When the new sales tax was introduced last year in Vancouver, (they call it the HST), everyone who worked at restaurants complained about how the HST will negatively impact the food services industry because it will make eating out less affordable. But based on anecdotal evidence, all my friends who used to eat out before the HST, still… Read More »
I recently found this list of recommendations to make everyday living more meaningful. I will try to incorporate them into my life. 🙂 -Memorize something everyday. -Develop an endless curiosity about this world. -Don’t take life so seriously! -Think positive thoughts. -Sleep less. -Figure out what your goals and dreams are. -Learn to be unaffected by the words of… Read More »
American retail chain “Target” is moving some of its business into Canada. It plans to take over more than 200 Zellers stores. This is great news for many reasons. Zellers’ parent company, HBC, will make a hefty profit from selling their Zellers business Canadian REITs, like RioCan and Calloway, (who own these buildings) will benefit from having a… Read More »
As lands in major cities around the world become more valuable over the decades so do the homes that reside on them. This means higher real estate prices and higher rent for tenants over the long term. Paying half your gross income for rent seems like a hard pill to swallow for some people. I’m only paying about a… Read More »
Canada’s overnight interest rate is only 1% right now and so far there is a lack of demand to increase it. A low rate environment can be very beneficial for an economy, for example, making it easier for people to pay their debts. But on the flip side there are negative consequences as well. Low interest rates hurt savers.… Read More »
“The purpose of the monetary system is to facilitate exchange, but… the penny no longer serves that purpose.” Economist Greg Mankiw There used to be a coin in North America called the half-penny, but that was eliminated in 1857 leaving the penny as the lowest denomination. Due to inflation however, the half-penny back then had more buying power… Read More »