Alexandria Day Trip – Part 1 | Egypt Travel Blog: Day 1 (Part 6)

Egypt Travel Blog: 10 DAYS Egypt Explorer - Felucca Cruise & Red Sea

Heading to Alexandria Early Morning

November 30, 2019 was Day 1 of my 10-Day Egypt tour. My other tour mates were landing in Cairo today, but because of my Alexandria trip, which was an add on, I came one day earlier to spend the day visiting Alexandria.

Before boarding the van, I saw the same Australian couple I had met the day before. There were other people with us on this tour, but my tour mates for the rest of my trip would be different because they were arriving today.

We had to start our Alexandria trip early in the morning, so we could come back before evening. The drive to reach Alexandria would take about two and a half hours.

The van was comfortable and not too crowded. The AC had to be turned on as the desert heat kept rising as we passed through the morning.

We passed the city and residential area within half an hour of starting our trip. Then the landscape started to change.

Sometimes we were passing through agricultural lands, sometimes terrain full of rocks and sand that looked like deserts. There were buildings and small towns passing by in between. There were open bazaars and shopping complexes in between as well.

Some places had a few buildings, like 4 or 5 together, but there was nothing after that mile after mile. You would see a small open market all of a sudden and then it would be empty again after that for a while.

Watching these scenes made me feel like I was in another time and place. Those are the kind of feelings traveling to another place gives you because I am not used to seeing these things daily. 

Are Bloomberg’s Top 20 Green Banks Really Green?

The World’s Top Green Banks 2012

First Published Date: June 1, 2013 AdawnJournal.com

Recently, Bloomberg published its annual rankings of the world’s greenest banks for 2012. Here is the top ten green banks on that list:

1. CITIGROUP

2. BANCO SANTADER

3. JPMORGAN CHASE

4. MITSUBISHI FINANCIAL GROUP

5. CREDIT SUISSE GROUP

6. GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP

7. DEUTSCHE BANK

8. MIZUHO FINANCIAL GROUP

9. LLOYDS BANKING GROUP

10. BARCLAYS

Source: Bloomberg

The full list can be accessed here. Canada’s Royal Bank (18th position), TD Bank (27th position), CIBC (37th position), and National Bank (39th position) are also on the list.

However, there are wider arrays of disagreements on how this list was constructed. To qualify to be considered for the top 20 and to be on this list of 40 banks, banks have to have a market capitalization of at least $10B alone with listed on a major stock exchange. Only 62 banks from 23 countries were able to qualify.

Also, Bloomberg’s assessments made of these banks’ participation on clean energy project lendings and reducing their own carbon footprints. But Bloomberg ignored these banks’ own dirty energy projects, such as their support for fossil fuel and nuclear power.

Some of Bloomberg’s top green banks are listed on this Top 20 Climate Killer Banks list by BankTrack for destroying the environment. Here is an article for more on this by Yann Louvel. After reading all these, draw your own conclusions if these banks are really green or not.

iShares Offers More Exposure to Emerging and International Markets

iShares Offers 5 New ETFs

First Published Date: June 8, 2013 ADawnJournal.com

iShares recently launched 5 new ETFs giving investors different taste from different segments from the emerging and international markets. These 5 ETFs are:

XUS – iShares S&P 500 Index ETF

XEF – iShares MSCI EAFE IMI Index ETF

XEC – iShares MSCI Emerging Markets IMI Index ETF

XCD – iShares S&P Global Consumer Discretionary Index Fund (CAD-Hedged)

XGI – iShares S&P Global Industrials Index Fund (CAD-Hedged)

Today, I will discuss XEF – iShares MSCI EAFE IMI Index ETF and XEC – iShares MSCI Emerging Markets IMI Index ETF, as there are very similar ETFs that exist from iShares and Vanguard Canada.

XEF – iShares MSCI EAFE IMI Index ETF MER 0.30% – XEF tracks (net of expenses) the performance of the MSCI EAFE IMI Index. The MSCI EAFE Investable Index is a measure of the broad international stock market that includes about 2500 small, mid, and large cap companies around the globe excluding North America.

Another ETF XIN – iShares MSCI EAFE Index ETF CAD-Hedged MER 0.50% exists from iShares which is somewhat similar to XEF. However, unlike XEF, XIN tracks the MSCI EAFE Index. The MSCI EAFE Index captures 85% of total market capitalization representing about 915 mid and large cap companies around the globe excluding North America. The MSCI EAFE IMI Index goes much deeper to captures 99% of total market capitalization representing about 2500 small, mid, and large cap companies around the globe, excluding North America.

Vanguard offers very similar ETF (like XIN) VEF – FTSE Developed ex North America Index ETF CAD-hedged MER 0.43%. The FTSE Developed ex North America Hedged CAD Index represents about 1340 mid and large cap companies around the globe excluding North America.

XEC – iShares MSCI Emerging Markets IMI Index ETF MER 0.35% – This new MSCI Emerging Markets IMI Index fund holds about 1800 emerging market companies without currency hedging. Another ETF XEM – MSCI Emerging Markets Index Fund MER 0.82% exists from iShares which is somewhat similar to XEF. It holds about 831 companies. Another ETF from Vanguard VEE – FTSE Emerging Markets Index ETF MER 0.54% offers exposure to the emerging markets. It holds about 790 emerging market stocks. One major difference VEE has from its peers is that it does not have any stocks from South Korea as FTSE Emerging Markets Index does not consider South Korea as an emerging market. So if you would like to have Samsung or any other South Korean companies, VEE is not for you.

As you can see, these two new international and emerging markets ETFs XEF and XEC from iShares offer wide exposure in the international and emerging markets without currency hedging at unbelievably lower cost. I have not seen anyone before beating rock-bottom-MER guru Vanguard, and iShares was able to do so with these two new MERs. This is good for Canadian investors.

Canada Is Among The Top Three Happiest Countries On Earth

The Top Ten Happiest Countries

First Published Date: June 17, 2013 ADawnJournal.com

Canada ranks third spot on the OECD happiest developed countries 2013 list. The Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) looked at various criteria such as jobs, income, safety, environment and health among the developed countries to make its the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Better Life Index. Australia and Sweden stayed ahead of Canada on the list, ranking first and second. Here are the top ten happiest developed countries:

1. Australia

2. Sweden

3. Canada

4. Norway

5. Switzerland

6. United States

7. Denmark

8. The Netherlands

9. Iceland

10. United Kingdom

The world’s 12th largest economy Australia kept the # 1 title for third year. Both Australia and Canada are resource-rich countries that are reaping the benefits of increased demand from Asia. Australia’s top rank comes with a price, as Australians need to work longer hours and score poorly on work-life balance. More than 14% of Australian employees are working very long hours, which is well above the 9% OECD average.

Also, there is no clear-cut answer in terms of being happy. If you look at two other happiness indexes, such as The Happy Planet Index by the London-based New Economics Foundation and World Happiness Report by the United Nations, the pictures are very different there.

Cities With The Most Skyscrapers

Is New York, Hong Kong, or Dubai Has The Most Skyscrapers?

First Published Date: July 1, 2013 ADawnJournal.com

When it comes to building a skyscraper that will impress the world and stick in the minds of people, there is nothing like height that comes into consideration. And it’s no wonder that the topic “Which city has the most skyscrapers?” will always be a debated one. A skyscraper demonstrates the art of structural engineering taken to its ultimate zenith, literally and metaphorically. And there is no straightforward answer to the above question.

The cities with the most skyscrapers reward depends on how you look at the definition of skyscraper and various other factors. For example, if you consider a building at least 115 feet (35 meters or 12 stories) tall, Hong Kong stays on top of the list with close to 8000 buildings. However, if you consider one skyscraper as being a building from its own unique platform, then New York City’s close to 6000 total will be more than Hong Kong. If you follow strict rules on height and consider skyscrapers only above 300 meters (980 feet or 80 floors), Dubai, Shenzhen, New York City stay on top of the list.

So some will use certain heights to count skyscrapers, and others will only count one skyscraper even if multiple towers of sufficient height spring from the one platform on the ground. And the answers can always be argued upon whether if it’s Hong Kong, New York, or Dubai based on how you look at it.

Sources:
http://www.emporis.com/statistics/most-skyscraper-cities-worldwide
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_with_the_most_skyscrapers#Cities