Canada – The First Nation To Step Out Of The Recession

Good News – Growth Is Here!

First Published Date: July 26, 2009

It is slightly too early to say that the recession is in its final throes, and those of us who wish to avoid tempting fate would never dream of creating such a hostage to fortune, but the announcement by Finance minister Jim Flaherty on Thursday that stability and recovery have arrived must at least be a positive sign for those of us who had begun to wonder if the positive forecasts blowing around were part of some mirage. Of course, until we see two consecutive periods of stability and growth it will be hard to say for sure that the recession is receding. At the present time, however, it is good to hear the central bank issuing positive news on growth.

The projections by the Bank of Canada are that after three consecutive quarters of contraction in the national economy, this quarter will see growth of 1.3%. The figures may not be earth-shattering, but it is what they represent that means good news for the country. After a sustained period of contraction, any quarterly growth can be seen as a sign that things are warming up. With better growth, the opportunity for new jobs to be created will be higher, and Canadians left unemployed by the effects of the recession can begin to look ore hopefully for jobs.

This means a welcome vote of confidence for the reading which argued that due to Canada’s more reserved economic approach, the nation would be among the first to step out of the recession and do it in a stronger way. It does not, however, mean that the global recession is over or that a domino effect will see growth kick off in the United States, Europe or Japan. Indeed, some of the financial systems in the world’s other countries may cause more ripples in the global economy for a while yet – meaning that international trade may be stymied somewhat.

The central bank has been keen to point out that the recovery in Canada is, as yet, in its infancy and not something to be taken for granted. This may not yet be the time to take even a calculated financial risk. The financial recovery is at the moment still reliant on stimulus spending from the government – the equivalent of a sportsman whose knee injury has healed but still requires crutches.

The US, meanwhile, is believed by its bankers to be on its way to recovery, with the pace of decline slowing and growth predicted to begin by the end of the year. As Canada’s nearest neighbour this will undoubtedly affect the recovery here, so it is worth keeping an eye on the financial news from south of the border. Although the economy is still vulnerable it is looking in much better shape than a year ago. The global recovery may yet be painfully slow, but the good news is that it is at least set to happen, and that the contraction is beginning to die down. Given the doom and gloom in the immediate aftermath of the credit crunch in 2008, that we may be out of recession by the end of 2010 is positive news.

To streamline and minimize blog maintenance, I will be discontinuing maintaining the Canadapersonalfinancewebsite.com website (however, I will still hold the domain). I will gradually move all articles from this site to A Dawn Journal. This article originally published on the above website on July 26, 2009.

Can All Skyscrapers Be Tasteful Modern Architecture?

The Dos and Don’ts of Tasteful Architecture

First Published Date: Oct 03, 2009

In the present day, so much of building seems to be obsessed with size. There was a time when you could build the world’s tallest building – assuming you had a spare few hundred million dollars, anyway – and sit back and relax for a decade or so, knowing that if anyone asked about the world’s largest building, your name would come up. Now, the moment someone builds a dizzyingly tall skyscraper which surpasses all that has gone before, you can be sure that there is someone sitting, taking notes and saying “Right – I want it about ten meters taller than that one, OK?”

The upshot of this is, increasingly, a dislike among many for such grandiose statements of intent. People are uncomfortable with massive buildings – mostly not out of a sense of vertigo, but simply from personal taste. The Ryugong Hotel in Pyongyang, as well as being about a half of the way to completion, is enormous – and at the present time, grotesque. Although the Burj al-Arab is to many people’s tastes – including the tennis legend Roger Federer, who spends time there – to others it is a statement of pointless size, a standing monument to dimension rather than architecture. If we keep building them taller than the last one, sooner or later we will have revolving restaurants in lower earth orbit. The food will be terrible, but the waiting lists will still be epic.

This is not to say that large buildings cannot be aesthetically impressive, and anyway, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. However, it has to be said that there could be a lot more concentration on other aspects of what makes a building impressive. Invention and subtlety can go a long way, so why do we always insist on a building which breaks the clouds and keeps on going?

There are other mistakes made by architects who simply hear the bit where the person commissioning the building says “.and I want people to talk about it!”. Building something that will be memorable can just be about complementing your surroundings in the most attractive way, but all too often architects – through their brief or through their overarching ambition – will look to assault the senses. If they can’t build it taller than the others, they will use more lights. If they cannot do that, then they’ll try and shape it like something no-one else has thought of. Ambition does not have to equal grandiosity.

Then again, there are probably many of us who will admit to having a keenness for a particular building which conforms to all of the lazy standards and that may well be the reason they keep getting built. However much we may wince at what we see most of the time, we look at – for example – Dubai’s Rose Rotana and think “I should be appalled, I should be feeling sick, but for some reason it works”. Well, some of us do, anyway. And that is the point – there are so many ways in which a building can offend, but if enough of us say “Hmm, I like that!”, then they will continue to be built.

To streamline and minimize blog maintenance, I will be discontinuing maintaining the realestateexpedition.com website (however, I will still hold the domain). I will gradually move all articles from this site to A Dawn Journal. This article originally published on the above website on Oct 3, 2009.

Time To Invest in Stocks?

Should You Invest Now?

Published Date: May 03, 2009

There will be no small number of people looking to save every penny they can get their hands on right now, in the midst of a lending crisis that has permeated even the most disciplined economies in the world. Putting money aside – squirreling would be the best way to put it – is certainly quite tempting as things stand, not knowing when the recovery will really begin in earnest. In order to be sure of having money in the months to come, it is perfectly sensible to put some by. On the other hand it could be said that if you don’t invest a bit now, there will never be a better time.

Sure, there will be some reluctance on the part of any of us to put money where it might lose value, and the fact of the matter is that investing does carry that risk – “remember, investments can go down as well as up” ring any bells for you? Without that kind of fluidity, there would be no chance of making a bit of money on the stock market, or through any kind of investing – and you would be better off just putting it in a savings account. What we can be certain of is that several investments are now at as low a value as most of us can remember – and ripe for the buying cheap.

Award-winning book Invest Now is jam-packed with timely information and timeless advice for the beginning Canadian investor. To purchase a copy, visit Chapters Indigo or buy online – Invest Now: A Canadian’s Guide to Investing

No-one with any knowledge of such matters will tell you that your investment is guaranteed to increase in value, and less still will you be told that you will get an instant return, so it is worth having a savings plan at the same time. The chances are, however, that a small investment will have an initial small return, and can even act as a dry run for investing in greater amounts. As rules of thumb go, “Only invest what you can afford to lose” is a good one. It will allow you to learn the ropes in a less pressurized context.

Of course, investing can be a daunting prospect. If you stand to make any kind of money at all, the chances are that it will carry a frisson of nerves as you watch and wait for the right moment to sell or stay in. The chances are that on your first investment you will be tempted to sell as soon as you realize any kind of profit on the deal. While there is every reason to be happy at turning a profit, it is worth taking into account that people who have been playing the market for longer will stay in longer than those who haven’t. The reason for this is that they have learned to recognize when a stock will keep rising.

It is worth purchasing a guide to investment because these are invariably written by people who have done it and been successful. Warning signs that might go ignored by the novice will be covered in these guides, as will those false alarms that make first time investors panic and get out. When you are investing for the first time, it is good to have this reassurance.

To streamline and minimize blog maintenance, I will be discontinuing maintaining the Canadapersonalfinancewebsite.com website (however, I will still hold the domain). I will gradually move all articles from this site to A Dawn Journal. This article originally published on the above website on May 3, 2009.

TD First Class Visa Infinite Points Value Decrease

TD Devalues Visa Infinite Points

First Published Date: June 22, 2015

If you are a TD First Class Visa Infinite credit card holder, you will see lower rates and lose some value in your points redemption starting August 16, 2015. You may want to consider redeeming your points before August 16 (if your circumstances allow), so you don’t get dinged by TD.

As of now, before August 16, the redemption rate is 200 points for $1, but it will be devalued at 250 points for $1 starting August 16. What it means that if you have 100,000 points, you will get $500 in travel spending, but after August 16 the same 100,000 points will fetch you $400.

TD First Class Visa Infinite provided 1.5 percent return on your purchase spending, excluding TD Expedia spending, until now. This rate will go down to 1.2 percent once the devaluation kicks in. Although TD said you would still get 1.5 percent rate on your regular purchases if you redeem over 300,000 points, but the truth is you will never go back to the old 1.5 percent return level as the first 300,000 points will be counted as 1.2 percent return – making the total return on regular spending above 300,000 points ($1,200) a low 1.33 percent.

This is obvious that TD will lose lots of clients after the devaluation as TD First Class Visa Infinite will lose its ranking among other travel reward cards. And there are so many better cards out there, unless you don’t mind losing your spending’s worth and sticking to TD due to allegiance. As I will be writing on more credit cards to maximize your reward returns, don’t forget to keep an eye on A Dawn Journal. Visit here if you would like to find out more about TD’s recent devaluation announcement.

Breakfast at a Restaurant in Aswan Near the Airport | Aswan

Just Arrived in Aswan | Egypt Travel Blog: Day 3 (Part 24) 02D20

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

Our bus stopped at the Aswan airport to pick up our tour mates who flew overnight from Cairo instead of taking long bus trip. However, they had to leave the Oasis hotel in Giza so early (around 4 AM) that my long bus trip was not all that bad in comparison.

My sun blocker was in my bag, which was in the luggage compartment of the bus. I asked our tour guide if I could take it out from the bag. He mentioned that there are regulations that busses cannot open the luggage compartment (or at least busses that not are commercially licensed to operate at the airport) in the area, so I had to wait for us to leave the airport to get my sunscreen.

Today’s breakfast was included in the tour package. The restaurant was a large separate facility in the airport area, but not connected to the airport. Our bus parked right in front of it in the parking lot.

I went to use the washroom to freshen up. The line was not too long. Once I returned, I saw most of our tour mates sitting together. Our tour guide handed us our pre-made breakfasts one by one.

It was nothing fancy. It looked like a pita bread stuffed with falafel or something like that. It tasted OK, but nothing great and not too spicy.

The free breakfast catch was that it didn’t come with a drink, so everyone was forced to buy an overpriced drink. I already had bottled water, so I only bought a coffee. The coffee was not that great either, but after a long bus ride and no sleep it felt like heaven.

From here we would go to the famous High Dam of Aswan. We were scheduled to go to the hotel first, but due to lack of time we were to finish all our excursions first and then go to our hotel.