January 2008 Research Discussion

[BMironov]

I remember, some time ago there was a question about "Sharia-compliant" financial products at MyREINspace. Here is an update for it:Toronto Star:Bank may offer Shariah loans (Jan 4, 2008)
http://www.thestar.com/Business/article/290892

QUOTE Islamic Shariah-compliant mortgages could be available in Canada through one of the major conventional banks as early as this summer, says a Toronto-based financial firm operating within the Muslim community. "We`re confident by the summer time we will have a solution in place," said Omar Kalair, chief executive officer of UM Financial Inc.

"We plan to launch with one of the big five banks a whole suite of products under the UM branded name, which will be structured to be Shariah compliant."

Islamic financing, based on the principle that no interest is charged, is in its infancy in Canada, although widely available in the U.K. At least two U.S. banks currently offer Shariah mortgages.

To get around forbidden interest payments on loans, Shariah-compliant mortgages function by having the lender become an equity partner in a home purchase. The homeowner pays the financial institution putting up the rest of the purchase price monthly "rent" or "profit" payments, and principal.


Toronto Star:
Bridging cultural gaps (Apr 9, 2007)
http://www.thestar.com/article/200871

Business Strategies for the Muslim World (blog)
http://dinarstandard.blogs.com/editors/ent...ship/index.html

PR Leap:
Sharia`h-Compliant Finance - Dawn of Ethical Financing in North America (May 24, 2007)
http://www.prleap.com/pr/78689/

 

[BMironov]

Here is the link to interesting site about tall buildings in the Canada (and the rest of the world):
http://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?3469050

Via search page you can find many "under construction" projects in major Canadian cities.
http://skyscraperpage.com/cities/

 

[BMironov]

Globe and Mail:Americans vote on taxes - with their feet (Jan 9, 2008)
http://www.reportonbusiness.com/servlet/st...lumnsBlogs/home

QUOTE In a fascinating new book, Rich States, Poor States, U.S. supply-side economists Arthur Laffer and Stephen Moore document a remarkable hypothesis - that high tax rates redistribute people, not incomes.
...
New York State (with a maximum personal income tax rate of 10.5 per cent) lost more than 1.9 million people in the 10-year period from 1997 through 2006.

California (with a maximum personal income tax rate of 10.3 per cent) lost more than 1.3 million people. In contrast, Florida (personal income tax rate: zero) gained more than 1.6 million. Texas (personal income tax rate: zero) gained 769,000. Tennessee (personal income tax rate: zero) gained 258,000.
...
Messrs. Laffer and Moore pay particular attention to top marginal tax rates because, they say, states with high marginal rates lose "their most wealthy and most productive citizens." The economic consequences for the low-growth states - New York, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Illinois, New Jersey and California - are devastating. "Symptoms of the economic despair in these declining states include lost population, falling house values, shrinking tax bases, capital flight, business out-migration, high unemployment rates and less money for schools, roads and aging infrastructure."
...
New Brunswick, incidentally, has Canada`s top provincial income tax rate: 17.95 per cent, almost twice the top rates in New York and California. The New Brunswick rate kicks in at $111,000 (Canadian) of taxable income; Manitoba`s top rate of 17.45 per cent kicks in at $65,000. Alberta has the country`s lowest top rate (with a flat-tax levy of 10 per cent). Mr. Harper should inform the provinces that they have tax rates that need to come down, that they should be cutting tax rates, too - if only as recession insurance.

 

[BMironov]

Globe and Mail:CAN CANADA ESCAPE A RECESSION? (Jan 24, 2008)
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/sto...PStory/Business

QUOTE A week or two ago, the notion of Canada falling into a recession seemed far-fetched. Domestic demand was strong, commodity prices were soaring and the rest of the world seemed sturdy.

But a few days of plunging stock markets and cautionary central bank statements have sparked talk that the odds of a Canadian recession are mounting.

"I`m at about 40 per cent and I am concerned that could move above 50 per cent in the not-too-distant future," said Ted Carmichael, chief economist at J.P. Morgan Securities Canada Inc.

The debate centres around how immune Canada is to a U.S. recession. About three-quarters of Canadian exports flow south of the border, with the U.S. accounting for a quarter of Canada`s output.
...
The main risks lie with exporters, cooling commodity prices and whether the screaming headlines about an economic downturn sour consumer sentiment.

That said, Mr. Porter and most economists say the risk of a recession remains below 50 per cent. BMO listed three reasons why Canada won`t slip into recession: the housing market is healthier than in the U.S., government finances are solid, and the recent commodities boom will support capital spending.

 

[BMironov]

Globe and Mail posted few articles about Alberta oil sands under banner "Shifting sands"Part I. An empire from a tub of goo (Jan 26, 2008)
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/sto...&print=true
How did the quest to retrieve the treasure hidden beneath huge swaths of northern Alberta go from fool`s errand to monumentous payoff? Erin Anderssen, Shawn McCarthy and Eric Reguly explain.


Part II. The kinder, gentler energy superpower (Jan 28, 2008)
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/sto...&print=true
Canada is the kind of oil supplier the U.S. can rely on, and no one knows it better than the Texans

Other resources (photos, stories, discussions, ...)
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/oilsands

 

[BMironov]

Globe and Mail:Part III. Why Cape Breton shakes in the echo of this distant boom (Jan 29, 2008)
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/sto...NStory/oilsands
As young adults from the East race to high-paying jobs in the West, they leave behind hollowed-out towns worried for the future.

Part IV. Life on the cold side of the country`s hottest economy (Jan 30, 2008)
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/sto...&print=true
The oil sands dominate Alberta`s wealth and growth, but not all parts of the province are taking part – including, surprisingly, the conventional oil industry

 

[BMironov]

Globe and Mail:Part V. Frugal Norway saves for life after the boom (Jan 31, 2008)
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/sto...&print=true

Among oil economies, Norway – the world`s third-largest exporter and 10th-largest producer in 2006 – is almost alone in having avoided this fate. As oil has boomed, so has everything else, and it has boomed in areas that will continue to generate economic growth when the oil revenues are gone.