The Price is Right

Shocking news from our friends at BMO: Canadian shoppers are still paying 18 per cent more on average than Americans for the same items, BMO Nesbitt Burns says in a study that suggests consumers aren’t reaping the benefits of a strong dollar. The rest of the article seems to indicate that, in fact, the reportcontinue reading

The longest post in the last five minutes

Business reporters are constantly under pressure to quantify whatever they’re writing about. Unfortunately, there’s so little context associated with this that the reader is left with absolutely no idea as to whether the information is significant or not. Case in point: the dreaded “in XX period of time” construct. First example, from today’s Globeinvestor.com: Pricescontinue reading

Food and oil prices

The Guardian on yesterday’s fuel protests in Europe: Long queues formed at Spanish and Portuguese supermarkets after truckers said shops could run out of fresh food in days. Even before the strike began thousands of people formed long lines outside petrol stations and supermarkets. Supermarket chains Eroski and Carre-four said they had stocked up oncontinue reading

Flying the friendly skies

Sit back, relax, and enjoy this report from a recent short flight in Africa, sent by Gmail chat: so, we’re sitting there, and the stewardess comes around to give us the spiel about the exit row. she’s wearing a jaunty yellow scarf, is very sincere, and is telling us we better be prepared to opencontinue reading

The “mindlessly cheerful” science

That’s what CAW chief economist Jim Stanford calls economics as it’s practiced by industry economists in Canada today, in a piece that takes BMO’s Doug Porter and his ilk to task for their continued cheerleading about the contracting Canadian economy: What’s as shocking to me as the actual numbers (which are very negative) was thecontinue reading

The 100-mile office

Canadian gas prices have risen (though they haven’t kept pace with the increase in crude oil), and by enough, apparently, to drive some change in behaviour. Unless, of course, someone steps in to subsidize the high cost of commuting. A story in today’s Careers section in the Globe outlines how some employers are responding tocontinue reading

Nothing but blue skies does he see

Rudyard Griffiths of the Dominion Institute, who has become a pundit-for-all-seasons, sees gloom ahead: While the fear of a recession seems like the last thing on the mind of the average Torontonian, I for one cannot figure out how the Ontario economy can avoid a prolonged economic turndown, and most likely a nasty one atcontinue reading

Tim’s takedown

It’s about time. Acoording to Rex Murphy, “the days of Tim Hortons as an essential Canadian experience are dwindling and few”: Their “roll up the rim” is a farcical gimmick. Their signature phrases — “double double” being the most familiar — gall more than they please. Their ridiculous lineups — in some places it takescontinue reading

Fear and ignorance on the Don

I’m all for gentrification. It think it’s a natural part of urban evolution, as long as it doesn’t involve front-lawn parking pads. But I also find it entirely objectionable when a handful of people who overpaid for their tiny homes in a transitional neighbourhood suddenly start talking as if they own it. Case in point:continue reading

Hard wind a-blowin’

Concern about the coming (current?) recession seems to be intensifying: The federal government says it will allow Canadians who are facing hardships to withdraw up to $22,450 a year from their locked-in Registered Retirement Savings Plans.