and bitten during the game We are prodded with sharp sticks and we are made to drink alcohol Nose ropes cause us to bleed and when we are let loose we break bones and take lives Hence, Jallikattu which caused 17 accidental deaths in four years was declared a bloody sport overnight and stands banned To everyone s folly, even more deaths have been caused to people while crossing roads, using LPG cylinders in homes and participating in adventure sports will the court ban them all too Jallikattu ban is irrational, unrealistic and hypocritical How can PETA be a rescuer of Indian bull That s indigestible They have their own share of controversies Astonishingly PETA spend 60 of their USA budget towards culling of 96 animals they rescue And why do they cull when they are into the business of Ethical Treatment of Animals They say they have a problem of surplus and cull animals as they cannot give home to all the rescued ones But an animal is an animal, how can PETA be into the business of practicing selective ethical treatment to animals I, a Ma attu, vow in the name of Maattu Pongal to say the real truth to you all and as to why we should save the bull and the Jallikattu And how Jallikattu is not just a sports but beyond it Till a few decades back, a bull in India had four usages in a rural economy Bullock cart, Farming, Breeding and Jallikattu However with the advent of motorized transport and tractors, he is no more used in the first two activities Companies promoting artificial insemination usage have replace the bull in native breeding So effectively a bull is now ideally left only for Jallikattu i e the game of bull taming And if that too is banned, then there will be no reason for the bulls to be around us Post ban, the bulls are now being fast sent to butteries only to be served on dinning tables But what is Jallikattu and what is the role of a bull in a Jallikattu Jallikattu is a game of bull taming on the eve of Mattu Pongal during four day Pongal festival in country side Tamil Nadu The owner of a Jallikattu bull rea rs him like a family member and feed him on a nutritional diet containing ghee, milk to make him big and bulky They exercise them by way of running and swimming to make their limbs stronger and powerful Finally on the D-day all owners assemble in a common village ground, tie a symbolic bag of cons and launch their beasts in a closed arena People are challenged to tame the bull by clinching to the hump and holding to the horns A bulls who gives in to this fight of nerves is castrated and relegated to farm use but the one who wins is used for mating Now imagine, if Jallikattu won t happen, cows won t get the best mate and the quality of native breed would decline I say Jallikattu is beyond sport and is a native breeding science Now answer me as to where is the cruelty towards the bull in Jallikattu Unlike the bull fights in Spain there is no matador in Jallikattu who kills the raging bull with spears till he bleeds to death Yes, there are stray incidents of bull abuse in Jallikattu but t hey are not the true representatives of the game and these stray incidents deserve a severe rebuke The problem with Jallikattu is that there is a need to regulate it give protective equipment s to the participants who attempt to tame the bull, conduct medical check-up of bulls for an abuse, provide proper security measures at the venue to avoid accidents and lastly strict law and punishment to those who abuse the bull in a Jallikattu, an otherwise pious festival Jallikattu, not just represents the rich cultural diversity of India but also represents its rich diversity of fauna As a nature lover and a nationalist who takes pride in the rich cultural heritage of his country I have many things to worry A century ago we had 133 native cattle breeds and today we are just left with 37 of which 6 to 7 belong to just Tamil Nadu With the ban on Jallikattu, the price of native calves in TN have just halved to 5K as they were two years back when Jallikattu was live I am afraid if the ban is not l ifted these native breeds will go the way Dodo went - only to be read in books and heard in folk lore Please realize there is a bigger sinister game plan of few international organizations which are fighting and funding the ban on Jallikattu A very powerful and cash rich western milk lobby is fighting behind the scene They want to dump their A1 milk, a controversial variant of the milk, produced by hybrid Jersey cows in India The milk has far reaching ill effects on human health and are found to be unfit for human consumption The so called milk lobby knows that they will only succeed in their ulterior motives when they succeed in wiping out the native breeds of cattle in the county Secondly, another external lobby, propagating artificial insemination is behind the Jallikattu ban because they know once Jallikattu is gone they will have a huge business opportunity and free run in the rural market Let s rise and join our hands in support of Jallikattu and safely pass it on to the posterit y as we have inherited it from our ancestors Bullock cart races in Maharashtra, Rural Olympics of Punjab and Kambala in Karnataka are in the same league of native sports of India involving animals, which are in the eye of storm for animal abuse These sports are banned and are on the ventilator support and dyeing a slow death We have to revive them before they reach a no return point of extinction I, a Maattu, appeal to you all human beings, to clinch me back with love and affection and joyously include me into your Pongal celebrations for that s my righteous place Not just long but ever live the Bull, Jallikattu and the Pongal Photo Credit Times Now on Twitter and Balakumar Somu PS Script of P4 speech given at RIL Toastmasters Club Tagged Jallikattu TamilNadu. Harsh Chaudhary, CBCP, CPP 28 2017.Market Thoughts of the Week Ending 12-10-2016 Bull market may run into January and middle of February 2017 according to many savvy market analysts DOW gained 3 8 this week alone, and particular ly Transportation up 4 5 this week and 25 up this year Is it post-election Trump effect as DOW gained 1,300 points since Donald Trump was elected Many believe that bull may run into January and through most early part of 2017 If you believe this analysis perhaps it may be opportune time for you to take look at Transportation, Financial, Healthcare, real estates, utilities, industrials Dollar strong and gold down, and confidence is up 40 Highest since 2011 There is certain domestic centric up swing But some say now is time to take profit and look for dips to buy You decide ECB held on interest rates in spite of Italian Referendum And OPEC decision may be opening opportunity for Americans to export oil to Asia Trump is pressing for repatriation of money held overseas and encouraging American companies to comeback to America as Apple is analyzing the ways to do so And American steel is restructuring and pressing to bring thousands of job back Many movements afoot signaling revitalization of economy So which are the companies you should consider riding this surge Many experts are providing their analysis and visions for riding DOW up to 20,000 or perhaps 21,000 Some may become richer as result of taking opportunity on the changing administration, and perhaps retire well But can you retire Perhaps you may consider working through your retirement as 28 of retiring workers are intending to work in their retirement because, some need the money, healthcare, keeping productive and engaged So how are you Market closed Friday week at DOW--19,756 85 S P--2,259 53 NASDAQ--5,444 50 Gold-- 1,161 20 Oil-- 51 43 and 10-Year Bond--2 471 Here are the highlights of the week 1 Market Grinds Higher until late January, early February While some may be concerned that market is moving too high too fast, but veteran strategist Jeff Saut told on Thursday he would still buy any dips, at least over the next month or so My timing model says this market grinds higher into the end of January, begin ning of February, the chief investment strategist for Raymond James said U S stock closed at record levels again on Friday, continuing the rally that began after President-elect Donald Trump s victory on Nov 8 Saut thinks investors should look at small caps, financials, industrials and tech Value has outperformed growth since the election noticeably, he said, noting that small - and mid-cap stocks have been on fire Tom McClellan, editor of The McClellan Market Report, agrees with Saut s timing Generally speaking 2017 should be a good year, because there s just gobs of liquidity trying to get through the door and into the stock market, he said However, while there is cause for optimism that there will be less regulation and lower taxes, valuations are getting high Be cautious here You ve got to take some profits, particularly take profits given the strong rally we ve had in cyclicals, he said Instead, he would rotate into beaten-down names Ride the wave or sell and take profit How do you feel 2 ECB Holds Interest Rates Stocks closed higher Thursday and Friday, notching new highs again as a post-election rally continued after a key monetary policy announcement from the European Central Bank The Dow briefly rose more than 100 points before ending 65 points higher at a record 19,614, with Goldman Sachs contributing the most gains The S P 500 added 0 22 , with financials rising around 1 to lead advancers The NASDAQ advanced 0 44 This really is the Trump trade, said Phil Blancato, CEO of Ladenburg Thalmann Asset Management This trade is about the potential for a more pro-business economy The central bank also extended its quantitative easing program until December 2017, but will reduce purchases to 60 billion euros per month from 80 billion euros The euro whipsawed following the ECB s announcement, trading just below 1 09 against the dollar before falling around 1 5 to 1 06 The U S dollar, meanwhile, rose 0 96 against a basket of currencies to trade at 101 19 3 Just 3 stoc ks push almost half of DOW huge one-month rally They are Goldman Sachs, United Health, and Caterpillar The Dow Jones industrial average has gained about 1,300 points over the past month And interestingly, nearly half of that advance has been produced by just three stocks Leading the field by a wide margin is Goldman Sachs That stock s 26 5 rally over the past month has added about 320 points to the Dow In second place is UnitedHealth, which is up about 15 7 , and has consequently tacked about 150 points onto the 30-stock index Finally, Caterpillar s 17 3 run had added about 95 points, just ahead of JPMorgan s 90-odd point contribution So what do you think of Goldman Sachs, United Health, and Caterpillar now 4 Best Stocks for 2017 Leading investment managers took to the stage on Thursday afternoon to give their best stock picks for the year ahead at the 2016 Sohn London Investment Conference where they presented ideas with stock selections ranging from commodity-oriented equities to ret ail to software and beyond They are Rio Tinto s RIO GB , Israeli technology firm Mobileye MBLY , Autoliv ALV , Takata 7312 T JP Philips LIGHT NL as a buy since its spin-off of the lighting division in May Sonae SONI PT is overlooked and misunderstood as the unjustified key reason for its stock price having dropped 50 from March 2015 peak Opera OPERA NO is suffering from investor fatigue, it should benefit from strategic consolidation and is set to pay its net debt down to zero before returning cash to shareholders Portugal s premier cable operator, Nos NOS PT , due to its compelling industry dynamics, growing top line, low leverage and falling capex spend Walt Disney Company DIS , which some believes the company s real estate portfolio is vastly undervalued Budget airline Ryanair RY4C IE a disruptor and likes the company s potential to branch further into ancillary travel services Charter Communications CHTR has not yet achieved its potential Take a closer look at these if they interes t you Best wishes 5 U S Steel Wants to Accelerate Investments, Bring Back Jobs United States Steel would like to accelerate its investments and hire back laid-off employees now that Donald Trump will be occupying the Oval Office, CEO Mario Longhi told on Wednesday We already structured to do some things, but when you see in the near future improvement to the tax laws, improvements to regulation, and those two things by themselves may be a significant driver to what we re going to do In addition, the belief that the U S economy can grow at least 3 5 also adds to what the company can do, Longhi noted I d be more than happy to bring back the employees we ve been forced to lay off during that depressive period, he said, which could be close to 10,000 jobs Shares of the Pittsburgh-based company have soared about 80 since Trump s stunning victory on Nov 8 Investors appear to be betting on increased infrastructure spending, which the president-elect has promised, as well as further restrictio ns on China-produced steel 6 Apple is the big test case for Trump Offshoring Policy CEO Jason Calacanis told that Donald Trump s negotiations with Apple will prove whether the president-elect can actually return offshored jobs back to the United States Beyond tweets and public appearances, the real estate mogul is yet to establish a clear, consistent strategy addressing U S companies that hire abroad Trump obviously likes to negotiate, Calacanis said referring to the recent Carrier deal He likes to bully you, then brings you to the lobby, take a selfie and then have some victory laps with you However, Calacanis contends that if the president-elect wants to lure wealthier companies like Apple, he will need to use more creative financial incentives Calacanis said that Trump could offer tax amnesty to a firm like Apple to spur domestic hiring and wage increases Calacanis said that if Trump combined tariffs on Apple products made in China with tax breaks for Apple products made in the U S it might improve the U S employment situation Calacanis also thought that such heavy interference with Apple s operations could be a disaster 7 OPEC Deal Big Opportunity for U S Oil to Exports to Asia OPEC s agreement last week to cut oil production is creating an opportunity for U S oil producers to get crude into the hands of very valuable customers Asian crude buyers The members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries have vowed to cut a collective 1 2 million barrels a day and are asking other oil producers to reduce output by 600,000 barrels a day The long-awaited output limits are expected to make it possible for U S producers to ply the expensive, complicated route to Asia from the United States The stage was set when the United States lifted a 40-year-old ban on exporting American crude last December Since then, much of the oil has gone to Europe, but now industry heavyweights are attempting to extend those exports to Asia, a region whose oil consumption is gro wing 8 Work while in Retirement Half of employees say they expect to work at least part-time while in retirement, according to a Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies survey of 4,161 workers from earlier this year Continuing to work is a necessity for some, who need the income or health benefits For others, retirement is a chance for a career pivot And very surprisingly, 28 want some form of work Look for opportunities to take your second act for a test-drive while you re still in your current job Volunteer, or dabble in that passion project as a part-time side job, or arranged to clock in two days a week through a job-sharing arrangement with a colleague who also wanted to cut back on hours Whatever your motivation for working after retirement, here are ten great part-time or full-time jobs to consider 1 Start Your Own Business, 2 Work on Something You Love 3 Travel Jobs 4 Consulting 5 Volunteering, 6 Librarian Assistant Aide, 7 Bookkeeper, 8 Personal and Home Care Aide, 9 Handym an, 10 Medical Assistant Good luck and best wishes for retiring Next Week FED meeting next week Monday-non-manufacturing PMI data and Tuesday-durable goods orders, Thursday-Jobless Claims reports Again, these are my thoughts on the highlights of the week Perhaps you should take a closer look at them, do additional research and analysis, if these are interest to you Always, you decide with your own final analysis and position As always, I welcome your comments. S Vincent Shin Image credits to vShin, Getty image, AP Photo, Reuters, CNBC Thanks to my format and image consultant YMU. S Vincent Shin 10 2016.Everyday, as I walk to my happy place work in FiDi, I see groups of people taking pictures of themselves with the legendary symbol of Wall Street the charging bull But today was different He, the bull, was sharing his space with a bronze statue of a little girl This remarkable statute went up overnight around 3 00 a m today The surprise installation is whimsical yet has layers of symboli sm that will resonate across gender and other dimensions of diversity The girl is in a pony tail and has on leggings, sneakers and a dress She looks very simple But her stance -- with arms on hips, staring down the charging bull headed straight for her is anything but simple She is energy, ambition, power all wrapped up in vulnerability A small plate reads Know the power of women in leadership I immediately thought about my 8 year old daughter and what I hope she becomes Fearless A lot of people talk about gender diversity, but we really felt we had to take it to a broader level, -- Anne McNally, State Street Corp In celebration of International Women s Day, let s applaud State Street and the sculptor Kristen Visbak for their novel way to draw attention to the age old issue of of gender diversity and the pervasive lack of female representation in leadership roles The installation is slated for only one month but I hope NYC will consider a permanent installation At Elevenwall, we are ho nored to do ground-breaking work through our Pipelining Program which identifies and highlights little girls who grow up to be talented leaders in the workplace I hope this little girl inspires you to be an ally in the corporate quest for increased female representation in leadership roles Email me at for more about Pipelining or follow me on Twitter AnaAgneshwar for random musings. Ana Agneshwar 8 2017.To celebrate International Women s Day and the one-year anniversary of the SPDR Gender Diversity Index ETF NYSEArca SHE , State Street Global Advisors has issued guidelines on increasing the number of women on corporate boards and commissioned a bronze statue placed in front of the iconic Charging Bull of Wall Street SSGA has called on the over 3,500 companies that the money manager invests on behalf of clients, with over 30 trillion in market capitalization, to take steps to increase the number of women on their corporate boards, according to a State Street note The Fearless Girl Arti st Kristen Visbal As a way to mark the effort and the power of women in leadership roles, SSGA placed a statue of a young girl, representing the future, next to the Charging Bull near Wall Street in New York City s Financial District We believe good corporate governance is a function of strong, effective and independent board leadership, Ron O Hanley, president and chief executive officer of SSGA, said in a note A key contributor to effective independent board leadership is diversity of thought, which requires directors with different skills, backgrounds and expertise Today, we are calling on companies to take concrete steps to increase gender diversity on their boards and have issued clear guidance to help them begin to take action Read More. Tom Lydon 8 2017.Yes you are right PESSIMISM It is amazing the kind of scepticism that thrives all around today Most people are not willing to believe that a recovery is on and that the macroeconomic scenario in India is much better than it was ever over the last many years There are several reasons for this, however the main reasons are to do with the fact that the optimism of the past did not play out the way people thought it should and now the majority thinks that there is going to be no recovery The actual picture is likely to play out much differently First let s briefly touch on the Global Scenario Now as far as India is concerned the only thing that we are interested is that there should not be any sort of crisis anywhere i e Sovereign Debt, China Hard landing, Commodity crash driven etc The second thing that we do not want is that there should not be any abrupt withdrawal of liquidity Now none of these things are likely The global liquidity squeeze that was created due to continuously falling commodity prices has also US FED is likely to hike slowly, the ECB is still printing more and more, the Japanese are likely to print more and this will ensure that liquidity is ample over the next 2-3 years The China hard landin g theory also has taken a backseat with the economy transforming slowly That is not to say that the humungous Debt burden in China will not have an impact, however the impact will be more spread out and is unlikely to create a shock for the global economy The other fact is that growth recovery will be slow in the Western Economies and China will continue to slow This will keep inflationary pressure from global factors benign from the Indian standpoint Now specific to India most analysts are ignoring clear-cut signs of recovery which are there for everyone to see There are several data points that indicate the same The PMI data is looking up the Core Industries growth data for February showed broad based growth with very strong growth in Electricity, Cement, Fertilizers, and Coal Production etc Other data points like fuel consumption, Air Traffic etc have been strong for months now The big problem that was faced in general was due to the commodity crash where the entire supply chain got impacted due to continuously falling prices This phenomenon causes losses to the producers, distributors as well as retailers This leads to destocking at all levels as the general belief is that prices will keep on falling and holding inventory will lead to more losses As commodities stabilize and there is some uptick in prices the reverse will play out i e the entire chain will start making more money, there will be restocking in the expectation that prices might rise more and inventory losses which hit profits last year are likely to reverse this year This by itself could have a positive swing impact of 5 on earnings of corporate India The thrust areas of the government have started seeing a significant revival in the investment cycle This includes Roads and Highways, Railways, Power Transmission Distribution etc More action is expected on the ports and irrigation sectors this year and going forward The initial thrust generated due to the infrastructure investments will start flowin g into better capacity utilization across industries and will lead to a revival in corporate investment cycle with a lag of 12-18 months Consumption suffered a lot over the last 3-4 years due to several factors The biggest factor was high inflation which led to negative real rates and thus ate into the savings of people This combined with a slowing economy and jobless growth led to a further slowdown in consumption demand On top of that we have had two years of below par monsoons which has hit rural demand Several factors are now playing out which will lead to a revival in consumption This includes low inflation, low interest rates and thus borrowing rates, the 7th Pay commission implementation and the rural thrust of the government this year In case we get a normal monsoon, which is the current indication then we could see a very strong revival in consumer demand over the next 6-12 months Job creation is still lagging, however as the economy picks up hopefully we will also see a more rapid pickup in job creation The other factor that is holding recovery back is the state of the balance sheet of banks which have been hit by huge NPA s The good part is that the cleanup has started in good earnest and should play out over the next few quarters The hitch is that if the economy does not recover we could see prolonged pain continue However lower inflation and bond yields will be extremely beneficial, especially for many PSU Banks who have loaded on to Government bonds over the last two years Most analysts say that we cannot see recovery Well that is how recoveries happen If analysts and economists could see booms and bust cycles then we wouldn t have them and markets would move in a steady, low volatile, straight line manner Always remember Bull markets are born on pessimism, grow on scepticism, mature on optimism and die on euphoria Sir John Templeton We are somewhere in the pessimism scepticism cycle right now MARKETS Markets are more or less playing out the way I thou ght they should except for the sudden drop of February which took me by surprise However markets tend to surprise us all the time On the upside there is always an overshooting and on the downside an undershooting However we seem to building a strong base for a durable growth and earnings recovery in India Over the last 4 years earnings have disappointed with the actual earnings turning out to be much worse than forecast at the beginning of the year However this is set to change in 2016-17 A combination of sales recovery, operating leverage, lower interest costs as well as stable costs will lead to a strong earnings recovery going forward which will surprise most While you will hear Fed fears, Yuan fears, crude oil fears etc etc the recovery will keep on gaining steam Macroeconomic wise we are the strongest in a decade Our external debt is down, forex reserves are up, CAD is at extremely low levels, Fiscal Deficit is coming down and structural reforms are underway There are opportunitie s across Large Caps and Mid caps today with much greater value in the broader markets So are we in a Bull Market, yes we are though the noises you will hear are more like pullback rally, dead cat bounce etc etc I am bullish for sure. Sandip Sabharwal 7 2016.Well, am not referring the jallikattu sport which is talk of the city this week The recent article on Government mooting the idea of a mandatory exit examination in their final year for all engineering graduates got me thinking The objective of the test was to determine their employability, and the news article also stated that the government plans to share their scores with prospective employers Will an exit examination help in improving the quality of engineering education An engineering graduate, writes about 50 theory papers and attends more than a dozen labs in his her four year undergraduate engineering program Yet another test, will it make a difference Equally intriguing are the so-called employability reports that peg the employability of engineering graduates between 3 to 30 Consider this, 50 of students from Anna University s affiliated colleges non-autonomous fail in their first year exams There are 500 engineering colleges in Tamil Nadu 148 engineering colleges got less than 20 students enrolling in their colleges, and more than 100,000 seats go vacant every year AICTE is seeking to cut down the number of engineering college seats by 6 lakhs from current capacity of 16 7 lakhs to between 10 to 11 lakhs I think the root-cause of the country s problem of unemployability among engineering graduates lies elsewhere and an exit test may not be the solution The bull needs to be taken by its horn and not by the tail Here are some solutions The entry criteria needs to be strengthened, not the exit criteria A Common National Selection Test on the lines of JEE should be conducted for admission to all institutions in the country The cut-off marks may vary, but the test remains the same IITs, NITs, Central Unive rsities, State Universities, Private Universities Prune the capacity Excess supply had taken the shine off the engineering degree, and it has become yet another graduate program Make a realistic assessment of the need and prune the capacity Review performance of engineering institutions Accreditation has become a compliance rather than an improvement tool Not all the 3,000 technology institutes are capable of delivering engineering education Focus should be on faculty development, research output, continuous evolution of curriculum, industry-academic partnership and nurturing innovation and entrepreneurship in the campus Parenting the parents Parents need to realize that there are careers and life beyond engineering and medicine programs Awareness needs to be built on other career paths and schemes like PMKVY should be leveraged to gain employable skills The half-life of engineering knowledge is as low as 2 5 years for computer science engineering and 5 years for electrical engineering This means the curriculum can only take us so far, and students should look for ways and means to stay current through MOOC, hands-on exposures through internships, participating crowdsourcing events, competitions like hackathons etc I am keen to hear your views, go ahead and leave a comment. Dr Subramani Ramakrishnan 11 2017.The economists have given their verdict, mostly in the negative, of the possible consequences of this Government action, which like a shock therapy has impeded on the very fabric of every economic activity in India Every trade is impacted whether on cash or non-cash terms The question is how do we look at the unintended consequences Why this action, any large government action makes a very stunning case for unintended consequences of such actions Think of the Coal block de-allocation and you will know how the following one year was filled with a frenzy of importation of coal which almost touched 200 Million tons, whereas the actual output from all the de-allocat ed mines where a fraction of it This is the classic case of Bull-Whip, where a smaller change in supply creates a disproportionately large change in the supply chain ordering process due to lack of information or of the consequences likely to fall on the supply chain The immediate aftermath of the coal crisis saw immediate action by almost all corporates to import coal and the government had to step in to raise output of Coal India as a response The increased output did not have a matching demand in due course and the prices fell Indian domestic coal prices today are way lower than the international coal prices Well, sudden shortage in domestic coal has now reversed to large availability of domestic coal But for all you know this could well turn the other way if another bout of centrally planned action sets in Any planned action by the government is normally to be found with an equally unknown reaction by the market as a whole and the unintended consequences of such a planned action no rmally far exceeds the intended consequences Hayek, in his seminal book of the 1940s, The Road to serfdom , has actually dealt with this very subject in great depths His book is replete with examples why a centrally planned action by the government for doing a common good could well have higher costs than the benefits In India s case we are dealing with a common good, like taking the evils of black money out of the economy This is undoubtedly a very bold step and will create many good results, which the government has rightly pointed out in the opening statements But think of the unintended consequences of such a move The beauty of this is that the direction of unintended consequences cannot be controlled or planned in advance It is not like one single piece being removed from a large jigsaw puzzle, it is like a juggernaut of puzzles that are intertwined Think of sudden jerk in money supply or a removal of money from the supply lines The entire system has been tuned to work in a very c oordinated way we call the market way of functioning How much money will be needed in circulation is not a central planning job, it is decided by the market The central bank by some instruments have a way to regulate the flow so that prices in the economy can be kept within a band of satisfaction, which in turn aids the process of wheeling the economy to move to create jobs, etc If this process is suddenly controlled, the market must respond to it The response could start from a very resilient action to a very cautious stance in due course This is where the unintended consequences step in The market needs time to react and respond to all the unintended consequences A business that was entirely being conducted on cash transactions surely has a very drastic change to contend with This business cannot overnight shift to non-cash But think of every small fish in the food chain in an ocean, taking out a mass of some fish in that chain could create havoc in the entire ecosystem of the ocean Every trading community operating on cash has a supply side and a demand side, which could well be conducted on non-cash terms Both these sides would be impacted The government action of increasing supply of Rs 2000 notes or Rs 500 notes at a later time horizon could well be a move that could have unintended consequences as well The market having adjusted to a new normal could suddenly see a large flow coming in Not all participants in the market react in the same manner, some are slow starters, some fast and some could well be mere observers The cumulative effect of all these responses can never be fully gauged by prior planning This is precisely the reason Hayek was against central planning roles of the government The best and honest action by the government to do welfare for the poor could well turn up to have bigger costs than the benefits the government originally planned to do The best examples in this world of the best performing economies is not the ones orchestrated by central ly planned actions, but the ones where market economies where left to be free to operate where the only lawful course was decided by the laws of competition There the government had a role to see that the competition laws worked rightfully Hayek writes in his book, in the section The liberal way of planning , it regards competition as superior not only because in most circumstances it is the most efficient method known but because it is the only method which does not require the coercive or arbitrary intervention of authority It dispenses with the need for conscious social control Well you could wonder that government inaction in the real money supply could well be better than the government controlling the entire supply at each step. Procyon Mukherjee 21 2016.The Dow rallied 0 6 this week to climb back above 18,000, a now-3 3 year-to-date gain taking the blue chip index to within 1 of all-time closing highs If you count dividends, the S P 500 already made a new historic high Monday I nvestors are getting more comfortable with risk again as yield on the 10-year U S treasury rose ten basis points to 1 85 Despite the milestones for U S stocks, though, investors don t seem to be in a particularly celebratory mood Legendary investor Sir John Templeton once said Bull markets are born on pessimism, grown on skepticism, mature on optimism, and die on euphoria Even as indexes reached record levels last year, you would have been hard-pressed to find any signs of euphoria You could make a case the convalescence of the U S labor market and consumer has given rise to optimism, but there has remained a healthy serving of skepticism The following feature appeared in SkyBridge Capital s Wall Street Weekly newsletter, where every weekend we break down the most important stories from the world of finance, economics and geopolitics Sign up free So why are investors so hesitant to embrace this bull market The reasons are pretty straight-forward economic growth is lackluster, with the Atlanta Fed s GDPNow tool forecasting only 0 3 growth in Q1, and earnings are set to contract for the third-straight quarter Earnings multiples are stretched the upper band of historical levels However, investing is a relative game When you have steady inflows and global central banks hell-bent on stoking credit activity and inflation, money will flow into the most attractive areas We re not saying skeptical investors are wrong to proceed with caution, but there is a difference between being right and making money in financial markets Speaking of earnings, American companies are struggling to consistently meet even dampened expectations After the close Thursday, tech heavyweights Alphabet GOOGL andMicrosoft MSFT fell short of bottom-line expectations, sinking 5 4 and 7 2 , respectively However, the negative sentiment failed to engulf market indexes, the Dow and S P 500 finishing above the flat-line and the Nasdaq falling only 0 8 Last week we talked about how even dismal bank earnings were enough to lift the beaten-down sector That trend held true this week with Goldman Sachs GS The company s revenue and profit fell 60 and 40 , respectively, to the lowest levels of CEO Lloyd Blankfein s decade in charge But both figures exceeded expectations and the stock rallied 5 2 for the week Amid all of these mundanely mediocre bank earnings is perhaps some good news While Wall Street may be settling into a less lucrative new normal, there were no multi-billion-dollar trading losses, massive new fines stemming from the crisis or signs of systemic weakness For a sector down 23 year-to-date in February but now entering a new bull market, boring is the new blockbuster Oil comeback belies lack of coordination Stocks aren t the only assets rallying despite marginal fundamentals West Texas Intermediate WTI crude rallied another 8 4 this week, taking its year-to-date gains to more than 18 , despite an unproductive meeting of major oil producers in Doha, Qatar Officials from 16 of the top oil producing countries met to discuss an output freeze, but unsurprisingly no agreement was reached given almost half the world s oil production wasn t represented Oil futures initially traded down as much as 7 Sunday evening, but rallied all the way back as the oil supply glut shows signs of self-correcting, particularly in regard to falling U S shale production Iran s reluctance to even entertain the idea of easing back into global oil markets makes its fierce rival Saudi Arabia unlikely to consider curbing production Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia is moving forward with plans to diversify its economy away from the daily whims of energy markets The kingdom is said to have picked the investment bankersto lead its partial IPO of state oil company Aramco To show it is willing to wait out this period of low oil prices to maintain market share, the Saudis have reportedly agreed to terms on a 10 billion loan to fund its deficit It s all part of 31-year-old Deputy Crown Prince Prince Mohammed bin Salman s 2 trillion plan to modernize Saudi Arabia and wean the kingdom off oil Saudi Arabia has long benefitted in the Middle East from its close albeit complicated relationship with the United States, but with President Obama pursuing diplomacy with traditional adversaries like Iran and the U S pushing for the prosecution of Saudi officials over the 28-pages in the 9 11 commission report, the kingdom likely sees a need to reduce its dependency on America s friendship If the 9 11 bill passes, the Saudis are threatening to sell 750 billion in U S Treasuries and other assets, although the threat is very exaggerated Things looking up in South America As a head of state, it s never a good sign when your approval rating falls below the inflation rate That s the reality facing Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff who, as cabinet members defect and impeachment comes closer to fruition, isn t going down without a fight She has accused her political rivals of staging a coup motivated by sex ism and appealed to the United Nations With a purge of the corrupt political establishment on the horizon, Brazil s crisis has taken on a Carnival atmosphere, only tempered by the fact the Vice President is even more unpopular than Rousseff although he too could face impeachment Brazilian markets continue to rally in anticipation of a new dawn Once Argentina agreed with remaining holdout creditors and New York Federal Judge Thomas P Griesa lifted the injunction preventing it from paying bondholders, attention turned to the country s return to global credit markets President Mauricio Macri and Finance Minister Alfonso Prat-Gray plotted a 15 billion bold sale, but questions remained about the level of demand for Argentina s debt at a time when emerging market debt was under heavy pressure While overall stress in emerging markets has eased considerably, that doesn t fully explain the overwhelming demand for Argentina s bond offering, which last week swelled to 16 5 billion The offering wa s wildly oversubscribed, causing yields to come in lower than expected Argentina sold bonds ranging in maturity from three to 30 years, with the 10- and 30-year notes yielding 7 5 and 8 0 , respectively But even at higher than expected prices, it appears Argentina left meat on the bone as those bonds gained on secondary markets in early trading Welcome back, Argentina China getting too much credit Although China and Hong Kong equity indexes are 12 and 22 off their late January lows, respectively, things look to be taking a downward turn in Asian credit markets Defaults at state-owned enterprises are on the rise, driving up yields and triggering the biggest selloff in onshore junk debt since 2014 Standard and Poor s has cut ratings on Chinese firms at the fastest pace since 2003 A delay in payment collection caused by inventory stockpiles within the Chinese supply chain has also triggered concerns about a potentially dangerous chain reaction whereby corporations don t have enough cash t o pay debts China s prolificacy in producing steel has led to an oversupply crisis for the global steel industry, and now Chinese banks are also being told by global financial watchdogs to stop lending to zombie steel and coal firms George Soros is still around, and he thinks China s debt-fueled economy resembles the United States before the 2008 financial crisis Interesting, hadn t thought of that Falling off the unicorn Well, that escalated quickly Theranos was once a soaring 9 billion unicorn set to revolutionize the healthcare industry with its finger-prick blood-testing system As it turned out, the technology didn t actually work and journalists heaped heavy criticism on devastated Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes That is now the least of her worries as Theranos isfacing a criminal probe, which is rare for a private company Elsewhere in the mystical realm, Uber has overtaken rental cars among business travelers The company also settled a class action labor dispute with its driver s in California and Massachusetts that will see it pay the drivers 100 million and allow them to solicit tips from riders Prominent venture capital investor Bill Gurley thinks private markets have become dangerous Yahoo turning yellow Yahoo is essentially an irrelevant brand at this point, but that doesn t make its saga any less entertaining The company posted a loss during the most recent quarter as revenue declined once again The brand has fallen so far it could end up being bought by the Yellow Pages Let that sink in a tech company could be bought by the Yellow Pages Last week we wrote about suggestions Marissa Mayer and company were dragging their feet on a potential sale, but she heard her critics and wants them to know the company is moving decisively to find the right deal In other news Failure of living will tests show banks can t imagine their own demises Puerto Rico s bondholders are divided over a potential federal rescue, while Moody s makes it clear Puerto Rico will defaul t on May 2 Taking a cue from its European Central Bank comrades, the Bank of Japan BoJ is said to eye a potential negative rate loan program The real story about how the Amazon Echo was built How Microsoft is reclaiming its former glory. Anthony Scaramucci 25 2016.Last article, I discussed the need for at least a 5 pullback from SPX 2265 to avoid a potential bearish signal by year s end Now that it doesn t seem likely, a updated review of those data points shows that nothing has changed The distance between what the market is worth, according to a proprietary macro fair value, and where the SPX is priced currently, is at record levels Don t shoot the messenger, but the only other 3 times we ve had this much of an overvalue gap is 1987, 1999, and 2007 as shown As the last week of 2016 ends, we officially add only the fourth signal in 30 years Simple explanation of how to apply fundamental macro as a guide for bull or bear markets is to forecast the economy Best time to own equities are when the economy is growing slowly, keeping inflation under control yet strong enough to avoid deflation These bullish conditions, along with QE, are what we ve had since 2009 As we know, bull markets don t last forever, and are ended in two ways the economy weakens into recession, or the economy overheats I talked about 1987 and 1999 last time, as obvious comparisons of elevated price multiples to demonstrate an expensive market But 2007 is different from a macro perspective, in that we reached the end of the macro cycle, ignored by SPX until the price got too expensive Of course, when you get rare data, you analyze the prior periods Particularly, you want to see how the market behaved after the signals, in time direction, then magnitude In 2007 and 1999, the signal preceded a decent pullback to a pivot buy point, followed by a bounce back to the highs before the start of a bear market In 1987, we had a quick reset of SPX price, moving from record overvalued to bottom end of valuatio n range in two days As for magnitude, past periods really don t portend much Getting a bear market correct is good enough, and how far price goes is dependent on independent factors 1999 we entered into a recession, 2007 we had systemic issues How far the market goes down this time depends on how data changes along the way But if I had to favor a prior period move, it would be the reset move of 1987 as I do not yet see a recession looming I understand and appreciate the bullish case major relief in Energy and Financial regulations, tax cuts, and impressive consumer confidence I ve often said bull markets end on great news, and it appears that conditions couldn t get any better and that s normally when they don t Macro fair value says the bullish case is already reflected in the current price, which has become so expensive that the markets are having trouble continuing to move higher Finally, sentiment is euphoric as I m having a difficult time finding a bearish forecast for 2017, with the most negative view only that we ll have a quick correction that should be bought None of the major analysts are forecasting a lower SPX for 2017 Based on my macro data, however, the correction will be at least a 20 retreat a qualified bear market It s a lonely call So what needs to happen to improve the forecast outcome Recall we are working with two numbers actual SPX price and what the model thinks the price should be Both move independently, and SPX tends to wander within a range above and below fair value In order for the gap to decrease, we need Macro Fair Value to improve, which means we get a fast pick up in the economy Will we get improved earnings and better GDP in Q1 Even the bulls are saying probably not, yet say we should overlook this because it s different this time Trump trumps the models All I know is what the data says, and that is as we enter 2017 at record highs, the models are telling us we still have an economy that barely supports 2015 prices Careful the bull market is coming to an end. Michael Valletutti 27 2016.French pilot Astles on her season-opening podium and what s ahead Mlanie Astles, the only woman competing in the Red Bull Air Race, kicked off her 2017 campaign for the Challenger Cup with a confident third place in Abu Dhabi on 11 February It s Astles second consecutive podium, and with the experience of a full season behind her, she s got a steady plan for success Mlanie, congratulations on an excellent start to 2017 After a four-month offseason, how was it to resume competition in the Challenger Class Thanks It was a real pleasure to start a Red Bull Air Race season again I love flying in a racetrack and we don t get to do it very often, so it s just nice to be back It s also nice to see everyone we re like a big family, so it s quite cool to meet up again Last year was your first season Do you feel like you gained experience that you re able to apply now I m definitely feeling more prepared I have been through the system last year and put in a lot of hard work I m feeling relaxed and happy and was ready to get started The season format for the Challenger Class is a bit different than the format for the World Championship, because Challenger pilots don t fly at every stop Last year you were on hand at Abu Dhabi but didn t compete, so how was it to actually be in contention this time Abu Dhabi is a beautiful place to fly I really love the takeoff, and flying above the sea and among the buildings The weather was very good, so it was a great feeling all the time And of course it s a popular location for many prestigious sports, including Formula One It felt nice to be there and to compete in that universe And with your third-place result, it turned out very well Yes On one hand, I think it was a good thing not to compete in Abu Dhabi last year The first race of the season is difficult anyway, but in 2016 everything was new for me because I d never raced before Being able to observe was a good opportunity to get to know the system before racing But because I hadn t competed in Abu Dhabi last year, I felt this was somewhere I needed to race, and I had a good feeling about it Of course no pilot has a racetrack with 25-meter pylons at their home airport So how did you prepare during the offseason We get information on the track layout in advance, and I devoted a lot of time to studying it I worked with my mental coach, Andr Armand from AP Coaching visualizing and closing my eyes and thinking about the best trajectory Also now I m very lucky to well, it s not all luck, because I fought for it but I ve got my own plane It s not exactly the same plane as the one we race, but I worked on a lot of critical skills like chicanes and vertical turns, and after having the chance to fly and pull some Gs I was much more comfortable in the Challenger plane through the racetrack Obviously it s been quite beneficial Now with hindsight, what do you think were the critical factors in that Abu Dhabi racetrack I t hink the key points in the track began with getting a good start speed and flying smoothly through the chicane, which I was doing pretty well Then there was the vertical turn maneuver, and I think I was a little weaker there the guys were going faster and I need to study the runs to see what was going on And finally, a turn between Gates 7 and 8 was another the key point I think I managed that one quite well, which I m pleased about What was your mindset I just kept it easy, because I wanted to gain confidence and avoid any penalties or pylon hits The aim wasn t to go fast the aim was to fly clean and gain confidence, and we meaning my support team and I were particularly good at this In regard to that objective it really was a big success What are your targets and goals for the rest of the season The objectives are to link all the knowledge I managed to get last year and put everything together I think I have many things still to learn, but I ve got quite a few weapons that can help m e to be fast Basically I ll be aiming for the podium Given how you ve started 2017, that seems like a realistic goal To be honest, it s not easy this year because the level of the pilots is very high I would like to manage to reach a level where I m in the top I m still working I m in the middle now, and I m going to try and find a little something that makes the difference It s time to look at the details I also think now my flying is much better, which allows me to use my brain a bit more in the track, looking to get as close as possible to perfection You can never reach perfection, but I want to make it as close to perfect as I can You mention that the level of the pilots is high, and while there are three newcomers in the lineup this year, there are also pilots with more seasons of racing experience than you have Does that concern you I can t control the others I ll do my best and give everything that I have, as usual I ve got quite good weapons this year, so the aim will be to win but ultimately I can only win against myself, as I did in Abu Dhabi by achieving my objectives And then the others, well, if they re better, they re better It s the clock that will decide In fact, the Challenger Cup was designed as a way to build skills toward possible participation in the Master Class that competes for the World Championship, so racing is only part of the equation, isn t it It s about learning, and there is such a big difference between Mlanie last year and Mlanie this year I m an instructor so I recognize what s going on The first year you have so much information to take into account, and everything is arriving at the same time For example, flying through the track for me flying low was something new, flying though pylons was new, and then going through chicanes and finding angles to go faster was new So the first year I hit a few pylons, because you are doing so many things at once that your brain can t focus on everything at the same time It s impossible It s som ething you have to accept You learn from those mistakes and forge ahead And this is a normal process I ve been studying a lot of psychology about it, and it s the same during the debut year in all sports I think it s quite positive in a way because the people who become champions are the people who make a lot of mistakes the first year because they test the limits of the system And in my sport I m talking about the limits of flying a competitive line, not safety limits, of course If you don t know where the limit is, you can t know the best place to go faster So that s why I say that now in my second year, the aim is to fly clean And maybe during the season to fly faster as well So to sum things up I think it s going to be a very good season I m quite happy about it, and confident For any sponsorship or partnership request please contact us on You can view Melanie s race run again by following the link below. Mlanie Astles 11 2017.It all started with a dare Or more accurately, a chall enge And I love a challenge A few weeks ago I was with our 12-year-old daughter and the families of her traveling softball team for a weekend tournament After it wrapped up, the girls wanted to swim, hang out at the hotel s arcade, and do a little movie watching in each others rooms This was fine with the parents, who knew that the kids were safely contained within the hotel for the evening It also meant the parents could have a little fun Hey Amy, you re up A small group of parents and I found our way to the hotel s western-themed bar To our surprise, we were met by a mechanical bull It didn t take long before one of the Dads suggested we give the mechanical bull a try A few of the parents begged off, but some of us were intrigued enough to give it a go Having never ridden a mechanical bull before, I was a little nervous What if I made a fool of myself What if I fell right off Then another question crossed my mind What would I regret more trying and failing or never trying at all The same can be said of most challenges in life, but particularly those in business This is especially true if, like me, your livelihood depends on putting yourself out there to win and retain business and clients My bull riding experience reminded me of some important business lessons Try Something New That Scares You In order to grow as a businessperson and as a human being you must step out of your comfort zone Getting on a mechanical bull is one way to do that, but so is agreeing to be a first-time panelist at an industry conference or taking the lead on a new business pitch By challenging yourself, you ll force yourself to stretch your skills, learn new things and adapt to avoid becoming complacent Asking for Advice Before a Big Endeavor is a Good Idea, Especially if You Show Some Humility Before getting on that bull, I humbly confessed to the operator that it was my first time and asked him for some strategies He happily obliged I m not sure things would have gone as well had I come out cocky, and with guns blazing, thinking I could master something I had never done before In fact, I m fairly certain that attitude would have resulted in much rougher and tougher ride Asking for that advice and my willingness to accept it played a key role in my success Even if you re ready to put yourself out there, it would behoove you to check your ego at the door and check in with a trusted colleague to get his her advice Maybe they ve been there before and could share some insights to help you avoid get thrown off the bull, so to speak Someone s Always Watching That night in the bar, I had plenty of people watching my bull ride my fellow parents and riders, other patrons, the wait staff, barkeepers, and bouncers I d like to think that my willingness to ride helped inspire others to be brave as well In business, we have allies and foes There will be those that cheer you on and those that try to tear you down This is an opportunity for you to show the world your best, most fearle ss self Just think, you could inspire someone to try something new Or maybe even land a new client who is impressed with your moxie Just Go With It When riding the bull, you have to be ready for anything You are not in control you re at the mercy of the operator The best way to deal with this is to stay loose and move with the bull instead of fighting it Remaining balanced is the only way to make your way through the twists and turns without falling off The same holds true in the business world If we remain rigid and fixed in our positions and viewpoints, we re sure to take a tumble Being flexible and adaptable allows us to remain balanced and ride out whatever challenges come our way Bruises Are To Be Expected Even if you re trying to relax, riding a mechanical bull for the first time can cause your body to tense up The result A few bruises You may even cut your chin open and not realize it until one of your friends asks why you re bleeding I would argue that bruises are normal, and t o be expected after engaging in any nerve-wracking test of your skills It might be a misstep during a presentation, or maybe an error in a financial projection Battle scars are a reminder of the risk, the reward, and the effort you took to meet a challenge Fortunately, those bumps and bruises will heal Don t Forget to Have Fun There s just something about overcoming an obstacle or fear Riding that bull and staying on it for 56 seconds without falling off was a rush You can actually see the joy on my face in the photo above I was having fun It s important to remember that taking on and overcoming a business challenge usually results in that same sense of accomplishment and exhilaration Like I said in the beginning, ask yourself what you would regret more trying something new and failing or never trying at all Amy Blaschka and 2016 --- What challenges have you taken on Ever ridden a mechanical bull and lived to tell the tale I d love to hear your thoughts and experiences in the comments below --- If you liked this post, please check out my other here and consider following me by clicking the Follow button at the top of this post And if this post connected with you so much that you feel compelled to like, comment, and share it, please do it would be much appreciated If you d like to connect, please send a personalized request and let me know why it s a good idea Hint Being clever is a good start Besides, that way I can tell you re a real human and not some made up, fake profile Bonus I ll know that you ve read this Not sure how to customize the invite Check out this easy to follow tutorial And if you re reading this on a mobile device you can personalize the request there, too Go to my profile on the LinkedIn app, tap the three vertical dots on the top right of your screen and then click on personalize invite See Easy --- Amy that s me on the left is the president of rbp consulting, a consultancy specializing in helping transform people and organizations in transition When she s not involved in some sort of makeover, you ll find her unhappy She carries a really big purse, and enjoys being a badass writer, playing co-ed volleyball, and pretending she has her own HGTV show She digs time with her friends and family, which includes a yellow lab named Rigby Need some help overcoming a challenge Contact Amy at or say hi on Twitter amyblaschka. Amy Blaschka 19 2016 ..The moaning and dribbling experienced here yesterday when I suggested a 24-year-old male was no kid and should be ejected from his parent s root cellar was, ah, interesting It s hard to know now when adulthood starts At thirty When you get your first condo Three decades before retirement When your mom stops washing your shorts. Those who want twentysomethings treated as dependent children invariably have economic reasons No jobs, they say The kid ll be homeless So adult children end up like giant eight-year-olds, assuming they have no mobility, freedom or personal responsibility Hard to see how helicopter parenting does much for experience, which is the foundation of maturity. Of greater concern, though, is what this often does to parental finances The numbers shared here yesterday are a shocker almost half of all Canadians spend 100 of their incomes on houses and kids, putting nothing aside for the future And half over 50 have just a fraction one quarter saved of what they ll need to r etire a decade later In other words, they ain t going to make it It s a fair bet a lot of them have Millennial things in the basement, contributing nothing to the home despite expensive educations. This underscores the fragility of household finance With 1 75 trillion in mortgage and personal debt and the certainty of rate increases next year, plus a 3 savings rate, things aren t going too well No wonder wealth is drifting up to the investor class while debt drifts down to what s left of the middle class The TSX gained 27 in the past year and the S P is up 21 , while inflation is 2 and houses grew an average of 5 Real estate also has massive buying and selling costs, ongoing property tax, insurance and maintenance payments and often strata fees. Unless there are sustained capital gains each and every year in the property market, things aren t going to end well for a lot of people who have rolled the dice on a one-asset strategy Almost 60 of Canadian households have mortgages That s 5 6 m illion families, while another 2 2 million have home equity lines of credit The average mortgage rate is 3 2 , and even at that historically-low level most folks are saving nothing Just imagine when mortgages again average 5 which is still a relative bargain. The Bank of Canada has crunched the numbers They re ugly If five-year mortgage rates average just 4 then mortgage payments would become the most unaffordable in 16 years If interest rates rise 2 in general and they will, without a doubt then 10 of households with mortgages can no longer afford them That s more than enough to push over the entire market. At the heart of this threat to the middle class is the notion that houses are investments not places to live so if you have one you don t need to invest in anything else That s how we got a 70 home ownership rate and a 3 savings rate. This is also what screwing up the kids heads. Adulthood s now equated with real estate ownership Parents coddle the adultettes until they land a job, tel l them renting is throwing their money away, and encourage them to leap from the basement to the 23rd floor even when that means shouldering big debt and living paycheque to paycheque So much for moving three provinces away to land the best job and launch a career. The condo mavens know this Like Vancouver s Bosa Properties It just hatched a scheme to ensnare the young called an equity plan, to offer hope to Vancouverites who feel like they ll never be able to afford their own homes A small 15 amount of monthly rent goes to loyalty points which can be used later as partial downpayment for a Bosa condo After two years, it earns a 5,700 credit towards a unit so the buyer can start owning the same unit they ve been living in, and pay twice the monthly load. Well, this pathetic blog has been warning people about the one-horse portfolio for years now Millions have ignored me They won t stop. This week Reuters ran a significant story on the real estate party raging in Canada that the rest of th e world is watching like a head-on collision YouTube vid Morningstar equity analyst Dan Werner summed things up pretty well. If you start looking at your house as an investment class, as something else you should be investing in rather than the stock market, you run into the danger of being exposed to some of the excesses going on in the system There is this euphoria when you are within an up-housing market We fell into it that here I don t want to say Canadians are in a party mode, but they are thinking, What can possibly go wrong if prices keep going up It s going to end badly. Of course it will end badly Meanwhile misguided parents churn out Millennials who feel entitled to leap from their childhood homes into granite-laden, debt-drenched digs, thinking this is what adults do. What could possibly go wrong.218 comments. Just as a bad cold leads to pneumonia, so over-indebtedness leads to deflation, wrote the US economist Irving Fisher in 1933. 32 David Lee on 09 10 14 at 7 24 pm 3rd attempt 153 Mark yesterday s post. They talk as though a housing correction hasn t even begun Even though evidence of such having been in progress for more than a year now is quite abundant. Again not a challenge, just looking for some help in Vancouver. Please point e g by providing links to where you are getting your data from such that you can say that evidence is quite abundant. Any help would be appreciated. So there you have it folks Mark annoyingly replies to a dozen or more posts every single day Even posts where he is asked to please not post his unwanted opinion Actually he doesn t reply to posts he voices his opinion on just about every subject matter that one can think of He is just that smart But above you can see a post actually asking for Mark to reply and crickets. So Mark please put up or shut up Here again is the request Please point e g by providing links to where you are getting your data from such that you can say that evidence is quite abundant. Garth I think total household credit in Canada is closer to 1 75 trillion. 4 Retired Boomer - WI on 09 11 14 at 5 35 pm. Your kids are NOT entitled to a dam thing They are NOT entitled to anything FREE from you after the age of majority No free room, no free board, and no FREE higher education. That said, if you wish to assist with things after the age of majority 18 here it is your right, but NOT your responsibility. The best balanced young people are those that learned to balance a checkbook, job, and earned their own way early. I m proof Not a fan of higher education, but dam sure a fan of working smart, saving early, and not listening to well meaning, but usually mis-directed advice. My 43 year old colleague just told me a couple hours ago that I will only leave my parents basement where he pays 200 month when I can afford to buy a 2BD downtown apartment in Vancouver with 20 down-payment to avoid CMHC fees He lives with his wife and also mentioned that their parents took out a LOC for them, secured against the house of course so that they can pay off 17000 in CC debt He actually thinks that they are doing great now that they don t have CC debt, he thinks of themselves almost as being well off Shocking I guess it will take them another 20 years to scrap that down-payment together, or of course they can just ask the parents to get a bigger LOC Wow, just Wow. How do you feel about upcoming foreclosure sales in Toronto and Vancouver Will deals be made How do you see it spanning out over the next few years. Don t fall for that Garth. I have found it interesting in life, that often the most successful young people I have had the pleasure to meet, received very little from their parents, beyond the necessities of life, encouragement and vocal support. Also interesting that a past study conducted by Harvard University among their own top students, revealed the common theme that the intelligent, creative, high achievers all had parents who set normal guidelines, but beyond those they allowed their children the freedom to make their own choices. Helicopte r parenting isn t healthy for anyone involved, and has the potential to be financially devastating for people trying to fund their own retirement, while still supporting their adult children possibly still looking after elderly parents. The greatest gift we can give our kids is independence and freedom the down payment on a huge debt. 9 common sense on 09 11 14 at 5 59 pm. I sent my kid away to university in a distant city at 18 He has been on his own ever since We paid his tuition through grad school, but he s had to work to pay for himself sometimes working 2 jobs plus school We always pushed him to work harder when he called home experiencing youthful reluctance. He s independent now has a small business in the entertainment industry, wouldn t think of moving home I m proud of ourselves for having been tough parents We got a stand alone winner out of it. The stigma of living in mom s basement or paying 1,500 per month for a mortgage that will only increase in 4 years Decisions, decisions. 11 Casual Observer on 09 11 14 at 6 05 pm. so the buyer can start owning the same unit they ve been living in, and pay twice the monthly load. I ve tried to explain this to people but they just don t get it. They usually say, Well at least you ll own something at the end of paying your mortgage When you rent, you end up owning nothing. I say, I ve run the numbers and they say I m further ahead if I rent and invest the difference. To which they say, Yeah, but you ll have to pay rent for the rest of your life. I explain that you have to pay either way Monthly costs don t disappear just because you own your home free and clear. They only look at the mortgage payment vs rent and don t realize that even if you own your dwelling, you still have to pay property taxes, strata fees, maintenance, etc. So Mark please put up or shut up. Why don t you Asking the same darn question when the response was already given to you many times previously really is little more than trolling. It is simply not my job to educate you on the differences between mean and median Or on various statistical concepts Canada has a significant number of institutions of higher learning for which you can go study if you are unclear of these concepts, or the effects of sampling in statistical analysis. Of course it will end badly Meanwhile misguided parents churn out Millennials who feel entitled to leap from their childhood homes into granite-laden, debt-drenched digs, thinking this is what adults do. I d personally say its a self-fulfilling prophecy Misguided people invested heavily into housing, rather than into equity and business formation The kids hence, can t get jobs because industry is comatose and hasn t hired in any significant numbers since the last millennia Hence, they re stuck in the basements, which further reinforces the need for boomers to hold excess real estate and to put rationalization of their lives on hold although I m not convinced that many would be eager sellers. The problem here clearly is in the 900B of CMHC subprime mortgage guarantees emitted to get the housing bubble off the ground, rather than free market allocation of capital. And Garth is right, it won t end well for many, but there are some excellent opportunities coming to be a beneficiary of the inevitable snap-back. 13 dipstick running russia on 09 11 14 at 6 09 pm. You got to love capitalism. One generation works hard and if lucky accumulates wealth Second generation if properly brought up maintains that wealth. Third generation spends it. Teach your kid skills, to reposes wealth from spoiled lazy lululemonized starbuckers of today. On the other note got email from Russia and VP himself. Dear Garth, i am so sorry that your portfolio is not what you would like to be You calling me names strike me into my hart, and i decided to. Sign off all oil fields to Imperial oil All financial institutions to Goldman Saks and we will as of tomorrow start using US dollar we will never question US gold reserves We will give control of Yakutia and all diamond mines to DeBeers also Titanium mines all 18 of them you can have if you want. If interest rates rise 2 in general and they will, without a doubt then 10 of households with mortgages can no longer afford them That s more than enough to push over the entire market - Ga rth I do, have my doubts about a 2 rate increase Growth is just way to weak. I will bet you a shiny Gold Maple I d have to buy one the BOC does not raise the rate by a full 2 in the next 24 months. What say you Garth, not trying to be a dick, would just really like a free ounce of Gold. I guess it will take them another 20 years to scrap that down-payment together, or of course they can just ask the parents to get a bigger LOC Wow, just Wow. Your 43-year-old colleague, believe it or not, is likely in better financial shape than most Negative equity means, in many cases, renters, newborns, and even that homeless guy begging on the street, are in fact significantly more wealthy than those living in houses which are worth less than the mortgage. The credit card debt and asking the folks to pay it is pretty despicable though. 16 OttawaguyRenting Worried but not too worried still a worrier but look on the brightside on 09 11 14 at 6 16 pm. How ugly will it get. I see the house horned all around me Couples now thinking about investment property down south with equity they have in their house here 5 7 year ownership. Rent and you can go anywhere Rent and you don t worry about the fact a piece of the chimney blew off the house today. how will you retire without a house She asked me. Oh my goooodness HOW will I retire. 17 Happy Renting on 09 11 14 at 6 19 pm. Is it that parents make the family home too comfortable, that adult kids want to stay I was eager to fly from the nest and have my own place so I could have my own space, have friends or a date over, and do whatever I wanted. Parents with boomerang kids, nag your children more That sure worked on me. 18 FormerSaskie on 09 11 14 at 6 20 pm. Age 43, married and living in parents basement OMG Horrible for all of them. 19 A Yank in BC on 09 11 14 at 6 21 pm. My parents were financially upper middle-class, but never had anything more than linoleum on the floor of their kitchen, with Formica countertops and plain-faced appliances Eating out was perhaps twice a month at most Their happiness in life and with each other just didn t depend on spending money they didn t have on luxury items in a hopeless pursuit of the perfect life How sad it is that this generation seems to think the opposite. 20 Happy Renting on 09 11 14 at 6 22 pm. 4 Retired Boomer WI on 09 11 14 at 5 35 pm. Careful, Kylie the Millennial is coming for you You can t call someone dependent and entitled when they gasp pay their own cellphone bill. 21 Casual Observer on 09 11 14 at 6 23 pm. Just as a bad cold leads to pneumonia, so over-indebtedness leads to deflation, wrote the US economist Irving Fisher in 1933.This was written during a time when the US was on the gold standard The US Gov t could not have engaged in the same amount of money printing that is going on throughout the world today. While Central Bankers have massively expanded the monetary base, it has not been inflationary besides asset prices because of the collapse in the velocity of money. If velocity stays low, things will remain tilted towards deflation, but as soon as velocity picks up, inflation will be the bigger concern. Oil might not be as high as it s been over the last 2 years You might have noticed oil stocks taking a hit lately Could that impact Alberta s economy and cool their real-estate prices. 23 crossbordershopper on 09 11 14 at 6 28 pm. why save anything for what retirement who cares i do taxes for 2000 people a year, in the seniors catagory, i have millionaires basically paid off house plus cottage 80 year olds worried everyday about their portfolio etc Then i have ivan, worked at the steel mill, 30 years, gets 2 5k month plus goverment cheques and saved, well zero i asked you should be rich or atleast have a house he said, i had a real good time in life, wine women and song and worked for it he said i came to canada in 61 with a suitcase and i am leaving this world with the same suitecase ivan is funny, the old widows with money are quite borring. 24 Doug in London on 09 11 14 at 6 29 pm. These Boomer parents should know better Having seen real estate corrections before I remember one in the early 1980s and another in the early 1990s they should be advising their Millennial kids that another is long overdue whether they live with their parents or not. Canada should introduce a program to ease affordability for lower income families like they have here in the UK. For some reason I found the term adultettes hilarious. 27 Steve French on 09 11 14 at 6 30 pm. I ve got 40 K sitting on the sidelines What should I do with it. I do, have my doubts about a 2 rate increase Growth is just way to weak. I will bet you a shiny Gold Maple I d have to buy one the BOC does not raise the rate by a full 2 in the next 24 months. But what about the banks simply deciding to pull away from the mortgage market because of increasing risk The BoC doesn t need to change its policy rate for mortgage rates to rise. I agree, in principle, that policy rates are likely to remain suppressed for a long time to come But as time goes on, mortgage rates are likely to rise as risk aversion comes back to the RE lending marketplace, and other asset classes present themselves as being hotter investment prospects than RE stuck in a secular decline. 29 OttawaguyRenting Worried but not too worried still a worrier but look on the brightside on 09 11 14 at 6 42 pm. 11 They only look at the mortgage payment vs rent and don t realize that even if you own your dwelling, you still have to pay property taxes, strata fees, maintenance, etc. There is a piece of the chimney in the back yard of the house today D. Ain t my problemO LOLs. That has been my biggest surprise going from Ownership to Renting Savings on upkeep. I don t own power tools Home Depot Lowes WTF is that Renting includes Weekends not worrying about the grass Weeknights not trying to keep up with the Jones by interlocking the walk way Hey LOSER that interlocked 3X4 walk way HHAHAHAHHAHAA I bet your wife thought it would loook awesome. What a waste you cow off to slaughter. Renting also means that when the time comes to move cause I need to make more somewhere else or as my boss put it you pick the city we will send you I am goooooone in 3 shakes. As a 23 year old prairie kid, where does this sense of an entitled youth come from Myself and my friends all have well paying jobs, are currently rent ing apartments and job prospects look great Is this current millennial situation you re talking about only an Ontario BC thing. It s fine if a 24-year-old lives with family if s he pays market room and board cost with the exception of a disabled individual. I m 26 I never had a problem finding a job since the age of 18, I was never unemployed for longer than 3 weeks not even in Qubec during the recession and je suis anglophone Because I worked my bum off during university, not only did I have a full resume which helped me land my adult job, it also ensured I had no student loans my dad paid my 70 month cell bill while I was in uni, other than that I was self-supporting I now earn the same as my parents combined income If I visit for longer than a week, I buy a load of groceries just like I would do if I stayed at a friends house for a week It s just called being a self-supporting, self-respecting, non-mooching adult. 27 Steve French on 09 11 14 at 6 30 pmI ve got 40 K sitting on the sidelines What should I do with it. Safe Come up with an extra 110k total 150k and buy into Romspon mortgage fund, see above link 10 a year, coupons paid monthly Got 2 big bills in that one. Risk Learn to count cards, black Jack. Or wait for batman, then short the S P might be awhile. Stay away from Forex Only Alians with Esp can win at that game. Totally agree Garth 24 ADULT, so many think they are still Kids I think in part it s due to the time and often parents money they spend educating themselves My eldest who self financed her way through university ended up with 2 degrees, she now works in a research lab making diddly squat the last I heard But then she doesn t have to worry about money right since her BF does make money This is not a gender slight btw, I believe in equality of the genders, so many don t. 34 - aka Devil s Advocate on 09 11 14 at 6 57 pm. You reap what you sow. Maybe some of these parents should take a good long look in the mirror and ask themselves, who really is to blame for the state of their adult child s finances. There are an abundance of opportunities out there all one needs to take advantage of them is a good attitude A parent has a whole lot to do with the general state of mind their child adopts. Too many postpone costs Too many are too horny for other things right now than to make sacrifices toward banking for something that will be more important to them in the future. You can pay now or you can pay later. Clearly those with adult children still at home have not yet done their job in raising them in the first place. The Bank of Canada has crunched the numbers They re ugly If five-year mortgage rates average just 4 then mortgage payments would become the most unaffordable in 16 years If interest rates rise 2 in general and they will, without a doubt then 10 of households with mortgages can no longer afford them That s more than enough to push over the entire market Garth. I hope you are not gloating over the prospect because, trust me, if that plays out the way you suggest it, ultimately, will not be good for anyone you included I agree, interest rates are, eventually, going to head North of twice what they are Of that there is no question it s just a matter of time We know it s coming Do you really think they will allow, all things being equal, the consequence of that Not a chance. Rising interest rates are without a doubt the Black Swan looming on the horizon I say Black Swan merely because everyone seems to simply be looking past it. Anyone, and I mean ANYONE, dealing with me who is considering a p urchase of which more than 50 is going to be financed I ALWAYS tell Do your budget calculations based on at least a 7 0 interest rate If they balk I show them that rates were in excess of 20 in 1982 It happened then and it can happen again Worst case they have some slack in their budget for a date night here and there. But the bottom line is THEY won t let what would happen happen They might not be so proactive as to prevent it but rest assured they will be attentive enough to FIX it And like last time it will cost us all, collectively, billions. I bet Ivan has paid into a private pension at the steel mill for the 30 years he worked there, which likely makes up the bulk of his 2500 m Most people now do not have that unless they work for the public sector. I do agree with you that there are a lot of seniors out there that will leave millions to their kids After a lifetime of scrimping and saving it hard for them to get into spending mode I know of a couple of cases and the boomer kids are having a great time spending all their inheritance There parents would be rolling over in their graves. 36 - aka Devil s Advocate on 09 11 14 at 7 09 pm. Today s society is hooked on a drug and that drug s called credit It s what allows them to escape the reality of this Ponzi scheme economy Almost makes you wonder if it actually is a conspiracy. Free ounce of Gold Any takers See post 14. 38 - aka Devil s Advocate on 09 11 14 at 7 15 pm. 23 crossbordershopper on 09 11 14 at 6 28 pm. Ivan is a DUDE who has it figured out Good on you Ivan. 39 - aka Devil s Advocate on 09 11 14 at 7 23 pm. 14 Blacksheep on 09 11 14 at 6 09 pm. I will bet you a shiny Gold Maple I d have to buy one the BOC does not raise the rate by a full 2 in the next 24 months. The Bank of Canada may not have anything to do with it The BOND MARKET is the mother of everything that happens Check it out The stock market is but a pimple compared to the bond market mountain That aside, you have picked a mere 24 months so your bet may well be safe Beyond that. 40 - aka Devil s Advocate on 09 11 14 at 7 26 pm. What instrument was most influential in the defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo. The bond market. 41 - aka Devil s Advocate on 09 11 14 at 7 27 pm. No seriously, check out the backstory. 42 NostyVlad the Snugglebombed on 09 11 14 at 7 33 pm. 7 Ardy on 09 11 14 at 5 55 pm The greatest gift we can give our kids is independence and the down payment on a huge debt. Well said Our youngest left home when he was about 19 30 now , and when he saw the money he earned, chose to stay there Alberta Our eldest moved out a few months ago, and they re both well set up. Let kids make their own mistakes and learn from them We did 147 Kenchie on 09 11 14 at 8 51 am China is a beacon of economic stability in a profligate world. This world is a highly-dysfunctional cornucopia of paradoxes, highs lows, heavens hells etc and it is supposed to be that way For example Freedom Scotland, Catalans, Texas and Alaska. China may be down on the one hand, but Russia and China s new SWIFT alternative is yet another step away from the PD, along with the newly-created New Development Bank Inflation 63 4 Which South American country has a shitload of oil Destroy the country s then feed off the carcass. 163 Smoking Man on 09 11 14 at 12 11 pm Some very bad ass people in the world. The School of Hard Knocks Means the sometimes painful education one gets from life s usually negative experiences it is what s needed and it s what memories are made of Coddling accomplishes nothing. A new report out today from the CD Howe Institute suggests Canadians are doing better at saving for retirement than most people think. You know Garth that you and Bank of Canada are part of the filthy greedy system and this illusionary system will fall. And your dumb, childish blog will disappear. Let me guess 24 Live at home Mom does your shorts MA in Egyptology Garth. The bankers get bailed out from the financial crisis that many of them helped create, but the kid in the basement who s trying to save money to overcome the bubble it created doesn t get any love What gives Time for our leaders to set a better example Leave the poor kid alone. Canadian dollar sinks amid amazing race to the bottom for world currencies. Ye sterday, for example, Capital Economics forecast that the Canadian currency will end the year at 89 cents, and next year at 86 cents. Also yesterday, BMO forecast that the loonie, which has lost about 6 per cent over the last year, will sink to 88 cents in 2015.Just today, chief economist Craig Wright of Royal Bank of Canada predicted an 87-cent loonie this year, with further erosion to 85 cents next year as the U S dollar gains and interest rates start to climb. Of late, noted BMO s chief economist, Douglas Porter, the Canadian dollar has weakened on a stronger U S currency and the decline in oil prices. 49 crowdedelevatorfartz on 09 11 14 at 7 51 pm. Downtown Van a few weeks back Waitress serving us at a pub starts chatting She s mid 30 s lots of tats on the arms, loves waitressing No plans for the future Lives paycheque to paycheque bummed a smoke off my friend Very skinny, twitchy, looks like the beginning of a crack addict believe me I know crack addicts Anywho, nice girl Last weekend my friend is back drinking at the bar This girl is off shift and is Smoking Man hammered Gooned Her parents are there, its her birthday Her parents confided to my friend that they give her everything Car, free rent condo, pay her bills, etc So whats this girl do with her own money Spends it ALL on drugs Parents Killing her with kindness Tough love needed. Shocking SimplyShocking OverEducated UnemployedMillenials Expecting2ndChild StillLivingInMum s Basement Suite. PaeanToIvan NoHelicopterParentingHere JustWeatherBalloons HowFarCanAnAverageJoeGo SpoilerAlert TheVillainessIsA Redacted. You have picked a mere 24 months so your bet may well be safe Beyond that I said I d really like a free ounce of Gold not, I really want to give away an ounce of Gold. 52 TEMPORARY Foreign Prime Minister on 09 11 14 at 7 53 pm. wonder wealth is drifting up to the investor class while debt drifts down to what s left of the middle class. Just as the Canadian government was lobbied to do. Good thing Harper spent millions locating an old wooden bathtub at the bottom of the Arctic Ocean That s got to be worth something in the pockets of Canadians. Adulthood s now equated with real estate ownership Parents coddle the adultettes until they land a job, tell them renting is throwing their money away, and encourage them to leap from the basement to the 23rd floor even when that means shouldering big debt and living paycheque to paycheque So much for moving three provinces away to land the best job and launch a career. Totally agreed, Mr Turner. A child of immigrants, and having the majority of my millennial friends being the same, there is definitely groupthink going on about house-ownership being the holy grail of status I blame immigration joke. I noticed early on that my white friends, who are multi-generational Canadian, almost all moved out of their parents houses within the first year, and up to 3 years, since graduating high school. Meanwhile, those of us whose parents hail from the Eurasian continent had a vastly different post-high school experience. Both parental strategies have their benefits and costs I was definitely a late-bloomer But now, I am kicking many of my friends ass, financially-speaking So that s why I have some sympathy for this 24 yo kid. PS My family is a microcosm of the cultural dichotomy my Western European parent was happy to kick us out at age 18, but my Asian parent said no, it s a waste of money Funnily enough, my Euro parent blamed my Asian parent for being too soft on us. 54 crowdedelevatorfartz on 09 11 14 at 7 54 pm. Yo Not an Economist Did you read 31 Nattie Seems to have figured out how to make it Have YOU figured it out yet. Judging from the comments by Funny that on my question re pointing me in the right direction for the ample evidence you ve mentioned in previous posts , I gather other bloggers here may have some issues with you. I m honestly trying to get some data which I can use to justify my position on housing in Vancouver I sold my house here in 2011 and I am waiting. In your response to Funny that , you indicate that you ve given the response to my question previously Please let me know around which dates you provided this response and I will search through Garth s archives to find them myself. I m guessing from your mention of mean and median in your reply to Funny that that you re implying one or the other is used by the real estate boards when it suits their purposes AND that with the mean being higher than the median, the distribution is skewed by the few sales of very high priced homes e g in Vancouver West and that the weight of the distribution is a the lower end Is that what you re saying. Again, any help would be appreciated. To rephrase it for Reuters the people with homes will lose a lot less than the people holding stocks Both will take a bath but the ones in stocks will be wiped out entirely. 21 Casual Observer. Thanks for the response There s lot to learn about this economic stuff That s why I keep on checking out this pathetic blog. Its going to be interesting to see if the zero interest rates and money printing policies implemented by the major central banks of the world in response to the global financial crisis can solve the two major problems we in Canada and the rest of the developed world have, which I heard described nicely by a financial analyst on a money show on a Vancouver, B C radio station back in December, 2010.Way more money has been borrowed than will ever get repaid. Way more promises have been made by governments and so on than will ever be kept. I call them losers These are the people that are unwilling to move to where the work is so instead they milk off ma and pa The crazy part is their parents defend them, as if adults needs their parents defence. I swear this country has raised a generation of pansies, its pathetic. 59 - aka Devil s Advocate on 09 11 14 at 8 08 pm. 35 Omg on 09 11 14 at 7 09 pm 23 crossbordershopper. I do agree with you that there are a lot of seniors out there that will leave millions to their kids After a lifetime of scrimping and saving it hard for them to get into spending mode I know of a couple of cases and the boomer kids are having a great time spending all their inheritance There parents would be rolling over in their graves. Those parents maybe should have taken a page out of Ivan s book and lived it up a little instead of saving and waiting for a day that may never come. 60 Setting the Record Straight on 09 11 14 at 8 08 pm. Mark, if you do listen to ARAmry, remember that Von Mises work has been criticized by a other ASOE professors, such as F A Hayek, and b Chicago School of Economics professors, such as Milton Friedman, and c pretty much every other notable economist since the 1980s. 61 - aka Devil s Advocate on 09 11 14 at 8 11 pm. 50 Blacksheep on 09 11 14 at 7 52 pm. Buzzingo You slammed me. OT 9 11 Flight 93.We visited the National Memorial Site of Flight 93 in Pennsylvania There were 33 passengers and 7 crew members on board This flight was delayed on the tarmac for 25 minutes before takeoff, causing it to be out of sync with the other hijacked planes Thus, when the plane was hijacked 46 minutes into the flight, the passengers had the added burden of already knowing the fate of the other planes. They decided to fight back An unlikely collection of people to be fighting terrorist among them an older couple, a pregnant woman, three students, five flight attendants Ordinary people taking extraordinary action They fought for 6 minutes, keeping the plane from reaching its target, the Nations Capitol. The plane crashed and disintegrated on impact It was a windy day, the debris field a mile and a half wide Only 8 percent of remains were recovered The coroner ordered the impact site to be covered over as befitting a grav e Rest in peace flight 93.Lesser known Seven people were working outside on a hilltop when the plane came screaming 400 feet overhead, upside down, and at 563 mph slammed into the field below. When these people close their eyes at night, I pray that they too, rest in peace. A single boulder acts as headstone, marking the point of impact Stark, somber, heartbreaking. 63 Setting the Record Straight on 09 11 14 at 8 35 pm. 140 yesterday Why didn t she become at teacher 81k a year is considered a middle class salary Do you think teachers don t deserve to belong to the middle class The reason ece s get paid so little is because they are only qualified to teach jk sk. Deserve Unions are designed to extract above market wages They are particularly successful when negotiating with governments Even FDR did not believe there should be public sector unions The question is what would teachers salaries be if set by the market. 2 Speak for yourself Mark s comments are among the best on this blog. I am 31 and a millennial. As for some of these other millennials on this blog talking about how successful they are, how much money they make, or how self sustaining they are blah blah You guys know that we on this blog in no way represents our entire generation right. Our generation has got to be the dumbest that has ever lived. It is our sense of entitlement We lack any sense of humility, and we all believe we are some star Sort of like the grandstanding that is evident in your posts. If TSHTF, our entire generation would curl up into a ball in the corner of the room with our thumbs in our mouths Garth is correct. Sir Garth wrote And half over 50 have just a fraction one quarter saved of what they ll need to retire a decade later In other words, they ain t going to make it. When fewer than 50 have saved enough for retirement, all that happens in a democracy is that the majority will take it from the minority That is the w ay this country is run now The fable of the grasshopper and the aunts is becoming the truth Just look at Ontario We have the Greenbelt Act, the Niagara Escarpment Act, the Natural Heritage Initiative, and the Oak Ridges Moraine Act All of these Provincial initiatives, just took from the existing land owners and gave to the public majority Millions of dollars in assets just eviscerated What makes you think that this will not happen with investments What point is there in investing if the majority just takes it away. 66 Granny Annie on 09 11 14 at 8 40 pm. Blog dawgs, I need your help. Where do I get information about the selling price of a property in Brampton if it wasn t listed on MLS and sold privately within the the last two years. This may have been covered previously, but any guidelines will be appreciated. 67 Victoria Real Estate Update on 09 11 14 at 8 42 pm. This chart compares single family home sales totals January through August of recent years to that of 2007, which was, at best, an average year for Greater Victoria.2014 s SFH sales pace is 31 behind 2007 s pace population adjusted. Slow sales always points to a weak, unhealthy housing market Slow sales was a common denominator among all housing markets that underwent major price corrections throughout the US and the rest of the world in recent years The relationship between slow sales and falling prices is well-established Victoria s price decline that began in 2010 will continue. For SFHs, the downward price path has been re-established in Victoria after the usual seasonal price bump In August, the local board s SFH benchmark price was down 1 3 from July. Examples of monthly price declines by area Victoria -1 1 Oak Bay -1 5 Saanich East -1 2 Saanich West -1 8 North Saanich -1 1 Sidney -1 9.Victoria s housing market is in deep trouble House prices in other Canadian cities have increased significantly since 2010 as a result of historically low emergency interest rates That prices have decreased significantly in Victoria since 2010 should be alarming to every Victoria mortgage holder. As of June 2014, house prices in Las Vegas were 42 5 below their 2006 peak level and prices in Phoenix were 35 5 below peak Years after hitting bottom, prices in many American cities are still well below peak levels and prices across the US in general may be starting to move lower again. Housing bubbles always go through major, multi-year price corrections It isn t different in Victoria. Victoria s housing market is extremely overvalued A quick look at house prices in Las Vegas makes this clear min 3 beds, 2 baths, min 1,800 sq ft of primary above ground living space, attached double garage. A similar house in Victoria would cost at least 700 K. Girls and guys, Victoria s housing market is weak and prices have been declining in a well-establ ished downtrend since 2010 It would be a bad idea to buy now when much lower prices are on the way Prices in Victoria will fall much more as house prices across Canada fall Wait for that to happen. Until next time Cheers. Did you know any body on flight 93. 69 Setting the Record Straight on 09 11 14 at 8 43 pm. 152 yesterday PS I m not talking about the value of real work having value as being wrong There is much more to ASOE than real value of work The main problem I have with ASOE, in general, is the fixation on hard currency as being superior than a market-based floating currency How can they profess to be market-fundamentalists but be supportive of an inflexible exchange rates fixed to gold and despises price discovery on exchange rates They can t, it s called cognitive dissonance. Truly a foolish comment. Stop cooking with cheese. 71 souvereigninternational on 09 11 14 at 9 03 pm. I just drove by 6 houses for lease in small dowtown TO neighbourhood Is this a sign of market breaching the top Can t sell for what I want - gonna lease instead and wait. in other news suprisingly despite gold silver metal spot down today, all my junior miners are up 5 on average Is this a sign of a bottom. 72 Ayn Rand Army on 09 11 14 at 9 05 pm. 60 Setting the Record Straight on 09 11 14 at 8 08 pm. Mark, if you do listen to ARAmry, remember that Von Mises work has been criticized by a other ASOE professors, such as F A Hayek, and b Chicago School of Economics professors, such as Milton Friedman, and c pretty much every other notable economist since the 1980s. Links please - There will be no links from Kenchi because it s not true and he s a liar And even if there are any arguments against Mises by modern day opposing Keynesian economist, they can all be easily destroyed if one reads and understand the work and theories layed out in his magnum opus, Human Action. Mises was born in 1881 and died 1973, i typed that wrong yesterday. People like Kenchi often make up slanderous remarks and dismissive unbacked statements about Mises and Ayn Rand because their economic and philosophical arguments can not be beat by arguing against them and hence is why they always attack the person and not their ideas or theories. To say Ayn Rand was an excessive radical against government ust because she ex perience the rise of the red army and communism in Soviet Russia and the destruction and death of her society is a little simplistic dismissal of her vast body of work, and if one reads her work, you ll see that her experience was a large part of the inspiration and driving force that compelled her to greatness. 66 Granny Annie on 09 11 14 at 8 40 pm. Where do I get information about the selling price of a property in Brampton if it wasn t listed on MLS and sold privately within the the last two years A lawyer can access the title records through software most seem to have, or maybe if you visit the land registry office Have been involved in estate property transfers wills and that was the way all the history and information including amount of money involved was available. 49 crowdedelevatorfartz on 09 11 14 at 7 51 pmDowntown Van a few weeks back Waitress serving us at a pub starts chatting She s mid 30 s lots of tats on the arms, loves waitressing No plans for the future Lives paycheque to paycheque bummed a smoke off my friend Very skinny, twitchy, looks like the beginning of a crack addict believe me I know crack addicts Anywho, nice girl Last weekend my friend is back drinking at the bar This girl is off shift and is Smoking Man hammered Gooned Her parents are there, its her birthday Her parents confided to my friend that they give her everything Car, free rent condo, pay her bills, etc So whats this girl do with her own money Spends it ALL on drugs Parents Killing her with kindness Tough love needed. I disagree, everyone s different, I know many young out off control young people that snapped out of and went on to run their own huge business. Just because your programming tells you that girl needs help Doesn t mean it s so. Why do I exhibit and enjoy s elf destructive behaviour, taking to myself out loud on many occasions I figured it. I m board of a standard life, success cones easy to me It s not challenging at all Perhaps I want to box myself into a tomb only for the amazing thrill of trying to figuring out how to get out of it. Whether I get out alive or dead is insignificant It s the fun of beating huge odds It s what being alive is all about. It s demented, I know But shit like that makes me happy. SmokingMan sInvestmentAdvice Or, TheProblemWithDoorNumber2 AccordingToAlbert, Robert Johnny. NoteToHommeDuTabagisme Worked for me, though Albeit, I only did it once and I was simply trying to make a point about EideticMemory Of course, in those days they weren t dealin from 8Decks Just between the two of us, when it comes to PartyMode, OldSchoolVegas was like WayMoreFun Just ask Bugsy. If you don t mind kicking out your son or daughter at 18, watch this video Shelley Lubben Ex-Porn Star s testimony The ugly truth behind the porn industry. 25 Londoner on 09 11 14 at 6 29 pm Canada should introduce a program to ease affordability for lower income families like they have here in the UK. It s an interesting proposition, and I don t doubt that some people have used it correctly to their long-term benefit But I don t care for the shared ownership program, from a ideological perspective rather than the practical attributes of it. My issue is that this there are already so many ways in which the gov t encourages homeownership Adding another one that directly uses public funds particularly in a situation of fiscal deficit position at the provincial and federal levels is not exactly responsible use of taxpayers dollars And if too many people apply, then it s the gov t s capital that is directly subsidizing incumbent homeowners, which is a massive problem in Central London. PS In 2012, the UK gov t paid 20bn in housing benefits A quick calculation of privately owned rental units received 70bn in rent That means the gov t paid roughly 28 -29 of all rent Not very well allocation of gov t funds. 78 Ayn Rand Army on 09 11 14 at 9 19 pm. Regarding the kids today and my comment yesterday about the lack of jobs because of a bad economy My point still stands and their coddled upbringings only compounds the problems. But just look at the youth unemployment in Europe over 25 in some countries and when business do have to hire someone, they prefer to hire the older people who are also out of work because they do have better work ethics than the lazy kids. There are lot of good kids out there too, of course, its just that the ratio of useless is rising while the competition for useful has never been more essential for businesses to survive in this looter economy Taxes, inflation, payroll deducts etc. 79 Andrew Woburn on 09 11 14 at 9 22 pm. Some blog dogs would likely contest this statement. We are both by design and by culture inclined to be anything but humble in our approach to investing We usually invest on the basis that we re certain that we ve picked winners, we sell in the certainty that we can re-invest our capital to make more money elsewhere We are usually wrong, often extremely wrong. Vlad, I loved how Alex Jones handled that caller The caller is a prisoner to his own bias The group he was referring to, the majority are frightened little humanoids like everyone else It s the buggers at the top. I refer to my Newvo rich relative She got a taste of power, domination over others as she became wealthy, everyone around her lined up to lick her boots It s an evolution of some kind If fks with your brain. I snapped out if it and took action Not everyone is as smart as me. 66 Granny Annie on 09 11 14 at 8 40 pm. any TREB member has access to the info. Re 37 Blacksheep on 09 11 14 at 7 10 pm. Free ounce of Gold Any takers See post 14. Better yet A Canadian home could be yours for 100, and one persuasive essay For 100 wow and an essay 22 March, 2014 an article by JAMES BRADSHAW AYLMER, ONT The Globe and Mail stated that. Calvin and Diana Brydges own a thrift store on the main drag of Aylmer, Ont population 7,151 They sell vinyl LPs Or, for 100 and a few pages of inspired writing, you can have their house The couple is holding an essay-writing contest, and the prize is their three-bedroom brick home on three quarters of a country acre just east of Aylmer To win it, entrants must explain why the house would benefit them most, and send a 100 entry fee. Really, has it come to this. Quit making them feel guilty living with mom. Rather have them paying mom rent than some house flipper Let house flip pay his own mortgage. 84 Andrew Woburn on 09 11 14 at 9 36 pm. Those twenty-eight pages tell a story that has been completely removed from the 9 11 Report, Lynch maintains Another congressman who has read the document said that the evidence of Saudi government support for the 9 11 hijacking is very disturbing, and that the real question is whether it was sanctioned at the royal-family level or beneath that, and whether these leads were followed through Now, in a rare example of bipartisanship, Jones and Lynch have co-sponsored a resolution requesting that the Obama Administration declassify the pages. 85 Red Deer Rob on 09 11 14 at 9 37 pm. Don t generalize all millenials that way We re not homogeneous. 42 NostyVlad the Snugglebombed on 09 11 14 at 7 33 pm. 147 Kenchie on 09 11 14 at 8 51 am China is a beacon of economic stability in a profligate world. This world is a highly-dysfunctional cornucopia of paradoxes, highs lows, heavens hells etc and it is supposed to be that way For example Freedom Scotland, Catalans, Texas and Alaska. I was being facetious with that statement by the way I agree with your statement that the world is highly-dysfunctional That s just how it is. My point of posting that link was to show people how messed up the Chinese property market is It s arguably way worse trading paper amongst investors at a faster velocity than boom-time America. There are, according to the article, 1,000 online peer-to-peer lending sites engaged in helping small-time investors own a slice of a much more expensive house It makes no mention of the cash flow derived from the investment, so it could easily be empty That s insane. 66 Grannie Annie. Find something called a Roscoe terminal and you can search properties by address, name, parcel number etc The report will show all title transfers, sale prices, liens encumbrances etc. If a staff member is too busy to assist, most of the other patrons are usually quite helpful as they re pros. 30 in my anecdotal experience it particularly seems to be a Vancouver thing, but is found in Montral, Toronto, and even Calgary I grew up in a small town, and my 22-year-old sister is still there she and all her friends rent a few buy their own places For them, living with your parents would be bizarre and socially undesireable. Think about this people, if we re lucky like my dad, 97 years old, a GPS attached to his wrist The bastard can still sprint His mind is gone, off in some weird world. He smiles a lot, but when the words come out, not even an alien that speaks a million languages and a direct connect to the UCC can make out what he says. We got about 100 years if we re un lucky. Why worry, why be afraid Enjoy life to its fullest. Do what you love doing cause one day, you will need reading glasses, then Viagra, then a diaper the a coffin. It s short, make your time sweet, going to Seneca tomorrow, drinks on me. JANET YELLEN the problems with LIBOR have undermined the public s trust in t he financial system corporate debt considered high quality liquid asset while investment grade municipal securities are not. Senator Richard Shelby s Something s wrong with the justice department People shouldn t be able whoever they are, not just financial institutions shouldn t be able to buy their way out for culpability, especially when it s so strong it defies rationality I agree with her Warren on that parallels extend and pretend Japan China. 4 Retired Boomer you got that right. The endgame of kids living together forever with their parents in an incredibly expensive environment can be seen in Japan These people are called parasites, since they feed off their parents forever. Unfortunately, this would never work in the Canadian context, as most parents would be willing to toss the kids out on the street or into the nearest snowbank. The real solution for yesterday s guy is to sell everything, take small loss, and move to Ecuador He could live like a king off the savings pension and even find affordable private nursing for his wife, in addition to housekeeper, gardener etc He could even apply to be an Honorary Consul given his stellar public service starting to sound like the beginning of a John Le Carre novel As for the kid in the basement, Pops could enroll him in Mariachi lessons down there and he could busk his way towards financial independence. home depot automated call-in system known as a Voice Response Unit VRU to chang e PIN fraud fighter at a bank in New England that experienced more than 25,000 in PIN debit fraud at ATMs in Canada The bank employee said thieves were able to change the PINs on the cards using the bank s automated VRU system. Tax evasion sophisticated scam revealed by CBC hidden camera Experts said one plan was virtually untraceable By Timothy Sawa, CBC News Posted Sep 30, 2013 9 35 PM ET Last Updated Oct 01, 2013 9 15 AM ET. Brian De Wit, Cem Can indicted by FBI in 500M offshore tax fraud scheme By Timothy Sawa, CBC News Posted Sep 10, 2014 11 21 AM ET Last Updated Sep 10, 2014 1 32 PM ET. As alleged, the defendants concocted an intricate scheme using sham companies to make money while repeatedly evading and violating U S securities and tax laws The indictment of these defendants should serve as a stern reminder that such greed-based behaviour comes at a cost, the FBI said in a statement. 94 Smoking Man on 09 11 14 at 10 04 pm. OK had a JD or two Feel like writing. You bastards want the Holly Grail of happiness. I m going to tell you write now Print it and put it on your fridge, just like Newvo put my Xmas face book post on hers. Do not be afraid of judgment, let it all hang out Look in the mirror and scream to your reflection, your special your the best Piss off your teachers if they find out. But sky will always be blue, and the sun will always shine. 60 Setting the Record Straight on 09 11 14 at 8 08 pm. Mark, if you do listen to ARAmry, remember that Von Mises work has been criticized by a other ASOE professors, such as F A Hayek, and b Chicago School of Economics professors, such as Milton Friedman, and c pretty much every other notable economist since the 1980s. He had respect for Mises, no doubt, but had differing views on somethings and looked to improve upon his former professor s work Just search for Mises in the search field, it will bring up all the sections Hayek speaks about him Many of the sections show his disagreement criticism. Page 5 of 7, half way down Talks about Rand and Mises It s like Friedman could be talking about ARArmy. 96 DreamingIntechnicolour on 09 11 14 at 10 13 pm. When there is not enough to buy a pizza after you get paid, pay your bills and put some gas in the tank then you know the banks, finance and car companies have you by the short and curlies and who is to blame only a greedy, show-off like yourself If you can t make payments, in time, they will force the sale of your home seize what ever they need from your equity to pay out the mortgage and their court costs, they will re-possess your car truck and they will go after you for credit card debts and who is to blame only a greedy, show-off like yourself. Ok, I have 2 kids in elementary school and the situation in today s post crossed my mind many times What would I do as a parent Here s what I came up with Let s say you think about a rock climber he she will take more risks and explore more opportunities if he she has good security a rope that will save the day if a climbing fiasco occurs I apply the same principle to life I will tell my kids to go explore the world and will be quite pushy about it, but I will let them know that at any time they fail in a new undertaking, there is always a room and a bed for them to fall back on , so to speak As a parent, I do intend to push them to go for new and risky opportunities, I intend to encourage them to be bold and not fear a new journey, but again, I will be the so-called safety net for them, so that they can go the riskier way and benefit more than average from it if successful, or learn from it if not I am an immigrant here in Canada I started from 32k in 2004 and now make over 100k with bonus, which is not that bad As I wrote here before, I am going to get my CFA charter soon and keep advancing in my career The only thing I didn t have is this security net of parents here that would have allowed me to go some riskier ways and maybe earn even more today I had to feed my wife and kids and I had to go the safer way of my career advancement As a parent, I think that my duty is t o raise my kids to be educated, street smart, independent, wise at handling money and, most importantly, is to encourage them to take risks and if they fail to provide them the place to come back, recover, regroup and go back to do big things again Maybe I am wrong But this is the best I think I can do for them Time will tell And certainly, if they are 24 and living in my house, they will have to pay market-level rent, which, when they buy a house semi no condo will be given 100 back to them for the downpayment They must learn the value of money as soon as possible Peace. 98 Retired Boomer - WI on 09 11 14 at 10 16 pm. Back from the Thursday night gambling rendezvous Didn t win, but I had my fair share of Brandy. No, at majority you do NOT owe your kids anything, but if you can afford it, help them with their aspirations assuming you have your future retirement on track. Help with higher education OK IF you CAN afford it Rent to them below market for a time - IF you can afford it. Do NOT let them dwell in your basement until they find themselves that is bullshit. Do NOT help them buy a property, leave them a ton in your will after you croak so they can pay off the shelter they bought, or to buy their first place You re dead, do you give a shit. If you created another human being, be the best parent you can be, but at the age of majority, it is time for them to fly on their own They may well fall and break a wing, or their neck that is called life Most will learn from their errors, and with some pain You can t live their life for them, take care of your own fir st Be sympathetic, but not pathetic. Not every kid is destined to be 1 but if they are productive members of society, a job well done Good job. End of today s RANT. Kids moving out before marriage is just a phenomenon that started back with the Boomer generation. Kids of immigrants never moved out before marriage regardless of ethnicity. First generation Italians, Greeks and Portuguese never moved out until they were hitched and scored their down payment from their wedding collections. Chinese and Indian cultures commonly share 1 house with Parents, kids, daughter-in-laws and grand kids The Dad, Son, Daughter-in-law and other siblings work and bring in the house hold income while the Mother watches the grand kids This is why these million dollar houses with lots of space are constantly being sold and afforded with the multiple family earners. There s a huge economic benefit of multi-generational families living in one house that affords the extra parental supervision, extra savings for food, energy, extra money for education and their kids graduate with no debt, properly raised with strong family values. Family dynamics are changing in Canada and the old white Canadian way of letting your kids run wild, work and figure it out on their own will only get them so far and do not fit in this new economy All too often these kids take the path of least resistance and fall off the economic ladder, just look at the enrollment for the Arts vs Science degrees. 32 Smoking Man on 09 11 14 at 6 52 pm. 27 Steve French on 09 11 14 at 6 30 pmI ve got 40 K sitting on the sidelines What should I do with it. Stay away from Forex Only Alians with Esp can win at that game. I ve done REALLY well over 1-2 years keeping more investments and cash in USD. Are you getting out of USD entirely I m likely doing a bit more conversion back to CAD via norbert s gambit now that CAD is back under 90 cents, but will still have a ton of USD investments. Garth, you sound like you re 90 years old when you rag on 25-year-olds It s not like the Boomer days when you had a fat paycheque, car, kids, and a DB plan by 14 Bald by 20 All on a high school diploma And somehow old geezers still have no cash. I wish I could ve filled up my camaro for 12 cents a litre Instead, I m paying for underfunded pensions. Great post as usual I look forward to the day you shut this blog down because that means the correction is well underway and sanity will return to this country. 69 Setting the Record Straight on 09 11 14 at 8 43 pm. 152 yesterday PS I m not talking about the value of real work having value as being wrong There is much more to ASOE than real value of work The main problem I have with ASOE, in general, is the fixation on hard currency as being superior than a market-based floating currency How can they profess to be market-fundamentalists but be supportive of an inflexible exchange rates fixed to gold and despises price discovery on exchange rates They can t, it s called cognitive dissonance. Truly a foolish comment. Please set the record straight , rather than say foolish comment without any rationale behind it to support your view. So adult children end up like giant eight-year-olds, assuming they have no mobility, freedom or personal responsibility - Garth. Your conclusions are baseless and incorrect on this topic The economy, from high youth unemployment, underemployment, and obscene costs see youth car insurance, education costs, etc has delayed financial independence across the board It s a global issue and not just Canadian, if you put some thought into it instead of turning your nose up, I think you would develop a more realistic view of today s youth. 63 setting the record straight. Deserve Unions are designed to extract above market wages They are particularly successful when negotiating with governments Even FDR did not believe there should be public sector unions The question is what would teachers salaries be if set by the market. Well, the Criminal BC guberment has offered 40 day for children under 12 for daycare daycare, no accountability for teaching 6 year-olds how to read, write sentences, develop socially, artistically physically I had 23 six year-olds x 40 920 day x 22 teaching days per month 20,240 month x 10 months remember, I need my two months off, right Slue 202,400 per annum F ya Free enterprise me the money. 105 ozy - ANSWER THIS on 09 11 14 at 10 39 pm. The TSX gained 27 in the past year and the S P is up 21 , while inflation is 2.so, Garth, solve this mystery. if not many Canadians save in RRSPs, invest in TSFAs we spend it all on kids and RE, etc who is PUMPING IN THE fricking Stock Market. does Canada has treason laws wondering. 72 Ayn Rand Army on 09 11 14 at 9 05 pm 60 Setting the Record Straight on 09 11 14 at 8 08 pm. Links please - There will be no links from Kenchi e because it s not true and he s a liar. Please see my post early with links. People like Kenchi e often make up slanderous remarks and dismissive unbacked statements about Mises and Ayn Rand because their economic and philosophical arguments can not be beat by arguing against them and hence is why they always attack the person and not their ideas or theories. Well, well I actually can back up my point of view with rationale Beat is subjective You re too biased to let go of your beliefs to look at another point of view I only came up with my point of view on ASOE after reading about it and applying other forms of economic theory to it, and integrating real-life situations to it And that s how I came up with the idea that it s just simply outdated economics It doesn t work any more Nor do I believe Keynesianism works much anymore either The variabl es today are very different than they were in the 1930s I m not going to waste my time by listing them here though Learning by doing is the best form, I suggest you do your own research on other economic theories to open up your mind. I suggest you look at what I posted regarding Milton Friedman s opinion on Ayn Rand and Von Mises You re exactly the type of person he is talking about. Also, you re talking about what s called ad-hominem Currently, you re doing it to me with your post. My kid sister is 32, doesn t have a steady job, had a kid and then split with her hubby Now she is an economic basket case almost totally dependent on her helicopter parents But why not She s living much better in my dad s new rental property than she could on her own I m not sure who to blame but the whole thing looks tragic to me. On the one hand I figure if she can get dad to buy her a house, why would she say no So I can see her point of view If they were throwing money at my kids to go to school I d proba bly let them take it too But they don t My kids don t need to go to school. If they were rich, I could understand if they were saying hey, we can t spend all our money so here you go dear children, 100,000 each do what you will or something I d use the money to pay for my kid s education, make life easier for them as students Some rich people do that But instead they are helping one child and probably imperiling their finances to do so. And then they went and bought a new motor home Don t get me wrong, that seems like a normal thing for retired folks to own Why not have our old folks cruising the highways in 10 ton disco wagons with side-outs But they had to finance that too. So now they have a new mortgage on a house they don t collect rent or utilities on, or at least not very much of it, and a financed disco wagon that self levels. Oh and the icing on the cake is they just bought a new car financed as well but it can t be towed behind the RV so they are planning to get something towable Yikes I should just move 3 provinces away as Garth suggests And buy or rent a place that doesn t have RV parking. So Garth, you just can t help people I don t know if they just can t do math in retirement and figure they have all the money in the world I don t think so or they are quite convinced the apocalypse is upon us so it doesn t matter yes, they might, hence my tendency to make jokes in that line but they went from being free of debt on a fixed income to signing loans all over the place still on a fixed income in just a short period of time And no they did not ask for my opinion So no, I am not backstopping it if Jesus doesn t get back in time There will be no reverse helicopter parenting. Did I mention my dad thinks a reverse mortgage will be all he needs if anything goes sideways I don t get it Take a reverse mortgage on his house to make the payments on a house he bought for his daughter Yep I m moving away Don t know where I am going yet but the jobs seem to be in the US for my line of work. This article is about 15 year old kid who is teaching Donbass militia how to fight Ukranian naziez who burnt his home town Kids Canadian you have no chance in this life You just can t compete with kids with REAL life experience And I am not talking about combat, you will run under mom s wing way before it comes to any fight And I am NOT talking about war, any economic hardship and you dead - No iphone I am dead, cant live without it Sure you will never translate it and believe all lies in MSM, good luck. I could not agree more Being financially independent and dare I say well-off is an anomaly in my social circle let alone my generation. Too many people my age are aghast at the reality that following your passion usually doesn t pay the bills Despite subscribing to buzzfeed s 21 Affirmations of a Modern Day Hustler as told in cat gifs natch they wouldn t dare get a second job Instead the solution is more school, financed by mom and dad So off to Northwestern they go becau se a masters in journalism is sure to land them a job writing features for Toronto Life. OK, here s what kills me about this subject These same snivelling, spoiled little princes and princesses are the ones s ing all over the baby boomers for taking everything and leaving nothing for them I m one generation younger than the boomers, but I m sick and tired of hearing this Every boomer I know has spent most of the lives and earnings on ensuring their kids have the best of everything and never wanting for anything Cars, schools, travel, homes, best clothes etc These are the same kids now grown up complaining because they can t maintain the life their parents gave them After all, why should they have to work for anything, they never had to before and they got the best of everything How dare the boomers do this to them lol. Sick and tired of it Get a life and get a job, even if it s low paying That s what the boomers did. I used to go to Seneca semi-regularly with a girlfriend from Hamilton wh ere I used to live and have SPA weekend I live in Ottawa now, and always looked forward to our annual get-together in Niagara. She likes to gamble, and is good at it I would watch We got looks from guys, who I suspect thought we were a couple It was fun Now I cannot go anymore because my Canadian passport shows place of birth, Dallas Texas , and I am not allowed to travel to USA on my Canadian passport USA just raised the price of citizenship renunciation from 450 to 2,350, on top of the existing requirement of 5 years tax compliance thousands of dollars in forms and risk of penalties and an exit tax I left USA with my Canadian parents at age one Sigh SPA days were fun. 112 Ayn Rand Army on 09 11 14 at 11 12 pm. Fritz Machlup was a student of Mises s, one of his most faithful disciples At one of the Mont Pelerin meetings, Fritz gave a talk in which I think he questioned the idea of a gold standard he came out in favor of floating exchange rates Mises was so mad he wouldn t speak to him for three years. This is true Mises was betrayed by his best student who relented on the necessity of the gold standard as is required to force discipline on the supply of money and help ensure market interest rates and so many monetary issues Money, the lifeblood of the economy, to relent on the instance of money being backed by a weight of a commodity is absolutely fundamental for money s function as a unit of measure and account. On this issue, Mises was right and i believe he never forgave him or bothered with him again. The creators of the US constitution also knew this and under the section for weights and measured mention only gold and silver could be coined by gov a s money. All our problems today stem from the break of the gold standard. See, kenchi, you got nothing. No major currency will ever again be commodity-backed Thankfully Garth. the certainty of rate increases next year. Not too likely The last the absolute LAST thing governments want is higher interest rates That s why their central banks regard interest rate manipulation as Job 1.You think they ll willingly deep-six their highly-leveraged friends and clients What would higher rates do to homeowners To the real estate and housebuilding industry To leveraged 40-to-1 hedge funds, barely eking out any yield at all even with today s massive government supports. NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. not until the efficacy of the central bank put itself is questioned. Of course it will end badly Meanwhile misguided parents churn out Millennials who feel entitled to leap from their childhood homes into granite-laden, debt-drenched digs, thinking this is what adults do. Exactly, Garth Which is the point of my comment fr om the post yesterday which got a couple of thumbs down This sense of entitlement is the killer, aided by parents suffering from guilt and a looking like a good and responsible parent in the eyes of their family and peers complex Tell me what life lessons are being taught if all young people are given are material benefits, i e cash, stay under thieir parents roof with no plan to evolve or become independent Experience no financial lessons because all is taken care of for you, etc etc The best and brightest young people I encounter these days are the ones that show initiative, independence, have a desire to think and plan ahead, and want to do it with as little assistance as possible The actively look for opportunites When I meet young people with these attributes today they really stand out They really set themselves apart from the majority We can all use a hand up at some point in our lives, but parents who try to justify enabling their basement dwelling children by blaming the econo my or different times don t want to face reality Press articles about car manufacturers concerns regarding young peoples disinterest in buying or owning vehicles is traced to their parents habit of driving them wherever they want to go Imagine Why would little Johnny get a driver s license when mommie will drive him 8 blocks to his friends house Guess why he also won t be receptive to moving out of his parents home with the sub zero fridge, home theatre, and permissive parents that let the girlfriend sleep over every night Be annoyed, but recognize yourself when you read this. 97 Gladiator has it right. 116 Saskatchewan Skeptic on 09 11 14 at 11 28 pm. I apologize for this rant in advance, I m just in a bad mood tonight. It is definitely a misguided party here in Canada In Regina New homes along with homes from the 1980-90s larger bungalows are, in many cases over 400 grand and becoming comparable to parts of illustrious Alberta surprise It s unreal So what happens to those of us 30ish millennials who weren t afforded the luxuries of our parent s basement, free tuition from them and all the free food you could dream of Well, I came out of university with a degree, good job and a decent pension plan Unfortunately, I don t have the cash saved for a down payment and thus, live in a slanty, century old 1bd for 800 a month That s cheap in the YQR I also had to attain that degree on my own dime and thus, life has granted me a sizable student debt and a small car payment I do however have a brain and see through this garbage market towards whats really coming. That said, I can t believe the amo unt of fake, entitled people who scoff at renters I talk to friends who own parents paid their down payment of course who wonder why I don t jump balls in and break my mortgage-ginity I mean why not I have a career now and some of my friends make half what I do None of these friends are willing to admit that if they tried to sell their 1bd South Regina condo they bought for 190 8 months ago, it would go for 160 tops today Scary My one friend even shacked up with a girl, begging her to move in with him because after all bills were paid, he was only left with 47 for food, drinking and smoking He STILL bugs me about owning like he does It s so infuriating because I ve worked so hard for everything and all that most kids do these days is snap their fingers or cry to make mommy and daddy shell out their fictional savings for a down payment There are 20-30 somethings that actually treat a renter like dirt because they didn t jump into this party It makes me sick sometimes and I can t wait fo r the day that all my debt is paid off and I pick off a foreclosure from some stuck up hipsters who got divorced when hubby s construction job went through some tough layoffs Oh, and that home will most certainly be worth 25-30 less, wiping out whatever plans they had to split their nest egg They deserve to eat some dirt for assuming the renters live in that dirt today Go Riders. At 11 he left the house to study in one school where you have to stay for 15 days, living, studying, sleeping and working on it, after that a weekend at home visited from Friday to Sunday night, at 8pm Sunday you better be in your bedroom back on the school.11 class sessions per day, 7 50am you already cleaned your student neigborhood, took your breakfast, had the first general meeting. at 8am in the freaking classroom on the first session. obligatory study from 8pm to 10pm, from monday to friday, teacher check you by your number, yes, it s faster to ask for a number instead of your name. at 17 he took a ship to a nother country to start the university, 10000 miles from the parents, he just arrived and found a job in a laundry facility where half drunk strong old russian guys pushed him to work harder and faster to getter a better pay and drink heavier at night, 12 hours of work, 30 minutes to eat and not more pauses during the day, drink water was not a pause. Is this a good standard to compare the new kids and their education in Canada, Garth. I wonder if the minister of education of Canada reads this blogs. He in the history me. I hear that in South Korea is more strict in their program than in this history, in some cases they stop the traffic around the school to allow the kids to concentrate in the exams. If it was the case I d love to be born there. 118 High Plains Drifter on 09 11 14 at 11 29 pm. The letters column reads like from the 1800 s This world is different and does call for different strategies I suggest that this does look like a dead end world for the many Juggling equity and debt is the modern tightwalk that allows luxury before turning into a curmudgeon Somebody please write a letter trying to talk my wife out of her winter cruise to exotica. No major currency will ever again be commodity-backed Thankfully Garth Agreed Why would a sovereign, tie their hands and relinquishing control of the printing press Sure as hell know I wouldn t. 120 straight six on 09 11 14 at 11 44 pm. I was a prefect at age 14 and had hitchhiked the western states by age 17.I say, bring back the whip and the running shoe The snot nosed little bastards Violence solves most everything History says so. 121 Ayn Rand Army on 09 11 14 at 11 45 pm. No major currency will ever again be commodity-backed Thankfully Garth. Well if ever again depends on the results of the vote in November, ever again, is not as long as one might think. First country to back their currency will be the first out of the gate at improving their economy while the west follows Zimbabwean, Argentina, Japan, and USA into oblivion. Garth, your whole blog only exists today because we are not on the gold standard All the money driving up prices would not be possible if tied to finite commodity backing. This bubble is a credit and debt bubble by mortgages created out of thin air back by small reserves Canada s banking system has no limit on leverage or reserve requirements All very Bad. Greetings from Leduc walked the Frt Mac oil show, and called on customers in Edm who were constantly short of workers Boss wants me to move to Edm because he thinks the oil patch is on fire and would increase business looked at 3 bdrm townhouse s that are being bidded on around 10 below asking, and lots of product to choose from Watching the telly in the hotel room and the kick is the CBC doczone program is on condos good show I bet they read your blog to research it ha ha I have been there done that in condos it s the CBC right hey I live in Vcr Your comments on the show if you caught it would be welcomed 911 was an inside job. 112 Ayn Rand Army on 09 11 14 at 11 12 pm. Mises was betrayed by his best student who relented on the necessity of the gold standard as is required to force discipline on the supply of money and help ensure market interest rates and so many monetary issues. On this issue, Mises was right and i believe he never forgave him or bothered with him again It s just your OPINION that Mises was right Clearly, this betrayal shows the world that his best student didn t agree with him on the gold standard and preferred floating exchange rates And, quelle surprise, I touched cognitive dissonance exhibited by LVM on inflexible exchange and price discovery of exchange rates i e floating is superior and more in line with market economy fundamentals P. You think forcing discipline on supply of money and help ensure market interest rates actually works Newsflash It doesn t Inflation happens regardless of sound money Have you ever seen the chart of inflation and deflation in the US over the course of the 19 th century It s not pretty Try making capital investment decisions when the economic cycle is like this. Despite your OPINION, no monetary policy Sound or not can stop human beings from irrationally bidding up the price of, say, tulips, or shares in the Mississppi Company , or freakin NORTEL Networks stock 398bn market cap at its peak. So in reality, the legitimate discussion isn t about Sound Money , but about availability of Liquidity when it s needed most And under a hard currency system, backed by Gold, Silver, Seashells, or Beaver Pelts, liquidity can t be brought forward quickly enough to stop the complete crash and, potentially, depressions. Like I said, take the lessons from LVM and apply them to real life, and you ll quickly understand that it s just theory and has been obsolete for about 70 years at least. You should start by watching all of the Free to Choose Part 1. 202,400 per annum F ya Keep dreaming. Those s are destined to buy off the parents, so the gov can let the daycare works starve on the picket line. With an over supply of teachers in BC, the value for your ilk s services is dropping by the day If I was a teacher ya, right , I d be getting my ass back to work, while I still had a job. if not many Canadians save in RRSPs, invest in TSFAs we spend it all on kids and RE, etc who is PUMPING IN THE fricking Stock Market. The Canadian stock market hasn t really gone up in over 7 years And there has been significant buyback activity Additionally, TSX60-index-constituent firms have retained and re-invested 2 3rds of their earnings So naturally such firms, with additional retained earnings, become more valuable. At some point, the stock market will come back into favour, but until then, it will remain exceptionally inexpensive cheap and ripe for great returns going forward This years performance of 17 YTD is just a small taste of what we could look forward to for many years to come. 126 TakingResponsibility on 09 12 14 at 1 58 am. What s actually wrong with inter-generational living I think it sad that birth, child-rearing, education, old-age, and even death have become Outsourced institutionalized Actually, most of us spend our working years in some institution or another We are all institutionalized debt slaves. Hard to moralize other than simplistic moral opinions from within our institutionalized and marketized minds. Does the Market inform us and determine our morals and the ways in which we live Or, do our morals inform the Markets. This intergenerational moralizing doh which is most definitely not moral theory nor ethical can get out of hand young people might even turn the tables and begin moralizing and, yikes, legislating about how those old folk are not productive and decide that anyone over a certain age should be euthanized 68 Or 70.Tear down listed for 17 9 million in Vancouver. Damn low interest rates. Wait, payments would be 90,000 month. My parents encou raged me to leave home at 16 and fend for myself especially if i wanted to go to college They saw it as a way to make us more grown up My brothers had the same treatment. Of course, if anything serious happened i could always return home still could if i wanted , but ego and determination to be an adult stopped me. Im now approaching 40 and am glad I did, i became less dependent, more self sufficient, and more GROWN UP because of it. These kids staying at home until their 30 s, doesnt just strike me as sad how the hell do they get laid But also, I wonder what it s doing to this new generation of mommies boys girls who never really learned to grow up. How will these people ever proceed in life They re obviously never going to become the new bosses etc Because they just have never learned to properly fend for themselves expecting everything on a plate. Its quite depressing. Not to impersonate Devil s Advocate I must be one The specter of adult offspring living in the same home as parents, mold y basement stereotype aside, is not such a nightmare when everyone gets along well, and handles their portion of community responsibility. My folks lived with my family when my son was very young, and both my husband and I feel we benefitted as did our son It s a spiritual or emotional benefit, and not necessarily a financial one But a house filled with love can weather many problems. Note the key phrase As long as everyone including beloved offspring take on their share of community responsibility. Ottawa moved to cut employment insurance premiums for small businesses Thursday, touting it as an effort that will save employers more than 550 million over the next two years and help stimulate hiring. Encouraging the hiring of workers, hopefully Canadian workers and not TFW s is a good thing but it is truly sad that the Minister and his cohorts in the Conservative government would not try a really effective tool And that is to simply stop the massive immigration that goes on decade after deca de at a rate that cannot be sustained by job creation Statistics Canada and non-government agencies have already outlined the impossibility of providing sufficient jobs in the economy under dicey world economic conditions If you have any doubt about the fragility of the economy just try to explain why interest rates have remained near rock bottom for many years Yet this country is hell-bent on hundreds of thousands of new immigrants seeking work, added to hundreds of thousands of previous years immigrants who are still seeking work Add to those hundreds of thousands of foreign students who are eligible to work and are seeking employment Then try to find room for the hundreds of thousands of real Canadian unemployed who are seeking work We have a government bent on a policy of Multiculturalism in a rush, and more interested in developing that boondoggle then giving serious consideration to what is happening to the Canadian workplace and the downward push on wages and full-time employmen t. Annual immigration us 0 7 of the population, without which we would have decline Garth. Annual immigration us 0 7 of the population, without which we would have decline Garth. This country is getting pretty brown pretty fast Normally I delete comments like this However, because this is your last, it will remain as your marker Garth. 46 George on 09 11 14 at 7 49 pm You know Garth that you and Bank of Canada are part of the filthy greedy system and this illusionary system will. And your dumb, childish blog will disappear. Let me guess 24 Live at home Mom does your shorts MA in Egyptology Garth. Boy that was funny Garth Egyptology LOL. May I add, how many young girls do we need enrolled in the teachers program at York University looking to major in Languages Italian and French in that order to teach Italian or French and graduate from their MISS to MRS on the side LMAO. A gaggle of uselessness. 125 Mark on 09 12 14 at 12 33 am if not many Canadians save in RRSPs, invest in TSFAs we spend it all on kids and RE, etc who is PUMPING IN THE fricking Stock Market. The Canadian stock market hasn t really gone up in over 7 years And there has been significant buyback activity Additionally, TSX60-index-constituent firms have retained and re-invested 2 3rds of their earnings So naturally such firms, with additional retained earnings, become more valuable. At some point, the stock market will come back into favour, but until then, it will remain exceptionally inexpensive cheap and ripe for great returns going forward This years performance of 17 YTD is just a small taste of what we could look forward to for many years to come. Mark I have come to enjoy most of your posts and agree with your assessment of the TSX and relative value it represents. I would add that the overwhelming distrust of the stock market and the repetitive refrain I hear from the average shmuck out there for instance, th e market is going to take a bath was yesterday evenings from a local genius s comment. S P at new highs, TSX flirting with all time highs and people still horny for bricks. Stock market is likely to get very volatile next week with the fed meeting, plus oil fell 15 in 3 months This means, get your stock shopping list ready. With some luck, in 2015, only REITs and condo prices will go down while banks, insurers, and energy will keep going up. Ah what am I saying rates won t even move by a percent by the end of 2016 Please the masses. I would not take a bet on that if I were you Garth. 124 With an over supply of teachers in BC, the value for your ilk s services is dropping by the day If I was a teacher ya, right , I d be getting my ass back to work, while I still had a job. Is there not also an oversupply of ready to start work police, fire, etc It doesn t seem to stop those groups from demanding even more than any classroom teacher could ever hope to make. Police and firefighters are essentially only required to be high school graduates and enter their jobs with no post secondary education or the student loans that go with four years of university. Police and fire services are where the money is at and as essential services you will never lose a dime sitting on a strike line Thirty years and out with gold plated benefits sure beats a teacher s 35 years and out with no benefits. Unfunded pension liabilities are words that no T O candidate for Mayor or Councillor would ever utter It is easier to just buy civic workers, police and fire services off with taxpayer money to k eep them happy and you elected. Hamilton, soon to be 1B in debt Not even on the radar for the up coming civic election. At some point, the stock market will come back into favour, but until then, it will remain exceptionally inexpensive cheap and ripe for great returns going forward This years performance of 17 YTD is just a small taste of what we could look forward to for many years to come. I tend to agree, short term fluctuations aside this market has legs, despite recent gains stock ownership remains at historic lows and bonds are historically expensive These are sure signs that risk aversion is still very very high The fact that stocks have done well in that environment is amazing Some people are making a lot of money, but the herd, or to be polite the middle class is not When risk aversion recedes and it eventually will there will be some sparks. To me the main caveat here is the Canadian economy which could be severely impacted by a real estate correction, this would further sink th e CAD, hurt Canadians companies and likely the local stock market To me the US market is by far a safer investment. 138 crowdedelevatorfartz on 09 12 14 at 8 49 am. 101 long dong I wish I could ve filled up my camaro for 12 cents a litre Instead, I m paying for underfunded pensions. Well s always Viagra and the movie industry to supplement your income. 139 rosie moving forward in the knowledge that, this won t end well on 09 12 14 at 9 07 am. This baby adult thing is just a fad Like granite and stainless Boomers trying to out do each other They can be so darn cute though. 140 crowdedelevatorfartz on 09 12 14 at 9 09 am. Good old Ayn Rand A sci-fi hack that couldnt even spell her first name right or is that write Smoking Man, help me here But even Elron Hubbard another sci-fi hack was smart enough to turn his novels into a religion. Both authors used their self importance and the stupidity of the masses to create movements that sheeple to this day still spew as gospel. Kenchie, feel sorry for the delusional, for they know not what they speak. Back to you Ann gold is my God Randy. 141 Hot Albertan Money on 09 12 14 at 9 11 am. It s hard to know now when adulthood starts. That s why these geniuses invented a new term for 20 something basement trolls Kidults. 142 Inglorious Investor on 09 12 14 at 9 13 am. Recently, a number of readers of this blog have been debating the compensation of public sector workers. There is no doubt that public sector workers offer some valuable services People can argue over whether some of those services would better be delivered by the private sector, but that is not the point of my comment. The main point that I d like to make is this In my opinion, it is immoral for public sector workers to be receiving increases in wages salaries pensions benefits during a time that the private sector is experiencing high unemployment, stagnant or declining wages, meager or no pensions, and meager or no benefits. Why do I say it s immoral I say so because public sector compensation is paid for with taxes In fact, all wealth is generated by the private sector, either directly or indirectly Even when the government builds valuable infrastructure such as roads and bridges, no matter who does the actual work public or private worke rs the necessary funds come from taxes Even if the initial funding comes from the issuance of bonds, ultimately the debt is serviced with taxes. Without the private sector, there would be no public sector. Every time a private sector worker s taxes increase in order to fund an increase in public sector pensions, every dollar taken is a dollar that the private sector worker is denied for his her own pension Every dollar taken to fund a pubic sector pay increase is a dollar denied to pay for the private sector worker s own needs and the needs of his her family If the increases are initially funded with debt, then the burden is compounded with interest charges. Some might argue that public sector workers also pay taxes like everybody else This is true However, public sector workers are, by definition, net tax beneficiaries When taxes rise to fund increases in public sector compensation, the public sector workers gain more than what it costs them in additional taxes It s like paying yourself ten additional dollars and getting twenty additional dollars in actual extra pay However, for the private sector worker the loss is compounded due to interest charges and because of the lost returns he she could have realized by investing that money. In my opinion, public sector workers should only get increases when the private sector is also getting increases in aggregate of course Again, all the money earned by the public sector comes from taxes When private sector wealth is stagnant or declining, the public sector should not be getting increases This approach only further weakens the private sector, causes economic imbalances, and social tensions Taking more from those who have less is simply wrong. On a related issue In Ontario, the Teachers union has coerced the government into handing over the bulk of increases to education funding for many, many years This has come at the expense of the quality of education our children are receiving in grade school and high school If one examine s the tactics used today, it is painfully obvious that all manner of concessions and strategic alternations are being made to maintain teacher headcount This comes at the expense of the tax payer, and more importantly at the expense of the children the system is supposed to serve This is why I believe public sector unions should be illegal they can become, and have become, far too politically powerful. 143 always priceless on 09 12 14 at 9 14 am. Let me guess 24 Live at home Mom does your shorts MA in Egyptology Garth. WOW Waugh Out Woud lol in the voice of Elmer Fudd Thanks Garth. Another HAM story with quotes from realtors but, this one is from Reuters vs the Vancouver Sun or other local papers who rely on realtor ads , so it is a bit more credible. Is there any reason why governments wouldn t put a foreign buyer s tax on RE purchases. Seems like the Cities Provinces Feds are providing all of the services to these properties, but in many cases no income tax flows through to help pay for it. You know people, even if it takes 5 years to get to interest rates 2 higher than today s, people will still have tons of debt that needs to be paid at that higher rate People are not paying off 500k, 600k or more loans in 5 years In fact due to the wonders of amortization, they ve barely made a dent. Personally, once I went to university I never really came home, and though my parents paid for first ye ar of undergrad, after that we split 50 50 It s important to have some skin in the game, so to speak I can t imagine living my 20s under my parents roof. 146 Joe Average, Vancouver on 09 12 14 at 9 59 am. Molson Canada a US company in Mississauga just laid off 80 people, all quality job They have plans to close Molson in Vancouver that sits in one of the most expensive hoods in Canada Kitsilano Most production moving to US wages, real estate and so on The trend is clear for US companies in Canada the jobs back to US of A. 147 Steve French on 09 12 14 at 10 14 am. Dis one s for da Weekend Single Malt Drinking Filosofers Mr Smokign Man Sir Garths-a-Lot. I have realised that the past and future are real illusions, that they exist in the present which is what there is and all there is. Alan Wilson Watts. Read it weep, bitchez. 148 Holy Crap Wheres The Tylenol on 09 12 14 at 10 29 am. 131 Porsche on 09 12 14 at 6 22 am Annual immigration us 0 7 of the population, without which we would have decline Garth This country is getting pretty brown pretty fast. Normally I delete comments like this However, because this is your last, it will remain as your marker Garth. Agree 100 White, black, brown, yellow, hell I don t care if your green or purple Immigration is what built this country, however multiculturalism is NONE of the Governments Freeking business and should never have mandated any inclusions regarding it All it does is divide us up into segments by pushing your heritage forward first before your citizenship as a CANADIAN first, always Hell my wife is Irish and has a Spanish heritage I come from Scottish and English heritage, I don t go out and force everyone to listen to the garble that goes on from where our ancestry is from That s for us to keep behind closed doors We can embrace it and talk about it but I m sure my relatives came here 150 years ago to start fres h and embrace a new life MULITICULTURIZEM SUCKS. 149 Holy Crap Wheres The Tylenol on 09 12 14 at 10 33 am. Wow I just did a Smoking Man on my last post. Spelled it wrong and hit enter too fast Should have said Multiculturalism sucks when forced down our throats by the government. Getting angry and old. 150 All markets are now risky on 09 12 14 at 10 41 am. Re If you start looking at your house as an investment class, as something else you should be investing in rather than the stock market, you run into the danger of being exposed to some of the excesses going on in the system. Unfortunately, as a result of easy money policies worldwide, those same excesses exist in the stock market too There s a bubble in the real estate market, the stock market, and the bond market In the face of financial repression, and the desperate search by investors for yield, people have taken on ever greater amounts of risk in almost all investment classes None of these inflated markets will end well. The S P 500 is at 16 7 times earnings slightly above the historic average A correction of 12-15 seems likely if the PE ratio were to restore Hardly the same overvaluation as real estate, it would seem Garth. 151 Holy Crap Wheres The Tylenol on 09 12 14 at 10 46 am. Those who want twentysomethings treated as dependent children invariably have economic reasons No jobs, they say The kid ll be homeless So adult children end up like giant eight-year-olds, assuming they have no mobility, freedom or personal responsibility Hard to see how helicopter parenting does much for experience, which is the foundation of maturity Seen it all, my neigbours kept their two boys in the basement for ten years after school Firstly they did not progress any further with their education, so high school only for one and other never did graduate That limited their options right away Then they paid for their cars, insurance, food and free rent All they did was to float from mediocre job to mediocre job on and off for years I suggested once to my neighbour that the one son appears to have a talent for landscaping and he should start a small business Hell I even offered to give him his first contract and my company s l ocation Nope his father said hes not going to do that manual labor OK that was my Que to shut up The son did eventually get into that business with someone else and is now considering starting his own company once he saves enough cash I quietly told him to let me know and I will give him his first contract The other son still on and off unemployment The parents still supply room and board plus a freaking Lexus for him to drive Enabling to the max will kill their kids Holy hit don t they get it. Ingloriously Flawed Logic. From Inglorious at 142.public sector compensation is paid for with taxes In fact, all wealth is generated by the private sector, either directly or indirectly Even when the government builds valuable infrastructure such as roads and bridges, no matter who does the actual work public or private workers the necessary funds come from taxes Even if the initial funding comes from the issuance of bonds, ultimately the debt is serviced with taxes. Does a carpenter employed by th e private sector create wealth while a carpenter employed by government never creates wealth What if the pay and benefits and productivity were the same. 153 Jeff in Moose Jaw on 09 12 14 at 11 08 am. I enjoyed this interview from 2008 with John Bogle Mr Vanguard. 23 crossbordershopper My father says the same thing came to this country with a few dollars and couldn t speak English only difference now decades later he can speak English. The S P 500 is at 16 7 times earnings slightly above the historic average A correction of 12-15 seems likely if the PE ratio were to restore Hardly the same overvaluation as real estate, it would seem Garth. Aren t you calling for about the same 15 correction in RE. As a prelude to a years-long decline Equities will likely correct and recover within a few months More importantly, financial assets are 100 liquid Real estate turns illiquid in a downturn Consequently, elevated risk Garth. NEWARK, N J A New Jersey man pleaded guilty today to orchestrating an eight-year scheme to falsify employment certifications to facilitate the illegal entry of Indian immigrants into the United States and to filing a false tax return. U S Attorney Paul J Fishman of the District of New Jersey, Assistant Attorney General Leslie R Caldwell of the Justice Department s Criminal Division, Chief Richard Weber of Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation IRS-CI and Director Bill A Miller of the State Department s Diplomatic Security Service DSS made the announcement. Sandipkumar Patel, 41, of Edison, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U S District Judge William H Walls in Newark federal court to conspiring to defraud the United States and to filing a false federal income tax return Sentencing is scheduled for Jan 6, 2015.According to court documents filed with the plea agreement, from 2001 until 2009, Patel sponsored the visa applications of Indian nationals by falsely claiming to provide employment for them in the United States Patel falsely certified on the visa applications that he would employ the immigrants in various technical fields at several New Jersey companies, thereby facilitating their illegal entry into the United States Over the course of the scheme, immigrants paid Patel thousands of dollars for the false certifications to fraudulently secure the visas To disguise the scheme, Patel issued payroll checks and other payroll forms Patel required the immigrants to return the money from the checks and also to reimburse him for his payroll tax expenses Patel used the fraudulent pay stubs and payroll checks to support false applications to extend the visas, and Patel charged the immigrants fees for the visa extensions. As a result of falsely carrying the immigrant employees on his payrolls, Patel overstated his payroll expenses on his federal income tax returns by more than 1 4 million over four years, under-reporting his tax obligation by over 400,000 for those years. This case was investigated by IRS-CI and DSS. to recruit individuals who would be willing to purchase condominium units These individuals were promised a buyers incentive. Developer Sentenced for Orchestrating Massive Mortgage Fraud Scheme On December 19, 2013, in Boston, Mass Sirewl R Cox was sentenced to 150 months in prison and three years of supervised release On November 15, 2013, Cox was convicted of wire fraud, bank fraud and conducting an unlawful monetary transaction According to court documents, in 2006 and 2007, Cox identified multiple-family buildings for sale and recruited straw buyers to purchase the buildings Cox and others then recruited straw buyers to purchase individual units in buildings that Cox controlled The straw buyers financing for the purchases was obtained by submitting mortgage loan applications and other documents that falsely represented key information Deals were closed with HUD-1 settlement statements that falsely represented that straw buyers had made down payments and paid other funds in connection with the property transactions, and falsely represented how the proceeds of the mortgage loans were disbursed. Porsche This country is getting pretty brown pretty fast. Normally I delete comments like this However, because this is your last, it will remain as your marker Garth. you know in a social environment this comment would be in-appropriate People would feel uncomfortable even if nothing pejorative were meant. I m sure Porsche meant to say there have been vast changes in the Canadian demographic A total of 19 of the population is visible minority which means 81 isn t Deal with it Garth. 158 Inglorious Investor on 09 12 14 at 11 41 am. 152 Shawn on 09 12 14 at 10 50 am. Does a carpenter employed by the private sector create wealth while a carpenter employed by government never creates wealth What if the pay and benefits and productivity were the same. Without private sector wealth funding public sector costs the public sector could produce NOTHING Therefore, as I said, all wealth is generated by the private sector, either directly or INDIRECTLY. Learn to read It might help. Inglorious suggests that I Learn to read It might help. Inglorious, learn not to be ignorant in both senses of the word. Boomers take the jobs Consume massive amounts of health care Inflate house prices. And then blame the kids. Garth, I thought you were better than this. You have no idea what the job market is like for the young My brother graduated with a degree in aerospace engineering Then went on to do a Master s in Biomechanical engineering Took him over a year to find work in Toronto in 2009 Lived at home and worked as a fedex driver to pay the bills He really would have been homeless if my parents had insisted he support himself after school. You want to see how really screwed over the job market is for the young Look at the market for teachers Boomers just won t leave And there are teachers in their 30s living at home, trying to survive with whatever work they can, taking all kinds of part time jobs I saw it first hand Ex-gf was 34 years old and living at home after 5 years teaching And she worked well over 40 hours a week across severa l jobs including teaching But could not make any sort of actual living wage It was heartbreaking to watch her go for interview after interview and constantly struggle to find other contract work just to get by. My fiancee is also a teacher Left the profession after struggling to get a proper career going Only year long contracts at private schools No real job at a school board Went back to school for HR Now job hunting Lives on her own 31 Still supported by her parents a fair bit. I won t even get into the new trend of unpaid internships This is the reality of Gen Y today They work hard, far harder than their parents Don t get paid for it Heck, I doubt most Boomers could cut it at the internships that these kids do. Across any actual profession, from lawyers to accountants to zoo keepers, the Boomers have taken all the choice jobs and refuse to retire Then boomers like you have the gall to insist that they get thrown out on their bums You sould like an Old Economy Steve meme. The Boomers h ave royally screwed over Gen Y The very least they could do is give them couch space while they hunt for work. ps To all those who give the standard line about moving to Alberta Engineers are not somehow totally interchangeable You can t use an aerospace engineer in the oil patch that easily. I had no idea FedEx drivers were homeless Garth. 161 NEVER GIVE UP on 09 12 14 at 12 07 pm. 111 WhiteKat on 09 11 14 at 11 08 pm. I am curious as to why you cannot travel to the US on your Canadian Passport What about all the dual Citizens in Canada Why is it they are able to go to the USA. AfterTheHouseSold We visited the National Memorial Site of Flight 93 in Pennsylvania. thanks for that. Victoria Real Estate Update your charts suck they just do but I really appreciate your posts, they sum up a lot of observations and I do like your comparisons to US real estate They coincide with what I ve seen in the US Your narrative is easily understood although wordy. Andrew Woburn Those twenty-eight pages tell a story that has been completely removed from the 9 11 Report. The Reel Me Find something called a Roscoe terminal and you can search properties by address, name, parcel number etc. nonplused So now they have a new mortgage on a house they don t collect rent or utilities on, or at least not very much of it, and a financed disco wagon that self levels. WhiteKat She likes to gamble, and is good at it I would watch. Saskatchewan Skeptic I can t believe the amount of fake, entitled people who scoff at renters. don t let the bastards get you down One day you ll wake up, people will respect you in a new way and you ll say I don t think I want to buy after all. surpised At 11 he left the house to study in one school. Don Derc 911 was an inside job. funny what you can learn watching telly in an hotel room. I had no idea FedEx drivers were homeless Garth. Fedex drivers with tens of thousands in student debts to pay back might be. Try not to hyperbole Just sayin Garth. 164 Setting the Record Straight on 09 12 14 at 12 20 pm. I owe you three responses The last two will come tomorrow. But prior to the issue, I thank you for the links They are very interesting. On Friedman criticizing Mises, in the Reason article, I could only find personal criticisms of Mises intolerance. Even if there are substantive criticisms of Mises by Friedman, I point out the following. Friedman identifies himself as a liberal we would say classic liberal His self identification does wander however because later he seems himself as a libertarian. He said he believes the Federal Reserve should be abolished, that income tax withholding should be abolished in peacetime, and that he does not favor compulsory education If a person here suggested the same, it would generate accusationsfrom our host and others that we were wearing tin foil hats. I ignore the dissonance between these ideas and his work on education vouchers, withholding taxes, and rules to run the Fed by. Friedman also noted th at Hayek self identified as an Old Whig not a libertarian This should be kept in mind when we discuss Hayek and Mises. 165 Longshorebore on 09 12 14 at 12 24 pm. To many kids with humanities and arts degrees, There is real work to be done out here in BC if your willing to work there is a job for you don t need to hear anymore whiners with fluff degrees bitching they can t get a job as a high school teacher Strive a lil higher in uni go for engineering and sciences or pick up a hammer Bunch of wusses. 166 Rational Optimist on 09 12 14 at 12 38 pm.136 Ret on 09 12 14 at 8 11 am. Ret, I am pretty sure I am in your ward in Hamilton If you can register you ve got a couple hours yet , you ll have my vote. 167 Holy Crap Wheres The Tylenol on 09 12 14 at 12 43 pm. 140 crowdedelevatorfartz on 09 12 14 at 9 09 am Good old Ayn Rand A sci-fi hack that couldnt even spell her first name right or is that write Smoking Man, help me here But even Elron Hubbard another sci-fi hack was smart enough to turn his novels into a religion Both authors used their self importance and the stupidity of the masses to create movements that sheeple to this day still spew as gospel Kenchie, feel sorry for the delusional, for they know not what they speak Back to you Ann gold is my God Randy. Smoking Man is at the Casino in Niagara Falls already probably writing his book as we speak I m actually looking for ward to seeing it on the shelf one day Holy hit its got to be chalk full of stuff we never even could conceive This seams appropriate for the huddled masses who follow a religious cult leader blindly. 168 Sheane Wallace on 09 12 14 at 12 46 pm. How is 1 75 trillion in mortgage and personal debt plus maybe 1 trillion in corporate debt possible when all deposits are 1 2 trillion Just asking Where is the other 1 5 trillion coming from Just as a bad cold leads to pneumonia, so over-indebtedness leads to deflation, wrote the US economist Irving Fisher in 1933 But when the debt was piling on there was inflation, correct Why not deflation to offset the inflation Trying to present inflation as reason and necessity for growth is pathetic. Was recently at a dinner party with my wife and her co-workers along with their spouses A mix of ages As we were sitting at the dinner table after consuming a wonderfully prepared dinner I looked around Everyone that was 50 or up was engaged in conversation The younger ones were all texting At the table Couldn t believe it so brought it up in the conversation They all thought it was just normal I thought it was rude Must be getting old I guess. 170 Sheane Wallace on 09 12 14 at 12 55 pm. You have seen nothing yet Kids out of top universities 10 years from now might have 20 80 chance of prosperous career at Starbucks or Wallmart if they get lucky and that old timer barista or greeter dies Cancer rates are up so there is hope Finding a job would be equivalent to winning from the lottery Mortgage debt, education debt, car loans debt, you name it there is debt everywhere and we can not afford to shrink it as it will reduce growth Debt as driver of growth instead of investment and productivity Wow It looks like terminal cancer in its last stages. 171 All markets are now risky on 09 12 14 at 12 57 pm. The S P 500 is at 16 7 times earnings slightly above the historic average A correction of 12-15 seems likely if the PE ratio were to restore Hardly the same overvaluation as real estate, it would seem Garth. Fueled by years of QE, the lowest interest rates in history emergency interest rate conditions, severely negative real rates , nosebleed levels of margin debt, an extremely optimistic bull-to-bear ratio I could go on Nevertheless, this is a setup for more than a simple correction, a perfect recipe for a cascade much lower Bottom line current scenario is high risk, low reward. Quote OTheDay HowMeenaIsThat WhatAPartyPooper. If you can afford to come and buy a million-dollar home, and leave it empty for eight or 10 months at a time, then hey, you can afford to pay more, a surcharge, or a surtax Meena Wong. SCMP Vancouver mayoral candidate Meena Wong proposes tax on vacant homes Owners who leave their expensive homes empty most of the year should be willing to pay surcharge, Wong says. 173 Mister Obvious on 09 12 14 at 1 03 pm. My parents encouraged me to leave home at 16 and fend for myself. Similar story here At the age of 19, my father s message to me was this approximately this. Either prove you are on a path to independence through education which I will finance provided a reasonable job prospect exists or hit the road and make your own way, son. Perhaps foolishly, I chose to hit the road But understand me Dad wasn t my buddy , he was my father Big difference The prospect of living under the old man s roof any longer was unbearable to me Not that he was evil he was a fine man and a war hero as far as I m concerned but it was like living with the day-shift foreman down on the shop floor. I did low-paying grunt work for the next decade or so then paid my own way through school During that time I shared rent in low end accommodation with as many as three other fellows on their own quest for would have chosen to hang with in any other independence I can t say they were a lways people I circumstance. I guess was the kind of guy who prefers it the hard way although I have corrected that foolish attitude in my old age. The one thing I have the most difficulty conveying to young people today is how fierce the drive for independence was among my generation. Even if it were possible, sitting in one s parent s basement waiting for life to somehow begin was seen as a the seventh level of hell by all my contemporaries. 174 Mister Obvious on 09 12 14 at 1 07 pm. Correction of butchered paragraph in previous post. I did low-paying grunt work for the next decade or so then paid my own way through school During that time I shared rent in low end accommodation with as many as three other fellows on their own quest for independence I can t say they were always people I would have chosen to hang with in any other circumstance. For Ayn Rand Army and others interested. Ayn Rand s life, summarized in a web comic. I don t know enough to pick sides, posting for your enjoyment. 126 TakingResponsibility on 09 12 14 at 1 58 am What s actually wrong with inter-generational living I think it sad that birth, child-rearing, education, old-age, and even death have become Outsourced institutionalized Actually, most of us spend our working years in some institution or another We are all institutionalized debt slaves. Divide and conquer Each generation has to start from scratch Makes for a docile and scared worker Good for the bottom line. Some cultures are different but in mine at least, people get jealous and will try to cut you down if they see you rise above them Help you Please The worse boss I ve ever had was the same nationality I am She did everything to keep me down That s OK I returned the favor. Now, there is another side of the coin Sometimes kids are just lazy and entitled I worked for a startup Was employee 3, yey The CEO s son was a college flunkie and a pot head. But daddy kept saying that little Johnny 25ish flunked out of college because he was too smart and was getting bored You see, little Johnny wanted to study Computer Science but just couldn t handle the slow pace of a college education In fact, couldn t even register for class in time LOL. So, given that college was out of the question too smart his love of Computer Science and the fact that his dad owned a freaking startup in Silicon Valley, you would assume that little Johnny would spend all of his days working with his dad, learning from stupid people like me with 20 years of experience and 2 college degrees that s how stupid I am. Oh please Not once, did he show up in the office the whole time I was there. He still lives with mommy and daddy They just got the daughter 23 to move out She s a waitress in San Jose. 177 Sheane Wallace on 09 12 14 at 1 20 pm. 171 All markets are now risky. Not if you look at long term. You are missing one very important point velocity of money, it is at historical low Once it picks up and pick up it will we will see some inflation it could be significant but also even higher growth in the corporate earnings Most of the quality internationals that pay dividends are very well positioned on the world markets, so expect continues strength and growing earnings the rest of the world actually grows. Holding money in cash or bonds except for emergency cash or short term TIPS when inflation picks up is stupid. So thank you very much I will keep my stocks Even if the market corrects 30 chance of 20-25 a well diversified dividend based portfolio would shrink only by 10-12 The cost of selling now and then buying again at the eventual bottom presumably you get it exactly right is not justified by the risk. 178 Nature vs Nurture on 09 12 14 at 1 24 pm. OMG you fools are showing your age if you are 50 or over you have benefited from a different experience than the succeeding generations. You were raised by parents that experienced the great depression, a world war and a 1950 s conflict that still simmers today and constantly threatens to explode. You always knew where you stood in relation to the larger world, because competition in it s most basic form existed To wit, Sports Day , British Bulldog , Dodge Ball and other vicious games that we children just made up on the play field, with rules that we defined and actions that were allowed or not. At my elementary school a game was devised and played on the field farthest away from the prying eyes of adults called Creamo , anyone student could play, all were welcome, the only stipulation was you had to waive your right of complaint when something happened to you. Creamo was a hodgepodge of rugby, football, soccer, dodge ball, running, kicking, th rowing the ball through the goal posts Goals were important but if someone really got creamed , well that was excellent too The scrum was where the vicious action occurred and each and every person had to decide if they belonged in the scrum. Every person that went on the field acknowledged the inherent risk of getting Creamed and would deny all knowledge that such an activity actually existed. It wasn t exactly The Lord of the Flies , but it was good training Given the choice of Hopscotch or nearly killing each other, we chose to play the maiming game. Why Because children are just little animals and the basic instinct is inclined towards wildness and animal behavior Society s mandate is and has been to integrate this energy into more productive activities To make productive citizens out of the barbarians. It is through our barbarian behavior that we, in time, begin to understand and exercise control of our inate drives This used to be accomplished by a maiming injury acquired during play or by corporal punishment doled out by adults for partaking in maiming play. The net result was the experience of temporary pain, which conditioned us for future endeavours, some of which would also leave physical, emotional and psychic marks. In life, all good things must come to an end, and eventually the adults found out just what the hell was happening out there and stopped our fun. Succeeding generations have been nurtured , they will never know the joy of creaming a smaller guy on the field because that s always the rule, if you want to succeed, never try to cream someone outside of your weight class. In removing the painful experiences of childhood, we have created a class of individual that is currently incapable of exercising their own basic instincts. These individuals are not to be blamed for something that they were not allowed to experience. You better hope that they don t figure out just how rigged the game is. Bad behavior at 8 or 9 is one thing bad behavior in your twenties i s called A Revolution. 171 All markets. That s why I converted all my defined contribution pension holdings into money markets recently It s not much under 100k but there is too much risk for the potential reward left in the market I may be gambling, but since I do it to protect my assets and not to speculate, I agree to pay the price of forgone higher returns for the security that I got. 180 Sheane Wallace on 09 12 14 at 1 26 pm. Lets not forget also that the historical P E are from time when alternative investments government bonds actually paid positive interest that was much higher than the zero or even negative interest rates policies these days In absence of incentive to invest in bonds the stock markets will keep going higher and higher Dow 20 k is certainty, I am thinking more of Dow 30 k in the next 3-7 years Plan accordingly. By US law, Canadians born in the USA, who have not formally renounced US citizenship, are required to travel to USA on an American passport despite holding a Canadian passport. Until recently, US border guards rarely enforced this law, but this is starting to change with USA s recent attempts through FATCA to enforce citizenship based taxation on non-US residents Please warn any Canadian friends who were born in USA, travelling on a Canadian passport, that they may be queried at the border as to whether or not they are tax compliant with the IRS. USA requires annual tax reports and Foreign Bank Account Reports from those it considers to be US persons birth in USA, one or more American parents, snowbirds who overstay, green card holders even if they do not live in the USA and do not earn any US sourced income. 182 Drug Ford aka Al Haig on 09 12 14 at 1 32 pm. Settle down, I am in charge here. More to follow, Ford Nation. Garth, your regular deliveries will continue so don t worry There will be a slight price premium. 183 Sheane Wallace on 09 12 14 at 1 34 pm. bonds are actually called return free risk. Only government debt Garth. ps To all those who give the standard line about moving to Alberta Engineers are not somehow totally interchangeable You can t use an aerospace engineer in the oil patch that easily. Indeed, and great point There s huge unemployment underemployment in Canada s tech sector left by the departure of Nortel A large number of engineers with skills more specific to the telecom sector are still running around Canada, unemployed or underemployed, glutting up the resume submissions Even relatively basic minimally advertised positions in the telecom engineering sector are receiving in excess of 50 resumes from highly qualified and often extremely talented individuals. Its good that government didn t bail that bloated and somewhat fraudulently managed Nortel pig out in the early 2000s, but inflating almost a trillion dollars worth of CMHC subprime insured mortgage debt into the housing ma rket wasn t really a good answer either. RE 131 Comment from Porsche in response to Garth. Annual immigration us 0 7 of the population, without which we would have decline Garth. This country is getting pretty brown pretty fast. That was a terrible comment from Porsche that should have been deleted but I guess Garth left it there for him her to hang him herself I am ashamed to be Canadian and white when I see hear read things like that I work everyday with so-called brown people who, in addition, to be hard working, smart, humorous, attractive people, contribute so much to this society What does the skin color have to do with anything I can see this idiotic way of thinking is diminishing in the new generations, and that is a good thing My children seem to be virtually color-blind Nothing to do with this blog except for the fact that people who have not done too well in life even if they drive imaginary Porsche like to blame other people for their misfortunes Like coddled children adultette s now we are back on the topic of the blog Blame the renters, the owners, the public sector workers with fat pensions, the CHMC, Mark, whoever you want but it will not change the fact that you are the one who made the decisions that brought you where you are now I try to remain a silent observer and learn something, but that was really too much to let it go unnoticed. 21 Casual Observer. This was written during a time when the US was on the gold standard The US Gov t could not have engaged in the same amount of money printing that is going on throughout the world today. Of course they could, and they did The increase in monetary base during that time was absolutely unprecedented in US history And what do you think caused the credit bubble of the 20s anyways Newly found gold deposits. I had no idea FedEx drivers were homeless Garth. Good point Actually FedEx drivers are usually independent contractors who own their own trucks Some do hire employees do drive as some own multiple trucks and routes. I have heard also that a UPS driver can be a great gig. The harder and faster they work the more they get paid They are not stuck in an office They are free of bosses most of the day. Under employed teachers and Egyptologists might want to check it out. Definitely an honest way to earn a living Not much chance to slack off without getting noticed. doug ford to replace rob on TO mayor ballot. if the ford bros can t crash 416 than nothing can. 24 Doug in London. These Boomer parents should know better Having seen real estate corrections before I remember one in the early 1980s and another in the early 1990s they should be advising their Millennial kids that another is long overdue whether they live with their parents or not. We had one in 2008, before it was arrested by 0 interest rates and opening of mortgage floodgates This is the problem people have the attention span of a squirrel. 160 Keith on 09 12 14 at 11 52 am. Engineers are not somehow totally interchangeable You can t use an aerospace engineer in the oil patch that easilyplete BS from 160 Keith. Engineers ARE interchangeable based on their process-thinking education It s not the engineering degree specialization, it s the competencies that have been learned after graduation. 191 miketheengineer on 09 12 14 at 1 50 pm. You are 100 correct. You said, Engineers are not somehow totally interchangeable. In 2009, when the auto industry collapsed in Ontario, I thought about going out west to Alberta I had no contacts out there, no connection, no family So I applied to whatever I could find on the net that was advertising I had a Chemical Engineering Degree and a second one in Science Chemistry , and 15 years experience in Auto Manufacturing I could not get any responses to my applications, none In the year that I was out of work, I sent out around 2000 applications or more I lost count. You see in Alberta, they have programs, like Petroleum Engineer etc, and when they advertise for a position they are very specific and want the 10 out 10 candidate or the guy with the experience with rotating equipment, and they want like 10 years experience as a Class 4 Operating Engineer or starting up process units So they end up taking on the guy from the Arabic countries that com e here is newcomers who have this experience working in Saudi Arabia or elsewhere, that has this 10 years experience. It appears to me that manufacturing experience means nothing to the oil and gas industry. You see I was labelled the auto guy and they were looking for the oil guy I would have had better luck if I was welder or heavy truck driver. So I stayed in Ontario Hoo for me. p s I am gainfully employed now in manufacturing in Ontario, with a wonderful boss, and decent co-workers, with a job that actually has benefits I thank GOD, every day that I walk into this building for my job. perhaps on is housing a Renegade in their basement. Every boomer I know has spent most of the lives and earnings on ensuring their kids have the best of everything and never wanting for anything. This is funny because I was about to write in to state that I, as the child of Boomers, probably have gone a little too far in giving time and money to my own offspring because I had so little of both from Mom and D ad and Step Dad I did have a pretty good time of it until I was 9 at which point all hell broke loose with all the grown ups deciding that the family thing was a drag I had to grow up fend for myself and my brother We still had a roof over our heads and food but not much else Mom, are you reading this I hope not On second thought you d never recognize yourself anyway. Having parental units kind of abandon the family at such a young age scarred me Can ya tell as a result I do work very hard and am careful with money But also as a result I hate to see my own kid left to dangle if my young adult needs something I do what I can to help. Finally there is the very real, very relevant point that the economy is in the sh tter Housing and food cost a tremendous chunk of a person s income if he or she is making starter wages Add in transportation and perhaps a student loan payment and there s really no hope except to get used to doing the same thing every day until you die. I don t have to let my k id do that and so I won t Been there Struggled out of it sorta and am not enough of a queen bitch to watch someone I love hurt that way. Feeling like my dog just died. Stay strong Mr Ford. 171 All markets are now risky. Trying to time the market are we. History has shown a fool s errandplete BS from 160 Keith. Engineers ARE interchangeable based on their process-thinking education It s not the engineering degree specialization, it s the competencies that have been learned after graduation. Sure, we know that, as engineers Too bad HR personnel, who are in the position of screening the resumes and act as hiring managers don t This is why so many jobs apparently go unfilled, while people who could fill them complain that they don t receive legitimate consideration. Actually asking the on-the-ground engineers what skills and what qualifications are needed to really do a job seems to be an after-thought these days I remember during the dot-com boom, lots of Mechanical, and even Civil Engineers easily found work in the software computing field, but these days, it seems employers are notoriously inflexible and not really motivated to fill empty positions Instead, holding out for TFW s or for a perfect yet desperate for a low salary candidate to come along. I share the same undergrad as my brother Explain to me what work someone with in-depth education and internships in aerospace structures and modelling of heart valves would do out in Alberta. Sure, you can apply your skills to solving most engineering problems But whether an a petroleum equipment manufacturing company will actually recognize the usefulness of your skills is an altogether different matter. See post 191 by the miketheengineer Stories like that abound among engineers And his education is much closer to what is required in the O G sector than my brother was. Non-engineers simply don t get it The number of qualified engineers out there and the number of qualified foreign trained engineers coming here Very difficult for a young engineer to start out And this is after hearing all the lectures about how an Arts and Science degree is useless and how engineering leads to good jobs Most BBA BComm grads I know are better off than most engineers I know Far less workload, in university, and at work. Moreover, if you did get a job, they ll just use your supposed lack of experience to dramatically underpay you Starting salary for aerospace engineers at Bombardier is around 50K Most business majors who get a decent bank job downtown make more Hot realtor babes can pull in six figures. Canada hates engineers and technical talent. 199 Holy Crap Wheres The Tylenol on 09 12 14 at 3 26 pm. 195 Smoking Man on 09 12 14 at 2 26 pm Feeling like my dog just died, Stay strong Mr Ford. OK Smoky heres the scoop, Rob out as Mayor, Doug in as Mayor, Rob going for council, Michael Ford or Mikey, as his uncles Rob and Doug call him is on his way to becoming a Toronto city councilor as well So there go have a beer and chill There s a whole lot of Fords parked in the driveway. 53 said PS My family is a microcosm of the cultural dichotomy my Western European parent was happy to kick us out at age 18, but my Asian parent said no, it s a waste of money Funnily enough, my Euro parent blamed my Asian parent for being too soft on us. WHICH IS WHY IT IS DIFFERENT HERE AS MUCH AS I HATE TO ADMIT IT. 202 TheManwhoStaresatSheeple on 09 12 14 at 4 06 pm. Canada hates engineers and technical talent. It certainly looks that way I m an IT worker who was fortunate to get into a public sector position relatively late in life The working conditions of IT people in corporations have been steadily degraded by outsourcing, immigration, and the TFW program. Annual immigration us 0 7 of the population, without which we would have decline Garth. This is not accurate We have a population of probably not more than 35 million we can only estimate I have learned as a public sector worker that there are no truly reliable figures on stuff like this Every year more than half a million newcomers enter Canada You have the 265,000 regular immigrants, you have approximately 200,000 Temporary Foreign Workers, you have about 100,000 international students , and there surely must be some illegals BTW the immigration and student figures are readily searchable on federal government websites, and TFW figures have be en reported many times by news media Commenters on this site have linked all this stuff before. There are also millions yes, millions of people who have Canadian citizenship and passports living outside the country in places like Lebanon and Hong Kong So while the exact figure cannot be determined from the low-quality data available, it s clearly more than 0 7 a year. The notion that without this influx we d have decline is also mistaken Heavy immigration more likely depresses family formation in the host population. What a dandy collection of anonymous paranoid xenophobes we have on this site Garth. Miketheengineer I had a Chemical Engineering Degree and a second one in Science Chemistry , and 15 years experience in Auto Manufacturing. What about the lithium ion battery revolution and companies like Tesla, electric bikes, scooters, solar, wind etc One would think there is plenty of opportunity and demand for engineering expertise Perhaps not in sticks and stones Canada but elsewhere. 26 For some reason I found the term adultettes hilarious. And re Garth s rebuke 46.The term adultettes seems too respectful How about adultescents or perhaps adultweenies. Then top it off with Yul Brynner s comments in the following clip Garth can be Yul up until the gun fight. As a prelude to a years-long decline Equities will likely correct and recover within a few months More importantly, financial assets are 100 liquid Real estate turns illiquid in a downturn Consequently, elevated risk Garth. Nobody sells house within months of purchase Risk is mitigated and smoothed over long period of time IE years. Btw you only loose money when down if you sell like any financial assets Even if prices stagnates you still win House is a utility How about that. Irrelevant when 92 leverage is used to buy houses as CMHC numbers published here show Nobody gets 92 margin to buy equities When house prices fall, you can be assured of a flood of emotional sellers people who bought for capital gains, not losse s Garth. 207 Just my 2 cents on 09 12 14 at 5 31 pm. I think Garth is absolutely right, 24 is an adult and should behave accordingly I see so many kids that age who have an expectation of adult rewards I m an adult, I can do what I want but who assume as few responsibilities as possible Parents who encourage this are doing their kid a great disservice We got flak from well-meaning friends and relatives who thought it was unfair to make a 10 year old make his bed before leaving for school and make his own lunch the night before We thought it taught time management and planning They thought it was mean that we said if he wanted extra stuff and things that he pick up a paper route We thought he should learn that stuff was not free and you had to be willing to work for it There was an expectation that he help out with whatever needed doing in the house, because he was part of a family unit and that everyone should do their part He had an allowance and was taught about credit, savings, debt etc but h is allowance was never tied to what he did in the house, nor would we ever dream of paying him to attain good marks in school When he graduated high school, he decided not to go to college right away, so we said sure, you can be home, but you must carry the equivalent of a full time job and you must pay rent, your own car insurance, buy your own clothes, etc I overheard a conversation where a friend asked him where his parents got off making him pay when he was just living at home and my son laughed and said they don t want me to be useless and not know how to take care of myself He got it We also figured doing menial labour in our small town would have him in college in less than a year and we were right While he thinks it s good to do what you must to pay your bills, he also didn t want a lifetime of it when there was an alternative. Fast forward to now, he is 22 and has been married for a year He finished his 3rd year of college last year, dropped out for a year and they saved money for his grad year, which he started this month In his year off, he worked 2 part-time jobs for minimum wage and he found there were lots of jobs that would put food on the table but they weren t fun or glamorous He worked in a feed store primarily and he said a lot of people his age won t take any old job to start out, and then they say there are no jobs In that one year off school, they saved enough to pay his tuition for the full year, they have money set aside for savings and they ve donated to charity They live in a basement suite close to the school and while they are very frugal, their life is very full with friends, dinners, pot lucks, bike rides, other sports, art and music and they don t seem to be deprived at all They don t have cable, share one old flip phone and he bikes to school When they got engaged, they sent me an Excel spreadsheet and asked if I could look over their budget for when they were married and see if it looked reasonable you can only imagine how happy it ma de me that they were thinking of things like that We always helped him when we could, but often our help came in the form of time spent talking and assuring him he had the ability to sort out his problem and kicking around ideas until he had come up with a resolution I think they have a great foundation for their marriage and future and that we would have robbed him greatly if we had simply handed him everything and given him the message that he was NOT capable and could not figure anything out unless it was provided by us. IsItJustMe OrIsThatLeaderIllustration LookingMoreDoggoneFlummoxed WithEachCTLF5. NoteToGT Just between the two of us, I thought the TeaserTrailer was outrageously GoodSport NoteToWhiteKat TrueEnough Even those without formal ties to UncleSam are occasionally obliged to navigate his bureaucratic maze something to do with W8-BEN s. The stock market doomers and conspiracy nuts make me laugh Why does the stock market go up even if 50 of people don t save Because the vast majority of stocks are held by the top 5 and corporations This makes sense since logically they have that much more money to save Nothing evil or sinister about that If there is a wideningn wage gap between the top and middle it follows that those top 5 stock purchases would drive shares up But it also means someone poorer can get their piece buy owning the shares too even if their demographics purchases are less substantial or influential on stock price As for the stock market crashing Meh I am a long ways from retirement and the stocks aren t a leveraged investment for me so no one is gonna force me t o liquidate them Unlike a mortgaged house or the small amount of stocks I buy on margin for entertainment purposes. Explain to me what work someone with in-depth education and internships in aerospace structures and modelling of heart valves would do out in Alberta. You or your bro might check out becoming a DAR or finding work as an aircraft structures engineer within a company that has received Transport Canada delegation as a DAO See pertinent links on Transport Canada s Delegations Information System web site, below. Or, check out working for an aircraft structural repair and or modification shop aka an Approved Aircraft Maintenance Organization AMO Aircraft modifications is a major part of the Canadian aviation industry A few of the major players in BC Kelowna Flightcraft, Cascade Aerospace and CHC Helicopters I m not sure who the main players in Alberta are maybe Kenn Borek Air In Ontario, there is Field Aviation, Voyageur Airways and Deca Aviation I believe the Midland, ON based co mpany, Avionics Design Services was still is looking for a structures engineer for its office out at YVR Vancouver Richmond airport See link here. These companies and or individuals are given a Delegation of Authority by Transport Canada to make findings of compliance to the pertinent airworthiness requirements, for aircraft modifications Specialized work knowledge that the not taught in engineering schools see exceptions below , meaning there aren t a lot of competent engineers working in it compared to other engineering disciplines Hence, it seems jobs in the field are somewhat age-proof at least, if you re able to work for the smaller companies mod shops You don t get the knowledge and experience from engineering school except perhaps if you graduated from one with an aeronautical engineering discipline like U of T, Carleton U or Ryerson U and or had specialization within a Mech Eng program On top of those places, Boeing offers its own structures engineering courses at your or your e mployer s expense, of course. See the TCCA link above and or contact your local TCCA Aircraft Certification Office Toronto, Montreal, Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver and Moncton for more information You would have to take TCCA s Aircraft Certification Specialty Course paid for by yourself or by your employer in order to eventually get delegation as a DAR or as an Authorized Person within a DAO Also, TCCA itself was recently hiring Aircraft Certification Engineers with specialization in among other areas , aircraft structures The thing about working for them is, you will be removed from being a hands-on engineer and would be a paper-shuffling bureaucrat although a well-paid one with benefits pension Still, the work can be interesting if you can tolerate the politics and bureaucracy. Best of success since I don t believe in luck. 74 Smoking Man on 09 11 14 at 9 08 pm It s what being alive is all about. You think that being alive is about feeding your ego It s actually about putting your ego aside, and learning to love the people around you Stop trying to pursue your own selfish desires This will be your greatest challenge. We should shall not judge and brag It is different now it is not the 50 s, 60 s. 142 Inglorious Investor you are right on the spot The public sector worker should not get more pay benefits than the private sector The private sector create wealth money through goods and services which pay taxes whereas, the government wealth is obtained by taxes. Do you really believe that neither my brother or I know how the aerospace industry works or that we need advice internet randoms. I m in the RCAF He did find work in his field at a well known aircraft engine maker in Toronto. The point of my narrative was to illustrate the very real challenges that young people experience today The old line that They should be independent And some internet links are hardly relevant The tone of Boomers like Garth and yourself comes off as, Let them eat cake. I hope Gen Y remembers this when the Boomers start agitating politically for higher state pensions No issues taking care of my parents Other boomers Couldn t give s fig. 214 Rabi Dmangycur 35 on 09 12 14 at 11 44 pm. 35 Happy Renting re Ayn Rand cartoon link. Thanx for the post I am a big Ayn Rand fan and have all her books and plays and have read all her newsletters She must have been extremely intelligent but not that smart the two are not mutually inclusive. I love this blog site and have read all the archives up to Nov 2012 so far. I appreciate the task GT has undertaken armed only with a whip and a chair I understand the fact that very few seem to understand the fundamentals Garth is sharing with readers, but many are quick to argue with the conclusions. It appears Alan Greenspan fell into the same trap that ensnared Ayn in the end an over reliance on intelligence and an under reliance on smarts. A common trap of highly intelligent people. Can anyone see the logic flaws in this. Does a carpenter employed by the private sector create wealth while a carpenter employed by government never creates wealth What if the pay and benefits and productivity were the same. NO the govt does not create wealth Ever T hey build crap they don t need most of the time The private sector carpenter creates wealth by being employed and whose paycheck goes into the economy and whose TAXES PAY govt workers Govt workers are paid with taxes so all they are doing is recycling money created by the private sector. And in today s economy the private sector is more pissed off than they have ever been as the cost of living keeps going up despite the lies by the govt, meanwhile the govt workers keep getting bigger and bigger paychecks and pensions that go with them. I thought you were smarter than this Shawn and beware, class warfare is soon to come. 213 Keith assuming you come back to this particular post. I didn t intend or think my tone came across as Let them eat cake Was not my intention Was only trying to offer some help food for thought from my scope of knowledge experience, for what it is isn t worth, since I m in a similar situation as yours engineer electrical electronics , specialized aerospace aviation , middle-aged, technically obsolete. Tried to move away from aviation back in 07 by moving to Alberta when the demand for engineers and labour in general was virtually being hyped as they ll hire anyone with a pulse Turned out not to be so naturally Turned out that despite the whining in Alberta that companies can t find enough qualified people, they still cherry-pick who they ll hire or even interview Job prospects for electrical engineers in Alberta were are great if you have background and Canadian experience in electrical power generation, distribution and substation design, or instrumentation and controls I C systems S eems to be a similar situation in Ontario today, except instead of instrumentation and control jobs, seems to be more focus on automation and robotics programming jobs for EE s With the loss of manufacturing jobs in Ontario in recent years, darned if I know what they expect to automate. I thought with my background in FMEA systems safety analysis I could transfer over to the I C field, what with that field s need for process control hazard HAZOP analysis, safety risk management, safety integrity level analysis, etc Had one interview with an I C consulting engineering company that said they farmed that safety analysis stuff out to another party, and as far as the I C techie stuff they did, well, they didn t see a fit within their organization for me and couldn t justify taking on someone from outside their industry because of the implications to how much they would have to bill their customer i e higher bill because of my learning curve Had one agency tell me the engineering companies pr efer to hire the young engineering grads fresh out of school because they can pay them peanuts and train i e beat them into shape , rather than hire us older dudes who have some proven ability to think Calgary Herald ran an article at the time profiling how oil patch companies were screaming they didn t have enough people, yet were picky about who they hired because after working so hard to earn their good reputation, they were wary about damaging that reputation by hiring just anyone Blah, blah, blah. I came to the realization that the dark secret not told to undergrad students at engineering school is that once you get your first professional engineering job, you ll likely be pigeon-holed in that particular type of work or industry The problem seems especially acute for electrical electronics engineers since the field is so diverse and changes so rapidly, particularly in anything to do with electronics and software. And that s another kicker the electronics industry in Canada that exis ted 20 to 30 years ago, no longer exists What once seemed like the bright shining star in Canada s economic horizon, has essentially vaporized think Mitel, Nortel, Jerrold, many others I ve long since forgotten about In BC, electronics companies that existed in the 80 s and 90 s are gone with just a remnant of one or two that somehow reincarnated themselves. Then, to complicate matters, the electronics industry has shifted more toward software engineering and digital complex programmable logic devices CPLDs and gate arrays FPGAs over the past 20 years One needs to learn use software tools VHDL, Verilog to design the hardware logic used to program the chips. During the same time frame, along has come the growth of the internet and IT, cell phones, wi-fi, CDMA already obsolete , CDMA-II, HSPA, LTE, and Whoa Is Me In the past, one specialized in either hardware or software Today, seems companies want a person who can do it all hardware, software, IT internet and radio frequency RF circuit d esign, which is a specialty all its own All the while, you re supposed to keep up with this stuff What the frig kind of life is that, trying to chase after and keep up with this stuff, particularly if you re a family person I ve come to the conclusion that the career counselors and or HR people who concocted the idea of transferable skills don t know their heads from their butts when they try to apply their transferable skills schlock to engineers and most anyone else who works in a specialized profession. On top of the above, if you happen to be a software engineer or work in IT, your knowledge half-life is now down to only about 18 months to two years according to IEEE and one or two other articles I ve read By age 35, you re too old to work as a software or IT engineer, at least, in the U S This is another dark secret that probably isn t being explained to the young engineering undergrads. I concur with one of the other previous comments that depending on one s area of specialty, Cana da isn t a very good place to have an engineering career But with the off-shoring of industry and jobs in the U S over the past 20 years, according to blog comments I ve read, it sounds like the situation in the U S isn t all that great either again, depending on area of specialty. 218 liquidincalgary on 09 14 14 at 6 52 am. 21 Casual Observer says. because of the collapse in the velocity of money. collapse with housing now employing more than O G, how has velocity collapsed houses changing hands so frequently, are these not the definition of velocity of money. check your definition, then re-read your comment and my response to it please. The moaning and dribbling experienced here yesterday when I suggested a 24-year-old male was no kid and should be ejected from his parent s root cellar was, ah, interesting It s hard to know now when adulthood starts At thirty When you get your first condo Three decades before retirement When your mom stops washing your shorts. Those who want twentysomethings treated as dependent children invariably have economic reasons No jobs, they say The kid ll be homeless So adult children end up like giant eight-year-olds, assuming they have no mobility, freedom or personal responsibility Hard to see how helicopter parenting does much for experience, which is the foundation of maturity. Of greater concern, though, is what this often does to parental finances The numbers shared here yesterday are a shocker almost half of all Canadians spend 100 of their incomes on houses and kids, putting nothing aside for the future And half over 50 have just a fraction one quarter saved of what they ll need to retire a decade later In other words, they ain t going to make it It s a fair bet a lot of them have Millennial things in the basement, contributing nothing to the home despite expensive educations. This underscores the fragility of household finance With 1 75 trillion in mortgage and personal debt and the certainty of rate increases next year, plus a 3 savings rate, things aren t going too well No wonder wealth is drifting up to the investor class while debt drifts down to what s left of the middle class The TSX gained 27 in the past year and the S P is up 21 , while inflation is 2 and houses grew an average of 5 Real estate also has massive buying and selling costs, ongoing pr operty tax, insurance and maintenance payments and often strata fees. Unless there are sustained capital gains each and every year in the property market, things aren t going to end well for a lot of people who have rolled the dice on a one-asset strategy Almost 60 of Canadian households have mortgages That s 5 6 million families, while another 2 2 million have home equity lines of credit The average mortgage rate is 3 2 , and even at that historically-low level most folks are saving nothing Just imagine when mortgages again average 5 which is still a relative bargain. The Bank of Canada has crunched the numbers They re ugly If five-year mortgage rates average just 4 then mortgage payments would become the most unaffordable in 16 years If interest rates rise 2 in general and they will, without a doubt then 10 of households with mortgages can no longer afford them That s more than enough to push over the entire market. At the heart of this threat to the middle class is the notion that hous es are investments not places to live so if you have one you don t need to invest in anything else That s how we got a 70 home ownership rate and a 3 savings rate. This is also what screwing up the kids heads. Adulthood s now equated with real estate ownership Parents coddle the adultettes until they land a job, tell them renting is throwing their money away, and encourage them to leap from the basement to the 23rd floor even when that means shouldering big debt and living paycheque to paycheque So much for moving three provinces away to land the best job and launch a career. The condo mavens know this Like Vancouver s Bosa Properties It just hatched a scheme to ensnare the young called an equity plan, to offer hope to Vancouverites who feel like they ll never be able to afford their own homes A small 15 amount of monthly rent goes to loyalty points which can be used later as partial downpayment for a Bosa condo After two years, it earns a 5,700 credit towards a unit so the buyer can star t owning the same unit they ve been living in, and pay twice the monthly load. Well, this pathetic blog has been warning people about the one-horse portfolio for years now Millions have ignored me They won t stop. This week Reuters ran a significant story on the real estate party raging in Canada that the rest of the world is watching like a head-on collision YouTube vid Morningstar equity analyst Dan Werner summed things up pretty well. If you start looking at your house as an investment class, as something else you should be investing in rather than the stock market, you run into the danger of being exposed to some of the excesses going on in the system There is this euphoria when you are within an up-housing market We fell into it that here I don t want to say Canadians are in a party mode, but they are thinking, What can possibly go wrong if prices keep going up It s going to end badly. Of course it will end badly Meanwhile misguided parents churn out Millennials who feel entitled to l eap from their childhood homes into granite-laden, debt-drenched digs, thinking this is what adults do. What could possibly go wrong.218 comments. Just as a bad cold leads to pneumonia, so over-indebtedness leads to deflation, wrote the US economist Irving Fisher in 1933. 32 David Lee on 09 10 14 at 7 24 pm 3rd attempt 153 Mark yesterday s post. They talk as though a housing correction hasn t even begun Even though evidence of such having been in progress for more than a year now is quite abundant. Again not a challenge, just looking for some help in Vancouver. Please point e g by providing links to where you are getting your data from such that you can say that evidence is quite abundant. Any help would be appreciated. So there you have it folks Mark annoyingly replies to a dozen or more posts every single day Even posts where he is asked to please not post his unwanted opinion Actually he doesn t reply to posts he voices his opinion on just about every subject matter that one can think of He is just that smart But above you can see a post actually asking for Mark to reply and crickets. So Mark please put up or shut up Here again is the request Please point e g by providing links to where you are getting your data from such that you can say that evidence is quite abundant. Garth I think total household credit in Canada is closer to 1 75 trillion. 4 Retired Boomer - WI on 09 11 14 at 5 35 pm. Your kids are NOT entitled to a dam thing They are NOT entitled to anything FREE from you after the age of majority No free room, no free board, and no FREE higher education. That said, if you wish to assist with things after the age of majority 18 here it is your right, but NOT your responsibility. The best balanced young people are those that learned to balance a checkbook, job, and earned their own way early. I m proof Not a fan of higher education, but dam sure a fan of working smart, saving early, and not listening to well meaning, but usually mis-directed advice. My 43 year old colleague just told me a couple hours ago that I will only leave my parents basement where he pays 200 month when I can afford to buy a 2BD downtown apartment in Vancouver with 20 down-payment to avoid CMHC fees He lives with his wife and also mentioned that their parents took out a LOC for them, secured against the house of course so that they can pay off 17000 in CC debt He actually thinks that they are doing great now that they don t have CC debt, he thinks of themselves almost as being well off Shocking I guess it will take them another 20 years to scrap that down-payment together, or of course they can just ask the parents to get a bigger LOC Wow, just Wow. How do you feel about upcoming foreclosure sales in Toronto and Vancouver Will deals be made How do you see it spanning out over the next few years. Don t fall for that Garth. I have found it interesting in life, that often the most successful young people I have had the pleasure to meet, received very little from their parents, beyond the necessities of life, encouragement and vocal support. Also interesting that a past study conducted by Harvard University among their own top students, revealed the common theme that the intelligent, creative, high achievers all had parents who set normal guidelines, but beyond those they allowed their children the freedom to make their own choices. Helicopte r parenting isn t healthy for anyone involved, and has the potential to be financially devastating for people trying to fund their own retirement, while still supporting their adult children possibly still looking after elderly parents. The greatest gift we can give our kids is independence and freedom the down payment on a huge debt. 9 common sense on 09 11 14 at 5 59 pm. I sent my kid away to university in a distant city at 18 He has been on his own ever since We paid his tuition through grad school, but he s had to work to pay for himself sometimes working 2 jobs plus school We always pushed him to work harder when he called home experiencing youthful reluctance. He s independent now has a small business in the entertainment industry, wouldn t think of moving home I m proud of ourselves for having been tough parents We got a stand alone winner out of it. The stigma of living in mom s basement or paying 1,500 per month for a mortgage that will only increase in 4 years Decisions, decisions. 11 Casual Observer on 09 11 14 at 6 05 pm. so the buyer can start owning the same unit they ve been living in, and pay twice the monthly load. I ve tried to explain this to people but they just don t get it. They usually say, Well at least you ll own something at the end of paying your mortgage When you rent, you end up owning nothing. I say, I ve run the numbers and they say I m further ahead if I rent and invest the difference. To which they say, Yeah, but you ll have to pay rent for the rest of your life. I explain that you have to pay either way Monthly costs don t disappear just because you own your home free and clear. They only look at the mortgage payment vs rent and don t realize that even if you own your dwelling, you still have to pay property taxes, strata fees, maintenance, etc. So Mark please put up or shut up. Why don t you Asking the same darn question when the response was already given to you many times previously really is little more than trolling. It is simply not my job to educate you on the differences between mean and median Or on various statistical concepts Canada has a significant number of institutions of higher learning for which you can go study if you are unclear of these concepts, or the effects of sampling in statistical analysis. Of course it will end badly Meanwhile misguided parents churn out Millennials who feel entitled to leap from their childhood homes into granite-laden, debt-drenched digs, thinking this is what adults do. I d personally say its a self-fulfilling prophecy Misguided people invested heavily into housing, rather than into equity and business formation The kids hence, can t get jobs because industry is comatose and hasn t hired in any significant numbers since the last millennia Hence, they re stuck in the basements, which further reinforces the need for boomers to hold excess real estate and to put rationalization of their lives on hold although I m not convinced that many would be eager sellers. The problem here clearly is in the 900B of CMHC subprime mortgage guarantees emitted to get the housing bubble off the ground, rather than free market allocation of capital. And Garth is right, it won t end well for many, but there are some excellent opportunities coming to be a beneficiary of the inevitable snap-back. 13 dipstick running russia on 09 11 14 at 6 09 pm. You got to love capitalism. One generation works hard and if lucky accumulates wealth Second generation if properly brought up maintains that wealth. Third generation spends it. Teach your kid skills, to reposes wealth from spoiled lazy lululemonized starbuckers of today. On the other note got email from Russia and VP himself. Dear Garth, i am so sorry that your portfolio is not what you would like to be You calling me names strike me into my hart, and i decided to. Sign off all oil fields to Imperial oil All financial institutions to Goldman Saks and we will as of tomorrow start using US dollar we will never question US gold reserves We will give control of Yakutia and all diamond mines to DeBeers also Titanium mines all 18 of them you can have if you want. If interest rates rise 2 in general and they will, without a doubt then 10 of households with mortgages can no longer afford them That s more than enough to push over the entire market - Ga rth I do, have my doubts about a 2 rate increase Growth is just way to weak. I will bet you a shiny Gold Maple I d have to buy one the BOC does not raise the rate by a full 2 in the next 24 months. What say you Garth, not trying to be a dick, would just really like a free ounce of Gold. I guess it will take them another 20 years to scrap that down-payment together, or of course they can just ask the parents to get a bigger LOC Wow, just Wow. Your 43-year-old colleague, believe it or not, is likely in better financial shape than most Negative equity means, in many cases, renters, newborns, and even that homeless guy begging on the street, are in fact significantly more wealthy than those living in houses which are worth less than the mortgage. The credit card debt and asking the folks to pay it is pretty despicable though. 16 OttawaguyRenting Worried but not too worried still a worrier but look on the brightside on 09 11 14 at 6 16 pm. How ugly will it get. I see the house horned all around me Couples now thinking about investment property down south with equity they have in their house here 5 7 year ownership. Rent and you can go anywhere Rent and you don t worry about the fact a piece of the chimney blew off the house today. how will you retire without a house She asked me. Oh my goooodness HOW will I retire. 17 Happy Renting on 09 11 14 at 6 19 pm. Is it that parents make the family home too comfortable, that adult kids want to stay I was eager to fly from the nest and have my own place so I could have my own space, have friends or a date over, and do whatever I wanted. Parents with boomerang kids, nag your children more That sure worked on me. 18 FormerSaskie on 09 11 14 at 6 20 pm. Age 43, married and living in parents basement OMG Horrible for all of them. 19 A Yank in BC on 09 11 14 at 6 21 pm. My parents were financially upper middle-class, but never had anything more than linoleum on the floor of their kitchen, with Formica countertops and plain-faced appliances Eating out was perhaps twice a month at most Their happiness in life and with each other just didn t depend on spending money they didn t have on luxury items in a hopeless pursuit of the perfect life How sad it is that this generation seems to think the opposite. 20 Happy Renting on 09 11 14 at 6 22 pm. 4 Retired Boomer WI on 09 11 14 at 5 35 pm. Careful, Kylie the Millennial is coming for you You can t call someone dependent and entitled when they gasp pay their own cellphone bill. 21 Casual Observer on 09 11 14 at 6 23 pm. Just as a bad cold leads to pneumonia, so over-indebtedness leads to deflation, wrote the US economist Irving Fisher in 1933.This was written during a time when the US was on the gold standard The US Gov t could not have engaged in the same amount of money printing that is going on throughout the world today. While Central Bankers have massively expanded the monetary base, it has not been inflationary besides asset prices because of the collapse in the velocity of money. If velocity stays low, things will remain tilted towards deflation, but as soon as velocity picks up, inflation will be the bigger concern. Oil might not be as high as it s been over the last 2 years You might have noticed oil stocks taking a hit lately Could that impact Alberta s economy and cool their real-estate prices. 23 crossbordershopper on 09 11 14 at 6 28 pm. why save anything for what retirement who cares i do taxes for 2000 people a year, in the seniors catagory, i have millionaires basically paid off house plus cottage 80 year olds worried everyday about their portfolio etc Then i have ivan, worked at the steel mill, 30 years, gets 2 5k month plus goverment cheques and saved, well zero i asked you should be rich or atleast have a house he said, i had a real good time in life, wine women and song and worked for it he said i came to canada in 61 with a suitcase and i am leaving this world with the same suitecase ivan is funny, the old widows with money are quite borring. 24 Doug in London on 09 11 14 at 6 29 pm. These Boomer parents should know better Having seen real estate corrections before I remember one in the early 1980s and another in the early 1990s they should be advising their Millennial kids that another is long overdue whether they live with their parents or not. Canada should introduce a program to ease affordability for lower income families like they have here in the UK. For some reason I found the term adultettes hilarious. 27 Steve French on 09 11 14 at 6 30 pm. I ve got 40 K sitting on the sidelines What should I do with it. I do, have my doubts about a 2 rate increase Growth is just way to weak. I will bet you a shiny Gold Maple I d have to buy one the BOC does not raise the rate by a full 2 in the next 24 months. But what about the banks simply deciding to pull away from the mortgage market because of increasing risk The BoC doesn t need to change its policy rate for mortgage rates to rise. I agree, in principle, that policy rates are likely to remain suppressed for a long time to come But as time goes on, mortgage rates are likely to rise as risk aversion comes back to the RE lending marketplace, and other asset classes present themselves as being hotter investment prospects than RE stuck in a secular decline. 29 OttawaguyRenting Worried but not too worried still a worrier but look on the brightside on 09 11 14 at 6 42 pm. 11 They only look at the mortgage payment vs rent and don t realize that even if you own your dwelling, you still have to pay property taxes, strata fees, maintenance, etc. There is a piece of the chimney in the back yard of the house today D. Ain t my problemO LOLs. That has been my biggest surprise going from Ownership to Renting Savings on upkeep. I don t own power tools Home Depot Lowes WTF is that Renting includes Weekends not worrying about the grass Weeknights not trying to keep up with the Jones by interlocking the walk way Hey LOSER that interlocked 3X4 walk way HHAHAHAHHAHAA I bet your wife thought it would loook awesome. What a waste you cow off to slaughter. Renting also means that when the time comes to move cause I need to make more somewhere else or as my boss put it you pick the city we will send you I am goooooone in 3 shakes. As a 23 year old prairie kid, where does this sense of an entitled youth come from Myself and my friends all have well paying jobs, are currently rent ing apartments and job prospects look great Is this current millennial situation you re talking about only an Ontario BC thing. It s fine if a 24-year-old lives with family if s he pays market room and board cost with the exception of a disabled individual. I m 26 I never had a problem finding a job since the age of 18, I was never unemployed for longer than 3 weeks not even in Qubec during the recession and je suis anglophone Because I worked my bum off during university, not only did I have a full resume which helped me land my adult job, it also ensured I had no student loans my dad paid my 70 month cell bill while I was in uni, other than that I was self-supporting I now earn the same as my parents combined income If I visit for longer than a week, I buy a load of groceries just like I would do if I stayed at a friends house for a week It s just called being a self-supporting, self-respecting, non-mooching adult. 27 Steve French on 09 11 14 at 6 30 pmI ve got 40 K sitting on the sidelines What should I do with it. Safe Come up with an extra 110k total 150k and buy into Romspon mortgage fund, see above link 10 a year, coupons paid monthly Got 2 big bills in that one. Risk Learn to count cards, black Jack. Or wait for batman, then short the S P might be awhile. Stay away from Forex Only Alians with Esp can win at that game. Totally agree Garth 24 ADULT, so many think they are still Kids I think in part it s due to the time and often parents money they spend educating themselves My eldest who self financed her way through university ended up with 2 degrees, she now works in a research lab making diddly squat the last I heard But then she doesn t have to worry about money right since her BF does make money This is not a gender slight btw, I believe in equality of the genders, so many don t. 34 - aka Devil s Advocate on 09 11 14 at 6 57 pm. You reap what you sow. Maybe some of these parents should take a good long look in the mirror and ask themselves, who really is to blame for the state of their adult child s finances. There are an abundance of opportunities out there all one needs to take advantage of them is a good attitude A parent has a whole lot to do with the general state of mind their child adopts. Too many postpone costs Too many are too horny for other things right now than to make sacrifices toward banking for something that will be more important to them in the future. You can pay now or you can pay later. Clearly those with adult children still at home have not yet done their job in raising them in the first place. The Bank of Canada has crunched the numbers They re ugly If five-year mortgage rates average just 4 then mortgage payments would become the most unaffordable in 16 years If interest rates rise 2 in general and they will, without a doubt then 10 of households with mortgages can no longer afford them That s more than enough to push over the entire market Garth. I hope you are not gloating over the prospect because, trust me, if that plays out the way you suggest it, ultimately, will not be good for anyone you included I agree, interest rates are, eventually, going to head North of twice what they are Of that there is no question it s just a matter of time We know it s coming Do you really think they will allow, all things being equal, the consequence of that Not a chance. Rising interest rates are without a doubt the Black Swan looming on the horizon I say Black Swan merely because everyone seems to simply be looking past it. Anyone, and I mean ANYONE, dealing with me who is considering a p urchase of which more than 50 is going to be financed I ALWAYS tell Do your budget calculations based on at least a 7 0 interest rate If they balk I show them that rates were in excess of 20 in 1982 It happened then and it can happen again Worst case they have some slack in their budget for a date night here and there. But the bottom line is THEY won t let what would happen happen They might not be so proactive as to prevent it but rest assured they will be attentive enough to FIX it And like last time it will cost us all, collectively, billions. I bet Ivan has paid into a private pension at the steel mill for the 30 years he worked there, which likely makes up the bulk of his 2500 m Most people now do not have that unless they work for the public sector. I do agree with you that there are a lot of seniors out there that will leave millions to their kids After a lifetime of scrimping and saving it hard for them to get into spending mode I know of a couple of cases and the boomer kids are having a great time spending all their inheritance There parents would be rolling over in their graves. 36 - aka Devil s Advocate on 09 11 14 at 7 09 pm. Today s society is hooked on a drug and that drug s called credit It s what allows them to escape the reality of this Ponzi scheme economy Almost makes you wonder if it actually is a conspiracy. Free ounce of Gold Any takers See post 14. 38 - aka Devil s Advocate on 09 11 14 at 7 15 pm. 23 crossbordershopper on 09 11 14 at 6 28 pm. Ivan is a DUDE who has it figured out Good on you Ivan. 39 - aka Devil s Advocate on 09 11 14 at 7 23 pm. 14 Blacksheep on 09 11 14 at 6 09 pm. I will bet you a shiny Gold Maple I d have to buy one the BOC does not raise the rate by a full 2 in the next 24 months. The Bank of Canada may not have anything to do with it The BOND MARKET is the mother of everything that happens Check it out The stock market is but a pimple compared to the bond market mountain That aside, you have picked a mere 24 months so your bet may well be safe Beyond that. 40 - aka Devil s Advocate on 09 11 14 at 7 26 pm. What instrument was most influential in the defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo. The bond market. 41 - aka Devil s Advocate on 09 11 14 at 7 27 pm. No seriously, check out the backstory. 42 NostyVlad the Snugglebombed on 09 11 14 at 7 33 pm. 7 Ardy on 09 11 14 at 5 55 pm The greatest gift we can give our kids is independence and the down payment on a huge debt. Well said Our youngest left home when he was about 19 30 now , and when he saw the money he earned, chose to stay there Alberta Our eldest moved out a few months ago, and they re both well set up. Let kids make their own mistakes and learn from them We did 147 Kenchie on 09 11 14 at 8 51 am China is a beacon of economic stability in a profligate world. This world is a highly-dysfunctional cornucopia of paradoxes, highs lows, heavens hells etc and it is supposed to be that way For example Freedom Scotland, Catalans, Texas and Alaska. China may be down on the one hand, but Russia and China s new SWIFT alternative is yet another step away from the PD, along with the newly-created New Development Bank Inflation 63 4 Which South American country has a shitload of oil Destroy the country s then feed off the carcass. 163 Smoking Man on 09 11 14 at 12 11 pm Some very bad ass people in the world. The School of Hard Knocks Means the sometimes painful education one gets from life s usually negative experiences it is what s needed and it s what memories are made of Coddling accomplishes nothing. A new report out today from the CD Howe Institute suggests Canadians are doing better at saving for retirement than most people think. You know Garth that you and Bank of Canada are part of the filthy greedy system and this illusionary system will fall. And your dumb, childish blog will disappear. Let me guess 24 Live at home Mom does your shorts MA in Egyptology Garth. The bankers get bailed out from the financial crisis that many of them helped create, but the kid in the basement who s trying to save money to overcome the bubble it created doesn t get any love What gives Time for our leaders to set a better example Leave the poor kid alone. Canadian dollar sinks amid amazing race to the bottom for world currencies. Ye sterday, for example, Capital Economics forecast that the Canadian currency will end the year at 89 cents, and next year at 86 cents. Also yesterday, BMO forecast that the loonie, which has lost about 6 per cent over the last year, will sink to 88 cents in 2015.Just today, chief economist Craig Wright of Royal Bank of Canada predicted an 87-cent loonie this year, with further erosion to 85 cents next year as the U S dollar gains and interest rates start to climb. Of late, noted BMO s chief economist, Douglas Porter, the Canadian dollar has weakened on a stronger U S currency and the decline in oil prices. 49 crowdedelevatorfartz on 09 11 14 at 7 51 pm. Downtown Van a few weeks back Waitress serving us at a pub starts chatting She s mid 30 s lots of tats on the arms, loves waitressing No plans for the future Lives paycheque to paycheque bummed a smoke off my friend Very skinny, twitchy, looks like the beginning of a crack addict believe me I know crack addicts Anywho, nice girl Last weekend my friend is back drinking at the bar This girl is off shift and is Smoking Man hammered Gooned Her parents are there, its her birthday Her parents confided to my friend that they give her everything Car, free rent condo, pay her bills, etc So whats this girl do with her own money Spends it ALL on drugs Parents Killing her with kindness Tough love needed. Shocking SimplyShocking OverEducated UnemployedMillenials Expecting2ndChild StillLivingInMum s Basement Suite. PaeanToIvan NoHelicopterParentingHere JustWeatherBalloons HowFarCanAnAverageJoeGo SpoilerAlert TheVillainessIsA Redacted. You have picked a mere 24 months so your bet may well be safe Beyond that I said I d really like a free ounce of Gold not, I really want to give away an ounce of Gold. 52 TEMPORARY Foreign Prime Minister on 09 11 14 at 7 53 pm. wonder wealth is drifting up to the investor class while debt drifts down to what s left of the middle class. Just as the Canadian government was lobbied to do. Good thing Harper spent millions locating an old wooden bathtub at the bottom of the Arctic Ocean That s got to be worth something in the pockets of Canadians. Adulthood s now equated with real estate ownership Parents coddle the adultettes until they land a job, tell them renting is throwing their money away, and encourage them to leap from the basement to the 23rd floor even when that means shouldering big debt and living paycheque to paycheque So much for moving three provinces away to land the best job and launch a career. Totally agreed, Mr Turner. A child of immigrants, and having the majority of my millennial friends being the same, there is definitely groupthink going on about house-ownership being the holy grail of status I blame immigration joke. I noticed early on that my white friends, who are multi-generational Canadian, almost all moved out of their parents houses within the first year, and up to 3 years, since graduating high school. Meanwhile, those of us whose parents hail from the Eurasian continent had a vastly different post-high school experience. Both parental strategies have their benefits and costs I was definitely a late-bloomer But now, I am kicking many of my friends ass, financially-speaking So that s why I have some sympathy for this 24 yo kid. PS My family is a microcosm of the cultural dichotomy my Western European parent was happy to kick us out at age 18, but my Asian parent said no, it s a waste of money Funnily enough, my Euro parent blamed my Asian parent for being too soft on us. 54 crowdedelevatorfartz on 09 11 14 at 7 54 pm. Yo Not an Economist Did you read 31 Nattie Seems to have figured out how to make it Have YOU figured it out yet. Judging from the comments by Funny that on my question re pointing me in the right direction for the ample evidence you ve mentioned in previous posts , I gather other bloggers here may have some issues with you. I m honestly trying to get some data which I can use to justify my position on housing in Vancouver I sold my house here in 2011 and I am waiting. In your response to Funny that , you indicate that you ve given the response to my question previously Please let me know around which dates you provided this response and I will search through Garth s archives to find them myself. I m guessing from your mention of mean and median in your reply to Funny that that you re implying one or the other is used by the real estate boards when it suits their purposes AND that with the mean being higher than the median, the distribution is skewed by the few sales of very high priced homes e g in Vancouver West and that the weight of the distribution is a the lower end Is that what you re saying. Again, any help would be appreciated. To rephrase it for Reuters the people with homes will lose a lot less than the people holding stocks Both will take a bath but the ones in stocks will be wiped out entirely. 21 Casual Observer. Thanks for the response There s lot to learn about this economic stuff That s why I keep on checking out this pathetic blog. Its going to be interesting to see if the zero interest rates and money printing policies implemented by the major central banks of the world in response to the global financial crisis can solve the two major problems we in Canada and the rest of the developed world have, which I heard described nicely by a financial analyst on a money show on a Vancouver, B C radio station back in December, 2010.Way more money has been borrowed than will ever get repaid. Way more promises have been made by governments and so on than will ever be kept. I call them losers These are the people that are unwilling to move to where the work is so instead they milk off ma and pa The crazy part is their parents defend them, as if adults needs their parents defence. I swear this country has raised a generation of pansies, its pathetic. 59 - aka Devil s Advocate on 09 11 14 at 8 08 pm. 35 Omg on 09 11 14 at 7 09 pm 23 crossbordershopper. I do agree with you that there are a lot of seniors out there that will leave millions to their kids After a lifetime of scrimping and saving it hard for them to get into spending mode I know of a couple of cases and the boomer kids are having a great time spending all their inheritance There parents would be rolling over in their graves. Those parents maybe should have taken a page out of Ivan s book and lived it up a little instead of saving and waiting for a day that may never come. 60 Setting the Record Straight on 09 11 14 at 8 08 pm. Mark, if you do listen to ARAmry, remember that Von Mises work has been criticized by a other ASOE professors, such as F A Hayek, and b Chicago School of Economics professors, such as Milton Friedman, and c pretty much every other notable economist since the 1980s. 61 - aka Devil s Advocate on 09 11 14 at 8 11 pm. 50 Blacksheep on 09 11 14 at 7 52 pm. Buzzingo You slammed me. OT 9 11 Flight 93.We visited the National Memorial Site of Flight 93 in Pennsylvania There were 33 passengers and 7 crew members on board This flight was delayed on the tarmac for 25 minutes before takeoff, causing it to be out of sync with the other hijacked planes Thus, when the plane was hijacked 46 minutes into the flight, the passengers had the added burden of already knowing the fate of the other planes. They decided to fight back An unlikely collection of people to be fighting terrorist among them an older couple, a pregnant woman, three students, five flight attendants Ordinary people taking extraordinary action They fought for 6 minutes, keeping the plane from reaching its target, the Nations Capitol. The plane crashed and disintegrated on impact It was a windy day, the debris field a mile and a half wide Only 8 percent of remains were recovered The coroner ordered the impact site to be covered over as befitting a grav e Rest in peace flight 93.Lesser known Seven people were working outside on a hilltop when the plane came screaming 400 feet overhead, upside down, and at 563 mph slammed into the field below. When these people close their eyes at night, I pray that they too, rest in peace. A single boulder acts as headstone, marking the point of impact Stark, somber, heartbreaking. 63 Setting the Record Straight on 09 11 14 at 8 35 pm. 140 yesterday Why didn t she become at teacher 81k a year is considered a middle class salary Do you think teachers don t deserve to belong to the middle class The reason ece s get paid so little is because they are only qualified to teach jk sk. Deserve Unions are designed to extract above market wages They are particularly successful when negotiating with governments Even FDR did not believe there should be public sector unions The question is what would teachers salaries be if set by the market. 2 Speak for yourself Mark s comments are among the best on this blog. I am 31 and a millennial. As for some of these other millennials on this blog talking about how successful they are, how much money they make, or how self sustaining they are blah blah You guys know that we on this blog in no way represents our entire generation right. Our generation has got to be the dumbest that has ever lived. It is our sense of entitlement We lack any sense of humility, and we all believe we are some star Sort of like the grandstanding that is evident in your posts. If TSHTF, our entire generation would curl up into a ball in the corner of the room with our thumbs in our mouths Garth is correct. Sir Garth wrote And half over 50 have just a fraction one quarter saved of what they ll need to retire a decade later In other words, they ain t going to make it. When fewer than 50 have saved enough for retirement, all that happens in a democracy is that the majority will take it from the minority That is the w ay this country is run now The fable of the grasshopper and the aunts is becoming the truth Just look at Ontario We have the Greenbelt Act, the Niagara Escarpment Act, the Natural Heritage Initiative, and the Oak Ridges Moraine Act All of these Provincial initiatives, just took from the existing land owners and gave to the public majority Millions of dollars in assets just eviscerated What makes you think that this will not happen with investments What point is there in investing if the majority just takes it away. 66 Granny Annie on 09 11 14 at 8 40 pm. Blog dawgs, I need your help. Where do I get information about the selling price of a property in Brampton if it wasn t listed on MLS and sold privately within the the last two years. This may have been covered previously, but any guidelines will be appreciated. 67 Victoria Real Estate Update on 09 11 14 at 8 42 pm. This chart compares single family home sales totals January through August of recent years to that of 2007, which was, at best, an average year for Greater Victoria.2014 s SFH sales pace is 31 behind 2007 s pace population adjusted. Slow sales always points to a weak, unhealthy housing market Slow sales was a common denominator among all housing markets that underwent major price corrections throughout the US and the rest of the world in recent years The relationship between slow sales and falling prices is well-established Victoria s price decline that began in 2010 will continue. For SFHs, the downward price path has been re-established in Victoria after the usual seasonal price bump In August, the local board s SFH benchmark price was down 1 3 from July. Examples of monthly price declines by area Victoria -1 1 Oak Bay -1 5 Saanich East -1 2 Saanich West -1 8 North Saanich -1 1 Sidney -1 9.Victoria s housing market is in deep trouble House prices in other Canadian cities have increased significantly since 2010 as a result of historically low emergency interest rates That prices have decreased significantly in Victoria since 2010 should be alarming to every Victoria mortgage holder. As of June 2014, house prices in Las Vegas were 42 5 below their 2006 peak level and prices in Phoenix were 35 5 below peak Years after hitting bottom, prices in many American cities are still well below peak levels and prices across the US in general may be starting to move lower again. Housing bubbles always go through major, multi-year price corrections It isn t different in Victoria. Victoria s housing market is extremely overvalued A quick look at house prices in Las Vegas makes this clear min 3 beds, 2 baths, min 1,800 sq ft of primary above ground living space, attached double garage. A similar house in Victoria would cost at least 700 K. Girls and guys, Victoria s housing market is weak and prices have been declining in a well-establ ished downtrend since 2010 It would be a bad idea to buy now when much lower prices are on the way Prices in Victoria will fall much more as house prices across Canada fall Wait for that to happen. Until next time Cheers. Did you know any body on flight 93. 69 Setting the Record Straight on 09 11 14 at 8 43 pm. 152 yesterday PS I m not talking about the value of real work having value as being wrong There is much more to ASOE than real value of work The main problem I have with ASOE, in general, is the fixation on hard currency as being superior than a market-based floating currency How can they profess to be market-fundamentalists but be supportive of an inflexible exchange rates fixed to gold and despises price discovery on exchange rates They can t, it s called cognitive dissonance. Truly a foolish comment. Stop cooking with cheese. 71 souvereigninternational on 09 11 14 at 9 03 pm. I just drove by 6 houses for lease in small dowtown TO neighbourhood Is this a sign of market breaching the top Can t sell for what I want - gonna lease instead and wait. in other news suprisingly despite gold silver metal spot down today, all my junior miners are up 5 on average Is this a sign of a bottom. 72 Ayn Rand Army on 09 11 14 at 9 05 pm. 60 Setting the Record Straight on 09 11 14 at 8 08 pm. Mark, if you do listen to ARAmry, remember that Von Mises work has been criticized by a other ASOE professors, such as F A Hayek, and b Chicago School of Economics professors, such as Milton Friedman, and c pretty much every other notable economist since the 1980s. Links please - There will be no links from Kenchi because it s not true and he s a liar And even if there are any arguments against Mises by modern day opposing Keynesian economist, they can all be easily destroyed if one reads and understand the work and theories layed out in his magnum opus, Human Action. Mises was born in 1881 and died 1973, i typed that wrong yesterday. People like Kenchi often make up slanderous remarks and dismissive unbacked statements about Mises and Ayn Rand because their economic and philosophical arguments can not be beat by arguing against them and hence is why they always attack the person and not their ideas or theories. To say Ayn Rand was an excessive radical against government ust because she ex perience the rise of the red army and communism in Soviet Russia and the destruction and death of her society is a little simplistic dismissal of her vast body of work, and if one reads her work, you ll see that her experience was a large part of the inspiration and driving force that compelled her to greatness. 66 Granny Annie on 09 11 14 at 8 40 pm. Where do I get information about the selling price of a property in Brampton if it wasn t listed on MLS and sold privately within the the last two years A lawyer can access the title records through software most seem to have, or maybe if you visit the land registry office Have been involved in estate property transfers wills and that was the way all the history and information including amount of money involved was available. 49 crowdedelevatorfartz on 09 11 14 at 7 51 pmDowntown Van a few weeks back Waitress serving us at a pub starts chatting She s mid 30 s lots of tats on the arms, loves waitressing No plans for the future Lives paycheque to paycheque bummed a smoke off my friend Very skinny, twitchy, looks like the beginning of a crack addict believe me I know crack addicts Anywho, nice girl Last weekend my friend is back drinking at the bar This girl is off shift and is Smoking Man hammered Gooned Her parents are there, its her birthday Her parents confided to my friend that they give her everything Car, free rent condo, pay her bills, etc So whats this girl do with her own money Spends it ALL on drugs Parents Killing her with kindness Tough love needed. I disagree, everyone s different, I know many young out off control young people that snapped out of and went on to run their own huge business. Just because your programming tells you that girl needs help Doesn t mean it s so. Why do I exhibit and enjoy s elf destructive behaviour, taking to myself out loud on many occasions I figured it. I m board of a standard life, success cones easy to me It s not challenging at all Perhaps I want to box myself into a tomb only for the amazing thrill of trying to figuring out how to get out of it. Whether I get out alive or dead is insignificant It s the fun of beating huge odds It s what being alive is all about. It s demented, I know But shit like that makes me happy. SmokingMan sInvestmentAdvice Or, TheProblemWithDoorNumber2 AccordingToAlbert, Robert Johnny. NoteToHommeDuTabagisme Worked for me, though Albeit, I only did it once and I was simply trying to make a point about EideticMemory Of course, in those days they weren t dealin from 8Decks Just between the two of us, when it comes to PartyMode, OldSchoolVegas was like WayMoreFun Just ask Bugsy. If you don t mind kicking out your son or daughter at 18, watch this video Shelley Lubben Ex-Porn Star s testimony The ugly truth behind the porn industry. 25 Londoner on 09 11 14 at 6 29 pm Canada should introduce a program to ease affordability for lower income families like they have here in the UK. It s an interesting proposition, and I don t doubt that some people have used it correctly to their long-term benefit But I don t care for the shared ownership program, from a ideological perspective rather than the practical attributes of it. My issue is that this there are already so many ways in which the gov t encourages homeownership Adding another one that directly uses public funds particularly in a situation of fiscal deficit position at the provincial and federal levels is not exactly responsible use of taxpayers dollars And if too many people apply, then it s the gov t s capital that is directly subsidizing incumbent homeowners, which is a massive problem in Central London. PS In 2012, the UK gov t paid 20bn in housing benefits A quick calculation of privately owned rental units received 70bn in rent That means the gov t paid roughly 28 -29 of all rent Not very well allocation of gov t funds. 78 Ayn Rand Army on 09 11 14 at 9 19 pm. Regarding the kids today and my comment yesterday about the lack of jobs because of a bad economy My point still stands and their coddled upbringings only compounds the problems. But just look at the youth unemployment in Europe over 25 in some countries and when business do have to hire someone, they prefer to hire the older people who are also out of work because they do have better work ethics than the lazy kids. There are lot of good kids out there too, of course, its just that the ratio of useless is rising while the competition for useful has never been more essential for businesses to survive in this looter economy Taxes, inflation, payroll deducts etc. 79 Andrew Woburn on 09 11 14 at 9 22 pm. Some blog dogs would likely contest this statement. We are both by design and by culture inclined to be anything but humble in our approach to investing We usually invest on the basis that we re certain that we ve picked winners, we sell in the certainty that we can re-invest our capital to make more money elsewhere We are usually wrong, often extremely wrong. Vlad, I loved how Alex Jones handled that caller The caller is a prisoner to his own bias The group he was referring to, the majority are frightened little humanoids like everyone else It s the buggers at the top. I refer to my Newvo rich relative She got a taste of power, domination over others as she became wealthy, everyone around her lined up to lick her boots It s an evolution of some kind If fks with your brain. I snapped out if it and took action Not everyone is as smart as me. 66 Granny Annie on 09 11 14 at 8 40 pm. any TREB member has access to the info. Re 37 Blacksheep on 09 11 14 at 7 10 pm. Free ounce of Gold Any takers See post 14. Better yet A Canadian home could be yours for 100, and one persuasive essay For 100 wow and an essay 22 March, 2014 an article by JAMES BRADSHAW AYLMER, ONT The Globe and Mail stated that. Calvin and Diana Brydges own a thrift store on the main drag of Aylmer, Ont population 7,151 They sell vinyl LPs Or, for 100 and a few pages of inspired writing, you can have their house The couple is holding an essay-writing contest, and the prize is their three-bedroom brick home on three quarters of a country acre just east of Aylmer To win it, entrants must explain why the house would benefit them most, and send a 100 entry fee. Really, has it come to this. Quit making them feel guilty living with mom. Rather have them paying mom rent than some house flipper Let house flip pay his own mortgage. 84 Andrew Woburn on 09 11 14 at 9 36 pm. Those twenty-eight pages tell a story that has been completely removed from the 9 11 Report, Lynch maintains Another congressman who has read the document said that the evidence of Saudi government support for the 9 11 hijacking is very disturbing, and that the real question is whether it was sanctioned at the royal-family level or beneath that, and whether these leads were followed through Now, in a rare example of bipartisanship, Jones and Lynch have co-sponsored a resolution requesting that the Obama Administration declassify the pages. 85 Red Deer Rob on 09 11 14 at 9 37 pm. Don t generalize all millenials that way We re not homogeneous. 42 NostyVlad the Snugglebombed on 09 11 14 at 7 33 pm. 147 Kenchie on 09 11 14 at 8 51 am China is a beacon of economic stability in a profligate world. This world is a highly-dysfunctional cornucopia of paradoxes, highs lows, heavens hells etc and it is supposed to be that way For example Freedom Scotland, Catalans, Texas and Alaska. I was being facetious with that statement by the way I agree with your statement that the world is highly-dysfunctional That s just how it is. My point of posting that link was to show people how messed up the Chinese property market is It s arguably way worse trading paper amongst investors at a faster velocity than boom-time America. There are, according to the article, 1,000 online peer-to-peer lending sites engaged in helping small-time investors own a slice of a much more expensive house It makes no mention of the cash flow derived from the investment, so it could easily be empty That s insane. 66 Grannie Annie. Find something called a Roscoe terminal and you can search properties by address, name, parcel number etc The report will show all title transfers, sale prices, liens encumbrances etc. If a staff member is too busy to assist, most of the other patrons are usually quite helpful as they re pros. 30 in my anecdotal experience it particularly seems to be a Vancouver thing, but is found in Montral, Toronto, and even Calgary I grew up in a small town, and my 22-year-old sister is still there she and all her friends rent a few buy their own places For them, living with your parents would be bizarre and socially undesireable. Think about this people, if we re lucky like my dad, 97 years old, a GPS attached to his wrist The bastard can still sprint His mind is gone, off in some weird world. He smiles a lot, but when the words come out, not even an alien that speaks a million languages and a direct connect to the UCC can make out what he says. We got about 100 years if we re un lucky. Why worry, why be afraid Enjoy life to its fullest. Do what you love doing cause one day, you will need reading glasses, then Viagra, then a diaper the a coffin. It s short, make your time sweet, going to Seneca tomorrow, drinks on me. JANET YELLEN the problems with LIBOR have undermined the public s trust in t he financial system corporate debt considered high quality liquid asset while investment grade municipal securities are not. Senator Richard Shelby s Something s wrong with the justice department People shouldn t be able whoever they are, not just financial institutions shouldn t be able to buy their way out for culpability, especially when it s so strong it defies rationality I agree with her Warren on that parallels extend and pretend Japan China. 4 Retired Boomer you got that right. The endgame of kids living together forever with their parents in an incredibly expensive environment can be seen in Japan These people are called parasites, since they feed off their parents forever. Unfortunately, this would never work in the Canadian context, as most parents would be willing to toss the kids out on the street or into the nearest snowbank. The real solution for yesterday s guy is to sell everything, take small loss, and move to Ecuador He could live like a king off the savings pension and even find affordable private nursing for his wife, in addition to housekeeper, gardener etc He could even apply to be an Honorary Consul given his stellar public service starting to sound like the beginning of a John Le Carre novel As for the kid in the basement, Pops could enroll him in Mariachi lessons down there and he could busk his way towards financial independence. home depot automated call-in system known as a Voice Response Unit VRU to chang e PIN fraud fighter at a bank in New England that experienced more than 25,000 in PIN debit fraud at ATMs in Canada The bank employee said thieves were able to change the PINs on the cards using the bank s automated VRU system. Tax evasion sophisticated scam revealed by CBC hidden camera Experts said one plan was virtually untraceable By Timothy Sawa, CBC News Posted Sep 30, 2013 9 35 PM ET Last Updated Oct 01, 2013 9 15 AM ET. Brian De Wit, Cem Can indicted by FBI in 500M offshore tax fraud scheme By Timothy Sawa, CBC News Posted Sep 10, 2014 11 21 AM ET Last Updated Sep 10, 2014 1 32 PM ET. As alleged, the defendants concocted an intricate scheme using sham companies to make money while repeatedly evading and violating U S securities and tax laws The indictment of these defendants should serve as a stern reminder that such greed-based behaviour comes at a cost, the FBI said in a statement. 94 Smoking Man on 09 11 14 at 10 04 pm. OK had a JD or two Feel like writing. You bastards want the Holly Grail of happiness. I m going to tell you write now Print it and put it on your fridge, just like Newvo put my Xmas face book post on hers. Do not be afraid of judgment, let it all hang out Look in the mirror and scream to your reflection, your special your the best Piss off your teachers if they find out. But sky will always be blue, and the sun will always shine. 60 Setting the Record Straight on 09 11 14 at 8 08 pm. Mark, if you do listen to ARAmry, remember that Von Mises work has been criticized by a other ASOE professors, such as F A Hayek, and b Chicago School of Economics professors, such as Milton Friedman, and c pretty much every other notable economist since the 1980s. He had respect for Mises, no doubt, but had differing views on somethings and looked to improve upon his former professor s work Just search for Mises in the search field, it will bring up all the sections Hayek speaks about him Many of the sections show his disagreement criticism. Page 5 of 7, half way down Talks about Rand and Mises It s like Friedman could be talking about ARArmy. 96 DreamingIntechnicolour on 09 11 14 at 10 13 pm. When there is not enough to buy a pizza after you get paid, pay your bills and put some gas in the tank then you know the banks, finance and car companies have you by the short and curlies and who is to blame only a greedy, show-off like yourself If you can t make payments, in time, they will force the sale of your home seize what ever they need from your equity to pay out the mortgage and their court costs, they will re-possess your car truck and they will go after you for credit card debts and who is to blame only a greedy, show-off like yourself. Ok, I have 2 kids in elementary school and the situation in today s post crossed my mind many times What would I do as a parent Here s what I came up with Let s say you think about a rock climber he she will take more risks and explore more opportunities if he she has good security a rope that will save the day if a climbing fiasco occurs I apply the same principle to life I will tell my kids to go explore the world and will be quite pushy about it, but I will let them know that at any time they fail in a new undertaking, there is always a room and a bed for them to fall back on , so to speak As a parent, I do intend to push them to go for new and risky opportunities, I intend to encourage them to be bold and not fear a new journey, but again, I will be the so-called safety net for them, so that they can go the riskier way and benefit more than average from it if successful, or learn from it if not I am an immigrant here in Canada I started from 32k in 2004 and now make over 100k with bonus, which is not that bad As I wrote here before, I am going to get my CFA charter soon and keep advancing in my career The only thing I didn t have is this security net of parents here that would have allowed me to go some riskier ways and maybe earn even more today I had to feed my wife and kids and I had to go the safer way of my career advancement As a parent, I think that my duty is t o raise my kids to be educated, street smart, independent, wise at handling money and, most importantly, is to encourage them to take risks and if they fail to provide them the place to come back, recover, regroup and go back to do big things again Maybe I am wrong But this is the best I think I can do for them Time will tell And certainly, if they are 24 and living in my house, they will have to pay market-level rent, which, when they buy a house semi no condo will be given 100 back to them for the downpayment They must learn the value of money as soon as possible Peace. 98 Retired Boomer - WI on 09 11 14 at 10 16 pm. Back from the Thursday night gambling rendezvous Didn t win, but I had my fair share of Brandy. No, at majority you do NOT owe your kids anything, but if you can afford it, help them with their aspirations assuming you have your future retirement on track. Help with higher education OK IF you CAN afford it Rent to them below market for a time - IF you can afford it. Do NOT let them dwell in your basement until they find themselves that is bullshit. Do NOT help them buy a property, leave them a ton in your will after you croak so they can pay off the shelter they bought, or to buy their first place You re dead, do you give a shit. If you created another human being, be the best parent you can be, but at the age of majority, it is time for them to fly on their own They may well fall and break a wing, or their neck that is called life Most will learn from their errors, and with some pain You can t live their life for them, take care of your own fir st Be sympathetic, but not pathetic. Not every kid is destined to be 1 but if they are productive members of society, a job well done Good job. End of today s RANT. Kids moving out before marriage is just a phenomenon that started back with the Boomer generation. Kids of immigrants never moved out before marriage regardless of ethnicity. First generation Italians, Greeks and Portuguese never moved out until they were hitched and scored their down payment from their wedding collections. Chinese and Indian cultures commonly share 1 house with Parents, kids, daughter-in-laws and grand kids The Dad, Son, Daughter-in-law and other siblings work and bring in the house hold income while the Mother watches the grand kids This is why these million dollar houses with lots of space are constantly being sold and afforded with the multiple family earners. There s a huge economic benefit of multi-generational families living in one house that affords the extra parental supervision, extra savings for food, energy, extra money for education and their kids graduate with no debt, properly raised with strong family values. Family dynamics are changing in Canada and the old white Canadian way of letting your kids run wild, work and figure it out on their own will only get them so far and do not fit in this new economy All too often these kids take the path of least resistance and fall off the economic ladder, just look at the enrollment for the Arts vs Science degrees. 32 Smoking Man on 09 11 14 at 6 52 pm. 27 Steve French on 09 11 14 at 6 30 pmI ve got 40 K sitting on the sidelines What should I do with it. Stay away from Forex Only Alians with Esp can win at that game. I ve done REALLY well over 1-2 years keeping more investments and cash in USD. Are you getting out of USD entirely I m likely doing a bit more conversion back to CAD via norbert s gambit now that CAD is back under 90 cents, but will still have a ton of USD investments. Garth, you sound like you re 90 years old when you rag on 25-year-olds It s not like the Boomer days when you had a fat paycheque, car, kids, and a DB plan by 14 Bald by 20 All on a high school diploma And somehow old geezers still have no cash. I wish I could ve filled up my camaro for 12 cents a litre Instead, I m paying for underfunded pensions. Great post as usual I look forward to the day you shut this blog down because that means the correction is well underway and sanity will return to this country. 69 Setting the Record Straight on 09 11 14 at 8 43 pm. 152 yesterday PS I m not talking about the value of real work having value as being wrong There is much more to ASOE than real value of work The main problem I have with ASOE, in general, is the fixation on hard currency as being superior than a market-based floating currency How can they profess to be market-fundamentalists but be supportive of an inflexible exchange rates fixed to gold and despises price discovery on exchange rates They can t, it s called cognitive dissonance. Truly a foolish comment. Please set the record straight , rather than say foolish comment without any rationale behind it to support your view. So adult children end up like giant eight-year-olds, assuming they have no mobility, freedom or personal responsibility - Garth. Your conclusions are baseless and incorrect on this topic The economy, from high youth unemployment, underemployment, and obscene costs see youth car insurance, education costs, etc has delayed financial independence across the board It s a global issue and not just Canadian, if you put some thought into it instead of turning your nose up, I think you would develop a more realistic view of today s youth. 63 setting the record straight. Deserve Unions are designed to extract above market wages They are particularly successful when negotiating with governments Even FDR did not believe there should be public sector unions The question is what would teachers salaries be if set by the market. Well, the Criminal BC guberment has offered 40 day for children under 12 for daycare daycare, no accountability for teaching 6 year-olds how to read, write sentences, develop socially, artistically physically I had 23 six year-olds x 40 920 day x 22 teaching days per month 20,240 month x 10 months remember, I need my two months off, right Slue 202,400 per annum F ya Free enterprise me the money. 105 ozy - ANSWER THIS on 09 11 14 at 10 39 pm. The TSX gained 27 in the past year and the S P is up 21 , while inflation is 2.so, Garth, solve this mystery. if not many Canadians save in RRSPs, invest in TSFAs we spend it all on kids and RE, etc who is PUMPING IN THE fricking Stock Market. does Canada has treason laws wondering. 72 Ayn Rand Army on 09 11 14 at 9 05 pm 60 Setting the Record Straight on 09 11 14 at 8 08 pm. Links please - There will be no links from Kenchi e because it s not true and he s a liar. Please see my post early with links. People like Kenchi e often make up slanderous remarks and dismissive unbacked statements about Mises and Ayn Rand because their economic and philosophical arguments can not be beat by arguing against them and hence is why they always attack the person and not their ideas or theories. Well, well I actually can back up my point of view with rationale Beat is subjective You re too biased to let go of your beliefs to look at another point of view I only came up with my point of view on ASOE after reading about it and applying other forms of economic theory to it, and integrating real-life situations to it And that s how I came up with the idea that it s just simply outdated economics It doesn t work any more Nor do I believe Keynesianism works much anymore either The variabl es today are very different than they were in the 1930s I m not going to waste my time by listing them here though Learning by doing is the best form, I suggest you do your own research on other economic theories to open up your mind. I suggest you look at what I posted regarding Milton Friedman s opinion on Ayn Rand and Von Mises You re exactly the type of person he is talking about. Also, you re talking about what s called ad-hominem Currently, you re doing it to me with your post. My kid sister is 32, doesn t have a steady job, had a kid and then split with her hubby Now she is an economic basket case almost totally dependent on her helicopter parents But why not She s living much better in my dad s new rental property than she could on her own I m not sure who to blame but the whole thing looks tragic to me. On the one hand I figure if she can get dad to buy her a house, why would she say no So I can see her point of view If they were throwing money at my kids to go to school I d proba bly let them take it too But they don t My kids don t need to go to school. If they were rich, I could understand if they were saying hey, we can t spend all our money so here you go dear children, 100,000 each do what you will or something I d use the money to pay for my kid s education, make life easier for them as students Some rich people do that But instead they are helping one child and probably imperiling their finances to do so. And then they went and bought a new motor home Don t get me wrong, that seems like a normal thing for retired folks to own Why not have our old folks cruising the highways in 10 ton disco wagons with side-outs But they had to finance that too. So now they have a new mortgage on a house they don t collect rent or utilities on, or at least not very much of it, and a financed disco wagon that self levels. Oh and the icing on the cake is they just bought a new car financed as well but it can t be towed behind the RV so they are planning to get something towable Yikes I should just move 3 provinces away as Garth suggests And buy or rent a place that doesn t have RV parking. So Garth, you just can t help people I don t know if they just can t do math in retirement and figure they have all the money in the world I don t think so or they are quite convinced the apocalypse is upon us so it doesn t matter yes, they might, hence my tendency to make jokes in that line but they went from being free of debt on a fixed income to signing loans all over the place still on a fixed income in just a short period of time And no they did not ask for my opinion So no, I am not backstopping it if Jesus doesn t get back in time There will be no reverse helicopter parenting. Did I mention my dad thinks a reverse mortgage will be all he needs if anything goes sideways I don t get it Take a reverse mortgage on his house to make the payments on a house he bought for his daughter Yep I m moving away Don t know where I am going yet but the jobs seem to be in the US for my line of work. This article is about 15 year old kid who is teaching Donbass militia how to fight Ukranian naziez who burnt his home town Kids Canadian you have no chance in this life You just can t compete with kids with REAL life experience And I am not talking about combat, you will run under mom s wing way before it comes to any fight And I am NOT talking about war, any economic hardship and you dead - No iphone I am dead, cant live without it Sure you will never translate it and believe all lies in MSM, good luck. I could not agree more Being financially independent and dare I say well-off is an anomaly in my social circle let alone my generation. Too many people my age are aghast at the reality that following your passion usually doesn t pay the bills Despite subscribing to buzzfeed s 21 Affirmations of a Modern Day Hustler as told in cat gifs natch they wouldn t dare get a second job Instead the solution is more school, financed by mom and dad So off to Northwestern they go becau se a masters in journalism is sure to land them a job writing features for Toronto Life. OK, here s what kills me about this subject These same snivelling, spoiled little princes and princesses are the ones s ing all over the baby boomers for taking everything and leaving nothing for them I m one generation younger than the boomers, but I m sick and tired of hearing this Every boomer I know has spent most of the lives and earnings on ensuring their kids have the best of everything and never wanting for anything Cars, schools, travel, homes, best clothes etc These are the same kids now grown up complaining because they can t maintain the life their parents gave them After all, why should they have to work for anything, they never had to before and they got the best of everything How dare the boomers do this to them lol. Sick and tired of it Get a life and get a job, even if it s low paying That s what the boomers did. I used to go to Seneca semi-regularly with a girlfriend from Hamilton wh ere I used to live and have SPA weekend I live in Ottawa now, and always looked forward to our annual get-together in Niagara. She likes to gamble, and is good at it I would watch We got looks from guys, who I suspect thought we were a couple It was fun Now I cannot go anymore because my Canadian passport shows place of birth, Dallas Texas , and I am not allowed to travel to USA on my Canadian passport USA just raised the price of citizenship renunciation from 450 to 2,350, on top of the existing requirement of 5 years tax compliance thousands of dollars in forms and risk of penalties and an exit tax I left USA with my Canadian parents at age one Sigh SPA days were fun. 112 Ayn Rand Army on 09 11 14 at 11 12 pm. Fritz Machlup was a student of Mises s, one of his most faithful disciples At one of the Mont Pelerin meetings, Fritz gave a talk in which I think he questioned the idea of a gold standard he came out in favor of floating exchange rates Mises was so mad he wouldn t speak to him for three years. This is true Mises was betrayed by his best student who relented on the necessity of the gold standard as is required to force discipline on the supply of money and help ensure market interest rates and so many monetary issues Money, the lifeblood of the economy, to relent on the instance of money being backed by a weight of a commodity is absolutely fundamental for money s function as a unit of measure and account. On this issue, Mises was right and i believe he never forgave him or bothered with him again. The creators of the US constitution also knew this and under the section for weights and measured mention only gold and silver could be coined by gov a s money. All our problems today stem from the break of the gold standard. See, kenchi, you got nothing. No major currency will ever again be commodity-backed Thankfully Garth. the certainty of rate increases next year. Not too likely The last the absolute LAST thing governments want is higher interest rates That s why their central banks regard interest rate manipulation as Job 1.You think they ll willingly deep-six their highly-leveraged friends and clients What would higher rates do to homeowners To the real estate and housebuilding industry To leveraged 40-to-1 hedge funds, barely eking out any yield at all even with today s massive government supports. NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. not until the efficacy of the central bank put itself is questioned. Of course it will end badly Meanwhile misguided parents churn out Millennials who feel entitled to leap from their childhood homes into granite-laden, debt-drenched digs, thinking this is what adults do. Exactly, Garth Which is the point of my comment fr om the post yesterday which got a couple of thumbs down This sense of entitlement is the killer, aided by parents suffering from guilt and a looking like a good and responsible parent in the eyes of their family and peers complex Tell me what life lessons are being taught if all young people are given are material benefits, i e cash, stay under thieir parents roof with no plan to evolve or become independent Experience no financial lessons because all is taken care of for you, etc etc The best and brightest young people I encounter these days are the ones that show initiative, independence, have a desire to think and plan ahead, and want to do it with as little assistance as possible The actively look for opportunites When I meet young people with these attributes today they really stand out They really set themselves apart from the majority We can all use a hand up at some point in our lives, but parents who try to justify enabling their basement dwelling children by blaming the econo my or different times don t want to face reality Press articles about car manufacturers concerns regarding young peoples disinterest in buying or owning vehicles is traced to their parents habit of driving them wherever they want to go Imagine Why would little Johnny get a driver s license when mommie will drive him 8 blocks to his friends house Guess why he also won t be receptive to moving out of his parents home with the sub zero fridge, home theatre, and permissive parents that let the girlfriend sleep over every night Be annoyed, but recognize yourself when you read this. 97 Gladiator has it right. 116 Saskatchewan Skeptic on 09 11 14 at 11 28 pm. I apologize for this rant in advance, I m just in a bad mood tonight. It is definitely a misguided party here in Canada In Regina New homes along with homes from the 1980-90s larger bungalows are, in many cases over 400 grand and becoming comparable to parts of illustrious Alberta surprise It s unreal So what happens to those of us 30ish millennials who weren t afforded the luxuries of our parent s basement, free tuition from them and all the free food you could dream of Well, I came out of university with a degree, good job and a decent pension plan Unfortunately, I don t have the cash saved for a down payment and thus, live in a slanty, century old 1bd for 800 a month That s cheap in the YQR I also had to attain that degree on my own dime and thus, life has granted me a sizable student debt and a small car payment I do however have a brain and see through this garbage market towards whats really coming. That said, I can t believe the amo unt of fake, entitled people who scoff at renters I talk to friends who own parents paid their down payment of course who wonder why I don t jump balls in and break my mortgage-ginity I mean why not I have a career now and some of my friends make half what I do None of these friends are willing to admit that if they tried to sell their 1bd South Regina condo they bought for 190 8 months ago, it would go for 160 tops today Scary My one friend even shacked up with a girl, begging her to move in with him because after all bills were paid, he was only left with 47 for food, drinking and smoking He STILL bugs me about owning like he does It s so infuriating because I ve worked so hard for everything and all that most kids do these days is snap their fingers or cry to make mommy and daddy shell out their fictional savings for a down payment There are 20-30 somethings that actually treat a renter like dirt because they didn t jump into this party It makes me sick sometimes and I can t wait fo r the day that all my debt is paid off and I pick off a foreclosure from some stuck up hipsters who got divorced when hubby s construction job went through some tough layoffs Oh, and that home will most certainly be worth 25-30 less, wiping out whatever plans they had to split their nest egg They deserve to eat some dirt for assuming the renters live in that dirt today Go Riders. At 11 he left the house to study in one school where you have to stay for 15 days, living, studying, sleeping and working on it, after that a weekend at home visited from Friday to Sunday night, at 8pm Sunday you better be in your bedroom back on the school.11 class sessions per day, 7 50am you already cleaned your student neigborhood, took your breakfast, had the first general meeting. at 8am in the freaking classroom on the first session. obligatory study from 8pm to 10pm, from monday to friday, teacher check you by your number, yes, it s faster to ask for a number instead of your name. at 17 he took a ship to a nother country to start the university, 10000 miles from the parents, he just arrived and found a job in a laundry facility where half drunk strong old russian guys pushed him to work harder and faster to getter a better pay and drink heavier at night, 12 hours of work, 30 minutes to eat and not more pauses during the day, drink water was not a pause. Is this a good standard to compare the new kids and their education in Canada, Garth. I wonder if the minister of education of Canada reads this blogs. He in the history me. I hear that in South Korea is more strict in their program than in this history, in some cases they stop the traffic around the school to allow the kids to concentrate in the exams. If it was the case I d love to be born there. 118 High Plains Drifter on 09 11 14 at 11 29 pm. The letters column reads like from the 1800 s This world is different and does call for different strategies I suggest that this does look like a dead end world for the many Juggling equity and debt is the modern tightwalk that allows luxury before turning into a curmudgeon Somebody please write a letter trying to talk my wife out of her winter cruise to exotica. No major currency will ever again be commodity-backed Thankfully Garth Agreed Why would a sovereign, tie their hands and relinquishing control of the printing press Sure as hell know I wouldn t. 120 straight six on 09 11 14 at 11 44 pm. I was a prefect at age 14 and had hitchhiked the western states by age 17.I say, bring back the whip and the running shoe The snot nosed little bastards Violence solves most everything History says so. 121 Ayn Rand Army on 09 11 14 at 11 45 pm. No major currency will ever again be commodity-backed Thankfully Garth. Well if ever again depends on the results of the vote in November, ever again, is not as long as one might think. First country to back their currency will be the first out of the gate at improving their economy while the west follows Zimbabwean, Argentina, Japan, and USA into oblivion. Garth, your whole blog only exists today because we are not on the gold standard All the money driving up prices would not be possible if tied to finite commodity backing. This bubble is a credit and debt bubble by mortgages created out of thin air back by small reserves Canada s banking system has no limit on leverage or reserve requirements All very Bad. Greetings from Leduc walked the Frt Mac oil show, and called on customers in Edm who were constantly short of workers Boss wants me to move to Edm because he thinks the oil patch is on fire and would increase business looked at 3 bdrm townhouse s that are being bidded on around 10 below asking, and lots of product to choose from Watching the telly in the hotel room and the kick is the CBC doczone program is on condos good show I bet they read your blog to research it ha ha I have been there done that in condos it s the CBC right hey I live in Vcr Your comments on the show if you caught it would be welcomed 911 was an inside job. 112 Ayn Rand Army on 09 11 14 at 11 12 pm. Mises was betrayed by his best student who relented on the necessity of the gold standard as is required to force discipline on the supply of money and help ensure market interest rates and so many monetary issues. On this issue, Mises was right and i believe he never forgave him or bothered with him again It s just your OPINION that Mises was right Clearly, this betrayal shows the world that his best student didn t agree with him on the gold standard and preferred floating exchange rates And, quelle surprise, I touched cognitive dissonance exhibited by LVM on inflexible exchange and price discovery of exchange rates i e floating is superior and more in line with market economy fundamentals P. You think forcing discipline on supply of money and help ensure market interest rates actually works Newsflash It doesn t Inflation happens regardless of sound money Have you ever seen the chart of inflation and deflation in the US over the course of the 19 th century It s not pretty Try making capital investment decisions when the economic cycle is like this. Despite your OPINION, no monetary policy Sound or not can stop human beings from irrationally bidding up the price of, say, tulips, or shares in the Mississppi Company , or freakin NORTEL Networks stock 398bn market cap at its peak. So in reality, the legitimate discussion isn t about Sound Money , but about availability of Liquidity when it s needed most And under a hard currency system, backed by Gold, Silver, Seashells, or Beaver Pelts, liquidity can t be brought forward quickly enough to stop the complete crash and, potentially, depressions. Like I said, take the lessons from LVM and apply them to real life, and you ll quickly understand that it s just theory and has been obsolete for about 70 years at least. You should start by watching all of the Free to Choose Part 1. 202,400 per annum F ya Keep dreaming. Those s are destined to buy off the parents, so the gov can let the daycare works starve on the picket line. With an over supply of teachers in BC, the value for your ilk s services is dropping by the day If I was a teacher ya, right , I d be getting my ass back to work, while I still had a job. if not many Canadians save in RRSPs, invest in TSFAs we spend it all on kids and RE, etc who is PUMPING IN THE fricking Stock Market. The Canadian stock market hasn t really gone up in over 7 years And there has been significant buyback activity Additionally, TSX60-index-constituent firms have retained and re-invested 2 3rds of their earnings So naturally such firms, with additional retained earnings, become more valuable. At some point, the stock market will come back into favour, but until then, it will remain exceptionally inexpensive cheap and ripe for great returns going forward This years performance of 17 YTD is just a small taste of what we could look forward to for many years to come. 126 TakingResponsibility on 09 12 14 at 1 58 am. What s actually wrong with inter-generational living I think it sad that birth, child-rearing, education, old-age, and even death have become Outsourced institutionalized Actually, most of us spend our working years in some institution or another We are all institutionalized debt slaves. Hard to moralize other than simplistic moral opinions from within our institutionalized and marketized minds. Does the Market inform us and determine our morals and the ways in which we live Or, do our morals inform the Markets. This intergenerational moralizing doh which is most definitely not moral theory nor ethical can get out of hand young people might even turn the tables and begin moralizing and, yikes, legislating about how those old folk are not productive and decide that anyone over a certain age should be euthanized 68 Or 70.Tear down listed for 17 9 million in Vancouver. Damn low interest rates. Wait, payments would be 90,000 month. My parents encou raged me to leave home at 16 and fend for myself especially if i wanted to go to college They saw it as a way to make us more grown up My brothers had the same treatment. Of course, if anything serious happened i could always return home still could if i wanted , but ego and determination to be an adult stopped me. Im now approaching 40 and am glad I did, i became less dependent, more self sufficient, and more GROWN UP because of it. These kids staying at home until their 30 s, doesnt just strike me as sad how the hell do they get laid But also, I wonder what it s doing to this new generation of mommies boys girls who never really learned to grow up. How will these people ever proceed in life They re obviously never going to become the new bosses etc Because they just have never learned to properly fend for themselves expecting everything on a plate. Its quite depressing. Not to impersonate Devil s Advocate I must be one The specter of adult offspring living in the same home as parents, mold y basement stereotype aside, is not such a nightmare when everyone gets along well, and handles their portion of community responsibility. My folks lived with my family when my son was very young, and both my husband and I feel we benefitted as did our son It s a spiritual or emotional benefit, and not necessarily a financial one But a house filled with love can weather many problems. Note the key phrase As long as everyone including beloved offspring take on their share of community responsibility. Ottawa moved to cut employment insurance premiums for small businesses Thursday, touting it as an effort that will save employers more than 550 million over the next two years and help stimulate hiring. Encouraging the hiring of workers, hopefully Canadian workers and not TFW s is a good thing but it is truly sad that the Minister and his cohorts in the Conservative government would not try a really effective tool And that is to simply stop the massive immigration that goes on decade after deca de at a rate that cannot be sustained by job creation Statistics Canada and non-government agencies have already outlined the impossibility of providing sufficient jobs in the economy under dicey world economic conditions If you have any doubt about the fragility of the economy just try to explain why interest rates have remained near rock bottom for many years Yet this country is hell-bent on hundreds of thousands of new immigrants seeking work, added to hundreds of thousands of previous years immigrants who are still seeking work Add to those hundreds of thousands of foreign students who are eligible to work and are seeking employment Then try to find room for the hundreds of thousands of real Canadian unemployed who are seeking work We have a government bent on a policy of Multiculturalism in a rush, and more interested in developing that boondoggle then giving serious consideration to what is happening to the Canadian workplace and the downward push on wages and full-time employmen t. Annual immigration us 0 7 of the population, without which we would have decline Garth. Annual immigration us 0 7 of the population, without which we would have decline Garth. This country is getting pretty brown pretty fast Normally I delete comments like this However, because this is your last, it will remain as your marker Garth. 46 George on 09 11 14 at 7 49 pm You know Garth that you and Bank of Canada are part of the filthy greedy system and this illusionary system will. And your dumb, childish blog will disappear. Let me guess 24 Live at home Mom does your shorts MA in Egyptology Garth. Boy that was funny Garth Egyptology LOL. May I add, how many young girls do we need enrolled in the teachers program at York University looking to major in Languages Italian and French in that order to teach Italian or French and graduate from their MISS to MRS on the side LMAO. A gaggle of uselessness. 125 Mark on 09 12 14 at 12 33 am if not many Canadians save in RRSPs, invest in TSFAs we spend it all on kids and RE, etc who is PUMPING IN THE fricking Stock Market. The Canadian stock market hasn t really gone up in over 7 years And there has been significant buyback activity Additionally, TSX60-index-constituent firms have retained and re-invested 2 3rds of their earnings So naturally such firms, with additional retained earnings, become more valuable. At some point, the stock market will come back into favour, but until then, it will remain exceptionally inexpensive cheap and ripe for great returns going forward This years performance of 17 YTD is just a small taste of what we could look forward to for many years to come. Mark I have come to enjoy most of your posts and agree with your assessment of the TSX and relative value it represents. I would add that the overwhelming distrust of the stock market and the repetitive refrain I hear from the average shmuck out there for instance, th e market is going to take a bath was yesterday evenings from a local genius s comment. S P at new highs, TSX flirting with all time highs and people still horny for bricks. Stock market is likely to get very volatile next week with the fed meeting, plus oil fell 15 in 3 months This means, get your stock shopping list ready. With some luck, in 2015, only REITs and condo prices will go down while banks, insurers, and energy will keep going up. Ah what am I saying rates won t even move by a percent by the end of 2016 Please the masses. I would not take a bet on that if I were you Garth. 124 With an over supply of teachers in BC, the value for your ilk s services is dropping by the day If I was a teacher ya, right , I d be getting my ass back to work, while I still had a job. Is there not also an oversupply of ready to start work police, fire, etc It doesn t seem to stop those groups from demanding even more than any classroom teacher could ever hope to make. Police and firefighters are essentially only required to be high school graduates and enter their jobs with no post secondary education or the student loans that go with four years of university. Police and fire services are where the money is at and as essential services you will never lose a dime sitting on a strike line Thirty years and out with gold plated benefits sure beats a teacher s 35 years and out with no benefits. Unfunded pension liabilities are words that no T O candidate for Mayor or Councillor would ever utter It is easier to just buy civic workers, police and fire services off with taxpayer money to k eep them happy and you elected. Hamilton, soon to be 1B in debt Not even on the radar for the up coming civic election. At some point, the stock market will come back into favour, but until then, it will remain exceptionally inexpensive cheap and ripe for great returns going forward This years performance of 17 YTD is just a small taste of what we could look forward to for many years to come. I tend to agree, short term fluctuations aside this market has legs, despite recent gains stock ownership remains at historic lows and bonds are historically expensive These are sure signs that risk aversion is still very very high The fact that stocks have done well in that environment is amazing Some people are making a lot of money, but the herd, or to be polite the middle class is not When risk aversion recedes and it eventually will there will be some sparks. To me the main caveat here is the Canadian economy which could be severely impacted by a real estate correction, this would further sink th e CAD, hurt Canadians companies and likely the local stock market To me the US market is by far a safer investment. 138 crowdedelevatorfartz on 09 12 14 at 8 49 am. 101 long dong I wish I could ve filled up my camaro for 12 cents a litre Instead, I m paying for underfunded pensions. Well s always Viagra and the movie industry to supplement your income. 139 rosie moving forward in the knowledge that, this won t end well on 09 12 14 at 9 07 am. This baby adult thing is just a fad Like granite and stainless Boomers trying to out do each other They can be so darn cute though. 140 crowdedelevatorfartz on 09 12 14 at 9 09 am. Good old Ayn Rand A sci-fi hack that couldnt even spell her first name right or is that write Smoking Man, help me here But even Elron Hubbard another sci-fi hack was smart enough to turn his novels into a religion. Both authors used their self importance and the stupidity of the masses to create movements that sheeple to this day still spew as gospel. Kenchie, feel sorry for the delusional, for they know not what they speak. Back to you Ann gold is my God Randy. 141 Hot Albertan Money on 09 12 14 at 9 11 am. It s hard to know now when adulthood starts. That s why these geniuses invented a new term for 20 something basement trolls Kidults. 142 Inglorious Investor on 09 12 14 at 9 13 am. Recently, a number of readers of this blog have been debating the compensation of public sector workers. There is no doubt that public sector workers offer some valuable services People can argue over whether some of those services would better be delivered by the private sector, but that is not the point of my comment. The main point that I d like to make is this In my opinion, it is immoral for public sector workers to be receiving increases in wages salaries pensions benefits during a time that the private sector is experiencing high unemployment, stagnant or declining wages, meager or no pensions, and meager or no benefits. Why do I say it s immoral I say so because public sector compensation is paid for with taxes In fact, all wealth is generated by the private sector, either directly or indirectly Even when the government builds valuable infrastructure such as roads and bridges, no matter who does the actual work public or private worke rs the necessary funds come from taxes Even if the initial funding comes from the issuance of bonds, ultimately the debt is serviced with taxes. Without the private sector, there would be no public sector. Every time a private sector worker s taxes increase in order to fund an increase in public sector pensions, every dollar taken is a dollar that the private sector worker is denied for his her own pension Every dollar taken to fund a pubic sector pay increase is a dollar denied to pay for the private sector worker s own needs and the needs of his her family If the increases are initially funded with debt, then the burden is compounded with interest charges. Some might argue that public sector workers also pay taxes like everybody else This is true However, public sector workers are, by definition, net tax beneficiaries When taxes rise to fund increases in public sector compensation, the public sector workers gain more than what it costs them in additional taxes It s like paying yourself ten additional dollars and getting twenty additional dollars in actual extra pay However, for the private sector worker the loss is compounded due to interest charges and because of the lost returns he she could have realized by investing that money. In my opinion, public sector workers should only get increases when the private sector is also getting increases in aggregate of course Again, all the money earned by the public sector comes from taxes When private sector wealth is stagnant or declining, the public sector should not be getting increases This approach only further weakens the private sector, causes economic imbalances, and social tensions Taking more from those who have less is simply wrong. On a related issue In Ontario, the Teachers union has coerced the government into handing over the bulk of increases to education funding for many, many years This has come at the expense of the quality of education our children are receiving in grade school and high school If one examine s the tactics used today, it is painfully obvious that all manner of concessions and strategic alternations are being made to maintain teacher headcount This comes at the expense of the tax payer, and more importantly at the expense of the children the system is supposed to serve This is why I believe public sector unions should be illegal they can become, and have become, far too politically powerful. 143 always priceless on 09 12 14 at 9 14 am. Let me guess 24 Live at home Mom does your shorts MA in Egyptology Garth. WOW Waugh Out Woud lol in the voice of Elmer Fudd Thanks Garth. Another HAM story with quotes from realtors but, this one is from Reuters vs the Vancouver Sun or other local papers who rely on realtor ads , so it is a bit more credible. Is there any reason why governments wouldn t put a foreign buyer s tax on RE purchases. Seems like the Cities Provinces Feds are providing all of the services to these properties, but in many cases no income tax flows through to help pay for it. You know people, even if it takes 5 years to get to interest rates 2 higher than today s, people will still have tons of debt that needs to be paid at that higher rate People are not paying off 500k, 600k or more loans in 5 years In fact due to the wonders of amortization, they ve barely made a dent. Personally, once I went to university I never really came home, and though my parents paid for first ye ar of undergrad, after that we split 50 50 It s important to have some skin in the game, so to speak I can t imagine living my 20s under my parents roof. 146 Joe Average, Vancouver on 09 12 14 at 9 59 am. Molson Canada a US company in Mississauga just laid off 80 people, all quality job They have plans to close Molson in Vancouver that sits in one of the most expensive hoods in Canada Kitsilano Most production moving to US wages, real estate and so on The trend is clear for US companies in Canada the jobs back to US of A. 147 Steve French on 09 12 14 at 10 14 am. Dis one s for da Weekend Single Malt Drinking Filosofers Mr Smokign Man Sir Garths-a-Lot. I have realised that the past and future are real illusions, that they exist in the present which is what there is and all there is. Alan Wilson Watts. Read it weep, bitchez. 148 Holy Crap Wheres The Tylenol on 09 12 14 at 10 29 am. 131 Porsche on 09 12 14 at 6 22 am Annual immigration us 0 7 of the population, without which we would have decline Garth This country is getting pretty brown pretty fast. Normally I delete comments like this However, because this is your last, it will remain as your marker Garth. Agree 100 White, black, brown, yellow, hell I don t care if your green or purple Immigration is what built this country, however multiculturalism is NONE of the Governments Freeking business and should never have mandated any inclusions regarding it All it does is divide us up into segments by pushing your heritage forward first before your citizenship as a CANADIAN first, always Hell my wife is Irish and has a Spanish heritage I come from Scottish and English heritage, I don t go out and force everyone to listen to the garble that goes on from where our ancestry is from That s for us to keep behind closed doors We can embrace it and talk about it but I m sure my relatives came here 150 years ago to start fres h and embrace a new life MULITICULTURIZEM SUCKS. 149 Holy Crap Wheres The Tylenol on 09 12 14 at 10 33 am. Wow I just did a Smoking Man on my last post. Spelled it wrong and hit enter too fast Should have said Multiculturalism sucks when forced down our throats by the government. Getting angry and old. 150 All markets are now risky on 09 12 14 at 10 41 am. Re If you start looking at your house as an investment class, as something else you should be investing in rather than the stock market, you run into the danger of being exposed to some of the excesses going on in the system. Unfortunately, as a result of easy money policies worldwide, those same excesses exist in the stock market too There s a bubble in the real estate market, the stock market, and the bond market In the face of financial repression, and the desperate search by investors for yield, people have taken on ever greater amounts of risk in almost all investment classes None of these inflated markets will end well. The S P 500 is at 16 7 times earnings slightly above the historic average A correction of 12-15 seems likely if the PE ratio were to restore Hardly the same overvaluation as real estate, it would seem Garth. 151 Holy Crap Wheres The Tylenol on 09 12 14 at 10 46 am. Those who want twentysomethings treated as dependent children invariably have economic reasons No jobs, they say The kid ll be homeless So adult children end up like giant eight-year-olds, assuming they have no mobility, freedom or personal responsibility Hard to see how helicopter parenting does much for experience, which is the foundation of maturity Seen it all, my neigbours kept their two boys in the basement for ten years after school Firstly they did not progress any further with their education, so high school only for one and other never did graduate That limited their options right away Then they paid for their cars, insurance, food and free rent All they did was to float from mediocre job to mediocre job on and off for years I suggested once to my neighbour that the one son appears to have a talent for landscaping and he should start a small business Hell I even offered to give him his first contract and my company s l ocation Nope his father said hes not going to do that manual labor OK that was my Que to shut up The son did eventually get into that business with someone else and is now considering starting his own company once he saves enough cash I quietly told him to let me know and I will give him his first contract The other son still on and off unemployment The parents still supply room and board plus a freaking Lexus for him to drive Enabling to the max will kill their kids Holy hit don t they get it. Ingloriously Flawed Logic. From Inglorious at 142.public sector compensation is paid for with taxes In fact, all wealth is generated by the private sector, either directly or indirectly Even when the government builds valuable infrastructure such as roads and bridges, no matter who does the actual work public or private workers the necessary funds come from taxes Even if the initial funding comes from the issuance of bonds, ultimately the debt is serviced with taxes. Does a carpenter employed by th e private sector create wealth while a carpenter employed by government never creates wealth What if the pay and benefits and productivity were the same. 153 Jeff in Moose Jaw on 09 12 14 at 11 08 am. I enjoyed this interview from 2008 with John Bogle Mr Vanguard. 23 crossbordershopper My father says the same thing came to this country with a few dollars and couldn t speak English only difference now decades later he can speak English. The S P 500 is at 16 7 times earnings slightly above the historic average A correction of 12-15 seems likely if the PE ratio were to restore Hardly the same overvaluation as real estate, it would seem Garth. Aren t you calling for about the same 15 correction in RE. As a prelude to a years-long decline Equities will likely correct and recover within a few months More importantly, financial assets are 100 liquid Real estate turns illiquid in a downturn Consequently, elevated risk Garth. NEWARK, N J A New Jersey man pleaded guilty today to orchestrating an eight-year scheme to falsify employment certifications to facilitate the illegal entry of Indian immigrants into the United States and to filing a false tax return. U S Attorney Paul J Fishman of the District of New Jersey, Assistant Attorney General Leslie R Caldwell of the Justice Department s Criminal Division, Chief Richard Weber of Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation IRS-CI and Director Bill A Miller of the State Department s Diplomatic Security Service DSS made the announcement. Sandipkumar Patel, 41, of Edison, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U S District Judge William H Walls in Newark federal court to conspiring to defraud the United States and to filing a false federal income tax return Sentencing is scheduled for Jan 6, 2015.According to court documents filed with the plea agreement, from 2001 until 2009, Patel sponsored the visa applications of Indian nationals by falsely claiming to provide employment for them in the United States Patel falsely certified on the visa applications that he would employ the immigrants in various technical fields at several New Jersey companies, thereby facilitating their illegal entry into the United States Over the course of the scheme, immigrants paid Patel thousands of dollars for the false certifications to fraudulently secure the visas To disguise the scheme, Patel issued payroll checks and other payroll forms Patel required the immigrants to return the money from the checks and also to reimburse him for his payroll tax expenses Patel used the fraudulent pay stubs and payroll checks to support false applications to extend the visas, and Patel charged the immigrants fees for the visa extensions. As a result of falsely carrying the immigrant employees on his payrolls, Patel overstated his payroll expenses on his federal income tax returns by more than 1 4 million over four years, under-reporting his tax obligation by over 400,000 for those years. This case was investigated by IRS-CI and DSS. to recruit individuals who would be willing to purchase condominium units These individuals were promised a buyers incentive. Developer Sentenced for Orchestrating Massive Mortgage Fraud Scheme On December 19, 2013, in Boston, Mass Sirewl R Cox was sentenced to 150 months in prison and three years of supervised release On November 15, 2013, Cox was convicted of wire fraud, bank fraud and conducting an unlawful monetary transaction According to court documents, in 2006 and 2007, Cox identified multiple-family buildings for sale and recruited straw buyers to purchase the buildings Cox and others then recruited straw buyers to purchase individual units in buildings that Cox controlled The straw buyers financing for the purchases was obtained by submitting mortgage loan applications and other documents that falsely represented key information Deals were closed with HUD-1 settlement statements that falsely represented that straw buyers had made down payments and paid other funds in connection with the property transactions, and falsely represented how the proceeds of the mortgage loans were disbursed. Porsche This country is getting pretty brown pretty fast. Normally I delete comments like this However, because this is your last, it will remain as your marker Garth. you know in a social environment this comment would be in-appropriate People would feel uncomfortable even if nothing pejorative were meant. I m sure Porsche meant to say there have been vast changes in the Canadian demographic A total of 19 of the population is visible minority which means 81 isn t Deal with it Garth. 158 Inglorious Investor on 09 12 14 at 11 41 am. 152 Shawn on 09 12 14 at 10 50 am. Does a carpenter employed by the private sector create wealth while a carpenter employed by government never creates wealth What if the pay and benefits and productivity were the same. Without private sector wealth funding public sector costs the public sector could produce NOTHING Therefore, as I said, all wealth is generated by the private sector, either directly or INDIRECTLY. Learn to read It might help. Inglorious suggests that I Learn to read It might help. Inglorious, learn not to be ignorant in both senses of the word. Boomers take the jobs Consume massive amounts of health care Inflate house prices. And then blame the kids. Garth, I thought you were better than this. You have no idea what the job market is like for the young My brother graduated with a degree in aerospace engineering Then went on to do a Master s in Biomechanical engineering Took him over a year to find work in Toronto in 2009 Lived at home and worked as a fedex driver to pay the bills He really would have been homeless if my parents had insisted he support himself after school. You want to see how really screwed over the job market is for the young Look at the market for teachers Boomers just won t leave And there are teachers in their 30s living at home, trying to survive with whatever work they can, taking all kinds of part time jobs I saw it first hand Ex-gf was 34 years old and living at home after 5 years teaching And she worked well over 40 hours a week across severa l jobs including teaching But could not make any sort of actual living wage It was heartbreaking to watch her go for interview after interview and constantly struggle to find other contract work just to get by. My fiancee is also a teacher Left the profession after struggling to get a proper career going Only year long contracts at private schools No real job at a school board Went back to school for HR Now job hunting Lives on her own 31 Still supported by her parents a fair bit. I won t even get into the new trend of unpaid internships This is the reality of Gen Y today They work hard, far harder than their parents Don t get paid for it Heck, I doubt most Boomers could cut it at the internships that these kids do. Across any actual profession, from lawyers to accountants to zoo keepers, the Boomers have taken all the choice jobs and refuse to retire Then boomers like you have the gall to insist that they get thrown out on their bums You sould like an Old Economy Steve meme. The Boomers h ave royally screwed over Gen Y The very least they could do is give them couch space while they hunt for work. ps To all those who give the standard line about moving to Alberta Engineers are not somehow totally interchangeable You can t use an aerospace engineer in the oil patch that easily. I had no idea FedEx drivers were homeless Garth. 161 NEVER GIVE UP on 09 12 14 at 12 07 pm. 111 WhiteKat on 09 11 14 at 11 08 pm. I am curious as to why you cannot travel to the US on your Canadian Passport What about all the dual Citizens in Canada Why is it they are able to go to the USA. AfterTheHouseSold We visited the National Memorial Site of Flight 93 in Pennsylvania. thanks for that. Victoria Real Estate Update your charts suck they just do but I really appreciate your posts, they sum up a lot of observations and I do like your comparisons to US real estate They coincide with what I ve seen in the US Your narrative is easily understood although wordy. Andrew Woburn Those twenty-eight pages tell a story that has been completely removed from the 9 11 Report. The Reel Me Find something called a Roscoe terminal and you can search properties by address, name, parcel number etc. nonplused So now they have a new mortgage on a house they don t collect rent or utilities on, or at least not very much of it, and a financed disco wagon that self levels. WhiteKat She likes to gamble, and is good at it I would watch. Saskatchewan Skeptic I can t believe the amount of fake, entitled people who scoff at renters. don t let the bastards get you down One day you ll wake up, people will respect you in a new way and you ll say I don t think I want to buy after all. surpised At 11 he left the house to study in one school. Don Derc 911 was an inside job. funny what you can learn watching telly in an hotel room. I had no idea FedEx drivers were homeless Garth. Fedex drivers with tens of thousands in student debts to pay back might be. Try not to hyperbole Just sayin Garth. 164 Setting the Record Straight on 09 12 14 at 12 20 pm. I owe you three responses The last two will come tomorrow. But prior to the issue, I thank you for the links They are very interesting. On Friedman criticizing Mises, in the Reason article, I could only find personal criticisms of Mises intolerance. Even if there are substantive criticisms of Mises by Friedman, I point out the following. Friedman identifies himself as a liberal we would say classic liberal His self identification does wander however because later he seems himself as a libertarian. He said he believes the Federal Reserve should be abolished, that income tax withholding should be abolished in peacetime, and that he does not favor compulsory education If a person here suggested the same, it would generate accusationsfrom our host and others that we were wearing tin foil hats. I ignore the dissonance between these ideas and his work on education vouchers, withholding taxes, and rules to run the Fed by. Friedman also noted th at Hayek self identified as an Old Whig not a libertarian This should be kept in mind when we discuss Hayek and Mises. 165 Longshorebore on 09 12 14 at 12 24 pm. To many kids with humanities and arts degrees, There is real work to be done out here in BC if your willing to work there is a job for you don t need to hear anymore whiners with fluff degrees bitching they can t get a job as a high school teacher Strive a lil higher in uni go for engineering and sciences or pick up a hammer Bunch of wusses. 166 Rational Optimist on 09 12 14 at 12 38 pm.136 Ret on 09 12 14 at 8 11 am. Ret, I am pretty sure I am in your ward in Hamilton If you can register you ve got a couple hours yet , you ll have my vote. 167 Holy Crap Wheres The Tylenol on 09 12 14 at 12 43 pm. 140 crowdedelevatorfartz on 09 12 14 at 9 09 am Good old Ayn Rand A sci-fi hack that couldnt even spell her first name right or is that write Smoking Man, help me here But even Elron Hubbard another sci-fi hack was smart enough to turn his novels into a religion Both authors used their self importance and the stupidity of the masses to create movements that sheeple to this day still spew as gospel Kenchie, feel sorry for the delusional, for they know not what they speak Back to you Ann gold is my God Randy. Smoking Man is at the Casino in Niagara Falls already probably writing his book as we speak I m actually looking for ward to seeing it on the shelf one day Holy hit its got to be chalk full of stuff we never even could conceive This seams appropriate for the huddled masses who follow a religious cult leader blindly. 168 Sheane Wallace on 09 12 14 at 12 46 pm. How is 1 75 trillion in mortgage and personal debt plus maybe 1 trillion in corporate debt possible when all deposits are 1 2 trillion Just asking Where is the other 1 5 trillion coming from Just as a bad cold leads to pneumonia, so over-indebtedness leads to deflation, wrote the US economist Irving Fisher in 1933 But when the debt was piling on there was inflation, correct Why not deflation to offset the inflation Trying to present inflation as reason and necessity for growth is pathetic. Was recently at a dinner party with my wife and her co-workers along with their spouses A mix of ages As we were sitting at the dinner table after consuming a wonderfully prepared dinner I looked around Everyone that was 50 or up was engaged in conversation The younger ones were all texting At the table Couldn t believe it so brought it up in the conversation They all thought it was just normal I thought it was rude Must be getting old I guess. 170 Sheane Wallace on 09 12 14 at 12 55 pm. You have seen nothing yet Kids out of top universities 10 years from now might have 20 80 chance of prosperous career at Starbucks or Wallmart if they get lucky and that old timer barista or greeter dies Cancer rates are up so there is hope Finding a job would be equivalent to winning from the lottery Mortgage debt, education debt, car loans debt, you name it there is debt everywhere and we can not afford to shrink it as it will reduce growth Debt as driver of growth instead of investment and productivity Wow It looks like terminal cancer in its last stages. 171 All markets are now risky on 09 12 14 at 12 57 pm. The S P 500 is at 16 7 times earnings slightly above the historic average A correction of 12-15 seems likely if the PE ratio were to restore Hardly the same overvaluation as real estate, it would seem Garth. Fueled by years of QE, the lowest interest rates in history emergency interest rate conditions, severely negative real rates , nosebleed levels of margin debt, an extremely optimistic bull-to-bear ratio I could go on Nevertheless, this is a setup for more than a simple correction, a perfect recipe for a cascade much lower Bottom line current scenario is high risk, low reward. Quote OTheDay HowMeenaIsThat WhatAPartyPooper. If you can afford to come and buy a million-dollar home, and leave it empty for eight or 10 months at a time, then hey, you can afford to pay more, a surcharge, or a surtax Meena Wong. SCMP Vancouver mayoral candidate Meena Wong proposes tax on vacant homes Owners who leave their expensive homes empty most of the year should be willing to pay surcharge, Wong says. 173 Mister Obvious on 09 12 14 at 1 03 pm. My parents encouraged me to leave home at 16 and fend for myself. Similar story here At the age of 19, my father s message to me was this approximately this. Either prove you are on a path to independence through education which I will finance provided a reasonable job prospect exists or hit the road and make your own way, son. Perhaps foolishly, I chose to hit the road But understand me Dad wasn t my buddy , he was my father Big difference The prospect of living under the old man s roof any longer was unbearable to me Not that he was evil he was a fine man and a war hero as far as I m concerned but it was like living with the day-shift foreman down on the shop floor. I did low-paying grunt work for the next decade or so then paid my own way through school During that time I shared rent in low end accommodation with as many as three other fellows on their own quest for would have chosen to hang with in any other independence I can t say they were a lways people I circumstance. I guess was the kind of guy who prefers it the hard way although I have corrected that foolish attitude in my old age. The one thing I have the most difficulty conveying to young people today is how fierce the drive for independence was among my generation. Even if it were possible, sitting in one s parent s basement waiting for life to somehow begin was seen as a the seventh level of hell by all my contemporaries. 174 Mister Obvious on 09 12 14 at 1 07 pm. Correction of butchered paragraph in previous post. I did low-paying grunt work for the next decade or so then paid my own way through school During that time I shared rent in low end accommodation with as many as three other fellows on their own quest for independence I can t say they were always people I would have chosen to hang with in any other circumstance. For Ayn Rand Army and others interested. Ayn Rand s life, summarized in a web comic. I don t know enough to pick sides, posting for your enjoyment. 126 TakingResponsibility on 09 12 14 at 1 58 am What s actually wrong with inter-generational living I think it sad that birth, child-rearing, education, old-age, and even death have become Outsourced institutionalized Actually, most of us spend our working years in some institution or another We are all institutionalized debt slaves. Divide and conquer Each generation has to start from scratch Makes for a docile and scared worker Good for the bottom line. Some cultures are different but in mine at least, people get jealous and will try to cut you down if they see you rise above them Help you Please The worse boss I ve ever had was the same nationality I am She did everything to keep me down That s OK I returned the favor. Now, there is another side of the coin Sometimes kids are just lazy and entitled I worked for a startup Was employee 3, yey The CEO s son was a college flunkie and a pot head. But daddy kept saying that little Johnny 25ish flunked out of college because he was too smart and was getting bored You see, little Johnny wanted to study Computer Science but just couldn t handle the slow pace of a college education In fact, couldn t even register for class in time LOL. So, given that college was out of the question too smart his love of Computer Science and the fact that his dad owned a freaking startup in Silicon Valley, you would assume that little Johnny would spend all of his days working with his dad, learning from stupid people like me with 20 years of experience and 2 college degrees that s how stupid I am. Oh please Not once, did he show up in the office the whole time I was there. He still lives with mommy and daddy They just got the daughter 23 to move out She s a waitress in San Jose. 177 Sheane Wallace on 09 12 14 at 1 20 pm. 171 All markets are now risky. Not if you look at long term. You are missing one very important point velocity of money, it is at historical low Once it picks up and pick up it will we will see some inflation it could be significant but also even higher growth in the corporate earnings Most of the quality internationals that pay dividends are very well positioned on the world markets, so expect continues strength and growing earnings the rest of the world actually grows. Holding money in cash or bonds except for emergency cash or short term TIPS when inflation picks up is stupid. So thank you very much I will keep my stocks Even if the market corrects 30 chance of 20-25 a well diversified dividend based portfolio would shrink only by 10-12 The cost of selling now and then buying again at the eventual bottom presumably you get it exactly right is not justified by the risk. 178 Nature vs Nurture on 09 12 14 at 1 24 pm. OMG you fools are showing your age if you are 50 or over you have benefited from a different experience than the succeeding generations. You were raised by parents that experienced the great depression, a world war and a 1950 s conflict that still simmers today and constantly threatens to explode. You always knew where you stood in relation to the larger world, because competition in it s most basic form existed To wit, Sports Day , British Bulldog , Dodge Ball and other vicious games that we children just made up on the play field, with rules that we defined and actions that were allowed or not. At my elementary school a game was devised and played on the field farthest away from the prying eyes of adults called Creamo , anyone student could play, all were welcome, the only stipulation was you had to waive your right of complaint when something happened to you. Creamo was a hodgepodge of rugby, football, soccer, dodge ball, running, kicking, th rowing the ball through the goal posts Goals were important but if someone really got creamed , well that was excellent too The scrum was where the vicious action occurred and each and every person had to decide if they belonged in the scrum. Every person that went on the field acknowledged the inherent risk of getting Creamed and would deny all knowledge that such an activity actually existed. It wasn t exactly The Lord of the Flies , but it was good training Given the choice of Hopscotch or nearly killing each other, we chose to play the maiming game. Why Because children are just little animals and the basic instinct is inclined towards wildness and animal behavior Society s mandate is and has been to integrate this energy into more productive activities To make productive citizens out of the barbarians. It is through our barbarian behavior that we, in time, begin to understand and exercise control of our inate drives This used to be accomplished by a maiming injury acquired during play or by corporal punishment doled out by adults for partaking in maiming play. The net result was the experience of temporary pain, which conditioned us for future endeavours, some of which would also leave physical, emotional and psychic marks. In life, all good things must come to an end, and eventually the adults found out just what the hell was happening out there and stopped our fun. Succeeding generations have been nurtured , they will never know the joy of creaming a smaller guy on the field because that s always the rule, if you want to succeed, never try to cream someone outside of your weight class. In removing the painful experiences of childhood, we have created a class of individual that is currently incapable of exercising their own basic instincts. These individuals are not to be blamed for something that they were not allowed to experience. You better hope that they don t figure out just how rigged the game is. Bad behavior at 8 or 9 is one thing bad behavior in your twenties i s called A Revolution. 171 All markets. That s why I converted all my defined contribution pension holdings into money markets recently It s not much under 100k but there is too much risk for the potential reward left in the market I may be gambling, but since I do it to protect my assets and not to speculate, I agree to pay the price of forgone higher returns for the security that I got. 180 Sheane Wallace on 09 12 14 at 1 26 pm. Lets not forget also that the historical P E are from time when alternative investments government bonds actually paid positive interest that was much higher than the zero or even negative interest rates policies these days In absence of incentive to invest in bonds the stock markets will keep going higher and higher Dow 20 k is certainty, I am thinking more of Dow 30 k in the next 3-7 years Plan accordingly. By US law, Canadians born in the USA, who have not formally renounced US citizenship, are required to travel to USA on an American passport despite holding a Canadian passport. Until recently, US border guards rarely enforced this law, but this is starting to change with USA s recent attempts through FATCA to enforce citizenship based taxation on non-US residents Please warn any Canadian friends who were born in USA, travelling on a Canadian passport, that they may be queried at the border as to whether or not they are tax compliant with the IRS. USA requires annual tax reports and Foreign Bank Account Reports from those it considers to be US persons birth in USA, one or more American parents, snowbirds who overstay, green card holders even if they do not live in the USA and do not earn any US sourced income. 182 Drug Ford aka Al Haig on 09 12 14 at 1 32 pm. Settle down, I am in charge here. More to follow, Ford Nation. Garth, your regular deliveries will continue so don t worry There will be a slight price premium. 183 Sheane Wallace on 09 12 14 at 1 34 pm. bonds are actually called return free risk. Only government debt Garth. ps To all those who give the standard line about moving to Alberta Engineers are not somehow totally interchangeable You can t use an aerospace engineer in the oil patch that easily. Indeed, and great point There s huge unemployment underemployment in Canada s tech sector left by the departure of Nortel A large number of engineers with skills more specific to the telecom sector are still running around Canada, unemployed or underemployed, glutting up the resume submissions Even relatively basic minimally advertised positions in the telecom engineering sector are receiving in excess of 50 resumes from highly qualified and often extremely talented individuals. Its good that government didn t bail that bloated and somewhat fraudulently managed Nortel pig out in the early 2000s, but inflating almost a trillion dollars worth of CMHC subprime insured mortgage debt into the housing ma rket wasn t really a good answer either. RE 131 Comment from Porsche in response to Garth. Annual immigration us 0 7 of the population, without which we would have decline Garth. This country is getting pretty brown pretty fast. That was a terrible comment from Porsche that should have been deleted but I guess Garth left it there for him her to hang him herself I am ashamed to be Canadian and white when I see hear read things like that I work everyday with so-called brown people who, in addition, to be hard working, smart, humorous, attractive people, contribute so much to this society What does the skin color have to do with anything I can see this idiotic way of thinking is diminishing in the new generations, and that is a good thing My children seem to be virtually color-blind Nothing to do with this blog except for the fact that people who have not done too well in life even if they drive imaginary Porsche like to blame other people for their misfortunes Like coddled children adultette s now we are back on the topic of the blog Blame the renters, the owners, the public sector workers with fat pensions, the CHMC, Mark, whoever you want but it will not change the fact that you are the one who made the decisions that brought you where you are now I try to remain a silent observer and learn something, but that was really too much to let it go unnoticed. 21 Casual Observer. This was written during a time when the US was on the gold standard The US Gov t could not have engaged in the same amount of money printing that is going on throughout the world today. Of course they could, and they did The increase in monetary base during that time was absolutely unprecedented in US history And what do you think caused the credit bubble of the 20s anyways Newly found gold deposits. I had no idea FedEx drivers were homeless Garth. Good point Actually FedEx drivers are usually independent contractors who own their own trucks Some do hire employees do drive as some own multiple trucks and routes. I have heard also that a UPS driver can be a great gig. The harder and faster they work the more they get paid They are not stuck in an office They are free of bosses most of the day. Under employed teachers and Egyptologists might want to check it out. Definitely an honest way to earn a living Not much chance to slack off without getting noticed. doug ford to replace rob on TO mayor ballot. if the ford bros can t crash 416 than nothing can. 24 Doug in London. These Boomer parents should know better Having seen real estate corrections before I remember one in the early 1980s and another in the early 1990s they should be advising their Millennial kids that another is long overdue whether they live with their parents or not. We had one in 2008, before it was arrested by 0 interest rates and opening of mortgage floodgates This is the problem people have the attention span of a squirrel. 160 Keith on 09 12 14 at 11 52 am. Engineers are not somehow totally interchangeable You can t use an aerospace engineer in the oil patch that easilyplete BS from 160 Keith. Engineers ARE interchangeable based on their process-thinking education It s not the engineering degree specialization, it s the competencies that have been learned after graduation. 191 miketheengineer on 09 12 14 at 1 50 pm. You are 100 correct. You said, Engineers are not somehow totally interchangeable. In 2009, when the auto industry collapsed in Ontario, I thought about going out west to Alberta I had no contacts out there, no connection, no family So I applied to whatever I could find on the net that was advertising I had a Chemical Engineering Degree and a second one in Science Chemistry , and 15 years experience in Auto Manufacturing I could not get any responses to my applications, none In the year that I was out of work, I sent out around 2000 applications or more I lost count. You see in Alberta, they have programs, like Petroleum Engineer etc, and when they advertise for a position they are very specific and want the 10 out 10 candidate or the guy with the experience with rotating equipment, and they want like 10 years experience as a Class 4 Operating Engineer or starting up process units So they end up taking on the guy from the Arabic countries that com e here is newcomers who have this experience working in Saudi Arabia or elsewhere, that has this 10 years experience. It appears to me that manufacturing experience means nothing to the oil and gas industry. You see I was labelled the auto guy and they were looking for the oil guy I would have had better luck if I was welder or heavy truck driver. So I stayed in Ontario Hoo for me. p s I am gainfully employed now in manufacturing in Ontario, with a wonderful boss, and decent co-workers, with a job that actually has benefits I thank GOD, every day that I walk into this building for my job. perhaps on is housing a Renegade in their basement. Every boomer I know has spent most of the lives and earnings on ensuring their kids have the best of everything and never wanting for anything. This is funny because I was about to write in to state that I, as the child of Boomers, probably have gone a little too far in giving time and money to my own offspring because I had so little of both from Mom and D ad and Step Dad I did have a pretty good time of it until I was 9 at which point all hell broke loose with all the grown ups deciding that the family thing was a drag I had to grow up fend for myself and my brother We still had a roof over our heads and food but not much else Mom, are you reading this I hope not On second thought you d never recognize yourself anyway. Having parental units kind of abandon the family at such a young age scarred me Can ya tell as a result I do work very hard and am careful with money But also as a result I hate to see my own kid left to dangle if my young adult needs something I do what I can to help. Finally there is the very real, very relevant point that the economy is in the sh tter Housing and food cost a tremendous chunk of a person s income if he or she is making starter wages Add in transportation and perhaps a student loan payment and there s really no hope except to get used to doing the same thing every day until you die. I don t have to let my k id do that and so I won t Been there Struggled out of it sorta and am not enough of a queen bitch to watch someone I love hurt that way. Feeling like my dog just died. Stay strong Mr Ford. 171 All markets are now risky. Trying to time the market are we. History has shown a fool s errandplete BS from 160 Keith. Engineers ARE interchangeable based on their process-thinking education It s not the engineering degree specialization, it s the competencies that have been learned after graduation. Sure, we know that, as engineers Too bad HR personnel, who are in the position of screening the resumes and act as hiring managers don t This is why so many jobs apparently go unfilled, while people who could fill them complain that they don t receive legitimate consideration. Actually asking the on-the-ground engineers what skills and what qualifications are needed to really do a job seems to be an after-thought these days I remember during the dot-com boom, lots of Mechanical, and even Civil Engineers easily found work in the software computing field, but these days, it seems employers are notoriously inflexible and not really motivated to fill empty positions Instead, holding out for TFW s or for a perfect yet desperate for a low salary candidate to come along. I share the same undergrad as my brother Explain to me what work someone with in-depth education and internships in aerospace structures and modelling of heart valves would do out in Alberta. Sure, you can apply your skills to solving most engineering problems But whether an a petroleum equipment manufacturing company will actually recognize the usefulness of your skills is an altogether different matter. See post 191 by the miketheengineer Stories like that abound among engineers And his education is much closer to what is required in the O G sector than my brother was. Non-engineers simply don t get it The number of qualified engineers out there and the number of qualified foreign trained engineers coming here Very difficult for a young engineer to start out And this is after hearing all the lectures about how an Arts and Science degree is useless and how engineering leads to good jobs Most BBA BComm grads I know are better off than most engineers I know Far less workload, in university, and at work. Moreover, if you did get a job, they ll just use your supposed lack of experience to dramatically underpay you Starting salary for aerospace engineers at Bombardier is around 50K Most business majors who get a decent bank job downtown make more Hot realtor babes can pull in six figures. Canada hates engineers and technical talent. 199 Holy Crap Wheres The Tylenol on 09 12 14 at 3 26 pm. 195 Smoking Man on 09 12 14 at 2 26 pm Feeling like my dog just died, Stay strong Mr Ford. OK Smoky heres the scoop, Rob out as Mayor, Doug in as Mayor, Rob going for council, Michael Ford or Mikey, as his uncles Rob and Doug call him is on his way to becoming a Toronto city councilor as well So there go have a beer and chill There s a whole lot of Fords parked in the driveway. 53 said PS My family is a microcosm of the cultural dichotomy my Western European parent was happy to kick us out at age 18, but my Asian parent said no, it s a waste of money Funnily enough, my Euro parent blamed my Asian parent for being too soft on us. WHICH IS WHY IT IS DIFFERENT HERE AS MUCH AS I HATE TO ADMIT IT. 202 TheManwhoStaresatSheeple on 09 12 14 at 4 06 pm. Canada hates engineers and technical talent. It certainly looks that way I m an IT worker who was fortunate to get into a public sector position relatively late in life The working conditions of IT people in corporations have been steadily degraded by outsourcing, immigration, and the TFW program. Annual immigration us 0 7 of the population, without which we would have decline Garth. This is not accurate We have a population of probably not more than 35 million we can only estimate I have learned as a public sector worker that there are no truly reliable figures on stuff like this Every year more than half a million newcomers enter Canada You have the 265,000 regular immigrants, you have approximately 200,000 Temporary Foreign Workers, you have about 100,000 international students , and there surely must be some illegals BTW the immigration and student figures are readily searchable on federal government websites, and TFW figures have be en reported many times by news media Commenters on this site have linked all this stuff before. There are also millions yes, millions of people who have Canadian citizenship and passports living outside the country in places like Lebanon and Hong Kong So while the exact figure cannot be determined from the low-quality data available, it s clearly more than 0 7 a year. The notion that without this influx we d have decline is also mistaken Heavy immigration more likely depresses family formation in the host population. What a dandy collection of anonymous paranoid xenophobes we have on this site Garth. Miketheengineer I had a Chemical Engineering Degree and a second one in Science Chemistry , and 15 years experience in Auto Manufacturing. What about the lithium ion battery revolution and companies like Tesla, electric bikes, scooters, solar, wind etc One would think there is plenty of opportunity and demand for engineering expertise Perhaps not in sticks and stones Canada but elsewhere. 26 For some reason I found the term adultettes hilarious. And re Garth s rebuke 46.The term adultettes seems too respectful How about adultescents or perhaps adultweenies. Then top it off with Yul Brynner s comments in the following clip Garth can be Yul up until the gun fight. As a prelude to a years-long decline Equities will likely correct and recover within a few months More importantly, financial assets are 100 liquid Real estate turns illiquid in a downturn Consequently, elevated risk Garth. Nobody sells house within months of purchase Risk is mitigated and smoothed over long period of time IE years. Btw you only loose money when down if you sell like any financial assets Even if prices stagnates you still win House is a utility How about that. Irrelevant when 92 leverage is used to buy houses as CMHC numbers published here show Nobody gets 92 margin to buy equities When house prices fall, you can be assured of a flood of emotional sellers people who bought for capital gains, not losse s Garth. 207 Just my 2 cents on 09 12 14 at 5 31 pm. I think Garth is absolutely right, 24 is an adult and should behave accordingly I see so many kids that age who have an expectation of adult rewards I m an adult, I can do what I want but who assume as few responsibilities as possible Parents who encourage this are doing their kid a great disservice We got flak from well-meaning friends and relatives who thought it was unfair to make a 10 year old make his bed before leaving for school and make his own lunch the night before We thought it taught time management and planning They thought it was mean that we said if he wanted extra stuff and things that he pick up a paper route We thought he should learn that stuff was not free and you had to be willing to work for it There was an expectation that he help out with whatever needed doing in the house, because he was part of a family unit and that everyone should do their part He had an allowance and was taught about credit, savings, debt etc but h is allowance was never tied to what he did in the house, nor would we ever dream of paying him to attain good marks in school When he graduated high school, he decided not to go to college right away, so we said sure, you can be home, but you must carry the equivalent of a full time job and you must pay rent, your own car insurance, buy your own clothes, etc I overheard a conversation where a friend asked him where his parents got off making him pay when he was just living at home and my son laughed and said they don t want me to be useless and not know how to take care of myself He got it We also figured doing menial labour in our small town would have him in college in less than a year and we were right While he thinks it s good to do what you must to pay your bills, he also didn t want a lifetime of it when there was an alternative. Fast forward to now, he is 22 and has been married for a year He finished his 3rd year of college last year, dropped out for a year and they saved money for his grad year, which he started this month In his year off, he worked 2 part-time jobs for minimum wage and he found there were lots of jobs that would put food on the table but they weren t fun or glamorous He worked in a feed store primarily and he said a lot of people his age won t take any old job to start out, and then they say there are no jobs In that one year off school, they saved enough to pay his tuition for the full year, they have money set aside for savings and they ve donated to charity They live in a basement suite close to the school and while they are very frugal, their life is very full with friends, dinners, pot lucks, bike rides, other sports, art and music and they don t seem to be deprived at all They don t have cable, share one old flip phone and he bikes to school When they got engaged, they sent me an Excel spreadsheet and asked if I could look over their budget for when they were married and see if it looked reasonable you can only imagine how happy it ma de me that they were thinking of things like that We always helped him when we could, but often our help came in the form of time spent talking and assuring him he had the ability to sort out his problem and kicking around ideas until he had come up with a resolution I think they have a great foundation for their marriage and future and that we would have robbed him greatly if we had simply handed him everything and given him the message that he was NOT capable and could not figure anything out unless it was provided by us. IsItJustMe OrIsThatLeaderIllustration LookingMoreDoggoneFlummoxed WithEachCTLF5. NoteToGT Just between the two of us, I thought the TeaserTrailer was outrageously GoodSport NoteToWhiteKat TrueEnough Even those without formal ties to UncleSam are occasionally obliged to navigate his bureaucratic maze something to do with W8-BEN s. The stock market doomers and conspiracy nuts make me laugh Why does the stock market go up even if 50 of people don t save Because the vast majority of stocks are held by the top 5 and corporations This makes sense since logically they have that much more money to save Nothing evil or sinister about that If there is a wideningn wage gap between the top and middle it follows that those top 5 stock purchases would drive shares up But it also means someone poorer can get their piece buy owning the shares too even if their demographics purchases are less substantial or influential on stock price As for the stock market crashing Meh I am a long ways from retirement and the stocks aren t a leveraged investment for me so no one is gonna force me t o liquidate them Unlike a mortgaged house or the small amount of stocks I buy on margin for entertainment purposes. Explain to me what work someone with in-depth education and internships in aerospace structures and modelling of heart valves would do out in Alberta. You or your bro might check out becoming a DAR or finding work as an aircraft structures engineer within a company that has received Transport Canada delegation as a DAO See pertinent links on Transport Canada s Delegations Information System web site, below. Or, check out working for an aircraft structural repair and or modification shop aka an Approved Aircraft Maintenance Organization AMO Aircraft modifications is a major part of the Canadian aviation industry A few of the major players in BC Kelowna Flightcraft, Cascade Aerospace and CHC Helicopters I m not sure who the main players in Alberta are maybe Kenn Borek Air In Ontario, there is Field Aviation, Voyageur Airways and Deca Aviation I believe the Midland, ON based co mpany, Avionics Design Services was still is looking for a structures engineer for its office out at YVR Vancouver Richmond airport See link here. These companies and or individuals are given a Delegation of Authority by Transport Canada to make findings of compliance to the pertinent airworthiness requirements, for aircraft modifications Specialized work knowledge that the not taught in engineering schools see exceptions below , meaning there aren t a lot of competent engineers working in it compared to other engineering disciplines Hence, it seems jobs in the field are somewhat age-proof at least, if you re able to work for the smaller companies mod shops You don t get the knowledge and experience from engineering school except perhaps if you graduated from one with an aeronautical engineering discipline like U of T, Carleton U or Ryerson U and or had specialization within a Mech Eng program On top of those places, Boeing offers its own structures engineering courses at your or your e mployer s expense, of course. See the TCCA link above and or contact your local TCCA Aircraft Certification Office Toronto, Montreal, Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver and Moncton for more information You would have to take TCCA s Aircraft Certification Specialty Course paid for by yourself or by your employer in order to eventually get delegation as a DAR or as an Authorized Person within a DAO Also, TCCA itself was recently hiring Aircraft Certification Engineers with specialization in among other areas , aircraft structures The thing about working for them is, you will be removed from being a hands-on engineer and would be a paper-shuffling bureaucrat although a well-paid one with benefits pension Still, the work can be interesting if you can tolerate the politics and bureaucracy. Best of success since I don t believe in luck. 74 Smoking Man on 09 11 14 at 9 08 pm It s what being alive is all about. You think that being alive is about feeding your ego It s actually about putting your ego aside, and learning to love the people around you Stop trying to pursue your own selfish desires This will be your greatest challenge. We should shall not judge and brag It is different now it is not the 50 s, 60 s. 142 Inglorious Investor you are right on the spot The public sector worker should not get more pay benefits than the private sector The private sector create wealth money through goods and services which pay taxes whereas, the government wealth is obtained by taxes. Do you really believe that neither my brother or I know how the aerospace industry works or that we need advice internet randoms. I m in the RCAF He did find work in his field at a well known aircraft engine maker in Toronto. The point of my narrative was to illustrate the very real challenges that young people experience today The old line that They should be independent And some internet links are hardly relevant The tone of Boomers like Garth and yourself comes off as, Let them eat cake. I hope Gen Y remembers this when the Boomers start agitating politically for higher state pensions No issues taking care of my parents Other boomers Couldn t give s fig. 214 Rabi Dmangycur 35 on 09 12 14 at 11 44 pm. 35 Happy Renting re Ayn Rand cartoon link. Thanx for the post I am a big Ayn Rand fan and have all her books and plays and have read all her newsletters She must have been extremely intelligent but not that smart the two are not mutually inclusive. I love this blog site and have read all the archives up to Nov 2012 so far. I appreciate the task GT has undertaken armed only with a whip and a chair I understand the fact that very few seem to understand the fundamentals Garth is sharing with readers, but many are quick to argue with the conclusions. It appears Alan Greenspan fell into the same trap that ensnared Ayn in the end an over reliance on intelligence and an under reliance on smarts. A common trap of highly intelligent people. Can anyone see the logic flaws in this. Does a carpenter employed by the private sector create wealth while a carpenter employed by government never creates wealth What if the pay and benefits and productivity were the same. NO the govt does not create wealth Ever T hey build crap they don t need most of the time The private sector carpenter creates wealth by being employed and whose paycheck goes into the economy and whose TAXES PAY govt workers Govt workers are paid with taxes so all they are doing is recycling money created by the private sector. And in today s economy the private sector is more pissed off than they have ever been as the cost of living keeps going up despite the lies by the govt, meanwhile the govt workers keep getting bigger and bigger paychecks and pensions that go with them. I thought you were smarter than this Shawn and beware, class warfare is soon to come. 213 Keith assuming you come back to this particular post. I didn t intend or think my tone came across as Let them eat cake Was not my intention Was only trying to offer some help food for thought from my scope of knowledge experience, for what it is isn t worth, since I m in a similar situation as yours engineer electrical electronics , specialized aerospace aviation , middle-aged, technically obsolete. Tried to move away from aviation back in 07 by moving to Alberta when the demand for engineers and labour in general was virtually being hyped as they ll hire anyone with a pulse Turned out not to be so naturally Turned out that despite the whining in Alberta that companies can t find enough qualified people, they still cherry-pick who they ll hire or even interview Job prospects for electrical engineers in Alberta were are great if you have background and Canadian experience in electrical power generation, distribution and substation design, or instrumentation and controls I C systems S eems to be a similar situation in Ontario today, except instead of instrumentation and control jobs, seems to be more focus on automation and robotics programming jobs for EE s With the loss of manufacturing jobs in Ontario in recent years, darned if I know what they expect to automate. I thought with my background in FMEA systems safety analysis I could transfer over to the I C field, what with that field s need for process control hazard HAZOP analysis, safety risk management, safety integrity level analysis, etc Had one interview with an I C consulting engineering company that said they farmed that safety analysis stuff out to another party, and as far as the I C techie stuff they did, well, they didn t see a fit within their organization for me and couldn t justify taking on someone from outside their industry because of the implications to how much they would have to bill their customer i e higher bill because of my learning curve Had one agency tell me the engineering companies pr efer to hire the young engineering grads fresh out of school because they can pay them peanuts and train i e beat them into shape , rather than hire us older dudes who have some proven ability to think Calgary Herald ran an article at the time profiling how oil patch companies were screaming they didn t have enough people, yet were picky about who they hired because after working so hard to earn their good reputation, they were wary about damaging that reputation by hiring just anyone Blah, blah, blah. I came to the realization that the dark secret not told to undergrad students at engineering school is that once you get your first professional engineering job, you ll likely be pigeon-holed in that particular type of work or industry The problem seems especially acute for electrical electronics engineers since the field is so diverse and changes so rapidly, particularly in anything to do with electronics and software. And that s another kicker the electronics industry in Canada that exis ted 20 to 30 years ago, no longer exists What once seemed like the bright shining star in Canada s economic horizon, has essentially vaporized think Mitel, Nortel, Jerrold, many others I ve long since forgotten about In BC, electronics companies that existed in the 80 s and 90 s are gone with just a remnant of one or two that somehow reincarnated themselves. Then, to complicate matters, the electronics industry has shifted more toward software engineering and digital complex programmable logic devices CPLDs and gate arrays FPGAs over the past 20 years One needs to learn use software tools VHDL, Verilog to design the hardware logic used to program the chips. During the same time frame, along has come the growth of the internet and IT, cell phones, wi-fi, CDMA already obsolete , CDMA-II, HSPA, LTE, and Whoa Is Me In the past, one specialized in either hardware or software Today, seems companies want a person who can do it all hardware, software, IT internet and radio frequency RF circuit d esign, which is a specialty all its own All the while, you re supposed to keep up with this stuff What the frig kind of life is that, trying to chase after and keep up with this stuff, particularly if you re a family person I ve come to the conclusion that the career counselors and or HR people who concocted the idea of transferable skills don t know their heads from their butts when they try to apply their transferable skills schlock to engineers and most anyone else who works in a specialized profession. On top of the above, if you happen to be a software engineer or work in IT, your knowledge half-life is now down to only about 18 months to two years according to IEEE and one or two other articles I ve read By age 35, you re too old to work as a software or IT engineer, at least, in the U S This is another dark secret that probably isn t being explained to the young engineering undergrads. I concur with one of the other previous comments that depending on one s area of specialty, Cana da isn t a very good place to have an engineering career But with the off-shoring of industry and jobs in the U S over the past 20 years, according to blog comments I ve read, it sounds like the situation in the U S isn t all that great either again, depending on area of specialty. 218 liquidincalgary on 09 14 14 at 6 52 am. 21 Casual Observer says. because of the collapse in the velocity of money. collapse with housing now employing more than O G, how has velocity collapsed houses changing hands so frequently, are these not the definition of velocity of money. check your definition, then re-read your comment and my response to it please. Dr Shrikar Pardeshi, 2001 batch IAS officer of Maharashtra Cadre National award winner for efforts of water conservation in Nanded district Transferred several times for obvious reasons. In 2012, he took charge as the commissioner of Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation Following court orders, he pulled down 487 unauthorized constructions and snapped water supply to 209 illegal connections He also blocked sewerage lines of 171 illegal constructions Implemented e-governance policy Result He was transferred in Feb 2014 before completion of his 2 years tenure, allegedly on behest of then deputy CM Ajit Pawar He was so popular for his uncompromising work style, people came out o n streets protesting the transfer. Took charge as chairman of PMPML, turned around the loss making public transport service provider to profit Frequency of buses developing snags was brought down Helpline like SARATHI System of Assisting Residents and Tourists through Helpline Information was implemented People were happy that PMPML was in able hands Overhaul was undergoing. In 2015, Dr Shrikar Pardeshi was appointed as deputy secretary in PMO First time in history an IAS officer of Maharashtra Cadre was directly appointed to PMO And you know what, he will work directly under Mr Modi He was handpicked by PM himself because of his clean record and his attempts in successful implementation of several welfare schemes like SARATHI and all. Now if such class of officers are in the top brass of bureaucrats, don t you think India is changing. Edit Many people came up with the famous case of IAS Ashok Khemka and how he was not getting relief from the current government after assaults from previous government Well, I am glad to tell you, all charges against are dropped. Edit 2 Government of Haryana recently promoted Mr Khemka to the post of principal secretary A promotion overdue and much deserved. Edit 3 Guys, I have this amazing image to give some visual aid to your imagination about Mr Pardeshi working with Mr Prime Minister Such an honour for any civil servant to work with prime servant. Haryana government promotes IAS officer Ashok Khemka to the post of principal secretary.253 8k Views View Upvotes Not for Reproduction. I compiled these points after an argument with one of my friends who said that all this government is doing is marketing and cheap politics I did not have a definite answer at the top of my mind then, but given the scores of reports I had read as part of my official work, I had a fair bit of an idea that he might be off the mark on that comment. One request I have from you before you read on please keep an open mind For the duration of this answer, forget about what you ve been hearing in the media and just focus on the facts below th ese have been accumulated from various sources, including other answers on Quora after verification. We know about the whole story around our strong GDP etc here are few details about the same which are not being discussed on news panels as they are busy with beef and intolerance stories. The Index of Industrial Production IIP is an index which details out the growth of various sectors in an economy such as mining, electricity and manufacturing If you say Make in India is not working IIP as of 25 sept 2015 stands at 2 8 was -0 1 in 2014 under UPA Make in India is a first of its kind initiative which encourages companies to manufacture products in India I would go ahead and attribute some of this stupendous growth in indices to this initiative feel free to disagree and please let me know if you think otherwise. Manufacturing, the most neglected sector in our country for decades, is now one of the biggest contributor to GDP growth Read online to understand why a fledgling economy would always need a dominant agriculture and manufacturing sector This should help you get started Manufactur ing very important to India Willy C Shih. Fiscal deficit target retained at 4 1 pc of GDP for current fiscal and 3 6 pc in FY 16.Control over the double digit inflation figures, fall in the customer price inflation to less than 5 , a drastic cut in the current account deficit on trade, fall in the commodity prices etc. Fuel price deregulation to avoid subsidies in the future and also to avoid sudden increase decrease leading to artificial gaps and pressure on the market read common people --- if you think subsidies are good as certain state governments would make you believe , please consult someone with an economics background to understand how subsidies actually hurt people in the long run and are a mechanism by which governments make popular, mass-pleasing decisions while actually hurting the economy all the while making you believe that you are paying less when the balance actually comes out of your own pocket EDIT based on a comment on this answer, I m including a couple of articles for your reference on this point 1 and 2 IMF applauds India for cutting fuel subsidy and just to add some more facts. Fact 1 Decontrolling or deregulating the petrol prices mean that, the government will no longer be subsidizing petrol prices and the prices will be purely linked to the international crude prices However, perfect deregulation won t can t happen overnight and you have to bring some sort of sanity back into the system in small steps. Fact 2 India s total fuel subsidy has fallen to Rs 22,000 crore in April-December from Rs 76,000 crore in the year-ago period India s crude oil import bill for current fiscal may fall 45 - The Economic Times. Fact 3 And just to elaborate on what UPA did and did not do - Spending on subsidies surged, education and health lagged during 10 years of UPA - Times of India to quote - Much higher on the list, at number three, is petroleum as higher fuel subsidies have pushed up the allocation more than 18 times to around Rs 65,200 crore in 2013-14, co mpared with Rs 3,567 crore in the revised estimates for 2004-05.PSUs in profit BSNL reporting operating profit after almost a decade others doing well too. Eased out the process to start private companies in a bid to foster entrepreneurship hold on your horses on this one, we might see some real action in the coming years, but even the flurry of startups you see around you is not a coincidence do you remember the last time more than half the TV ads were about new-age startups Ofcourse, not all of it can be attributed to the government, but it is because of the small efforts they are taking that is fostering such a culture in the country. When you say it is a suit-boot ki sarkaar , maybe you are forgetting that we are not a socialist country by nature you and I both need jobs, and for that you need the correct environment around you to make sure that there are enough jobs or that the innate spirit of entrepreneurship is being promoted. More proof India will become a 4-5 trillion economy in a very short period of time, London-based leading economist Lord Meghnad Desai. The biggest achievement - at a time when the global economy is showing signs of gloom and fear Europe et al , all analysts predict stupendous growth for India but you and I would never realize that sitting from the comfort of our rooms especially with our TVs on. Black money promise from manifesto Undisclosed income worth over Rs 16,000 crore detected in 20 months Rs 1200 Crores worth of assets seized between March 2014 - December 2015. Another promise from manifesto First government to implement one rank one pay for the armed forces which had been stuck in the legislature for decades now there are still issues to be ratified but atleast we have a start. Remember the issue with rotting grains and artificial price inflations during the last year of UPA-II Well, the same authorities have seized over 130,000 tonnes of pulses since the imposition of stock-holding limit on the commodity. Despite possible political backlash, the government opposed the release of the juvenile culprit from the Nirbhaya case that eventually led to the much needed passage of the new juvenile law regarding such heinous crimes while we were busy mocking our judiciary, you must realize that the judiciary can only do what the law asks it to do So blaming the jury is actually insane If you have to blame someone, blame those who supported the initial ruling I don t want to get into the politics of it, but might be a good idea for you to read online as to who these people are and what are their political allegiances. Some non-conventional steps that are giving astonishing results with minimal coverage by national media. Changes to the APMC Act The govt asked the state govt to delist fruits and vegetables from the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee Act to eliminate middlemen, prevent hoarding and check inflation. Centre lead LED bulbs distribution has started in a few states more to join soon LED bulb push is already helping India save Rs 2 71 crore every day with only these handful of states and with the drive in its initial stages only. Why should we bother about Urea, eh Well, the fertilizer ministry has now announced full-capacity production of neem-coated urea - using completely neem coated urea could save the country about Rs 10,000 crore by lowering the usage and stopping its use for industrial purposes but yeah, who cares about thousands of crores. Efforts are in full swing for the 4200-crore Jal-Marg Vikas for inland waterways between Haldia and Allahabad Indian transport just sees 7 as wa ter transport s share, much lower than the developed countries This will now boost coal transportation and increase revenue for one of the busiest and historical ports of the country Just an add-on these aren t the only ports being developed in fact according to recent articles almost all major ports in India are getting revamped keeping similar ideas for trade routes in mind why weren t upgradation of such routes explored for the past several decades. Toilets for all government schools - might be a small thing for you and me but think of those children and then ponder as to why this was not done for the last 50 years. NITI Ayog instead of Planning commission - read online why the former is better equipped to bring about change hint implementable strategy Vs khayali pulav. Bureaucracy Ministries Ministers and bureaucrats have been advised to report at 9 AM, a thought hitherto unthinkable Bureaucrats have been asked to function as Civil Servants and not as the Queen of the Democracy This i s the single most step that will affect India as a whole If implemented in letter and spirit, this will remove inefficiency and lack of will among the policy makers and implementers. PMO panel repealed around 1741 obsolete laws what were we doing for the past decade. BSF Commander on the recent dispute around the LoC We don t think twice before pulling the trigger now as we know Delhi is with us. Growth in electricity generation he has promised full electrification by 2019 and that is why you see so many efforts including push for FDI in this sector the figures.2013-14 17,769 MW and 2014-15 22,566 MW This growth makes India one of the fastest growing markets for electricity infrastructure equipment. To add to the above Transmission lines commissioned rise by 32 in circuit kms - 2013-14 16,743 Kms and 2014-15 22,101 kms. Over 30,000 MW of stalled power generation capacity has been revived in the last 18 months, and the ministry is working to ensure that there are no problems related to electricity supplies in the coming 10 years. Clear focus on green energy with multiple projects already starting in the North-East and also in collaboration with neighbors like Nepal and Bhutan more details on these later. Giving a push to rural electrification, the power ministry has already reached one-third of its target to electrify 18,000 villages by 2018 also, as on date, there is not a single p ower plant which is without coal Power transmission to the south was enhanced by 71 per cent in the current financial year Source Coal, power situation good Piyush Goyal. The growth of coal production in 2014-15 was 8 25 per cent and during April 2015 to February 2016, it was 9 2 per cent The coal sector was paralysed in the aftermath of coalgate , with the Supreme Court having cancelled all coal mining allocations made by the UPA regime It was estimated that peak hour shortages would exceed 15 per cent and India, despite holding some of the largest reserves of coal in the world, would suffer the ignominy of importing 250 million tonnes of coal in financial year 2014-15 An open and transparent bidding process for coal mines was his first success Economy Three Men Standing A negligible growth in coal production during the last four years of UPA II, when new generation capacity kept increasing, led to a serious crisis in the power sector stranded capacity, huge coal import at excessive co st, financial stress Goyal s biggest contribution is in setting right the coal production almost 10 per cent growth in the last two years Our power generation capacity has crossed 2,80,000 mw. In a record of sorts, 5,000 mw of solar power was actually installed in the calendar year 2015 Even more significant, the per unit cost has dropped from Rs 15 to around Rs 5 This has transformed renewable energy from the realm of fantasy to viability. Goyal says that 25 new solar parks will be added in the country as part of the thrust on renewable sources of energy He has set an ambitious target of 175 gigawatts gw of power from renewable sources 100 gw from solar, 60 gw from wind, 10 gw from biomass and 5 gw from hydroelectric power Goyal is also working with Gadkari to push bio-fuels These targets have to be seen against the background of India having a total installed capacity today of just 288 gw. Still not convinced Well you can track the progress of the actual implementation work by downloadi ng the following app GARV GRAMEEN VIDYUTIKARAN - Android Apps on Google Play. Road Ministry approves over Rs 40,000 cr highway projects - roads being built per day almost 1 5 times the average for last decade. Upfront land acquisition, approvals and larger proportion of engineering, procurement and construction EPC contracts have increased the interest of developers and contractors in road projects This is reflected in the 69 per cent increase in project awards by the National Highways Authority of India NHAI during the first 8-month period in FY16 to 2,649 km from 1,572 km during the same period in FY15, notes an ICRA report. The pace of highways construction km per day under UPA had dipped close to single digits some claim it was as low as 2kms per day - though this is largely not verified this is now up to 18 km a day The minister aims to make it 21 km a day in the current fiscal Economy Three Men Standing , with the ultimate goal of 30kms a day set by the end of NDA s latest term Modi government sets target of 30km of highways a day - Times of India. Pushing l azy bureaucrats seem to have produced results An ICRA report released recently said the Indian road sector is showing signs of revival drawing on several policy measures announced by the government over the last 18 months Long hindered by execution delays, project cancellations, stalled projects, loss of lender confidence, leveraged balance sheets of developers and sluggish traffic growth, the sector now appears to be on the path to regain its lost sheen, the report says. Uniform Account Number by EPFO Employee s Provident Fund Organization This will be employee-centric with no need to go to the employer for PF transfer like earlier. Requirement of the built up area and capital conditions for FDI reduced to 20,000 square meters and USD 5 million respectively for development of smart cities Inviting more private players and FDI will boost low-cost affordable housing segment indications are that a formal Housing for all scheme is to be announced soon. Rs 4,000 cr set aside to increase flow of cheaper credit for affordable housing to the urban poor EWS LIG segment National Housing Bank will allow more credit at cheaper rates. We are on the verge of becoming a coal surplus country furthermore, if you know about this sector, you ll know about the situation in the coal belt where there s literally a bed of fire below the ground because of the mining activities - Modi government is the first in so many decades to actually start working towards solving this issue. Banks and savings - Jan Dhan India had 35 people with a bank account, lowest among the BRICS, as compared to 87 of the US and 95 of Canada now holds the world record for most number of bank account opened. What Suresh Prabhu is doing with the railways is something that should not even need any explanation s if you are following the news. Make in India coaches. Improvement of corridor congestion. Improvement of railway stations. Administrative changes. All railway contracts through e-tendering read online to see how this removes corruption. Partnering with Google for infrastructure upgradation etc etc the list is endless. KPMG Report - The railway sector in India has suffered from chronic under-investment and this has been a key reason for the decline in modal share of the Railways The railway minister has therefore, very rightly, focused on increasing the capital expenditure in last year s budget by 52 per cent compared to the year before The minister has also brought in new sources of finance. With Prabhu s investment plans in motion, the Indian Railways is fast emerging as one of the biggest participants in the Make in India initiative After the government allowed 100 per cent foreign direct i nvestment FDI in railways, the ministry has awarded contracts to global giants General Electric and Alstom for setting up electric and diesel locomotive factories, with an investment of nearly Rs 40,000 crore. Prabhu also plans to monetize various resources data in association with Google and real estate assets by commercial development above and around railway stations. Importance of those hugely publicized and ridiculed foreign trips and policies. BJP Govt convinced Saudi Arabia not to charge On-Time Delivery Premium charges on Crude Oil Young Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj sealed the deal Saved the country thousands of crores. Increased strategic relationship with Vietnam and Vietnam has now agreed to give contract of Oil exploration to ONGC-Videsh. Increase Oil Imports from Iran, despite the ban by USA Iran agreed to sell in Indian Rupees and it saved our Forex, not just for now, but protected India from future currency fluctuations too India also gets to build Chabahar port of Iran, encircling Pakistan We will have exclusive access for our Naval ships in this port. Australia - despite Australia being a major supplier of Coal Uranium NaMo was able to convince Tony Abbott and now Australia will supply Uranium for our energy production. Recent tie-up with Pentagon, Israel Japan on matters of national security and flow of information. India approved the border road in the NorthEast and around India - China border. India managed to bring back 4,500 Indians from War zone in Yemen and also brought foreign nationals of 41 different countries, which put India s name onto the highest platform globally in conducting that rescue mission PM Narendra Modi specially talked to the new Saudi Arabian king Salman and told him to allow Indian Airforce planes to fly as Saudi Arabia was attacking on Yemen and Yemen skies was declared NO-FLY Zone thanks to this we got an assured clear window of a few hours and guess who coordinated this Ajit Doval, Sushama Swaraj and Gen V K Singh - one of many incidences when these people have taken such steps. Centre gave nod to defence projects worth Rs 80,000 crore - army and navy had complained of lack of arsenal last year UPA-II - India was not even in a position to last a 50-day war with any neighbor , UPA was very happy to let it happen despite repeated demands from the ar med forces multiple deals with the likes of US, Russia and others and the Make in India campaign have both helped ease out the situation missiles already being produced choppers exported to other countries too. The government renegotiated Rafale fighter Jets deal with France personally and bought 36 Jets on ASAP basis At better than rack rates No middlemen, no commissions. For the first time after 42 yrs Indian Prime Minister visited Canada not to attend some meeting but as a specific state visit, in a Bilateral deal, India was able convince to Canada to supply Uranium for India s Nuclear reactors for next 5 years. He was able to convince France and now France will make Nuclear reactors with the latest technology in India, on MAKE IN INDIA efforts in collaboration with an Indian company as a partner. India and Russia signed 16 agreements last year Russia to help build 12 nuclear reactors. But there are some negatives too. Handling of home affairs is pathetic to say the least The best of orga nizations function properly when everyone within it sees the bigger picture the same way as their leader, but sadly there seems to be some sort of disconnect over here Case in point 3000 condoms, 2000 liquor bottles at JNU BJP MLA Gyandev Ahuja is keeping count - No amount of good work done by the government can help remove the scars left behind by some of the statements these guys have been making in the past year or so With all due respect to the mentally challenged, Retarded is the only word that comes to mind when you try to reason why someone from the ruling party would make such statements These guys surely need a PR head who would control and take action against such acts of extreme buffoonery. Similar failures are there to be seen in the case of parliamentary affairs call it arrogance of having won such a huge mandate or pure negligence of the power of a bruised and battered opposition, the only ones at the losing end of the battle inside our parliaments are us, the citizens of the country Keep aside the money being wasted by such fruitless proceedings, important bills like GST have been stuck for such a long time and for all the ridiculous reasons Granted that the opposition is behaving ideotically, but isn t it Venkaiah Naidu s job to ensure that the house functions properly for at least matters of such huge importance. Non-performing assets NPAs of public sector banks increased 17 per cent from Rs 2 27 lakh crore in March 2014 to Rs 2 73 lakh crore in December 2014, a carry-over from UPA-2 Public sector bank NPAs had increased 23 per cent in 2009-10 over the previous year NPA growth rates of this magnitude can destabilise the banking system Agreed that the downturn had already started earlier but recapitalisation of public sector banks should have started on more stringent terms and much earlier Also, the 25,000 Cr allocated for the said recapitalisation may be woefully inadequate for public sector banks recapitalisation. For one the stress on the bank balan ce sheets due to high amount of sticky assets and paucity of capital have clearly impacted banks ability to lend further, in particular to industries, which is critical to reboot the economy This is a jolt to companies since bank funding constitutes the major source of funds to small and medium companies. In the March-October period of the current fiscal year, credit growth to industries has languished at negative 0 3 percent compared with 0 7 percent in the previous year The worst hit has been medium-sized companies, where bank lending has contracted by 10 9 percent as against a contraction of 1 1 per cent in the same period last year. Data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy CMIE too warn that fresh investments in projects fell 74 percent in the December quarter to Rs 1 05 lakh crore from Rs 4 06 lakh crore in the corresponding period last year This leaves the government to take the lead with continued higher spending even at the cost of breaching the fiscal deficit numbers. T he windfall gains from low oil prices have tremendously helped the Modi-government in the last one year to manage the import bill and inflation But, a prolonged crash in oil prices would impact inward remittances and exports that have fallen for 13 consecutive months, which isn t good news for the economy. While the 2016 budget helped address a few of the issues listed above, it remains to be seen whether it is substantial enough to correct these For now, let s be hopeful They have set the ball rolling and there is a clear change in the thought process when it comes to actual on-ground implementation of work. Swachh Bharat I personally had really high hopes from this initiative, as having visited and lived across multiple cities across the country, cleanliness was one common pain point everywhere What seemed like a major push from the central government is slowly losing steam as days go by All that this initiative has been reduced to now are a bunch of PR events by local MLAs MPs and the n things go back to normal With a steady increase in urban population and the amount of construction that is going around, initiatives like these need to be taken care of more seriously To be honest, we, the citizens, are as much to be blamed for this as the central government However, regulatory reforms in this direction example appropriate actions around construction areas etc need to kick-start now if we are to be able to sustain smart cities and other futuristic concepts in the long run. We chose this government for 5 years let us give him those 5 years and then take a call on whether we want him back For now, all the signs are pointing to the fact that yes they are taking steps in the right direction these steps might not necessarily be popular or news-worthy in the short term, but they ve already started affecting us in a positive way The biggest step Backend improvements in bureaucracy and administration no scams, timely actions against complaints, and saying bye bye to chalta ha i attitude in those circles I read this article which mentioned how the redressal rate has increased manifold - Department of Personnel Training DoPT Administrative Reforms Public Grievances AR PG has disposed of as many as 4 87 lakh grievances out of a total of 6 09 lakh received with regard to Central Government Ministries and Departments during last one year For us citizens, the best thing to do if we really want to know how our country is doing , would be to stop watching channels like Times Now or getting our belief systems manipulated by Social media and maybe start reading stuff that really matters unbiased fact-based reports articles start with the likes of the economist or even the economic times. From a personal point of view, I see this government coming back to power in 2019 provided they do fulfill their 2 most important promises of electricity for all and making India a manufacturing hub, as both of these would have immense roll-over effects on other factors that are close to the heart of the common masses We gave UPA 10 years even after a welcome break in 1998-99, let s give these guys the next 3-4 years and let them prove us right wrong. PS A small request to those who are sharing the post on social media - please do hit Upvote too in case you genuinely feel that the answer was helpful it would help promote the post across feeds, and when more Quorans get to see this, it might lead to a more healthy discussion on the topic. PPS Disclaimer of sorts - I m not a BJP supporter and have often ridiculed their management of home affairs case in point Nishant Prakash s answer to What has Narendra Modi accomplished, and what has he lost, in 2015 but the work done by some of the ministries under this government is commendable and people should recognize that irrespective of their political allegiance prejudices Peace.57 2k Views View Upvotes Not for Reproduction. On one side of the spectrum there are Modi Bhakts who automatically think using Euclid s Common noti ons if a b and b c hence c a they are desh bhakt s too. And then on the other side of the spectrum are those who loathe Modi, whom the former extremists call Congress supporter, aaptard, Pappu ka chamcha Kejri ka chamcha anti-Hindu, sickular, terrorist, Pakistani, Italian, etc. To both those highly disillusioned people of the two extremes, I would like to draw some sort of balance by showing them if Modi is doing well or not based on the following 8 key indicators. GDP Growth One of the primary indicators used to gauge the health of a country s economy Bigger the number, better the economy. Before Modi 6 6.After Modi 7 6 Win. Consumer Inflation Defined as an increase in the overall price level A consumer facing inflation that occurs at the rate of 10 per year will able to buy 10 less goods at the end of the year if his or her income stays the same Smaller the number, happier the consumers. Before Modi 9 46.After Modi or I should say Raghuram Rajan 4 91 Win. Rupee against dollar Appreciation o f Rupee against dollar brings down the cost of all imports like crude oil, gold etc and is a sign towards its economic prosperity and augmentation even though it has some adverse impacts on the exports. Before Modi -9 4.After Modi -5 7 Appreciated i e Win , one of the reasons why fuel prices are down. Sensex Performance Healthy Sensex can create a sense of confidence about the direction of the economy As prices continue to rise, more investors come into the market, which builds on the momentum Falling sensex have the opposite effect People feel pessimistic about the economy People hold back on their spending, especially on nonessential items This slows down economic growth because consumer spending is a key component of the gross domestic product. Before Modi 18 7.After Modi -9 7 Unhealthy i e Loss. Industrial Production Growth Growth is related to consumer demand for the new products or services offered by the industry Higher growth means more consumer demand meaning more surplus money. Be fore Modi -0 10.After Modi 2 40 Win. Home Loan Rate The lower the interest rate, the more willing people are to borrow money to purchases houses When consumers pay less in interest, this gives them more money to spend, which can create a ripple effect of increased spending throughout the economy. Before Modi 10 25.After Modi 9 55 Win. Foreign Direct Investment FDI FDI offers a source of external capital and increased revenue It can be a tremendous source of external capital for a developing country, which can lead to economic development, also resulting in new jobs leading better employment rate and conditions. Before Modi 24 3 billion. After Modi 40 billion Win. Besides, the aforementioned economy related growth, Modi sarkar has started many new initiatives to name a few. Jan Dhan Yojana Anyone can now open an account in a bank. LPG subsidy reforms Barring LPG subsidy to customers who earn more than Rs 10 lakh per annum The amount saved was used to give over five lakh new LPG connections to t hose who still use firewoods or kerosene stoves for cooking. Swachh Bharat Mission Cleaning India, building more toilets, waste management and waste segregation. India-Bangladesh land boundary agreement Bringing an end to one of the world s most difficult border disputes that has kept thousands of people in stateless limbo for almost 70 years. Real Estate regulation Apart from making the process transparent and keeping checks and balances in the form of a Real Estate Regulatory Authority, the law drafted by Housing Ministry headed by M Venkaiah Naidugave confidence to home-buyers. The rest include Ganga Rejuvenation, One Rank One Pension Scheme, Make in India, Digital India etc. I leave the rest to your kind judgement. Disclaimer I am not a Modi Bhakt, but I do feel Modi is creating a true sense of optimism in the minds of the countrymen.396k Views View Upvotes Not for Reproduction. A man has been working in the South Block, New Delhi for the Central Government for the last 25 years When asked whether things have changed after 2014 elections This is what he replied. He told that previously there was a culture among some Secretary level officers, not to come to office on time Even after coming, they used to keep their work pending. In case of urgency, there was a culture to sit late in the office During late sitting, they used to order their dinner from Hotel Le Meridian Rs 1300 - per plate Though there were hardly 15 people present in the office, yet food used to come for about 30 people including for the family members of those so called Secretaries. In the next day morning, their bills of Rs 39,000 - for last night dinner used to get passed instantly That was the kind of wastage of public money by these officers during the Congress led U P A government Now, if someone has to sit late at office, their food comes from their home. Previously there was a habit of spendi ng public money on changing furniture, curtains and furnishing of office Now, P M has instructed that no furniture and curtains would be replaced before 7 years and no furnishing allowed before 11 years. Now, no file can be kept pending for more than 7 days Otherwise direct P M O starts enquiries P M takes class to his Ministers at around 6 20 AM whenever necessary P M Modi ji gets up daily before 5 AM and throughout the year he reaches office before 9 20 AM. In planning commission s canteen, delicious food is now available from Rs 60 to Rs 175 Daily at 10 10 AM all attendence sheets are dispatched to Prime Minister Office. Kaaju - Kishmish Milk culture in Central Government Ministries has now been stopped by our New Prime Minister. After 2014 elections, Central Government s revenue has increased by approximately 17 , due to above mentioned measures Expenses have been curtailed by our Prime Minister.1 India to stop thermal coal import, save 40000 cr.2 3 4 dip in urea import, India saves tho usand of crores ET Newspaper 14 April 2016.3 Successful and Transparent coal auction benefits India with 3 35 lakh cr.4 Parrikar finds 3 bn lying forgotten in US account Business Standard.5 Foreign exchange earnings FEEs from tourism have also shown a healthy increase of 13 from Rs 12,100 crore in January 2015 to Rs 13,669 crore this year 2016.6 More than 8 crore LED Bulbs distributed under Ujala Scheme Over 2 6 crore Indian Homes Switch to Energy Efficient LED The country also stands to save Rs 40,000 crore in electricity bills of consumers PIB.7 India saved Rs 15,000 crore on cooking gas subsidy through DBTL Business Standard.8 Modi Government May Save Rs 88,800 Crore This Year From Cheaper Crude Oil Prices ibtimes.9 LPG subsidy in bank accounts has saved Rs 15,000 crore ET. These are the kind of things that are never shown in the media We need to make more and more people aware of these things.172 4k Views View Upvotes Not for Reproduction. YES and the majority of his ministers are wo rking towards it. I would like to mention a recent incidence that happened with me, My cousin sister went on a family vacation to hong-kong with her family, on her last day while going back to the airport to return back to India, she checked her bag and found her passport missing After searching it everywhere, loads of quarrels within family, they did not find it anywhere and had to cancel their tickets So she called me up from the airport at around 9pm hong kong time, it was a Saturday to book a hotel since she did not have a place to stay there As soon as i came to know about it i tweeted the problem to General Vk Singh Sushma Swaraj current External Affairs Minister of India regarding the same the picture and links have been attached below. to my surprise within 15-20 minutes Gen Vk Singh replied via a tweet and then a private message followed with a very detailed reply on what is the procedure and what should be done It was a great relief since the passport seva site was down for mai ntenance on the same night from 10 pm to 6 am next morning, so we had no place to find resourceful information. Since it was late night the number given by Vk Singh wasn t picked up by anyone, but to the least it made my sister and her family sleep without tension knowing someone the govt is there for us. The next day morning Sunday again a surprise, she got a call from the embassy of India, Hong kong, telling her to bring FIR or written police report of the lost passport, 4 passport photographs of hers and whatever documents she has the next day Offices were closed on Sunday He clearly mentioned that he was given her number from a minister s office in India although he did not mention the name it was pretty obvious. And the next day as soon as she went to the embassy the whole process was smooth and professional, she got her emergency certificate within 3 hours and returned back to India the same night. This is development for me, when you know the government listens responds in the situa tion of emergencies Its a perfect thanks for being there story.14 8k Views View Upvotes Not for Reproduction. S r Vanika Face of changing India. Govt started to listen to people. Ms Tara Gopal, She was once India s pride to a point that a postal stamp was issued in her honour by the Indian government She was a famous performer of the country s most noted dance forms - Kathak, Bharatanatyam, and Kathakali She was also very closely associated with the Gandhi-Nehru family, especially with Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Indira Gandhi. But now Tara Balgopal, the 80-year-old veteran dancer lives in absolute poverty, slowly passing her days on charity. She has to her name a plethora of accolades and awards - bestowed upon by India s Prime Ministers - that have decayed over the course of time, telling a tale of utter neglect and disrespect Here, she is photographed with the postal stamp she was honoured with in 1962 after she d performed in the Parliament in 1960.The above content is copied from Trending stories on Indian Lifestyle, Culture, Relationships, Food, Travel, Entertainment, News New Technology News. How Govt reacted.6 07 PM, 28th August.6 31 PM, 28th August. Hi everyone We all know how media is always reporting how our PM is on foreign visits all the time But they dare not talk about the insurmountable benefits that they are meant to bear. I just read this news Sadly, no media is covering this So I decided to write about this on Quora Do share it if you find this information useful so that more and more people become aware how important foreign visits are. The Bangladesh visit has bore fruits so early and the North Eastern region will benefit a lot and save so much because of the direct route which will be accessible now. PM Modi is working day in and day out to make India better Let us share every such beneficial news around which the media and newspapers won t so that more and more people become aware.57 1k Views View Upvotes Not for Reproduction. Mr Modi says that he will not say any thing negative about Shiv Sena Bala Saheb Why was the 25 year old BJP-Sena alliance broken up then. H as Narendra Modi brought achhe din the Good Days. Is Narendra Modi going to be prime minister of India for next 20 years. What will be the future of India under our PM Modi. Why is Hindi so anti Modi I never find any article or news on it which is in favor of PM Modi. Has Modi really been a good PM of India Was Neha Dhupia s comment on Twitter true Is Rakhi Sawant a better PM for India.