Best new magazine

I noticed this magazine at Pages the other day and picked it up, assuming it was a special Russia issue of some trendy design magazine. But no — it’s actually the third issue of a stylish magazine about Russia, covering style, art, business, and a lot more. Highlights of this issue include: – an annotatedcontinue reading

The (more expensive) staff of life

While inflation in the US has prompted talk of stagflation, the rise in the loonie — and fixed prices for staples such as milk through supply management — has kept Canadian CPI in check, so far. But this morning’s Star highlights one mainstay that’s getting more expensive: The price of an industry standard 40-kilogram bagcontinue reading

It’s all a mirage

From a lexicon of housing bubble jargon, courtesy of the Irvine Housing Blog, a term whose definition has a familiar ring: · MIRAGE (Moneyed Immigrants, Rich Ancestors, Generous Expatriates): Acronym to lampoon the bulls’ argument that housing demand is being supported by cash-rich immigrants, wealthy parents and transplants from other states. February’s Toronto Life featurescontinue reading

It’s called a toll

It’s been a good year for skiers all over North America this year, with record snowfall from east to west. But that also means more cars on highways to ski resorts, including the highway leading to the hills from Denver: Interstate 70, the east-west corridor to the high-country ski resorts, bottlenecks to four lanes fromcontinue reading

Catching up on weekend reading

Britain’s economy is still looking shaky. According to a survey of employers by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development: …38% of the more than 1,500 employers surveyed plan redundancies over the next three months, with a quarter intending to let go at least 10 employees. And the Guardian publishes one of the most lucidcontinue reading

Anyone interested in a Spanish timeshare?

…’cause another housing bubble has burst: The Spanish government is reportedly considering a rescue package to “refloat” the housing market and slow job losses in the construction sector, raising concerns over investor appetite for the country’s sovereign bonds. It’s a familiar story: …unemployment jumped 132,000 in January, the sharpest one-month rise in a decade. Carcontinue reading

The super sands

Patiently, comprehensively, Jennifer Welsh and Annette Hester take down Harper’s boasts of Canada as an energy “superpower”: First, we produce a great deal of crude oil (and, unlike most countries, could produce more), but our natural gas production is in decline. A decline that will accelerate as more natural gas is used to coax heavy,continue reading

The Antagonistic East

Local labour relations not rancourous enough for you? Look east to Fredericton and the St. Thomas University “strikeout”. A faculty strike is now in its third week — but that strike came after the faculty was locked out by the administration December 27. What’s at stake? Well, hard to say at this point, since thecontinue reading

Calling the recession

BMO joins the fray: Judging from recent indicators, we are prepared now to say that the U.S. economy is in recession. The marked and widespread deterioration of business, consumer and investor sentiment since the start of 2008 has prompted us to revisit and revise our forecast. Ever the optimist, though, BMO’s Doug Porter sees Canadacontinue reading